(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~11/13 - 6/14~

[bluecastle]

Watching my hockey team lose and just needed to see my ticker I am approaching double digits!!!

 

[whositsandwhatsits]

Hi y'all!

We had breakfast at WCC twice - MT was our server both mornings, and we absolutely loved her! We were celebrating our son's 15th birthday, and she was a riot with him! The food was good, and we will definitely go again and request to be seated in her section.

Thank your for this tip! We will ask for MT .

 

[whositsandwhatsits]

Reading this thread daily just raises my excitement level for staying at VWL!!!! This trip I have planned a lot of "downtime" so that we can explore and enjoy the resort.

We are SO looking forward to October!

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

We are not planning to do Disney next year (which would be our 10th), but we are at WL this summer instead! ;-)

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

No reason not to celebrate early!!!!

AW!!! We're going this year and celebrating our 8th! (wedding and 14th year together overall)...

Watching my hockey team lose and just needed to see my ticker I am approaching double digits!!!

Watching your hockey team lose stinks!

We won our series and get a rest till next round begins.

 

[firstwdw]

What are the marina hours at WL for renting sea racers?? We arrive to POFQ around noon on Sat and wanted to head over to visit WL and rent a sea racer since they no longer rent them at POR. But we also want to take a rest if our room is ready after being up since 4am-ha ha!!! THANK YOU!

 

[wuzzy6]

We are in the same boat, hoping that when we are at the WL in late October that there is a BB offer for 2015 dates. Our Oct stay was booked with a BB offer back in Dec. Our annual passes will expire on Nov 30th, so we won't be able to get an AP discount, either. But we have gotten some good general public discounts, so I'm sure something will work out.

I will never complain about ANY discount, and I agree -something will definitely work out! I hope you have a fantastic visit in October, and I'm hoping we'll all be able to come back in 2015 with a fantastic BB offer!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

Thank your for this tip! We will ask for MT .

You're most welcome! I hope you're able to be seated in her section and have a fantastic experience with her!

 

[jshoemak]

Hi! We are headed to the lodge in 10 days!! We are super excited to be staying at the WL for the very first time! Anyway, we have an early reservation for Crystal Palace at MK. What will be the easiest way to get there? And how early do we need to be there? Our reservation is for 8:15am. Oh, we will have a car since we are driving to the world.

Next, will we be able to be one of the firsts to enter the park after we eat? We plan to ride Peter Pan first.

 

[Cobern]

Hi! We are headed to the lodge in 10 days!! We are super excited to be staying at the WL for the very first time! Anyway, we have an early reservation for Crystal Palace at MK. What will be the easiest way to get there? And how early do we need to be there? Our reservation is for 8:15am. Oh, we will have a car since we are driving to the world. Next, will we be able to be one of the firsts to enter the park after we eat? We plan to ride Peter Pan first.

I'm wondering this too! We go end of May and have the same situation

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Hi! We are headed to the lodge in 10 days!! We are super excited to be staying at the WL for the very first time! Anyway, we have an early reservation for Crystal Palace at MK. What will be the easiest way to get there? And how early do we need to be there? Our reservation is for 8:15am. Oh, we will have a car since we are driving to the world. Next, will we be able to be one of the firsts to enter the park after we eat? We plan to ride Peter Pan first.

I'm wondering this too! We go end of May and have the same situation

For our early CP ADR we took the bus and it worked great. We had about a 15 minute wait for the bus and then a 5 minute ride to MK. I would plan on being at the front gate by 8, so at the bus stop by 7:30 to be safe.

By the way, we loved our CP breakfast and will do it again next time. It is so cool to be in the park early, and the food and service were great too. We can't wait to go back.

 

[Cobern]

For our early CP ADR we took the bus and it worked great. We had about a 15 minute wait for the bus and then a 5 minute ride to MK. I would plan on being at the front gate by 8, so at the bus stop by 7:30 to be safe. By the way, we loved our CP breakfast and will do it again next time. It is so cool to be in the park early, and the food and service were great too. We can't wait to go back.

Thank you! We did it in January and we really liked the food and my daughter loved seeing Pooh and friends. We got some really great pictures in front of the castle and we were done eating and out the door by 8:45 after seeing all the characters. Our server was amazing (Vinnie from NJ). I'm hoping to request him this time if he is still there

 

[BellsFam]

- Well, a little...

I (literally) just accepted a new job!

That means moving from my current one, (I really mean it when I say that I hate my job!) to one that I am SOO excited about!!!

