Tell me about the Villa's at Wilderness Lodge

[KayleeUK]

Thinking about splitting our stay here on our next trip. Have you stayed there? Tell me what you love about the Lodge. I have eaten at Artist Pointe and taken the MK Cruise from here but I would love for you to tell me what you like and don't like about it. Whats on offer there?

Thanks

 

[Miffy2003]

Kaylee,

Wish I could tell you but I would love to know too! I would love to come here in "winter" (is it ever winter in Florida? )

I love the WL and I'm sure the villas would be great too. The only negative thing I've heard is that the rooms are darkish (though this might be appealing depending on what you want) and that the transport could be better.

I think it looks lovely here. Would you split your stay here and at "home" ?

Karen

 

[KayleeUK]

Yes

It is this or SSR. But I think I might try VWL first, when I first visited WL (at night) I thought it was dark and dingy inside and really didn't appeal, but we went back last year for our MK Cruise it was a light evening and it looked so much better.

I have also heard about the 'dumpster view' what is all that about??

 

[Peebee]

We stayed at VWL for 4 nights a couple of years ago Kaylee and really enjoyed it. It was around the beginning of December when all the decorations were in place, and the whole place looked beautiful and really cosy. What time of year are you thinking about? If it's close to Christmas i'd say go for it

I really like the separate pool and spa area at VWL - the 'piped' music is so relaxing. You are also very close to Fort Wilderness if you want to do Hoop-de-doo one evening or visit the Trail's End restaurant. Oh, there's also the water pageant every evening that you can watch from the beach.

We'll always love BWV most, but i'll be happy to pop back to VWL every few trips for a few days to chill out

The 'dumpster view' that some people talk about is supposedly one room that has a view of the garbage area. The US DVC boards can probably tell you more, along with the room number in question.

Paul

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Kaylee,

I think the "dumpster" view is a room that looks out onto the area where they collect all the rubbish for the lodge!! I had the impression that that view did sometimes happen at the WL, but not sure if the Villas also overlook this?

I can let you know what SSR is like after December but to be honest I expect I will have a biased opinion (well I really want to love it having spent $12000 on it don't I!?!)

It's funny because I think the Sequoia Lodge at DLP is similar to the WL (though not as nice or as detailed) and I absolutely loved the theming there. But DH wasn't that keen and kept referring to it as the Overlook which was that hotel in the Shining when Jack Nicholson went mad!!

Karen

 

[Miffy2003]

Sorry - such a long post I didn't realise Paul had also posted!

 

[PhilUK]

We've stayed at VWL and it's fantastic. It's also nice to split with Boardwalk or Beachclub if you don't have a car. Visit Magic Kingdom by boat from VWL and Epcot / MGM from the other one !!

Phil, Julia and Kyle

 

[Hilary]

VWL is our Home Resort, and one of the reasons we bought there was because we fell in love with the Lodge when we stayed there in 1997.

I still love the whole theme of the Lodge and the villas, but I can understand that some people might find it rather dark. If you don't like the dark, woodsy feel then maybe VWL isn't for you.

I think it's a magical place in the evenings - you can return after a day in the parks and sit by the lakeside sipping a cool drink and watch the Electrical Light Pageant (or find a comfy sofa on one of the inside landings if the weather's less inviting). I also enjoy sitting in the lobby and people watching, and we all like the shop here too!

We've only stayed there once and had a ground floor (1st floor in USA terms!) studio - I didn't like the patio being pretty overgrown, and next time I'd try for an upper floor with a balcony. We never felt happy about sitting on the patio incase something native came crawling out of the shrubbery! I get the impression the 'dumster view' may have been exaggerrated, but I haven't experienced it, so don't really know

 

[KayleeUK]

Well we have decided to split our stay here now When I first visited the lodge I really didn't give it a chance. I am now really looking forward to giving it a go

Thanks everyone.

 

[Bad Llama]

You'll love the VWL. It is our home resort. We were smitten when we first went there. It is so serene and we love the theming and the feeling that you are away from it all even though you are in the middle of WDW.

The pool is great and the WL Main Lobby - WOW. The lobby of the VWL is fantastic too. We love hanging around the Iron Spike room early evening. We went Christmas 2003 and the decor and feel was just amazing. We are going back again this Christmas.....can't wait.

 

[jjpenguin]

We had the infamous 'dumpster view' and it's not that bad; if you look down you see the service area, if you look ahead you see the woods, it depends where you place your chairs on the balcony!

We stayed in november when the christmas decorations were up, and that did add to the atmosphere! WL is woodsy and 'away from it all" - it's like 2 different vacations . The trip over to the MK by boat is wonderful.

The rooms can be called dark, but you can also call them cosy, I would think they would be nice and cool to come home to in the hot summer... The pool is very relaxed. The spike room is a really cosy place to curl up with a book or to play a game of checkers in front of the fire!

jjpenguin

 

[AndyUK]

Hi
It's worth asking for top (5th floor) lake view when you make the reservation for VWL.

The top floor has vaulted ceilings, so are much higher than the lower floors.
if you look at an exterior picture you can see why this is.

You can also (just) see the lake thru the trees.

It's mostly 2-beds up there - that what we book, but there are a handful of Studios and 1 beds.

There was a floor plan on the US Forum some time ago which gives room numbers on each foor.

We love VWL - I hope that you do too.

Andy