Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[Ed134]

In April I booked our December 5th-12th trip for our first stay at the WL. We booked a standard room for me, my wife and our two children(7,5). Yesterday, my Dad said he wanted to come down and surprise the kids for a couple of days, probably 12/8-10. Is it possible to add him to my reservation without being forced into a larger room? I see standard rooms are listed as a maximum occupancy of 4. Is that 4 people total, or 4 adults?

 

[michael's mom]

In April I booked our December 5th-12th trip for our first stay at the WL. We booked a standard room for me, my wife and our two children(7,5). Yesterday, my Dad said he wanted to come down and surprise the kids for a couple of days, probably 12/8-10. Is it possible to add him to my reservation without being forced into a larger room? I see standard rooms are listed as a maximum occupancy of 4. Is that 4 people total, or 4 adults?

I'm pretty sure it's 4 people over the age of 3.

 

[kmorlock]

In April I booked our December 5th-12th trip for our first stay at the WL. We booked a standard room for me, my wife and our two children(7,5). Yesterday, my Dad said he wanted to come down and surprise the kids for a couple of days, probably 12/8-10. Is it possible to add him to my reservation without being forced into a larger room? I see standard rooms are listed as a maximum occupancy of 4. Is that 4 people total, or 4 adults?

It is 4 total unless there is a child/children under 3. If there are more than 2 adults on standard style rooms, there could be an up charge. There are a couple of room types at/near the resort that may work....Deluxe, Studio at VWL now sleeps 5 with a pull down for a small child. The Cabins at FT. Wilderness sleep 6 and have a full kitchen. If you are on a package with tickets and dining, everyone on the reservation will need the same package added for the entire length of stay. You could do a split stay with a couple days on either end of stay in a room type that suits you for that short time.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I'm not sure how the 50% figure was ascertained nor the reasoning that "low occupancy is the reason for DVC conversion." Those statements don't match reality. The fact is, WDW domestic resort occupancy was almost at their highest level ever in 2014 with occupancy rates of nearly 90%, (they hit 90% in '08). The Orlando Sentinel published an article on this in February HERE. WDW Resort occupancy rates for 2013 averaged 81%. In the industry, a 90% occupancy rate is considered about as high an average as you can go due to the logistical constraints (think Tetris) of being able to match all guests in all rooms with the room type and number of nights they desire. The room occupancy rate for off-site lodging in Orlando during the last quarter of 2014 was only 72%.

Just because Disney claims a high 80s occupancy rate doesn't mean that every resort hits that mark. The WL is a fairly small resort, with just over 700 rooms in it. It represents just over 2% of the rooms available at Disney. With its relatively small size, its standalone occupancy is not going to affect Disney's overall occupancy that much. Plus, how many rooms were taken out of inventory in the last year at the WL, with first the pool work, and then whatever they were doing with all the scaffolding, and now with whatever they're doing with those rooms that are under construction in the main lodge? Those rooms that aren't in inventory also aren't taken into account in the published occupancy figures.

I love WL as much as the next person. We've stayed there 3 times in the last 4 years and have our 4th stay planned in October. I consider it to be "home" at Disney and I haven't enjoyed any other resort like I enjoy the WL. But I see no reason to try to sugarcoat what's going on with it. Sure, the DVC conversion is a cash play for Disney, but I don't think that they'd have to go there if the Deluxes, and WL in particular, weren't performing better overall.

 

[wifey]

I always thought they would convert more of the AllStars buildings and make them into suites but that may be too costly for them. I never really liked the rooms in Music much so that could have been done on a larger scale there without impacting too much on the other sections of Sports and Movies. There are only so many options however that they will financially consider worth while.

 

[hstrickland]

Good Morning All!

On our most recent trip to Disney, we were staying at the BCVs but had to venture over to the WL to wander around and check out the new scenery (WL is the hubby's favorite!). I'm a sucker for all the beautiful landscaping around the resort. It did not disappoint!











On a side note....the kids wanted to eat at Whispering Canyon, and quite honestly I wasn't overly excited. HOWEVER...it turned out to be a great meal!!! We've been there several times, and the last couple of visits were just subpar - nothing to write home about. But this time was excellent! The service was outstanding, and the food was much, much better than expected.

Hope everyone has a Happy Wednesday!
Heather

 

[Wood Nymph]

Heather - thanks for posting your pictures. We love the WL, too, and we like to stop by for a visit whenever we are staying at another resort. We are planning to return this winter.

 

[mrs moon]

Hi are you staying at the lodge & does the impeding construction work worry you...

Heather - thanks for posting your pictures. We love the WL, too, and we like to stop by for a visit whenever we are staying at another resort. We are planning to return this winter.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi are you staying at the lodge & does the impeding construction work worry you...

The work doesn't worry me right now because it hasn't happened yet. But I do know that the lodge will be just as gorgeous as it always has been. We stayed in a courtyard view room last Oct during pool construction and it didn't spoil our trip one bit. We stayed at the lodge in January when scaffolding was up on the south side of the inner courtyard and we hardly even noticed that it was there.

Everything we love about the WL will be unchanged during construction except maybe our beloved hiking path to FW that goes along Bay Lake, so we really aren't too concerned about it. And work will be done during the day, so we'll still have a peaceful evening.

 

[mrs moon]

Thank you Wood Nymph....

