Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

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The quote didn't work but this is for you, @Partysaurus Rex (love the username!)


It would be good for the "regular" fireworks too - the videos I posted are from the end of the holiday fireworks with the "perimeter bursts" but there was plenty to see of the fireworks just above Magic Kingdom as well. Obviously there's no sound (no music soundtrack) but if you want a low key fireworks experience you can't beat seeing them from your balcony.

That being said - mid-May 2017 will bring a new fireworks show to magic kingdom. I would *assume* the new fireworks will be launched from the same places as Wishes currently are but anything could change. Even with no fireworks this would be an extremely convenient and lovely room with a great day and night time view!
 
Please advise

I am considering returning to the wilderness lodge for the holidays this December. Last visited summer of 2015
I am currently booked with a Family of 4 in the lodge and family of 5 in the villas.
I am concerned the construction will be a distraction.
Is this a good choice with all the construction or should I go to another resort?

Thank you for your response.

WL during December is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L construction or not but, as previous poster said, construction SHOULD be done by then. IMO...under NO circumstances would I change to another resort. :lovestruc :tink:
 
WL during December is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L construction or not but, as previous poster said, construction SHOULD be done by then. IMO...under NO circumstances would I change to another resort. :lovestruc :tink:
I so agree with this. The construction is so not an impact on the inside of the resort that I can't fathom that being a reason to change your resort. I'd venture to guess if you didn't tell them, some guests would never know there is construction going on anyway. It's dealt with that well
 
We just returned from a week at WL - had room 5010 and it was great! We looked toward MK and the Contemporary and had a view of Wishes each night :) The room was a little further down than ideal for Wishes because there are still some trees blocking the view of the castle but we could see the fireworks clearly (higher numbers would be better but there was nothing to complain about from 5010).

The one downside of being on that side is the water parade each night...we were up early each morning and exhausted each night so we were in bed early and the music from that water parade is LOUD!! And kind of annoying :rolleyes:

Geyser Point opened on our second last day and Roaring Forks closed. The downside to Geyser Point is that it was a bit of a hike to refill our mugs but the upside was the view while eating breakfast - it was a gorgeous, relaxing spot for breakfast and the staff worked so hard to make it a great experience. We had the eggs benedict both mornings and it was delicious.

The pool was fun and there were so many lifeguards! The slide was great - lay down to go faster! Hot tub was hot and the kid's splash pad was a hit. They had afternoon activities for the kids - my son made a sun catcher one day.

The busses worked nicely - never had more than a 15 minute wait and we really liked the sign that told us how long until the next bus. We used the boats quite a bit to get to the Contemporary or MK. The only day we took a bus to MK was for our PPO ADR.

It was a great first stay at WL!
 


The quote didn't work but this is for you, @Partysaurus Rex (love the username!)


It would be good for the "regular" fireworks too - the videos I posted are from the end of the holiday fireworks with the "perimeter bursts" but there was plenty to see of the fireworks just above Magic Kingdom as well. Obviously there's no sound (no music soundtrack) but if you want a low key fireworks experience you can't beat seeing them from your balcony.

That being said - mid-May 2017 will bring a new fireworks show to magic kingdom. I would *assume* the new fireworks will be launched from the same places as Wishes currently are but anything could change. Even with no fireworks this would be an extremely convenient and lovely room with a great day and night time view!


Thank for the help, we are going in July with my two children (6 and 4) and the fireworks are a little late for them. I was hoping they could watch from the balcony and then go to bed.
 
The one downside of being on that side is the water parade each night...we were up early each morning and exhausted each night so we were in bed early and the music from that water parade is LOUD!! And kind of annoying

We were in a room that was near the Mercantile, about as far away from Bay Lake as you can get, and the Electric Water Parade seemed loud from that room, too. I don't know why they play it so loudly for the WL. We stayed at the Grand Floridian in December and the EWP went past our room every night, and it was not as loud as when it goes past WL.

Thanks for the review of Geyser Point. I'm not looking forward to the distance from the main building but I am looking forward to the view. It was the one thing I missed when we stayed at the WL last January.
 


