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

[bluecastle]

Thanks, Jen, for taking the time to give us an update while you are busy enjoying your trip. Have a wonderful time!!
Our trip is just under 3 weeks away and the excitement is threatening to disrupt my sleep already!!
I know this is a question better suited for the DVC group, but I also know that there are some folks here who have stayed in the villas, so here goes. I am trying to think of items for the kitchen that I will want to buy on our grocery/Walmart stop on the way from Uni to VWL. I looked at the allears list of kitchen supplies as a guide. So far, I have paper plates, bowls, plastic silverware, ( I really don't want to be doing dishes every day!), plastic cups, maybe plastic wrap and/ or aluminum foil, storage containers, napkins, paper towels, bottled waters, basket coffee filters, to-go coffee cups and lids, and even though they provide these ( I want my own) small dish soap and Tide-free pods, large Clorox wipes, and a power strip. We are also stopping at a Whole Foods for fruit, snacks, and yogurt. Is there anything, mostly kitchen-related, I am missing? I have never stayed in this kind of accommodation before and I am sure we are going to get there and I will notice something obvious that I forgot. D'oh!
I know most things will be on hand at the Mercantile, but if I can get WalMart prices I would prefer doing that. ( just a side note- I never shop at WalMart!)
Thanks for any advice. I have done so much shopping for this trip already!!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

After stalking the website forever, I was finally able to add the last night on my FD ressie at VWL!!!

So excited! 9 glorious nights! 11/17-26!

 

[dkrauss]

Good Morning, Lodgers! Well, we made it to the lodge last night and it TRULY is beautiful. All the pictures I have seen....it looks just as amazing as I had envisioned!

All the CM's are kind and helpful, as always. I thought I would give a bit of info on our experiences, so far:

1. Stream/waterfall project: still no water flowing. I said a little prayer when we pulled in last night that we would in and it would be going, but it wasn't so. The tree blockade is still up in the lobby surrounding the bridge - but, other than that, we have seen zero signs of work. No workers, no equipment, etc. I will ask later today if there is a completion date update and will also see if workers appear later today.

2. Room request: We had originally requested a "bear face" room and I had even called 5 days ahead to confirm the request was still noted. We were not granted our request. We are in room 4125. This is a courtyard view room and still looks directly out over the the pool at Bay Lake. Beautiful. . The rooms are good, the decor is really cute (love the woodsy character tiles in the shower!) although the rooms are a bit smaller than other deluxes- which we knew and expected. It works for us though!

3. Magical Express: we arrive at MCO last night at 6:05 pm and by 6:30 we were the first people on the ME. We had to wait another 30 (torturous! Lol) minutes for others to board and the ME to depart. It took 42 minutes to arrive at WL. We were the second stop and the drop off order was: Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian and Contemporary.

4. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the boat to MK! Can't say that one enough!

This morning, we are on our way to Hollywood Studios for EMH - a little later than we had anticipated. It was a late night at MK (returned to the room at 12:20 AM)! We waited just over 20 minutes for a bus this morning, it arrived empty but our stop filled it up! It was direct service to the studios. Check in again later!

Thanks so much for the update............love hearing about the lodge. We're visiting for first time in Sept. Can't wait!!!

Doug

 

[nuts4elid]

We will once again be returning to the WL!!! Our dates are Nov 18 - 28. We can't wait!!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thanks, Jen, for taking the time to give us an update while you are busy enjoying your trip. Have a wonderful time!!
Our trip is just under 3 weeks away and the excitement is threatening to disrupt my sleep already!!
I know this is a question better suited for the DVC group, but I also know that there are some folks here who have stayed in the villas, so here goes. I am trying to think of items for the kitchen that I will want to buy on our grocery/Walmart stop on the way from Uni to VWL. I looked at the allears list of kitchen supplies as a guide. So far, I have paper plates, bowls, plastic silverware, ( I really don't want to be doing dishes every day!), plastic cups, maybe plastic wrap and/ or aluminum foil, storage containers, napkins, paper towels, bottled waters, basket coffee filters, to-go coffee cups and lids, and even though they provide these ( I want my own) small dish soap and Tide-free pods, large Clorox wipes, and a power strip. We are also stopping at a Whole Foods for fruit, snacks, and yogurt. Is there anything, mostly kitchen-related, I am missing? I have never stayed in this kind of accommodation before and I am sure we are going to get there and I will notice something obvious that I forgot. D'oh!
I know most things will be on hand at the Mercantile, but if I can get WalMart prices I would prefer doing that. ( just a side note- I never shop at WalMart!)
Thanks for any advice. I have done so much shopping for this trip already!!

