Is the WL Worth $1,215 More?

[Terk-1]

Got a call from a different AAA office. Her quote from Disney for the same package came back at $3,296.86 for either a Woods or Courtyard view room. I asked her if she was sure, as the CY is usually $200-500 more than a standard or woods view room. She said that that was what she was told. This would make it a difference of $171.30 from 2 different AAA offices.

Called another office and am waiting on a quote from her to see if she gets the same or different price quote.

 

[jhryb]

My ideal 4-0 bday would be one spent at WDW. I am turning 4-0 in October so I have booked the CSR. We have never stayed there. We usually stay at the Poly with the kids. My husband is very pro-deluxe. I say that since it is just the two of us we do not need a huge room. I booked a king bed room at the CSR and I am very happy with the money we are saving. I plan to use the extra money to enjoy the food and wine festival. We will be on the DP but I plan to book signature restaurants and pay out of pocket for one of the food and wine festival dinners. This will be my dream birthday. Our first trip to WDW without the kids.

 

[melomouse]

Hi -
Just my .02 - you don't say what your dates are, but we always go back and forth on alternating trips between POR or FQ and WL. The price difference in January was exactly $600.00 thru CRO. It came down another $175 when I shifted a day over and down $479 more when I later applied a code.

CRO TRIED to sell me Courtyard, then Woodsview, then I asked for standard, and - viola! - $600 more than POR.

This is with MYW tix and DDP as well, 3 "adults".

I'm the nutso who checked out of YC this past summer after 3 nights (it was an awesome upsell rate, and WL wasn't available). And where did we ask to be moved to?? WL, of course, where it feels like "home" and warmth all the time!!!

It's so worth the $600 for 8 nights for my family. $1200 - - not sure what I might feel!

 

[Terk-1]

Got a call from a different AAA office. Her quote from Disney for the same package came back at $3,296.86 for either a Woods or Courtyard view room. I asked her if she was sure, as the CY is usually $200-500 more than a standard or woods view room. She said that that was what she was told.

She just called me back to say that she called Disney to question this price and was told that she misunderstood. The $3,296.86 was for the Woods view room, not courtyard.

 

[CanadianGuy]

You can get AAA Discount directly from CRO but on ROOM ONLY.

You can't get the AAA discount on a package directly from CRO ... only from AAA.

That's my understanding.

Knox

 

[G8r4evr]

So is the $1200 difference for woodsview or courtyard. If courtyard, I would say thats an easy choice and go with WL...woods makes it a little tougher decision IMO,...but I still think I would go with WL, especially for 10 nights.

 

[MommyBuzz909]

I just got off the phone with Disney - they only give you the AAA discount on ROOM ONLY!! My quote for my trip was 6202.25 from Disney - I know AAA can beat that though...........

 

[Terk-1]

My planned dates are Friday, November 28th (day after Thanksgiving) to Sunday, December 7th. 11/28-11/30 is "regular" season and the rest is "value" season, but I think if it's booked as a package, it's booked for all "regular" season rates, correct?

I did ask the AAA agent to put a hold on the woods view package she found.

I think I will call AAA tomorrow and have her price the WL for some different dates (maybe arrive Monday, December 1st & depart Wednesday, December 10th or arrive Friday, December 5th & depart Monday, December 15th).

So is the $1200 difference for woodsview or courtyard.

This is the difference between a standard view at Port Orleans French Quarter & the Wilderness Lodge "standard" view.

 

[PA Princess]

We always stayed deluxe until we needed 2 rooms. With 4 kids the cost difference just seemed too much, and the truth is that we really enjoy the mods (we do not personally care for the values and we think the price difference is well worth it to go mod over value).

Over the years POFQ has become a family favorite for our annual trips, but this year we are staying at WL. Yes, it will cost more, but for us this will be a shorter trip and we plan to spend a significant time at the resort and less time in the parks. I think that is when the deluxes are worth the money...when you plan to spend time at the resort.

I recall a trip to the Poly (concierge level no less) and as much as we enjoyed the resort, we just always felt like we should be headed to a park (you could see MK all of the time and there was that convenient monorail to Epcot only a hop, skip, and a jump away. I wish we had enjoyed the resort more than we did.

So for this 5 night WL trip we plan only to do MK a day or two and just enjoy the resort (pool, bikes, boats, etc). We are off on a 5 night DCL cruise after the WL , and we are hoping to start the trip in a relaxing manner.

