(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~2014~

[Wood Nymph]

Not sure if it was the same young man but the guy with iPad opened his case and wrote out a yellow slip for us to take to AK and use for any attraction.
I walked over to ask him the eta for the AK bus and when he told me 6 min and that it would also be stopping at GF (or maybe it was FW) I asked if he could help me try to reschedule our FP+ for the Lion King show. I could not get app to work and neither could he. I asked if was trying to expedite busses and he said he was collecting data but was able to give bus arrival times.

He probably was the same guy. He told us he was collecting data, too. I only saw him the one day, which would have been Saturday.

 

[JnKinVA]

I asked him if the WL had any plans to add an electronic board with bus arrival times like they have at some of the other resorts. But he hadn't heard of any plans to add them to all the resorts. That's too bad because knowing how long it would be before a bus arrived would be very nice.

I agree! We didn't know they existed until we took a bus from GF to DTD and saw the board, so convenient!
It would definitely be nice to have at WL.

 

[BandMom1]

Trip Report Continued-

After Morocco, we went into that huge Japan store. Watched a little "Diving For Pearls" ( sounds better than Just Grab A Shell & Hand It To The Woman With The Drumsticks), but found how that young woman was making necklaces with the pearls much more fascinating. Bought a dragon embellished backpack and Japanese culture book for one granddaughter who's into it right now, origami paper for another granddaughter and a small plush Florida Hello Kitty for me ( Kitty is in an alligator costume - too cute to leave behind).
Found DH outside, standing, staring blankly at nothing imparticular, signaling naptime for someone.
After some downtime, we geared up for our first visit to both The Boardwalk and Flying Fish for dinner. Since it's an area we're not familiar with and envisioned ourselves driving in circles in what could be a Reedy Creek nightmarish evening, we decided to take a bus to DHS and the boat to the Boardwalk. We liked the way the restaurant carried on the boardwalk theme. We had Moe as our server. He is fantastic. The food was very good. The only negative was the sound level, which was high, but the quality of the food won out over the noise.
We made our way back to the dock where two boats showed up,one on each side. Yes, there's a story happening here. Another story. The boat on the right,the Epcot side,unloaded. DH & I thought about hopping on that one,but my legs were hurting and the walk from the Epcot dock to the buses was sooooo loooong. I was wearing a knee brace and full leg compression stocking due to knee surgery that didn't totally work. The boat on the left unloaded too. There were still some people on it though. So we waited to board. Waited. Waited. Eventually, the captain wandered over and asked where we wanted to go. We said DHS, to hop a bus. He said. Nope, closed an hour ago. Oh, guess what I forgot to check. We must have had that Holy Canolli look on our faces because he silently pointed towards the Boardwalk Inn, quietly said Lobby, and got back on the boat. We walked back to where we thought the lobby would be, walked past a nice little bar area, down some stairs and there we were, outside. It was a courtyard with a small, very simple, no frills pool.
Along one side, were small cottages. They had a little front yard, with rose bushes, a white picket fence and gate with overhead trellis. Utterly adorable! We had no idea these even existed. I was loving this new discovery, but one glance at DH's face and he looked like he fell down the rabbit hole, it was a one way trip and he was never seeing his bed again. A woman was entering the cottage on the end and I asked her for directions to the bus. Of course, it was back up the stairs, through the building, through the lobby we never reached and back around the front left of the building. So we slogged our way all the way through to the front of the building (nice interiors/decor by the way). As we started walking towards the bus area, I figured DH had about 5 more walking seconds left in him before I'd have to do a Firemans carry for him, so I said "Taxi?", DH said "Either that or I'm just laying down under that bush & get me in the morning". Opted for the taxi. It was $13.20 well spent back to WL. I would need to actually think through our next dinner for the next evening (last night)...at the Yachtsman Steakhouse......across from the Boardwalk...... (we bused it by way of MK. We actually made it back to WL before our legs turned numb).
Electrical Parade is starting up. Gotta go. More tomorrow

Thoroughly enjoying your trip reports! Can't wait to be there...only 46 more days!!

