Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[jade1]

We were there just three weeks ago, and at that time, there were no guests staying in the ground floor units facing the south wing. In fact, I don't think there were any a floor or two above, either, as they were reproofing and repainting the balconies on that end. Once you moved back toward the Villas building, the rooms did appear to have guests, however. Given the potentially rolling nature of the reroof and repaint jobs, it might be that there will be whole areas not open to guests at any given time.

Could have been last week as well actually-I just know somebody was talking on the 2 floor balcony when I went outside-could have been a worker for all I know.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

As promised...construction pictures: These are from the dock and launch. Sorry about some obstructions in them!









From the pool area





From the dock.







From the boat.


The wildlife seemed to ignore the construction.



We enjoyed our stay in the lodge. We noticed no noise. I think the Villas side would have much more noise though. We've checked out and are on the way to the port! Happy stays to everyone visiting soon.

Liz

 

[Wood Nymph]

We enjoyed our stay in the lodge. We noticed no noise. I think the Villas side would have much more noise though. We've checked out and are on the way to the port! Happy stays to everyone visiting soon.

Thanks for posting the pictures. We saw the heavy duty scaffolding when we were there last month but we didn't see the construction from the boat like you did. Those are really good pictures.

I hope you have a great cruise.

 

[sleepydog25]

Nice pics! We were in the 5th floor room just behind the scrub trees on the left in photos #8 & #9. Great views of both the construction process and the lake (the silver lining). Construction noise was minimal indoors, noticeable on the balcony (though not so distracting you couldn't stay out and talk or read), and non-existent on weekends. Scaffolding is quite extensive on the pool side of the south wing of the main Lodge as shown in those excellent pictures. On the flip side (facing the Villas), there's no scaffolding but that's where all the sheetrock and other demo materials are coming out of the rooms into huge, waiting dumpsters.

 

[Grand Admiral]

I'm fairly confident a lot of the bigger construction stuff will be finished by the time we go at the end of October. By then most of the structural stuff should be built and they'll be doing more of the finishing work.

 

[Wallflower]

I was planning on staying at the lodge the very first couple days of December. When I look at availability for woods view rooms there is none. I tried changing it to every month after March to see if they were really all taken or what, and it looks like no woods view rooms are available except for right now. Are they planning to close these rooms after March or something? I can't imagine every woods view room is taken already for the rest of the year. My experience with woods view was that it was actually hard to see much of anything because the wood siding on the balcony is so high. We did get lucky to have a fireworks view once though. I'm thinking courtyard shouldn't be too bad. It's the pool by the Villas that is being worked on, not the main lodge pool right?

 

[Wood Nymph]

I was planning on staying at the lodge the very first couple days of December. When I look at availability for woods view rooms there is none. I tried changing it to every month after March to see if they were really all taken or what, and it looks like no woods view rooms are available except for right now. Are they planning to close these rooms after March or something? I can't imagine every woods view room is taken already for the rest of the year. My experience with woods view was that it was actually hard to see much of anything because the wood siding on the balcony is so high. We did get lucky to have a fireworks view once though. I'm thinking courtyard shouldn't be too bad. It's the pool by the Villas that is being worked on, not the main lodge pool right?

There has been speculation that they have reclassified the woods view rooms as standard view, but that would be a guess. They have removed most of the trees that blocked the view of MK and the fireworks. If you had a room with high wood siding on the balcony then you most likely had a room on the top floor. Most of the balconies have an open railing.

The courtyard view would be the best one to book during the construction period. Only the courtyard of the main pool is available right now.

 

[Wallflower]

There has been speculation that they have reclassified the woods view rooms as standard view, but that would be a guess. They have removed most of the trees that blocked the view of MK and the fireworks. If you had a room with high wood siding on the balcony then you most likely had a room on the top floor. Most of the balconies have an open railing.

The courtyard view would be the best one to book during the construction period. Only the courtyard of the main pool is available right now.

