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

[AlexWyattMommy]

I am so sad and I need some suggestions from you all.

We went to visit my family Winter Haven for Thanksgiving. Talked my DH into going to DownTown Disney and hopping a bus to WL to take pictures of the decorations. Hoping it would spark his desire to stay here for sure instead of AoA.

The decorations were lovely. The food at Roaring Forks was as good as we remembered.

Unfortunately, my DH used the bathrooms that are near there, by the elevator. When he came back I could see he was no longer in a good mood but wouldn't talk about it. [I thought it was stomach issues]

Took the boat to CR, then monorail to Poly and GF for more photos and then bus back to DownTown to pick up our car.

He finally tells me that night that the bathrooms were filthy. Not just messy, but filthy. Messy he understands since those would be used the most by Roaring Forks eaters and pool users. But he said was beyond that and just cannot see staying there again.

FYI for those that don't remember, we had a pretty bad experience with our room on our last visit [toe nail on the floor when we first walked in should have clued me in that I should have moved rooms right then and there but I didn't so everything else after that was my own fault]

I'm not sure what I can say to change his mind after that. I wish he would have told me then and there because I would have gone to the front desk and said something. If they responded and cleaned it quickly, I might have been able to use that to show that housekeeping is not as bad as it was when we there last.

Any help?

 

[mwmom]

Just returned last night and I miss WL already! The parks this week were crazy busy, but as always felt totally relaxed as soon as I walked in WL! Here were my thoughts about WL this week...

1. The Christmas decorations put the finishing touches on an already beautiful hotel!
2. As crowded as it was this week, we never waited more than 30 seconds for an elevator which is incredible when you stay in a busy hotel.
3. Food at Roaring Forks was surprisingly good for a quick service meal. We really liked the salad we got and found wonderful baked goods that we used snack credits for so we could eat breakfast on the run (to the parks, that is)!
4. Ate at WC for the first time and LOVED it! We thought it was one of the best meals we had all week (we are from Texas so we love ribs)! Warning: It is a very noisy restaurant, so if you are looking for something quiet, this isn't the place. If you want a place where no one will notice your loud child, this IS the place for you!
5. Although others have complained about housekeeping, our room, which was cleaned by Demitria, was very clean! to her!
6. Used online check-in which was to our benefit since we arrived late at night and we were ready to get to the room. It was fast and efficient!
7. Learned that we should have given the luggage receipt to the front desk upon check-in. Had to wait an hour for our luggage to be brought to the room despite going down 3 times to ask about it. Lesson learned.
8. Used our 100 free tokens at the arcade this year (never did it last year). It got us 3 games and we could pay for more. I didn't tell DD6 that we could buy more so she didn't beg for more, but next time I will skip this.
9. CM's were all very helpful and nice. Concierge printed our balance of meal credits for me several times bc I didn't really keep up with it. I know it is printed on the receipts, but some nights I wanted to sit down and think through what we wanted to get the next day.
10. THE BEST FOR LAST....The room we got this year was absolutely perfect for us!! Paid for courtyard view and we faced WL courtyard and lake (last year we faced VWL pool). When we walked out the door, we faced the lobby and the main elevator was right around the corner! Every time I got off the elevator I got so excited about going to our room.

I visited all of the other deluxe hotels this time to compare WL to the others to determine if we wanted to try something different next time. My decision is NO WAY! WL it is for me each and every stay at Disney! There is just no other hotel that is as cozy as WL!

 

[WDWKOOK]

I am so sad and I need some suggestions from you all.

We went to visit my family Winter Haven for Thanksgiving. Talked my DH into going to DownTown Disney and hopping a bus to WL to take pictures of the decorations. Hoping it would spark his desire to stay here for sure instead of AoA.

The decorations were lovely. The food at Roaring Forks was as good as we remembered.

Unfortunately, my DH used the bathrooms that are near there, by the elevator. When he came back I could see he was no longer in a good mood but wouldn't talk about it. [I thought it was stomach issues]

Took the boat to CR, then monorail to Poly and GF for more photos and then bus back to DownTown to pick up our car.

He finally tells me that night that the bathrooms were filthy. Not just messy, but filthy. Messy he understands since those would be used the most by Roaring Forks eaters and pool users. But he said was beyond that and just cannot see staying there again.

FYI for those that don't remember, we had a pretty bad experience with our room on our last visit [toe nail on the floor when we first walked in should have clued me in that I should have moved rooms right then and there but I didn't so everything else after that was my own fault]

I'm not sure what I can say to change his mind after that. I wish he would have told me then and there because I would have gone to the front desk and said something. If they responded and cleaned it quickly, I might have been able to use that to show that housekeeping is not as bad as it was when we there last.

Any help?

