Just back from WL concierge

minnie my my

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Messages
230
Hi everyone,

We just returned from a four night stay at the WL concierge level. There were things we liked and disliked about this resort. We decided that we will not return to the WL. I realize that a lot of people love this resort. I can see why too. It is beautiful with a nice atmosphere. However, it just was not our cup of tea. Thank goodness we all have different preferences so we can find rooms in our resort of choice.

The good:

The CM's were very nice, accomodating, and helpful. We arrived at the security gate and told them our name and that we were checking in. The security gaurd told us to go on up. When we arrived we were greeted by a bellman that said he was checking to see if our room was ready because we were concierge guest and someone from concierge was on her way down. I was impressed with this. I never had to tell anyone except for the security officer our name. She called in that we had arrived and the type of car we were in. The Polynesian concierge is our favorite and this is one little extra we have never experienced there before.

The CM's in the lounge throughout the entire trip were wonderful. they were very helpful with priority seatings and arranging special extra's for my son's 4th birthday.

The resort was beatifully kept. The atmosphere very relaxing and I enjoyed the music. I am not the rustic type but did enjoy the atmosphere here. I had visited the WL before and decided that the surroundings were so beautiful that I would like to stay there some time.

The not so good:

For us the transportation was not good. Now that is not saying that the transportation was not organized well, for the most part. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. Once the bus driver saw us coming and actually waited on us. We were very grateful to him. We just do not like having to take the bus so much with a stroller. If you do not mind the busses or don't have strollers and lots of other things to carry around the busses may not be a bother. We have mostly stayed at the monorail resorts and have decided that we don't mind paying the extra money for the extra convenience. Especially since the two parks we spend most of time at are Epcot and the MK.

The boat transportation to MNSSHP was horrible. We waited an hour in line for a boat. That is the only time that we felt they were not as prepared as they could have been. One or two more boats running that route would have helped things out tremendously.

The offerings in the lounge were also a little dissapointing. We are used to having drinks out all day at the Polynesian (even between the 4 services). This is not the case at the WL. We could ask for it and the CM's were always willing to get it for us. However, it is much more convenient to have it it already out, especially when your on the run. The breakfast offerings were also not as plentiful as we are used to. Bannanas were never to be seen even though they said they did get them and oatmeal was not offered. This is probably not an issue for many people but we happen to love both of those items and can get them at the Polynesian. The fruit is also left out all day at the Polynesian but not at the WL.

The last thing I noticed was the mousekeeping. It was not horrible by any means. I am a germ freak and did not feel dirty in the room. That is saying a lot coming from me. However, I did not feel that it was kept as clean as the other deluxes we have stayed at. This was noticeable the entire stay. The biggest problem I had was that the carpet was not clean at all. You could walk on it and your feet turn a bit black. There were some spots on the carpet that were even sticky where something had obviously been spilled. This was noticable from day one so I know it was there before we got there. We could put on flip flops and not worry about it though.

So, the reasons we have choosen not to go back are really more because of personal preferences than a lack of service, except for mousekeeping factoring in a little.

I can see how many people love the resort. It is beautiful and the cm's were great. It just does not meet our needs. Transportation was the biggest issue for us. We much prefer the monorail.

It still was Disney though and Disney is always a wonderful place to be.
 
I agree. We stayed there a couple of years ago at Xmas time. It was beautiful, but as, minnie my my, said it was a bit too rustic for my taste. I like things bright and shinny and WL is to rustic and dark for my liking.

When we arrive and got our hotel key we had a big surprise. It was in the evening and we were tired from walking the parks all day. We had two small very tired children with us. When we opened the door to the room, someone else was in the room. Thankfully they were out of the room, but all of their stuff was in the room. We went down to the front desk and tried to convince them that someone else was in that room. The cm at that time kept telling me it was a empty room. I finally got mad and told her to go up and look for herself. Then with attitude she agreed to give us another room. It was a great room right close to the elevator, as I pointed out to her and asked her why I would not want it and take a chance on getting another room at the end of the hallway. Well we finally got a room and settled in.

We had no more problems after that. In fact the next night when we arrived back there was a big beautiful fruit basket waiting for us, from the hotel. I like going over and looking at the everthing there, but not to stay.
 
Minnie:

Thanks for a great report on the Wilderness Lodge. We are going there next year for the first time. I appreciate the pros and the cons. I also realize that there are different resorts for different people. It's nice that Walt Disney World can provide something for all of us. I thought you did a great job of expressing your "negatives" in a positive way. Everyone has their own opinions, and you posted yours in a way that wouldn't offend anyone!

:)
 
Originally posted by blondemom
Minnie:

Thanks for a great report on the Wilderness Lodge. We are going there next year for the first time. I appreciate the pros and the cons. I also realize that there are different resorts for different people. It's nice that Walt Disney World can provide something for all of us. I thought you did a great job of expressing your "negatives" in a positive way. Everyone has their own opinions, and you posted yours in a way that wouldn't offend anyone!

:)

ITA!

Thanks for the honest WL report....esp the concierge details!::yes::
 

I also appreciate your comments! I have never stayed at the Poly, nor have I stayed concierge anywhere, so I can see where you may be used to one type of thing.

I have always boasted about the transportation at WL. I love to boat ride to MK, and I loved taking it to the CR and riding the monorail from there. I have never taken a bus from WL. To me, it seems like taking a bus from ANY resort would stink, but maybe I am spoiled...we are staying at AKL for the first time this next trip so we will have to take a bus if we don't want to drive!!!

The carpet thing was GROSS! I do not balme you for getting grossed out on that!!!

Thanks for your review!
 
We are huge WL fans. But I have to say that when someone takes the time to write a thoughtful post, like you just did, well all I can say is Thank You!

I am a big proponent of pros AND cons. :wave:
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate your kind words. I am glad that we tried the WL. It is nice to know what it is like. We still had a good time at Disney and it's fun to try new resorts. We now know that the Polynesian and Grand Floridian are still our favorites. That will leave one extra room for those of you who do enjoy and plan on staying at the WL in the future.

Myra
 
Great post! It's nice when people can state that they didn't like a resort and give reasons as to why.

We also weren't bowled over with the WL. it was nice, service was OK, but there are so many other WDW resorts taht we've liked so much more, I'm not sure we'll return there.

Anne
 
I also like to hear the pros and cons. No resort is perfect and we all have likes/dislikes. Thanks for the report.

We end up taking the WL transportation only about half the time. We prefer to drive. Except for going to the MK, driving is so much quicker and parking is free. We had a stroller also. It was much easier just driving. I know some don't want to do this, but we just like being more in control of our transportation needs.

Glad you had a nice trip.
 
Originally posted by Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc
I also like to hear the pros and cons. No resort is perfect and we all have likes/dislikes. Thanks for the report.

We end up taking the WL transportation only about half the time. We prefer to drive. Except for going to the MK, driving is so much quicker and parking is free. We had a stroller also. It was much easier just driving. I know some don't want to do this, but we just like being more in control of our transportation needs.

Glad you had a nice trip.

We do the exact same thing; drive to everywhere but MK.

Sometimes we will take the boat to Cont and then the monorail to Poly or GF for a bite to eat.
 


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