(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS Information Thread

[Mousemommy1]

Hi! After considering moving to AoA because of a condsiderable price difference, you guys talked me into staying at WL. I just couldnt pass up that lodge feel for a Christmastime visit! And, its our first trip so i want it to be as magical as possible! We're booked in a standard view room for our November trip. If a better view is available at check in, will we be able to upgrade? Do they ever automatically upgrade you or do you have to ask?

Congrats on booking WL!!! At Christmastime, that should be amazing!!!!! As far as upgrades...while they do happen, they are rare, and resultant from capacity issues. You should book the view you want, as that is the only way to guarantee your getting that view. If there is availability for an upgrade, you will likely be quoted rack rate for that room and need to pay the difference. HTH.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks for the link! Do you usually put these up when you see them? I wonder if the August one will be available in time for me to see it before my trip. (going to HP first end of July) What is the Magic Cookie Hour?
2 months!!!!!!!
Sorry- just seems so close now and my planning seems too casual and relaxed to me. I like spending time reading about everyone's excitement about their trips here and checking out the tips threads, but my daily itinerary hasn't been touched since I made my ADRs!
BTW, I think I requested top floor for my 2BR villa, but I forgot how to go about requesting the lake side. So many people stay CL here and it sounds so nice to have someone "on the inside" working for you. Do I email, fax, or call around 5 days or so before? Or should I call now and then again 5 days out?
Thanks again to everyone for making this such a nice place to visit!

I can usually upload the activity calendars by the first of the month. I'll put up August as soon as it's posted.

If your villa was booked by you, and not by a DVC member staying on points, then just call and verify that your request for a "top floor facing Bay Lake" is in there. If it's not, they will put it in there. When you check-in, just as the CM if you were given a top floor facing Bay Lake.

Hello All
Just booked another trip to WDW!!! Yay!! Have been suffering from Disney Depression since we returned from our Spring Break trip a few months ago. We were in WDW four times between April 2011 to April 2012! BC CL (April '11), Hyatt (May '11), Poly (Nov '11) and Swan (April '12). DH swore we were taking a break for at least a year. Well here we are - another trip booked! I knew he secretly loved WDW as much as I do. He came to me last week with a compromise - he will agree to a yearly trip to satisfy my Disney craving and he was thinking Nov is a good time. He figured I couldn't make it till next November to begin the yearly trips and was willing to go again this November. So we are going Nov. 2 - Nov. 7th. DS has a 1/2 day on 11/2 and off on 11/6. Seemed like a good time to go and hopefully the crowds will be on the ligher side. Considering our last few trips have been Easter/Spring Break and Thanksgiving week I am pretty confident it should feel less crowded. The best part - DH also agreed to CL!! Yay!! This is our third trip to WL and the second time we are staying CL. We last stayed CL in 4th of July week in 2010. I jumped on this thread this afternoon and bonus - find out that WL is refurb'd.
So I called today and booked the room with AAA discount, then went to Undercover Tourist and bought 6 day park hopper passes. Hoping there will be a room only discount released toward the end of summer, but not counting on it! Don't really want free dining...
I love the CL room map and all the postings about room locations. When we were CL last time our room was 7109, not bad but I would prefer to be further down the hall and maybe on the other side.
Looking forward to catching up on everything WL over the next five months.
Debbie

You must be so excited to have booked WL/CL. You already know how wonderful it is. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a better than AAA discount for you

Hi! After considering moving to AoA because of a condsiderable price difference, you guys talked me into staying at WL. I just couldnt pass up that lodge feel for a Christmastime visit! And, its our first trip so i want it to be as magical as possible! We're booked in a standard view room for our November trip. If a better view is available at check in, will we be able to upgrade? Do they ever automatically upgrade you or do you have to ask?

Congratulations! WL is going to make a GREAT first WDW resort!

Actually, the WL room assignor is quite generous with view upgrades, however, there is no guarantee of being upgraded and I always suggest booking the view you really want. If you are in a Std. View room, you can see some of Wishes from the top floors and the woods are straight ahead (in the North Wing).

