Just back from 8 nights at the Wilderness Lodge.

[ColetteN]

Jersye Janice - sorry to hear about changes at work while you were gone. What a way to come back from vacation.

You said the boats and busses were bad during peak times (like leaving the park after the firework). What time were you on the ferry heading to MK? What time did the ferry and busses start running each morning?

My family are morning people, so I imagine us taking the first ferry or two to MK, I just wanted to know if that was the most crowded time you mentioned.

Thanks so much for the info & updates, they really are appreciated.

I know it's been said before, but I'll ask again - why does a Deluxe resort share transportation with a more moderate resort???? I don't get it.

Colette

 

[gepetto]

I'm pretty sure the cabins at FW are in the "deluxe" home away from home category. Still, they're pretty far away to be sharing busses with WL.

 

[Belle5]

ColleteN,
The FW cabins are quite expensive. (About double the cost of a moderate.) As a matter of fact, one could easily spend more on that cabin than a room at FW (depending on the current deals.)

 

[JerseyJanice]

Colette, I'm fairly certain the boats start running an hour before the park opens, i.e., 8:00 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. opening. I would assume that if you got there for the first boat or two, you'd be O.K.

We tried taking them two different mornings around 9:00, and it was bad! A ton of grouchy people waiting on the dock. Then, it sailed over to FW before heading to the MK. The trip took a little over 20 minutes. While it was always a pleasant ride, it took far longer than I felt it should have.

Frankly, the worst time to ride them was after the fireworks. Truly, a long and weary wait. My advice is to have some ice cream on Main Street and do some shopping. Then see what the line is like. If it's bad, take the monorail or ferry to the TTC and the bus from there. They don't have enough boats to ferry people out of there at closing time; it's that simple.

For that matter, my husband was annoyed with me for insisting we stay to see the fireworks one night. He wanted to leave before they started and watch them from the boat or the marina beach. I wonder if that time is bad (?). It seems like a lot of people could think that way.

 

[ColetteN]

Thanks!

Someone I know said to take the ferry when the fireworks start and it's a wonderful view of them and there was barely anyone else on the boat. I was thinking of watching the spectromagic parade one evening and then hitting the ferry. Hopefully there won't be a big rush then. And if there is, nothing else to do but just deal with it.

Thanks too for the warning about the AK trip. We are planning on hitting that park first thing in the am, so if it opens at 9, I guess we'll be waiting for the first bus!

Glad the rest of your vacation was wonderful at WL and hopefully things begin to look and lighten up at work!!

Colette

 

[figment95]

We just got back on Saturday from 8 nites at WL and I didn't think the transportation was all that bad. I love the boat ride to MK and I don't mind at all if it goes to FW. We even like to make the trip longer by taking the boat to Contemporary and catching the monorail from there. But... we are not commando park goers. We enjoy WL for its relaxed atomsphere. It is a beautiful place. We did have to wait about 40 minutes for the boat after the fireworks at MK, but after the fireworks at EPCOT we were able to walk right through the park and straight to a waiting bus. Also, the Roaring Fork is not a food court, it is a snack bar. You don't get the selection of food that you would get in a food court, but everything we had there was pretty good. If you tried to eat every meal there you'd get sick of it in a big hurry! I guess what I am trying to say is: WL is a great resort if you are really into hanging around and going at your own pace. If you are the kind of person who likes to get up early and be in the parks all day, it may not be the best choice for you. JMHO

 

[pigtail]

We stayed at WL 2 years ago and although we loved the hotel, the transportation was forever. At that point in time, mid-summer, the parks were open til 11 or 12. The boat stopped returning guests about one half hour before the park closed. We did not know that. We had to take monorail to TTC and then a bus that said Boone on it. It was forever going thru FW and finally WL. Disney made a mistake not putting WL on the monorail - for how close WL is - there should at least be a walkway to the monorail. Its a waste.

 

[pennyplanner]

Does anyone ever e-mail Disney about his or her dissatisfaction about transportation at WL?

Does feedback from the public ever make an impact on WDW policy?

Just wondering...

penny

 

[Gary M]

I know I have seen the e-mail address to send WDW your complaints, but could someone please post the address again. Thank you.

 

[JerseyJanice]

You and I think alike.

Every time we rode through the entrance and I saw how close the monorail actually is to the resort, I thought it was a terrible shame Disney didn't put a station there.

We had dinner with my parents-in-law last night, and they raved and raved about much they loved the resort. The transportation didn't bother them at all. I guess it's all in your perspective.

 

[mat2672]

I believe it does come down to peoples own perspective a lot of times. There are always times when things dont go well, but you cant label "the transportation" at WL to be bad. I know I didnt have any problems at all. I thought the transportation there was great, but I would never tell anyone that it will always be great. Thats like when people have a bad time with a certain maid or CM and they label the whole resort as being horrible. You can only hope that everything goes well, but there are always going to be bad stretches.

