Just back from WL

[rileyroosmom]

Just returned from a 7 night stay at WL (5/11-5/14). It was a beautiful resort and we all loved it. I did not think the room was too small. We had a queen and bunk beds. I was upgraded to a courtyard view, without asking. We received 5 towel animals which was a lot of fun to get! The kids fought over who got into the room first to see what was left. We ate at Whispering Canyon 2 times, this was a lot of fun!! The only negative thing I could think of was the size of the pool. I thought it was on the small side and chairs were hard to come by. All in all, it was a fabulous trip.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

[QJ411]

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great time, I can't wait to go back!!!

How was the weather? And the crowds?

 

[slimplaw]

Glad you had a good time. WL is our favorite resort. The pool does seem small, but I'm not sure if it is smaller than the Poly or Contemporary pool. When WL opened, you could also swim in Bay Lake and that was discontinued sometime in the past 10 years.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

When the large pool feels crowed, we head over to Hidden Springs Pool next to the Villas, we have actually been the only guest swimming there before.

 

[rileyroosmom]

Weather was hot 88 -89 everyday. Very light crowds except on Friday at MGM due to Star Wars Weekend. People were swimming in the lake, in front of the No Swimming sign! Even the quiet pool had a lot of people. It wasn't terrible, I was just surprised.

 

[fam4jc]

Hi! We are going to WL on June 6! Whispering Canyon sounds like a hoot! This is our first trip to WL. We have 2dd's 5 & 7. What should we NOT miss at the lodge for them? and are there towels at the pool? How was the transportation to and from AK, MGM & Epcot? I've heard various reports on that. Sorry I have so many questions!!

 

[NJFabFour]

We took 2 5 year olds last year to WL. They loved the Cubs' Den, where they have arts and crafts each afternoon. They even spent an evening there while we went to dinner and they had a ball! The woman working there was very nice. They also loved going over to Ft. Wilderness Campground one night for the campfire and singalong with Chip + Dale. And the Electrical Water Parade is a MUST! It goes by the lodge each night. Have fun!

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Glad you had a good time! Can't wait to go there myself in.....

Allison

 

[aesalsa]

Thanks for your report, rileyroosmom! We will be staying there in October, our first stay there!

 

[Peylog]

Hello,

We just got back last week, we stayed 7 nights at WL, we have a 4 yrs old and 6 yr old, they enjoyed the duck races at 3pm at the pool, Cubs den daily activities, and one night there and at the Neverland Club ( Poly Resort). Also they have two tours daily of tthe WL fun resort. Flag Family might be something you and kids would be interested in. Also, renting the Sea rayes ( Little boats, the old water mice) and riding down to the Magic Kingdom or towards Fort Wilderness. Fort Wilderness had a petting zoo ( Free) and pony rides ( $3.00 per ride) and they get to pick which pony. and a playground. WL also has a play groung on the beach. Also Surrey bikes ETC. Transportation is fine, They even had a gentleman outside at the bus stops timing the buses, so obviously if there was a problem, they are trying to resolve it. Sorry I got excited just talking about it, Any questions, I will try my best to answer. Peylog Have a great trip!

 

[Peylog]

Next time I will proof read before I submit. Type O's Peylog

 

[Karl C]

We too loved staying at The Lodge.
It was my first visit too DisneyWorld and my family's first visit to any Disney park. They were overwhelmed at first site of the Lodge and it's lobby. Being used to only seeing hotel's with bla white brick wall's, gaudy neon "No Vacancy" sign's, security lights so bright it's like sleeping in a tanning bed along with lobby's no bigger then and about as attractive as a laundry mat, that when they saw a Bubbling Spring that feeds into a pool "inside" the caverness lobby The Lodge has...... They liked it.
One of the most memorable moments at The Wilderness Lodge was when we were enjoying the balcony view to what was then a eastward woods view, it's now the Villa's pool, when our 2 year old locked the 4 of us out leaving himself alone in the room.
He thought it was funny when we could not back get in until he figured out that he could not get out to us either.
20 minutes later it was obvious he could not figure out how the latch on the sliding door was going to work, so just as I literally started to get the attention of a passerby 4 stories below on the sidewalk, I heard, "Click" and our 2 year olds little family timeout was over.
It was a great trip. Do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[rob'n]

KarlC...OMgoodness!! Can so see that happening with my two y o!