You're in a tough situation because like your DH, I know that one bad experience overshadows many good experiences. Telling your DH that this was a fluke or that people on the DIS have never seen a filthy bathroom at the WL will not help. Your DH saw what he saw, the housekeeper had not cleaned it up yet and that was his (negative) experience that will stay in his mind when considering where to stay next time. He's going to take that memory and apply it to his room or the lobby or somewhere else at WL.

We once stayed at CBR for only the first night night of a late arrival before our stay at the CR. We had driven for 14 hours, were very tired and hadn't eaten dinner. When we got to our room, we made the mistake of just dropping our luggage off and immediately going to the food court for dinner. By the time we got back, we were wiped out and just wanted to sleep. We looked around and noticed that the room was filthy. That one stay at CBR has stuck with me forever and I will probably never go back, which is too bad since I love the theming. Is that rational? Probably not, but that's how strong a negative memory can be.

To make your DH happy (and you'll also save some money) maybe you should just stay at AoA next visit, but bring him back to WL and eat there. I think if he had a positive experience, like eating at WCC or AP, that he would look more favorably upon the prospect of staying there. The other option I think would be a great compromise is to do a split. I would do WL first for two reasons. He thinks he'll hate it, so you "get it out of the way" first, but we know he'll actually probably love it and if he does you can cancel AoA and extend WL! (We did this with the Poly this summer.)

Also, I would show him the review that mwmom just posted

Keep us posted

Just returned last night and I miss WL already! The parks this week were crazy busy, but as always felt totally relaxed as soon as I walked in WL! Here were my thoughts about WL this week...

1. The Christmas decorations put the finishing touches on an already beautiful hotel!
2. As crowded as it was this week, we never waited more than 30 seconds for an elevator which is incredible when you stay in a busy hotel.
3. Food at Roaring Forks was surprisingly good for a quick service meal. We really liked the salad we got and found wonderful baked goods that we used snack credits for so we could eat breakfast on the run (to the parks, that is)!
4. Ate at WC for the first time and LOVED it! We thought it was one of the best meals we had all week (we are from Texas so we love ribs)! Warning: It is a very noisy restaurant, so if you are looking for something quiet, this isn't the place. If you want a place where no one will notice your loud child, this IS the place for you!
5. Although others have complained about housekeeping, our room, which was cleaned by Demitria, was very clean! to her!
6. Used online check-in which was to our benefit since we arrived late at night and we were ready to get to the room. It was fast and efficient!
7. Learned that we should have given the luggage receipt to the front desk upon check-in. Had to wait an hour for our luggage to be brought to the room despite going down 3 times to ask about it. Lesson learned.
8. Used our 100 free tokens at the arcade this year (never did it last year). It got us 3 games and we could pay for more. I didn't tell DD6 that we could buy more so she didn't beg for more, but next time I will skip this.
9. CM's were all very helpful and nice. Concierge printed our balance of meal credits for me several times bc I didn't really keep up with it. I know it is printed on the receipts, but some nights I wanted to sit down and think through what we wanted to get the next day.
10. THE BEST FOR LAST....The room we got this year was absolutely perfect for us!! Paid for courtyard view and we faced WL courtyard and lake (last year we faced VWL pool). When we walked out the door, we faced the lobby and the main elevator was right around the corner! Every time I got off the elevator I got so excited about going to our room.

I visited all of the other deluxe hotels this time to compare WL to the others to determine if we wanted to try something different next time. My decision is NO WAY! WL it is for me each and every stay at Disney! There is just no other hotel that is as cozy as WL!

Thank you so much for your thorough review! It sounds like you will definitely be returning and you had a great vacation. If you have any photos, I know we'd all love seeing them

Many have asked about the type of coffee pod packets in the room. If you have a photo of one, that would be great or if you could describe the coffee pod that would probably help those who have asked.

 

[Momtomouselover]

I am one of those who would appreciate more info on the coffee pots. I like good coffee and always bring my own and filters to Disney. Is there anyway to brew your own with these new pots/packets? Although not my favorite I would settle for Starbucks or Petes if they would provide that in the rooms.

Coffee and computer junker here

 

[Momtomouselover]

Magical Express usually has a few factors. It depends on how long it takes to get on the bus, then from the bus there are a few stops for dropping off (I think it was Pop and CR on my trip there). From start to finish on ME it was less than 1 hour from MCO. I don't know taxi or towncar.

Thanks for the info! Anyone else? Is WL usually the third stop. Tough decision whether or not to spring for the town car to save time, effort...just considering what it would take to get to MVMCP the day of arrival with the shortest time and least hassle

 

[Momtomouselover]

Thanks mwmom for posting about your trip! Reading others experiences and reviews is helping us to get excited about ours. I hope we get a room similar to yours. Fingers crossed!

