Pros/Cons of ground floor rooms at Wilderness Lodge?

[reddog]

One of my kids hates upper level rooms in hotels (as well as elevators - I think it's a claustrophobia thing). Anyways, I assume I need to request a ground floor room to keep him from pacing! Any pros or cons with these or locations that I should try to steer towards or away from? Second floor would probably be o.k. enough, but no higher.

We have a bunk bed Courtyard view booked - I'd be fine actually with the courtyard view facing the villas - looks a lot quieter especially if we do end up on the ground floor.

Thank you!

 

[TeamSy]

I feel like having a ground floor room was one of the things that made us hate WL. We requested a king bed, and the only room they had left was a handicap room on the ground floor. It was a trek from the lobby, which was no big deal, but it was this horrible little corner room on the ground floor that felt so cramped to get to.

I'm sure they updated the decor since then (this was 2010), but it was terrible! The bathroom looked like something from a dorm. Anyway, back to being on the ground floor, there were ants coming in from the patio, we overlooked a smelly swamp (it STUNK), and heard a boat horn every two seconds, which was SO LOUD. It constantly made us jump. I'm assuming it was the ferry to MK (we didn't see it, or the lake, just the swamp).

Hopefully the ground floor experience has gotten better since then. We ended up switching to Beach Club (we couldn't take it), and we LOVED it. Neither of us can muster up the courage to give WL another shot. And I have to say, recently, we stayed at Boardwalk with a Boardwalk view and LOVED the sounds from our balcony, but didn't hear a thing inside the room. I don't know what it was about WL. I guess it's just not for us but I would definitely try to stick with a second floor room!

 

[reddog]

Sorry for your experience - yikes. One of my thoughts was that they might be darker and a bit more musty. Insects were another thought. In some photos it almost looks like the patio is sunken which makes me think basement!

Flip side - patio itself looks larger than a balcony which might be better for kids.

 

[Wood Nymph]

One of my kids hates upper level rooms in hotels (as well as elevators - I think it's a claustrophobia thing). Anyways, I assume I need to request a ground floor room to keep him from pacing! Any pros or cons with these or locations that I should try to steer towards or away from? Second floor would probably be o.k. enough, but no higher.

We have a bunk bed Courtyard view booked - I'd be fine actually with the courtyard view facing the villas - looks a lot quieter especially if we do end up on the ground floor.

Thank you!

A ground floor room facing the villas would be nice. It would be relatively quiet there with a nice, flat, grassy area between the patio and the sidewalk. The other ground floor courtyard view rooms would be inner courtyard and either face the main pool or the upper springs.

The ground floor room that the previous poster had would have been a woods view room, facing Otter Pond and the lake.

If you have a child who tends to get claustrophobic, something I have trouble with, then make sure you do not get a room with an enclosed balcony. Most of them are on the 6th floor and they feel very claustrophobic. Ask for an open balcony or a patio and you'll be fine.

As far as the bunk bed goes, the bottom bunk can feel claustrophobic, so that child might want to sleep on the top bunk.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm one of those people that prefers to be off the ground level. It's a security thing. I have taken ground floor rooms/villas before when traveling by myself and it was a mistake.
I find that I like the WL much better than I used to. The first time I stayed there, I was with my dd. We were in a studio villa, ground floor, at the very end of the hall...hugely long trek. Anyway.....when I was looking out the window the first day, the patio area was bare...no mulching at all. It was that way when I went to bed, around midnight. Well, I woke up around 6:00 and opened the slider to check the temp/humidity (it was mid-August!!!) and there was a fully mulched patio area!!! That kind of creeped me out to think that there were workers right outside our slider during the night!!

I've never had an issue with bugs or critters in a ground floor unit...but I don't leave the door open!!!! I would just add that to your request.

 

[Tigger's ally]

We had two ground floor rooms right to the right of the entrance off the path by the Trout pass pool bar. Hence we were 45 feet from an ice cold drink, 75 feet to the pool, 90 feet from the hot tub.

Pros
location mentioned above

great time saver not trecking all over the hotel and elevators

back and forth to pool and room bathroom was easy peasy

Walk across the pool grounds to get mugs filled was great at sunrise and nighttime

Could see geyser from room


Cons
We are early risers, but pool cleaning noise in the morning would have been bad if we weren't

No balcony to look down on the minions

No view from said patio of water parade

Have to watch out for the resident Ducks walking in your open slider...

 

[Trekkie]

Have to watch out for the resident Ducks walking in your open slider...

Yeah, we were in a ground floor at Poly, a while back. And we hadn't been in the room for five minutes before a group of ducks came to the back door and informed us that people in this room were required to feed them.

I tried explaining to them that we feed the ducks all the time, back home, but that we hadn't packed any duck food in our luggage. But they acted like they couldn't understand English.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Yeah, we were in a ground floor at Poly, a while back. And we hadn't been in the room for five minutes before a group of ducks came to the back door and informed us that people in this room were required to feed them.

I tried explaining to them that we feed the ducks all the time, back home, but that we hadn't packed any duck food in our luggage. But they acted like they couldn't understand English.

Our Ducks were English speaking. They actually came in the open door. However, I have heard that there are also some Tour Group Ducks that come around from time to time and really raise a ruckus. And the real trouble makers are the Pop Warner ducks! Maybe you got them.

All kidding aside, the ducks really did spend a lot of time just outside and one inside our room before I chased him out. I think it was a him. He honked like a goose instead of quacking like a duck though.