 

[VictoriaDubai]

We are currently staying at WL and I must say, I am appalled at the service received so far.
I am currently waiting in the room for a phone call to see if we can change rooms due to construction noise. I must point out that I had to firmly tell the receptionist that there was construction below our room as she stated that there is non on the side facing the villas!

The room was shaking early in the morning from what I presume is a Jack hammer!

 

[mrs moon]

that is terrible. i hope you get it sorted soon!!

We are currently staying at WL and I must say, I am appalled at the service received so far.
I am currently waiting in the room for a phone call to see if we can change rooms due to construction noise. I must point out that I had to firmly tell the receptionist that there was construction below our room as she stated that there is non on the side facing the villas!

The room was shaking early in the morning from what I presume is a Jack hammer!

 

[mrs moon]

Do you think Disney will notify guests with an option to change resorts ( my hol is Oct)?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Do you think Disney will notify guests with an option to change resorts ( my hol is Oct)?

They sent out a letter to tell guests about the pool construction last summer. Many guests like us had booked our rooms many months prior to that and were holding reservations that were purchased with discounts, some of which had expired by the time the letter was sent. Many guests chose to switch to different resorts without additional costs. Other guests, like us, decided to stay and we were able to receive a credit of $50 per day for our inconvenience.

There hasn't been a letter sent to guests yet, but they will do their best to accommodate guests who want to change resorts.

ETA: I will admit, though, that it really bothers me that they are doing construction on the ground floor of the south wing facing the villa pools, noisy construction that includes jack-hammering, but yet they don't tell anyone about it.

 

[Abbey71]

Hi. I just returned from 7 nights at WL 6/22 through 6/29. I used Touring Plans and they faxed a room request for me requesting 5th floor inner courtyard. I got room 5047 inner courtyard and it was perfect. I was worried about the room size, thinking it wouldn't be big enough but it was just fine. I even had room to place a blow-up twin air mattress for my son between the bed closest to the balcony and the wall still having plenty of room to move around and clear path to the balcony sliding glass door. The room was very nice and comfortable. I did not see any construction in the area I was in or hear any construction noise from my room. The last day I was there I saw scaffolding and saw construction workers around the pool area. This was around 11 a.m and we were taking the path from the lodge to the ferry dock. I could hear construction noise and there were some barricades up. Like I said I only saw and heard this from the outside, not from my room 5047.
The boat to Magic Kingdom was so nice and quick and less crowded and more comfortable, quick and fun than the buses. The ferry transportation was great and boats came quickly. The bus was okay. Mostly we didn't wait too long for buses, usually 15-20 minutes. However the last day we were going to Epcot around 10:45 a.m.. and the bus was so slow to arrive, around 35 minutes or more at least and then we stopped at Ft. Wilderness to pick up more people before getting to Epcot. Sometimes to other parks we also stopped at either Contemporary or Ft. Wilderness to pick up/drop off before getting to the park. I think if you stay at WL and use the bus you just have to factor in plenty of extra time for that. I saw more buses coming to pick up for Animal Kingdom and the water parks as well as Hollywood Studios than to the other parks. Often the ration of buses arriving for those parks would be 3 to 1 for MK and Epcot.
Overall we had a magical first trip. I loved the Lodge and especially the boat to MK. we also used the boat on our last day to go to Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. I would stay at WL again, but I think next time I want to try BC or other place just for the experience!

 

[mrs moon]

Thanks for that Wood Nymph.You are a GREAT help on here.....

 

[VictoriaDubai]

If you are unfortunately located on the south wing, you will hear construction noise. It is clear to see that the hotel is currently under some sort of construction throughout due to builders walking around in high visibility tops, and moving equipment around.

I was contacted eventually regarding the issue of construction noise and to be fair to Disney, they did provide other off-site options as WL is full.
We picked WL due to the atmosphere and boat transportation to MK, so we are unwilling to move further away, we are therefore staying with a room discount applied and have rearranged my child's nap times, so not to be disturbed.

I am not exaggerating the noise level of the Jack hammering, the whole south wing was vibrating. Not to mention noise from construction staff.

It is only going to get worse and it is rather disappointing that Disney have not or are not going to inform guests.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I was contacted eventually regarding the issue of construction noise and to be fair to Disney, they did provide other off-site options as WL is full.
We picked WL due to the atmosphere and boat transportation to MK, so we are unwilling to move further away, we are therefore staying with a room discount applied and have rearranged my child's nap times, so not to be disturbed.

It's so weird that they told you the resort is full because you can go online right now and get a room starting tonight for the next week. You do know that calls from your room get routed to a call center and not the front desk, right? That's why the person on the phone denied there was any construction going on--they're not actually on site. I'd go down to the front desk and talk to someone in person and see what accommodations can be made for you.

What "offsite" options did they offer you? Do you mean offsite, as in offsite from the WL, or offsite from Disney in general?

 

[MISSYLEXI]

hstrickland, love your pics!! We are staying there for the first time in August. I hope it is still as beautiful as your pics! What (app?) did you use to get the frames around the pictures?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi. I just returned from 7 nights at WL 6/22 through 6/29. I used Touring Plans and they faxed a room request for me requesting 5th floor inner courtyard. I got room 5047 inner courtyard and it was perfect.

We had a room just a few doors from the room you had and we really liked the location, too. I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip. We're not fans of the buses, but the boat to MK makes up for it.