Honestly, WL was just ~okay~ for us

[Masonpips]

We had a good room (4056) that faced the castle (could be seen through the trees and we could see Wishes the first night). The room had bunkbeds which was great for the kids. We just weren't blown away by the stay however. We checked in on 1/4 and departed on 1/6 after leaving the Disney Magic cruise ship.

DD was recovering from the flu (we both had it on board the ship, ugh) and we asked for any room available fast. We ate breakfast in Whispering Canyon (great fun and I would highly recommend this) and our room was ready when we finished.

They were doing work (metallic banging) on the rooms close to ours and had obviously had some sort of leak as there were carpet dryers in the hallway when we arrived. They were gone the next day but it seemed kind of junky to see them in the hallway and hear the banging the first day. I guess most people were not in the hotel, but we were letting DD catch up on her rest so we heard the repair work.

Although we had no mousekeeping complaints, nothing at all special was done and we had mini-Mickey/Minnie's in the room as well as stuffed turtles/stingrays from our cruise. Not a big deal but after reading the boards here you come to expect "something" with little kids.

I was NOT impressed by the food court after staying at AKL and the much greater selection there. It was very dark and poorly staffed (one checkout and incredible lines, esp. the first night after MK closed).

The boat and bus transportation was good. We took the boat twice and waited less than 10 minutes each time. We took the bus to DTD and waited about 10-15 for it, then took a ride through Grand Floridian before heading to DTD - in total about 30 minutes. The ride back was shorter due to being the first stop.

For the price (we paid $132.50 which included tax per night through DU using room-only codes), it was a good (but not great) stay. The convenience to MK and/or to Contemporary to catch the monorail to Epcot was lovely. The lodge itself was nicely done, but it just didn't seem like a "fantastic" place to stay. I preferred AKL over this, but hate the logistics of getting to the other parks.

So again, it was an adequate stay but I wasn't blown away as I had come to somewhat expect.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

We stayed at WL for the first time in September. We ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe twice, breakfast and lunch. Both meals were great and the service was wonderful. I thought that the food from Roaring Forks was fine, but we rarely got hot food to order, just grabbed from the coolers. I thought the room was fine. A little crowded, but fine. We didn't get any special treatment from mousekeeping either, but the service was fine.

I have to say that considering the location and the pluses that come with being at a deluxe resort, I think WL is worth the money. I just love it there! I thought about stayind at AKL, but I just don't like the location.

Sorry to hear that your family was recovering from the flu! That stinks!

 

[gepetto]

just wondering...why should mousekeeping do "something special"? Their job is to clean the room. What else did you want?

 

[TaurusSES_Sport]

I think they may be referring to "special touches" that some mousekeepers leave on the room. Like towel animals, or re-arranging kids stuffed animals in cute ways, or just little things.

 

[justhat]

Ugh, you just made my decision harder. We're booked at WL-woods view for 8 nights in April, but my husband isn't really looking forward to it. He really wanted CR tower and I wanted the Poly, but they was too much money so we narrowed it down to AKL, POFQ and WL. Well, we have stayed at AKL 3 times, most recently in June, so we ruled that out and then went with WL since the AP rate was a greater discount there than at POFQ so we figured we'd take advantage of it. My husband always said he hated AKL though, so I was surprised it was one of his top choices. It's one of my favorites, so he almost got me to stay there but I decided we should try somewhere new. Then tonight he brought up AKL again and I said "why not split our stay?" which he had been totally opposed to and he said he'd think about it. Now I'm wondering if we should just switch to AKL for all 8 nights. I've always thought WL was beautiful and wanted to try it out, but I keep reading bad reports about it, well not bad, just that people were happier elsewhere. Ugh, I'll have to sleep on it. Thanks for the report though and I hope you're all feeling better (we were all sick on our NYE cruise too, but with colds that just wouldn't die and left my daughter with an ear infection!).

 

[susy]

Remember that each person's taste is different. I am one that thought I would not like the WL and when I got there I LOVED it!!! And we paid rack rate ($257 a night for woods view).

 

[shelby2001]

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge in August loved it so much we're going back this August. Mousekeeping did leave us towel animals everyday for the kids and they were thrilled. However we ate at the Whispering Canyon and well lets just say we won't be dinning there again, it just wasn't for us, DH doesn't like his straw thrown at him and having to ask for ketchup and wearing a doo rag on his head we were not prepared for this when it happened the waiter knew we had no idea about this restaurant with the looks on our faces when the straws were thrown at us.

 

[CheshireVal]

I think they may be referring to "special touches" that some mousekeepers leave on the room. Like towel animals, or re-arranging kids stuffed animals in cute ways, or just little things.

The towel animals used to be a special touch-- a nice something extra and unexpected that added to the magic of WDW.

But now that everyone comes to expect them it just seems like the magic is gone. When people get them, it's taken for granted, and when they don't, they're upset.

 

[SeaSpray]

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge in August loved it so much we're going back this August. Mousekeeping did leave us towel animals everyday for the kids and they were thrilled. However we ate at the Whispering Canyon and well lets just say we won't be dinning there again, it just wasn't for us, DH doesn't like his straw thrown at him and having to ask for ketchup and wearing a doo rag on his head we were not prepared for this when it happened the waiter knew we had no idea about this restaurant with the looks on our faces when the straws were thrown at us.

Good grief, tell me it isn't true. LOL We'll be staying at the WL in July and DH will NOT wear a "doo rag" on his head for anything. lol Is this similar to the antics over at 50's Primetime Cafe? If so, I can warn him ahead of time.

By the way, we did enjoy 50sPT, but our server kept the "fun" down to a minimum, without embarrassing us. lol

 

[eeyore0062]

We had a good room (4056) that faced the castle (could be seen through the trees and we could see Wishes the first night). The room had bunkbeds which was great for the kids. We just weren't blown away by the stay however. We checked in on 1/4 and departed on 1/6 after leaving the Disney Magic cruise ship.

