(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~2014~

[WDWKOOK]

Checked in this morning. Upgraded from standard room to 5th floor pool view with bunk beds. Had to ask about Blizzard Beach tickets but once we did, they were added to all of our magic bands at no charge and we spent a fabulous day there!!! Hope the pixie dust continues...

Thank you for the update on the BB tix and I hope your has indeed continued.

Just about ready to pass the baton to the next chronicler. We check out tomorrow. It's been a wonderful vacation, but we're not spring chickens anymore and can't take much more of this fun!

Really haven't heard a lot of noise from the wall going up. The area directly behind where the chairs are lined up on the beach is where the heavy vehicles and materials were moving through, so we could hear that when we were at the Villas pool. This afternoon was the only time we heard any noise in our CV room, and that was just a couple of bursts from a high powered screwdriver as they finished up the wall along the first floor south CV rooms.

This past week was low crowds, and the Villas pool was never crowded. One CM guesstimated about a 30% occupancy.

Now that the wall is completely surrounding the work area, I think you can only pass from one side of the Lodge to the other by going through the lobby or between the door at the courtyard side corner of the building near Roaring Forks, across the little bridge near the top of the waterfall and into a door in the south wing there.

The stream and waterfall are beautifully flowing along.


So this now makes two of us who had to ask to get the Blizzard Beach tickets. Hope they start consistently offering this.

Off for some last minute fun!

We loved your updates and first photos of the pool rehab. 30% occupancy? Yikes! They should be slashing prices to fill them at that rate, but maybe that figure includes many rooms taken out of inventory in the CY?

I hope your transition to non-vacation mode and reality was a smooth one.

Does anyone know if the Old Faithful Club has bottle water you can get?

None of the CLs really offer small bottles of water anymore. A couple might still have some, but most have phased it out. I was told at YC in June that when their remaining stock was depleted, they would no longer be offering small bottles of water. Sometimes, guests are able to get some by-request, but that is now the exception and not the norm and may only be because they have remaining stock.

Based on the tracks in the sand, my guess is that the blocked off part of the beach is being used to move the equipment into the construction area. There is a road that runs somewhere behind the marina building. There is no other way to get the construction equipment into that area except through that access road.

This is just a guess. I'm sure about the north side, I'm just not sure if the exit door from the south wing is closed off or not. I know that you can't walk across the courtyard from the south wing to the north wing.

That's correct. In July, they were storing wood and scraps there from the repairs they were doing to the covered section of the boat dock. The trucks were using the route which starts behind the marina and goes out to the FW service road. It was a bit of a surprise jogging along Bay Lake one morning and then being confronted by trucks and CM golf carts on what is normally a deserted area.

I'm glad to hear it is working out for you and that you're having a nice trip. That view isn't bad at all yet. Below is the IMG code for that image so it should show up inline:


Thanks for sharing.

Nice job fixing the link and thank you to the OP for the photo

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, and I did try to review the previous pages for the answer to my question but there are a lot of pages and it just got to be too much.

I have read conflicting information regarding faxing room requests. I've been reading on other websites that the resorts just throw out room request faxes, and I'm wondering if this is true... does the Wilderness Lodge accept faxes for room requests, and if so, when should I fax my request?

If I am able to fax, is the correct number 407-824-3232?

I have a woods bunk bed view booked. I would like our room to open up to the main lobby. I would also like to see the tippy top of Cinderella's castle through the trees.

Should I request highest floor, woods view facing Magic Kingdom, opening to the main lobby? Should I try to specifically request the sixth floor?

Thank you so very much, in advance, for your help!
Stacie

Just want to also you to the DIS and the thread, Stacie! Did you add your request to your reservation yet?

Thinking of booking a stay at WL for DW's birthday in February. Does anyone have recent experience with the Deluxe CL rooms? Some of the posts I've read are pretty negative. We've stayed CL at WL before, but not in a deluxe room.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

You may have already read about my experience. We had our first Deluxe Room stay in June/July and I posted some thoughts and photos HERE. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Hi all. DH and I are returning to WL for an Adult Only trip this Christmas!
It was a struggle to pick a resort but WL won out as I know it wows at Christmas . It's DH's first trip at Christmas, my 2nd and both of our 2nd trip WL. We are staying Woods View, 12/7 to 12/12

Congratulations! I'll add your dates to the Lodgers' Log

This pretty much nails it, if you just extend the lines to the left and across the pathway down to the marina. You have to walk across the construction access roadway to get to the marina, and there are fences lining that road in both directions.

