NEW Wilderness Lodge FAQ!!

[shafke]

Originally posted by kimmar067
...you jama. How early will you and your family be up, since your plane lands at 10:30 AM? You will be probably be running out of steam by 8 or 9 that evening, so I'd take it easy. I would either make ressies for Chef Mickey's for that evening (around 7PM) and head back to WL to just enjoy the lodge, or even ressies for WCC so you are right there. Check out the Water Pageant at 9:35 and get to bed early. You will be well rested for the next day. If your little ones are really active (and anxious!) they will be up at the crack of dawn the next day, and there's nothing worse than trying to "do a park" with little or no sleep!!!

If you want another "1st day" idea, check out my posts on the "Trip Report" Board ("DAY ONE ~ THE MARINO'S INVADE...")with links to the other days....

I agree that you will be running out of steam. Out last trip we also landed at about 10:30, were checked in to the room, which was ready, by noon, and in the park by 1:00. We ended up having pizza in the room that night.

One thing to be aware of. If you are arriving on Saturday and if you only have one Saturday night stay you may only have the one chance to see Fireworks and spectro magic.

 

[NJPhyl]

What is spectro magic?

 

[WiscMomof2]

I accidentally posted this on a separate thread and was meaning to put it here....

Hi all, as our trip gets closer I'm starting to think of a bunch of little detail things. One thing I'm wondering is if you can buy autograph books and pens at the WL gift shop? We're doing Chef Mickeys on our first night and I want to make sure we have them for the characters to sign. Also, I'm thinking of requesting a standard room above the front desk. We're first time visitors, so I am totally clueless about the layout of the property. Are these rooms a long walk to things like the boat dock and/or pool area or would there be a better area to ask for? Less than two weeks to go now!! We're SO excited for this trip. I'm also really looking forward to watching the WL on the Travel Channel Monday. Maybe I'll get some good pointers there too.

 

[HumphreytheBear]

mivvers... the majority of the connecting rooms are a room with 2 queens connecting to a room with a queen and bunks. There are a few that are a queen and bunks connecting to a king but the king room would be a handicap accessible room (basically everything but the bathroom is the same, you would just not have a tub in that room). If you request bunks and connecting you will more that likely get the queen/bunk connecting to the 2 queens. They are all over the resort so it would depend on what category you have booked as to what the best rm #'s would be.

PattyT... Good question that does not get asked often and turns into drama later. The answer is NO. They do not provide any bed linens for the cribs, something about safety, etc... so bring them with you if you need the port-a-crib.

Christina78, I am so glad you had a great time. You were one room off from my favorite room 5032 (it has the same view without the service area) sounds like everythng went well.

ufalum... faxing after 4pm is usually best only because the AM R/A is usually bogged down with check outs and the PM R/A is usually dealing with check ins (since "official" check in is 3pm) so I usually find that around 4 or 5pm is when things start to slow down and they start on the room request for future arrivals. Honestly though if you are faxing it doesn't matter when you send it, if they are busy they will file it and the PM R/A will get it when they start blocking requests.

NJphyl... Spectro Magic is the night time light parade at MK. The original night parade was the Main Street Electrical Parade which is what most people are familiar with. Spectro is very similar and honestly unless you are a die hard Disney fan that has seen the parade a million times, most people don't even realize that they are not the same parade My personal opinion is that Spectro is better than ELP, but I guess that is just because I love the music...

WiscMomof2... Yes you can buy autograph books and pens at the Mercantile which is the gift store behind the front desk. As for the standard rooms the ones above the front desk are a great location. They are close to the buses, the pool, the restuarants. The boat to MK will be a bit of a distance, but it is the same from most of the rooms in the Lodge

 

[NJPhyl]

Humphreythebear -

What are the best standard rooms in your opinion? Also, do the ones above the front desk have anything the others don't?? Do the ones above the front desk have a balcony? Thank you!

 

[LoveMickey]

HumphreytheBear,

My question is about the clothesline in the tub area.

