Just Returned today from WL!

[4forDis]

Hi, We just got home from a wonderful 8 night stay at WL. It was our first time there and we all really loved it. It was DH, myself, DS (8), DD (3), DMIL and DFIL. It was my inlaw's first time at Disney and they had a ball. They tried everything and loved it.

We booked a standard room with a code for $211 / night. I made a few requests at time of booking. Non-smoking, bunk beds and connecting room with the in-laws. I did not follow up with a room request fax and decided to take a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. We were given a free upgrade to a courtyard view and all of our other requests were granted.

We were in rooms 2019 & 2021 overlooking the pool. The room location couldn't have been better. We were very close the Roaring Forks and to the boat docks. It was also a pretty short walk to the bus transportation. The only drawback to this room was the noise from the Electric Water Parade every night at 9:35. We put our kids to bed early and a few nights we were even in bed ourselves at that time and the music is so loud!

The service at the hotel was very good. Guest services was good, everyone very friendly in general. Mousekeeping did a nice job. We got towel bunnies, towel baskets for our hair brushes and a towel elephant.

I only have two comments. Check in seemed to take a very long time. We arrived at 8pm on a Sat. night. I only had two people in line in front of me and it took them over 20 minutes to get to me.

The other thing that bothered me a little was the long lines at the snack bar. It is such a small snack bar for such a large hotel. Every morning there were very long lines for the food and the cashiers. Maybe the system needs to be revamped a little.

All in all a Magical stay! I would be happy to answer any questions.
Denise

 

[sm4987]

Happy to see that you had a great safe trip and liked the Lodge. Like you I have a st. view room booked, and I am hoping for the upgrade to the courtyard view room. I would love the noise from the Electrical Water Parade. I think it would be cool. My kids don't fall asleep in Disney till 10 sometimes 11. They like the action to much. I hate to hear about the lines at the counter service as that might be what our family does most often.

 

[Elk34]

4 for dis

We were there the exact same times as you. We checked in last Saturday about 6:00 and walked straight up and checked in with no wait. I had already booked a courtyard view ($224) and asked for a concierge level upgrade. We got this for an extra $35 per night and it was well worth it. Our room that had been assigned to us on the 5th floor (5025) was perfect so we kept it and just added conceirge accesibilty to the room. So our keys allowed us to get to the 7th floor and we used the concierge for a couple PS's. The water parade never bothered us or woke anyone up. I think room 5021 would be perfect because you could see the waterfall a little better than we could. I don't know if it has bunk beds though and 5025 did and that worked out great for our 7 and 4 year old daughters.

The $35 concierge upgrade was a bargain. The continental breakfast alone made it worth it. No lines, nice pastries, fresh fruit, cereals, juice, coffee (to go cups and trays too). We also had lunch/dinner there a few days. At various times we had buffalo chili, tomato basil soup, shrimp in a soup thing with HUGE fresh shrimp and crustless pb&j sandwiches, fresh veggies/dip, grest cheeses and crackers every day. We had soft drinks and saran wrapped apples to take with us to the pool in the afternoon. Wine and desserts in the afternoon and cordials and more desserts at night. We never once went to the snack bar and never bought the all you can drink cup because we had all we wanted on 7. I only went to a vending machine once for a soft drink because it was after 10 o clock and 7 was closed. You can also see the MK firworks from the windows at the end of the hall on 7.

Yesterday morning we got to be Flag family. It was a lot of fun even though it was hazy/foggy and we couldn't see everything. We used the express checkout so no lines in the morning. It was a perfect trip.

If anyone has any questions please email me.

 

[kimmar067]

....you forgot the most important thing in your posts ~~ you have to add "WL VET" to your siggies!!!

 

[abt426]

I am staying at the WL in May and am wondering about transportaion to early breakfast PS and early entrance mornings. Do you know when the boats start to run to MK or the contemporary? Did you use the transportation system, and what did you think in general about it.
Thanks
Alena

 

[Elk34]

We went to every early entry day at each park. Thetransportation was the same as if it was regular hours. The first bussesfor AK, MGM, Epcot were at 7:30. On the MK day the boats started at 7:30. That got us to MK at 7:45 in time to get into EE.They worked great.

We had a PS for Ciderella breakfast on Saturday at 8:25. It was not an early entry day so the boat wasn't going to MK yet so we took the first bus (7:30) to TTC and then monorail to MK. We were there at 7:45 and then waited at the gate till they let everyone in at 8:00. The main street busses were at the gate if you wanted to ride them. We walked to the castle and got seated early at about 8:10. We took our time at the breakfast and the girls got all their signatures and photos. Our youngest who has her 4th birthday tomorrow was given a little chocolate birthday cake with white frosting and Mickey head shaped sprinkles and a certificate that some of the princesses signed too. We were out of the breakfast around 9:00 and went straight to Buzz and rode it 3 times before a line formed. The fairy godmother was downstairs when we came out but the line was too long so we went on to the park instead of waiting.

 

[DrKnow77]

How is transporation to other theme parks, like EPCOT, MGM, AK and DTD? Do you share a bus w/ Fort Wilderness? If so, does that make the busses crowded?

Thanks!

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

Glad to hear you had such a great time! We'd like to stay at WL for our next vacation and were wondering how the bunk beds/Queen worked out for you. Did the room seem tighter or was it ok?