We really enjoyed our stay, and made it safely home to the upper left hand side of the country yesterday. My suitcase decided to stay an extra night in Dallas, though. I hope my tiara makes it home safely today!

Joan and Gordon

I hope your suitcase and your tiara had some fun in the Big D. So are you in the pinky or more like the thumb of the NW? Thanks again for all your timely updates and can we send you back after Thanksgiving to give us a follow-up report?

They have set up a small, sorta makeshift bar at the Villas pool near the entrance to Health Club/Restrooms.

This is great information - thank you! I will add this to the update in POST 2.

Hello all!! Maybe this has been discussed before, but I thought I have read somewhere (can't remember where) that there would be more construction at WL for DVC in the future. Does anyone know when that may begin? When is the current construction going to be completed? My family and I have a reservation for 2 weeks at WL in June 2015, so I am just curious. Thanks, in advance!!

No permits (that I know of) have been filed. This is just a rumor, as of right now. The rumor is that the Deluxe Rooms may be converted into DVC villas. Don't worry about it impacting your June vacation

Hey folks--just a quick note. We are here now and the place is gorgeous and very friendly! Stream and waterfall working. Geyser startle the crap out of us a few minutes ago! I'll try to post pics later. This is our first stay at WL, first time to WDW. Very pleased so far with the lodge and the CL service.

Great update and enjoy the OFC!

Hi we have just checked in, had a bit of a nightmare with our two rooms as one was located on the 5th floor south side and the other on the 2nd floor north side. They have taken a lot of rooms out of use that face the pool, due to the refurb. Sitting outside roaring forks and the jackhammering work has started. It's very loud....

Did you get the rooms closer together? Are they providing free ear plugs?! I hope you can find a nice quiet refuge from the noise. The lobby of VWL is very peaceful

We're here now. Love our room. Fireworks view. Construction hasn't bothered or inconvenienced us.

If you buy a new magic band though, we've had problems with opening the doors to our room. The old ones they shipped to us work fine.

The MBs are structurally all the same. In order for your room door to open, your account must be enabled to open it. If you haven't been assigned a room number and/or the CM hasn't properly linked your room number to all your MBs, then they won't work. Each MB has a unique number on the back. The same problem can occur if the CM hasn't properly linked your MBs to open all "common doors" at your resort. I hope everything got straightened out and you're enjoying your stay.

 

[urbanhooligan]

Heading in on Friday for my first stay at the WL and a not so scary weekend... The construction is a little disappointing but nothing that will dampen my fun. Really looking forward to it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

They have taken a lot of rooms out of use that face the pool, due to the refurb. Sitting outside roaring forks and the jackhammering work has started. It's very loud....

I'm glad to hear that they have taken a lot of rooms out of use, since that means that they are less likely to give someone one of those noisy rooms.

The jack-hammering was supposed to last for about two weeks. So hopefully it is finished by the end of September.

 

[dkrauss]

Heading in on Friday for my first stay at the WL and a not so scary weekend... The construction is a little disappointing but nothing that will dampen my fun. Really looking forward to it!

We're in on Monday and feel the same way!!!!!! Have a great trip!

Doug

 

[corvidae]

Thanks for the update. Could you let us know when or if you see real construction, with lots of noise. Thanks. The DVC construction sounds very speculative to me. The villas rooms have recently been refurbished. The main pool will be all finished by December, and I think June of 2015 will be a great time to stay at the WL and VWL.

So far, we have found the construction fairly unobtrusive. We were at The Disneylamd Hotel a few years go when the did their refurbishment of the pool area and it was a LOT more inconvenient, so I'm very pleased with this experience. We are on the 7th floor overlooking the Villas, so we don't hear any of it, but I wouldn't swear that to be the case in other rooms. We see the walls when we walk down to the boat to Magic Kingdom, but it seems fairly fluid to us. We did go up on the ledge/fort thingy that overlooks the waterfall the first evening, and you can see all the construction and pool area from there. Looks pretty much like one would expect.