 

[mrsap]

We are in SINGLE DIGITS today!!!! I cannot believe how fast this trip has seemed to come! We will be at WL before we know it!

To everyone leaving this week, have a great trip!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[BandMom1]

We are in SINGLE DIGITS today!!!! I cannot believe how fast this trip has seemed to come! We will be at WL before we know it!

To everyone leaving this week, have a great trip!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Single digits?!? How exciting!!!

 

[lthiesfeld07]

My fiancé and I are debating on renting points to stay at Wilderness Lodge Villas for our honeymoon! I am slightly torn because I've always wanted to stay in the "hotel" portion.

Will I be disappointed in staying in the villas side?

Thanks all!!

 

[mom2alix]

My fiancé and I are debating on renting points to stay at Wilderness Lodge Villas for our honeymoon! I am slightly torn because I've always wanted to stay in the "hotel" portion.

Will I be disappointed in staying in the villas side?

Thanks all!!

The villas side is really nice. In the studios you have a couch area which gives a suite feel if you don't need to pull out that bed. You'll also have a microwave, which the regular rooms don't have. That's great to heat up any yummy leftovers you brought back for a late night snack. The Villas quiet pool also doesn't close, so you can have late night access to the hot tub.

If you really want to splurge, get a 1 bedroom. That huge jacuzzi tub is really nice!

 

[rfc0001]

They do - or at least they did in 2012.

Great pics!

As someone else posted they do have a great tree in the Villas too.

Sweet, good to know!

OT, but do all DVC resorts have Christmas decorations?

 

[ntantaros]

Just checked in at WL. No Xmas decorations yet. One person told me Thanksgiving week. Another told me this week. I hope it's this week. Between the pool being closed and no Xmas decorations yet we are pretty bummed out right now.

 

[chigirl]

Just checked in at WL. No Xmas decorations yet. One person told me Thanksgiving week. Another told me this week. I hope it's this week. Between the pool being closed and no Xmas decorations yet we are pretty bummed out right now.

We will be there tomorrow...my fingers are crossed that my source is right with the night of 11/18, but the Gingerbread House at GF was set to open on 11/14 and it's pushed back to this Friday and that's a revenue-generator, not just a decoration, so I am thinking WL will be pushed back. If GF starts their décor tonight, then my source is right, who said GF first 0n 11/16...we will see. I will be bummed but it is snowing/miserable in Chicago and my personal life has fallen apart, so I just want to be at the World.

 

[jh91]

My fiancé and I are debating on renting points to stay at Wilderness Lodge Villas for our honeymoon! I am slightly torn because I've always wanted to stay in the "hotel" portion. Will I be disappointed in staying in the villas side? Thanks all!!

I think I can say very confidently that you will definitely not be disappointed. We just rented points for the first time last month and absolutely fell in love with the villas. We got a one bedroom and loved having a full kitchen and separate bedroom. This was my first visit to the lodge, but the villas just seemed so quiet and peaceful. I will absolutely return to the villas as I really just can't imagine anywhere better.

 

[SFunaro]

It was reiterated to me that it was the 23rd today.
But that's ok. We're staying at in room 6157, which overlooks the pool AND the lake.

looks wonderful..

btw the service here is amazing compared to the beach club, while the pool there was amazing, the service wasn't worth it.

 

[BridgetR3]

Quick question for anyone - What type of coffee makers are in the Villa rooms? We leave tomorrow and DH wants to pack the Keurig.

I'm trying to avoid it but......

 

[Wood Nymph]

Quick question for anyone - What type of coffee makers are in the Villa rooms? We leave tomorrow and DH wants to pack the Keurig. I'm trying to avoid it but......

I think that they are still the Mr Coffee type basket filter coffee maker. The studios have a four cup coffee maker and the villas have a ten cup pot

 

[mom2william]

My 6 year old DS and I are going for a mommy son trip from 11/29-12/4. We have a courtyard view. Any recommendations on room request? We've stayed at WL before, but only for a night before a cruise. Want to make this trip extra special for him!