I'd forgotten the reason for that high wood railing was because we were on the top floor. I actually really liked it despite not seeing anything. It felt private. I really hope they didn't remove trees from the wilderness lodge property for the purpose of viewing fireworks...or have they built something where those trees were as well? I'm a little confused just where the construction is. In the beginning I thought it was all where the villas were, but now I have seen pictures of the lobby being remodeled, and the trees blocking fireworks - isn't that far away from the villas?

 

[cmdg]

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!!

Thanks for the tips!

 

[fauntleroy1953]

I can't believe how much time I've beèn spending thinking about our WL ressies for August. We can't go to WDW and NOT go to WL,but that scaffolding.....
So, just when I was comfortable with our decision to stay the whole 8 days, I started thinking about being there end of August. It will be our first summer visit,so we were actually planning on spending time at the pool,something we've never done on any of our visits. I know the big pool will be fine,but the option for a quieter smaller pool won't be there.. Sitting at the pool surrounded by the beauty of the lodge, the building,won't be there. We do like To have the experience of the resort. So, I'm looking into doing a split stay, 4 days at WL and 4 days at the Poly. That way our conscience is clear, we stay at WL, but we also get a few days with a quiet pool,beach and a tad less chaos.
I don't know yet if it'll happen,as the Poly is more expensive,so we have to check out if our BB,from December will still be allowed ( same week,so days aren't changing). Also,hoping the discounts that are currently only running to the end of July will be extended to August. The last time we were at the Poly was Easter 1999, and we were pixie dusted with our room. Upgraded from Garden view to lagoon view. Our son,nine at the time,left the sliding doors open, allowing a family of ducks to wander our room. We woke up to quacking!!!! The Poly does hold special memories. But 4 days at WL will keep us from feeling like we're cheating on it........if we can get an AP/FL discount or keep the BB,then I think we have found the perfect construction solution.

 

[goopysolelady]

I can't believe how much time I've beèn spending thinking about our WL ressies for August. We can't go to WDW and NOT go to WL,but that scaffolding.....
So, just when I was comfortable with our decision to stay the whole 8 days, I started thinking about being there end of August. It will be our first summer visit,so we were actually planning on spending time at the pool,something we've never done on any of our visits. I know the big pool will be fine,but the option for a quieter smaller pool won't be there.. Sitting at the pool surrounded by the beauty of the lodge, the building,won't be there. We do like To have the experience of the resort. So, I'm looking into doing a split stay, 4 days at WL and 4 days at the Poly. That way our conscience is clear, we stay at WL, but we also get a few days with a quiet pool,beach and a tad less chaos.
I don't know yet if it'll happen,as the Poly is more expensive,so we have to check out if our BB,from December will still be allowed ( same week,so days aren't changing). Also,hoping the discounts that are currently only running to the end of July will be extended to August. The last time we were at the Poly was Easter 1999, and we were pixie dusted with our room. Upgraded from Garden view to lagoon view. Our son,nine at the time,left the sliding doors open, allowing a family of ducks to wander our room. We woke up to quacking!!!! The Poly does hold special memories. But 4 days at WL will keep us from feeling like we're cheating on it........if we can get an AP/FL discount or keep the BB,then I think we have found the perfect construction solution.

Love the "duck story"!

 

[alliecat523]

We'll be at the Lodge next week so we can provide another update. As for the pool, when we were there in December, it was lovely. With the hotel having much less occupancy, there was hardly anyone at the main pool. It was very quiet and and we did had the beauty of the courtyard. That being said, I feel like the quiet pool is a non-issue.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I'd forgotten the reason for that high wood railing was because we were on the top floor. I actually really liked it despite not seeing anything. It felt private. I really hope they didn't remove trees from the wilderness lodge property for the purpose of viewing fireworks...or have they built something where those trees were as well? I'm a little confused just where the construction is. In the beginning I thought it was all where the villas were, but now I have seen pictures of the lobby being remodeled, and the trees blocking fireworks - isn't that far away from the villas?