Haven't been around during the day much, so we haven't heard jack hammering. I think the patio are outside Roaring Forks likely gets noisy during the day, but given the ridiculous heat and humidity (there's a reason I live in a desert!), I can't imagine why one would want to sit out there until at least evening, and the construction folks all appear to be gone by then. Haven't been down to the beach beach use we just got here last night and haven't had time.

My boys are loving this place and all the CMs have been uber nice to them. I really have no complaints so far. The CL folks have gone out of their way to accommodate my middle son's food allergies. I don't find the CL as nice or well stocked as the one at the Disneyland Hotel, but it is still very nice and has nice seating arrangement overlooking the wonderful lobby. Love the stream, love the waterfall, love the forestry feel all around. I had serious reservations about staying here when we found out about the construction, but now I am very happy we didn't switch--there is no other place that would have suited my boys better. I really want to post some of the pictures we've taken, but I have to get my kids to slow down long enough for me to figure out how!

 

[Dumbo Mad]

Thanks Kook, yes we managed to get the rooms closer together, one on the 4th floor north and the other on the 5th, so not too bad. Everyone was really great they will move my father in a couple of days to the room next door to us.

Just to let you know that part of the beach is open, but you have to access it down by the villas. We watched the water pageant last night from the beach and then had a great view of wishes from our balcony. The resort is so beautiful even with the refurb.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Love the stream, love the waterfall, love the forestry feel all around. I had serious reservations about staying here when we found out about the construction, but now I am very happy we didn't switch--there is no other place that would have suited my boys better. I really want to post some of the pictures we've taken, but I have to get my kids to slow down long enough for me to figure out how!

I'm happy to hear this. We are looking forward to our trip next month in spite of the construction. The lodge is just so gorgeous and the woodsy area is very appealing to us.

Just to let you know that part of the beach is open, but you have to access it down by the villas. We watched the water pageant last night from the beach and then had a great view of wishes from our balcony. The resort is so beautiful even with the refurb.

That is great news about the beach. I love watching Wishes from the beach if we can't see it from our room, and I'm really glad that I will still be able to see them. There will be three Halloween parties during our five night stay, so I'll get plenty of chances to watch them. We might even go to one of the parties. One of the best things about staying at the WL is how easy it is to get back to the resort from MK after Wishes. The boats are always right there, ready to take us "home".

 

[Fracfam4]

Can anyone give me any advice as to which is better? I would really like to have connecting rooms for my family. Do you think it is better to go ahead and check in online and make the request or try to work it out when we get there. It is already noted in my reservation. TIA.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Can anyone give me any advice as to which is better? I would really like to have connecting rooms for my family. Do you think it is better to go ahead and check in online and make the request or try to work it out when we get there. It is already noted in my reservation. TIA.

We did well doing online checkin after we had the connecting room request noted in our reservation. I don't see much disadvantage to online checkin since you can always go to the front desk if you don't like the rooms you were given, and the room locations are likely assigned ahead of time either way. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[ocalla]

oK, I see where the pool refurb is scheduled to be finished at the end of November. Are the rooms/Lobby etc. getting any refurbishing also? If so, what are the approximate finish dates for those?

Really enjoyed our stay here, and might want to stay again during the holidays!!

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

oK, I see where the pool refurb is scheduled to be finished at the end of November. Are the rooms/Lobby etc. getting any refurbishing also? If so, what are the approximate finish dates for those?

Really enjoyed our stay here, and might want to stay again during the holidays!!

No, it's just the pool area.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Heading in on Friday for my first stay at the WL and a not so scary weekend... The construction is a little disappointing but nothing that will dampen my fun. Really looking forward to it!

I hope you have a great vacation, in spite of the pool rehab.

We're in on Monday and feel the same way!!!!!! Have a great trip!

Doug

Will you be able to post live, Doug? Your trip is almost here!!

