boscov
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
So my family has ALWAYS been a POR family. My daughters have both been there, I've stayed there 10 times....we really love that resort. But we decided to try something new and stay at WL. We went into this with REALLY high expectations for this resort, and I have to say, our expectations were met or exceeded in almost every way. It was me, DW, DD (8) and DD (3). Here we go....
So we flew from Philly to MCO really early - 7:00am flight landing at 9:30am. Our flight was ahead of schedule and we actually landed at 9:10am. We had reserved a Bunk Bed Courtyard View room and requested early check in. I had no misgivings about the early check in as I knew this was a tough request at such an early hour. Sure enough, I got a text and email when I landed and on the ME bus that my room wasn't ready yet. No big deal, we headed to the resort, figuring we'd get our info and head to the park.
Check In - We had already done online check in so we headed right to the online check in line. We were greeted by a very nice woman. She gave us our welcome packet, helped us with a few questions and was very friendly in giving us all the info we needed like pool times, maps, ect. Pointed us in the right direction for dropping off our backpacks while we went to the park. While we were getting our sunblock on the girls, she actually came back over and gave us info on stroller rentals and gave the girls some coloring books and stickers in a little gift bag. My girls were thrilled! We went off to the park and by 3pm we had a text that our room was ready and what the room number was. Very easy!
The Room - We were in room 6049. We had an AWESOME view right outside the waterfall with a view straight through to the lake and pool. We were able to see MOST of the electric water pageant at night too. It was great to make a cup of coffee and sit out there in the morning. My girls LOVED the bunk beds and it was great to not have to put them in the same bed. It saved me and my wife a lot of headaches. Our queen bed was fine, a little springy, but it worked. I found the pillows to be MUCH better than POR pillows. Maybe it's just me and they are the same, but for some reason they felt better and I slept better. The bathroom offered us plenty of space and everything was perfect from a room perspective.
The Grounds - This place is simply stunning. When you walk in your breath is taken away by the lobby. It's huge and so ornately decorated. You definitely feel like you are far away from the MK while only a quick boat ride away. It definitely feels like the pacific NW, not FL.
The Pool - The pool was great. I would say the main pool was probably not quite as good as POR pool, but it was pretty comparable. The thing that set this pool apart for me was the splash zone for the girls. This was a life saver. My youngest daughter could play and slide with no fear of any pool related issues. My older daughter just made it under the height requirement, so they had a blast. Kudos for the free use of the life jackets!
The Dining - We ate at two restaurants on site - Whispering Canyon and Roaring Fork. Roaring Fork isn't quite as good as POR food court, but it is more than adequate. POR is much larger, much crazier because it's the main dining option, while Roaring Fork isn't. The food at Roaring Fork is quite good. We had sandwiches and a bunch of breakfasts. I love that they give you a placard and bring your food to you when it's ready, rather than lugging it around. That was great. Now, Whispering Canyon was AMAZING. My entire family came away with the same feeling; this is our new favorite restaurant in WDW. It has dethroned O'Hana in my eyes. First off, it's a TON of fun. The wooden horse races, the ketchup, the chippy service....tons of fun. I also felt that the food was SPECTACULAR! My wife had a NY Strip and I had the All You Can Eat BBQ Platter. The steak was cooked perfectly and my BBQ platter was so much food I could barely eat dessert. The strip loin had a great smoke ring, the ribs were tender, the pulled pork was smokey and the chicken had this great spice rub on it that was to die for. All in all, I would go back every night if I could.
The Transportation - The boat to MK was excellent. It was far more regularly scheduled than the buses IMO and it was far more fun and relaxing. But for everything else, obviously we had to take the buses. For the most part, things were fine. After the initial rush in the morning, the buses begin sharing with either the Contemporary or the Ft Wilderness Campground, depending on the park. We didn't wait all that much ever for a bus. I think only one time did we wait about 15 minutes. Everything else was prompt and most of the bus shelters at the parks were in prime locations.
The Negatives - I only found two negatives about WL. First was Mouse-keeping. This was by far the worst of any resort I've stayed at. My wife and I both had drink glasses from the Territory Lounge that we brought up to the room one night and our glasses remained on the table for 2 days until finally picked up. We tipped a few dollars a day to only have them fluff our pillows and take towels. We also didn't receive a single new mickey mouse shape or any other towel animals the whole trip. The last negative is minor - but they could very easily trim a couple trees by the boat docks and make a REALLY nice viewing area for the fireworks. Again, minor, but worth a note.
