The NEW WL FAQ (Part 5) Simbas and Tiggers and Humphreys OH MY! Part 2

[adreamisawish]

Just returned from my second time staying at WL. Beautifull as always and they upgraded me from a standard to courtyard view (Room 3139) which overlooked the pool and the lake. Even though the pool is under renovation, we might have never known it. From our baclony, the pool is full of water and looks quite normal. There is fencing around it, but does not at all take away from the ambience. Never saw the workers, but must have been done while we were away at the parks. I will post pictures later.

Mousekeepers left towel animals and arranged our stuffed animals so cute! Also made three towels into a Mickey Head on our bed. Desk clerk gave me my birthday button, which I wore the entire time and received HUGE benefits from it (We got to be parade Grand Marshals) amongst other goodies.

Wonderful resort, we will be back. LOVED the boat service to and from MK...never took very long and definitely faster than buses.

 

[ptmmg]

are any of the north rooms facing mk in the lobby area? I would love to over look the lobby and face mk from my balcony! what rooom should we request ?plus we are hoping for connecting rooms since there is 6 of us 2 adults 4 kids. thanks

 

[bengalbelle]

We leave tomorrow, I hope someone can answer this question for us:

Is there anywhere at WL we can hook up and print from our laptop? Or anywhere at WDW?

 

[tinkarooni]

Just back on 2-11-07 and wanted to provide an update on the pool situtation. They drained it during our stay so now the ducks are confused and swimming in the kiddie pool. Kiddie pool and spa both open, Pool bar recently opened but I understand that it may close sporadically. Someone had asked me to check on soy milk. The mercantile sells 8 oz bottles of soy milk for 1.99. Nothing available in the Roaring Forks.

Oh and the geyser isn't working. I was told it would be and we waited and waited, about three days into our trip they put up a sign that it was temp not working. We didn't see it functioning the entire 10 days we were there.
Overall we had a nice trip and a lovely stay, we were just a little disappointed the way the pool closure was handled. We were not made aware of it at all I found it on the internet. When we found it we were already within our cancellation penalty and I was told no availability at any other resorts. I did complain and was offered either a room upgrade, free water park admission or a free breakfast. FYI.

So while we had a great trip, I think my opinion about the WL is colored by Disney's handling of this issue. I was told multiple times before we went that the geyser would be functioning. That was rather disappointing to my family as it was our first trip there. Next time we may try another resort.

I'm happy to answer questions if anyone has any.

 

[3GIRLSMOM]

Returned on Feb. 5. We had a great trip! Some confusion with our reservation and bunk bed request that was eventually straightened out(We did spend the first night in a 2 queen room but they were able to move us the next day)Our bunk bed room overlooked the pool area.We got to swim the first weekend we were there and then the pool was closed.It was not too disruptful as the weather was not the warmest for swimming that week and the warm day we had we did go to the water park. Look forward to going back again when the pool is operational!
We thoroughly enjoyed the boat service to the Magic Kingdom and Fort Wilderness(Hoopdedoo) as well as going to the Contempoary to eat!
We did get to be a flag family and enjoyed amazing views from the rooftop and some great WL hospitality
We look forward to coming back someday!
Cathy

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

TINKAROONI...Thanks for checking out the soya milk situation for me I realy appreciate it. Sorry to hear your trip wasn't all you hoped for, better luck next time!!! We are torn between WL & CS, DH wants to go back to CS as we loved it the last time we were there and he doesnt want to take the chance of paying alot more and not liking the resort as much. "Better the DISNEY you know" as it were. Thanks again from Kirsteen

 

[mumom95]

Hi everyone. My family will be doing our first stay at the WL (actually, this is our family's first time to WDW, just my husband and I went 11 years ago) this coming Thanksgiving. We are staying courtyard view bunk bed. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on a certain area of the lodge we should ask for. There will be four of us, myself, dh, ds(8) and dd(6). I know they won't guarantee anything, but I thought I would at least call and request a good area. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[orangekid13]

Hi everyone. My family will be doing our first stay at the WL (actually, this is our family's first time to WDW, just my husband and I went 11 years ago) this coming Thanksgiving. We are staying courtyard view bunk bed. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on a certain area of the lodge we should ask for. There will be four of us, myself, dh, ds(8) and dd(6). I know they won't guarantee anything, but I thought I would at least call and request a good area. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

ask for a room near or above the Silver Creek Falls, the pool should be open by then (no way they'll do construction on a pool over the summer at WDW) and if there are kids in the pool til 2am like last July (I was one of them but I was the quiet, calm 18yo) they will be making noise, so if you have courtyard you'll be right there...
Ground floor would be really handy if someones going to grab food from Roaring Fork Snacks (they have a great variety of breakfast stuff to eat and get out quick in the morning for cheap like single serve cereals and fruit, they have good personal pan pizzas for dinner and other great stuff) you could just go out your sliding door and have a straight shot (dunno what FL weather for Nov is so indoors may be worth a little longer walk to get there w/o going outside before you're all ready and poncho'd up...

They have a great layout, anywhere wouldn't be bad. I've only stayed in the western wing which is convenient so you might consider that.

Make sure to watch for the rabbits (real, not animatronic) in the courtyard... Your kids will enjoy it a lot. They're skittish but the ducks remembered what room we were in and came back for more frosted flakes the next day... (ground floor on the MK side)

Make sure you take the token pic of the family by the totem pole (I hear it's good luck to rub Humphrey's nose right when you get there)

 

[I_Tink]

Made the final payment yesterday. 45 days to go! Wo0T!