Are you in a villa rather than a studio? Will you be doing a lot of cooking? I would bring things like sugar, salt and pepper. You already have coffee filters listed. We bring coffee, too. I would bring zip-lock storage bags, too, for storing leftovers and for bringing snacks along to the park or pool.

 

[foxfamily8198]

Have you started packing yet? My. Magic Your Way paperwork and luggage tags arrived in the mail yesterday. It's starting to feel so real now!! Our dates are Aug 2-16. I'm so excited! Looking forward to spending 2 weeks in our favourite place with my 2 boys before they fly back to University. Is it the 2nd yet?

Yes I have started packing! We have our magic bands!! Finalized all of our touring plans this morning!!! We head out the 31st, it cannot come soon enough!! Hoping the waterfall is working!!! Fingers crossed!

 

[mcconnellfam96]

Hello again!

Well, we have had a full day today here and it has been a fun one!

I am attempting to post my first picture here, so here is a picture of the view from our balcony:



Beautiful!

Some notes from today:

1. We headed to Hollywood Studios this morning for the EMH, we got down to the bus stop at 7:25 and waited almost 25 minutes for a bus. Ugh. Funny thing is, we watched multiple busses come for MK and EPCOT - and neither of those parks were even opening until 9:00. LOL. We left Hollywood Studios at 11:00 AM and once again we waited and waited for a bus to pick us up.....30 minutes this time! I kid you know we watched FIVE busses come and go for Caribbean Beach Resort alone. This adds to my ongoing aversion to the Disney bus transportation - but fortunately it is only necessary on this trip for the studios and AK.

2. Roaring Forks: When we FINALLY made our way back to the resort we had lunch at Roaring Forks. Now, I have been surprised at how small this walk up service is (smaller than any other one I have seen at the WDW Resorts), but they seemed to run pretty efficiently! We waited in line to order and pay, found a table and our food was delivered to us quickly. Now we are a family with some allergy issues (gluten and shellfish) and we felt well accommodated at the Forks! Food was pretty tasted....I highly recommend the Wilderness Salad.

3. Stream/waterfall update: Still. No. Water. It is a mystery to me as their still appears to be NO WORK going on. Very strange. The front desk was busy each time I was in the lobby today, but I promise I will ask for a projected completion date! I am kind of glad that this is our first WL trip that we are experiencing, since the waterfall isn't working. I suppose we don't know what we are missing! Would love to see it even just one day before we leave on the evening of 7/28!!!

I will check in again soon! Heading to bed now (quite late, just returned from MK) and we are debating if we will try to wake up for AK EMH. Oh my!

 

[patty57]

Some notes from today:

1. We headed to Hollywood Studios this morning for the EMH, we got down to the bus stop at 7:25 and waited almost 25 minutes for a bus. Ugh. Funny thing is, we watched multiple busses come for MK and EPCOT - and neither of those parks were even opening until 9:00. LOL. We left Hollywood Studios at 11:00 AM and once again we waited and waited for a bus to pick us up.....30 minutes this time! I kid you know we watched FIVE busses come and go for Caribbean Beach Resort alone. This adds to my ongoing aversion to the Disney bus transportation - but fortunately it is only necessary on this trip for the studios and AK.


3. Stream/waterfall update: Still. No. Water. It is a mystery to me as their still appears to be NO WORK going on. Very strange. The front desk was busy each time I was in the lobby today, but I promise I will ask for a projected completion date! I am kind of glad that this is our first WL trip that we are experiencing, since the waterfall isn't working. I suppose we don't know what we are missing! Would love to see it even just one day before we leave on the evening of 7/28!!!

I will check in again soon! Heading to bed now (quite late, just returned from MK) and we are debating if we will try to wake up for AK EMH. Oh my!

That is what I love about the Epcot resorts area. You can walk to DHS & Epcot, and Epcot seems to be where we spend a lot of our time. The buses really can be frustrating sometimes.

Very odd about the waterfall. I wonder why they aren't working on it, yet it remains closed. Where did we first hear of a July 4th reopening date? Doesn't someone on this thread have a connection at WL where they got information? Maybe they have new info about it. Was it The Lodge Lady? I hope it comes back online before you go home.