We just returned from a week at WL - had room 5010 and it was great! We looked toward MK and the Contemporary and had a view of Wishes each night :) The room was a little further down than ideal for Wishes because there are still some trees blocking the view of the castle but we could see the fireworks clearly (higher numbers would be better but there was nothing to complain about from 5010).

The one downside of being on that side is the water parade each night...we were up early each morning and exhausted each night so we were in bed early and the music from that water parade is LOUD!! And kind of annoying :rolleyes:

Geyser Point opened on our second last day and Roaring Forks closed. The downside to Geyser Point is that it was a bit of a hike to refill our mugs but the upside was the view while eating breakfast - it was a gorgeous, relaxing spot for breakfast and the staff worked so hard to make it a great experience. We had the eggs benedict both mornings and it was delicious.

The pool was fun and there were so many lifeguards! The slide was great - lay down to go faster! Hot tub was hot and the kid's splash pad was a hit. They had afternoon activities for the kids - my son made a sun catcher one day.

The busses worked nicely - never had more than a 15 minute wait and we really liked the sign that told us how long until the next bus. We used the boats quite a bit to get to the Contemporary or MK. The only day we took a bus to MK was for our PPO ADR.

It was a great first stay at WL!
It is loud, that's for sure. Though I admit, I can't fathom going to bed that early at Disney so it's never kept us up. Even with early mornings we aren't a family that can turn in that early. Not at Disney. I tell my crew "you can sleep at home" ;) Staying out for fireworks is a must

Looking really forward to GP. It's right up our alley.
 
We just returned from a week at WL - had room 5010 and it was great! We looked toward MK and the Contemporary and had a view of Wishes each night :) The room was a little further down than ideal for Wishes because there are still some trees blocking the view of the castle but we could see the fireworks clearly (higher numbers would be better but there was nothing to complain about from 5010).

The one downside of being on that side is the water parade each night...we were up early each morning and exhausted each night so we were in bed early and the music from that water parade is LOUD!! And kind of annoying :rolleyes:

HA! My family is one of the weird ones where this is a feature and not a bug. So I'm very excited, because when I prepped my fax request, it was for rooms in this general area. I love bringing a cup of coffee out to the balcony and watching that dang parade.

Thanks for the Geyser Point review! We'll be there mid-June so I'm hoping Roaring Forks is re-opened by then, but I'm looking forward to checking out GP too.

The busses worked nicely - never had more than a 15 minute wait and we really liked the sign that told us how long until the next bus. We used the boats quite a bit to get to the Contemporary or MK. The only day we took a bus to MK was for our PPO ADR.

We used the boats a lot on our first trip to WL and they're quickly becoming my favorite part of a Disney trip, in general. It sounds like you had a great time!
 
@WDWKOOK would you add my trip to the log as well? BRV from 6/28-7/5? It will be a family trip with 21 of us!

Wow! That is a lot of people to coordinate, @preemiemama. Congratulations!

@WDWKOOK Could you please add us to the Lodgers Log as well? 2 of (Me and 11 year old son) May 29th -June 5th 2017. 2nd time On-site, 1st at WL.

I'd be happy to add you, @Roxyfire.

Hi everyone!!

Please add me to the log for 5/11-5/14 First time stay at this resort!

I am so excited! It'll be my first time here as well as my friend (we've been friends for 16 years!) who has never stayed on Disney Property and just became and Annual Passholder. We've booked a standard room with DxDP.

Any hints or advice on the resort would be wonderful. Looking forward to it so much!

Is Artist Point really good? Thoughts?
We plan a WCC lunch the day we leave?
How much time should we plan to explore the resort?

Congratulations on booking your first stay. I think it's fun to eat at all the restaurants at your resort and since you're on the DxDP, I would go ahead and book AP. We've had hit or miss experiences over the years, but the atmosphere and view is lovely and usually the food and service is good.

I always recommend at least one "resort day" so you can fully enjoy all the amenities at both WL and FW.