I told them about my pre-booked vacation, and that I understood it wouldn't be compensated for, and they said that typically they like 6 months employment before you can use your PTO time, but they will let me use my accrrued time to that point for it!!!

So this is really shaping up to be a BIG vacation for us, DH is selling the business he owns, and starts his new job in a few weeks, which is why we booked our trip to begin with (DH has NEVER had a vacation, he works alone and for himself)... and now I'm getting into the position I wanted also!!!

Sorry...I'm just soo excited I had to share...

 

[wuzzy6]

Don't be sorry - that's awesome news! Congratulations!!!

 

[BellsFam]

Don't be sorry - that's awesome news! Congratulations!!!

Thanks! I can't stop smiling!!! I'm BURSTING to tell...so I figured it would help if I said something here...before I give my notice to someone who's not my supervisor!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

Thanks! I can't stop smiling!!! I'm BURSTING to tell...so I figured it would help if I said something here...before I give my notice to someone who's not my supervisor!!!

You're welcome! And, I can totally relate - best feeling ever, to know you have limited time left to deal with something that doesn't make you happy! I'm glad I could be here to let you lay it all out there and not get in trouble!!!

 

[BellsFam]

You're welcome! And, I can totally relate - best feeling ever, to know you have limited time left to deal with something that doesn't make you happy! I'm glad I could be here to let you lay it all out there and not get in trouble!!!

Oh I know! What I'm the most excited about is that I'm not coming home from my wonderful Disney trip to this junky job!!!

I've been telling DH throughout my interview process, how much I'd rather not even go to Disney, knowing I'd have to come home and come back here on Monday morning!

 

[jshoemak]

For our early CP ADR we took the bus and it worked great. We had about a 15 minute wait for the bus and then a 5 minute ride to MK. I would plan on being at the front gate by 8, so at the bus stop by 7:30 to be safe.

By the way, we loved our CP breakfast and will do it again next time. It is so cool to be in the park early, and the food and service were great too. We can't wait to go back.

Thank you for your advise! I'm just hoping everything goes smoothly due to the stampede running to A&E at rope drop.

 

[pas130]

Thanks! I can't stop smiling!!! I'm BURSTING to tell...so I figured it would help if I said something here...before I give my notice to someone who's not my supervisor!!!

Congrats!!!!

 

[pas130]

Hi y'all!

We came home earlier today after spending 2 nights at WL for the first time, and let me just tell you... WE ARE HOOKED!!! Of course, those of you who've already stayed there before knew that would probably happen!

We arrived Friday afternoon - check-in was a breeze, since we'd already completed the online check-in. We had booked a woods view room and requested a high floor prior to check-in. We were put in room 6106 - 6th floor, across the hall from ice/vending, and around the corner from the elevators. Our view was trees and some of the villas - pretty much what we expected. The staff was wonderful and made us feel right at home.

We had breakfast at WCC twice - MT was our server both mornings, and we absolutely loved her! We were celebrating our son's 15th birthday, and she was a riot with him! The food was good, and we will definitely go again and request to be seated in her section.

DH and I had dinner at Artist Point last night - just the two of us - and it was, by far, the best meal we've had at WDW to date. Our server, Keith, was exceptional - really spent a lot of time with DH and the Scotch and Bourbon selections. They bonded quite well. We will definitely return, and we will ask for Keith again, too. Just wonderful!

We only spent about an hour at the pool, but we really enjoyed it. The only "complaint" I have is that there weren't enough chairs available. We were only there to swim for a short time, so it all worked out fine - but if we'd have wanted to spend more time there, that would have been mildly frustrating. Not a big deal in the big picture, though!

We loved WL so much that we booked another stay in October with the BB offer! We will be staying in a 1Q/BB with a courtyard view, and I can't wait!!! So, would you please add us to the list again? October 24-26, 2014!

Great review, and for October!!

Sounds great!! I hope DH and I have such a good time there too!

You will

 

[WDWKOOK]

Last week and this week are a bit . We were out of town for a while again and I have fallen so behind on this beloved thread

Hey folks, my group will be attending MNSSHP earlier in the week of Halloween, but are there likely to be Halloween activities at the WL on Halloween night? That will be our last night there, and we all love Halloween. Any other suggestions for non-MNSSHP activities on Halloween? Thanks!

I know from past activity calendars that there are some activities for the kids on Halloween at the resorts, but I think most are in the afternoon and early evening. Hopefully someone else will have been there on Halloween and will post

Kook, do all the guest room doors have a wreath/stocking on them during Christmas?!?!