All in all I'd stay at this hotel again in a heart beat. It was simply amazing. I hope you enjoyed my review!!!
So we flew from Philly to MCO really early - 7:00am flight landing at 9:30am. Our flight was ahead of schedule and we actually landed at 9:10am. We had reserved a Bunk Bed Courtyard View room and requested early check in. I had no misgivings about the early check in as I knew this was a tough request at such an early hour. Sure enough, I got a text and email when I landed and on the ME bus that my room wasn't ready yet. No big deal, we headed to the resort, figuring we'd get our info and head to the park.
Check In - We had already done online check in so we headed right to the online check in line. We were greeted by a very nice woman. She gave us our welcome packet, helped us with a few questions and was very friendly in giving us all the info we needed like pool times, maps, ect. Pointed us in the right direction for dropping off our backpacks while we went to the park. While we were getting our sunblock on the girls, she actually came back over and gave us info on stroller rentals and gave the girls some coloring books and stickers in a little gift bag. My girls were thrilled! We went off to the park and by 3pm we had a text that our room was ready and what the room number was. Very easy!
The Room - We were in room 6049. We had an AWESOME view right outside the waterfall with a view straight through to the lake and pool. We were able to see MOST of the electric water pageant at night too. It was great to make a cup of coffee and sit out there in the morning. My girls LOVED the bunk beds and it was great to not have to put them in the same bed. It saved me and my wife a lot of headaches. Our queen bed was fine, a little springy, but it worked. I found the pillows to be MUCH better than POR pillows. Maybe it's just me and they are the same, but for some reason they felt better and I slept better. The bathroom offered us plenty of space and everything was perfect from a room perspective.
The Grounds - This place is simply stunning. When you walk in your breath is taken away by the lobby. It's huge and so ornately decorated. You definitely feel like you are far away from the MK while only a quick boat ride away. It definitely feels like the pacific NW, not FL.
The Pool - The pool was great. I would say the main pool was probably not quite as good as POR pool, but it was pretty comparable. The thing that set this pool apart for me was the splash zone for the girls. This was a life saver. My youngest daughter could play and slide with no fear of any pool related issues. My older daughter just made it under the height requirement, so they had a blast. Kudos for the free use of the life jackets!
The Dining - We ate at two restaurants on site - Whispering Canyon and Roaring Fork. Roaring Fork isn't quite as good as POR food court, but it is more than adequate. POR is much larger, much crazier because it's the main dining option, while Roaring Fork isn't. The food at Roaring Fork is quite good. We had sandwiches and a bunch of breakfasts. I love that they give you a placard and bring your food to you when it's ready, rather than lugging it around. That was great. Now, Whispering Canyon was AMAZING. My entire family came away with the same feeling; this is our new favorite restaurant in WDW. It has dethroned O'Hana in my eyes. First off, it's a TON of fun. The wooden horse races, the ketchup, the chippy service....tons of fun. I also felt that the food was SPECTACULAR! My wife had a NY Strip and I had the All You Can Eat BBQ Platter. The steak was cooked perfectly and my BBQ platter was so much food I could barely eat dessert. The strip loin had a great smoke ring, the ribs were tender, the pulled pork was smokey and the chicken had this great spice rub on it that was to die for. All in all, I would go back every night if I could.
The Transportation - The boat to MK was excellent. It was far more regularly scheduled than the buses IMO and it was far more fun and relaxing. But for everything else, obviously we had to take the buses. For the most part, things were fine. After the initial rush in the morning, the buses begin sharing with either the Contemporary or the Ft Wilderness Campground, depending on the park. We didn't wait all that much ever for a bus. I think only one time did we wait about 15 minutes. Everything else was prompt and most of the bus shelters at the parks were in prime locations.
The Negatives - I only found two negatives about WL. First was Mouse-keeping. This was by far the worst of any resort I've stayed at. My wife and I both had drink glasses from the Territory Lounge that we brought up to the room one night and our glasses remained on the table for 2 days until finally picked up. We tipped a few dollars a day to only have them fluff our pillows and take towels. We also didn't receive a single new mickey mouse shape or any other towel animals the whole trip. The last negative is minor - but they could very easily trim a couple trees by the boat docks and make a REALLY nice viewing area for the fireworks. Again, minor, but worth a note.
All in all I'd stay at this hotel again in a heart beat. It was simply amazing. I hope you enjoyed my review!!!
We stayed there in December and I agree with everything you said, it's a fabulous resort!
.
LOVED the splash pad!!!