You can ask at check-in if another view is available, but they do have every right to charge you the difference. The view you want might also be fully booked. So I suggest you book what you really want now to avoid any potential disappointment.

 

[JimShockz]

Thanks, WKWKOOK - that's what I thought!

Yes, we are staying in a Royal Room at POR. I can't wait for both parts of the trip!!! Two new experiences for my family - POR is a new resort for us and OFC is a new experience for us at one of our most beloved Disney resorts!

You should enjoy the both places,good luck and good health.

-JS

 

[osugal]

We're planning a trip in fall of 2013. We've never stayed at WL and are very interested. We know that we want to stay CL. We did this at BCR last year and with 2 small kids it was perfect for us. WL is one of the more affordable deluxe resorts, from what I understand. But, we always go during a special offer or use a pin. And, they don't seem to apply to the WL very often. So, ironically, it ends up being not affordable for us but some of the more expensive ones are. Am I missing something? I'm just hoping we have a pin or there's a special for the fall that applies to WL too.

 

[GarakDS9]

Finally, 1 month or 30 days or 720 hours (err let's forget about that last one, it sounds too long!) we will be setting foot in WL for our first ever stay. It is unbelievable how much a change of resort has charged me up for this vacation.

 

[heather13]

Here's a question! My family of four has a room reserved using points (1 BR villa). My mom was going to stay with us but decided she'd rather have her own space, so she booked a Villas studio via WDW reservations. Is there any way to link our reservation numbers together in the system to try and get rooms as close together as possible?

 

[TheLodgeLady]

Hi all!

We went over to Disney to meet some friends for dinner Saturday evening and drove up a little earlier. We went over to the Lodge and visited for a while.

We were shown one of the new rooms, 2 queens. They are very nice!! The bathroom tile looks so much better in person. Photos do not do it justice.

We asked what floor the construction was on and were told that they are finished with the 5th, 6th and 7th floors in the North Wing. They are currently working on the 4th

 

[TheLodgeLady]

Here's a question! My family of four has a room reserved using points (1 BR villa). My mom was going to stay with us but decided she'd rather have her own space, so she booked a Villas studio via WDW reservations. Is there any way to link our reservation numbers together in the system to try and get rooms as close together as possible?

Heather,

You can call Member Services and ask them to "link" your mom's reservation with yours. Also, have your mom call Disney reservations and ask them to do the same. We've done this before and have had very favorable results.

 

[WDWKOOK]

We're planning a trip in fall of 2013. We've never stayed at WL and are very interested. We know that we want to stay CL. We did this at BCR last year and with 2 small kids it was perfect for us. WL is one of the more affordable deluxe resorts, from what I understand. But, we always go during a special offer or use a pin. And, they don't seem to apply to the WL very often. So, ironically, it ends up being not affordable for us but some of the more expensive ones are. Am I missing something? I'm just hoping we have a pin or there's a special for the fall that applies to WL too.

It wasn't until relatively recently that the general public discounts excluded WL or they were very small discounts. This is presumably due to the rehab causing reduced room inventory. Up to two floors at a time and sometimes three are being closed at one time. Since the inventory is reduced, they have fewer rooms to fill and hence, fewer to no general public discounts. I'm hopeful that the discounts will go back to "normal" after the rehab which is scheduled to be completed by the end of September. Don't give up hope!

Finally, 1 month or 30 days or 720 hours (err let's forget about that last one, it sounds too long!) we will be setting foot in WL for our first ever stay. It is unbelievable how much a change of resort has charged me up for this vacation.

I like "one month". It's almost time to start packing!

Hi all!

We went over to Disney to meet some friends for dinner Saturday evening and drove up a little earlier. We went over to the Lodge and visited for a while.

We were shown one of the new rooms, 2 queens. They are very nice!! The bathroom tile looks so much better in person. Photos do not do it justice.