Well, this is highly unexpected! We've been coming to WDW in August every year since 2006, and plan to do so again this summer. But, we just were invited to my future BIL's bachelor party in April and we'll be staying CL at WL! What a surprise! It will be my 2nd stay, having stayed in my early 20's in roughly 1998 and DF's (that's a new one as well, referring to him as my fiancee!) first stay there. At this point, he will have officially crossed all 8 deluxe resorts off his list, a feat I accomplished when we stayed at Poly in Aug. 2016. We're very excited, but nervous, as we sadly have a pet who's been diagnosed with cancer and been given a prognosis that could put her in harm's way during this trip, but at the moment, she's doing quite well, exceeding expectations, and we're hoping our streak of good luck continues through the end of April. Our dates are 4/28-5/1.
We're big fans of the Epcot resort loop, considering BC/YC our home away from home, but looking forward to getting more acquainted with WL and being back in WDW for F&G! I'll probably be lurking around this board for the next couple of months, and just wanted to say "Hi!"

Welcome to Bay Lake, @Scott MC! Sounds like an exciting trip for everyone. I'll log your dates.

Hi all!

I'm new to the board and thought I'd check in on my favorite hotel's forum. I'm heading back to WL in December and I'm already too excited! We stayed at Wilderness this past December and really decided there's no better place to stay at Christmas.

We tried for a Magic Kingdom view last year but ended up on a lower floor so while we saw some of the fireworks, the view was mainly construction ( not at all an inconvenience) and trees. This year we opted for a courtyard view - looking forward to seeing what we get!

:welcome: to the DIS and the thread, @RolloTomasi!

Just returned from a great stay at the lodge. The new CL lounge is terrific. There is still seating around the railing so you can see into the lobby. Cm's were helpful and friendly. We were in Deluxe room 5000. It was a little bit of a walk but we really didn't mind. We would just hang out in the lounge. Also we got a knock on our door and it was CL Cm's telling us that they would stock our fridge each day with whatever we wanted. So we had water, juice, chocolate milk and beer delivered to us each day. We received daily turn down service without even requesting it. We watched the fireworks nightly from the CL balcony. We were the only ones there, it was awesome. The lodge was busy and we were told that they were at capacity but we didn't think it was bad. The food in the lounge was very good, really liked the strawberry-peach cobbler.

Thank you for posting about your recent CL stay. It's really nice they're now offering to stock the fridge. In the "old CL days," this used to only be done at the Tower Club level at CR, but was stopped several years ago. It's a nice upgrade to offer it at the OFC now.

With the ongoing construction closing the South Wing and confusion over which rooms are available with only the two current bookable view categories at WL, I went ahead and created a temporary modified room location map showing how bookable views have been assigned during the construction project, and which rooms are closed. I should have done this earlier, and it will likely change in the future, but this is the current situation as we understand it.


Thanks so much for the map update, @GrandCalifornian!! I'll post it to the ROOM chapter.

Hey everyone...we have a reservation for WL at the end of June and am really looking forward to it. Having stayed at nearly all of the deluxes and moderates, when the family voted for where to stay next (and potentially last for a bit since the oldest is off to college in the fall), we voted for Wilderness Lodge...so we're pumped.

However, I was just at the Grand Floridian for a conference and took the boat over to WL to see what the construction looked like. I'm not saying its a big problem, but it was definitely impacting the overall vibe and aesthetics of the place (in my opinion).

Anyone know when the main lobby and outdoor construction (near the main pool) will be complete? I am not as concerned about the construction in the wing being converted to DVC, by the villas or near the water line. But having half of the lobby boarded up and green construction barriers near the main pool was a bit worrying.

Welcome to the thread, @Stateman! An exact completion date hasn't been made public. The estimate was originally around April, but that may be overly optimistic at this point.

We have stayed at WL one time, but it was in June. We liked it, but we probably like the proximity of Beach Club to Epcot (and the pool) better...We are considering a trip the week after Christmas this year, so swimming will not be important. It just seems to me the WL would be a little more "Christmas-y" feeling. What are your thoughts on staying here at Christmas and will the construction be done? Thanks so much!

