Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[duck_adoo]

Help me decide!!We're a family of 5. We stayed at the Poly studios last year and that extra shower and sink made a huge difference. I really really wish the 1 bedroom villas slept 5! I am trying to decide between the villa studio and delux room. We're traveling April 225-April 30, 2017. We enjoy doing the DP, so not sure the CL would be worth it. But it *is* a bucket list item. Lol. I'm thinking a majority of the construction should be done by then. And am I wrong, or has there typically been a 30% room discount for past Aprils. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Help me decide!!We're a family of 5. We stayed at the Poly studios last year and that extra shower and sink made a huge difference. I really really wish the 1 bedroom villas slept 5! I am trying to decide between the villa studio and delux room. We're traveling April 225-April 30, 2017. We enjoy doing the DP, so not sure the CL would be worth it. But it *is* a bucket list item. Lol. I'm thinking a majority of the construction should be done by then. And am I wrong, or has there typically been a 30% room discount for past Aprils. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

My gut feeling is that there is no way they will be finished by next April. They haven't done very much yet.

There have been discounts for late April in the past, so hopefully there will be another one next April.

The deluxe room is bigger than the studio. You would get two queen beds and a sofa bed with the deluxe room. The studio would have one queen bed, one sofa bed and one drop down Murphy bed. You run a 50/50 chance of being close to the construction with either choice.

 

[danc18]

I'm also interested in this. We chose deluxe club level in oct bc is has a separate room for sleeping (traveling with infant and 4yo), is in the main building with all services (vs villas walk to main lodge), quick breakfast in the club lounge before heading to magic kingdom etc. could have booked villas with more room but was afraid of construction and again, would have to walk to the lodge for everything with very young kids. What is others' view of lodge vs villas during this period as far as construction and convenience?

 

[Emme]

Well we DID IT!! We switched to Wilderness Lodge from CSR for $124 more with the free dining!! Thanks for the input everyone! Is there a page with the dates that others are going? I'll try not to ask too many questions but it's our first time at the Lodge and I am sooooo excited!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Well we DID IT!! We switched to Wilderness Lodge from CSR for $124 more with the free dining!! Thanks for the input everyone! Is there a page with the dates that others are going? I'll try not to ask too many questions but it's our first time at the Lodge and I am sooooo excited!!

The Lodgers Log on page 1 has everyone's dates.

 

[Grand Admiral]

The Lodgers Log on page 1 has everyone's dates.

We will be there October 23-29.

 

[WhoDatDisney]

Will be there 11/17 - 11/26

Can't wait....

 

[duck_adoo]

Any recommendations on at TA at DU? I know we're staying April 25-April 30,2017. Will DU automatically look for the discounts when they are released? I think we're leaning towards the delux room. TIA!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We got our free dining at WL! I have been checking periodically throughout the day and this afternoon before I left work standard view showed up as being available with the free dining offer. I was able to log in and make the change online for all three of our reservations which resulted in a combined savings of over $2800. It just works out perfectly for us because we enjoy the dining plan and had already planned on park hoppers. The best part is we get to stay at WL, which we really wanted. For us, it is our "home" resort.

 

[Emme]

We got our free dining at WL! I have been checking periodically throughout the day and this afternoon before I left work standard view showed up as being available with the free dining offer. I was able to log in and make the change online for all three of our reservations which resulted in a combined savings of over $2800. It just works out perfectly for us because we enjoy the dining plan and had already planned on park hoppers. The best part is we get to stay at WL, which we really wanted. For us, it is our "home" resort.

YAY!! So glad it worked out!! We will be there in Sept. as well!!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

YAY!! So glad it worked out!! We will be there in Sept. as well!!

Yes, our trips will overlap. I really hope you enjoy it, but I think you will. Even under construction WL is awesome.

 

[duck_adoo]

So happy for everyone!! Can't wait for our trip next year!

 

[twoolle]

Hi! This is a WWYD question...we are a family of 5+1 currently booked with free dining at CBR for August 28-sep 3. I have been dying to stay at WL since our first trip to WDW in 2014. In 2015 we stayed at POR so we are used to tight quarters. We have DS 7, DS 5, DD3, DS1. I love the theming and last year we came over for breakfast on our last day. Kids loved the resort. I have done a lot of math and for the same cost we could move our dates to oct 22-28 or nov 27-dec3 and try to rent points for a VWL studio. (I have no idea if there is one available) We could downgrade from 4 day PH tickets but we could get 5 day base tickets for the same cost of 4 day base tix. I really want to spend just an evening at AK. We are driving and would pick up groceries, eating breakfast in the room, do 1 QS meal per day, and eat either lunch or late dinner in our room. I have budgeted for snacks at the parks and we will also take snacks in. TS meals are not popular with my kids. They eat like birds and only want chicken nuggets, plus it stresses me out having to be somewhere all the time. (We have had FD our last 2 trips). We will go to the parks early in the Am, come back for nap/swim and then back to park for the evening. We will take a break day and swim. (Is it warm enough to swim in late nov?)