No. I just meant that the only time I ever saw a decorated door at WL was at Christmas when someone had a stocking or wreath up. You can't tape things to the door and it isn't magnetic so I've really never seen them decorated.

I follow this thread but I don't think I've posted yet!

I'm a huge WL fan. Stayed there for two weeks in 2001 and have been desperate to go back.

Super excited to share my WL love with my family this August 5-12

Welcome to the thread and I'll log your dates on the first page.

So excited to have found this thread. We will be at at WL 11-15 until 11-24. Our first trip to WDW!

We're excited to have you subscribed and planning your first trip! I'll add your dates to the Lodgers' Log, too.

At the lodge now. Maybe I'm cranky bc our early evening flight was delayed and we didn't actually get to the lodge until 1:30 am, but we are next to a stairwell with some sort of hydraulic pump turning on and off every 3 mins or so. No sleep. Asking to switch rooms as soon as my kids wake up. Glad they slept at least. Wish us luck! (We are WL diehards with never a complaint usually!)

Are/were you near an elevator? They make a whirring noise. Did you get an acceptable room?

I mentioned we were trying to move our BB from a bunk bed room to any other room (but not CL). I just called and they opened up rooms as part of the BB offer. We are going from Nov 14-20 and were switched to Courtyard View. I was told there was little chance of any new rooms opening...

But I have heard many of you are looking to switch so I would call now!

Yippee!

Hey KOOK!
After much and number crunching ...I had to switch us...It sounds so silly to be upset about this, I know. I took us out of CL I moved us down, added 2 days, 2 more park hopper tix for the 3 of us, 3 tix to MNSSHP, a memory maker, dining plan & still saving us about $100! We will really really miss OFC CMs but at least we can wave to everyone from down below. Maybe I can get us Flag Family? Maybe 40% disc will ????
Italia is upset but she understands now there is more time at WDW! It's DH that's being the baby So can you please update us on the Log? August 26th - September 4th Thank you!!! Mary

I will (sadly) update the Log, but adding two days, MM and DDP is a great tradeoff. You did well and I bet Loyda would be thrilled to meet-up with Italia.

Arrived, and after getting slightly settled, did AK for the afternoon.
Love the Memory Maker. Did a ton of character meets and magic shots. Ended up with over 50 photos in about 4 hours of park time.

I don't want to tell too much, as I am looking forward to doing my first TR So I hope some of you will follow along when I get home and plan it out

You're missing buckets and buckets of rain here. Hope you're still having a great time and please post the link to your TR here

Just checked in and apparently got upgraded to a courtyard view. I was really hoping to see Wishes from our requested room, so I am a bit torn. But the view is nice and we are close'ish to the elevators so that is good.

Are/were you in a South Wing CV room? You can see some of Wishes from those balconies.

We're so excited! Put us on the list please! We're there 10-18 November. (Is it bad that I'm already counting down?) this will be our third trip in the last two years!

Not bad at all and of course I'll add your dates

Hi all! Finally caught up. Welcome to all the newbies!! Love reading about everyone's plans. Been busy reading about the changes to FP+ that start this Monday. By the time my FP+ reservation date rolls around this June, I wonder how many changes there will be? For anyone looking for info on this topic I highly recommend Mesaboy2's thread. Don't know how to post link, but the title is FastPass+ Basic Information, Attraction List, and Suggested Priorities

To post a link you can just copy/paste the URL that begins with www.disboards.com/

We stay club level with our DD's every year ! This year we will,be traveling without them. We were wondering if anyone knows if you can get just a king bed on club level?? Thanks

I know that you are guaranteed a king on CL if you book a Honeymoon Suite. There are 4 of them. Otherwise, you can email the IPO and ask if it's a possibility. My assumption, which might be wrong, is that there are only HA king rooms on CL.

I just committed to flights! I had been watching the flights for 3 (probably longer!) weeks, and just watched the price go up $126! So I booked today! I booked DME right after that, (I got a confirmation email), so I just now need to update CL IPO...

I got a plastic box that I'm storing all my printed documents, etc. in and it's hidden under the bed away from DD...

I dug out my Minnie Countdown calendar that I made(I'm a scrapbooker) the first time we went... I put it up on the fridge 15 days before, and then we move a magnet over which day it is... (plus DD and I will make a rip chain for her)... I also printed a "Mousekeeping" envelope for every day we will be there!

And...I just added that stinking Memory Maker...

Planning outfits and getting excited!!!

You are well on your way to a fabulous trip!

Hi y'all!