Welcome, @TeacherDL! The construction should be finished by then and WL is gorgeous and cozy at Christmas! There is a CHRISTMASTIME chapter in the thread with lots of photos. It's hyperlinked in POST 1.



Geyser Point Bar & Grill breakfast menu
Entrées
Smoked Salmon Everything Bialy
$9.99

Scrambled Eggs
with a choice of Smoked Trail Sausage or Bacon served with Potato Hash or Fresh Fruit
$8.49

Egg White, Spinach, and Feta Breakfast Wrap
served with fresh Fruit
$6.99

Maple Cinnamon Pancakes
with Apple Compote served with a choice of Canadian Bacon, Trail Sausage or Bacon
$8.99

Eggs Benedict
with House-made Canadian Bacon on a Cheddar Biscuit served with Potato Hash or Fresh Fruit
$9.99

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict
served with Potato Hash or Fresh Fruit
$10.99

Seasonal Fruit Plate
with Lavender Honey-Yogurt
$8.99

Steel-cut Oats
with Dried Fruits and Nuts
$4.69

Yogurt Parfait
with Seasonal Berries and House-made Granola
$5.79

Kids' Meals
Scrambled Eggs
served with Bacon or Sausage and Potato Hash and choice of small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Water
$4.99

Mini Buttermilk Pancakes
with Maple Syrup served with Bacon or Sausage and choice of small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Water
$4.99

Granola, Apples and Strawberries
with Honey Yogurt Dip and choice of small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Water
$4.49

Geyser Point Bar & Grill lunch and dinner menu
Burgers & Sandwiches
Lump Crab Cake Sandwich
with House-made Canadian Bacon and Spicy Cabbage-Carrot Slaw
$13.99

House-Smoked Salmon BLT
with Lemon-Caper Mayonnaise
$12.49

Smoked Turkey Sandwich
with Lettuce, Tomato and Cranberry Mayonnaise
$9.99

Classic Bacon Cheeseburger
with Tillamook Cheddar, Lettuce and Tomato
$12.49

Bison Cheeseburger
with Tillamook Cheddar, Sweet Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato and Marion Berry Barbecue Sauce
$13.49

Salads
Grilled Portobello Salad
with grilled Portobello, Zucchini, Roasted Red Peppers, Tomato, and Multi-Grain Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing
$9.99

Grilled Chicken Salad
with Arugula-Romaine, Apples, seasonal Berries, Hazelnuts, and Red Wine Vinaigrette
$12.49

House-Smoked Salmon Salad
with Arugula-Romaine, Apples, seasonal Berries, Hazelnuts, and Red Wine Vinaigrette
$12.49

Seasonal Fruit Plate
with Lavender Honey-Yogurt
$8.99

Kids' Mickey Check Meals
Mickey Check Meal - Grilled Chicken Strips
served with dipping sauces and choice of Apple Slices or Vegetable Sticks and small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Bottled Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitutions
$6.99

Mickey Check Meal - Finger Food Sampler
sliced Smoked Turkey, Tillamook Cheddar, Spiced Apple Jam, Grape Tomatoes and Sourdough Crisps served with choice of small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Bottled Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitutions
$6.99

Kids' Meals
Cheeseburger
with Grapes and Danimals and choice of small Low-fat Milk or small Dasani® Water
$6.99

Desserts
Chocolate Brownie Mousse
with Caramel Popcorn and Toasted Meringue
$5.99

Seasonal Pie
$5.99

Thank you for posting the photo and menu, @TheLodgeLady!

We just returned from a week at WL - had room 5010 and it was great! We looked toward MK and the Contemporary and had a view of Wishes each night :) The room was a little further down than ideal for Wishes because there are still some trees blocking the view of the castle but we could see the fireworks clearly (higher numbers would be better but there was nothing to complain about from 5010).