 

[lphillip459]

We had the same kind of room, ground floor, courtyard view and bunk beds. Didn't request it, but couldn't find a con except:

CONS: you don't have the view of a top floor (as our previous visit) and the ducks - PLEASE be careful of the ducks. They are beggers and they have NO fear!! Pool noise never bothered us, but we are early risers for the parks!

PROS: Quicker walking time to boat dock and bus station. If someone in my party was claustrophobic, I wouldn't hesitate to stay in a ground floor room again.

Have a wonderful time! WL is one of my favorite places to stay on the grounds!

 

[letsgoreds]

One of our favorite stays at WL was a courtyard ground level room. Our oldest was 3, and would hand feed one of the bunnies (oh and the ducks) in the morning when we ate breakfast in our rooms (had mini carrots in the fridge). We had a big stoller, and it was sooo easy to stroll to the boat dock (spent a lot of time at MK that trip), and incredibly quick to the pool, and back, which was more important, because it was a bit chilly.

So...although the view is awesome, especially from the 'bear' front facing courtyard rooms, a ground level room is super convenient and can result in even better memories. That trip was also filled with baby ducks (they apparently no longer let the ducks swim in the main pool) and even an armadillo.

I never heard any noise, nor did we see any bugs or critters.

Have fun!

 

[reddog]

Thank you all for your insight. Never thought about Disney ducks being so daring! I think the ability to walk out of the room for my kiddo would be helpful with anxiety - this kid is one that we have to coax onto basic indoor rides because he needs to see the exit. We had a major nightmare on Pirates when the ride came to a stop in a very dark location for about 20 minutes! Hoping he grows out of this soon!

Wherever we are, we will be in Disney though! That should add at least one more layer of him having fun no matter what.

 

[gtpoohbear]

We had a ground floor room in the villas at WL last month, not sure if the set up in the lodge rooms is the same. But we loved it!

We could come and go easily to the pool without having to go through the halls dripping wet. And the kids enjoyed having a backyard area outside the patio, so they could play in the grass when we were just hanging out in the room.

We did accidentally leave the sliding door open a couple of inches the first night. The only ill effect was that the fireworks and water parade were LOUD! Hardly heard them on the following nights with the door properly closed.

I always request a ground floor room though, love the flexibility

 

[RustManFan]

only time I stayed at WL I was on the ground floor in a room that faced out towards the path to the boat dock. I really enjoyed opening the window and seating in the window frame and watching people go back and forth. Some noticed me and called out a cheerful greeting!

The room was not that close to the path itself and there was great landscaping in-between.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Our Ducks were English speaking. They actually came in the open door. However, I have heard that there are also some Tour Group Ducks that come around from time to time and really raise a ruckus. And the real trouble makers are the Pop Warner ducks! Maybe you got them.

All kidding aside, the ducks really did spend a lot of time just outside and one inside our room before I chased him out. I think it was a him. He honked like a goose instead of quacking like a duck though.

My kids would demand a ground floor room if they knew there was a possibility of those ducks visiting! I have requested one for our stay next month at CSR but I don't recall reading much about ducks being there.

 

[letsgoreds]

Thank you all for your insight. Never thought about Disney ducks being so daring! I think the ability to walk out of the room for my kiddo would be helpful with anxiety - this kid is one that we have to coax onto basic indoor rides because he needs to see the exit. We had a major nightmare on Pirates when the ride came to a stop in a very dark location for about 20 minutes! Hoping he grows out of this soon!

Wherever we are, we will be in Disney though! That should add at least one more layer of him having fun no matter what.

Big box rides, even the very kiddo one, would make my roller coast riding thrill seeker oldest nervous. He needed to see what was inside, or no go. Youtube is great for that. Yes, you are ruining the surprise, but far less anxiety.

 

[LegalEze]

One of my kids hates upper level rooms in hotels (as well as elevators - I think it's a claustrophobia thing). Anyways, I assume I need to request a ground floor room to keep him from pacing! Any pros or cons with these or locations that I should try to steer towards or away from? Second floor would probably be o.k. enough, but no higher.

We have a bunk bed Courtyard view booked - I'd be fine actually with the courtyard view facing the villas - looks a lot quieter especially if we do end up on the ground floor.

Thank you!

We had a ground floor room at the WL, and did not have any issues at all. In fact, it was very quiet.

 

[Aurora0427]

I read on the Grand Floridian thread that a poster who stayed on the ground floor at the GF found a garden snake in their room after leaving the sliding door open. That was enough for me. No more ground floor rooms for me. At any hotel!

 

[Lilliputian]

I like the ground floor rooms because they have extra room outside for the kids to run around.

I skimmed the other responses and don't think anyone mentioned that the ground floor at WL doesn't always mean no elevator. The building is on a hill, so on one side there are rooms that you have to go downstairs to get to the ground level from the main level where you enter from the parking lot and bus stops. At least, I'm fairly certain it's that way. It's been a while since we stayed at WL, but I know we had a ground floor room, and I'm fairly certain there were rooms under ours on the other side of the building.

 

[breezy99]

We had a ground floor courtyard room on our last stay and loved it. We were able to walk right out to the pool. Noise was never an issue and we loved the convenience. If we forgot something, it as just a quick walk to the room and we were all set. Would definety request a ground floor again!

 

[My2Pixies]

We stayed in a ground level room on the villa side and absolutely loved it. We were just to the left of the entrance so we were only a couple minutes from the bus stop and and quick trip to the boat dock. It was ideal. Never saw any ducks, our patio faced the walkway to the villas but was somehow still very peaceful. We plan to go back to the VWL next year and I will be requesting the same location, fingers crossed!