Greetings from DVC VWL

[Lucky and Pooh]

Greetings from DVC

We are staying at Disney World
DVC Villas at Wilderness Lodge

We have
Two Bedrooms on the Fifth Floor 5552
Quite w/View of trees and landscaping

We have a Small Kitchen, Living Room Dining Room Combo and Patio
Master Bedroom with King Size Bed and windows that "do not" open
Second Bedroom with Two Queen Size Beds and sliders out to patio

Three TVs and Three Telephones - Washer Dryer and Jacuzzi Tub

To get to the VWL units - it is a long walk from the Parking Lot
They have a huge entrance area at the Lodge where you can
drop off your car and check your bags with the bellmen

Then you walk into the lodge, take a right out the side door
across to the Villas and then to your room

We are at the end.... of a long hallway... Too far to walk to!
Plus to top it off - we have tiny little ants is the kitchen

The rooms are really dark and we have a view of the trees

*

Sunday: Breakfast at Boma`s at The Animal Kingdom Lodge
Dinner at Peppers Market - using Quick and Casual Voucher
Weather is Hot and Sunny Today with Temps around 90 degrees


Monday Morning: Took Photos Out the window
Going to Rainforest Cafe Animal Kingdom for lunch

 

[laceemouse]

Are you a DVC member? Have you ever stayed at VWL before? I'm sorry you don't like the location, but the unit sounds spacious. I would complain about the ants ASAP and see if something can be done about them. We have 4 kids and love the kitchen, washer/dryer, 3 t.v.s, and space in the 2 bedrooms. Have a great trip! Let us know more details.

 

[jade1]

Sounds awesome (except the ants). Wish we were there.

 

[spiceycat]

no they did an exchange!

sorry about the ants - do you call housekeeping/maintence an report it?

 

[Lucky and Pooh]

We are really disappointed in:
DVC Villas at Wilderness Lodge


The air condition filters were dirty and had to be replaced
The fan inside runs all the time.. No way to turn it off

NO screens on the sliders and the patios are not enclosed

The master bedroom windows do not open

After we drained the water from the hot tub
we had a rusty color ring around the tub

The water has a dirty sock odor
and our clothes are starting to smell

The kitchen cabinets are dark ugly hunter green
with a small refrig. and no ice maker

Our unit really needs a good cleaning
Plus after 4 days we can not get rid of the ants

We will not return to this resort until they redo the units

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well, I hope you reported the ants.
Hey! No making fun of my cabinets!

Seriously though, "u___ hunter green" (sorry, can't bring myself to say it) fits the motif of this incredible resort.

I'm not sure about the water. I have never had trouble with that before.

If you are a visiting guest, please do us DVC members a favor and report the problems to housekeeping and/or maintenance. This is a good way to help keep our resorts in top notch condition.

In my opinion, the ants, air conditioner, and POSSIBLY the water are the issues.
The fact that the master bedroom window doesn't open, is a good thing. I think it would look sloppy from the outside to have 1/2 of the resort windows open. What's worse is they would all be opened to varying degrees.

I hope the rest of your visit goes better...

MG

 

[sleepydog25]

That is unusual about the VWL for sure. We just stayed there a few weeks ago and our 1BR villa was spotless. The fan didn't run when we turned thermostat to a little higher temp. The patios aren't enclosed, but we certainly didn't want them to be when we were sitting out enjoying the trees and the solitude. The room didn't seem dark at all, and we loved the northwest motif with all its greens, reds, and rusts.

Our kitchen was topnotch, too, with a nice fridge, full stove, microwave, dishwasher, full sets of stoneware, utensils, pots, and pans. We made several meals there to save on costs. And having the washer/dryer was so convenient since it is rather humid in Florida. We washed clothes every other day to keep us smelling fresh as daisies.

As for the walk to the room, it wasn't a far walk at all unless you're in poor health. In fact, part of the reason we enjoyed VWL so much is that it is sequestered a bit from the main lodge. The short, quiet walk to the villas under the big timber walkway was relaxing, and hearing the Aaron Copland music playing in the background completed the experience. We even hauled our own bags to the room when we arrived. When we departed a few days later, the bellman was at our room within five minutes of us calling the front desk.

A small joy not often mentioned on here is having the small pool so close to the villas with its own hot spa. Our DD4 preferred that pool over the larger one close to the main lobby. She loved going to the main lobby, as well, since it is so exquisitely themed. Of course, there's the quiet lobby in the villas building itself where you can sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee, play a board game, or just sit and talk about your shared adventures.

DD also enjoyed the king bed in the main BR! DW and I shared the pullout in the family room which was actually very comfortable in its own right, and allowed us the freedom to snack without disturbing DD. We bought the refillable mugs, so I could take a quick walk over to Roaring Springs to fill them up, pick up some ice at the machine conveniently located on our floor, then kick back and talk with DW about our fun day.

VWL is one fine resort, though I'll grant you we didn't have any ants. Even if we had, it wouldn't have changed our opinion, as one small irritant does not a bad trip make for us. It also didn't hurt our attitude that we had just spent three days in Melbourne in a Holiday Inn where the a/c barely kept the temp inside our suite livable, where the carpet was nastily unclean, that had a tiny fridge and dirty microwave, and whose pullout couch was akin to sleeping on nothing but rusty old springs. By comparison, VWL was a dream, and we will definitely return there. Being DVC owners, we can't get back soon enough.

 

[Granny]

VWL is heavily themed, and if you don't care for that kind of decor, I can see where it would not be very appealing. For us, we think the decor is great...others find it too dark and earth-toned. Just a matter of personal preference.

NO screens on the sliders and the patios are not enclosed

I'm sure that there aren't screens on the sliding doors because they don't want people to leave them open. As someone who has to chip in to pay the air conditioning bills, I have no problem with this! I'm not sure what you would be looking for in an "enclosed patio"....do you mean a screened-in balcony? I'm not aware of any WDW resort featuring this.

As others have stated, I hope that you report the ant and other issues to the management there so they can address them.