Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[Wood Nymph]

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I thought I would post some before and after pictures. The before picture is one of the pictures on the first page of this thread. It is a picture of Otter Pond taken near room 6034, the north wing woods view rooms that face MK.




This is a terrible picture but it is taken from the same window, a very dirty window, and you can see how close the construction area is to the building in this section of the resort.



The smoke house is on the left. You can just barely see the boat launch that takes people to and from the MK. It is in the upper right hand corner. You can also see how they left a line of trees right at the shoreline. And you can also see what a wet and muddy mess it is. This area doesn't have any active construction right now.






It is hard to see but I circled the two construction areas in yellow.




I added this picture to show how the construction area swings away from the service area of the resort.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Sue, thanks so much for sharing these pictures! It looks like folks staying on that side of the resort will at least be able to enjoy Wishes from their rooms for a little while. At least that's a little positive perspective.

 

[MickeyEars]

Yes Sue, thank you very much for the pictures!!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

So what are they doing??
I loved the otter pond room and the trees.. So sad!

 

[Capang]

Looks like we will postpone any trips this year in hopes of less construction next summer. No one wants to stay anywhere else so maybe by 2017 it won't be as bad (or, wishful thinking here) finished!

 

[fauntleroy1953]

Yo everyone! I stopped writing about 20 pages ago when overseeing the care of my Dad got more intense. But I have some downtime now and am trying to catch up.
During our stay CL 12/11-19, the rumors were flying around about South wing and OFC changes- it's interesting to see how it's all coming true now. Sad to see that area boarded up,with the chairs and fireplace. Can't tell you how many times DH took a nap in one chair while I fiddled around with my IPad in the other chair. I can only hope they won't get rid of that space or at least re- locate it. We stayed in 7035 for the first time since we were booted out of 7127, our favorite. Had to get used to a longer walk to and from OFC,but the room change certainly wasn't something that dampened our time there. We're always thrilled just to be there and this was the first time we were at WDW during the thick of Christmas time. We were glad we went during such a busy time,but not sure if we'd do it again.
We did make ressies for a return trip to WL CL - 8/24-9/1 . Mainly because it's value season,which they seem to be whittling away at. It's getting harder to find those value dates. They're totally gone from November,which used to be our favorite time to go. We did re-up our AP's,but even those are different and TIW is more expensive also.
We DID get a $100 a day credit during this past stay due to construction. But we had to phone and ask- they weren't throwing out the discounts like a deck of cards- they made you work for it.
Anyone want to make any predictions on how far along they will be by the end of the summer?
Perhaps I should be gearing up to ask for another discount? Sheesh......

So, I'm getting a total right knee replacement on Tuesday,so I will have some time on my hands to finish up the last day or two of my trip report- it's under the title of From The Tropics To The Wilderness.
My Dad is getting kicked out of rehab on Monday and sent back to living assisted,so we have a whole new set of rules,regulations and levels of care to deal with. WL is my oasis in the desert of despair. It's a matter of necessity and sanity that we keep returning!
Thanks so much to Kook and Wood Nymph for all the time you put in here. I'm truly grateful!!

 

[coloneltaylor]

Thanks for all of this fabulous information. We have not stayed on property for years but decided we wanted to do it for a few nights on our upcoming trip. We are booked May 21-23 in a deluxe room. I have considered moving to another resort but would only move to one that had access to at least one park without taking a bus. I am also happy with the the rate we are paying at WL. We are a family of 6, our youngest is 9, so a deluxe room works for enough sleeping room for everyone without breaking the bank! My question is, should I be requesting anything in terms of room location or view to get the best possible room location considering the construction?

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm back at work today so I won't be back until after dinner, but I wanted to answer a few questions.

Yes. I'm just as curious as you are.

The trees and brush at the end of the north wing, in front of the deluxe rooms, are still there. So if you look out toward the lake then you still have trees in your way. The cleared area starts just a little beyond that.

Yes, 6123 is closed. All of those rooms are closed.

There really isn't very much lounge traffic but if you are going to be in the room right next door to the VP suite, then you will probably hear noise.

The path to Fort Wilderness is open. We walked there for breakfast at Trails End and there were a lot of people walking on that path.

The main floor of the lobby is unchanged. The seating is the same, the view is the same, just the elevators are closed off. It is the upper floors that have had their seating areas closed off, all except the fourth floor seating area above the front doors. That area is open right now.

Thank you for answering everyone's questions, even at work. Just to clarify for those who might not know, the wooded path which starts behind Teton rentals is closed, but the concrete path which starts near VWL and the bus stop is open.

