Back from our first trip to VWL

[DVCJones]

I have to say I really enjoyed VWL. I thought the resort was just beautiful. I also liked the food options that were available. The quick service restaurant had great food. It was perfect for our pool day when we were just relaxing for the day. The ducks in the pool were too cute and my children enjoyed watching them. I loved the quick little boat trip to the MK. It was very convenient, although I do have one complaint. We had 8:00 breakfast ADRs for CP and I called Disney Transportation the night before to see if boat transportation was up and running that early. I was told the boat started running at 7am. However, it was not. We waited and waited then walked to the bus stop to catch the bus....thus making us late for our early reservation. We did make it eventually and had a great breakfast.

Our room was very clean and available at 1:30 so that was great. We had a room on the 5th floor with a lake view. We watched the light parade every night. My kids enjoyed this a lot. I was a little surprised on how dark the decor is at VWL. I have read about it, but thought it was probably not that bad. In the beginning I really disliked the dark room, but, I got used to it and would stay there again.

We tried a few new restaurants this trip and everything was fantastic!!!! We ate CP, LeCellier, Ohana, Chef Mickey, 1900 and I think it is called Trails End at the Fort Wilderness Campground. This was a last minute change in our ADRs and it was really really nice.

Oh, I think that virus is still making the rounds at WDW. I saw three different people "getting sick" during this trip. My family was spared though. I followed my kids around with Purell and Lysol wipes. I also washed their hand often and sprayed Lysol on all surfaces in our room.

All-in-all it was a great trip. It could have been a little warmer though. The temp was only 55 on our last day We really enjoyed VWL!!!

 

[DVC Mike]

Glad to hear you enjoyed VWL!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I have to say I really enjoyed VWL. I thought the resort was just beautiful. I also liked the food options that were available. The quick service restaurant had great food. It was perfect for our pool day when we were just relaxing for the day. The ducks in the pool were too cute and my children enjoyed watching them. I loved the quick little boat trip to the MK. It was very convenient, although I do have one complaint. We had 8:00 breakfast ADRs for CP and I called Disney Transportation the night before to see if boat transportation was up and running that early. I was told the boat started running at 7am. However, it was not. We waited and waited then walked to the bus stop to catch the bus....thus making us late for our early reservation. We did make it eventually and had a great breakfast.

Our room was very clean and available at 1:30 so that was great. We had a room on the 5th floor with a lake view. We watched the light parade every night. My kids enjoyed this a lot. I was a little surprised on how dark the decor is at VWL. I have read about it, but thought it was probably not that bad. In the beginning I really disliked the dark room, but, I got used to it and would stay there again.

We tried a few new restaurants this trip and everything was fantastic!!!! We ate CP, LeCellier, Ohana, Chef Mickey, 1900 and I think it is called Trails End at the Fort Wilderness Campground. This was a last minute change in our ADRs and it was really really nice.

Oh, I think that virus is still making the rounds at WDW. I saw three different people "getting sick" during this trip. My family was spared though. I followed my kids around with Purell and Lysol wipes. I also washed their hand often and sprayed Lysol on all surfaces in our room.

All-in-all it was a great trip. It could have been a little warmer though. The temp was only 55 on our last day We really enjoyed VWL!!!

Great report! My first stay is on Sun, May 31. Did you see much of Fort Wilderness? Did you eat at Whispering Canyon?

 

[DVCJones]

Great report! My first stay is on Sun, May 31. Did you see much of Fort Wilderness? Did you eat at Whispering Canyon?

We did visit Fort Wilderness twice while there. We rented a surrey bike at the VWL and rode over to FW to visit the animals. We visited again for dinner. My kids loved what we saw of FW. I have spent a lot of time over at FW when I was a kid. I have fond memories of that place and try to visit at least once each trip. We did not eat at Whispering Canyon this time.

I think you will like VWL in May. I think the weather will be a lot warmer

 

[Disney Princess]

So glad you had a nice time! I wish I was there.

 

[wildernessDad]

Glad that you had a great time and that you had no issues with your room!

 

[bellazachmom]

We did visit Fort Wilderness twice while there. We rented a surrey bike at the VWL and rode over to FW to visit the animals. We visited again for dinner. My kids loved what we saw of FW. I have spent a lot of time over at FW when I was a kid. I have fond memories of that place and try to visit at least once each trip. We did not eat at Whispering Canyon this time.

I think you will like VWL in May. I think the weather will be a lot warmer

Would you mind giving me a little info about this please? We have stayed at VWL a few times and have NEVER done this, but I think it is something that my kids would really enjoy.