See y'all for Spring Break. :

 

[smith299]

Hello. I am new to the thread and have appreciated each and every post. My family and I make our first visit to the Wilderness Lodge in June. One of my biggest questions is about transportation. What is the best way to reach MGM and the AK? I understand that busses are available from the WL. I am wondering, however, if a transfer is required at the TTC??? If no transfer is involved, how many stops are made along the way at other resorts? Has anyone used taxis to reduce the travel time? Again, thanks to all for all the posts that have helped me along the way.

 

[chaoscent]

I must admit, I am one of those spoiled princesses who always rents a car when they go to WDW. The only transportation I use at WL is the boat to Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary. If I want to go anywhere else, we take the car. I have a bad back and don't do well standing and waiting. so I put out the extra cash to be comfortable. I know I have read from many people that the buses aren't that bad from WL. I just went to Our Laughing Place (I don't know how to copy the link) and they have a calculator that tells you how long it takes to get from your hotel to a park. They indicate there are no stops between WL & MGM and it takes about 20 minutes.
Have fun, WL is my all time favorite resort.
Penny aka Chaos Cent

 

[ash&abby'smom]

Hello. I am new to the thread and have appreciated each and every post. My family and I make our first visit to the Wilderness Lodge in June. One of my biggest questions is about transportation. What is the best way to reach MGM and the AK? I understand that busses are available from the WL. I am wondering, however, if a transfer is required at the TTC??? If no transfer is involved, how many stops are made along the way at other resorts? Has anyone used taxis to reduce the travel time? Again, thanks to all for all the posts that have helped me along the way.

You can catch the bus at the WL. The only stop you might have to make is at the Fort Wilderness Campgroung. That is the only resort that I remember sharing with. The ride really isn't that long to MGM. AK is a little longer, but really not bad at all. I personally wouldn't waste money on a cab. You do not need to go to the TTC. HTH!

 

[smith299]

Thank you for your responses.

 

[YourMajesty]

Hello...I booked a six night stay in December. I booked a standard room. I hope we won't be disappointed with the view. What are the going thoughts on the standards? I see some of them look onto the lobby and some onto the parking lot or service road. I just got back from a short stay at the POFQ and it was lovely. We ate at WCC and I got a map of WL. Any suggestions?

 

[DLBDS]

I just wanted to say that IMHO you can definitely make a meal out of the concierge food offerings (Old Faithful Club). I just returned from a trip with my DM and I had to cancel 3 dining reservations 'cause there was just too much food available. We were paying for it so we chose to relax and eat the food offerings at the OFC instead of running here and there for a dining reservation. It was such a huge convenience that I've changed our reservation in Oct (Woods View) to the CL. And there's nothing better than a cold brew or glass of wine when you get back from being in a park all day!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Hello...I booked a six night stay in December. I booked a standard room. I hope we won't be disappointed with the view. What are the going thoughts on the standards? I see some of them look onto the lobby and some onto the parking lot or service road. I just got back from a short stay at the POFQ and it was lovely. We ate at WCC and I got a map of WL. Any suggestions?

Honestly...the little time you are in your room, the view doesn't matter..sure, i love it when I see the main courtyard or woods to the north, but I am actually on my patio about 2 minutes the whole time I am there...

You can always ask if an upgrade is available..i have gotten them everytime I have asked!

 

[FlyingBelle]

Hello. I am new to the thread and have appreciated each and every post. My family and I make our first visit to the Wilderness Lodge in June. One of my biggest questions is about transportation. What is the best way to reach MGM and the AK? I understand that busses are available from the WL. I am wondering, however, if a transfer is required at the TTC??? If no transfer is involved, how many stops are made along the way at other resorts? Has anyone used taxis to reduce the travel time? Again, thanks to all for all the posts that have helped me along the way.

When we were there a few weeks ago, the buses were no problem at all. In fact, each time we arrived at the bus depot, the bus we wanted showed up in less than a minute (seriously!)

The buses to MGM, AK, and Epcot usually stopped at the Grand Floridian, and one of the buses stopped at Blizzard Beach (I think it was the one to Animal Kingdom).

Coming back from the park, the Wilderness Lodge was usually the 1st stop.

 

[YourMajesty]

Honestly...the little time you are in your room, the view doesn't matter..sure, i love it when I see the main courtyard or woods to the north, but I am actually on my patio about 2 minutes the whole time I am there...

You can always ask if an upgrade is available..i have gotten them everytime I have asked!

That's a good perspective. I guess I won't worry about it. It will be me (I'll be turning 40 ) DS 10, DS 7, and DH. I think my boys would love the rockers that look out over the lobby. I think I will just call back and ask for a lobby view. I don't think we will be bothered by any noise from the lobby. We have seen it during the xmas holiday and it's just beautiful. Thanks for the response! I'll be following this thread now. I'm trying to read it all.

 

[mom2willnash]

Hi! I'm staying with my family of 4 (DD 11/DS 6) at the end of May. We are driving down so will have our own car. The boat service looks pretty quick to the MK but what about boat service everywhere else? We plan to hit all the parks plus both water parks. I checked out the times on www.ourlaughingplace.com and the travel times on the bus were pretty long, if the information is accurate. Is it easier/quicker just to drive or are the buses from WL a better choice?

 

[orangekid13]

think of the time you save taking the bus to right up front over parking and walking to the tram and taking that up, remembering something you set on the back seat and really need with you, taking the tram back out, walking to the car, back to the tram back to the park...... then back out when you're going home, having to drive when you're likely tired. the only place i would reccommend driving to is downtown disney, the bus took forever when we were there last time

if the monorail goes where you're going, take the boat to the front of the MK (or the GF, whichever comes first would work, the GF line could likely be shorter), take the monorail to the transfer station and go. there's a good chance a bus from there would be faster than a bus from the WL, I know any extra time would be more fun on the boat/monorail than sitting at the bus stop...

just my $0.02