 

[WDWKOOK]

I was just able to book WL/CL for Spring Break. Originally, the first two weeks were blacked-out with the 40% off military discount, but I thought I 'd give the WDTC a call just to make sure and much to my amazement, there were no blackout dates in April! DH is thrilled that he'll be returning soon to his favorite CL earlier than expected

 

[MICKFan]

Have been back from my trip for two weeks now and thought I'd share my experiences.....This was my first time going solo and felt VERY safe at all times.
Arrived at MCO about 10:30 a.m. This was my fourth time using ME and had NEVER seen the line so long. Waited for about 45 minutes. Finally arrived at WL and computers were down. I was issued a temp card. My cousin and her husband were there to see me from the Tampa area so it was no big deal. We visited a while then ate lunch at WCC. Enjoyed it. Cousin's dh and I had the pulled Pork sandwich and cousin had turkey sandwich. All very good. After they left at 4:30 I was able to check in and get to my room. A little disappointed with the balcony. It was "bricked up" . If I was sitting down, all I could see was up. Standing though, I had a nice view of the pool and lake. The room was very clean and had wonderful mousekeeping all week. Buses were fine.....never a long wait. The Holiday decorations were put up the night I arrived. beautiful!! They really do an excellent job with the decorations there.
I was there Nov. 13 - 19. Parks were somewhat crowded, but most of the rides had short lines.
I was not on the dining plan, but had made three ADRs. CP for dinner - very disappointed there. food was just OK.
Mama Melrose for lunch - surprisingly good. I had the Chicken Parm and it came very hot and tasty.
Cape May for breakfast - VERY good! Enjoyed it!
I had a very good time and would do a solo trip again and most certainly stay at WL again!!!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

MICKFan: What room category had this type of balcony? We are going this coming week and have a woods-view room. We really enjoy sitting on our balcony with our morning coffee. DH would probably not be happy looking at bricks. Thanks.

 

[MICKFan]

I had a Courtyard View.....from my observation there are not many rooms with this kind of balcony. The majority had the "railing" type. I was "lucky" to get one of these. Next time I will know to request NOT to be in one of these. The room number was 3127.
I, too like to enjoy my coffee out on the balcony. I enjoyed the coffee, not the view! LOL

 

[2girlsR2good]

@MICKfan (or any other recent visitors)--did you use the new coffee makers with the pod system in your room? How was the coffee? I'd been planning to bring my Keurig with me, but now I'm reconsidering.

 

[MICKFan]

Yes, the pod type coffee maker was in my room. I enjoyed the coffee very much. They included two caffinated and two decaffinated pods each day. I only used the caffinated pods.
One night when I returned, I noticed no caffinated pods were left. I called and less then five minutes some were brought to my room. Impressed!!

 

[Sue M]

I was just able to book WL/CL for Spring Break. Originally, the first two weeks were blacked-out with the 40% off military discount, but I thought I 'd give the WDTC a call just to make sure and much to my amazement, there were no blackout dates in April! DH is thrilled that he'll be returning soon to his favorite CL earlier than expected

Congrats! It pays to keep checking!

 

[Sue M]

Yes, the pod type coffee maker was in my room. I enjoyed the coffee very much. They included two caffinated and two decaffinated pods each day. I only used the caffinated pods.
One night when I returned, I noticed no caffinated pods were left. I called and less then five minutes some were brought to my room. Impressed!!

Did you happen to notice what brand the coffee was?

We had one of those balconies too our last trip, I requested an upper floor- and the top floor has this kind of "privacy" balcony Courtyard view too.
I would have asked for another room, but one of my daughters liked it so I sucked it up, lol. I hated it. Another morning coffee drinker!

This trip for Jan 2012, I have noted on my reservation- Upper floor, not privacy balcony!! Unless it's going to come with a gold KTTW card

 

[Sue M]

50 more days Yay! Hope there's not going to be another awful cold snap this January

 

[MICKFan]

Sorry....I am not able to remember the brand of the coffee. I know it was NOT Nescafe. I thought it was very good. But, for me not to like it, it has te be VERY bad!!
The coffee pot makes two cups at a time.
Your trip is soon!! As noted, I had a wonderful time. Weather was beautiful. Only one day was misty rain. Hope weather is good.

 

[Smileybug]

Just curious if anyone has any details on the refurb. What floor will be first? How will the decor change? ........

 

[RedfromNL]

Just paid Disney an awfull lot of money for our trip, under 8 weeks left now!!


I am SOOOO looking forward to this

 

[annmarieda]

Been meaning to ask... is there coffee creamer available down at RF or in the room?

Trying to decide if I need to pack some.

 

[Sue M]

Been meaning to ask... is there coffee creamer available down at RF or in the room?

Trying to decide if I need to pack some.

The room has the white powder stuff. RF has Coffee creamer by the pop & coffee machines.