Just back from WL - GREAT!

[DisneyAllison]

Also Thursday, July 12 around lunchtime

 

[DisneyAllison]

Thursday, July 12 - leaving MK for our afternoon break & nap.

 

[NHWDFan]

And I miss it sooo much already! We were there this past week as well, just around the corner from Disney Allison from the looks of it - room 3119. It was a perfect location for us. We faced the inner courtyard and could sit out in the evenings and listen to the stream flowing below us. Heavenly!!!

We've stayed off property and last year at the Beach Club but this was by far THE best property ever. I'm going to attempt a trip report as soon as I get through the kajillion piles of laundry that followed us home, but I'll try to take a stab at some of the questions -

1. Roaring Forks - Didn't eat there in the A.M., but every other time was great. They had a good selection of both healthy and typical fast food. We did the refillable mugs and they were such a value. We're soda-holics and it definitely worked out for us!

2. The pool, yep used it daily. It was typical FL summer weather so while the water wasn't what I would call cool, it was refreshing. For us it was a nice change from Stormalong Bay at the BC. We loved SB, but I liked that I could grab a chair and still see my hubby and son. A great pool but not so massive that you get lost. The villas pool was also a short walk around the building and nice as well.

3. Beds - we had two queens and they were so comfortable. The room was immaculate and perfect for the three of us. Again, I really preferred it over the BC.

I didn't think the crowd-level at the parks was that overwhelming, but then again we always go at this time of the year so perhaps we're used to it.

One thing we did do that was fun was to rent a couple of the sea-raycer boats and zip around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon one afternoon. I booked through AAA and got a coupon to rent them for 90 minutes for the price of a 60 minute rental. My DS who is ten LOVED this!

Again, I adore this resort! Everything was as close to perfect as you could get. I'm not a big outdoors person and was a bit hesitent to stay here, but after this week I can't imagine going anywhere else.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer too!

-kristy

I'm glad you had a great trip . I was wondering how do you book the sea-raycer through AAA? Lori

 

[DisneyAllison]

Kellye,
The refrigerators are definitely not huge, but will fit a few drinks at a time. We put water, yogurt, and cheese in ours. (The yogurt & cheese were snacks for DD). I dont know how well a bottle of wine would fit in there unless it was a small one. I did notice that Roaring Forks sold small wine bottles. I am attaching a link to a picture of a WL refrigerator from allears.net. I hope it works!

http://www.allears.net/acc/wl178.jpg


Lisa,
My DH used the same sea raycer coupon - I think it comes with all packages regardless of whether you book yourself, through AAA , or a TA. If you have a package, you should get one too. It came with all of my confirmation papers I got in the mail when I paid my balance in full 45 days out.
BTW, I think you can use the coupon for up to 4 or 5 people in your party & get the same discount.

 

[trekker93]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! You were lucky that it wasn't over 100 degrees every day like we hit a number of years ago. I hope you took alot of pictures with your 3 year old - they'll be precious in years to come!

 

[richard_andmel]

Thanks for sharing. We are getting so excited about our October trip. We have eaten at the WL many times, but never stayed there. Looking forward to reading your trip report!

 

[Bibbidi]

I can't believe how small those crowds are on July 12th. It's not what I'd even call a crowd. We were at "the world" back in late May and at lunchtime there was a lot more action in all the parks than in your pictures. I'm beginning to think that just after the 4th might be a great time to go. Value Season at Deluxe, and possibly lighter crowds than in May. Hmm.

Your pictures are great by the way. We've stayed at WL 2x in the past and are planning our next trip back there next summer. We stayed at CR and BC this trip. While the CR was fabulous, the BC failed to impress. So glad to hear that WL is still as good as ever. Thanks for your comments!

 

[Liz]

Thanks so much for posting! We are staying at the WL for the first time in a few months! After reading your post I edited our itinerary to note that on the day we go to AK we should drive instead of taking the bus. On the bus to Epcot and MGM, I'm assuming those are a direct route and it doesn't share with another resort?

Thanks again!

 

[Liz]

One thing we did do that was fun was to rent a couple of the sea-raycer boats and zip around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon one afternoon. I booked through AAA and got a coupon to rent them for 90 minutes for the price of a 60 minute rental. My DS who is ten LOVED this!

Do you (or anyone else) happen to know the hours the marina is open to rent the sea racers?

Thanks!

 

[DisneyAllison]

Liz,

The MGM and Epcot busses are a more direct route. We shared with Ft. Wildereness on those routes a few times , but WL was the last stop so it did not cause us any delay at all.

I cannot remember how early the marina opened each morning (9:00, maybe?), but it closed at 5:00.

 

[momtoccc]

Allison

Thanks for the pictures! (and the info on the refrigerator)... I'll have to get a bottle of wine in there somehow Yogurt is another good idea.

I'm so excited to go!! Only 107 days - sigh

 

[Tink3Belle]

Thanks for the great report WL is on my list to try along with the AK - always planning the next one.

