Just back from stay at WL..........

[DBH]

This was our first time to stay at the WL. We really wanted to stay at the Beach Club but nothing was available. We had a 6th floor room facing the Magic Kingdom and Monarail. There were some pine trees in the way but Castle could be seen and each night we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it but it turned out great. The Roaring forks was a big hit for late night snacks and breakfast. The room look to be refurbished and the flat panel TV was a big hit with my son. The pool was fine(they like the Boardwalk and Beach club better).

The biggest drawn back is the transportation. Getting to MK was fine but the bus service everywhere is took quite a while. To get to AK we stopped at Grand Floridian and Blizzard beach.

I think as a family we like the Boardwalk area better but this was a great resort with a lot of nice touches.

 

[pooh2001]

We love the themeing of the resort - but hated the WL pool.
If we do not swim - it would have been a great resort for us.
we loved the boat to MK

 

[marlower]

Thanks for the report. I will be at WL Aug 14th. I had heard mixed reports about transportation from WL to other parks so I decided to budget for some taxi rides, it just fumes me when I have to sit on the bus for 30-45min getting to the park when I know if I just drove it would take a max of 10-15min. It will be cheaper for me just to get a couple of taxis instead of renting a car since we have a split stay at the Poly as well.

 

[simonkodousek]

We basically felt the same way when we went to the WL in 2004. The pool wasn't fablous, but we didn't do a ton of swimming. However, the transportation was just awful.

 

[mprewitt]

This was our first time to stay at the WL. We really wanted to stay at the Beach Club but nothing was available. We had a 6th floor room facing the Magic Kingdom and Monarail. There were some pine trees in the way but Castle could be seen and each night we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it but it turned out great. The Roaring forks was a big hit for late night snacks and breakfast. The room look to be refurbished and the flat panel TV was a big hit with my son. The pool was fine(they like the Boardwalk and Beach club better).

Glad you had a great trip. We love the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[pennyplanner]

Welcome back DBH!

Interesting that you prefer the Y and B Club over WL. I stayed at the Beach Club last December and thought their transportation was not as convenient or quick as WL. Nor did I think it had the charm or character of the WL. I did not have occasion to use the pool though.

Overall, I'd pick the WL, especially considering the price difference. Heading back there in August.

Thanks for posting!

--penny

 

[DBH]

Welcome back DBH!

Interesting that you prefer the Y and B Club over WL. I stayed at the Beach Club last December and thought their transportation was not as convenient or quick as WL. Nor did I think it had the charm or character of the WL. I did not have occasion to use the pool though.

Overall, I'd pick the WL, especially considering the price difference. Heading back there in August.

Thanks for posting!

--penny

We have stayed on the Boardwalk with DVC points. You are right that the price difference does make the WL more appealing. The thing about staying at the Y&B club is you don't have to use transportation to get to 2 of the parks(5 min walk to Epcot and 15 min walk to MGM). You do share a bus with the Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin to get to the other parks. WL shares a bus and boat with Fort wilderness and also makes a stop at Grand Floridian to go to AK. The boat is nice to MK but if you go in the afternoon you have to stop at Fort wilderness first (yes there is a bus to MK but you have to time it right or you may have a 20 min wait).

I guess with our kids the pool does play a bigger part in it and there is no comparison between the pools.

We really enjoyed the themeing at the WL but we also like to walk the boardwalk at night and watch the street preformers and enjoy the sights and sounds.

 

[TylerAggie]

I am also planning on staying at WL due to the close proximity to MK, where I think we will spend most of our time. However, I would like to take a taxi to AK for convenience, since we have a 2 year-old. Does anyone know how much the taxi's cost?

 

[POLY1985]

We are staying there starting August 11. I love the boats to the MK. We are renting a car because of having to fly into Sanford airport. We plan on using the car for the waterparks ( I hate riding a bus in a swimsuit!) and for dinner at other resorts. Other than that we will use the transportation there. We didn't find it a problem the last time we stayed at WL.

 

[hopelea]

I may be one of the few, but I enjoy the disney transportation!! I like trying to figure out how to get there........Let's see, I am going to Epcot from WL...let's hop on a boat, go to Contemporary.....hop on the monorail and ride there It may be a hassle to some, but I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT

I just plan a little more travel time. Which is easier as your children get older.

