Hi. I just made it back in this morning. What a wonderful trip. Here are some details..........
WL.... First impressions, wow!! It is beautiful driving under the beautiful arches, and seeing the lodge the first time. The lobby is incredible and a wonderful spot to stay in. Check in at the front desk was a breeze, we were upgraded to a courtyard view room. Uh oh, a problem. When we went to the room, the whole floor was soaking wet. Called front desk, and they mmoved us very quickly. The next room that were were given was 6149, an enclosed balcony room located over the pool, and a great view of bay lake. The rooms were nice and had plenty of light. Beds were comfortable. Our mousekeeper was not great at all. The rooms were still dirty from the last guests. My children were finding playdo pieces all over the place, and my husband found empty shoe boxes and other things under the bed. The cleaning of the room did not change. Another thing that bothered us after the 3rd day of being there was the transportation. I know that everyone says that it isn't bad, but it really was for us. If you don't get on a boat or bus that is full from the Lodge, you will be going to Fort Wilderness, and it really does take a long time. Not only that, but the transportation is really slow. We waited long waits to be picked up both from the hotel and the parks. The food was wonderful in the restaurants, but the food court is really limited. We couldn't take eating there after the third day, and they do close promplty at 11:00 where you will only have salads, sandwiches and cereal available to eat. This is really hard especially after a long day at the parks and through no fault of your own, can't make it back in time. So,, after the 5th day, (we hung in there for a while) we moved over to the Contemporary.
The Contemporary was extremely helpful to us and understanding. We couldn't get a regular tower room and they gave us Concierge for a great price. It was a wonderful stay. I love being on the monorail line, it was wonder and fast transportation and great for the kids. The decor of the rooms did not bother us at all, in fact we thought it was great. Our room faced Bay Lake. Now I know that mostly everyone wants that Castle view, but we loved the lake view. We saw the fireworks from Epcot from our balcony, fireworks from across the way (sea world or Universal??) and the electrical water parade. It was very relaxing and the my whole family felt better after that. We began to find excuses to run back to the resort.
Now this was my first time stay at one of Disney Deluxe resorts. I have stayed at the CB prior to this visit on several occasions. I love it at the CB, and I hate to say that I would stay there over the WL again. The Contemporary exceeded our expectations as I had often read bad reactions to the resort. I thought the lodge was beautiful and would visit, but would not stay there again. I would however recommend the Contemporary to anyone (and the CB as it is my fav. mod resort)
WL.... First impressions, wow!! It is beautiful driving under the beautiful arches, and seeing the lodge the first time. The lobby is incredible and a wonderful spot to stay in. Check in at the front desk was a breeze, we were upgraded to a courtyard view room. Uh oh, a problem. When we went to the room, the whole floor was soaking wet. Called front desk, and they mmoved us very quickly. The next room that were were given was 6149, an enclosed balcony room located over the pool, and a great view of bay lake. The rooms were nice and had plenty of light. Beds were comfortable. Our mousekeeper was not great at all. The rooms were still dirty from the last guests. My children were finding playdo pieces all over the place, and my husband found empty shoe boxes and other things under the bed. The cleaning of the room did not change. Another thing that bothered us after the 3rd day of being there was the transportation. I know that everyone says that it isn't bad, but it really was for us. If you don't get on a boat or bus that is full from the Lodge, you will be going to Fort Wilderness, and it really does take a long time. Not only that, but the transportation is really slow. We waited long waits to be picked up both from the hotel and the parks. The food was wonderful in the restaurants, but the food court is really limited. We couldn't take eating there after the third day, and they do close promplty at 11:00 where you will only have salads, sandwiches and cereal available to eat. This is really hard especially after a long day at the parks and through no fault of your own, can't make it back in time. So,, after the 5th day, (we hung in there for a while) we moved over to the Contemporary.
The Contemporary was extremely helpful to us and understanding. We couldn't get a regular tower room and they gave us Concierge for a great price. It was a wonderful stay. I love being on the monorail line, it was wonder and fast transportation and great for the kids. The decor of the rooms did not bother us at all, in fact we thought it was great. Our room faced Bay Lake. Now I know that mostly everyone wants that Castle view, but we loved the lake view. We saw the fireworks from Epcot from our balcony, fireworks from across the way (sea world or Universal??) and the electrical water parade. It was very relaxing and the my whole family felt better after that. We began to find excuses to run back to the resort.
Now this was my first time stay at one of Disney Deluxe resorts. I have stayed at the CB prior to this visit on several occasions. I love it at the CB, and I hate to say that I would stay there over the WL again. The Contemporary exceeded our expectations as I had often read bad reactions to the resort. I thought the lodge was beautiful and would visit, but would not stay there again. I would however recommend the Contemporary to anyone (and the CB as it is my fav. mod resort)