DD was recovering from the flu (we both had it on board the ship, ugh) and we asked for any room available fast. We ate breakfast in Whispering Canyon (great fun and I would highly recommend this) and our room was ready when we finished.

They were doing work (metallic banging) on the rooms close to ours and had obviously had some sort of leak as there were carpet dryers in the hallway when we arrived. They were gone the next day but it seemed kind of junky to see them in the hallway and hear the banging the first day. I guess most people were not in the hotel, but we were letting DD catch up on her rest so we heard the repair work.

Although we had no mousekeeping complaints, nothing at all special was done and we had mini-Mickey/Minnie's in the room as well as stuffed turtles/stingrays from our cruise. Not a big deal but after reading the boards here you come to expect "something" with little kids.

I was NOT impressed by the food court after staying at AKL and the much greater selection there. It was very dark and poorly staffed (one checkout and incredible lines, esp. the first night after MK closed).

The boat and bus transportation was good. We took the boat twice and waited less than 10 minutes each time. We took the bus to DTD and waited about 10-15 for it, then took a ride through Grand Floridian before heading to DTD - in total about 30 minutes. The ride back was shorter due to being the first stop.

For the price (we paid $132.50 which included tax per night through DU using room-only codes), it was a good (but not great) stay. The convenience to MK and/or to Contemporary to catch the monorail to Epcot was lovely. The lodge itself was nicely done, but it just didn't seem like a "fantastic" place to stay. I preferred AKL over this, but hate the logistics of getting to the other parks.

So again, it was an adequate stay but I wasn't blown away as I had come to somewhat expect.

Glad to hear I am not the only one who thinks that WL is only OK. My problem is the room size being so small with all of that large heavy furniture. And the rooms being so dark and dull looking. I know it is supposed to fit the theming, but maybe I am just not into that kind of theming. I love the pool and lobby, though... and I agree that breakfast at WC is great!

 

[mel64]

The rooms at the WL do seem to be darker. Sooooo, I always change the lightbulbs.

 

[rcraw45425]

Justhat, Just booked CR tower for April at $317 a night plus tax, AP rate. That's a bit steep compared to WL but it would put you on the monorail during a busy time. That was why we re thought our WL return stay. It's great during a slow timeut I don't want to be waiting for the boat on a chilly morning with about a thousand other people!

 

[PamNC]

We weren't blown away either. Stayed there is 2001. The resort is beautiful...especially the lobby and the exterior. But we found the rooms to be small and dark, and the pool was small as well. Also, we weren't impressed with the CMs or the boat transportation. It was SLOOOOOOW.

PamNC

 

[limabeanmom2003]

I have to mention again that WL is a great value in my opinion. It is a MK deluxe resort! For those who want to stay near the MK, your choices are pretty limited. The monorail resorts cost big bucks these days and are out of many peoples price range. With a good code, you can stay at WL for around $150 or less. This is a great deal considering you can get a room with a view of the castle and see Wishes and you can hop on a boat and be in front of MK in a few minutes. The rooms are smaller, but that makes sense because it is a lower priced deluxe resort. To get a bigger room, you have to shell out more money per night and stay at another resort. If you book WL and expect it to be up to par with the Polynesian or Grand Floridian than you are setting yourself up for some disappointment. If it was at the same caliber, then the rates would be similar. I stayed at the Polynesian many many times as a child. I love it there. But I now love the WL too, and for the difference in price, it is going to be hard for me to ever justify staying at the Polynesian over WL.

As for the mousekeeping special touches, I have never been lucky enough to get towel animals during any of my stays at WDW, so I really don't expect them. I don't think most people do.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We stayed at the WL for the first time in Dec. and loved it so much we're going back in May! We had room 4032, also a view of the castle and Wishes (but through to trees). Don't worry about your decision, have a great time....

P.S. justhat: have a great time while you're here in my hometown too!

 

[justhat]

Thanks for the good words on WL. We're still at WL for now, but my husband is still considering splitting the stay with AKL. We really wanted the monorail for the convienence with the stroller, but we'll be staying 8 nights and it was just too much for a trip that long. So rather than shorten the trip, we decided to try out WL. I think my husband's thing is that WL and AKL are pretty similar, so why not stay where you've got a great view from your balcony that you can't get anywhere else?! The positives on WL though are making me definitely want to stay there at least half the trip. I really think it's a pretty resort, and a very secluded feel away from the chaos of the parks (hmm, though AKL has that feel too, so can't use that point with my husband).

And thanks, KIRSTIN'S MOMMY, I'm really looking forward to going to Savannah too. I've always wanted to visit and this will be our first trip there. Any suggestions on a place to stay? We go to Myrtle Beach every year, usually in the summer, but this year my husband has time off in April, so after our stay in Myrtle Beach, we'll be driving to Savannah, then flying to Orlando. I wanted to drive to Orlando too, but we have leftover money on Airtran that we have to use before it expires. We'd get there faster if we drove though cause we have to connect in Atlanta!

 

[snoopy5386]

I would like to respond to this part that seems to have upset you. We went through a similar situation this summer. We were staying at BC with the in-laws, and father in law snores REALLY REALLY loud. Long story short, we didn't get any sleep that night, and in fact spent the night wandering the boardwalk and in Tubby's at the dolphin, sleeping on the couch in the lobby, etc. As soon as CRO opened we booked another room for the rest of our stay and went immediately to the front desk to get one at 7am. They were able to give us one, but as we slept all day, we heard construction, loud banging noises, etc. I think that they try not to give out these rooms at all, but for people in your situation (and mine), if someone needs a room NOW, all that might be available is a room near construction....