For at least the rest of the year the only categories showing availability are Courtyard and Standard view. They are using the North half of the resort, as the entire South wing (Villas side) is closed off. That means about half of the rooms in use are not courtyard view, so they would currently only be bookable with a Standard view reservation, or an earlier Woods view reservation that was made prior to making the category non-bookable. They are currently still using these rooms, and people have been enjoying the fireworks views facing towards the Magic Kingdom.

The construction project involves many aspects, including a new villas pool, adding "cabins" along the shoreline by the Villas and on the North side of the resort (hence the reason for the tree clearing(, and a new waterfront restaurant near where the beach was. Also much of the south wing of the main building is undergoing significant interior and exterior work as they are converting much of it to DVC rooms as well. There are lots more details on the thread specifically about the construction here.

 

[Grand Admiral]

They are using the North half of the resort, as the entire South wing (Villas side) is closed off.

Does that include the Villas wing? Just curious.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Does that include the Villas wing? Just curious.

The villas wing is still open. It is the south wing of the Wilderness Lodge, not the villas, which is closed right now for remodeling.

 

[Grand Admiral]

The villas wing is still open. It is the south wing of the Wilderness Lodge, not the villas, which is closed right now for remodeling.

Ok, thanks. With all of the construction, I wasn't sure.

 

[bjscheel]

Hi! With the discount that came out today, I just upgraded our reservation from POR Royal Room to a Wilderness Lodge standard room for just $38 dollars! I was looking forward to the royal room, but we have stayed at POR before and for $38 couldn't pass up a deluxe for the first time. I know there is construction but we will manage. Sounds like maybe they are not using all the rooms, so less people at the resort- that could be a plus. Here to read up and learn about a new resort. This will be fun!

 

[bjscheel]

Oh, we will be there 6/11-6/17. Don't know whether to make any room requests or just see what we get.

 

[T_O]

Hi everyone,
I'm visiting Disney World for the first time in mid-August, and am currently booked at WL Club Level. When I asked about the construction status at the lodge via Disney's phone service, I was told the construction to the lodge was mostly done and the Villas were mainly affected right now. I felt comfortable with this, and switched my reservation from the Yacht Club to WL. I stumbled upon this thread this evening, and after reading through it, started wondering if I should switch back to the YC before it's too late. Are the Club Level rooms/views/service affected, and is the construction/scaffolding visible from the pool area? Noise levels aren't as big of a deal for me.
This vacation is a splurge for my family, and will likely be our one and only visit to DW, so I want everything to go well.
Thanks for your help!
Kimberly

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi everyone,
I'm visiting Disney World for the first time in mid-August, and am currently booked at WL Club Level. When I asked about the construction status at the lodge via Disney's phone service, I was told the construction to the lodge was mostly done and the Villas were mainly affected right now. I felt comfortable with this, and switched my reservation from the Yacht Club to WL. I stumbled upon this thread this evening, and after reading through it, started wondering if I should switch back to the YC before it's too late. Are the Club Level rooms/views/service affected, and is the construction/scaffolding visible from the pool area? Noise levels aren't as big of a deal for me.
This vacation is a splurge for my family, and will likely be our one and only visit to DW, so I want everything to go well.
Thanks for your help!
Kimberly

They really mislead you. The construction hasn't even hit it's peak yet. Just go back through this thread and look at the recent pictures. You can see the scaffolding from the main pool. Half of the lodge rooms are closed for remodeling. There will be heavy construction taking place soon, once they finish working the huge piles of sand into the soil. The Old Faithful Club location has been closed and the club lounge has temporarily moved to the VP suite.

Since this is your first time at Disney then I recommend that you see if you can get your YC reservation back. I love both resorts but with the major construction I think you are better off at the YC.