Please make me feel better re: WL

[marvel]

Have no fear of the WL it is a great resort. We stayed there in May as well as at the Poly and we much prefer WL. Fantastic atmosphere, the rooms were fine, good transportation, good food options. We paid a lot more for the Poly which is vastly overated on DIS imho.

 

[mcgill93]

Thanks so much for your responses! I read the reviews from last year around the same time I am going to see if the holiday season affected satisfaction with the hotel... apparently it did! I am still excited and hoping for the best!

 

[mickeymoo]

I have read and posted reviews on trip advisor. In my opinion the reviews are pretty right on...one note to consider, posters on TA are usually regular travelers and mostly not overly experienced Disney fans like here...that being said, Wilderness Lodge is the top rated Disney hotel on that site. Our family loved Wilderness Lodge and thought that the Poly was just okay, although Poly is the most popular hotel on this site. So if you like the theming and know what to expect (and reading TA, you know the good and the bad) you'll be fine. And although I have never been during the holidays I hear it is fantastic. Don't worry!

 

[TinkWink]

We stayed there in December - it was my first trip EVER to DW! I thought it was an awesome place to stay. I am incredibly picky when it comes to hotels and I thoroughly enjoyed the full week that WL was "home." I love the scale of the architecture and although the place is HUGE, I thought it had a great layout. We were almost all the way to the end on one of the side wings on the top floor, but it did not take long at all to get to the lobby, Roaring Forks (cut thru the rocks at the "spring") or the bus stop. It was so fun to walk out to the boat dock next to the guyser, which you could hear from the room if you had the balcony window open! We also stayed one night at Ft. Wilderness and I just love the style of both of those places - I would definitely return! I found both places to be clean and tidy and just a great overall experience.

I love to sit back, close my eyes and think of the nice music they pipe to the outdoors that I can hear as I head to the snack bar for a cup of hot cocoa/coffee in the morning. Simply beautiful!

 

[TexasBee]

Does anyone know when they start putting up the holiday decorations? We are going to be there Nov 15 - 22 and while I think we'll probably be ahead of the decorating team, it would be lovely to see some of it.....

 

[redc]

Please make me feel better re: WL


That'll be easy.....like convincing you that Christmas is a joy, or that your birthday will be fun.
You will be amazed at how beautiful WL is.
You'll look back and say how could those people have posted such negative things about this wonderful place?

 

[letthewookiewin]

My family loves the WL. It felt more like home than a resort. I have been thinking about changing our ressie's at the Poly to the WL. (So far I'm only keeping the Poly b/c my DH let me book a MK view room.) When we got back to the resort each night, I was just as excited to get back to the WL as I was to get to the park in the morning. I never noticed that it was dirty. Our room was very quiet. DH and I usually have to sleep with a fan on high in our room, but we had no problem sleeping at all. I literally teared up and we drove up to it. Then as we walked into the lobby, I not only teared up, but it took my breathe away. Personally, I would keep the ressie and have a great time. Don't forget to rub the bear's nose.

 

[Chicago262]

We are also huge fans of WL. I would like to someday try another resort, but I'm always afraid that it will not compare to WL and I don't want to be disappointed. My kids don't even want to discuss another resort...they are WL fans all the way! "Why mess with perfection" is their thought.

We have been there in Dec. and the decorations are gorgeous. You will not be disappointed.

 

[tiger4me2]

WL is great nothing dirty about it. Maybe the poster on Trip Advisor had a bad experience. It always been clean & lived up to it's name to us. We go there every year. It great at Christmas time.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Just watch out for the rifraf from fort wilderness pool hopping . We have never stayed at WL but when it first opened we checked it out. I must say it is one of the most beautiful resorts i've seen. I wouldn't worry about what trip advisor says. Most people on there just like to hear themselves complain.

 

[GailT]

you will not be sorry about staying at WL especially at that time of year. I have 2 favorite hotels, BWI and WL and I am staying at WL for Christmas. I have stayed there many times and love it. I never have found it loud, I am not gonna say no noise at all but when you have kids you hear excitment, crying and whining at times. I love that hotel, I will be eating at AP for Christmas dinner , oh God I wish it was December. I can't wait to here the gentleman at the gate going into the resort say "WELCOME HOME" you will love it and be spoiled

 

[SplashMtnCrew]

I made the mistake of reading the reviews of WL on Trip Advisor and now I am questioning my choice. I have only ever stayed at POR before (2 times) and loved it, but we chose WL this time for our early December vacation. Is it really as dirty, loud and horrible as the reviewers at Trip Advisor make it seem? Help!

