NEW Wilderness Lodge FAQ!!

[Mom2Em]

1. Does WL have VCR's ?

2. Has anyone, not concierge, requested turn down service? Just wondered how it worked?

Thanks!

 

[Razed]

Hi everyone!

I am very excited about my upcoming trip to WL. It will be the first time I will be staying at a Deluxe Resort (with a courtyard view nonetheless!!)(Been going to disney since I was 4 -notice I left out how old I am... lol). I am going with both my lovely mom and my wonderful girlfriend. (I am going to be scoping out areas at WDW to propose to my girlfriend by next year)<--shhh done say anything..hehe . I have been planning this trip for a very long time. I have heard very wonderful things about the WL. Even going as far as reading every page on this thread. (my eyes are so tired.)

I wanted to express my appreciation to 999ghts for the time taken to answer so many questions. I hate to add on to the many questions already asked, but I was wondering, is it considered rude to "sweetly" ask for an upgrade(concierge maybe?)? I do not want to seem imposing, I am just happy I am there! The other question I have, is I want to wake up early in the morning and have a cup of joe on the balcony and look out at the view(lake hopefully). What room is recommended to realistically do this? I asked for a non-smoking room through CRO, which I guess would X out the 5th floor. Should I ask for a lobby room?.. what is your opinion? Thank you in advance!!

 

[Chance's Mom]

I hope my son is still going to the WL with me when he is old enough to propose--that is very nice!

There are many, many places to sit and soak in the view at the lodge. My family sleeps a little later than I do. We had a standard view room that overlooked the lobby. I would go down to Roaring Forks and get my coffee (buy the refillable mug!) and find an interesting place. One morning I sat on a porch that is on the fouth floor, backside of the lobby "square". I could see the sun coming up over the lake. If the weather doesn't cooperate, there is also a sitting area on the fourth floor that has a fireplace that is always on and a couch and chair. There are also rocking chairs placed throughout the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors that overlook the lobby. The lobby itself also offers many comfortable places to sit.
It doesn't really matter which room view you have, there are many, many different places to enjoy the beauty of the lodge and its surroundings.

 

[dandave]

duck_adoo, Thanks for the tip on the WL entrance! Every tip helps!

I'm getting so excited (nervous) about my "sisters" trip. It's only a couple of days away. I have only taken a day trip to Savannah, Ga with these two sisters (I have three), before as an adult. Of course we went on family trips when we were little, but this is different. I don't know why I'm so anxious, but I just want everything to go well, i.e. no one gets lost, no one gets in an accident on I-95, no one gets sick, etc. By the time I leave I'll have no fingernails left...

 

[duck_adoo]

Hi there,
Just thought I'd let you know, I've posted day 1 & 2 trip reports at trip report board.
Duck-who is still doing laundry and unpacking !

 

[ColetteN]

First, My prayers are with you 999ghosts that your family problems are resolved quickly and happily.

Well the family (DH, DD(4), DNephew(6) and myself)stayed at WL Aug 2 thru Aug 7. Sorry to wait so long to post. I was partially putting it off, knowing I'd be sad that the vacation was over. I did finally find some quiet time to log on and there are a few questions I can answer. Here's my mini reveiw though....

***We arrived around 1pm, no line for checkin. Our CM was Kathy and was wonderful. Our room wasn't ready though (no biggie). We were given a card to call back after 3. We did a few times, but the room wasn't ready until almost 4:30. Each time we called they offered to find us a room, but I refused, saying we had a request & we'd wait for the room. We got EXACTLY what we requested.....Lobby View, Bunk Beds - Room 4097. It was fabulous - Chance's mom, I loved waking up to the lobby sounds too. Numerous times I'd sit on the rocking chairs on the 4th floor waiting for the family. It was great.

***We at lunch at WCC one day. It was a nice restaurant. The bottomless milkshake was a big hit. Roaring forks was good for the quick breakfast or snack item. We bought 2 mugs and used them daily (no bar codes, but a sign saying length of stay - just fyi).

***We were flag family on our last day...8/7. We were given a letter the evening before telling us to be in the lobby at 8:15 am. It was really raining, so we had to wait until about 8:45 before Ranger Stan could take us on the roof. The view and experience were absolutely fabulous. I can't describe it. We have a nice certificate saying the day and stuff that we had the honor to be the flag family. Ranger Stan took some pictures of all of us together and told us wonderful lore about the lodge.

***Transportation wasn't really a big issue for us. The boat only irritated me once when leaving MK about 2pm - we went to Ft Wilderness and no one got off or on, then went on to WL. That particular ride took about 25 minutes (the driver was going much slower than all the other ones had). I think I was just cranky and wanted my nap!!!. We didn't rent a car, so we relied on the busses for everywhere else. We had a nack for arriving at the stop just as the bus we wanted was pulling away, but we never waited more than 10 minutes for the next one (I actually timed it so I could report to everyone!).