We requested a King Size bed room, will that shower area still have the clothes line to hang our wet bathing suits. I always bring clothes pins on our trip.

Thanks and welcome back.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Could someone please tell me how many Deluxe Rooms (Junior Suites) Wilderness Lodge has?

Thanks!

 

[pattyT]

HUmphrey the Bear-
Thank you!
I quess it wasn't such a dumb question after all - I better pack the sheet and blankie then!


So close --- yet so far....I can't wait look at the date! Whoowhoo!

 

[cheriesam]

pattyT--
Thanks for asking the question--I was able to pass the info on to my son and wife for their little one! And it looks like we leave at about the same time next Sunday! I'm just trying to keep the packing to a minimum! Have fun!

 

[HumphreytheBear]

NjPhyl... I personally think that the rooms on the 4th floor above the front desk or the rooms on the 6th floor over the service area are nice. All the rooms have balconies and the amenites and size of the rooms are all the same, it is just the view. From the rooms over the balcony you would be looking a the roof top and the others would obviously be looking at the service area. I say the 6th floor on the service area side as it is high enough that if you are in the room with the curtains open you will not see the service area (where on the 4th and 5th floor you still would). From those rooms you are also facing towards MK so you might be able to see MK and the fireworks, it is totally preference.


LoveMickey.. the last time I was in one it did have the clothesline in the shower area. I would assume they would all be the same, so I would say yes.

CaliforniaDreaming... Lets see there are 4 on the first floor, 5 on floors 2, 3, 4, and 5 and 1 on floor 6 so that makes 25 "Deluxe rooms"

 

[pattyT]

speaking of packing to a minimum-

What is a normal amount of luggage for 10 days for a family of 4 me, dh, dd-8, and ds-almost 2???

I am still days away and already have a ton of stuff packed! I am afraid DH is going to be crabby about my 'packing the whole house' as he calls it!

 

[gaegrand]

It is sad to read these posts today since I just returned on Friday from a wonderful stay at WL.

I can recommend connecting rooms 4161 and 4163. The balcony overlooks the pool area. You can see the geyser and the electrical boat parade.

I was worried about transportation but had no trouble at all. The rides on the bus gave me a chance to talk to other people and the boat ride to theMK was so relaxing.

 

[NJPhyl]

Hi Humphreythebear -

Thanks for your timely response to my questions. The 6th floor above the service area sounds o.k. because I really would like to be able to see the FW if possible. How would you word the request when I fax it? Thank you.

 

[doodle]

Hi WiscMomof2, What time is the WL going to be on the Travel Channel Mon.? I would like to tape it. Thanks!

 

[Mom2Em]

I'm not Wiscmomof2, but per the website, it will be on 12pm eastern...

 

[doodle]

Thanks a bunch! I'll set the VCR!

 

[cheriesam]

pattyT
You ask:

"What is a normal amount of luggage for 10 days for a family of 4 me, dh, dd-8, and ds-almost 2???"

It sure depends on what you want to do. : ) I would probably find myself taking enough for 5 days and then wash it all up one afternoon during pool time. That was when we had 4 kids and traveled 2-3 weeks at a time every year while they were growing up...all married now. Why are we so lazy now? Don't wash if we don't have to, but then, there are only 2 of us packing! We each have 2 check-ins and at least 1 carry-on (make that 2, on the return flight!)

 

[the Legend]

Hi Folks,

Just back today from our whirlwind tour which included -

- 4 nights at the WL Concierge level
- 4 nights at the AKL Savannah view
- 3 nights at the Universals RPR Water view
- 4 nights at the Grand Californian Downtown Disney View at Disneyland Resort.

Willing to answer any questions on these resorts but since this is the WL FAQ thread, please keep questions to the thread topic!

Yes! The TR is coming but for those of you needing to know answers now please ask! We were at the WL from Fri 9/20 to Tuesday 9/24.

 

[helenk]

The Legend,

Did you feel that the concierge level in the WL was worth the extra money. How your room? What type of view? Did you enjoy your stay?

