Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[kamcole]

Don't forget about those ground floor South Wing rooms across from the VWL pool



Welcome! You might encounter "construction" at BC as well. All of the rooms are being rehabbed and aren't slated to be finished until close to the end of August.

Everyone should do OCI, but the room location selection feature of OCI isn't always very useful. Sometimes the options don't even apply to your booking. Always have any requests added to your reservation by calling or via your TA so they are more accurate/complete. Some have reported that faxes end up in the trash at some resorts and others report that because they got their request, they assumed their fax was looked at. The Room Assignor will see both your OCI requests and those added to your reservation. There's really no reason to fax any requests. You can request a room "like 5077," just make sure you explain why in case that room is blocked.



ITA with cash reservations at DVC resorts. Like you mention, unlike points, you can also apply discounts, which in the case of the military rate is 40% off. You also receive daily housekeeping and the booking is so much more flexible with any changes/cancelations and you "own" the reservation and have complete control over it.



Your trip is getting closer everyday!



I take back what I posted this week about the scaffolding work not being that noisy. Obviously, it's generating noise as well



I think your question was answered, but in case you missed it, the TRANSPORTATION chapter of the thread has timetables.



Hope you're enjoying your first full-day. Have you happened to go by those South Wing ground floor rooms across from the VWL pool?



He's ready for you!!

So exciting! Safe travels!



I've noticed that Disney seems to warn about construction only when it takes away an amenity, like a pool.

Thanks!! So how - I completely missed the transportation section. Very informative as always.

 

[daunty]

Me again- I just called WL IPO to ask about construction, after a bit of delay to ask about construction, they indicated that I should move from the WL. The current construction project will be done shortly, but they said by the end of Sept, they will be in their next project and that daytime construction noise is going to continue...

Hi.
I'm glad you've made a decision that's right for your family. The GF will be amazing.
Did they give any idea when the current construction will finish?
We're there in 4 weeks.

 

[waffocopter]

Where is the DVC construction going to be at WL? I know people have said that North wing rooms are good for a possible view of the fireworks but I don't think I'd want that at the expense of a loud room close to construction. Are woods view bunk rooms centered around a certain area of the lodge or scattered so that I may be able to avoid noise?

 

[kmorlock]

The Woods view rooms are going to mostly be on the side facing Contemporary where many refer to as the "Otter pond" area. The other side facing the VWL also has Woods view depending on the floor. The is a Woods view at the North Wing end tucked between the deluxe rooms closer to the woods separating the walkway to the boat dock. Check the first page of this thread for a link to expansion thread. On that thread there are maps and overlays showing proposed placement of the cabins, restaurant, etc. I am not sure about the Woods bunk rooms locations though.

 

[VbChristy]

Hi.
I'm glad you've made a decision that's right for your family. The GF will be amazing.
Did they give any idea when the current construction will finish?
We're there in 4 weeks.

So there is a break between the projects but unfortunately I don't know what that is. Good luck. I hope it works out for you. And if I didn't have a napper I probably would have kept it but we need to nap!

 

[rainboots]

Transportation question: do ALL of the boats to MK & CR accommodate ECVs (scooters)? Is it possible that a launch will pull up and we will have to wait for the next one? This is a large factor in my mom's resort choices - meaning she is pushing for monorail now. I don't think she grasps the price for such a convenience, though!

 

[MinnieMeep]

Hello there! My phone is just about dead, please forgive me for asking this, I tried to research as much as I could! DH and I are considering switching from CR CL to WL CL for the second part of our split stay 9/16-9/20/15. I'm brand new to this thread and am trying to determine if there is a lot of construction going on in WL (and what kind)? Is it expected to be there the second week of Sept? Just wondering if I was reading correctly before I make the call to switch resorts. TIA!

 

[disneymom06]

We arrive at WL on July 12. We have always wanted to stay at WL. While I am very nervous about all of this construction, I am hoping that everything works out OK. My question is, When we get there, if the construction impacts our stay, what can I do? I would hate to be miserable for the week.

 

[charlestonblondie]

We are returning to WL for our youngest son's first trip. We took our oldest son has been to WL once before. I have a no napping and potty trained rule before they get to go to DW. Ha! Our travel dates are 9/16 to 9/20. We are booked for a courtyard view bunk bed room. What is the best thing to request? Can you see wishes? Or is the water parade easier to see?

 

[kmorlock]

We arrive at WL on July 12. We have always wanted to stay at WL. While I am very nervous about all of this construction, I am hoping that everything works out OK. My question is, When we get there, if the construction impacts our stay, what can I do? I would hate to be miserable for the week.

In our past experience, Disney will make every effort to correct a situation. If you are uncomfortable with your room/location, they will move you.

 

[jon18uk]

On our last trip in December, it took us an HOUR to get to Epcot. Very frustrating. There was a long wait for the bus, and the bus stops at Ft. Wilderness. And we had to stand because there were so many people riding the bus that morning, and all of us ended up missing RD.

