back from WL

[bruin]

What a great trip! I had not made any room requests prior to visit, but I decided to try when we checked in. I figured it was so quiet there, that they probably would not have a problem with it. We got a wonderful room with a view of the otter pond and magic kingdom. We could clearly see the castle and the fireworks at night. It was neat waking up in the night and seeing the castle glowing through our window. It was also quiet. It was more of a walk to get to the room, but I did not want to face the lobby. Mousekeeping was great. They would leave lots of extra soap and shampoo, as well as, set up little scenes using our souveniers. (We had an Indiana Jones Tigger and Max the dog from US.) We went to the lobby several times late in the evening to sit and take in the grandness. We mat and visited a wonderful employee named Charley. He was a nice elderly man who was full of information. You will usually see him pushing a garbage can around. It is amazing, though, he remembered everything we talked about and would ask us questions that I can't believe he could remember we talked about. I am sure he talks with 1000's of people. We did not get to see him the night before we left, but hope you will all get a chance to say hi to him.

 

[Muushka]

WL is our favorite hotel and I can't believe we have never met Charley! He sounds wonderful and we will scout him out when we are there in 81 days!

We also love visiting the lobby after midnight. So calm, peaceful and beautiful. Can't wait!

 

[newholiday]

glad you had a good time
we'll look for Charley when we checkin next week

I remember the friendly CMs from when DH & I were down in the lobby early one morn in 2001

 

[princessmomma]

Was your room a courtyard view? What room number did you have?

 

[bruin]

Princessmomma- We had the "woods" view. We wanted a quiet room, so that is why we had booked that, but the view was wonderful! Like I said, view of the castle and fireworks, and great view watching the otters and ducks in the pond. Looking back, though, I think we could see the Epcot fireworks more clearly than the MK fireworks. I know there was two shows going on one night at the same time. We had #5018.

 

[lisareneeo]

bruin- was the slide at the pool working?
Thnaks
Lisa

 

[old lost boy]

The slide in the pool was working last week (9/11-9/16). Stop by the Trout Pass and say hi to my friend Stewart. Tell him hi from Saint Louis.

 

[MickaMaizie]

What floor were you on over looking the Otter pond?

 

[bruin]

Slide was working and we were on the 5th floor.

 

[LisaZoe]

Sounds like you got a great room. My DD and I also had a woods view room booked for our stay 9/17-9/22. I was a bit disappointed that it overlooked what seemed to be a service parking area. We could see the woods but it wasn't a very pleasant view. Since we weren't in the room (and awake) all that much, I didn't ask to be moved... because we'd done a split stay with the first 3 nights at AKL. I was kind of tired when we checked in and completely forgot to ask about an upgrade or what kind of view we got.

I was also concerned at first that having our door open onto a hall that overlooked the lobby was going to be a problem since we could hear the "ruckus" from the WCC but it didn't seem to interfere with our sleep. I think we were too tired to even notice the noise once our heads hit the pillows.

I did like that we were next to stairs down to the lobby and not far from the elevator. The latter was especially welcome when pushing my DD in her stroller at the end of a long and busy day. I also liked that the building had subdued lighting. I'd read some reviews by people who thought the lodge was dark but to me it was a nice change from the bright sun (even when the sky was overcast) and gave a much more calm and quiet feeling to the setting - even during the busiest part of the day.

BTW - I really liked both WL and AKL. We had a savannah view room at the latter and it was wonderful. I think that was why I was a bit "let down" by the view from our WL room. However, both had the same quiet and calm feel to them which was very appreciated after the hustle and bustle of the parks.

 

[Taratink]

Lisazoe,
That little girl is sooooooooooooooooo beautiful. I have a daughter who is 3 and she would love to wear a dress like that. How was the split stay with a little one. Was it worth the trouble or do you wish that you stayed put?
Tara

 

[dpic]

LisaZoe,

Was the noise from the lobby at WL distracting, or very noticeable? We are thinking about asking for a lobby view but if the lobby sound is very distracting, I think we'll ask for something different.

Thanks.

 

[LisaZoe]

Taratink - Thank you. My DD got many compliments on her dress (which I loved to hear as well since I made it) and she felt quite the "belle of the ball".

As for the the split stay, the biggest "hassle" was packing mid-trip and checking in twice - although the latter was pretty quick compared to other hotels. I don't think I'd do it again but I did like the chance to experience 2 resorts on one trip. If I did a split trip again, I'd make sure the nicer resort/room was at the end. I think my opinion of the WL was affected by having had a nicer view room first.

dpic - we were on the 5th floor right above the WCC (2 floors up from the lobby on the 3rd floor). I think most of what we heard was the WCC "antics". In retrospect, it wasn't bad at all but after the quiet and view of the AKL room, I think the noise stood out more. On the positive side, the WCC closed early enough that it did not affect my sleep (my DD is a very sound sleeper so wouldn't have noticed it if it was open all night ). We live in a quiet neighbor hood so I think I'm also more aware of noise at night. I could hear it at times over the TV in the evening but it never was loud enough that I needed to raise the volume - and I keep the volume fairly low. I'll admit the heat and humidity made me cranky so just about anything could have irritated me. After we were in the room a day, though, my rational side took over and I only noticed the noise when I listened for it.