 

[mickeystoontown]

This was our first time to stay at the WL. We really wanted to stay at the Beach Club but nothing was available. We had a 6th floor room facing the Magic Kingdom and Monarail. There were some pine trees in the way but Castle could be seen and each night we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it but it turned out great. The Roaring forks was a big hit for late night snacks and breakfast. The room look to be refurbished and the flat panel TV was a big hit with my son. The pool was fine(they like the Boardwalk and Beach club better).

The biggest drawn back is the transportation. Getting to MK was fine but the bus service everywhere is took quite a while. To get to AK we stopped at Grand Floridian and Blizzard beach.

I think as a family we like the Boardwalk area better but this was a great resort with a lot of nice touches.

Can you please tell me if this was a standard view, wood view or a courtyard view room? We are upgrading from a moderate to the Wilderness Lodge and, because it's a $1,000.00 jump, we've booked a standard view.

Thanks, Lisa

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Can you please tell me if this was a standard view, wood view or a courtyard view room? We are upgrading from a moderate to the Wilderness Lodge and, because it's a $1,000.00 jump, we've booked a standard view.

Thanks, Lisa

We have stayed at WL three times. The first time we had a Standard room and we overlooked the bus loop and where WLV are now (this was before they were built). We moved from there to a woods view room because I couldn't sleep with the noise from the buses (I am a very light sleeper, LOL). The next 2 trips we booked a courtyard room and both times we had views of the pool and off in the distance the MK. We could see Wishes from our room both times.

We the WL and you will have a fabulous time no matter where your room is.

 

[marlower]

I am also planning on staying at WL due to the close proximity to MK, where I think we will spend most of our time. However, I would like to take a taxi to AK for convenience, since we have a 2 year-old. Does anyone know how much the taxi's cost?

I just checked on mearstransportation.com and they have a taxi estimator. This is what I found:
WL to Typhoon Lagoon approx. $12
WL to DTD approx $12
WL to AK approx $18
WL to MGM approx $17

Hope that helps, that taxi estimator is a pretty neat thing, you just need the addresses of the locations you start and end with. Anyone know how the taxi service is,I mean, how far in advance do I need to call for one?

 

[ctjsowens]

I guess we must have just had a lot of luck last week with the transportation. Bus waits were very short for going to the parks and returning and also the boats seemed to always pull up within 5 min or so of waiting. Saw no problems what so ever. Now when we stayed at the PO Riverside back in 01 they had issues with the buses. We waited for more than 45 min for a bus on several occasions so we finally gave up and drove.

 

[Debby]

We love the themeing of the resort - but hated the WL pool.
If we do not swim - it would have been a great resort for us.
we loved the boat to MK

Why didn't you like the pool? We will be staying at the WL for the first time Aug 26-31 and are looking forward to the pool. Anything I should know??

 

[Pig Pen]

Why didn't you like the pool? We will be staying at the WL for the first time Aug 26-31 and are looking forward to the pool. Anything I should know??

The pool at WL is fine. It has a nice slide, a kids area, and a couple of spas. However, compared to the absolutely FABULOUS pool at BC, it can be a let-down. BC has a "lazy river" component, a sandy bottom, and feels like a beachy cove. It was absolutely packed when I was there so I didn't enjoy it so much.

 

[byoung]

We enjoyed it there.

 

[DBH]

Can you please tell me if this was a standard view, wood view or a courtyard view room? We are upgrading from a moderate to the Wilderness Lodge and, because it's a $1,000.00 jump, we've booked a standard view.

Thanks, Lisa

We stayed in a standard room overlooking the service area on the 6th floor. We had a great view of the monorail and the fireworks each night. Request a room facing the MK.

 

[Tink6666]

Why didn't you like the pool? We will be staying at the WL for the first time Aug 26-31 and are looking forward to the pool. Anything I should know??

We are staying at WL 08-26-07 to 09-01-07 also. We stayed at WL in Aug 2004 aldo. We really liked the ease of the transportation and did not feel we had long waits.

As for the pool...It has one slide which is "okay" according to my DD13. Nothing great and wonderful. It's a basic pool with a fancier looking slide. We spent very little time at the pool so it wasn't a big deal. You will find it closes most afternoons during the thunder / rain storms.