I haven't been this excited about my birthday since I turned 21! COMPLETE

[jabead]

Following our lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, I again separated from the others, as they were off to do rides while I wanted to see the afternoon parade. I found a good spot in front of LTT and sat down to wait for the start of the parade. However, it quickly clouded up and and then began to rain. At first they were telling people that the parade would go on but then by 3:00 it had started raining even harder and the announcement came over the intercom system that the parade had been cancelled. So I decided to head back to the hotel and check out things at the...



Old Faithful Club - Part I

Four out of my next five reviews will be from my one night Concierge Level stay at the Wilderness Lodge. When I reached the lodge it was around 3:45, which meant that according to the posted schedule, the lounge was now open and serving snacks.




There are two wrought iron doors on each side of the lounge, both of them quite beautiful...







One of these is guarded by this wood carved statue...




I have read that this is Humphrey the bear and he is the OFC mascot. Humphrey is also the bear that appears at the bottom of the totem pole which is located by the entrance to the gift shop on the first floor of the hotel.




And speaking of which, a solid chocolate replica of this totem pole is part of a Welcome gift which is given to CL guests...




Now back to the lounge and what is offered there during the afternoon hours of 11:30 - 4:00. {I apologize that the quality of the photos are not the best. By this time, it was almost 4:00 so I quickly snapped a few photos with my phone rather than taking the time to get my camera out.}

The afternoon snacks included...



House-made Potato Chips (also dip, which I failed to photograph)




Sugar Cookies with sprinkles on top





Chocolate Chip Cookies




Goldfish Crackers





Gummy bears (fruit flavored candy)




Wasabi Mix


Also both hot and cold beverages were served, including tea bags (for hot tea) and coffee...



Espresso Machine


They also have these syrups available with which to flavor your coffee...




There was also lemonade and unsweetened iced tea...




...as well as water and I think maybe cranberry juice??




There were also cans of soda and small cartons of milk available in the lounge refrigerator.


The snack offerings seemed to be pretty much the same as those that were offered at the Concierge Lounge at the Yacht Club during my stay there in December. Here is the LINK to my review.


The seating area for the lounge guests is different though. Instead of there being an enclosed room with tables, couch, tv, etc like at the Yacht Club...




...the tables, couches etc. for the OFC lounge guests are placed right next to the wooden railing which wraps around three sides of the 7th floor hallway that overlooks the lobby.














- continued in next post -
​

 

[jabead]

Each of these offers a lovely (and different) view of the beautiful Wilderness Lodge lobby down below.













There are also a few tables and chairs along the wall, which has a few windows that overlook Silver Creek Springs, the pool area and Bay Lake...




As I was taking these photos, the clock struck 4:00 and the Fire Rock Geyser erupted...




I also noticed this beautiful teepee chandelier, which from this level was almost close enough to touch...

​

Next up: Old Faithful Club - Part II

 

[kastoney]

Thanks for the club level skinny and pics. My daughter will be thrilled there are cookies and her beloved goldfish. Can't wait to see what the evening has in store.

 

[Angeejoe]

I've never stayed CL, but the seating & views from OFC look better than YC CL. I wonder if you can see the water pageant well from that window seat in CL?

 

[Couchy]

Barb- love the club level review of WL . The sitting area looks unique and has some amazing views for sure I remember when I went to the lounge with you at YC and it was a nice experience for sure but the ambiance seems very different at the WL. Which did you prefer?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Very nice Old Faithful Club update. Haven't been there in about 3 years, but I loved the views from the lobby (and of Bay Lake) from the 7th floor seating area. Regarding the various club level lounges, I feel like most of them offer a relatively similar food & beverage experience, but some lounges are a lot better than others. In particular, I'd say YC and BC have the worst lounges, since they're small and don't have good views. I wonder why didn't they build the lounges on the other side of the resorts (so they could face Crescent Lake or Stormalong Bay).

Oh, and I just posted another live update after seeing Festival of the Lion King and feeling inspired.

 

[MrsB1228]

Love the views from the OFC lounge! We've never stayed CL and probably never will, so it's nice to get this "insider info".

 

[disney meema]

Your pictures of the lodge are beautiful : )

 

[jabead]

Thanks for the club level skinny and pics. My daughter will be thrilled there are cookies and her beloved goldfish. Can't wait to see what the evening has in store.

Part 2 is done and will be posted momentarily!

