(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~2013~

[GrandCalifornian]

Here now & I was so excited to stay here after reading all the positive reviews & our first time staying deluxe. The pros: the boat to cr & Mk, super convenient especially when leaving the park. We can see wishes from our room. My daughter loves her bunk bed, & mouse keeping is fabulous. The cons: our room is directly above Whispering & it is very loud. I've had a cold shower 2 out of 4mornings. The qs restaurant is small with very limited selections. Hands down the worst part is the bus transportation to the other parks... Yesterday we waited forever in the a.m for a bus to Epcot while 2 Mk & 2 ft wilderness buses came in the interim... then when it finally came it left here & went to ft wilderness. Our bus today to dtd & the other day
to HS both stopped at grand Floridian after here. I've stayed value & moderate before & both had much better bus transportation, better food courts, and were not as loud. I know I'm in the minority in this thread but I'm not terribly impressed given what I'm paying to stay here. I get that I'm paying for convenience/location but that becomes a wash when it takes 4x as long to get to any other resort.

It is good to hear your report, the good and the bad. I do see bus timing as luck of the draw, and hopefully your luck will improve. I've seen people at all levels of resort talk about terrible transportation, and I can totally see how long wait times would make you feel that way. We didn't experience any lack of hot water, so that might be worth reporting to the front desk. As we see it, what you get at WL for the extra over a moderate is largely the view. We enjoy the view in the lobby, the courtyard, and especially Bay Lake. Having a room that opens to the lobby is neat for us, but perhaps a higher floor would be more isolated from the WCC noise. We also enjoy RF compared to other deluxe QS locations, but totally agree that the Moderates have more to offer in that regard.

Several sites & threads on the board have mentioned a change coming to all WDW pools - they will all be fenced in & gate for resort guests only. They will also only be open while lifeguards are present.

I love the WL pool area, and while I'm in favor of keeping non-resort guests out, I really don't see how they can fence the pool area in. The boardwalk from the dock goes right through the pool area before following the stream up to the lobby. I really don't see how Disney is going to do this. Does anyone have any ideas?

I suppose only time will tell, but I would sure hope that the walkway to the boats and the upper silver creek falls area would remain open to guests 24 hours a day. The most problematic area I see for fencing is near the bridge by the hot tubs and Trout Pass. Hopefully the bridge will always be open, which in my opinion would lead to a very visible fence between the bar and the pool. Fortunately on the North side of the pool the landscaping forms a bit of a barrier between the main walkway to the boats and the pool area, so there won't be too wide of a fence / gate area with a big visual impact, but it will be a change. Fencing the Hidden Springs pool looks relatively simple, but could lead to a longer walk around to get to/from the beach and boat dock from the Villas. We will see what they end up doing.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Several sites & threads on the board have mentioned a change coming to all WDW pools - they will all be fenced in & gate for resort guests only. They will also only be open while lifeguards are present.

I love the WL pool area, and while I'm in favor of keeping non-resort guests out, I really don't see how they can fence the pool area in. The boardwalk from the dock goes right through the pool area before following the stream up to the lobby. I really don't see how Disney is going to do this. Does anyone have any ideas?

Don't even want to begin to speculate!

 

[BwoZoo22]

I just customized my MBs and chose my FP+ for Nov 2-7 WL stay! November is OPEN! (No, there is still no purple...)

 

[bmay]

That's great. We check in on Nov 9th and we still don't have access to Magic Bands or FPP. Hope the emails come soon!!!

 

[BwoZoo22]

That's great. We check in on Nov 9th and we still don't have access to Magic Bands or FPP. Hope the emails come soon!!!

I didn't receive any notification, just listened to other threads. I modified my check in (with no changes), logged out, logged back in, and poof I had "Personalize Magic Bands" available on my sidebar menu! Going with orange and green. (No purple... )

 

[rhondakg]

I didn't receive any notification, just listened to other threads. I modified my check in (with no changes), logged out, logged back in, and poof I had "Personalize Magic Bands" available on my sidebar menu! Going with orange and green. (No purple... )

This might be a silly question but how do you modify w/no changes? I have 13 days before I can do online check in and my vaca is not until Dec 6 anyway so just going on 60 days - so it is not even available yet (since Nov just opened) I just don't want to miss my opportunity -
1) How many days are you out for your vacation? (I need a #, I see that you are 1 mth, 1 wk and 2 days)
2) How do you modify w/out changes....
PLEASE HELP ALL OF US NEWBIES....

OHHH and congrats to you for your mb - this must make you very happy!!

