Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

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Life has been so hectic and crazy lately. Went to WDW in November, but did end up staying at Riverside and not the Lodge. We all agreed, we are not changing from the Lodge this year. However, with bounceback NOT being offered for our beloved November, we will be headed to the Lodge from 8/26 -9/1. I haven't had time to even read all these posts, but looking forward to going back and catching up.
 
Hi all! I have been a lurker on this thread since we decided to book at Wilderness Lodge a few months ago! It's been almost 20 years since I have stayed here (and I was a kid then!) so we are pretty much "first timers" in my mind.

My husband and I are midway into our stay at Wilderness Lodge now and love it!

We are in a courtyard view room and have barely noticed any construction. From our balcony we can see the main pool, the geyser and Bay Lake. Way far off to the right we can see a bit of the beach that has been cleared.

Construction noise hasn't been a problem at all, and we have been in the room well past their start time of 9am. In fact, the loudest noises we have heard were from the water parade, which we had an awesome view of from our room!

The elevators by Roaring Fork haven't been an issue at all for us, but I can see where a family that has a stroller etc could be frustrated that those are the only elevators open because they do seem a bit small to me. However we haven't had a problem having to wait a long time for an elevator to come or anything like that.

The resort is definitely less busy than I imagine it would be if all of the rooms were open, but that has made for shorter lines at Roaring Fork and the bus stops, so it hasn't bothered us.

All in all, we are having a great stay at the Lodge, and I wouldn't hesitate to book again even with construction!


Headed to WL April 17, with 4 and 2 year olds. Wondering about the bus transportation vs boat to MK. Spoiled by Contemporary and being able to walk to MK last year...
 
Headed to WL April 17, with 4 and 2 year olds. Wondering about the bus transportation vs boat to MK. Spoiled by Contemporary and being able to walk to MK last year...
The bus is faster but the boat is more fun. The bus takes about five minutes and the boat takes about 12 minutes. Both are direct and don't go to other resorts. :)
 
The bus is faster but the boat is more fun. The bus takes about five minutes and the boat takes about 12 minutes. Both are direct and don't go to other resorts. :)
Thanks! We will most likely take the bus to MK in the morning bc we have 8:10 reservations at BOG, and maybe the boats back to WL for naps.
 


Thanks! We will most likely take the bus to MK in the morning bc we have 8:10 reservations at BOG, and maybe the boats back to WL for naps.

We took the boat to Contemporary once and walked to MK for an early ADR, just as another option. The bus would be quicker though. My husband and kids are obsessed with the boats though.
 
Thanks! I just saw that; I wasn't aware that the boat would run that early! My boys will love the boat too!
 


Thanks! I just saw that; I wasn't aware that the boat would run that early! My boys will love the boat too!

I want to say the Contemporary boat actually runs earlier than the MK one, but it's been a while since we're were last at WL.
 
Hi all, we are at WL right now. It is our first stay, and while I like our bunk bed room, both the husband and I are having some regrets about staying here.

It took the kids (2 & 7) FOREVER to fall asleep with the blaring of boat horns right outside our room. Then, the finally dozed off, and got a good 30 minutes of sleep in, when the electric water parade started. It sounded like the music was blaring right in our room. It was SO loud. Both kids woke up. We can't do that every night. Is this normal? We stayed at Poly last time, and I don't remember ever hearing either of these things from our room.

Also, here is a shot of our lovely woods view, haha. (not too bothered by that, as we knew about construction when we booked, and we don't spend a whole lot of time gazing out there).
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Super late with this, but thank you for posting your great photo, @BeccaM:)

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This picture was taken Tuesday morning, Jan 12, 2016. As you can see, there isn't any construction in the inner courtyard area. But I notice that the trees are getting bigger, which would block the view of Bay Lake from some of the rooms.

Thank you for posting so many great photos recently. Those trees have been growing "wild" for years now it seems. The view, especially from the upper floors, like the 7th, have really been obstructed by them. Of course, it's moot now that the CL window is blocked, but it still obstructs other direct CY views.

I believe construction goes until 2017.

Yes, April 2017.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I am checking into the WL, Club Level on February 3rd. I now know what to expect, which will really help. I am disappointed now, but have time to get over it in 3 weeks. I hope they move the Lounge by then to the Yosemite Suite! That could actually be a fun thing. I did like having the lounge on the same floor as my room, so who knows how this will work out. We have a Standard View Club Level room. Anyway, thanks again!

I hope you'll post soon about your experience. It's easy to mix this up, but the booking is actually a Standard Club Level Room and not a view. There are no bookable OFC views, but you can make a request for a North Wing Courtyard or Woods/Wishes view.



When I asked why they were blocking off the windows I got two different explanations. One CM side that they were going to replace the hallway carpet and didn't want the guests to see the work in progress. Another CM told me that they closed off half of the resort for tax purposes - because it would save more money to have half the resort shut down than to close down only sections of it.

Thank you for even more great photos!

Interesting comment about the "tax benefit" of closing one wing, but I don't think I'm buying that one:scratchin

Hi all! I have been a lurker on this thread since we decided to book at Wilderness Lodge a few months ago! It's been almost 20 years since I have stayed here (and I was a kid then!) so we are pretty much "first timers" in my mind.

