First let me say that 8 days was not long enough for our vacation. It took me 6 days before I was in full vacation mode (relaxed from work) and though we were not rushed there were still things we didn't have time for. The next trip to WDW will be for 12-14 days.
The last deluxe I stayed at was the AKL which is incidentally my favorite. I expected WL to top it and it didn't though it was fairly close.
My good and not so good
Not so good
- Rooms were somewhat small, a little musty and showed signs of age. I thought the theming in the AKL rooms was a cut above the WL, bathroom was very plain and there was a ledge above the sinks that was too close, if you leaned over you had to be very careful not to bump your head.
- Roaring Forks was also small and we often hit big lines though they did move them quickly. Selection was quite average with no special items.
- Whispering Canyon was reservation only for our entire stay. I expect when staying in a hotel that their restaurants are available for guests. I know that some of you will say "you should have made reservations" but this forces you to be on a schedule and I like to keep my day/options open.
- Pool was ok, not much of a slide though we did enjoy the stream flowing in. Hot tubs were always filled to/beyond capacity with typically 9-12 people. At AKL we often had it to ourselves.
- Every time it rained there were areas covered in towels, mostly in the ramp section leading to the lobby. Wet guests or leaks?
Good
- Magnificent lobby.
- Artists Point. Excellent food, Portobello soup was incredible and restored me after a long drive. Tables were always available immediately, probably because it is expensive.
- Gym. These are in the villas which are absolutely beautiful, I wish all condo buildings looked like that. Very nice gym, clean and I enjoyed the treadmills.
- Watching the electric parade from the beach.
- Steam "effect" from geyser area, fun to watch little clouds float over hot tubs.
- Very courteous and efficient staff. They relocated us to another room without a hitch. We were upgraded to courtyard view but I had to change back to woods due to an error in booking my DD as an adult. We actually enjoyed woods view more.
- Very nicely themed exterior areas, I heard one guest coming in exclaim "wow, this is really nice!". Walking to the gym or the arcade was a lot of fun.
- Ranger Stan, reminds me of my father's generation, the same humor, wry observations and matter of fact speaking. We thoroughly enjoyed his presentation, he spoke about how quickly the lodge was built, what construction material was used and how to differentiate between the real and the Disney effects. He also spoke about the flooring design and how it emulated Native American creation theory.
Your pictures are great. I love how you caught them without any people.