We asked what floor the construction was on and were told that they are finished with the 5th, 6th and 7th floors in the North Wing. They are currently working on the 4th

Thank you for the rehab update, TLL! I am going to update the first page right now. Where did you go for dinner? Is it hard to just stop by for a visit and not stay overnight?

 

[bowbat]

We're planning a trip in fall of 2013. We've never stayed at WL and are very interested. We know that we want to stay CL. We did this at BCR last year and with 2 small kids it was perfect for us. WL is one of the more affordable deluxe resorts, from what I understand. But, we always go during a special offer or use a pin. And, they don't seem to apply to the WL very often. So, ironically, it ends up being not affordable for us but some of the more expensive ones are. Am I missing something? I'm just hoping we have a pin or there's a special for the fall that applies to WL too.

I've never had good luck getting WL CL with a pin or other discount (we're FL residents and have APs). I finally managed to do it for our upcoming November trip by being really flexible with our dates. And by driving a phone CM crazy. I basically called and said, "What about these dates? What about these? Do these work?" until she found dates available with my discount. If you're able to do that, I recommend it.

 

[karly05]

Hi - I've been lurking this thread a lot lately because I am seriously considering WL for my next (as yet hypothetical!) trip. I really appreciate all the info and photos here and in the photo thread!

Last year, when the room only discounts came out in early October for the Jan/Feb dates I needed, WL was in the 35% off group (with all the Deluxe and Deluxe Villas EXCEPT for AK & Poly, which were 30%). I've got my fingers crossed for the same kind of discounts again for Feb 2013!

I'm looking forward to more pics soon of the new WL rooms!

 

[TheLodgeLady]

Thank you for the rehab update, TLL! I am going to update the first page right now. Where did you go for dinner? Is it hard to just stop by for a visit and not stay overnight?

We went to Bistro de Paris for dinner. They are closing for renovations in a month or so and we wanted to have one last dinner in the old restaurant.

Yes, it is hard not to stay.

 

[GarakDS9]

I am trying to keep our choice of WL secret from DS right up until the bus pull up to the resort. It has been a while since I used ME. Will an announcement be made at the airport ME desk about where the bus is going? Should I keep him away when I go to the desk? What do I need to do to keep this secret right up until the last minute?

 

[MartyM]

I am trying to keep our choice of WL secret from DS right up until the bus pull up to the resort. It has been a while since I used ME. Will an announcement be made at the airport ME desk about where the bus is going? Should I keep him away when I go to the desk? What do I need to do to keep this secret right up until the last minute?

You'll get in a line with a placard on a stand that has Wilderness Lodge, and possibly a few other resorts on it. When we came in January '12, The placard said "Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian." So if DS is old enough to read, he may or may not notice the line that you're in. If you can get to ME before the rest of your fam, you might enlist a CM to help you keep the cat in the bag.

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I'm very close to booking 2 room only nights before our free dining package at AoA in December. If we do this, we would arrive late Friday night and stay near the airport, then check in early Saturday morning. It's myself, my husband and our 11 year old daughter.

We'd keep all day Saturday to do some things around the resort. Soooo..... I'm looking for suggestions. We've been to Disney a lot, but never stepped foot onto WL grounds.

Here are some of our ideas for the day:

1) Chip & Dale campfire (any guesses on what time we might expect this to happen in December

2) horseback riding

3) explore some of the monorail resorts

4) watch Wishes, either from contemporary or from Poly beach

5) swimming at WL pool

6) carriage ride

Am I missing anything else?

 

[arfisher12]

I am very excited !!! We just booked our DISNEY VACATION TODAY for the first week of Feb. 2013 staying at the Wilderness lodge in one of the bunk bed rooms !!!!!! This will be our first stay at a Deluxe resort I hope it is worth the extra $$$$ We have only stayed at the moderates before, and Myself I have even stayed at POP. However since Disney did away with roll a way beds according to the call center we didnt have much of a choice. However we are excited about this resort !. Some questions is in Feb, will it be too cold to swim? Also the bunk beds will they fit an adult? Thanks so much !!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Hi - I've been lurking this thread a lot lately because I am seriously considering WL for my next (as yet hypothetical!) trip. I really appreciate all the info and photos here and in the photo thread!