All that being said, would you make the switch? I just keep thinking it might be our last chance to stay at WL before DS1 turns 3 and we would really be a family of 6 and those rooms are def out of our budget! We could try next year too I guess, just never know if we will have the budget for it. How much would the construction affect our stay at the villas? The closed areas don't really affect us. Thank you in advance for any help or advice!

 

[betsy918]

Hi All. This June 8-17 will be our first long trip to Disneyworld (9 nights.) The most we've ever done before was 4 nights, and we've only ever stayed at AKL, which we love. This time, we have POR booked to make it more affordable, and the theming looks cute. My 12 year old daughter also likes the idea of being able to rent bikes. That being said, I am now able to increase the budget, and was wondering whether WL might be a nice change midway through our trip. We have stayed at Grand Californian at Disneyland, and I know the theming is similar and we enjoyed it. This trip we plan to really enjoy the resort(s) as well as the parks. With construction going on, is there still enough at WL to enjoy? Is the pool really crowded with one of them closed? What do you love about WL?

 

[cview]

Hi! This is a WWYD question...we are a family of 5+1 currently booked with free dining at CBR for August 28-sep 3. I have been dying to stay at WL since our first trip to WDW in 2014. In 2015 we stayed at POR so we are used to tight quarters. We have DS 7, DS 5, DD3, DS1. I love the theming and last year we came over for breakfast on our last day. Kids loved the resort. I have done a lot of math and for the same cost we could move our dates to oct 22-28 or nov 27-dec3 and try to rent points for a VWL studio. (I have no idea if there is one available) We could downgrade from 4 day PH tickets but we could get 5 day base tickets for the same cost of 4 day base tix. I really want to spend just an evening at AK. We are driving and would pick up groceries, eating breakfast in the room, do 1 QS meal per day, and eat either lunch or late dinner in our room. I have budgeted for snacks at the parks and we will also take snacks in. TS meals are not popular with my kids. They eat like birds and only want chicken nuggets, plus it stresses me out having to be somewhere all the time. (We have had FD our last 2 trips). We will go to the parks early in the Am, come back for nap/swim and then back to park for the evening. We will take a break day and swim. (Is it warm enough to swim in late nov?)

All that being said, would you make the switch? I just keep thinking it might be our last chance to stay at WL before DS1 turns 3 and we would really be a family of 6 and those rooms are def out of our budget! We could try next year too I guess, just never know if we will have the budget for it. How much would the construction affect our stay at the villas? The closed areas don't really affect us. Thank you in advance for any help or advice!

Have you considered a cabin at Fort Wilderness? Similar atmosphere but I think more room than a VWL studio I'm looking forward to our first stay at VWL this Dec but our kids are older and we will not be back in our room during the day trying to nap while construction is ongoing. We have stayed several times at the cabins and for our family of 5 I loved the space and quiet.

 

[twoolle]

Have you considered a cabin at Fort Wilderness? Similar atmosphere but I think more room than a VWL studio I'm looking forward to our first stay at VWL this Dec but our kids are older and we will not be back in our room during the day trying to nap while construction is ongoing. We have stayed several times at the cabins and for our family of 5 I loved the space and quiet.

We might consider the cabins when the kids are older but right now they are so little space isn't an issue. The oldest 3 share a room at home and we live on several acres and see lots of wildlife so while the cabins do appeal to us, I really want them to have a chance to enjoy WL and it's theming.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Hi! This is a WWYD question...we are a family of 5+1 currently booked with free dining at CBR for August 28-sep 3. I have been dying to stay at WL since our first trip to WDW in 2014. In 2015 we stayed at POR so we are used to tight quarters. We have DS 7, DS 5, DD3, DS1. I love the theming and last year we came over for breakfast on our last day.
...
All that being said, would you make the switch? I just keep thinking it might be our last chance to stay at WL before DS1 turns 3 and we would really be a family of 6 and those rooms are def out of our budget! We could try next year too I guess, just never know if we will have the budget for it. How much would the construction affect our stay at the villas? The closed areas don't really affect us. Thank you in advance for any help or advice!

