Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[GrandCalifornian]

We just got our AP rate and are thinking of switching from the WL to the Poly this July bc it's only $300 more. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the WL, but the Poly is usually so much further out from our budget that we don't even consider it. We have some questions that I hope someone can help with.
* We liked the idea of bunk beds at the WL. Anyone know how large Poly rooms are in comparison?
* Any pros or cons to each? We would have the standard view at the Poly and bunk bed courtyard view at the WL
I just wonder, with the construction as a factor, if the Poly might be the way to go this year.

We have never stayed at the Poly but also love WL. The Poly rooms are considerably bigger at 415-476sq ft vs 344 at WL.

As far as pros/cons, we love that WL is all under one roof and relatively compact compared to the multiple buildings at Poly. Poly has the advantage of being able to walk to the TTC to directly catch an Epcot monorail. We like that WL offers buses to all parks, even if they aren't the most exciting. Having a bus to Epcot can be nice.

Then there's the construction... At WL you won't have boat rentals, a beach, kids club, spa, or health club during the construction. Two of the three banks of elevators are closed too, but so is half of the main building so crowds should be lower. You will see construction activity, even from a courtyard view room, but that bothers some far more than others.

Either way you could have a great trip. If Poly is on your wish list and it is a good deal go for it, but some of us wouldn't pay much more for it.

 

[goopysolelady]

We just got our AP rate and are thinking of switching from the WL to the Poly this July bc it's only $300 more. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the WL, but the Poly is usually so much further out from our budget that we don't even consider it. We have some questions that I hope someone can help with.
* We liked the idea of bunk beds at the WL. Anyone know how large Poly rooms are in comparison?
* Any pros or cons to each? We would have the standard view at the Poly and bunk bed courtyard view at the WL
I just wonder, with the construction as a factor, if the Poly might be the way to go this year.

...and I'll add to PP list...we've stayed at the Poly and, while we love WL also, for only $300 more, I'd opt for the Poly in a heartbeat. It's one of our top 3 favorite resorts with WL and BLT. A totally different "feel" than WL but for the summer I don't think the Poly can be beat. Not sure if the "quiet pool" construction will be finished but the larger, main pool is awesome with a "million dollar view" of Bay Lake and the MK. We also make it a point to eat at the Kona no matter where we're staying on our visits. They offer Pineapple Macadamia Pancakes for breakfast, IMO, they can NOT be beat. DD gets the Tonga Toast; I get the pancakes and we have the best of both worlds! WL can't be beat during the Christmas holiday season but for a summer visit I honestly think you would love the Poly. Absolutely beautiful resort and grounds...

 

[cmdg]

...and I'll add to PP list...we've stayed at the Poly and, while we love WL also, for only $300 more, I'd opt for the Poly in a heartbeat. It's one of our top 3 favorite resorts with WL and BLT. A totally different "feel" than WL but for the summer I don't think the Poly can be beat. Not sure if the "quiet pool" construction will be finished but the larger, main pool is awesome with a "million dollar view" of Bay Lake and the MK. We also make it a point to eat at the Kona no matter where we're staying on our visits. They offer Pineapple Macadamia Pancakes for breakfast, IMO, they can NOT be beat. DD gets the Tonga Toast; I get the pancakes and we have the best of both worlds! WL can't be beat during the Christmas holiday season but for a summer visit I honestly think you would love the Poly. Absolutely beautiful resort and grounds...

Thanks to everyone! We haven't stayed at Poly in about 8 years, and that was w/o kids, but we do love it. The WL is our favorite for all the reasons mentioned above, but I think for $300 the switch seems like a good idea. Our two year old is currently obsessed with the monorail so that will be a big plus for him!

 

[jade1]

From the boat today directly between the Castle and the shoreline being developed.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks to everyone! We haven't stayed at Poly in about 8 years, and that was w/o kids, but we do love it. The WL is our favorite for all the reasons mentioned above, but I think for $300 the switch seems like a good idea. Our two year old is currently obsessed with the monorail so that will be a big plus for him!

I think you made the right choice and Poly is almost done with all it's major construction. Even the East (Quiet) pool looks like it will re-open this week. We last stayed there in August and we were very happy with our room's location and I'm sure your DS will love the beach, 'sprayground' and monorail.

From the boat today directly between the Castle and the shoreline being developed.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

DH and I are trying to decide between one night at WL and CBR. We seem to have made a sport of spur of the moment trips so I need to make a decision!! We are staying one night on the way to our Disney Cruise next Thursday. (Yes we just booked the cruise too!).