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

Any word yet on the pool being reopened? More importantly the new splash pad? Any new pictures of that or what the theme might be? We are only staying 1 night at the end of our trip, but really wanted to get in some pool time here. Getting excited!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Hi, Im new on here- I have been reading posts and learning a lot. I noticed that you can be added to the wilderness lodge roll call. Our trip is coming up and I'm super excited. We arriving December 2 and staying club level till December 7 at the lodge. (Taking 2 days at Royal pacific first, before moving to the Lodge for my older daughters to take in some Harry Potter magic). We took our first trip to the lodge in January 2014 for 5 days and we are expecting our 6th child for April- so I cashed in all my future birthday/anniversary presents for one more trip before the new baby. Im nervous about going pregnant bc I'm constantly exhausted. Hopefully the excitement of disney will keep me going.
Im glad I found the DIS boards. Im learning a lot from everybody's tips and knowledge. Thanks.

Naomi

WL CL DEC 2- 7 2015- CAN'T WAIT!

Naomi, to the DIS and the WL/VWL thread! We're honored that your first post is here.

Congratulations on your 6th child. There are lots of cozy places to rest at WL/VWL and don't forget all those park benches. The OFC is a great place to relax and have a beverage or snack. I'll log your dates, but did you mean 2014?

Kook - when you get a chance can you add us for next years trip? We have a hard time resisting the bounce back offers. We will be WL CL 11/15 -11/21/15.

Thank you!

Yippee!!

Only 42 hours until our arrival at the Wilderness Lodge! I was wondering if someone there now or recently could tell me what types of pins the lodge pin board or cast members were offering to trade with my 8 year old? I thought during our last 2 visits to the lodge cast members had more unique pins to trade then at some of the park shops. Also should I be concerned about him wearing his lanyard on the plane with pins he wants to trade on it? I dont think this would be viewed as contraband but also dont want him to lose the pins that he wants to trade if he cant carry it on the plane either.

There are a couple of pin trading books at WL. One is located at the pin cart which is between WCC and TL and the other you have to ask for at the concierge desk.

Please add us - 11/21-11/23/14. Pre cruise on the Disney Magic!!

Congratulations!

Here in WDW now. Is the WL tree up and decor yet?

Hope you're having a great time.

I'll be down 11/18-21 and if holiday is up I'm taking mom over from poly to see. I'll get pics of pool but any any other requests???

Have a great trip with Mom and thanks in advance for the pool update.

Another trip report-
First things first - DH talked to a few workers by the pool-the footprint of the pool was never meant to change -they needed to re-surface the bottom to make it less slippery and put in the interactive fountain/splash area.

The tree at DHS went up overnight -Wed,Mickey & his sorcerer brooms,Thurs., tree. Decorations along Main Street are in full swing, Christmas music playing in the parks - Christmas stores fully loaded -not sure what happened to Thanksgiving..............

So, on Wednesday, we had a 10:50 FP for Soarin, so it was going to be another day of moseying through a park-Epcot -Future World. Breakfast at the OFC, more Brown Sugar with a small side of Oatmeal.

Today, there was young man with a straw hat outside with his Ipad, taking note of the arrival & departure times of the buses. Not sure if this is done occasionally or someone complained. When he approached me, he asked where we were going and I said Epcot, been waiting almost 25 minutes. He gave me a quick look that kinda said, Oh Come On, then glanced down at his notes and gave another look that said, Well, yeah I guess so. I told him that it's all okay. We're at WL, I'm not cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, sitting in a doctors office for one thing or another...if I have to wait a few more minutes for a bus to continue having a good time in another area, so be it. I'm choosing my battles and today, waiting for a bus isn't one of them.

Once we arrived at Epcot, we decided to hit the rides that might be on their way out sooner than later, so, there we went, into Journey Into Imagination, to wave at Figment. There's so much going on now in science, medicine and engineering,it wouldn't be so difficult to update this one. They do offer some nice educational books in the gift shop and I bought myself a L/S Shirt with Figment on it,because......well,Figment is cute.

