The Wilderness Lodge and Villas FAQ (Part 7) Simbas and Tiggers and Humphreys OH MY!

[kristinmajor]

Hi, all. I have never stayed at WL. I have three little boys. I have gone to DW in September with my little ones and it was a great time of year.

So, here is my story-- I had reserved a 2 bd villa for an astronomical amount hoping to get a pin or something (throw me a bone, please!). There are 4 adults and 3 kids total in my party. Never got a pin for those dates.

Likewise, there was no FD for a two bedroom villa this a.m. That was actually OK, b/c I think a room discount makes more sense for me (we actually eat in the villa for at least two meals a day most of the days).

I could apply the 40% room discount to an 8 night stay at WL if I went with a 1 bedroom and a studio. I realize I am risking the rooms not being connected nor even adjoining. And instead of a second queen, my two older boys will have a sleeper sofa. By doing it that way, it saved me over $1600.

What are my odds of getting a lock-off (connected) studio to a one-bedroom?

 

[thumbalyna]

i am going to be staying here for the first time in October - i am doing a split stay 3 nights WL and 2 nights AKL - i got the 40% pin - i am so excited i cant wait - this will be the last BIG trip with my daughter she will be a Junior in high school when we go (my baby is all grown up)we will be driving down from PA and i cant wait - i am not telling her where we are staying she thinks we are doing a budget trip and staying offsite - CANT WAIT

 

[sau418]

I did a quick budget girls trip last week and stayed at POP Century...however, could not bear not getting to Wilderness Lodge, so on our last day I ditched the girls! I headed over to WL and had a great dinner alone while watching the waterfall. I think that was the highlight of my trip, then took the boat back to Magic Kingdom.

I can not wait to get back there next June!

 

[gris gris]

Cubs Den questions! I hope someone can help. What time do they serve dinner? What if the kids get tired and want to sleep? We are expecting to leave our 4 and 7 year old from about 6:30 - 9:30 while we go to dinner at San Angel Inn.

 

[ShanF]

WOW - what a great thread - so much great info!!
Has anyone stayed in a studio recently?? Have the rooms been updated lately? i have read conflicting reports on the studios. If you have any input or pictures (even better) to post that would be great!!!

Thanks so much!!!

Shannon

 

[figarofan]

i am going to be staying here for the first time in October - i am doing a split stay 3 nights WL and 2 nights AKL - i got the 40% pin - i am so excited i cant wait - this will be the last BIG trip with my daughter she will be a Junior in high school when we go (my baby is all grown up)we will be driving down from PA and i cant wait - i am not telling her where we are staying she thinks we are doing a budget trip and staying offsite - CANT WAIT

I do that a lot. I have told the family we are staying in the Howard Johnson when we are staying at WL, staying at Pop (by the way I personally had fun at POP) when we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Then I ran into a problem. Because now when I book and tell them where we are staying, they all go, "come on, where are we really staying?"

But it sure is fun when you can pull off the big surprise, isn't it?

 

[thumbalyna]

i just hope i can pull it off without spilling the beans - we are going to busch gardens VA next month so right now we are planning that so no disney questions have come up - lets hope she gets preoccupied with other things between the end of june until we go...lol

this will be the BEST trip ever

 

[KELLY]

I do that a lot. I have told the family we are staying in the Howard Johnson when we are staying at WL, staying at Pop (by the way I personally had fun at POP) when we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Then I ran into a problem. Because now when I book and tell them where we are staying, they all go, "come on, where are we really staying?"

But it sure is fun when you can pull off the big surprise, isn't it?

I am doing the same thing. Booked at pop bounceback with fd last year. But when the 40% discount came out. I was all over that and booked AKL. Everyone including dh thinks we are still staying at pop for 10 days.

I just came over to the wl thread thinking maybe I should just pay the extra 200.00 more and stay at WL. We have stayed here before and DH loved it. But I would like to try AKL also.

 

[Applemomma]

I am doing the same thing. Booked at pop bounceback with fd last year. But when the 40% discount came out. I was all over that and booked AKL. Everyone including dh thinks we are still staying at pop for 10 days.

I just came over to the wl thread thinking maybe I should just pay the extra 200.00 more and stay at WL. We have stayed here before and DH loved it. But I would like to try AKL also.

Why don't you book a split stay? That's what we're doing! If you code hasn't expired yet it should be easy to do. It has to still be a current code though as it's considered two seperate reservations.

We're doing 4 nights at AKL and then 3 at WL

 

[tlhbdm]

WOW - what a great thread - so much great info!!
Has anyone stayed in a studio recently?? Have the rooms been updated lately? i have read conflicting reports on the studios. If you have any input or pictures (even better) to post that would be great!!!

Thanks so much!!!

Shannon

I would love the answer to this question too, staying next week!

 

[stepdisney]

Thought I'd better start hanging out over here to get me in the WL state of mind! I am excited about our upcoming stay and wanted to share my excitement with my fellow WL fans!

 

[The Princess]

Just wanted to add that in 70 days we will be staying again at the WL~can't wait!!!!
DD wanted to stay at Poly we just looked at her and said "UMM NO!!!"

 

[Steve Mahanahan]

Two questions:

Our Disney rep, when I booked, requested a king bed for our room since we're on our honeymoon. I've heard that the only king beds are on the first floor - is that true? View doesn't really matter (we booked standard) but I'd like to know if a king bed restricts where we might be.

Second, is the refill station for the DxDP mugs open 24/7?