Last year, when the room only discounts came out in early October for the Jan/Feb dates I needed, WL was in the 35% off group (with all the Deluxe and Deluxe Villas EXCEPT for AK & Poly, which were 30%). I've got my fingers crossed for the same kind of discounts again for Feb 2013!

I'm looking forward to more pics soon of the new WL rooms!

Hopefully, we'll have more pictures up soon of the rehabbed rooms. I hope you get to book WL soon!

We went to Bistro de Paris for dinner. They are closing for renovations in a month or so and we wanted to have one last dinner in the old restaurant.

Yes, it is hard not to stay.

That sounds like a wonderful spot for dinner.

I am trying to keep our choice of WL secret from DS right up until the bus pull up to the resort. It has been a while since I used ME. Will an announcement be made at the airport ME desk about where the bus is going? Should I keep him away when I go to the desk? What do I need to do to keep this secret right up until the last minute?

Blindfold? You could pretend you're playing pirates and DS has to be blindfolded to make it more realistic. Seriously, I think Marty M gave you good advice.

OK, I'm very close to booking 2 room only nights before our free dining package at AoA in December. If we do this, we would arrive late Friday night and stay near the airport, then check in early Saturday morning. It's myself, my husband and our 11 year old daughter.

We'd keep all day Saturday to do some things around the resort. Soooo..... I'm looking for suggestions. We've been to Disney a lot, but never stepped foot onto WL grounds.

Here are some of our ideas for the day:

1) Chip & Dale campfire (any guesses on what time we might expect this to happen in December

2) horseback riding

3) explore some of the monorail resorts

4) watch Wishes, either from contemporary or from Poly beach

5) swimming at WL pool

6) carriage ride

Am I missing anything else?

Sea Raycers are lots of fun and you can also rent bikes and take the WL tour one morning. Happy Planning!

I am very excited !!! We just booked our DISNEY VACATION TODAY for the first week of Feb. 2013 staying at the Wilderness lodge in one of the bunk bed rooms !!!!!! This will be our first stay at a Deluxe resort I hope it is worth the extra $$$$ We have only stayed at the moderates before, and Myself I have even stayed at POP. However since Disney did away with roll a way beds according to the call center we didnt have much of a choice. However we are excited about this resort !. Some questions is in Feb, will it be too cold to swim? Also the bunk beds will they fit an adult? Thanks so much !!

to the DIS and the WL/VWL thread, arfisher12! Don't worry, you made a great decision. While the WL is a little more than a Moderate, you're going to think it was worth every extra penny. Yes, an adult can sleep in the bunk and yes, you can swim in February (and use the hot tubs), but you'll want to have something warm to put on as soon as you get out of the pool as the ambient air temp. can be very chilly at times.

Feel free to post any questions - we're happy to try to answer them.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sea Raycers are lots of fun and you can also rent bikes and take the WL tour one morning. Happy Planning!

I like the bicycle idea, especially since it will be December. Thanks!

If anyone has additional ideas, let me know. Thanks again!

 

[mom2rtk]

Can anyone tell me about the sleigh rides? Do they still do them? I thought I saw the Haunted carriage rides were discontinued, but what about Christmas ones?

 

[GarakDS9]

You'll get in a line with a placard on a stand that has Wilderness Lodge, and possibly a few other resorts on it. When we came in January '12, The placard said "Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian." So if DS is old enough to read, he may or may not notice the line that you're in. If you can get to ME before the rest of your fam, you might enlist a CM to help you keep the cat in the bag.

DS will be 14, so old enough to read but teen enough to be oblivious to his surroundings. WDWKOOK, sometimes it is better than being blindfolded. They don't suspect anything. All kidding aside, I am glad he isn't too old to enjoy the surprise. Arriving close to ten pm, he'll be half asleep anyway.