 

[patty57]

Full disclosure...I have not read this entire article, which is a comment format. The rumor being that some Deluxe resorts will be have many rooms converted to DVC, with WL the first deluxe in line for conversion. Here it is http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-spirited-8th-wonder-wdws-future-you.887031/
Wondering what the long-time lodgers think about it?

 

[hstrickland]

Hello again!

What an awesome location and view!!!! Hope y'all have a fabulous trip!!!

Full disclosure...I have not read this entire article, which is a comment format. The rumor being that some Deluxe resorts will be have many rooms converted to DVC, with WL the first deluxe in line for conversion. Here it is http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-spirited-8th-wonder-wdws-future-you.887031/
Wondering what the long-time lodgers think about it?

Interesting. Haven't heard this. The KOOKster will have to research this for us

 

[TheLodgeLady]

Hello again!

Well, we have had a full day today here and it has been a fun one!

I am attempting to post my first picture here, so here is a picture of the view from our balcony:



Beautiful!

Some notes from today:

1. We headed to Hollywood Studios this morning for the EMH, we got down to the bus stop at 7:25 and waited almost 25 minutes for a bus. Ugh. Funny thing is, we watched multiple busses come for MK and EPCOT - and neither of those parks were even opening until 9:00. LOL. We left Hollywood Studios at 11:00 AM and once again we waited and waited for a bus to pick us up.....30 minutes this time! I kid you know we watched FIVE busses come and go for Caribbean Beach Resort alone. This adds to my ongoing aversion to the Disney bus transportation - but fortunately it is only necessary on this trip for the studios and AK.

2. Roaring Forks: When we FINALLY made our way back to the resort we had lunch at Roaring Forks. Now, I have been surprised at how small this walk up service is (smaller than any other one I have seen at the WDW Resorts), but they seemed to run pretty efficiently! We waited in line to order and pay, found a table and our food was delivered to us quickly. Now we are a family with some allergy issues (gluten and shellfish) and we felt well accommodated at the Forks! Food was pretty tasted....I highly recommend the Wilderness Salad.

3. Stream/waterfall update: Still. No. Water. It is a mystery to me as their still appears to be NO WORK going on. Very strange. The front desk was busy each time I was in the lobby today, but I promise I will ask for a projected completion date! I am kind of glad that this is our first WL trip that we are experiencing, since the waterfall isn't working. I suppose we don't know what we are missing! Would love to see it even just one day before we leave on the evening of 7/28!!!

I will check in again soon! Heading to bed now (quite late, just returned from MK) and we are debating if we will try to wake up for AK EMH. Oh my!

Good morning! Awesome photo. Great location!!

The Wilderness Salad is my favorite .

 

[mystery222184]

Full disclosure...I have not read this entire article, which is a comment format. The rumor being that some Deluxe resorts will be have many rooms converted to DVC, with WL the first deluxe in line for conversion. Here it is http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-spirited-8th-wonder-wdws-future-you.887031/ Wondering what the long-time lodgers think about it?

Boy I hope this isn't true!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Full disclosure...I have not read this entire article, which is a comment format. The rumor being that some Deluxe resorts will be have many rooms converted to DVC, with WL the first deluxe in line for conversion. Here it is http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-spirited-8th-wonder-wdws-future-you.887031/
Wondering what the long-time lodgers think about it?

I read a few pages of it. There is talk of building DVC units out over the water of Bay Lake at WL. And they would be shaped like teepees. And then they would convert some of the regular WL resort rooms into DVC rooms, just like they did over at AKL. Okay - I can understand putting DVC units out over the water at the Poly. It goes with the tropical theme and there is a shortage of build able land there. But not at the WL! There is plenty of land between the resort and Fort Wilderness. This rumor of teepees over the water seems strange to me.

Who ever knew that DVC was so lucrative for Disney that they would take normal resort rooms out of inventory like this?

Although, it is still a rumor until it is officially announced.

 

[ThE FuTuRe ImAgInEeR]

Boy I hope this isn't true!

I hope it isn't either. My family pinches pennies so we can stay at WL, we always have to wait for a discount but our family loves staying there so its worth every penny. We've talked about DVC many times before but there is no way we could afford it/ don't see it as a viable option for us. I really hope this isn't true

 

[patty57]

Although, it is still a rumor until it is officially announced.