 

[the Legend]

Originally posted by helenk
The Legend,

Did you feel that the concierge level in the WL was worth the extra money. How your room? What type of view? Did you enjoy your stay?

Hi HelenK,

Firstly, we originally booked Courtyard view but knowing the upgrade rate (thru this thread), we asked for Concierge when we checked in. We used a then excellent Fall AP rate to get our courtyard view ($662.00) for 4 nights and paid an extra $133.20 for Concierge.

Room details
Our room, 7054, is located on the northside of the WL. Our balcony had a direct view of Space Mountian and would be an excellent viewing platform for MK fireworks. Our room was over the delivery area however at no time were we inconvenienced by the beeping of trucks etc which has been mentioned in past messages. In terms of size, our room (2 Queens) was the same size as a WL standard room and its location was midway between the elevators leading to the lobby and the eastern most lifts which lead to the pool. We thought the room was very accessible and we could reach any part of the resort very easily.

Value for money
View: As we had orginally paid for courtyard view and now had a delivery area/wood/MK view, I felt we did not get value for the view. This was our fault, we could've changed. We didnt but was happy to have the sun come through the windows in the morning. Value rating 3/5 but 5+ for MK fireworks view.
Food Offering: Food is served throughout various times of the day. We took advantage of the Breakfast serving and the opportunity to people watch from the exclusive Concierge level overlooking the lobby. We also took advantage of fruit and dessert offerings throughout our stay and often filled our own water bottles with the expensive bottled stuff (not Evian but Azzo or something like that). However, the meal offerings are no substitute for real meals (except maybe breakfast) and one would not plan times around them. However we did love the food especially the evening offering which included choc-dipped strawberries and some very nice desserts and dessert liquers. Value rating 4/5 if you are there to use it else 2/5.
Concierge Services: For our trip, where Concierge excelled was with the service they offered. The managed to get all the PSs I wanted with as little as one hours notice (Ohanas character breakfast) and same day pre-parade time to Liberty tree on a Saturday night! They also managed to secure our Fantasmic dinner which was a new thing! (before you had to secure 7 days prior at the Studios themselves). They assisted with trivial things, valet, resort transfer etc. Value 4/5.
Overall: For the price paid and the services offered, we felt we got value for the extra $133 paid but it should be noted that we were at the resort for a large amount of that time including most of 9/21, the afternoon/evening of 9/22, the morning/lunch of 9/23 and the morning/lunch of 9/24. Our value can be justified by the food alone eg.

2 persons x Food @ $12.95 (our estimate) x 4 days = $103.60
2 persons x Water @ $2.50 (Park cost) x 4 days = $20.00
Concierge Service @ $10/hour x 1 hour x 4 days = $40.00

So even being conservative, we place think the value is justified and more so if we had changed to a room with a better view. We also justify it by saying $133 equates to 3-4 sit-down meals in the Parks so if we managed to accomodate one sit down meal (breakfast) thru concierge with snacks and drinks throughout the day, we would recover cost. However saying all this the question which will seal the fate the value issue is given the chance and at the same cost, would we do it again? The answer is a resounding Yes!

Did we enjoy the stay?
Very much so. For location and cost, WL as a deluxe resort cannot be beat. We were awe-struck when we entered the lobby just like many first-timers before us. The services and staff were excellent although we had a less-than-enthusiatic CM for check-in which dampened spirits somewhat and problems were compounded by credit card problems that would plague us throughout the whole trip.

One downside to WL was the MK boat sharing situation with Fort Wilderness (we never caught the bus opting to drive everywhere except MK!) and no time was this more evident than Sat 9/21 when MK emptied out after Spectro/Fantasy in the Sky. We ended up waiting at the WL dock well over an hour before we actually boarded a boat. You would definitely not want to be here with children if you can help it. Definitely something needs to be done there.

However after all is said and done, WL has a charm of its own which is only equalled by the Grand Californian at Disneyland (We believe the AKL is in a class of its own) and would gladly stay here again Concierge or not.

I hope I have gone someway to answering your questions. Please feel free to ask more!