So far, we have found the construction fairly unobtrusive. We were at The Disneylamd Hotel a few years go when the did their refurbishment of the pool area and it was a LOT more inconvenient, so I'm very pleased with this experience. We are on the 7th floor overlooking the Villas, so we don't hear any of it, but I wouldn't swear that to be the case in other rooms. We see the walls when we walk down to the boat to Magic Kingdom, but it seems fairly fluid to us. We did go up on the ledge/fort thingy that overlooks the waterfall the first evening, and you can see all the construction and pool area from there. Looks pretty much like one would expect.

Haven't been around during the day much, so we haven't heard jack hammering. I think the patio are outside Roaring Forks likely gets noisy during the day, but given the ridiculous heat and humidity (there's a reason I live in a desert!), I can't imagine why one would want to sit out there until at least evening, and the construction folks all appear to be gone by then. Haven't been down to the beach beach use we just got here last night and haven't had time.

My boys are loving this place and all the CMs have been uber nice to them. I really have no complaints so far. The CL folks have gone out of their way to accommodate my middle son's food allergies. I don't find the CL as nice or well stocked as the one at the Disneyland Hotel, but it is still very nice and has nice seating arrangement overlooking the wonderful lobby. Love the stream, love the waterfall, love the forestry feel all around. I had serious reservations about staying here when we found out about the construction, but now I am very happy we didn't switch--there is no other place that would have suited my boys better. I really want to post some of the pictures we've taken, but I have to get my kids to slow down long enough for me to figure out how!

What a great live TR. Thank you for posting about the rehab and your impressions in general.

Thanks Kook, yes we managed to get the rooms closer together, one on the 4th floor north and the other on the 5th, so not too bad. Everyone was really great they will move my father in a couple of days to the room next door to us.

Just to let you know that part of the beach is open, but you have to access it down by the villas. We watched the water pageant last night from the beach and then had a great view of wishes from our balcony. The resort is so beautiful even with the refurb.

Thank you for posting about the beach being open and that you were able to watch the EWP from there last night. I hope the rest of your stay is magical.

Can anyone give me any advice as to which is better? I would really like to have connecting rooms for my family. Do you think it is better to go ahead and check in online and make the request or try to work it out when we get there. It is already noted in my reservation. TIA.

Just adding that you can go ahead and do OCI and it won't hurt anything. It will allow you to input credit card information so that will be one less task at check-in. If you do make any "room amenity" requests, just make sure they aren't different from those already in your reservation. The Room Assignor will see ALL your requests, but if they conflict in any way, that could cancel them out them.

oK, I see where the pool refurb is scheduled to be finished at the end of November. Are the rooms/Lobby etc. getting any refurbishing also? If so, what are the approximate finish dates for those?

Really enjoyed our stay here, and might want to stay again during the holidays!!

All WL rooms were rehabbed two years ago this month and all villas were rehabbed at the beginning of this year. The lobby is not undergoing any refurbishment. The Silver Creek was under construction and the bridge over it in the lobby was closed, but it re-opened at the end of July.

 

[corvidae]

Gah--I really want to post some pictures for you all to show some of this lovely place and how little the construction really is, but I'm posting from my iPhone and don't have the time to figure out how to do it! If anyone can point me to a quick tutorial, I'd be happy to post some pics!

 

[XtraEdGe]

When we were there last month, A CM told me that they're changing the WL logo. Everything from the signs to shirts.

Here are the tops that replaced the old ones I wanted the old ones and a CM got one from the back before they got rid of them.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Gah--I really want to post some pictures for you all to show some of this lovely place and how little the construction really is, but I'm posting from my iPhone and don't have the time to figure out how to do it! If anyone can point me to a quick tutorial, I'd be happy to post some pics!

The process isn't too bad from an iphone, but you have to have somewhere like photobucket to upload the pics to. I use photobucket and upload pics from my phone using the photobucket app, then copy the IMG code for each image from the app and paste it in a DIS post. It isn't terrible, but might take longer to set up than you want on vacation.

When we were there last month, A CM told me that they're changing the WL logo. Everything from the signs to shirts.

Here are the tops that replaced the old ones I wanted the old ones and a CM got one from the back before they got rid of them.

Wow, that is different. I am glad to see that there still is resort specific merchandise though, and I'll take it with either logo. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

The process isn't too bad from an iphone, but you have to have somewhere like photobucket to upload the pics to. I use photobucket and upload pics from my phone using the photobucket app, then copy the IMG code for each image from the app and paste it in a DIS post. It isn't terrible, but might take longer to set up than you want on vacation.