Honestly, THE BEST trick that I discovered to get to/from Epcot from WL is to grab a cab over to the TTC and take the monorail from there. The TTC is right across the road from the WL (why they don't put in a walking path, I just don't understand) and the cab fare was $4. After taking an hour to get to Epcot that morning, we were back in our room, in bed, 20 minutes after we left the front gate of Epcot by taking the monorail to the TTC and then cabbing it to the WL.

I was looking at Google Maps recently and I agree, they should have put a path alongside Topiary Lane, would be a nice 10 minute walk to the TTC. I can understand why you can't walk to the Contemporty, due to the aquaduct & tunnel, but the TTC is straight down one road from WL!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Unfortunately, the major construction project that would begin this September has been confirmed by the WL CL IPO. It seems to me that it would impact WL guests who have a woods view room or a standard view room in the north wing the most. WL guests with a standard view or woods view room in the south wing wouldn't be facing the construction areas so noise should be minimal for them. Guests with a courtyard view room facing the inner courtyard wouldn't face the construction areas either, so noise should be minimal for them. Guest at the villas who have a room facing Bay Lake would be looking directly at the construction zone. Guests at the villas who face the bus stop side would have minimal noise. But construction noise is usually limited to normal working hours, so many guests won't be at the resort to hear the noise if they plan to spend a lot of time out of their rooms.

As far as the DVC construction going on in the south wing this summer - I wish we had more information. If the only work that they are planning to do is in the three rooms that are currently being work in, then I would think that it would be finished soon, as was reported earlier. People with a room in the north wing shouldn't be hearing any noise from this construction.

This is really a bummer because it is really going to make a mess of things for while. We are hoping to return in January and we even thinking of trying club level for the first time ever. The only good thing is that they should be offering huge discounts to stay at the WL during major construction.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Our travel dates are 9/16 to 9/20. We are booked for a courtyard view bunk bed room. What is the best thing to request? Can you see wishes? Or is the water parade easier to see?

The inner courtyard would be the best to request. If you want to try and get a view of the water parade, then inner courtyard rooms in the north wing would be the ones with the best view. If you hope to see Wishes then it would be the highest floors of the south wing - inner courtyard - the rooms that are closest to Bay Lake. Courtyard view rooms that face the villas pool won't have Wishes or water parade views. But you can see both of them from the beach.

I was looking at Google Maps recently and I agree, they should have put a path alongside Topiary Lane, would be a nice 10 minute walk to the TTC. I can understand why you can't walk to the Contemporty, due to the aquaduct & tunnel, but the TTC is straight down one road from WL!

I don't think they will make a pathway to TTC without building a bridge over the road or a tunnel under the road, since there is just too much road traffic there. But it would be nice if they did have a walking path around all the monorail resorts, connecting the WL to them. I don't think the Disney planners ever envisioned that people would want to walk to these places.

 

[mrs moon]

I have booking Oct 10 nights ,would you suggest change resort now?..i am in woods view!

 

[jon18uk]

I don't think they will make a pathway to TTC without building a bridge over the road or a tunnel under the road, since there is just too much road traffic there. But it would be nice if they did have a walking path around all the monorail resorts, connecting the WL to them. I don't think the Disney planners ever envisioned that people would want to walk to these places.

I don't think they expected to need to run as many buses as they do now as there was less parks and resorts to connect together when WL was built. I also sometimes think it is an American thing in general that it is assumed no-one will want to walk.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I have booking Oct 10 nights ,would you suggest change resort now?..i am in woods view!

We really don't know the extent of the construction yet, when it will actually begin, what areas they will begin working on first and what it will be like in October. So it is really hard to know what to advise. And everyone has different tolerance levels. Some people won't be bothered at all by it. The main lodge, main pool, boats and transportation will be unaffected. The lodge will be as gorgeous as always. But since the majority of the woods view rooms will face the proposed construction area, then those will be the rooms that will hear the most noise during those work hours.

 

[mrs moon]

We really don't know the extent of the construction yet, when it will actually begin, what areas they will begin working on first and what it will be like in October. So it is really hard to know what to advise. And everyone has different tolerance levels. Some people won't be bothered at all by it. The main lodge, main pool, boats and transportation will be unaffected. The lodge will be as gorgeous as always. But since the majority of the woods view rooms will face the proposed construction area, then those will be the rooms that will hear the most noise during those work hours.

thank you for reply..Do you think we would hear the noise from around the swimming pool and also would the quite pool be open?

 

[DisFam95]

Moment of panic. Called Reservations to add Inner Courtyard and she could not pull up my Res# (I've had a hotel lose my reservation before so this made my heart race). She finally found it w/ name and address and confirmed it was the right number - just weird. Made my room requests and she was so friendly we chatted about construction and progress at Disney and WL. Her attitude was Disney is here to stay and she doubts people want it to look and be exactly the same in another 45years so they have to keep making progress and adding new things. They try to be as efficient as possible but their goal is to keep adding new and exciting things and that takes some work and time. It's not all Pixie Dust and does requires elbow grease.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

I have booking Oct 10 nights ,would you suggest change resort now?..i am in woods view!

We did.

 

[mrs moon]

We did.

Where did you move to and was it a similar price?