 

[Nebula]

Second, is the refill station for the DxDP mugs open 24/7?

Roaring Fork closes at midnight, and reopens at 6... I think. Not totally sure on those times, but they aren't open 24/7.

 

[BlueFairy]

Page 1 of this thread does not indicate that these rooms have the enclosed balconies, therefore I think it is safe to assume they do not.

To everyone traveling to the lodge today and this week..have a great time and tell Humphrey we'll see him real soon!

We had room 6044. The rooms on that section are not enclosed balconies.

Humphrey is great. Littlest DD said hello, shared her lovey with him, and we had to bring home a stuffed Humphrey.

 

[BlueFairy]

Room report for 6044 (standard view, 2 doubles).

We checked in on Sunday at a very busy time. They were very nice, but no pixie dust on our room request. We asked for a lobby room. As it was, 6044 was SUPER convenient to everything. Also very quiet. We were over the service court, but had a white noise machine with us and found it quieter than our courtyard room in a prior stay. The view of the service area was not good. However, I will echo the opinions of others. Focus on searching out the monorail, castle, and even a boat or 2 through the trees and it didn't bother us. Particularly the fact that we had the Wishes soundtrack on our iPod and were able to watch a fantastic showing of Wishes every night with the kids all tucked in. That said, I think the reports that say "just don't look down" minimize the effect of the service area. I can see it truly being a bother for some, as you really aren't that high up, even on the 6th floor.
Mousekeeping was great the first 3 nights. Last 2 we did not get enough glassware and towels, and the room was made late. Not bad, just not as good. The room was VERY clean otherwise.
Beds were way more comfortable than I remembered. Feather pillows and some sort of pillow top on the mattress.
Concierge desk in the lobby - staff was very helpful with a fax we had to make at the end of our trip. In fact, ALL of the WL CMs were excellent.
Roaring Fork was fine, but food quality not as good as Contempo Cafe or Captain Cooks.
Bus service - only used Epcot bus and waited about 20 minutes both times for the trip to the park.
Boat service - prompt, fast, and the captains were all very nice.
Pool - sparkling. Even the hot tubs and geyser seemed to be recently scrubbed. The wildlife (bunnies, ducks and birds) were particularly entertaining.
WCC- ended up here on a too-hot afternoon at about 4:30. We'd pushed too hard at Epcot and received not-great news from our realtor on the bus to WL. The hostess was very nice and seated us at 5pm, the first seating with no ADR. Next available ADRs were at 8pm. The service was stellar and our server saved the evening. She kept the kids entertained and they even ate their dinner. DH and I got to enjoy the meal and cool off. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food.

So sad to be driving home. Can't wait to go back and I will be hard pressed to stay anywhere else.

I have a WL entertainment schedule and kids activities list (including movies on the beach) for May if anyone wants me to transcribe parts of it.

 

[wdwfanva]

BlueFairy, that's the exact room Dw and I had for our March trip !!!!! Isn't the view at night amazing ?!!!! We loved being able to watch the fireworks from the balcony !!! Now if they could only pipe the music to the rooms Wilderness is deffinetly our fav resort!!!!!!!!!

 

[britfish]

bluefairy, did you make any room requests? I love your review it sounds awesome at WL, I can't wait!

 

[burberryplaid]

I have a WL entertainment schedule and kids activities list (including movies on the beach) for May if anyone wants me to transcribe parts of it.

I would love to know the movie schedule. We are doing the Campfire over at Ft Wilderness on the 24th and they are showing Swiss Family Robinson there that night, but we'd try to escape back to WL early if they are showing something better there.

Glad you had a great trip!

 

[BlueFairy]

BlueFairy, that's the exact room Dw and I had for our March trip !!!!! Isn't the view at night amazing ?!!!! We loved being able to watch the fireworks from the balcony !!! Now if they could only pipe the music to the rooms Wilderness is deffinetly our fav resort!!!!!!!!!

Awesome coincidence! Yes I was wishing for the music more than once, but the iHome dock for the iPod that is in the rooms could come in very handy. Interestingly, I was at the Contemporary waiting for a boat back to WL one night and it seemed that the whole grounds and pool deck there did have the Wishes music.

bluefairy, did you make any room requests? I love your review it sounds awesome at WL, I can't wait!

Yes, we booked a standard room, and I requested a lobby room over the registration desk. Given the small number of those rooms, I wasn't surprised. I also requested a pack n play and it wasn't in the room, but they delivered it within 5 minutes of my call to the front desk.

I would love to know the movie schedule. We are doing the Campfire over at Ft Wilderness on the 24th and they are showing Swiss Family Robinson there that night, but we'd try to escape back to WL early if they are showing something better there.

Glad you had a great trip!

Movies in May are at 8:30 on the beach.

May 1, 15, 29 Cars
May 2, 16, 30 National Treasure 2
May 3, 17, 31 Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
May 4, 18 Bedtime Stories
May 5, 19 Mary Poppins
May 8, 22 Bolt
May 9, 23 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
May 10, 24 High School Musical 3: Senior Year
May 11, 25 Race to Witch Mountain
May 12, 26 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Thursdays - Mystery Movie night
Fridays - Disney Princess Night - The Princess and the Frog


**Activities Subject to change. In the event of inclement weather, events will be moved to the lobby.
(They did move some pool deck activities into the lobby one afternoon, but I don't know how they would handle the movie since it didn't rain in the evenings last week.)