Wow, that is different. I am glad to see that there still is resort specific merchandise though, and I'll take it with either logo. Thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure I like the red, but it's better than not having resort merchandise!

 

[elaw]

Thank you to everyone for your patience

Today's TR installment will feature photos of and thoughts on Deluxe room 5123. This room sits two floors directly underneath the Presidential Suite. In addition to all standard room amenities, it has an additional very small balcony off the master bedroom (without chairs), additional small windows in the master bedroom and living room, a large armoire (more on this later), an additional pocket door to the bathroom (Jack & Jill style), a queen sleeper, an extra TV on a table with one drawer that's large enough for clothing, a coffee table and lamp, wet bar area with a small counter and mirror, an under the sink cabinet and fridge and two easy chairs. There is also an additional thermostat. The room did not have a ceiling fan at all, which all standard rooms and suites have. In its place was a ceiling light. This room did have a connecting door.

We stayed at YC-CL from 6/22 - 6/25 then moved over to Bay Lake the morning of 6/25. We were so excited to get to the Lodge that we arrived at 8:30! We were booked in a Standard CL room from 6/25 - 7/3. Our first night, we stayed in 7035. This is the mirror image of 7127 in the South Wing which is our favorite room. I requested both rooms in hopes of getting either. We were very happy in 7035 and so grateful to be in it, even though everything was backwards. Both rooms are furthest from the lounge and besides the two suites, are the only two rooms on the 7th floor that directly front the WL CY. 7035 has a partial marina view off to the right and 7127 has a partial dock view instead. 7035 does have a connecting door to the VP Suite, but 7127 does not have a connecting door to the Pres. Suite.

On our first night, we were informed that the resort was at 100% occupancy and a guest who was on the 5th floor was very displeased because her Deluxe room was not on the 7th floor as she had expected and she wanted to move to the 7th floor. None of the Deluxe rooms are on the 7th floor; the 25 Deluxe rooms are only on floors 1-6. After mentioning that we'd be happy to switch with her, the next morning we received a call that the unhappy occupant would like to take our room on the 7th floor and would we be willing to switch? Of course! WL staff seemed pleased that this would be a win-win for all parties involved. They were very generous in thanking us for switching and we were so excited to stay in a Deluxe room for the first time. I'd like to report that our excitement with this room continued throughout our stay, but it unfortunately did not.

I hope no one takes my negative comments as ungrateful, but instead views them as honest observations about this particular room, during our one week stay in it. YMMV.

We first noticed that the room was not nearly as clean as CL rooms or standard rooms on other floors we've stayed in.

~Caulk around the tub was missing in spots, which made for gaps between the wall and tub and most of the caulk was rotten/moldy. We mentioned this to a CL CM who made a call and the tub was re-caulked the next day. This was a huge improvement, but should not have gotten to this point in the first place.

~The sliding glass doors were dirty and the laminate floor was extremely slippery as if someone had sprayed furniture polish all over it. There were long streaks and smudges (more furniture polish?) all over the bathroom door and large handprints with a blueish tint (sunscreen?) all over the connecting door. The bathroom floor corners/baseboards were dirty. The bathroom walls had stains and the wall above the baseboard near the pocket door to the master bedroom had what appeared to be coffee(?) splashed all over it. I always sanitize a new room, but this room required extra effort on our part. We wiped down walls and tried as best we could to clean the floors and doors, but the "polish" and "coffee" and most stains didn't come off easily with our Lysol wipes.

All CL rooms receive full turn-down each evening. This includes removal and replacement of wet towels, emptying of the trash, chocolates on the beds and usually the lights are dimmed and curtains closed. If you are staying in a Deluxe room or suite, the sleeper is opened at night.

Our first night we didn't receive turn-down at all. I mentioned this to a CL CM and on our second night we were in the room when the housekeeper knocked quite early, maybe 4:30? When I opened the door, she held out a plastic bag with chocolates and asked if we wanted our beds turned down. I said no thank you, we only needed some fresh towels to replace the wet ones and a full trash can emptied. She held out her bag of chocolates and said, "Only chocolates." I asked if she had her cart nearby since I didn't see it at the door as is usually done on the 7th floor. She replied, "No cart, only chocolates." She told me to call housekeeping if I needed towels. I mentioned this to a CL CM who made a call to request full turn-down the next day.