***Sorry to say, I forgot my green ribbon, but looked diligently for them and saw none. Even though I knew there would be some people around.

***Our housekeeper was Juventina. She left the kids towel animals, flowers with our toiletries and boats daily - they loved them. We didn't request turn down service, but she left our beds turned down every day after straightening them. Our room was immaculately clean. There was one spot of wallpaper peeling in the bathroom, but I didn't notice - my DD found it!!!.

***My DD & DNephew loved the pool. The slide was DN's favorite. My DD loved that the shallow 3 foot end she could stand alone in. We took a daily afternoon swim for about an hour, usually sometime between 2 & 4, and never found it crowded. I loved the pool games and the duck races. We swam every evening also, and it was never crowded between 10pm & midnight.

Well, I'm actually tearing up here, knowing the vacation is over. We're not due to go back for 3 years (when my DS will be 4 - I think the extended family will be joining us!!!), so it's really sad to me. My DH is a runner, so I'm trying to get him to enroll in the 1/2 marathon or the marathon for January 2004, to get a mini trip for the 2 of us.

To repeat a previous post...the lodge is a bit smaller than some of the other resorts - it's all connected to the lobby. This is one of the things that made it our favorite resort & will probably be the one we stay at for future visits.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away or PM.

Again, thanks so much Kimmar for starting this wonderful thread, for 999ghosts never ending knowledge and advice and for all the people posting their knowledge and experience. It was enormously helpful in planning my stay at WL. My DH was thouroughly impressed at my WL knowledge and the things we did that he would never have known about.

Colette

 

[duck_adoo]

Glad you had such a great time. We did too. I just loved it there.We were at the pool very often. The girls loved it and the slide. We were probably there at the same time and didn't know it! Girls were either on the slide or playing Marco Polo near the bridge and hot tubs. Loved the hot tubs. One other question...how did you get to those sitting areas? I saw steps in the lobby but couldn't find where they began? There were steps back by WC, but there were closed glass doors at the top, so I thought they were closed off?
Duck

 

[Razed]

I hope all is well 999ghts, I just realized I skipped a page during my thread reading in which you posted that you would be gone.

Chance's mom...My mom loves disney just as much as I do. How could I not take her with me? I am really looking forward to this trip(as is my girlfriend!).. I am hoping in sept, the weather will co-operate.. and I can wake up to a lovely post card like sunrise. *giggling with excitement*... whoa.. where did that come from?..

 

[Bear Necessities]

Originally posted by dandave
[
I'm getting so excited (nervous) about my "sisters" trip. It's only a couple of days away. I have only taken a day trip to Savannah, Ga with these two sisters (I have three), before as an adult. Of course we went on family trips when we were little, but this is different. I don't know why I'm so anxious, but I just want everything to go well, i.e. no one gets lost, no one gets in an accident on I-95, no one gets sick, etc. By the time I leave I'll have no fingernails left... [/B]

Dandave,

Just wanted to let you know that you must be a very sweet guy to do this for your sisters. They are very lucky to have you!! My DH even commented how nice it was that you are doing this with them. Hope all goes well andyou have a great time.

 

[Chance's Mom]

No doubt, we were probably at the pools at the same time!

The glass doors that you saw by Whispering Canyon lead to the fourth floor. I think they are kind of like a noise buffer. The sitting area was directly above this. You had to go through the glass doors and then up another short flight of stairs. Our room was right at the top of these stairs. Just around the corner is the sitting area. We could walk out of our room and look directly at WCC. Also, there is a neat outside balcony in this area. There is a door that leads to the balcony that is over the front entrance. No chairs or anything, but a fun view. I loved it that the fireplaces were going in Aug. You just felt like you were in a different world!

Sounds like you had a great view of the FWorks! How exciting that your girls got to ride with Pooh! We saw Aladdin and Genie riding Magic Carpets one morning-very cute!


Sounds like ColletteN was in the exact same location, just a few doors down!

 

[kimmar067]

...so glad to "hear" that you had a terrific time!! We MUST have been sitting near each other at the pool!! I, too, had requested to be a "flag family", but the next available day was for AUG 5, and we were leaving on the 4th....my sister's family DID get picked, however, for 8/3; she said it was an amazing experience. If you remember a bunch of CRAZED guests over near the volleyball net at the beach playing a SERIOUS game of volleyball, that was part of our "crew".......(that would have been on Friday, August 2)

Now, since, we have all been posting since the fledgling days of this thread, I propose that we start an "unofficial" WL Vet Club (for all "veterans", who are now "semi-experts" of the WL! ) for those who enjoyed their stay, have somewhat reasonable amount of WL knowledge, and who could DEFINITELY declare WL as their resort-of choice....just add "WL VET" to your siggie!