We came home earlier today after spending 2 nights at WL for the first time, and let me just tell you... WE ARE HOOKED!!! Of course, those of you who've already stayed there before knew that would probably happen!

We arrived Friday afternoon - check-in was a breeze, since we'd already completed the online check-in. We had booked a woods view room and requested a high floor prior to check-in. We were put in room 6106 - 6th floor, across the hall from ice/vending, and around the corner from the elevators. Our view was trees and some of the villas - pretty much what we expected. The staff was wonderful and made us feel right at home.

We had breakfast at WCC twice - MT was our server both mornings, and we absolutely loved her! We were celebrating our son's 15th birthday, and she was a riot with him! The food was good, and we will definitely go again and request to be seated in her section.

DH and I had dinner at Artist Point last night - just the two of us - and it was, by far, the best meal we've had at WDW to date. Our server, Keith, was exceptional - really spent a lot of time with DH and the Scotch and Bourbon selections. They bonded quite well. We will definitely return, and we will ask for Keith again, too. Just wonderful!

We only spent about an hour at the pool, but we really enjoyed it. The only "complaint" I have is that there weren't enough chairs available. We were only there to swim for a short time, so it all worked out fine - but if we'd have wanted to spend more time there, that would have been mildly frustrating. Not a big deal in the big picture, though!

We loved WL so much that we booked another stay in October with the BB offer! We will be staying in a 1Q/BB with a courtyard view, and I can't wait!!! So, would you please add us to the list again? October 24-26, 2014!

Thank you for posting your mini TR and congratulations on booking a BB! MT Wallet is hilarious and WCC wouldn't be the same without her and all the fun CMs. You'll have to make more time for swimming in October

Yesterday was (finally) our 180 day mark! Being that we wanted to try lots of F&W foods + enjoy the club level snacks, we only booked our favorite dinner - Ohana on Halloween night. Happy to have that booked!

We're still far away but there's something about that 180 day mark that makes you feel just a little more excited for the trip!!

It does make it seem more real

Hey everyone! We just decided we are going to stay at the WL CL for our 10 year anniversary in Nov. We are doing a split stay, half will be at AoA, as a surprise to our kids!! We have been to WL twice to visit friends who were staying there, but it will be our first time staying there! We are very excited!! I'm looking forward to planning with all of you!

You've made a great choice and what a memorable anniversary you're going to have at the OFC. Are you staying there last?

Hi everyone! We are staying in a deluxe studio 6/26-7/8. Should we request a certain location? It's myself, DH and DD 9. We have more DVC family staying at Boardwalk. Haven't stayed at WL since our honeymoon in 1999. Very excited! Last stay was in Nov. 2012 at Bay Lake. We have annual passes and are considering Tables in Wonderland over dining plan. I never eat the desserts, lol. Just did all our fastpasses and dining has been set for a while. I've never been at this very busy time of year, any advice is appreciated!

I'll log your dates and congratulations on booking VWL. I would highly recommend TiW over the DDP. For us, we always find it to be a much better value and allows you to get exactly what you want. TiW will save you 20% off TS meals and alcohol and you can even use it at Flame Tree BBQ

I think many guests like to request a villa facing Bay Lake. While you can't really see Bay Lake brought the trees, it's a nice woods view.

Reading this thread daily just raises my excitement level for staying at VWL!!!! This trip I have planned a lot of "downtime" so that we can explore and enjoy the resort.

We are SO looking forward to October!

Downtime is a must at WL. So much to see and do there and at all the nearby MK Resorts.

What are the marina hours at WL for renting sea racers?? We arrive to POFQ around noon on Sat and wanted to head over to visit WL and rent a sea racer since they no longer rent them at POR. But we also want to take a rest if our room is ready after being up since 4am-ha ha!!! THANK YOU!

Summer hours:

- Well, a little...

I (literally) just accepted a new job!

That means moving from my current one, (I really mean it when I say that I hate my job!) to one that I am SOO excited about!!!

I told them about my pre-booked vacation, and that I understood it wouldn't be compensated for, and they said that typically they like 6 months employment before you can use your PTO time, but they will let me use my accrrued time to that point for it!!!

So this is really shaping up to be a BIG vacation for us, DH is selling the business he owns, and starts his new job in a few weeks, which is why we booked our trip to begin with (DH has NEVER had a vacation, he works alone and for himself)... and now I'm getting into the position I wanted also!!!

Sorry...I'm just soo excited I had to share...

So happy for you and DH. You'll have a lot to celebrate at WDW!

Congrats!!!!

Are we still at WL-CL?