 

[lffam]

When you do online check-in, you aren't really checking in. All you are doing is providing information before you arrive that you normally provide when you arrive and check in. You will confirm your personal information and provide a credit card for room charging privileges. Then when you arrive, your information packet and KTTWs are printed and ready for you.



You will still get that even if you do online check in. After you get the run down, you can ask as many questions as you need to.



Not really. There is a different line if you did online check in, but it's in the same area. And you can definitely ask about being the Flag Family.

Enjoy!

thanks for the very useful info dansdad, much appreciated!

 

[BwoZoo22]

This might be a silly question but how do you modify w/no changes? I have 13 days before I can do online check in and my vaca is not until Dec 6 anyway so just going on 60 days - so it is not even available yet (since Nov just opened) I just don't want to miss my opportunity -
1) How many days are you out for your vacation? (I need a #, I see that you are 1 mth, 1 wk and 2 days)
2) How do you modify w/out changes....
PLEASE HELP ALL OF US NEWBIES....

OHHH and congrats to you for your mb - this must make you very happy!!

I am now officailly at 39 days to check in. When you click on modify check in (after you have done the check in at 60 days) it basically goes through the same screens as the original check in process, and you just keep hitting next. Sometimes an error appears, sometimes not, but for some reason this seems to kick things in gear for those of us wanting to do MB and FP+ ASAP.

 

[webprinter]

3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that today is over, we only have 3 also! Can't wait!!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I didn't receive any notification, just listened to other threads. I modified my check in (with no changes), logged out, logged back in, and poof I had "Personalize Magic Bands" available on my sidebar menu! Going with orange and green. (No purple... )

Me too!!!!!

I had to check in a few times because it was erroring out..but finally got them!!! I am so happy!!!

 

[rhondakg]

I am now officailly at 39 days to check in. When you click on modify check in (after you have done the check in at 60 days) it basically goes through the same screens as the original check in process, and you just keep hitting next. Sometimes an error appears, sometimes not, but for some reason this seems to kick things in gear for those of us wanting to do MB and FP+ ASAP.

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR QUICK RESPONSE.....this helps alleviate some of my anxiety So very happy for you!!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I check in on Nov 30th and am at 67 days out. I suppose I need to wait until we are at least 60 days out before I can hope to personalize the MB's. But I am very excited to know that we will have them for our trip.

 

[sweetnjmom]

I was able to set up my Fast Pass + but nothing was there about Magic Bands. Do I have to do the online check-in for that to show up? I arrive on 11/11.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Checking in tomorrow. Flight leaves in 13 hours!!!!!!!!!


I note that there will be lots of rain tomorrow. What is a good way for a family to spend a few hours on a rainy afternoon at the Lodge?

 

[madgali2000]

October 30th can't get here quick enough!!!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I was able to set up my Fast Pass + but nothing was there about Magic Bands. Do I have to do the online check-in for that to show up? I arrive on 11/11.

That was the first thing I saw.. At the bottom of my reservation page..go to my Disney experience.. Click on your name and it was there on the right

 

[sweetnjmom]

That was the first thing I saw.. At the bottom of my reservation page..go to my Disney experience.. Click on your name and it was there on the right

I see nothing on the bottom of my reservation page. All my ADRs are there. And oddly my Park Hoppers are listed twice. Resort. And the FastPass+ too. But no Magic Bands.

Hopefully they'll show up soon!

And does anyone know if you can still do FP+ if you DON'T get the Magic Bands?

 

[Jedimike]

wow! Cool!!! I started having chest pain when I saw you were driving from Tx on Thursday and leaving on Saturday...lol. Glad you get to add a few extra days!

Yeah, I wasn't feeling good about 1000 miles each way for one day at MNSSHP, so my next plan was to spend a second day (Saturday) at MK...but then the theme park ticket wasn't economical...which is how we ended up with four full days at the parks

Oh my gosh that sounds like the best change in trip plans ever!

I agree, thanks! Cool that you're from Louisville -- I went to high school near Ft. Knox, 30 miles south of you in Hardin County!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I see nothing on the bottom of my reservation page. All my ADRs are there. And oddly my Park Hoppers are listed twice. Resort. And the FastPass+ too. But no Magic Bands.

Hopefully they'll show up soon!

And does anyone know if you can still do FP+ if you DON'T get the Magic Bands?

People are reporting that they can make fp+'s even if they don't have the Magic Band option yet. I think you need to have tickets linked and be 60 days out or less, and it can work. Good luck.

 

[Eric in TX]

I'm making FP+ reservations now for Nov 1 check in.

MB's are active, too. And as of this evening, they're telling me that I have 8 days to customize them.

We did not have to modify our check in or anything like that....it all just popped up this evening.

Good luck everybody!