Also, which was the quickest transportation the bus or the ferry?

We did the ferry ride over from MK one day to see how long it actually took . . .it took around 20 minutes . . .Not sure if I'd look forward to that on a daily basis . . .

 

[Elk34]

The boat ride worked really well. In the morning It would got staright to MK. In the evening it would go to WL first and then fort wilderness. Except Saturday the water parade was going on in front of WL so we went around the island to FW first and then back around the island to WL while the parade was heading to FW.

The bunk beds worked great. It kept the girls from sharing a bed and bothering each other at bedtime. There is about 2 feet between the bunkbed and the wall so you could push them up against the wall and give yourself more room between the beds if you wanted to. We didn't do that because we figured that was "dead" space anyway. We just put empty suitcases etc there. We never felt cramped at all.

The busses never stopped at Fort Wilderness but they always stopped at the Grand Floridian when we were going to the other resorts or parks ( non stop to TTC). We always thought that it was funny that the people who paid so much for their rooms at Grand Fla. always had to stand because they were picked up after WL. I know, sour grapes but still funny.

 

[catheren]

Thanks for the posting on the WL. What are the hours for concierge at the WL? Would you mind going into detail on what is served at breakfast, lunch and dinner, after dinner?

Was that 35 a night per person? or room?

Thanks, in advance!

 

[Elk34]

$35 per room.

7am-10pm

Continental breakfast: Kellogs cereal in individual boxes( grab and go if running late), pastries, breads, cut fruit, juice, milk, coffee ( to go cups available) , bottle water

Mid day: whole apples, oranges, cookies, brownies,dessert bars soft drinks, water, gummy worms in "dirt" ( crushed oreos)

Evening: Columbia Crest Merlot and Chardonay from Washington State (very good), soft drinks, juice pouches, "heavy" soup like buffalo chili or a shrimp stew thing with great shrimp and a regular soup like chicken or tomato basil. Sliced cheeses, cheese ball, crackers, sliced carrots and celery and peppers and ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Late: cookies, brownies, dessert bars, hot apple cobbler, 3 different wines and a half dozen after dinner liquers.

We ate breakfast there 6 of 8 days and had our dinner there 3 of 8 days and got dessert and wine etc every day.

If you can get the upgrade do it without thinking twice.

 

[4forDis]

DrKnow77, The bus transportation to DTD and Typhoon Lagoon is extremly long, almost 40 minutes. The bus first stops at FW, then DTD marketplace, DTD West Side, then on to Typhoon Lagoon.

We also had a bunk bed room and thought it was great. My in-laws had a room with 2 queens, and although the queen beds are larger and take up more space, the bunk bed room seemed smaller. It was also a little darker in the room becuase the light over the bunk beds is up high and smaller than the other light.

 

[Toddy1]

I have been staying at the Disney Deluxe Resorts since my daughter was 3 and I had never heard of the Cocierge rooms at the hotels (my daughter is now 10) until now. As I always do Disney on a budget (Florida Resident rates and splitting the cost of the room with my sister who brings her child), we bring a lot of food in coolers so that we don't have to buy three meals a day at Disney prices (ouch!). We eat one big meal a day at a WDW restaurant. The rest of the time, we eat food from the cooler, i.e., fruit, sandwiches with lunchmeat, cheeses, pastries, water, soda, chips, etc.).

We spend about $150 on food/drinks for the cooler to take on a three or four day visit. The $35/day sounds like it would be a good deal for us. We would not have to worry about hauling coolers up to our rooms, refilling them with ice daily, and emptying the water every time the ice melted.

Do you just ask for the Concierge services or must you get a special room on the Concierge level? Can you just add $35/day to the room that you have booked and go up to the Concierge level? As I am not very familiar with this service, could someone explain how to obtain it.

Thanks



P.S. What does PS mean?

 

[Elk34]

The 7th floor is entirely Concierge level. You slide your room key into the slot in the elevator and the 7th floor light comes on. You don't push the button. If you book a concierge room initially you will guarantee a concierge room and I think it will be much more than $35 a night more than a courtyard view room.

We didn't book concierge ahead but just asked for it at check in and were told it would be $35 extra. When the CM looked at the 7th floor rooms available we determined that we liked the 5th floor room location better(better view and bunkbeds). So we kept our original 5th floor courtyard view room and just added concierge to our room. Therefore if we wanted to go eat on the 7th floor we would put our room key in the elevator slot and if not we would just push 5 to go to our room. We also still could use the concierges for PS's etc. and hads nightly turn down.

So, we had an extra elevator ride if we were in our room and wanted to go to 7 but it was very easy to do as our 5th floor room was near the elevator and the elevator service is excellent.

If the concierge upgrade doesn't work I heard some resorts had refrigerator rental for $10 per day. That might be easier than the coolers/ice route.

 

[wilderness01]

We have never stayed on the 7th floor but I thought when we inquired we were told that the food there was meant to be for snacks only and not meals? Is the quantity put out always enough for everyone or is it like when you stay at a hotel that serves a continental breakfast? I am always afraid to let my kids take too much in case there isn't extra to put out everyone can have a taste. Just asking as we have no experience with this. Thanks.