We too had only stayed at POR once and then discovered WL! It is nothing like POR. POR was nice but WL is amazing! A total different vacation experience staying at WL. We are planning our next trip for Jan and we left the decision of which resort to stay at up to DH. He seriously considered BWI but said that he likes the water transportation to MK, CR, the campground and GF that we get at WL, so he choose the WL and went club level. You will not be sorry about your choice. We've not had problems with housekeeping, food, noise or anything. The electric parade is wonderful from the beach and the geyser is our DS's favorite thing he watches the clock whenever we are in our room, and runs to see it going off every chance he gets! WL is a vacation within a vacation. You will have a wonderful time! You may find that after the WL you won't want anything but deluxe in the future!

 

[corinascot]

I often use Trip Advisor and I like it. It's great for finding reviews of hotels. I don't think I'd use it for WDW, though. There's so much more out there that's specifically Disney, like these boards.

That being said, did you notice that WL is the top rated Disney Hotel? It's #16 of 293 hotels in Orlando. I think that's pretty darn good. The next resort listed is AK at #26 and then GF at #30 and POP at #31. So, I think the WDW resorts do very well.

 

[mskayjay]

I'm a TA user, poster, trip advisor. I think there is some very useful information to be gained from the site both about hotels and travel destinations.

That being said, I think it is also prudent to keep in mind that most people will go out of their way to complain about something that is wrong but will rarely go out of their way to give praise for excellence. This site is devoted to people who do nothing but go to WDW. Those sites are devoted to.....everyone! I love WDW and may get flamed for this but I know going in that I can get a MUCH nicer, larger room, with great ammenities in many other locations (including "near" WDW) for the same or better price than I am paying to be on site. But that is what I am paying for....being on site, the experience, my magical express transportation, my "resort fee" for transporatation, etc etc etc. I do believe that by and large WDW rooms are way too small especially in the Deluxe catergories, but again, I know going in what I'm paying for!

Bottom line, take everything you read anywhere with a grain of salt and look at averages not individuals. If more people would adopt our 2 for 1 rule (for every one complaint you feel compelled to make, find two things or people to praise and that means talking to the manager!) and I think we would see a definite shift in people's perspectives about places.

 

[magicalfoursome]

We have stayed at WL twice - one of those times in late Nov/early Dec. We absolutely love this resort!! It had a warm woodsie feel that is exactly perfect around the holidays. The 87-foot stone fireplace, the beautiful huge Christmas tree-- it is a beautiful resort. I am very picky about my hotel rooms- I will not stay if it is dirty. Rest assured that WL is a great choice! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[MissionMouse]

I've stayed there several times and there has never been a problem. Also, I wouldn't read too much into some reviews because some people are never happy no matter what.

I have found that some people are not happy unless their complaining.

 

[Dandy8]

We stayed there for 2 nights in Dec. 2006 following a cruise on the Disney Magic. It was wonderful and the christmas decorations are just beautiful. We had no problems with noise and cleanliness. In fact I wound up spending a lot of time in the room with my son having a stomach virus so I found it very nice.

At the time of check in I didn't realize that my room faced the MK (they must have upgraded us because I didn't pay for the MK view which I think is woods view). I was pleasantly surprised one night to go on the balcony and experience the fireworks show. It was very up lifting since I was at the room with my son while the rest of the family was actually at the MK experiencing it.

I would highly recommend it. I also have a friend that does frequent vacations to DW and always stays there.

Enjoy!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

WL is so stunning. The lobby is amazing. I have stayed here several times in a courtyard view room and a concierge view room and it was awesome.

 

[snoopywoodstockus]

DW and I agree. We stayed Dec 8-16 last year and it was WONDERFUL. You will love it.

 

[troynkasey]

WL is a good chioce. We've been there twice before they renovated rooms in 2007 and then we went last summer after the new room renovations. It's a top notch resort. The thing I've found with most reviews is you get more people who want to complain about what went wrong than those who want to brag about how good it was. Ours was the best. It's absolutely my favorite place to stay. Just sometimes we want to stay longer and can't afford the higher prices for the Deluxe.