One more update -

The area by the villas:

We walked down the nature path to Fort Wilderness to spy on the construction by the villas. They are bringing in dump truck loads of sand. You could hear the crashing noise when they dumped the load. I assume they are mixing the sand with the soil. That area is mostly wetland, which means the soil needs a lot of prepping before you can build on it. I would think it would take some time to get all the soil prepped. The cast member we talked to said that the soil has to settle and reach a certain level of density or compaction or something like that, before they can start construction. I have no idea how long something like this takes. But it appears as if they have finished the tree clearing and are working on getting the area ready for construction.

The north side nearest the MK side of the resort:
They cleared out the trees in a section on the north side but nothing else is happening. The soil is wet and muddy and half of the cleared area has standing water on it. They don't seem to be doing anything with it right now. All the construction that we saw was happening in the villas area.

Great information. This project will take a lot of sand. I would imagine just the noise of dumping sand can be heard indoors, especially from VWL?

pictures

I took this picture by looking through a gap in the construction fence behind the
Trout Bar. The beach is on the left, the marina is little building, the villas are on the right and the backhoe is near the place where the quiet pool used to be.

Your photos are just about in the area where the new restaurant will go - apx. in front of where the playground used to be and near the movies.

We walked down the nature trail and stopped to take pictures at the construction entrance. You can't see much because we were using our cell phones to take these pictures and we couldn't get close.

The villas building is on the left. The south wing of the WL is in the back. There are piles of sand just behind the fence. We saw dump trucks bringing in loads of sand and heard the crashing noise they made when they dumped their loads.

This is the section of the WL by the Cubs Den. They were painting when we saw them.

I think scaffolding is an unofficial theming element of WL. I feel like scaffolding has been up for going on two years now and there's no end in sight - well, maybe 2017?

I thought I would post some before and after pictures. The before picture is one of the pictures on the first page of this thread. It is a picture of Otter Pond taken near room 6034, the north wing woods view rooms that face MK.

This is a terrible picture but it is taken from the same window, a very dirty window, and you can see how close the construction area is to the building in this section of the resort.

The smoke house is on the left. You can just barely see the boat launch that takes people to and from the MK. It is in the upper right hand corner. You can also see how they left a line of trees right at the shoreline. And you can also see what a wet and muddy mess it is. This area doesn't have any active construction right now.

Those are great photos and the cleared area shows future cabin placement. That area is going to need TONS of sand/fill. Can't believe they won't take the North Wing Woods View rooms out of inventory when all the filling and construction starts. Of course, I really can't understand why the resort is partially open at all. I personally feel it needs to be shut down and worked on 24/7, without guests around. (Views expressed aren't necessarily those of the Walt Disney Co.)

 

[WDWKOOK]

Kook-
Please forgive me for so many questions!! Is Deluxe room 6123 closed? I wasn't sure if it is considered mid lodge or south wing.
Also do you think all the lounge traffic would make room 7035 unbearable? I love the view and the location but can we stand it?
Any idea when the lounge will be placed in the renovated honeymoon suites?

Thank you for your help and for all you do for us Lodge lovers!!

Carla

I think I mistakenly replied to you at one time with "mid-Lodge" when I meant "mid-WING." Apologies for any confusion. But, as Sue told you, the entire SW is closed so 6123, which sits right below the Presidential Suite, is not available.

However, NW Deluxe rooms are available, as of now, and I would recommend a mid-WING Deluxe room since Sue reports that the end-of-wing rooms still have obstructed views of Bay Lake/marina.

Kook--

The AKL is a refurb--of the CL, I believe, not full-out construction, however I'm concerned about noise. I mean, they sent me an email warning me about it, so they must be expecting more than nothing, although they refused to move me. If I want to move, I have to redo my reservations myself. Which I still might. I don't do noise well, which is why I don't stay at Value resorts, as beautiful as many of them are. And we use the resort room a lot, often during the day.

I'm guessing, from reading through here (as much as I could) that the heavy construction hasn't started at WL yet, and maybe no one knows exactly when it will start. We visited the Poly just to see the new lobby last February, and the noise there was deafening. Literally. So I certainly am not in love with that idea, even though I am in love with WL! I'd love someone who knows to say "the heavy construction at WL won't start until February 15th" or something. Then I'd just switch to WL and be done with it.

DH and I still haven't decided what we're going to do. It's quite expensive to move somewhere else at this late date, since most of the discounts are over and a lot of room categories are booked. I couldn't even get a room at the B, one of the few off-property places I'd even consider. They were totally booked. And I'm not amused at WDW for waiting until 12 days before our scheduled arrival to tell us about a refurb that I can't believe wasn't scheduled weeks, if not months, ago.

Ah well.