The one downside of being on that side is the water parade each night...we were up early each morning and exhausted each night so we were in bed early and the music from that water parade is LOUD!! And kind of annoying :rolleyes:

Geyser Point opened on our second last day and Roaring Forks closed. The downside to Geyser Point is that it was a bit of a hike to refill our mugs but the upside was the view while eating breakfast - it was a gorgeous, relaxing spot for breakfast and the staff worked so hard to make it a great experience. We had the eggs benedict both mornings and it was delicious.

The pool was fun and there were so many lifeguards! The slide was great - lay down to go faster! Hot tub was hot and the kid's splash pad was a hit. They had afternoon activities for the kids - my son made a sun catcher one day.

The busses worked nicely - never had more than a 15 minute wait and we really liked the sign that told us how long until the next bus. We used the boats quite a bit to get to the Contemporary or MK. The only day we took a bus to MK was for our PPO ADR.

It was a great first stay at WL!

Thanks for posting about your stay and your visit to the newly-opened GP, @Mollygirl21

So with Roaring Forks closed, is the only place to refill mugs the new Geyser Point?

Yes.
 
We are starting to plan for our 2017 Disney trip and return to the Wilderness lodge. I cant wait to see what Geyser Point has waiting for us. I think we will enjoy it better than the former pool bar or the mini bar that was set up at the Vila pool. Plus it will also be a great spot for watching the water parade...Does anyone know since Roaring Forks is closed for refurbishment that the Dining Plan will be accepted at Geyser Point? I haven't seen DP notated on the menus.
 
Does anyone know since Roaring Forks is closed for refurbishment that the Dining Plan will be accepted at Geyser Point? I haven't seen DP notated on the menus.

The Disney Food Blog has pictures of the Quick Service window at Geyser Point and it shows DDP items.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2017/...nt-bar-and-grill-at-disneys-wilderness-lodge/

The wdwinfo page lists the location as not accepting the dining plan, but that must just be for the table service.

We are looking forward to trying GP, and it will be a great addition to RF for the future.
 
The Disney Food Blog has pictures of the Quick Service window at Geyser Point and it shows DDP items.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2017/...nt-bar-and-grill-at-disneys-wilderness-lodge/

The wdwinfo page lists the location as not accepting the dining plan, but that must just be for the table service.

We are looking forward to trying GP, and it will be a great addition to RF for the future.

Interesting article which states - "Speaking of weather, thanks to a DFB reader on Facebook, we now know that there are retractable walls/windows here so that the location can be completely enclosed!"
 
We have loved the Lodge since it opened and although we are staying elsewhere for a trip in March, we were planning to spend an evening at Roaring Fork for dinner and just hanging out at the Lodge. How intrusive is the construction? I realize it won't be going on in the evening but I'm wondering how much of the atmosphere is changed due to construction. Is the lobby still full of scaffolding? I have seen the photos of the Geyser Point and it looks like a great place to hang, we are mostly wondering what else is still an issue? How about on the DVC villas side of the Lodge proper, can you even walk over there now? I understand that's where most of the construction has been with the pool renovation and such.

Thanks!
 
We have loved the Lodge since it opened and although we are staying elsewhere for a trip in March, we were planning to spend an evening at Roaring Fork for dinner and just hanging out at the Lodge. How intrusive is the construction? I realize it won't be going on in the evening but I'm wondering how much of the atmosphere is changed due to construction. Is the lobby still full of scaffolding? I have seen the photos of the Geyser Point and it looks like a great place to hang, we are mostly wondering what else is still an issue? How about on the DVC villas side of the Lodge proper, can you even walk over there now? I understand that's where most of the construction has been with the pool renovation and such.

Thanks!

The construction is really quite unobtrusive. There are scrims up in the South side of the lobby, but no scaffolding. The North side is all open. With the walls down that surrounded Geyser point the waterfront area is all open. There are still walls around the villas pool area though as the new pool is still under construction.
Be aware though that Roaring Fork is now closed for refurbishment, and there is not a confirmed reopening date so Geyser Point is likely to be your only quick service option.
The South wing of the main building is totally closed, so other than the walkway by the Mercantile on the 2nd floor that goes to the buses and villas building you really can't go through it.

We would definitely stop by to check it out.
 
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