I've never stayed CL, but the seating & views from OFC look better than YC CL. I wonder if you can see the water pageant well from that window seat in CL?

I completely forgot about the water pageant, otherwise I would have definitely checked it out. But I think that you should have been able to see it from the CL windows. I'll try to remember to find out for sure in October.

Barb- love the club level review of WL . The sitting area looks unique and has some amazing views for sure I remember when I went to the lounge with you at YC and it was a nice experience for sure but the ambiance seems very different at the WL. Which did you prefer?

I'm going to hold off on answering your question until Part 4 of my OFC review.

Very nice Old Faithful Club update. Haven't been there in about 3 years, but I loved the views from the lobby (and of Bay Lake) from the 7th floor seating area. Regarding the various club level lounges, I feel like most of them offer a relatively similar food & beverage experience, but some lounges are a lot better than others. In particular, I'd say YC and BC have the worst lounges, since they're small and don't have good views. I wonder why didn't they build the lounges on the other side of the resorts (so they could face Crescent Lake or Stormalong Bay).

Oh, and I just posted another live update after seeing Festival of the Lion King and feeling inspired.

Since I've only seen three WDW resort CL lounges (AKL back in 2001 and 2002, YC, and now WL), my ability to compare is very limited but of those three I would have to agree that the YC lounge was the worst. The room itself and the view didn't seem much different from the breakfast areas of some of the nicer Hampton Inns I've stayed in.

Love the views from the OFC lounge! We've never stayed CL and probably never will, so it's nice to get this "insider info".

As the saying goes, never say never Carol. My last CL stay at the YC was a complimentary upgrade. Before that experience I never thought I would be staying CL again, but when this trip came up I couldn't resist the urge to do just a one night stay and try a different resort. So I guess that complimentary taste did exactly what they wanted it do.

Your pictures of the lodge are beautiful : )

Thanks! And I promise that the food pics will be better too in parts 2 - 4, as they were taken with my camera rather than quickly taken with my phone.

 

[jabead]

Old Faithful Club - Part 2

When I inquired at the time that I checked in, I was told by the CL castmember that though technically it was against their policy it would be fine if I invited one or two guests to join me for wine and appetizers that evening...and so I of course invited my friends Paula & Hunter who were staying right next door at the villas. I met them in the lobby and escorted them up to the 7th floor, where together we checked out the Evening offerings in the lounge. Here is what we found:

First, there was a fruit and cheese board, which was a little different than most in that it had raspberries and blackberries.




There were also 5 different kinds of crackers to choose from...




...along with smoked gouda cheese dip and red pepper hummus.




Next was the usual crudité platter (aka a veggie tray)...




However, instead of the usual celery this one featured jalapeños...




Then there was the same delicious sourdough bread that is served at Artist Point...




...as well as rolls and Peanut Butter & Jelly Shooters.





Then over in the drum section...




...there were turkey and cheese rollups.




But that's not all, there were also focaccia and provolone cheese sandwiches...





...and sesame chicken salad.





And last was a pot of Tomato Fennel Soup...




While I stood off to the side with my camera in hand, trying to be unobtrusive and not get in anyone's way, a very nice man who had just served himself a bowl of the soup asked me if I would like to take a picture of it. He was so nice about it that I couldn't possibly turn down his offer. So here is the cup of soup which was eaten by a total stranger...




In addition to the beverages which they had available during the afternoon, they also now had the refrigerator case stocked with four kinds of beer...




...and they had out two wines held by these cool bear bottle holders.



I was a little disappointed that both of these were red wines, as I am partial to white wine. Given the choices though, I went with the cabernet and it was pretty good.



As for my food choices, I tried my best not to overindulge as I had a dinner reservation that evening at Artist Point. Here is what I had...



Starting at the 12 o'clock position, I tried a few things from the fruit and cheese platter. Then, even though I would soon be having it at Artist Point, I couldn't resist taking a slice of the sourdough bread. Next were a couple of crackers and I tried both the gouda dip and hummus...both very good. Though the turkey & cheese rollup in the middle looked pretty, it was nothing special since it consisted of turkey lunch meat and American cheese. Consequently, I left almost all of it behind, however the focaccia and cheese sandwich (pictured on a separate plate) was a different story. I thought it was very tasty.