Many thanks to you, Kook, and all the other wonderful WL lovers on this thread!

I think you're saying you booked WL AFTER knowing how extensive the construction would be and after they emailed you about it? I would still suggest contacting Resort Guest Services, again, via the Reservation line and explain your concerns about WL and now AKL. Tell them you would like to "transfer" your reservation, due to the construction and see what they can offer you, at the same rate or with any discount code you may have originally applied. They can only say no, again.

Joining this thread! Thanks for all the great info. We arrive at WDW on 6/12 and are staying 5 nights at AKV and then 10 nights at VWL. We seemed to be attracted to resorts under construction . (We stayed at the Poly in 7/15.) No worries though! Looking forward to all the fabulous updates.

Welcome! What a nice, long stay and I'll add your VWL dates to the Lodgers' Log.

So what are they doing??
I loved the otter pond room and the trees.. So sad!

For more specific info. on all the plans, go to the WL DVC Expansion thread located HERE.

Looks like we will postpone any trips this year in hopes of less construction next summer. No one wants to stay anywhere else so maybe by 2017 it won't be as bad (or, wishful thinking here) finished!

As of now, and of course this could change, the work is slated to be completed April 2017, but the permits don't expire until 2018.

Yo everyone! I stopped writing about 20 pages ago when overseeing the care of my Dad got more intense. But I have some downtime now and am trying to catch up.

During our stay CL 12/11-19, the rumors were flying around about South wing and OFC changes- it's interesting to see how it's all coming true now. Sad to see that area boarded up,with the chairs and fireplace. Can't tell you how many times DH took a nap in one chair while I fiddled around with my IPad in the other chair. I can only hope they won't get rid of that space or at least re- locate it. We stayed in 7035 for the first time since we were booted out of 7127, our favorite. Had to get used to a longer walk to and from OFC,but the room change certainly wasn't something that dampened our time there. We're always thrilled just to be there and this was the first time we were at WDW during the thick of Christmas time. We were glad we went during such a busy time,but not sure if we'd do it again.

We did make ressies for a return trip to WL CL - 8/24-9/1 . Mainly because it's value season,which they seem to be whittling away at. It's getting harder to find those value dates. They're totally gone from November,which used to be our favorite time to go. We did re-up our AP's,but even those are different and TIW is more expensive also.

We DID get a $100 a day credit during this past stay due to construction. But we had to phone and ask- they weren't throwing out the discounts like a deck of cards- they made you work for it.
Anyone want to make any predictions on how far along they will be by the end of the summer?
Perhaps I should be gearing up to ask for another discount? Sheesh......

So, I'm getting a total right knee replacement on Tuesday,so I will have some time on my hands to finish up the last day or two of my trip report- it's under the title of From The Tropics To The Wilderness.

My Dad is getting kicked out of rehab on Monday and sent back to living assisted,so we have a whole new set of rules,regulations and levels of care to deal with. WL is my oasis in the desert of despair. It's a matter of necessity and sanity that we keep returning!

Thanks so much to Kook and Wood Nymph for all the time you put in here. I'm truly grateful!!

Knee replacement does not sound like fun at all, but the R&R is a great excuse to catch-up on your TR and all things Disney. Do you think you're going to keep your August reservation or change to another resort?

Thanks for all of this fabulous information. We have not stayed on property for years but decided we wanted to do it for a few nights on our upcoming trip. We are booked May 21-23 in a deluxe room. I have considered moving to another resort but would only move to one that had access to at least one park without taking a bus. I am also happy with the the rate we are paying at WL. We are a family of 6, our youngest is 9, so a deluxe room works for enough sleeping room for everyone without breaking the bank! My question is, should I be requesting anything in terms of room location or view to get the best possible room location considering the construction?

Welcome to the thread! My Deluxe room advice to you is the same as I posted above. I would request a mid-WING room. The end-of-wing rooms have obstructed views, (photos are in the DELUXE room chapter). The SW is closed and most likely will be through the end of the year, so this leaves the NW Deluxe rooms.

 

[BeccaM]

Hi all, we are at WL right now. It is our first stay, and while I like our bunk bed room, both the husband and I are having some regrets about staying here.

It took the kids (2 & 7) FOREVER to fall asleep with the blaring of boat horns right outside our room. Then, the finally dozed off, and got a good 30 minutes of sleep in, when the electric water parade started. It sounded like the music was blaring right in our room. It was SO loud. Both kids woke up. We can't do that every night. Is this normal? We stayed at Poly last time, and I don't remember ever hearing either of these things from our room.

Also, here is a shot of our lovely woods view, haha. (not too bothered by that, as we knew about construction when we booked, and we don't spend a whole lot of time gazing out there).