 

[Chance's Mom]

I like it!

 

[aring75]

Just look at my counter, kimmar!!


I'll be a WL VET soon!!!!

 

[dandave]

Bear Necessities, Hi and thank you! That's very kind of you to say! I'm a female, though. Dan and Dave are my boys.
We have been places together other than our one day trip, just not without spouses (or boyfriends) and children. This will only be the second time that it was just the three of us. I am so looking forward to this! And, yes, feeling guilty that the boys aren't coming. Not too, too, guilty though!

 

[pennyplanner]

Colette N,

You mentioned that when you arrived at 1, your room was not ready. Did they assign you your room # at that time?

I was interested that your room was not ready until 4:30 and you refused the offer of finding another room. I have only been to WL once and our room was ready when we arrived.

This November we will be arriving much earlier due to flight times. I was just wondering how all this works. Any info would be appreciated.


Thanks,
penny

 

[ColetteN]

Pennyplanner.... No they actually didn't assign a room number at checkin time. Here's the story....

When we checked in at 1, our room wasn't ready. The CM told me the 'official' check in time is 3pm & gave me a card with a # to call after 3 for our room. I was curious & asked her if a room was assigned or blocked - I explained I had a request and was curious if it was possible. She asked what I requested & I told her lobby view with bunk beds (we had a standard booked). She said that's what the ressie said & the room they blocked (4097) met those requirements, but she couldn't absolutely guarantee that room, because it hadn't been cleaned & inspected. She also informed me that it was the only room they had availaible to meet those requests that was open on our check-in day. She said she wasn't even supposed to tell me which room it was, because if there was a problem, they'd have to switch me. I understood and thanked her.

We called a little after 3 for our assignment (and again at 4 & 4:30) and each time the CM said no the room wasn't ready, but it's after 3, let me get you into a room. Each time I pollitely refused, stating that I'd like to wait for the original room to be finished, since it met our requests. The CM's were all nice about it & I was never bothered that the room wasn't ready - we were having too much fun exploring and checking things out. We even packed our swim stuff in our "carry-on" luggage so we could change & swim until our room was ready.

Hope this helps,
Colette (feeling a little less blue today about vacation being over!)

 

[AspiringCindy]

Just got back from WL Aug.4. We had bunkbeds and a crib in our room. The cribs are free and you even have a choice of a hospital-type metal crib or a pack-n-play crib(which worked out great for us).

 

[pennyplanner]

WL to Contemporary...


Just a few questions:

What time do the boats start running?

How long does it take to get from WL to CR?

Are there any other stops, ie. Fort Wilderness on this particular route?

Thanks all you wise and wonderful veterans out there!

--penny

 

[pennyplanner]

Thanks Colette N.

You learn soooooo much hanging around on these boards.

When we return from WL after Thanksgiving, I am bound and determined to write up all sorts of trip reports and restaurant reviews and of course all the details of our second WL stay. (Even with the Christmas holidays looming ahead of me!)

--penny

 

[Peteypan]

I'm not a very frequent member, but i just got back from the WL and thought that i would share mytrip report! We called the room assigner only the night beforte we arrived as we had no time beforehand...but they took our requests and when we arrived the next day we had a great room! it was standard on the 6th floor over the service area but every night we had a perfect view of the contemporary and the fireworks at night. Since the parks close so early (MK-10:00 MGM,EPCOT-9:00) we were able to get back in time to watch them almost every night! And there were absolutely no unsettling and (o)r disturbing noises coming from the service area while we were sleeping, most of the activity seemed to be in the morning! The lodge was so gorgeous...from the moment I arrived it felt like home! However the characters (only two of them) arrived only one morning of the week we were there so in my opinion the early mornings should be reinstated! Now on to transportation....I was so worried about this since many people said what a problem it was at the lodge...there was a guy down at the bus terminal who seemed like he was keeping track of when the buses were arriving and departing and would tell you when your park bus had left, which would give you an idea of when it would be back. Because the lodge shares with Fort Wilderness...plan on a half hour to 45 minute trek between pickinging them up and then getting to your final destination...and when the bus driver says direct FW stops are included. One afternoon, due to construction, we were on the road for an hour before we got back and when we finally got to FW to pick them up...there was no one to be picked up! You can't blame them for unforseen construction but needless to say we used our rental car the rest of the week which was 15 minutes or less to any park we went to! We did use the boat service several times which was very handy to get to and from MK. We never waited long for that. But if your taking it to the Contemporary at night make sure you get back by 9:00 or earlier as the boats stop a liitle before 10:00 and you will get stranded as we did! We had to hop a monarail to the ttc and take a bus which proceeded to again drop off FW people before us! Fw and the lodge are actually not that close to one another!Everything at Disney was just as we remembered it but if your not up to the challenge...do not get into pin trading it is incredibly addictive! O