How long a bike ride?

How easy are the animals to find? I am assuming that there is a "petting" area, but you could just mean all the animals that are living in the "wild", too!

About how long did it take? A couple hours, a full morning/afternoon, etc.

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[wildernessDad]

I have to say I really enjoyed VWL. I thought the resort was just beautiful. I also liked the food options that were available. The quick service restaurant had great food. It was perfect for our pool day when we were just relaxing for the day. The ducks in the pool were too cute and my children enjoyed watching them. I loved the quick little boat trip to the MK. It was very convenient, although I do have one complaint. We had 8:00 breakfast ADRs for CP and I called Disney Transportation the night before to see if boat transportation was up and running that early. I was told the boat started running at 7am. However, it was not. We waited and waited then walked to the bus stop to catch the bus....thus making us late for our early reservation. We did make it eventually and had a great breakfast.

Our room was very clean and available at 1:30 so that was great. We had a room on the 5th floor with a lake view. We watched the light parade every night. My kids enjoyed this a lot. I was a little surprised on how dark the decor is at VWL. I have read about it, but thought it was probably not that bad. In the beginning I really disliked the dark room, but, I got used to it and would stay there again.

We tried a few new restaurants this trip and everything was fantastic!!!! We ate CP, LeCellier, Ohana, Chef Mickey, 1900 and I think it is called Trails End at the Fort Wilderness Campground. This was a last minute change in our ADRs and it was really really nice.

Oh, I think that virus is still making the rounds at WDW. I saw three different people "getting sick" during this trip. My family was spared though. I followed my kids around with Purell and Lysol wipes. I also washed their hand often and sprayed Lysol on all surfaces in our room.

All-in-all it was a great trip. It could have been a little warmer though. The temp was only 55 on our last day We really enjoyed VWL!!!

Glad to hear that you had a great time. Geez on the sickness, though. A couple of us got sick at WDW last December. Glad you avoided that.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Would you mind giving me a little info about this please? We have stayed at VWL a few times and have NEVER done this, but I think it is something that my kids would really enjoy.

How long a bike ride?

How easy are the animals to find? I am assuming that there is a "petting" area, but you could just mean all the animals that are living in the "wild", too!

About how long did it take? A couple hours, a full morning/afternoon, etc.

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

It's fun to ride over to FW from WL. If you kept the bikes for 2 hours, you would have plenty of time to get over there, stop and see the horses, ride around FW a bit and get back. There used to be a small petting area, but now there are only the huge horses that you can look at in their stalls, and there are ponys that youngsters can ride (for a fee) with their parents guiding them. There is a height/weight restriction on riding the ponies.

There's a playground at FW and once we took our DS/DGS in a surrey bike and looked around for the lawn mower tree. We stayed in FW in the '80's and it's amazing how the tree really has surrounded that lawn mower, very very little of it is showing now.

We often see deer along the path between FW and WL and I've seen a pileated woodpecker as well.

Taking a bike ride over to FW is expecially wonderful during Halloween season or Christmas when so many of the trailers are very much decorated. Even in the daylight, it's something to see, and we've met and chatted with some of the campers about how nicely they have decorated their sites.

Bobbi

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thanks for the TR, could you write a review of Trails End?
I'm glad you enjoyed one of our favs.

 

[DVCJones]

Thanks for the TR, could you write a review of Trails End?
I'm glad you enjoyed one of our favs.

Sure!!!!

We originally had an ADR for Mama Melrose because we were going to DHS for the day. After seeing the weather, we decided that we should stay by the pool, as this was going to be the best "pool day." So, I changed my ADR for that day and was able to get a reservation for the same day (dinner) at Trails End. I had heard of Trails End being a hidden gem from the podcast and I thought I should give it a try.

We arrived at 5:45 for our 6:00 ADR. We had a short wait before being seated. We had a table on the lower level near the bar and our waitress directed us to the buffet on the upper level. The food her was very tasty. I was really impressed with the salad bar. It was very fresh and had many things to choose from. The main buffet served BBQ ribs, fried chicken, broiled chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, rice, veggies, beans, corn bread and other stuff I can't remember but it was good. The kids area served pizza & mac and cheese. The deserts were great too. The apple cobbler was yummy. They also had a make your own sundae bar and other goodies like cookies, brownies and rice crispy treats.

Our waitress was very friendly and even organized a Happy Birthday sing-a-long and a HEE-HAW!!!! To celebrate my DDs 6th birthday. Our waitress gave my DD a card that was signed by everyone at the restaurant and a mickey shaped rice crispy treat. It was really nice.