I would take the opportunity to stay at WL, but be aware that villa availability can be limited. Besides some potential noise from work on nearby buildings (and not within your building) and a longer walk to the pool, I don't think the Villas are particularly adversely affected. You know how well you could deal with the lack of space, so that's up to you. We enjoy having free dining, so that would be a major perk of CBR but if you could do without it (or possibly even snag it at WL) WL is a great resort.

Hi All. This June 8-17 will be our first long trip to Disneyworld (9 nights.) The most we've ever done before was 4 nights, and we've only ever stayed at AKL, which we love. This time, we have POR booked to make it more affordable, and the theming looks cute. My 12 year old daughter also likes the idea of being able to rent bikes. That being said, I am now able to increase the budget, and was wondering whether WL might be a nice change midway through our trip. We have stayed at Grand Californian at Disneyland, and I know the theming is similar and we enjoyed it. This trip we plan to really enjoy the resort(s) as well as the parks. With construction going on, is there still enough at WL to enjoy? Is the pool really crowded with one of them closed? What do you love about WL?

We got married at the Grand Californian and Honeymooned at WL, and we love both resorts. WL is in general bigger than GC, but has a lot of the same design features and general feel, much like you saw at AKL. The lobby at WL is spectacular, even more so than the one at GC. We also have stayed at POR and enjoy that it has a quiet rural feel that is similar to WL. We enjoy having a quiet resort during our WDW stays, since it is such a contrast to the busy parks.
Some of the specific things that we absolutely love about WL are:

• Its beautiful location on Bay Lake (which allows for boat transportation to MK, CR, and Fort Wilderness)
  
• The fact that it is all under one roof and relatively compact (which is great in rainy weather)
• The fact it offers buses to/from all parks (even though they aren't exciting, they can be an efficient way to get to/from Epcot or super quick for MK)
• The main pool is very nice, and now has a splash pad area for younger kids.

Good luck with your decision. The construction does adversely affect it and it means that WL is not at its best, but in our opinion it still has enough nice features to justify some extra cost over POR, especially if proximity to MK is a priority.

 

[WDWKOOK]

It appears we have a name!
Copper Creek Cabins and Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
~WDW News Today​

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm also interested in this. We chose deluxe club level in oct bc is has a separate room for sleeping (traveling with infant and 4yo), is in the main building with all services (vs villas walk to main lodge), quick breakfast in the club lounge before heading to magic kingdom etc. could have booked villas with more room but was afraid of construction and again, would have to walk to the lodge for everything with very young kids. What is others' view of lodge vs villas during this period as far as construction and convenience?

Other than being closer to the major construction, the amount of time spent walking from VWL to dining isn't that much more. You'd be closer to the bus stop, gym and trail to FW and the Carolwood Pacific Room, where the train memorabilia is, now shows the nightly movies. But you'd be further from the boat dock and dining.

If you need more room than a Deluxe Room or a kitchen, the one-bedroom makes sense. You'd also have a washer/dryer in the villa. If you don't use the OFC lounge much then CL may not be worth the expense. Also, none of the Deluxe rooms are on the 7th floor, they are on floors 1-6 only.

Well we DID IT!! We switched to Wilderness Lodge from CSR for $124 more with the free dining!! Thanks for the input everyone! Is there a page with the dates that others are going? I'll try not to ask too many questions but it's our first time at the Lodge and I am sooooo excited!!

Nice switcheroo. If you post your dates I can add them to the Lodgers' Log.

We will be there October 23-29.

I'll add your dates

Will be there 11/17 - 11/26

Can't wait....

Congratulations and I'll log your dates, too.

We got our free dining at WL! I have been checking periodically throughout the day and this afternoon before I left work standard view showed up as being available with the free dining offer. I was able to log in and make the change online for all three of our reservations which resulted in a combined savings of over $2800. It just works out perfectly for us because we enjoy the dining plan and had already planned on park hoppers. The best part is we get to stay at WL, which we really wanted. For us, it is our "home" resort.

Fantastic news! You didn't give up! So glad it has all come together and this will be a great first trip for DS.

 

[WDWKOOK]

@veromikes just posted to the WL Expansion thread his video of the newly re-located Old Faithful Club lounge which is set-up temporarily in the VP Suite. If you look carefully, you can catch a glimpse of a wonderful CL CM, also named Mike