Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[MickeyEars]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos Circusgirl....


Carla

 

[ALMinVA]

Hi. We checked in yesterday. Room 5069. I think its a great room. 5th floor right off lobby. Courtyard view. We are room happy!
The plan was to surprise the kids by picking them up from school early however school was delayed 2 hours so that didnt work. We just asked them if they would like to go on an adventure and they didnt believe me until i took them to the basement and showed them the packed suitcases.
We got to the auto train at 12 and had paid for priority offloading so that in Florida our car was one of first 20 off. The train was sold out. We chose 6:00 dinner time and boarded around 2. We had a family bedroom and the train left early once everyone had boarded. We arrived in Sanford at 8:30 yesterday morning and was checked into Wilderness and in Magic Kingdom by 11am.
Wowed by the crowds! Touring plans had MK at a 1 yesterday but I dont see how. We have been coming this same time for the past five years and this is definitely the busiest I have seen.
We left MK at 3 and went to HS. I had fast passes for muppet ( didnt need), star tours and toy story.
Star tours was almost 40 minutes stand by line. We have always walked on that ride. Found out toy story was down ALL day so that might account for heavier volume at star tours. We got on and just as our door was to shut a little girl threw up so they had to take us all off and move us to another one. My daughter and I were leaned in talking and turns out thats when they did the rebel spy so it was both she and I haha.
We arrived at toy story at 6 and the ride had just started working again. 110 minutes standby and the fastpass line stretched down the street. It was insane. Everyone who tried to ride earlier was now in fastpass.
This was not going to work with our dinner reservation so i spoke to an attendant who told me sorry this is it. Then I saw a guy in all white. I told him that we wouldnt make dinner even with our fastpasses at this point and he could see that. At first he just kept saying sorry then he asked how long our stay was and if we were coming back to HS. I said yes and he did go get us 4 return fps good for February.
After dinner it was back to Wilderness.
We are very happy with our room. The bunks worked out beautifully with the kids.
Today is dh's birthday. We are off to AK first thing then maybe trying MK for a little while.
Best,
Amanda

 

[feet1]

Oh wow!!! Great photos of the new splash pad! Are they very strict with enforcing the 48" rule. My soon to be 7year old is very tall, he was 52" this past sept when they measured him at school. He'll obviously be taller when we go this coming September. But he will only be 7. Perfect age for all of the splashing and dumping and squirting going on there.

 

[trishadono]

Great pics Circusgirl!!!

Thanks ladies for the pics of the lighting in the lobby!

You rebels you!!! Leaning in, who knew???

Standing by to see if more pics are coming!!!

Have a great day! Keep warm for us northerners

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thanks for posting the pictures of the pool area, circusgirl. I took some with my iPhone so they are not nearly as good as your pictures. Now I don't have to post mine.

Oh wow!!! Great photos of the new splash pad! Are they very strict with enforcing the 48" rule. My soon to be 7year old is very tall, he was 52" this past sept when they measured him at school. He'll obviously be taller when we go this coming September. But he will only be 7. Perfect age for all of the splashing and dumping and squirting going on there.

Our seven year old grandson was able to play in the splash pad. He is tall, too, about 52 inches.

 

[trishadono]

Thanks for posting the pictures of the pool area, circusgirl. I took some with my iPhone so they are not nearly as good as your pictures. Now I don't have to post mine.



Our seven year old grandson was able to play in the splash pad. He is tall, too, about 52 inches.

I totally forgot to check to see if new MB's were in our DME account after we activated our annual passes. They are there to customize and hopefully new green slider coming too! I ordered a green band to match.

Just reminding you to check too. I think it was you that said you had annual passes? I just shoveled 3inches in the driveway and my brain having a blood rush!!

 

[jen7233]

thanks for those great pictures Circusgirl!

I love trip reports, thank you those that are posting!

I'm so sorry to hear about the poster whose DH had an accident!

The pool pictures didn't look too crowded, I'm betting the pool will be really crowded when we go in June....

 

[trishadono]

The Sunday we were to check out I received a phone call at 8:30am from a Palm Beach County Sheriff informing me my DH had been involved in a motorcycle accident. A truck had run a stop sign and my DH hit the driver's side at 55 MPH. Needless to say I was not in a state of mind to follow up with a WL supervisor before I left. It was the longest three hour drive back home of my life. My DH has some serious injuries, but was moved out of ICU, to a step-down ICU and then as of today to a Special Care Unit.

Now that my DH is stable it's been on my mind all day. I don't know if I should follow up with Disney in any way. I'm not one to raise a stink and make demands, but I'm just disappointed. The lodge has always been my favorite place to stay. And really, what can they do since I'm now home? I feel bad for the family that got the room after us.

Glad dh is OK! That is so scary!!! Sending good wishes your way.