Absolutely...just a rumor.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Three days to go! We are SOO excited

I finally started packing. I had DH move my luggage to the spare bedroom so the (4-legged) kids don't catch on. I'm not sure why they get so stressed out! DS (their other brother!) spoils the crazy when he housesits.

We are hoping the stream is flowing by the time we get there! DH is already planning on a Old Faithful beverage and snack right after we check in!

Quick question about online check in and CL. Will someone still meet us and take us up to the 7th floor?

I'm just not crazy about this check-yourself-in thing. The personal touch has always been what brought us back to Disney, the Disney Magic if you will. Disney is always the standard we compare other resorts with. Hope they don't do away with that.

Liz

 

[nyrebecca]

Well, it took all morning, but I finally caught up with everything on this new thread. WOW. So much going on.

We are counting down our days til we get to go "home" again to the Lodge in November.

 

[MaleficentRN]

1. We headed to Hollywood Studios this morning for the EMH, we got down to the bus stop at 7:25 and waited almost 25 minutes for a bus. Ugh. Funny thing is, we watched multiple busses come for MK and EPCOT - and neither of those parks were even opening until 9:00. LOL. We left Hollywood Studios at 11:00 AM and once again we waited and waited for a bus to pick us up.....30 minutes this time! I kid you know we watched FIVE busses come and go for Caribbean Beach Resort alone. This adds to my ongoing aversion to the Disney bus transportation - but fortunately it is only necessary on this trip for the studios and AK.

We waited over 30 minutes for a bus to HS! So many buses came for DTD, MK and even Blizzard Beach! I picked up that phone by the door and complained to the CM and one came a couple of minutes later, but I think it was a coincidence. The way back was the same for us. Three CBR buses for one WL. So annoying considering that we have to pick up at FW also.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Three days to go! We are SOO excited

I finally started packing. I had DH move my luggage to the spare bedroom so the (4-legged) kids don't catch on. I'm not sure why they get so stressed out! DS (their other brother!) spoils the crazy when he housesits.

We are hoping the stream is flowing by the time we get there! DH is already planning on a Old Faithful beverage and snack right after we check in!

Quick question about online check in and CL. Will someone still meet us and take us up to the 7th floor?

I'm just not crazy about this check-yourself-in thing. The personal touch has always been what brought us back to Disney, the Disney Magic if you will. Disney is always the standard we compare other resorts with. Hope they don't do away with that.

Liz

Here I thought it was just our 4-legged child! They DO get so upset!

IMHO, really no reason, at this time, to do online check-in while staying CL. We do not, are met outside and whisked away to the OFC. I would make sure IPO knows your estimated arrival time in the form they send you to complete.

Enjoy your special greeting and hope it's always there.

 

[mcconnellfam96]

Hi everyone! Back again. Just trying to provide information as we go along that may be of interest or help to soon-to-be lodgers.

Today, we took the bus to Downtown Disney. We waited less that 10 minutes for a bus at WL. Once on board, we stopped at Grand Floridian, them Typhoon Lagoon and then on to Downtown Disney Marketplace (the other DD stop is currently closed). Our travel time in the bus was 40 minutes.
The return trip was much easier! A bus was waiting for us when we walked out and the bus ride was only thirteen minutes, with WL being the first stop. We will be going back later in the week and will DEFINITELY take a cab, at least getting there....simply to avoid my head from exploding during a 40 minute, crowded bus ride.

Downtown Disney Notes: While the construction was obvious when we were here in April, it is MUCH, MUCH worse. Ugh. It literally felt like we we were rats in a maze trying to find the cheese! The atmosphere is definitely gone (temporarily) but we are confident it will be magical when it is complete!
We tried out DisneyQuest today! In all the years it's been open we have never attempted it and my kids LOVED it. My DS10 didn't want to leave, lol. We told him we would bring him back in a few days when we had our next ADR scheduled for Downtown Disney.
Overall - our opinion is, if we hadn't scheduled a few ADRs in Downtown Disney for this trip we would have skipped it altogether until construction was complete. But, we have experienced DD many times in the past.

Also, just another WL thought...the more we look around the grounds and the resort, it is really incredible the job they have done with the theming. As soon as you pull in the gates, it is as though you have been transported to a grand lodge in the Northwest! <3