 

[hoosll]

We have stayed at WL many times, it is our favorite but this last trip we were offered an "upgrade" to BWV. I had wanted to try an Epcot resort so went for it

Next rip it will be back to WL !!!

 

[hoosll]

We have stayed at WL many times, it is our favorite but this last trip we were offered an "upgrade" to BWV. I had wanted to try an Epcot resort so went for it

Next rip it will be back to WL !!!

 

[loco4dis]

As others have said here, if the extra $1,200 isn't a big deal for your budget, why not go for it? On the other hand, if you'll be tightening up to manage the cost, then if it were my family we would go POFQ. I have stayed at both WL and POFQ. As I've said on here before, while the WL is nice, it's really just a really expensive nice hotel. It doesn't blow me away in the same way other luxury hotels have. It's just…really nice. The lobby is lovely, but once you've seen it you've seen it. That's just my opinion. Our budget calls for moderates (we stayed at WL on a conference rate!), but I certainly didn't feel regretful or cheated when we went to the POFQ. We loved it, found it peaceful and relaxing, and we LOVED the boat to Downtown Disney. Maybe you should do an old fashioned list of pros and cons and see which resort wins out!

 

[iggbees]

hmm... the way i feel about it is this. the wilderness lodge is amazing (i tried to convince my boyfriend to stay there again this trip)... the convenience of the mk being a boat ride away, the fact that the building you stay in also houses your food, store, etc, is very nice. i also love por (and pop for that matter). i do feel however that staying at por is no better than staying at pop (minus the fact that you get a hot tub), since the rooms are almost all far away from the main building, the pool and the bus stop. i would rather justify spending the 120$ a night for por over pop (or one of the all stars).

 

[septbaby]

One way to bring down the price is to reduce the length of the trip.

Another way is to shift the dates. You've stated that by shifting the trip to Dec. 1st you could pay Value Season rates, why not do that and assure yourself of the WL stay.

You could also get a lower average price by splitting the stay. Perhaps "sucking it up" for two nights at Pop so you can get that value rate at WL for the remaining 8 nights?

It seems pretty clear that you want WL; just tweek things a bit.

Good luck and an early happy b-day!

 

[superbird]

So is the $1200 difference for woodsview or courtyard. If courtyard, I would say thats an easy choice and go with WL...woods makes it a little tougher decision IMO,...but I still think I would go with WL, especially for 10 nights.

I agree it is my home away from home enjoy and don't think about it anymore

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's not worth $1,200 of my money, but that doesn't mean WL isn't worth the extra cost. My money is perfectly happy at Pop Century or a Fairfield Inn...

 

[septbaby]

One way to bring down the price is to reduce the length of the trip.

Another way is to shift the dates. You've stated that by shifting the trip to Dec. 1st you could pay Value Season rates, why not do that and assure yourself of the WL stay.

You could also get a lower average price by splitting the stay. Perhaps "sucking it up" for two nights at Pop so you can get that value rate at WL for the remaining 8 nights?

It seems pretty clear that you want WL; just tweek things a bit.

Good luck and an early happy b-day!

 

[TLSnell1981]

We only have one life to live. If you can afford it, go for WL. That really isn't that much price difference for a 10 day stay. As others have said, check for codes. Call Disney, ask if by chance there is a code by your name. It would likely be worth it to buy an AP and use its discount code. Last year, around the dates you want to stay, there were some incredible discounts for AP holders.

We have only stayed once in something other than a deluxe or villa. It won't happen again. It truly doesn't matter to some. My step-father would sleep in a closet if he could save a $1. It is definitely a personal preference.

 

[Lovin' Lorne]

It's not worth $1,200 of my money, but that doesn't mean WL isn't worth the extra cost. My money is perfectly happy at Pop Century or a Fairfield Inn...

I would have to agree. We've just gotten to the point where we don't choke on our own spit when we book the POR at $149 a night, and it only took us about 10 years to get there. Maybe in another 10 we can splurge on one like WL.

If I was in the position where $$$ like that was no object though, I'd be heading off to the GF. That's my dream resort.

 

[CANDICE]

I would absolutely stay at the WL...I can't imagine staying at anything less than deluxe...it is so nice for everything to be under one roof...We have only been once and we stayed at WL and had considered staying at a moderate on our next visit (12/28/09-1/4/10) due to holiday rates, but have decided to go ahead and spend the extra money since going to Disney World is not an every year thing for us. I really like the idea of being so close to MK yet feeling away from the parks at the end of the day.