DH wants a Trails End breakfast and I want the LTT Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake. Proximity at WL makes sense but I am confused about which rooms are actually in service and how noisy construction is.

Are all the rooms on the Villa side out of service? Is there construction on both sides? We would be booking a standard view.

Thanks for any help!!

Liz

 

[GrandCalifornian]

DH and I are trying to decide between one night at WL and CBR. We seem to have made a sport of spur of the moment trips so I need to make a decision!! We are staying one night on the way to our Disney Cruise next Thursday. (Yes we just booked the cruise too!).

DH wants a Trails End breakfast and I want the LTT Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake. Proximity at WL makes sense but I am confused about which rooms are actually in service and how noisy construction is.

Are all the rooms on the Villa side out of service? Is there construction on both sides? We would be booking a standard view.

Thanks for any help!!

Liz

Congrats on the quick trip. Trail's End and LTT Toffee Cake sound like great reasons to me. Currently all of the rooms in the South wing (Villas side) are out of service. This includes the rooms on the south side that open to the lobby over the registration desk. By booking standard view, you would have a room on the North (MK) side of the wing furthest from the villas. There is construction North of the lodge between these rooms and the water, but currently it is just land clearing. The bulk of the construction now is between the South wing and the villas, where the old villas pool has been removed and more buildings will be added where the beach was. There is also work going on in the South wing, as those rooms are being reconfigured and there is scaffolding in the courtyard.
For one night, go for it, be close to the food you crave!

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Congrats on the quick trip. Trail's End and LTT Toffee Cake sound like great reasons to me. Currently all of the rooms in the South wing (Villas side) are out of service. This includes the rooms on the south side that open to the lobby over the registration desk. By booking standard view, you would have a room on the North (MK) side of the wing furthest from the villas. There is construction North of the lodge between these rooms and the water, but currently it is just land clearing. The bulk of the construction now is between the South wing and the villas, where the old villas pool has been removed and more buildings will be added where the beach was. There is also work going on in the South wing, as those rooms are being reconfigured and there is scaffolding in the courtyard.
For one night, go for it, be close to the food you crave!

Thank you so much for the info. That is what it looked like but I hate to assume. So Done!! WL March 10th.

We were not even considering a Disney stop until we realized the coast hotels had Spring Break prices. AP discount for WL is almost half. Imagine our surprise to find Disney cheaper!! Go figure.



Liz

 

[Mermaid02]

My boyfriend and I are headed to WL villas for a week on 04/09/16... I've never stayed at WL before and I'm really excited. Haven't been to WDW in 11 years and he has only been once almost 20 years ago. Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[sleepydog25]

My boyfriend and I are headed to WL villas for a week on 04/09/16... I've never stayed at WL before and I'm really excited. Haven't been to WDW in 11 years and he has only been once almost 20 years ago. Any advice is much appreciated!

My main trip advice is to be sure to understand (and book) your FastPasses. Some of the smaller and less popular rides and attractions can still be standby/walk on, but most others will need a FastPass unless you a) time it right or b) don't mind waiting in lines.

As for Villas, I'm sure you've read there is construction going on there, as well as at the main Lodge. Specifically, the Hidden Springs pool area and the entire beach area no longer exist. The former site is now the staging area for the construction while the latter has dozens of pipes sticking out of the ground (as of two weeks ago) for the new building going up there. However, the work didn't begin before 8 a.m. and ended by 5 p.m. each day except weekends when there was no work at all. So, if you're in the parks most of the day, the construction shouldn't really bother you. In fact, when we were in the rooms during the day a couple of times, the noise was minimal unless you stepped out on your balcony. The sound dampening effect of the balcony doors and curtains are fairly good unless perhaps you're right on ground level.

I'm sure many others will have suggestions for things to do at the Lodge/Villas, but here are a few: search for Hidden Mickeys (hint sheet available at front desk); dine at Artist Point which is a very romantic and generally superb Signature restaurant (I recommend the buffalo strip, medium rare); watch the geyser go off (on the hour through much of the day and evening); walk the path to Fort Wilderness which is about a mile one way (while there, do the breakfast buffet at Trail's End); eat some made-to-order Mickey waffles at Roaring Fork; sit in a rocker on the porch at the Villas section and listen to the music & crickets, and watch the lanterns flicker--I'd suggest doing this with your favorite beverage in hand; take a boat over to the Magic Kingdom or Contemporary Resort (at night coming back to the Lodge, look for the bear face in the architecture); or simply sit in the main Lodge lobby and watch people come in for the first time.