So all in all, I would have to say that the Old Faithful Club put out a good spread that evening. In comparing it to the offerings I had recently found at the Yacht Club CL, I would say that the OFC was the winner in the "Evening Appetizers" category. ​

Next up: Dinner at Artist Point

 

[disney meema]

It looks really nice and some lovely offerings : ) Looking forward to your Artist Point review since we've never been but have reservations for Nov

 

[kastoney]

Mmmm....wine, cheese, wine, sandwiches, wine, bread, and wine. Me so gonna likey club level ; )

 

[farrahalex76]

I got a little behind, we were at Disney! I read your LTT review the same day we ate there. I had the salad too, it was so good. Sadly we did not get any Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, we were just too full. We also got to San Angel inn for an afternoon break it was really good.

The offerings at the Old Faithful Club look great. I need to convince DH that we need to take a trip with the kids and stay club level.

 

[MrsB1228]

As the saying goes, never say never Carol. My last CL stay at the YC was a complimentary upgrade. Before that experience I never thought I would be staying CL again, but when this trip came up I couldn't resist the urge to do just a one night stay and try a different resort. So I guess that complimentary taste did exactly what they wanted it do.

LOL! Disney doesn't miss a trick when it comes to generating repeat revenue! You're probably right about "never say never" but I'm far too cheap to pony up the extra $$ for a club level stay. However I'd love to stay at WL one day and who knows? Maybe we'll get some pixie dust sprinkled on us.

It looks like they offer a nice selection of evening appetizers at OFC and how sweet of that gentleman to offer up his bowl of soup for your camera, LOL. The focaccia and provolone sandwich looked very tasty and would be right up my alley. Glad to hear it tasted as good as it looked.

Looking forward to your review of Artist Point!

 

[emmysmommy]

You certainly could make a meal or two out of those CL evening offerings. Far better than those that only have a few small hot items and the fruit and cheese. The soup totally knocks the competition out of the running! What a great presentation of everything including the cute wine holders.

Very nice!

 

[disney meema]

Quick question did you request a window seat at CG?

 

[jabead]

It looks really nice and some lovely offerings : ) Looking forward to your Artist Point review since we've never been but have reservations for Nov

My Artist Point review will be posted momentarily.

Mmmm....wine, cheese, wine, sandwiches, wine, bread, and wine. Me so gonna likey club level ; )

And wait until you see the desserts and breakfast food.

I got a little behind, we were at Disney! I read your LTT review the same day we ate there. I had the salad too, it was so good. Sadly we did not get any Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, we were just too full. We also got to San Angel inn for an afternoon break it was really good.

The offerings at the Old Faithful Club look great. I need to convince DH that we need to take a trip with the kids and stay club level.

Sounds like you had a good trip...glad to hear it!

LOL! Disney doesn't miss a trick when it comes to generating repeat revenue! You're probably right about "never say never" but I'm far too cheap to pony up the extra $$ for a club level stay. However I'd love to stay at WL one day and who knows? Maybe we'll get some pixie dust sprinkled on us.

If it happened to me, it could happen to anyone. Prior to this, the only upgrade I'd ever received in all my Disney resort stays was an upgrade from standard to woods view at Wilderness Lodge. Woohoo!!

You certainly could make a meal or two out of those CL evening offerings. Far better than those that only have a few small hot items and the fruit and cheese. The soup totally knocks the competition out of the running! What a great presentation of everything including the cute wine holders.

Very nice!

Yes, I was very happy with the OFC's food and beverages. More on that will be coming soon.

Quick question did you request a window seat at CG?

No, I don't think we did. As far as I know, Paula's only request at check-in was that we not be seated in a certain server's section.

 

[jabead]

Following our happy hour at the Old Faithful Club lounge, Paula and Hunter headed out to the Polynesian to meet Brenda and Michael for dinner at 'Ohana. I however am still holding a grudge against 'Ohana due to a server incident which occurred in 2007, so I passed and instead chose to stay right there for dinner at the Wilderness Lodge's signature restaurant...



This turned out to be a very good decision. Although I missed having the great company of Paula, Brenda, and the guys, otherwise my dinner here was wonderful. And so without further ado, I present to you my review of...




Immediately after checking in at the desk I was seated at a two top table by one of the large windows overlooking the restaurant's outdoor terrace.



My server kindly offered to take my photo when she saw me photographing my food.

Despite the fact that it was about 6:30 (prime time dinner hour), most of the surrounding tables were empty...