The next day, we had a housekeeper and her supervisor come while DD was there. They did ask DD if she needed anything and DD just requested some towels which were provided. Not that this will surprise anyone, but on subsequent days, we either didn't receive turn-down or we received "only chocolates." We were told that the 5th floor is short housekeepers and unlike the 7th floor, a different housekeeper is usually cleaning the room everyday, who chose to remain anonymous and not list their name on the housekeeping card by the sinks.

On one of the first few days in the room, we came back to the plastic toilet paper roller removed from the holder in the bathroom and left on top of our toothpaste on the sink. Many Lysol wipes were used after that surprise. One day, we were missing extra toilet paper, the bath floor mat and lotion. I requested them and received them the next cleaning.

About the armoire I mentioned…it literally stunk. It was actually unusable even after spraying it with Lysol. Apparently, this is a known issue and stems from either the wood or the stain used. Either the problem should be fixed or the armoires replaced. There was also a funky smell emanating from the wet bar area. We think it was something that may have been in the sink drain?

I used to bemoan the fact that the Deluxe rooms were never available with an AP or Military rate because we would love to book one. I am ever so grateful for the one week upgrade, but I learned that we wouldn't want to book one. I don't know if our room is representative of all or most Deluxe rooms or if only that room or the other 5th floor room is like it. I can only report on 5123 for the one week we were in it.

The pros and cons of the Deluxe room, IMHO:


PROS:
Gorgeous WL CY view of the pool area, geyser and Bay Lake.

Two balconies.

See-through balcony railings.

Separate room with French doors for added privacy.

Wet bar area with mirror is great for teen girls



CONS:
No ceiling fans. But, we were able to request a floor fan. We like the noise of a fan, but the thermostat doesn't have a "fan on" option in the Deluxe rooms.

This particular room was not as clean as 7th floor rooms and others we've been in.

Turn-down was skipped or not a full turn-down like on the 7th floor.

The Deluxe rooms have connecting doors and guests above you so we found it noisy at times. The 7th floor has no guests above and some rooms are available without a connecting door.

We really missed not being on the 7th floor and felt very disconnected from CL.

If we had paid for the Deluxe room, we didn't feel it was worth the added cost over a Standard CL room.

The bathroom door opens inward and is configured in such a way that you much completely close the door anytime you enter the toilet/shower area. The door wouldn't stay fully open and would slowly partly close with a loud creaking. Just a bit awkward and different from Standard rooms.

Our stuff was in storage after we switched rooms and I didn't have my camera with me to take photos before we occupied the room. I only had my iPhone, which accounts for the poorer quality of most of the photos.


​

Kook,

I sure hope things have changed by the time we get there in a few months ... We've booked a deluxe room for the first week of December. We've requested 6123 again but you never know what you are going to end up with.

 

[BlueFairy]

When we were there last month, A CM told me that they're changing the WL logo. Everything from the signs to shirts.

Here are the tops that replaced the old ones I wanted the old ones and a CM got one from the back before they got rid of them.

I guess I got the old one. It's the WL building. Very un-Disney, which is why I like it. It's also a neutral color. I like this bear but the color choices are awful.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

There is a link to the Private Dining menu HERE at the end of the DINING/MENU page. These are the changes from 2013 to 2014:

The Western Salad is now a Caesar.

A Pulled Pork Sandwich and a Continental Breakfast have been added.

The Charcuterie Platter and Glazed Chicken Lollipops have been replaced with a Cheese Plate and Buffalo Wings.

Thanks! i think i read this on the phone and forgot to say thank you!

 

[bellerino]

Thank you all for your advice on the room request. We are staying at the lodge Oct 2 - Oct 9. I haven't had a chance yet to call to add the request to my reservation. I did originally add a request when I booked the trip, but I will call back to make sure the request is still on there.

Am I correct that the only option when doing the online check in was to request a high floor? I did not see an area where I could type any other special request.

Thanks again!
Stacie