 

[leonb]

Should they hire someone to double check the signs? Check out bullet #9 of the Spa Rules...

 

[JnKinVA]

Should they hire someone to double check the signs? Check out bullet #9 of the Spa Rules...

You mean you don't like redundancy? You don't like redundancy?

We got back home just after midnight yesterday. Wish I could go back already.

I did buy a Wilderness Lodge pillow from the Mercantile so at least I have a little of the Lodge with me at all times

Now it's just time to count down to the next stay in September!
We will be using our DVC points at our home resort at VGF in a Studio with Theme Park view.
And then over to the Lodge to finish up the trip.

Lots to talk about, good things and some not so good things and an AMAZING thing.
I will be starting a new trip report, as soon as I get my notes all in order....and I know I know, I still need to finish my last one

 

[WDWKOOK]

Should they hire someone to double check the signs? Check out bullet #9 of the Spa Rules...

Well, you see, there are Health problems and then there are Health problems…

to the DIS and the WL thread! It's good that a typo brought you out of lurkdom and…you're hired

Wonder why "Health problems" are allowed in the pool, but not in the spa? And, why are they capitalizing health. While I'm being fussy, why didn't they include VWL guests in the splash pad sign and why have a warning not to drink the water "because it's recirculated". Is un-recirculated water safer? And, don't forget, "No animals in the pool!!" Boy, the lawyers were busy with these signs.

Back to multi-quote soon...

 

[leonb]

You mean you don't like redundancy? You don't like redundancy? QUOTE]

 

[WDWKOOK]

Are there any refurbishments announced for June 2015 other than the Whispering Canyon one? Thanks!

I'm not aware of any publicly announced ones, but general maintenance does occur all the time and the scaffolding will be a fixture at different areas of WL for another year or so.

How far in advance should I call? Sorry for all the questions, I haven't been to WDW since 1994 I'm thinking thing have changed a little...

Requests should be in your reservation at least a week prior to arrival.

So I can't go home because men have taken apart my kitchen! Good news updated kitchen!!!! Bad news, well no kitchen and men in MY SPACE

So to kill some time stuck at the office here are some pics from the WL lounge last week. So wish I was there now

Fun pictures, thanks! How are those men doin'?

Also I posted many pics of the offerings of The Garden View Tea Room at GF over the last few days(GF thread). If you don't know about it this will give you an idea of how to get club level food, if only for one meal.

DD often go there because the food similar to GF's cl food.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52953299&postcount=670
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52953324&postcount=671
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52953346&postcount=672

Will check it out soon

I am really enjoying this thread-Can our trip for Feb 26-March 2, 2015 be added to the front page?
What would be the correct terminology for requesting a room on the same wing as Roaring Forks with a view of the Electrical Water Pageant.

Of course I'll log your dates. RF is in the North Wing so you should book a Courtyard View room and request "North Wing/Inner or WL Courtyard."

I have been contemplating turning our 10 day day CBR stay this June into a split stay with 3 nights deluxe possibly club level. I have it narrowed down to AKL and WL with WL edging ahead mostly due to the posts on this and the earlier threads. This will be at the end of our stay and I think that we will be spending a lot of time at the resort. From the posts it looks like there is a lot to do, more then at AKL.

Anyone have more reasons why I should go WL over AKL?

ITA with Grand Californian

Thanks to everyone for the information on this board- it really helped our family plan our trip!! We leave tomorrow am and could not be more excited!

For those there now, other blogs are reporting very heavy crowds, mostly tour groups, I've never been to WDW this time of year so I'm hoping it's not as horrible as it sounds, we will make the best out of it and enjoy no matter what- thanks again for this great, supportive community.

Grace

I hope you have a magical vacation, Grace! Check in with us if you can.

Hi everyone! We checked out of club level this past Sunday and I was completely left with a bad impression.

I know requests are never guaranteed, but I had asked for either a Woods View Room in the North Wing or a Courtyard View. Upon arrival we were put in HA room 7102 in the South Wing. All the CV rooms in the south wing were closed due to repairs being done outside. They could not move us until the next morning. We gave the room a shot because we did not really want to move since we were only there 3 nights. The bathroom situation did not work out since the toilet, sink and shower is all in one big room. It was difficult with four of us trying to get ready and the entire bathroom flooded when we took showers.