 

[Wood Nymph]

However, NW Deluxe rooms are available, as of now, and I would recommend a mid-WING Deluxe room since Sue reports that the end-of-wing rooms still have obstructed views of Bay Lake/marina.

This picture was taken while standing on the walkway to the boat dock. It shows that there are still trees and brush in front of the north wing deluxe rooms. That looks like a drainage ditch for the cleared construction area in front of the north wing rooms. You can just barely see the cleared area in the middle of the picture. Disney doesn't want you to see too much of the constriction work.

This project will take a lot of sand. I would imagine just the noise of dumping sand can be heard indoors, especially from VWL?

It would be very noisy for the VWL guests. If we could hear the noise from the nature path, then they could definitely hear it right in front of their rooms.

I think scaffolding is an unofficial theming element of WL. I feel like scaffolding has been up for going on two years now and there's no end in sight - well, maybe 2017?

I was surprised to see the scaffolding in that section of the resort. It was there in Sept of 2014, too, and then again last year.

It took the kids (2 & 7) FOREVER to fall asleep with the blaring of boat horns right outside our room. Then, the finally dozed off, and got a good 30 minutes of sleep in, when the electric water parade started. It sounded like the music was blaring right in our room. It was SO loud. Both kids woke up. We can't do that every night. Is this normal? We stayed at Poly last time, and I don't remember ever hearing either of these things from our room.

The boats start blowing their horns around 6:30am and the water pageant is always at 9:35pm and very loud. We stayed in that section of the resort once and it was loud then, but with all those trees gone, I would think it would be even louder now.

 

[Poola]

Also, here is a shot of our lovely woods view, haha.

Yuck! So are CY view rooms pretty much shielded from this mess? Can anyone post a picture from an inner CY room for comparison?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Yuck! So are CY view rooms pretty much shielded from this mess? Can anyone post a picture from an inner CY room for comparison?

The inner courtyard is not affected at all. I have a few pictures but there isn't any construction in that area and you can see any construction from there, either.

This picture is the woods view rooms above Whispering Canyon Cafe. As you can see they still have all their trees. This would be the place you want to stay if you have a woods view room.

 

[Wood Nymph]

This picture was taken Tuesday morning, Jan 12, 2016. As you can see, there isn't any construction in the inner courtyard area. But I notice that the trees are getting bigger, which would block the view of Bay Lake from some of the rooms.

 

[kastoney]

Happy Sunday Morning everyone. We were planning on staying at the beach club in April, but my Inlaws decided to join us and we couldn't find an affordable rate for them so back to our beloved WL we go. Inlaws are in a courtyard view so they should be good for construction. We are in a standard, but we've done construction at WL before so not too concerned. Question for the experts though, we are planning to ask for rooms close to each other. Any idea where there are standard rooms close to courtyard rooms? Assuming we will be on opposite sides of the hall but just trying to figure out where that may put us

 

[Poola]

As you can see, there isn't any construction in the inner courtyard area.

If you are looking from your inner CY room out toward the lake, is any construction visible? If not, do you think it will stay that way?

 

[cinderkelly]

Happy Sunday Morning everyone. We were planning on staying at the beach club in April, but my Inlaws decided to join us and we couldn't find an affordable rate for them so back to our beloved WL we go. Inlaws are in a courtyard view so they should be good for construction. We are in a standard, but we've done construction at WL before so not too concerned. Question for the experts though, we are planning to ask for rooms close to each other. Any idea where there are standard rooms close to courtyard rooms? Assuming we will be on opposite sides of the hall but just trying to figure out where that may put us

Hi Kari!
I'm still lurking on this thread . I'm no expert by any means, but I do a LOT of research! According to Touring Plans these would be the standard view rooms (in pink) close to CYV rooms, since the south wing is closed it looks like these would be your choices on most floors of the lodge.

Image courtesy of touring plans

Hope that helps!

 

[figmentfan0724]

Just got home from our stay in the villas. we had a direct view from our windows of construction. i will say that i never heard construction at all while were there, but the water parade was louder than normal...

 

[alliecat523]

We just rebooked for Spring Break. We were there in December and not bothered by the construction at all. Looking forward to another visit!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Question for the experts though, we are planning to ask for rooms close to each other. Any idea where there are standard rooms close to courtyard rooms? Assuming we will be on opposite sides of the hall but just trying to figure out where that may put us

The inner courtyard rooms that are closest to the lobby the ones that overlook the upper springs area rather than the pool, are across the hall from the standard view rooms.

If you are looking from your inner CY room out toward the lake, is any construction visible? If not, do you think it will stay that way?

We had an inner courtyard view room and couldn't see any construction.