Then,it was on to Capt. EO,which both of us have successfully avoided until now. So we entered the time capsule and it was 1986 for ,thankfully, not too long. I'm sure it was quite the thing back in the day,but at our ages, it's like Middle School-we are so thankful for getting through it the first time, we have no desire to re-visit it again. Check it off the list. On to Soarin, which we do at every visit. It's my personal challenge, as I have height issues. I white knuckle it the whole time, but there is something about it I do enjoy. This day, I finally smelled the oranges, which I've managed to miss in the past, possibly due to the silent screaming that was going on in my head.

Having only gone through half of Epcot on a previous day, we headed back to get through the other half. Passed a lumberjack show, Alice and Mary Poppins at England, and stopped at a Photopass spot to have a pic of us with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We added two Magic Shots, one with us holding butterflies and another with DH holding balloons. I'm getting my moneys worth of photos, no photographer is safe-I'm coming for you and you will take LOTS of pictures! Butterflies,Simba,Stitch,Olaf, Tinkerbell,I want them all!!!

So we decided to have lunch at Spice Road (another new experience), because you don't need a ressie, but they will start taking ressies like everyone else next month. We really liked it a lot. The lunch & dinner menu are the same. We were told that if we come by around 7:45pm,we'll be able to get a table and see Illuminations while we eat. We thought we might do that Friday evening, but this evening has come and almost gone & we ended up too exhausted to go back, but it's definitely on our next time list.

Our next new thing to do was to walk around the Morocco area. It's really nice, the way it's set up to look like an outdoor bazaar. We liked how it was an immersive experience,meant to make you feel like you're really there. No Disney stuff in the markets. I found lots of little areas to take some pretty & interesting pictures. There's also a tiny museum that displays wardrobe and jewelry of the culture which was interesting. I bought a small bottle of olive oil because I kinda collect food and a bottle of orange blossom water. At lunch,DH asked if they could make him Moroccan coffee, as he was curious as to how it would taste. Well, it was really good. They added a few drops of the orange blossom water and a little cinnamon. It really smoothed out the taste. Very nice.

This is getting too long. I'll continue in a new post.

Thank you for the information on the pool reno. I can't believe it's scheduled to re-open 10 days from now. Is that still the date guests are being told?

We talked to the guy with the iPad when we were there last month. He was one of the interns working in Transportation. I asked him if the WL had any plans to add an electronic board with bus arrival times like they have at some of the other resorts. But he hadn't heard of any plans to add them to all the resorts. That's too bad because knowing how long it would be before a bus arrived would be very nice.

ITA. Why would they not put them at all the resorts?

Trip Report Continued-

After Morocco, we went into that huge Japan store. Watched a little "Diving For Pearls" ( sounds better than Just Grab A Shell & Hand It To The Woman With The Drumsticks), but found how that young woman was making necklaces with the pearls much more fascinating. Bought a dragon embellished backpack and Japanese culture book for one granddaughter who's into it right now, origami paper for another granddaughter and a small plush Florida Hello Kitty for me ( Kitty is in an alligator costume - too cute to leave behind).

Found DH outside, standing, staring blankly at nothing imparticular, signaling naptime for someone.

After some downtime, we geared up for our first visit to both The Boardwalk and Flying Fish for dinner. Since it's an area we're not familiar with and envisioned ourselves driving in circles in what could be a Reedy Creek nightmarish evening, we decided to take a bus to DHS and the boat to the Boardwalk. We liked the way the restaurant carried on the boardwalk theme. We had Moe as our server. He is fantastic. The food was very good. The only negative was the sound level, which was high, but the quality of the food won out over the noise.

We made our way back to the dock where two boats showed up,one on each side. Yes, there's a story happening here. Another story. The boat on the right,the Epcot side,unloaded. DH & I thought about hopping on that one,but my legs were hurting and the walk from the Epcot dock to the buses was sooooo loooong. I was wearing a knee brace and full leg compression stocking due to knee surgery that didn't totally work. The boat on the left unloaded too. There were still some people on it though. So we waited to board. Waited. Waited. Eventually, the captain wandered over and asked where we wanted to go. We said DHS, to hop a bus. He said. Nope, closed an hour ago. Oh, guess what I forgot to check. We must have had that Holy Canolli look on our faces because he silently pointed towards the Boardwalk Inn, quietly said Lobby, and got back on the boat. We walked back to where we thought the lobby would be, walked past a nice little bar area, down some stairs and there we were, outside. It was a courtyard with a small, very simple, no frills pool.