 

[Liz]

Liz,

The MGM and Epcot busses are a more direct route. We shared with Ft. Wildereness on those routes a few times , but WL was the last stop so it did not cause us any delay at all.

I cannot remember how early the marina opened each morning (9:00, maybe?), but it closed at 5:00.

Thank you! Did you ever find the buses show up and they were already full since WL was the last stop? I wonder why they share a bus to AK with GF but not to the other parks. Love your pictures like everyone else! Thanks again!

 

[Clutterbug]

Thanks for sharing! Your information and pictures are making me very excited for December.

 

[DisneyAllison]

Liz,
The Epcot and MGM busses were never crowded.Everyone had a seat every time I was those routes. If you have extra time to play with, and get bored with the buses, you could always catch the boat to the Contemporary and get off at the Ticket & Transportation Center and ride the monorail to Epcot, or catch a bus there at the T&TC to MGM.

On one bus ride to Epcot, it was just DD and I on the bus. That was a first!!

 

[Kristybell]

The sea raycers we rented sure zipped around pretty quick! They had a stick shift that allowed you to control how fast/slow your boat went. Trust me, when you jammed that puppy to the floor it took off!

I booked my entire package through AAA and got a coupon for the discounted rate when I received my confirmations about two weeks prior to the trip. I just gave them the coupon at the Wilderness Lodge marina when we rented. We didn't have a reservation but had no problems getting two boats that day.

I thought the bus service to all the parks was pretty good as well. There were a few stops on the DD and AK busses that made the trip a bit longer, but it really wasn't that bad. For me it was a treat to not have to worry about driving for a week!

If anyone has any doubts about WL, don't! It truly was an amazing experience!

-kristy

 

[marlower]

We returned from 6 AWESOME nights at the WL yesterday. We were there July 8-14. We were in room 3107. We were the first room on the South Wing on the left as you round the corner from the lobby. I requested a room near the waterfall, so this was an ideal room for us. We have a 3 year old, so this location was really nice for 2 reasons: 1) We were within very short walking distance to the lobby; and 2) We were NOT looking over the pool that can be noisy during nap time, and it was nice not having to explain every time we went out to enjoy the balcony that no, we could not swim right then. It was also really nice being close to the waterfall because there were several cute bunnies and ducks that walked close by to our balcony. DD loved that!
This was DD's 1st trip to WDW and the Lodge. She LOVED the Lodge!! This was DH and my 3rd time staying at the Lodge, and it was wonderful as usual. You just can't beat the atmosphere!

TRANSPORTATION
We had an overall very positive experience with trasportation. I learned that there is also a bus that takes you to MK. We never took the bus to MK as we prefer the boat ride; but it was nice to know that there was a bus there also if we needed it. The bus rides to Epcot and MGM were very smooth. We did not visit Downtown Disney this trip, so I cannot report on those busses.
The only headache we had was on the bus ride to Animal Kingdom We shared a bus with the Grand Floridian , and that same bus went to Blizzard Beach also. 1) That was a very LONG trip, and also a very CROWDED trip. We were already packed in like sardines by the time we picked up the group from the Grand Floridian, and then when we arrived at Blizzard Beach, the bus driver told us to squeeze in more, because the bus capacity could hold 30 MORE people . That was a pretty crazy trip. The ride back from AK was not much better. We only went to AK once, thank goodness! In regards to the busses, one other neat thing I noticed was that there was a Disney attendant at the WL bus depot on several occasions with a stop watch taking notes. To me that suggested that they were trying to make sure things kept running smoothly.

DINING PLAN
Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the Dining Plan. It was so convenient, and we were never hungry. It worked out nicely with the choice of restaurants we chose. It definitely saved us alot of money. We had 9 snack credits left over on the last day, so we used those on several tasty treats for the drive home. The only thing that I was slightly dissapointed in was the kid's food offerings - alot of monotony. However, this was not a huge deal for us, b/c DD ate part of our meals as well. We will DEFINITELY use the Dining Plan again when we return.


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS / THOUGHTS
- 3 year olds don't have a great deal of patience waiting in line , and can definitely get "stuck" on certain rides - i.e. wanting to ride the same ride OVER and OVER
-Daily naps are a must with little ones!!
-I found out that if we were flying that we could NOT have brought any of the cute Mickey cups (with fluid inside) OR any snowglobes in our carry-on bag Just wanted to pass that along to those of you who fly.
- It is VERY hot in July!!
-I miss it very much already , and can't wait to go back!

Thanks for the great report. We will be staying at Wl from Aug 14-18 having been moved from AKL. Can you tell me how long the boat ride was from WL to MK, I want to make sure I am at Mk for rope drop and am afraid that I will be late with the boat, do you know what time the buses start running to MK and where do they drop off at MK when getting off the bus.

Would you recommend taking a taxi form WL to AK, does anyone know how much that would cost. I am wondering if I should just rent a car since we will be going to AK, DTD and BB.

Thanks for your help