I have to admit that I had mixed feelings regarding the restaurant's lack of customers. While I thoroughly enjoyed having a quiet and relaxing meal with very attentive service (which is not the usual experience at Disney World), I was also a little sad that this great restaurant seemingly does not have as much customer support as the other 7 signature restaurants that I visited on this trip. I'm hoping that it was just an off night, because I would be very sad to see this restaurant close due to lack of patrons.

But moving on now to my beverage, which could have easily been chosen from this menu, as several of the cocktails sounded really good.






However, I had already had a glass of wine at the lounge and planned to try some of the cordials there later so I went with a non-alcoholic beverage...



Though the iced tea was not served with simple syrup here like at YSH or Cali Grill, it was still of the "freshly brewed" variety and was served with a Mickey straw...which always makes drinks taste better, right?

The plastic stirrer/skewer for the lemon wedge was shaped like an arrow and has the Wilderness Lodge name printed on it...




Next came the complimentary bread service...




Which consists of the same delicious sourdough bread that was served at the OFC lounge...




...but this time it was even better because it was served with butter topped with black sea salt.



Olive oil (with perhaps fennel??) was also served but I didn't touch it because I much prefer butter with soft breads. Now when I'm eating crusty Italian bread and there is a shaker of parmesan cheese on the table, then I'm all over the olive oil.


Now let's take a look at the Appetizers which I had to choose from...




However, once again there was no need for me to look at the menu because I already knew exactly what I wanted...



Smokey Portobello Soup with roasted shiitakes, chive oil, and topped with sourdough croutons - $10.00

When I last had dinner at Artist Point in March 2013, I was rather disappointed with the portobello soup. Not only was it served in what seemed like a tiny bowl...




...compared to my previous experiences, but it was also way too salty. Here is the LINK to that review, in case you are interested in reading it.


But I'm happy to report that they have changed back to the larger bowls and that this serving of the soup was perfect and it is again my favorite Disney World soup!!


So my meal was off to a great start...





...but would the greatness continue with my entree?




From this menu, I chose their signature entree...



Cedar Plank-roasted King Salmon with Fregola Pasta, English Spring Peas, Peppadew Peppers, Cipollini Onions, Pea Nage, and Sun Dried Tomato and Cabernet Aioli - $37.00


And a closer look...




Just as my salmon entree had been on my other three visits to Artist Point, this was again perfectly cooked and quite delicious. I can't think of any restaurant (on or off Disney property) that does a better job of preparing salmon. I'm not always a fan of salmon, as it can often be slimy if undercooked, dry if overcooked, or just too fishy tasting for my liking, but this has never been a problem at Artist Point...knock on wood "plank".

Oh, and the accompanying pasta dish was very tasty too, I might add.


Now for dessert, or at least the dessert menu...




Though I love the Artist Point cobbler, sadly I had to pass on dessert. I was pretty full already and I really wanted to try some of the desserts that would be offered later in the Old Faithful Club lounge. Plus I had heard that a cobbler of some sort was usually one of the OFC desserts.

And so, that concludes my Artist Point dinner review. To this point of my trip, it was my favorite meal. Would it maintain that status for the remainder of the trip or would there be another meal in my near future which would top it? Stay tuned to find out. ​

Next up: Old Faithful Club - Part 3 (Desserts & Cordials)

 

[disney meema]

Such a beautiful restaurant it is sad to see it not filled up with guests dining. I have a feeling some people think WL is far for the action or out in the boondocks. I know I thought it was until I drove a mini boat over from a nearby hotel years ago and saw it was very close. Onto your incredible looking meal ... Your soup looks so yummy and such a different portion size this time around for you ( yeah! ) I will certainly be trying this delicious looking soup : ) My husband will defiantly be getting the salmon you ordered since it's one of his favorite fish. Looking forward to your evening at old faithful and seeing what desserts they had for you that evening. As always a lovely enjoyable dining report

 

[JintyB]

Great review of Artist Point Barb

We had a fabulous meal there last summer, but it was very quiet customer wise then too. We haven't booked it this summer, but I suspect if we can sneak an ADR when we arrive we might end up going back for the salmon. I was the only one of us who ordered it last time and my DH and DD have coveted it since!

Sadly due to my mushroom allergy I'm not able to have the soup, but my DH loved it. I'm hoping as I only developed this allergy a couple of years ago I might 'grow' out of it...Disney is after all where dreams come true!

BTW your puppy is soooooooooo cute!