The next morning we were moved to room 7112. The phone was broken (there was a dial tone, but you couldn't dial out. none of the buttons or keypad worked.) and I asked four times for it to be replaced which never happened. Both sinks were missing their stoppers. The round tops had been unscrewed, were missing and not replaced when I asked. The switch for the light over the little table was also broken. The lever was missing and it had slid down the wire behind the table. I made a complaint at the concierge desk and was told that they were booked solid and that there was nothing they could do. There was no apology for the room's condition and I was just shocked. I told them nicely Saturday afternoon that I was disappointed with the state of the room for the price that they charge and asked if they could compensate us in some way (I wasn't looking for much...maybe an extra FP+....a couple of Mickey Bars). I was told that they would have to get a supervisor's approval, but there wasn't one there at the time, but he/she would contact me. Well, needless to say it didn't happen. We never got lotion in either room either which I thought was odd. I had to call for it the first day then walk down to the concierge CMs the rest of our trip since I had no phone! We also had no extra blankets or pillows and didn't discover this until we got back to our room Friday night after the concierge CMs had left. Since we had no phone that meant trekking back down to the regular front desk. I told them there as well about the phone problem and was told it would be replaced which of course did not happen.

The Sunday we were to check out I received a phone call at 8:30am from a Palm Beach County Sheriff informing me my DH had been involved in a motorcycle accident. A truck had run a stop sign and my DH hit the driver's side at 55 MPH. Needless to say I was not in a state of mind to follow up with a WL supervisor before I left. It was the longest three hour drive back home of my life. My DH has some serious injuries, but was moved out of ICU, to a step-down ICU and then as of today to a Special Care Unit.

Now that my DH is stable it's been on my mind all day. I don't know if I should follow up with Disney in any way. I'm not one to raise a stink and make demands, but I'm just disappointed. The lodge has always been my favorite place to stay. And really, what can they do since I'm now home? I feel bad for the family that got the room after us.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

ETA: The bathroom fan was also broken. It did nothing but make a horrible grinding noise and did not alleviate any of the shower steam.

Gee, that was not a good visit. I really hope your DH is doing better and that must have been a very scary phone call to receive. Was he on 95? I hope he wasn't going 55 on Federal.

They must have had to take a lot of rooms out of inventory due to the scaffolding which left some less than desirable rooms for you. Your final room faced VWL which is probably the least desirable CL view after having a HA room when you don't actually need one.

I would recommend that you send an email to Guest Communications delineating your negative experiences. They will review your email and a CM from DGC will call you, if you provide a phone number. Your email will be forwarded to the resort GM. The letters are shared at weekly meetings with the CL manager. The new manager has only been in place about 6 months, so I think your comments can be instructive to him.

WDW Guest Communications: WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com

You best view of the EWP will be from a courtyard view room, but that is a bookable category. Roaring Forks is in the North Wing. We had a great view of it from a 6th floor courtyard view room, , but it was on the East end section of the wing so it had an enclosed balcony. 5th floor or below would have open railing.


We really like both Lodges, but WL wins out for us because of its proximity to MK and having boat transportation options. We find Bay Lake to be just beautiful, and we enjoy riding the boats on it to MK, CR, and FW.

WL has a less exotic, but more cozy feel to us. AKL has a more exotic feel and of course the animals, which are really neat. The pool and playground are probably slightly preferable at AKL, but that might have changed with the recent upgrades at WL. For Quick Service food AKL has a bigger area with more indoor seating, but we really enjoy the food at WL's Roaring Fork too.

The bus ride to MK from WL is also very quick, and tends to be quicker than the ride from AKL to AK.

Whichever Lodge you decide to stay at, I'd plan on taking some time to visit the other one too.

Went to the Territory Lounge for a light supper tonight and upon leaving I saw this;

Was it time to change the bulbs in the teepees?

See the posts below yours for photos/commentary. The covers needed to be changed and while they were at it, they did change the bulbs

This is what I saw when I walked out of our room this morning.

was in front of the Bell Service stand. Then the lifts rolled in the front door.

They were going to replace the rawhide on this chandelier with painted canvas. This is the one they were working on. It is located close to the registration desk. A total of four lifts were used for this process. First they removed the bottom of the chandelier. It was hooked on in three places. Then they lowered it to the ground.

The bottom of the chandelier came off just like a regular light fixture would.

When we came back from Epcot they were replacing the teepee fabric. It was a stiff fabric, and they needed four people to put this on. They laid it over the metal frame and secured it on one side. We had to leave before the job was finished. The bottom section was still laying on the floor. They replaced the light bulbs, too.

This is the chandelier that is located near the concierge desk. It think that this one has the new painted canvas. The worker pointed to this one when she told me they were using painted canvas instead of rawhide. It was fun to watch the work they were doing.

Then we got on the Magical Express and came home.
We had a great time.

What an update! Thanks for posting these great photos. I'm sorry you had to go home, but it's great you got to see this right before you left.

I am back home, suffering from oatmeal and cobbler withdrawal and enjoying getting some photos organized to share. I've had two very long days at work, wish I could post more right away but promise to get things posted as I can.

Quick! Get thee to a Cracker Barrel! They must have cobbler and oatmeal there

You are a gem for taking all the pictures I requested and they are super-duper! As I mentioned to you, I may reduce some and then they will have a new home in the RECREATION section of the thread. That chapter will look fabulous

Hi. We checked in yesterday. Room 5069. I think its a great room. 5th floor right off lobby. Courtyard view. We are room happy!