My husband and I are midway into our stay at Wilderness Lodge now and love it!

We are in a courtyard view room and have barely noticed any construction. From our balcony we can see the main pool, the geyser and Bay Lake. Way far off to the right we can see a bit of the beach that has been cleared.

Construction noise hasn't been a problem at all, and we have been in the room well past their start time of 9am. In fact, the loudest noises we have heard were from the water parade, which we had an awesome view of from our room!

The elevators by Roaring Fork haven't been an issue at all for us, but I can see where a family that has a stroller etc could be frustrated that those are the only elevators open because they do seem a bit small to me. However we haven't had a problem having to wait a long time for an elevator to come or anything like that.

The resort is definitely less busy than I imagine it would be if all of the rooms were open, but that has made for shorter lines at Roaring Fork and the bus stops, so it hasn't bothered us.

All in all, we are having a great stay at the Lodge, and I wouldn't hesitate to book again even with construction!

Thank you for posting LIVE! I'm glad you're enjoying your stay and you haven't had any noise issues. Have any of the closed amenities bothered you, such as the Cub's Den, marina, trails, spa, campfire…?

Hello from WL CL. Wanted to let you know that we arrived yesterday and I am very pleased. Many thanks to wood nymph for preparing us about the the lounge. It remains along the hallway and is cramped but the cast members are going well out of their way to make us comfortable.

Knowing before hand made all the difference. Thank you all for sharing your experience.
I have only two things to add that that haven't already been posted.

We received a call the night before we arrived from Doug. Welcoming us and wishing us safe travel.
We also got a gorgeous castle view. It is truly magical. I had never cared about views in the past. So this has blown me away.

Welcome and thank you for posting about your OFC stay. Very nice they're calling guests:thumbsup2

I made Artist's Point's berry cobbler last night as a treat while we looked over all the videos and tips for staying at VWL. :)

How fun! I hope you had some ice cream, too;)

Life has been so hectic and crazy lately. Went to WDW in November, but did end up staying at Riverside and not the Lodge. We all agreed, we are not changing from the Lodge this year. However, with bounceback NOT being offered for our beloved November, we will be headed to the Lodge from 8/26 -9/1. I haven't had time to even read all these posts, but looking forward to going back and catching up.

Welcome back! As long as DS has his Aerobed, I think he'll be a happy camper;). Is he okay with all the closures? I'll add your dates to the Log:)

We're staying 12/5 - 12/8! Our first time at WL and our first time seeing it decked out for Christmas!

How fun! Congratulations and welcome to the thread. I'll log your dates:)

I want to say the Contemporary boat actually runs earlier than the MK one, but it's been a while since we're were last at WL.
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CR's starts 10 minutes later:
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Hi all! We checked in 1/23 and the construction is progressing... Looks like they are doing some sort of work on the south side 4th and 5th floor rooms. Here is the view of the construction from our room 5013.
 

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Here are a couple more pictures...
 

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What?! I thought CY view rooms would be shielded from construction. I can see plenty of construction from your room! This may be a game changer.
The scaffolding was just on the end of the south side when we checked in, but now, as you can see, it is wrapping around to the inner courtyard... There is definitely work being done inside the rooms in the south wing.
 
We have been tentatively planning a Christmas 2016 trip to Disney for a few months. We've been back and forth about the construction and now that it's nearly time to book, I think we've come to a decision.

Wood Nymph's photos of the lobby being blocked off on the south side interior really sealed the deal for me. This just wouldn't be a trip to Wilderness Lodge. It's something else right now, and my guess is that I wouldn't like it in comparison. We've always stayed CL and those changes just look terrible to me as well.

So, we'll talk more as a family but I believe the consensus will be to delay for a year and hope that construction delays don't run into December 2017. Hopefully, by that time the work will be finished and the staff will have adjusted to all the new things.

Change is inevitable but those pictures from the lobby really made me sad.
 
What?! I thought CY view rooms would be shielded from construction. I can see plenty of construction from your room! This may be a game changer.

While the inner courtyard view rooms are shielded from the bulk of the new construction, any work on the South wing will be right there for all to see. The hope is that any exterior work will be relatively minor, such as the usual log refurbishment that takes place every few years. I don't think any room at WL will have no visible construction for some time though... At least with the South wing closed you don't have to worry about being right next to that work.
 
While the inner courtyard view rooms are shielded from the bulk of the new construction, any work on the South wing will be right there for all to see. The hope is that any exterior work will be relatively minor, such as the usual log refurbishment that takes place every few years. I don't think any room at WL will have no visible construction for some time though... At least with the South wing closed you don't have to worry about being right next to that work.
I agree! Even though there is visible construction, we are still enjoying our stay and would find it hard to stay elsewhere. A big plus is the resort is half empty!!!
 
So is that a big enough plus to stay there in May? My concern is that this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
I think that it would depend on your expectations. If the WL has been your dream resort and this is a long planned dream stay then you would probably want to change to another resort. In our case, it's "been there, done that" with WL (even CL) and my daughter and I are more focused on easy transportation and a decent room rate.
 
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