I would go to Trails End again.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thank you we are going to try it over Thanksgiving.

 

[twinklebug]

DVCJones, glad to hear you liked it! I think I love Wilderness Lodge and DVC because I grew with my family camping in Ft Wilderness quite a few times & love it so much. To me, the two resorts go hand in hand. Glad you visited it too.

It's fun to ride over to FW from WL. If you kept the bikes for 2 hours, you would have plenty of time to get over there, stop and see the horses, ride around FW a bit and get back. There used to be a small petting area, but now there are only the huge horses that you can look at in their stalls, and there are ponys that youngsters can ride (for a fee) with their parents guiding them. There is a height/weight restriction on riding the ponies.

There's a playground at FW and once we took our DS/DGS in a surrey bike and looked around for the lawn mower tree. We stayed in FW in the '80's and it's amazing how the tree really has surrounded that lawn mower, very very little of it is showing now.

Quick note - RIP Lawnmower tree. When we were there in jan it had been cut down and the stump was infested with bugs. I have a feeling it's not too much longer before they rip it out all together

I had heard of Trails End being a hidden gem from the podcast and I thought I should give it a try.

We arrived at 5:45 for our 6:00 ADR. We had a short wait before being seated. We had a table on the lower level near the bar and our waitress directed us to the buffet on the upper level. The food her was very tasty. I was really impressed with the salad bar. It was very fresh and had many things to choose from. The main buffet served BBQ ribs, fried chicken, broiled chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, rice, veggies, beans, corn bread and other stuff I can't remember but it was good. The kids area served pizza & mac and cheese. The deserts were great too. The apple cobbler was yummy. They also had a make your own sundae bar and other goodies like cookies, brownies and rice crispy treats.

Perfect review. I love Trails End. One point to note though for those who have not yet tried the place, there are real deer and a buffalo head on the walls around the room as well as a full sized bear. They're 100% real and they've been there since I was little, so nothing "new" if you know what I'm getting at. But, they might bother those who are sensitive to or scared of such things.

 

[Nursejilly]

We must have been around one of those people you saw "getting sick" because everyone in our party has gotten a stomach "bug" since we got home on saturday. Two years ago when we were at Disney, my niece and my younger daughter got a similar "bug". We were extra diligent with the hand washing and hand sanitizer and we still got sick on this trip. I'm just glad we made it through our trip before most of the feeling lousy started. I guess with so many people its hard to avoid. My daughter took my nephew to our local after hours clinic and he said my little nephew was the 18th patient with the crud from DW. Kind of scary, huh?

 

[DVCJones]

We must have been around one of those people you saw "getting sick" because everyone in our party has gotten a stomach "bug" since we got home on saturday. Two years ago when we were at Disney, my niece and my younger daughter got a similar "bug". We were extra diligent with the hand washing and hand sanitizer and we still got sick on this trip. I'm just glad we made it through our trip before most of the feeling lousy started. I guess with so many people its hard to avoid. My daughter took my nephew to our local after hours clinic and he said my little nephew was the 18th patient with the crud from DW. Kind of scary, huh?

Oh, bummer...I am sorry your family got the bug, but so glad you made it home without it impacting your vacation too much.

 

[bblanch]

Great report! My first stay is on Sun, May 31. Did you see much of Fort Wilderness? Did you eat at Whispering Canyon?

Cool... We'll be arriving for our first stay on VWL that same day.

 

[keishashadow]

I enjoy the ducks taking their swim too

Glad to read ur positive review of TE, had been on the fence for some time after reading some horrid reviews...wonder if they still have the takeout bucket of chicken?

stupid Q, i've never ventured over to the campground is TE near the boat dock?

 

[zalansky]

Glad you had such a good time. We love it there too, wish we could have had a lake view, oh well.

On a side note, we were there two weeks ago (OKW) for 4 nights and 3 days after we got home my daughter had the stomach virus, BAD. Two days later, I got it even worse and the next day, my son got it. That was one of the WORST bugs I have ever had and would not wish it on my worst enemy. I did not know it was going around WDW, thanks for mentioning it!

 

[DVCJones]

I enjoy the ducks taking their swim too

Glad to read ur positive review of TE, had been on the fence for some time after reading some horrid reviews...wonder if they still have the takeout bucket of chicken?

stupid Q, i've never ventured over to the campground is TE near the boat dock?

Yes, just a very short walk down the path. I will be on your right just after the playground.

 

[bellazachmom]

OK, I just need a bit more info/clarification ....

Lawnmower Tree ?!?!?!?!?!

Thanks!