Along one side, were small cottages. They had a little front yard, with rose bushes, a white picket fence and gate with overhead trellis. Utterly adorable! We had no idea these even existed. I was loving this new discovery, but one glance at DH's face and he looked like he fell down the rabbit hole, it was a one way trip and he was never seeing his bed again. A woman was entering the cottage on the end and I asked her for directions to the bus. Of course, it was back up the stairs, through the building, through the lobby we never reached and back around the front left of the building. So we slogged our way all the way through to the front of the building (nice interiors/decor by the way).

As we started walking towards the bus area, I figured DH had about 5 more walking seconds left in him before I'd have to do a Firemans carry for him, so I said "Taxi?", DH said "Either that or I'm just laying down under that bush & get me in the morning". Opted for the taxi. It was $13.20 well spent back to WL. I would need to actually think through our next dinner for the next evening (last night)...at the Yachtsman Steakhouse......across from the Boardwalk...... (we bused it by way of MK. We actually made it back to WL before our legs turned numb).

Electrical Parade is starting up. Gotta go. More tomorrow

Glad you got a tour of BWI, albeit not one you had really planned on. There are lots of Garden Cottage photos on the BWI thread (the link is in my signature). They have a max. occ. now of two and have CL privileges, so would be perfect for you guys. But, you do have a bit of a walk to the lounge.

We are in SINGLE DIGITS today!!!! I cannot believe how fast this trip has seemed to come! We will be at WL before we know it!

To everyone leaving this week, have a great trip!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

It's almost time!

Just checked in at WL. No Xmas decorations yet. One person told me Thanksgiving week. Another told me this week. I hope it's this week. Between the pool being closed and no Xmas decorations yet we are pretty bummed out right now.

I hope you're having a magical stay.

We will be there tomorrow...my fingers are crossed that my source is right with the night of 11/18, but the Gingerbread House at GF was set to open on 11/14 and it's pushed back to this Friday and that's a revenue-generator, not just a decoration, so I am thinking WL will be pushed back. If GF starts their décor tonight, then my source is right, who said GF first 0n 11/16...we will see. I will be bummed but it is snowing/miserable in Chicago and my personal life has fallen apart, so I just want to be at the World.

I hope everything goes smoothly with your trip and you're sprinkled with lots of

My 6 year old DS and I are going for a mommy son trip from 11/29-12/4. We have a courtyard view. Any recommendations on room request? We've stayed at WL before, but only for a night before a cruise. Want to make this trip extra special for him!

What a fun trip and I'll add your dates to the Lodgers' Log. If you want a view of Bay Lake and the geyser/ppol, request an INNER or WL courtyard view. Some CYV rooms face the villa's courtyard. The highest floor that doesn't have any enclosed balcony railings is the 5th.

Any word yet on the pool being reopened? More importantly the new splash pad? Any new pictures of that or what the theme might be? We are only staying 1 night at the end of our trip, but really wanted to get in some pool time here. Getting excited!

Pool rehab details/photos are in POST 2.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Quick question for anyone - What type of coffee makers are in the Villa rooms? We leave tomorrow and DH wants to pack the Keurig.

I'm trying to avoid it but......

Usually Mr Coffee style, flat basket filters are needed (they don't provide them). If you have a four cup coffee maker and want a 10 cup coffee maker, just ask housekeeping and they will bring you one. Bring your own coffee, too.

 

[vbarry]

Any pool updates?? We arrive Dec 28 and taking our friends who have never been to WDW. I want it to be an awesome experience and really hoping the pool will be open!!

 

[AngiTN]

Any pool updates?? We arrive Dec 28 and taking our friends who have never been to WDW. I want it to be an awesome experience and really hoping the pool will be open!!

You'll be fine. It's scheduled to open a full month before that. Even if it's running a few days late it's not that behind. Already has water back in the main pool.