 

[skiwee1]

At the time I stayed at the WL the transportation was bad. I can say that. The WL is the only resort that I have seen that has had so many complaints since it opened about transportation problems. Yes, the boats and busses might be better on someone else's trip but it was horrible on mine. That is what these boards are here for. To give an opinion on a resort or what ever. It seems that most here that didn't mind the transportation never had to endure going to FW every time they went on a boat or bus. This happened whether we went before parks opened or in the middle of the afternoon. I am not a commando style park person. We have APs and go to WDW 3 times a year. We don't even do the bigger rides. I take my 65 y/o mother and my 3 y/o toddler with me. We do Dumbo, It's a Small World, and the like. You will not catch us running to Splash Mountain anytime soon. There are days we do not even go to the parks so it isn't like I'm complaining about not getting to the parks in 5 minutes. My point is that if you are paying to stay in a deluxe resort then have the transportation to match. The CBR has much better transportation then the WL, I'm sorry to say. I stayed at the WL because of the close proximity to the MK. I do not like to be on a bus too long as it makes me sick. To have to go out of one's way to pick up at FW is really not fair especially when there were times that no one was even there! It would just be nice to get where you are going in a decent amount of time. I don't understand why they do not pick up FW first. They literally have to pass by the WL to get where they are going so it really doesn't take them out of their way. I did write and complain about the transportation problems but have yet to get a response. I would hope they would fix it as the WL really is pretty but just not worth it for the problems I endured. If they change it then I will go back.

 

[pennyplanner]

Skiwee1,

I am happy you took the time to write to WDW. Proactive is the way to go! I really dislike when someone has a problem but doesn't take some sort of action to notify those who can make a change.

I am sorry your experience was a bad one. Let's hope they listen and work to improve the system!

--penny

 

[musicfan]

Quite frankly, I don't think the transportation at ANY of the deluxe resorts come up to the standard set by the All Stars! With the exception of monorail service to the MK, the buses are all shared and take way more time getting from here to there. The best situated resorts are the EPCOT ones, since you can bypass the bus system to all but AK.

And by the way, EVERY resort has a problem getting to Downtown Disney. Every last one of them. Even POR/FQ and their fabulous boat which is too full to take on new passengers most of the time. Do I sound bitter? And this I don't understand since DD is a cash cow for Disney.

I have to think that WDW execs have made the decision that people who stay at deluxes are probably valet parking and driving themselves around. Or being driven.

 

[Cinderella]

Oh no - I haven't stayed at WL for over 2 years and we have bought DVC there. I hope the transportation improves - it used to be ok.

I agree on Roaring Forks - it is the one place in WL that I really don't like. Sometimes when I went there were flies and things in the cabinet thing where the sticky buns and stuff are kept - yuk and the lines are usually really long.

I do love everything else about the lodge tho.

 

[robinb]

Quite frankly, I don't think the transportation at ANY of the deluxe resorts come up to the standard set by the All Stars!

I agree! The transportation to the All Stars rocks!

I also recently stayed at WL in the villas and thought that the transportation was poor. It also took us about an hour to get to AK and I would estimate that 40 minutes of that was bus ride. Yuck. We also ended up taking the bus from the T&TC twice after taking the monorail rather than ride a bus back to the WL. The boats to the MK were OK except for the time we tried to get to the MK right before opening. We were lucky to get on that particular boat. We eventually gave up on Disney transportation (except for the boat) and paid to have our car brought up from the valet.

 

[Tramp'sLady]

This is for JerseyJanice (or anyone else who's got the scoop)...
What kinds of food items do they have at Roaring Forks? Is it similar to the snack bar at the GF? Or should I be on the Restaurants Board??

Sorry to hear about your transportation and job woes Janice! And thanks for taking the time to review your trip. At least we know what to look out for when we go in Oct. If we are aware, maybe we won't be too disappointed.

Dana (from Jersey too!)

 

[figment95]

Roaring Forks has a very limited selection. For breakfast they usually have breakfast pizza, egg sandwiches, hash browns and hashbrowns. They have a special that is pancakes, french toast sticks, etc. For lunch and dinner they have burgers, pizza: I think they have macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers for the kids. They also have a special like meatball sub, or bar b que sandwich. they have a case of sandwiches that are available all day; tuna, chicken wrap, ham. They have fresh fruit and green salads. In the bakery case they have bagels, cheese danish, croissants, pecan sticky buns, blueberry muffins, chccolate chip muffins, cookies, cupcakes, brownies. And they also have cold cereal. We stayed there for 9 days and ate there quite a but. The food was pretty good but as I said, not much selection. We had the same thing for breakfast every day.

 

[dtuleya]

I have a question for anyone that has stayed at the WL before. We are requesting bunk beds for our sons (9 & 13), but in case we don't get them, I was thinking of purchasing a single Aerobed and taking it along so that we all get a good night sleep. Both my boys are bed hogs and are difficult to sleep with.

If we get 2 queens in our room, would there be enough room to put a single sized Aerobed on the floor? Does anyone know if you can rent cots at WL? If we go with the Aerobed, would we be able to push it under one of the beds during the day, or are the beds built on platforms?

 

[Tesabat]

It's going to be tight - but I "think" there will be enough room right in front of the balcony doors. And, the beds are not on platforms, so you should be okay pushing it under there during the day. You can't get cots or roll-aways at WL. They don't even have them - has to do with fire codes.

I just posted on another thread of yours regarding villas that we are in the same situation as you, but going value season, so the fall pkg made a 1-br villa doable for us.