The plan was to surprise the kids by picking them up from school early however school was delayed 2 hours so that didnt work. We just asked them if they would like to go on an adventure and they didnt believe me until i took them to the basement and showed them the packed suitcases.

We got to the auto train at 12 and had paid for priority offloading so that in Florida our car was one of first 20 off. The train was sold out. We chose 6:00 dinner time and boarded around 2. We had a family bedroom and the train left early once everyone had boarded. We arrived in Sanford at 8:30 yesterday morning and was checked into Wilderness and in Magic Kingdom by 11am.

Wowed by the crowds! Touring plans had MK at a 1 yesterday but I dont see how. We have been coming this same time for the past five years and this is definitely the busiest I have seen.

We left MK at 3 and went to HS. I had fast passes for muppet ( didnt need), star tours and toy story.
Star tours was almost 40 minutes stand by line. We have always walked on that ride. Found out toy story was down ALL day so that might account for heavier volume at star tours. We got on and just as our door was to shut a little girl threw up so they had to take us all off and move us to another one. My daughter and I were leaned in talking and turns out thats when they did the rebel spy so it was both she and I haha.

We arrived at toy story at 6 and the ride had just started working again. 110 minutes standby and the fastpass line stretched down the street. It was insane. Everyone who tried to ride earlier was now in fastpass.
This was not going to work with our dinner reservation so i spoke to an attendant who told me sorry this is it. Then I saw a guy in all white. I told him that we wouldnt make dinner even with our fastpasses at this point and he could see that. At first he just kept saying sorry then he asked how long our stay was and if we were coming back to HS. I said yes and he did go get us 4 return fps good for February.

After dinner it was back to Wilderness.
We are very happy with our room. The bunks worked out beautifully with the kids.

Today is dh's birthday. We are off to AK first thing then maybe trying MK for a little while.
Best,
Amanda

Thanks for checking in with us, Amanda. It's great how easy a trip it was for you to get from Lorton to Sanford. So cute that you had to show the kids the hidden suitcases in the basement.

Can't believe how crowded it's been lately. Crazy! Must be those tour groups. You just have to have the FPs, but even then, sometimes rides break-down or bad weather strikes. Happy birthday to DH! Is there a special birthday dinner or event?

 

[MickeyEars]

I'm soooo excited I just had to share...

I just added an additional night to the beginning of our trip for a total of 10 nights at the beautiful Lodge!!

I was also able to change our Southwest flight to the new day for no additional cost. We now arrive 2 hrs earlier than our previous flight.

Plenty of excitement at my house!!

KOOK please update the Log to reflect my new May 29th arrival date when you get a chance. Thanks!!


Carla

 

[Ceryssa]

Just switched over to WL from POR for our November trip! Getting ready to work my way through the thread, but anything about this resort that is not to be missed? We'll be there the 7th-12th, so I know the tree probably won't be up yet (husband picked the dates and they're non-negotiable). Thanks for any advice! I've been eyeing this place for a while, excited to check it out!

 

[peteykirch]

I forgot how stunning this resort is at night.

Took that last night

 

[pixarmom]

So many beautiful photos!! Quick question for next year. In 2016, I'll travel with our three boys and my parents for Princess Half Marathon weekend. We're hosting my parents, and want to stay deluxe, preferably CL, but want to keep costs reasonable. Looks like the best value would be a deluxe CL room. Pros: Would sleep all six, include club access and WL has lots of great space both in the lobby and the lounge. Pool area has always been pleasant during our previous stays, too! When we're at the resort staying CL, we're rarely in the room much. We spend most of our resort time in the club lounge and at the pool. Cons: That's a lot of people in a small space. Thoughts from anyone who stayed in a deluxe room?

 

[lovingeire]

I forgot how stunning this resort is at night. Took that last night

Beautiful! Makes me homesick for the Lodge!

 

[Sarah627]

Hi! My daughter and I are super excited to stay at WL 9/27-10/3!! We also switched from POR. DD (5) wanted to stay at "the one with the waterfall" over "the one with the princess room" haha. We stayed at Pop during our first visit and spent all our time in the parks but, based on what I've read here and the amazing pictures you've posted, I'll definitely be planning more time at the hotel for this trip I really appreciate all the information in this thread!

 

[Minniesgal]

Oh this thread is giving me rather a dilemma.

We are planning a split stay April 2016. My thoughts are 5 nights VGC, 3 nights AKV , 3 nights on the Dream the 4 nights at VGF. However I'm seriously thinking of switching g at 7 months and trying the lodge as it looks so beautiful and will fit with our other home resorts.

Ahh decisions decisions