In October, we are going for the kids first ever WDW trip! We will be 5 at the WL...2 adults and the kids will be 10, almost 7 and almost 3...were you guys ok in the room with 5?

I am so excited and they don't know a thing about it! We're just gonna pick them up from school and take them to the airport.

Thank goodness I have these boards to share my excitement...I am ready to burst!

THanks to everyone for sharing your experiences!

 

[rileyroosmom]

fam4jc - I think the things not to miss would be Whispering Canyon Cafe, the Duck Race at the pool at 3:00, riding the mouseboats or the surrey bikes. You can go to Wilderness Resort for petting zoo and campfires, but we never found the time. Yes, towels are at the pool they are plentiful, but I thought they were kinda small and rough, we had brought our own from home. The transportation was fine. My husband timed it and the longest we waited for a bus was 13 minutes. When tired, hot and wanting to leave a park, that 13 minutes took forever!! You share a bus with GF for AK and DDD and Wilderness Resort for the others. WL is the first drop off and pick up which helps a lot. Also, when leaving the park, WL's bus stop is close to the exits, not a lot of extra walking.

Rob'n - My kids are the same ages as yours. I thought the room was plenty big enough. My 10 + 7 shared the top bunk, My 3 yr old, who turned 3 on the trip, had the bottom. We had a queen. We all fit fine. Watch your little one, we had a 1st floor room and she chased a duck, my DH turned his back and she was gone! She was lost for a good 45min - 1 hr. The whole resort was looking for her. She wandered into another 1st floor room. It was a scary experience. The wildlife is so tame, the little ones get very caught up with them. One day the kiddie pool was closed because a mother duck was teaching her babies to swim! A few ducks also jumped into the big pool on a few occassions. Kinda gross, but also very cute!

 

[SpeechGuy]

......we are staying at the Lodge this December (our first on-site Disney stay). I am a big coffe drinker and have heard that Disney coffee is pretty bad. Can you comment on the coffee at the Lodge. I was thinking about bringing my own coffee and asking for a coffee-maker when we check-in. Where was your room located? Would you recommend this location? We were thinking about requesting a room in the lobby area. Thanks for any info. you can share.

 

[ScarlettO]

Pool hopping question....is it OK for folks staying at WL to use the WLVillas pool?


Is there a hot tub there also?The one at WL is always PACKED!!!

 

[rileyroosmom]

SpeechGuy - I am not a coffee drinker but my husband is and he said the coffee was awful. I told him we could ask for a coffee maker for our room but he said that coffee would be bad also. Bringing your own might be the best bet. As for room location, we were very happy with it. It was room 1156. Located on I think the cottontail trail or something like that. It was great for it's location to the pools. Across from the quiet pool and around the corner from the big one. We never went through the building to come and go to them, just out the patio door. The way the resort is set up, it's kinda out of the way from the lobby but not a terrible walk at all. I perfer that room then one that faced inside the lobby. Hope that helps, have fun on your trip you'll love the lodge!

 

[rileyroosmom]

ScarlettO - I THINK you can share the Villa's pools. We never did that. Yes, the hot tub is always packed, but the one at the quiet pool was much more manageable. The quiet pool is also about 10 degrees warmer than the big one.

 

[hepcat620]

Wow, this thread is making me impatient to go to the WL, which we are on 6/26. (second time there). Didn't know about the duck races - will have to check it out.

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by ScarlettO
Pool hopping question....is it OK for folks staying at WL to use the WLVillas pool?


Is there a hot tub there also?The one at WL is always PACKED!!!

Yes, the WL & WLV share all pools & amenities. We often used the quiet pool.

There are 3 hot tubs. 2 near the main pool and one near the quiet pool.