Despite the construction, I think you'll love the Lodge and the Villas (whose rooms were recently refurbished). Enjoy!

 

[Wood Nymph]

My boyfriend and I are headed to WL villas for a week on 04/09/16... I've never stayed at WL before and I'm really excited. Haven't been to WDW in 11 years and he has only been once almost 20 years ago. Any advice is much appreciated!

Check out the Walt Disney train memorabilia in the Carolina Pacific room in the villas building. Relax in the best leather rocking chairs in all of WDW and enjoy the whimsical firescreen in that room.

 

[Dean Marino]

My boyfriend and I are headed to WL villas for a week on 04/09/16... I've never stayed at WL before and I'm really excited. Haven't been to WDW in 11 years and he has only been once almost 20 years ago. Any advice is much appreciated!

I would strongly suggest getting ADR's for everything (unless you have already thought about that). You'll be at WL - Whispering Canyon is a GREAT place for most of your breakfasts.

You see, we've seen too many families arrive in the AM WITHOUT ADR's . Often a good 45 minute wait .

 

[Mermaid02]

Thank you all!!! I already have my fast passes and some ADR's.... I am so excited!

 

[DisneyJenK]

We just came back from a 1 week stay - we actually loved the resort about 1/2 empty - no crowds/lines at the bus stops, Pool or Roaring forks.

Even though there were only 2 working elevators, we never experienced any waits even with 2 strollers. They were mostly empty and seemed to be waiting on the 1st floor for guests to come in.

We traveled with family who had never stayed or even seen the resort before and they loved it!

So happy that we stayed here again and cannot wait to go back.

 

[DisneyJenK]

View from our 7th floor balcony

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Thank you for the pictures! It looks like they have removed an incredible amount of the forested area between the lodge and the monorail. It really opens up the view toward MK.

I am glad you enjoyed your stay! DH and I have decided to have dinner in Territory Lounge...cobbler and donuts! What could be better than that...

Liz

 

[bluecastle]

We just got our AP rate and are thinking of switching from the WL to the Poly this July bc it's only $300 more. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the WL, but the Poly is usually so much further out from our budget that we don't even consider it. We have some questions that I hope someone can help with.
* We liked the idea of bunk beds at the WL. Anyone know how large Poly rooms are in comparison?
* Any pros or cons to each? We would have the standard view at the Poly and bunk bed courtyard view at the WL
I just wonder, with the construction as a factor, if the Poly might be the way to go this year.

I would definitely make the switch. We have stayed 3 times at each and love them both. We haven't stayed at the Poly since 2002 ( it really was beyond our budget), so some of my observations may not be true anymore.
1. If a balcony you can actually use is important to you, you should request it. Some of the rooms don't have them.
2. I requested Tahiti because it was one of three (I think) buildings that had 2 sinks in the bathroom, and they are in a separate area. We had my DD and a friend with us and I thought 2 sinks were essential with two 16 year-old girls!
3. We were pretty far from the GCH, but there was an excellent short cut through Tokelau. This was very important when it was raining. On the plus side, the walkway to the TTC to go to Epcot was very close by and at night, a relaxing walk and peaceful way to return to our room after the noise and energy from the park.
4. The atmosphere is so immersive, especially at night. Love the torches on the paths, the music, and the tropical plants and flowers.
Personally, I would really miss the waterfall that used to be in the lobby, but this deal sounds too good to pass up!
Enjoy!!

 

[bluecastle]

Hi Kook!
I have a DIS question. Even though this is one of my watched threads, I haven't gotten any alerts for a couple of pages now. Do you have to post to get alerts?
Thanks. Hope all is well.

 

[andrew870]

I had club lvl scheduled for May and decided to call the hotel directly. I ended speaking to the folks on the club lvl. They said you can here the construction in lobby. Combined with a courtyard view on massive scaffolding on the south wing I said that was enough for me to switch. I go on vacation to relax not to feel Im at work with beep beep and kaboom noises. I switched to Poly for an extra 600. I hope itll be worth it. I always stay at Wilderness lodge on every vacation for the last 20 years. It was hard to switch but I think need some time before I return home.

 

[jade1]

From the DVC shore area