starbox
"There is more treasure in books than in all the p
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
- Messages
- 3,528
Just back from our first stay in the DVC villas at Wilderness Lodge.
The lodge was beautiful, I'd never seen it at Christmas. We arrived at about 9am and checked in quickly and without a wait. CM was very friendly and I was suprised by the holiday gift DVC trading pin.
I let them know that we would be going to the parks and would not need in the room until about 9pm, so there was no rush.
My family is a Disney transportation family. We
using Disney transportation instead of driving - it's part of the magic for us. We wanted to go to EPCOT on Jan. 1st, and I opted for the least efficient but most interesting route to get there. We took the boat to MK, then the monorail to EPCOT. The trip was actually quicker than I expected. I ended up very impressed by my experiences with the boat transportation from VWL.
EPCOT was a great choice for the first - it was not crowded at all and we were ecited to get to see Wonders of Life before it closed again. Dinner was at the Sci-Fi and I decided to do the boat from EPCOT to MGM (again, not efficient - but I like the boat). I ended up finding all the boat stops among the EPCOT area resorts annoying. I believe I'll always walk when we stay at BWV this summer. We took the bus back to VWL found our first experience to be very good. (FWIW- As a bus devotee - I consider anything less than 20 minutes "good"
and I don't hit frustration until 30 minutes+ )
We returned to out room around 9:30 - we were in a studio 3503. Great location for us (close to the bus stop!) with a view from the side of the lake. The room was immaculately clean (and I am a clean-a-holic). I was so impressed I almost took a photo of the inside of the fridge! I've got lots of pictures that I'll post ASAP. Our bed was very comfortable. The kids were on the pull-out. We went and got the VWL tree #3 from bell services and the kids were SO excited!! Thank you jimmytammy - and thanks to the family that left us candy canes! 
The tree was so perfect. I kept it on at night as a night light!
Jan 2nd, we took a bus to the MK early (got there almost an hour before opening). Bus transportation was good again. It ended up being a nasty day in terms of weather, so we spent some time at the lodge and then went back to the MK after we felt dry. Bus transport in the afternoon was not so good. By that night, it was really bad. DH/DS and DD and I seperated to ride different rides. I called him on the cell before we rode Small World and he was waiting for the bus. I told him we'd just meet back at the room. DD and I rode and then walked from Fantasyland to the bus (stopping to retrieve coats from the locker and buy hair clips) and DH and DS were STILL at the bus stop waiting for a bus
Umm - the poeple who had been there all that time were really, really mad.
January 3rd - took a bus to the AK in the morning. Bus transportation was pretty bad. We waited a long time for each bus, and every bus was almost full from FW before it stopped at the lodge, so only a few people could get on at a time. I was actually frustrated and I try to be really relaxed about waiting. I really wanted to just take the car but the kids said it would "ruin the magic" so we continued to wait and did, eventually, get on a bus. We hopped from AK to EPCOT for dinner. No problem with the bus return trip.
January 4th - I learned from my mistake of trying the bus and we took the beautiful boat ride to the MK! I loved that boat ride. It was beautiful weather and when DH asked what my favorite part of the trip was - my initial response was the boat rides from WL. We spent the morning in the park then took the boat back to the lodge for lunch at WCC before heading home.
I really did love the lodge and I've got bunches of pictures to share soon. It is such a artistic and peaceful setting.
I was suprised though that I felt a bit restless at night. I spent some time trying to figure it out, and I realized that after years of Disney vacations pre-DVC - I am "used to" a specific touring style and it's hard for me to break that pattern. In the end, even though I like the whole look and feel and closeness-to-the-MK of VWL, I think it will be a once-in-a-while resort choice for us.
My ideal way to do Disney is to hit a park early in the morning (at opening or pre-opening) and stay until late afternoon or early evening. Then, I like to go back to my room and change for dinner. We typically eat dinner around 7:30, and after dinner, I don't want to do more parks but I also don't want to retire to the room. What I want to do, is to go to DTD and walk around. I ended up not doing DTD at all this trip, and I did love the lodge and I loved just being there - but I missed the whole DTD/PI love after the parks close. It was a good change though, because I actually had a reason to go back to the MK to watch Wishes, and I had not seen it from inside the park in a long time.
All in all, I was impressed with almost everything about VWL (except the bus). I also love WCC - it's a great restaurant - we ate there TWICE this trip and it was just great being so conveniently located for the on-site dining.
VWL owners, your home is very lovely. It was a great treat and pleasure to stay there.
The lodge was beautiful, I'd never seen it at Christmas. We arrived at about 9am and checked in quickly and without a wait. CM was very friendly and I was suprised by the holiday gift DVC trading pin.
I let them know that we would be going to the parks and would not need in the room until about 9pm, so there was no rush. My family is a Disney transportation family. We
using Disney transportation instead of driving - it's part of the magic for us. We wanted to go to EPCOT on Jan. 1st, and I opted for the least efficient but most interesting route to get there. We took the boat to MK, then the monorail to EPCOT. The trip was actually quicker than I expected. I ended up very impressed by my experiences with the boat transportation from VWL. EPCOT was a great choice for the first - it was not crowded at all and we were ecited to get to see Wonders of Life before it closed again. Dinner was at the Sci-Fi and I decided to do the boat from EPCOT to MGM (again, not efficient - but I like the boat). I ended up finding all the boat stops among the EPCOT area resorts annoying. I believe I'll always walk when we stay at BWV this summer. We took the bus back to VWL found our first experience to be very good. (FWIW- As a bus devotee - I consider anything less than 20 minutes "good"
and I don't hit frustration until 30 minutes+ ) We returned to out room around 9:30 - we were in a studio 3503. Great location for us (close to the bus stop!) with a view from the side of the lake. The room was immaculately clean (and I am a clean-a-holic). I was so impressed I almost took a photo of the inside of the fridge! I've got lots of pictures that I'll post ASAP. Our bed was very comfortable. The kids were on the pull-out. We went and got the VWL tree #3 from bell services and the kids were SO excited!! Thank you jimmytammy - and thanks to the family that left us candy canes!
The tree was so perfect. I kept it on at night as a night light!
Jan 2nd, we took a bus to the MK early (got there almost an hour before opening). Bus transportation was good again. It ended up being a nasty day in terms of weather, so we spent some time at the lodge and then went back to the MK after we felt dry. Bus transport in the afternoon was not so good. By that night, it was really bad. DH/DS and DD and I seperated to ride different rides. I called him on the cell before we rode Small World and he was waiting for the bus. I told him we'd just meet back at the room. DD and I rode and then walked from Fantasyland to the bus (stopping to retrieve coats from the locker and buy hair clips) and DH and DS were STILL at the bus stop waiting for a bus
Umm - the poeple who had been there all that time were really, really mad.January 3rd - took a bus to the AK in the morning. Bus transportation was pretty bad. We waited a long time for each bus, and every bus was almost full from FW before it stopped at the lodge, so only a few people could get on at a time. I was actually frustrated and I try to be really relaxed about waiting. I really wanted to just take the car but the kids said it would "ruin the magic" so we continued to wait and did, eventually, get on a bus. We hopped from AK to EPCOT for dinner. No problem with the bus return trip.
January 4th - I learned from my mistake of trying the bus and we took the beautiful boat ride to the MK!
I loved that boat ride. It was beautiful weather and when DH asked what my favorite part of the trip was - my initial response was the boat rides from WL. We spent the morning in the park then took the boat back to the lodge for lunch at WCC before heading home.I really did love the lodge and I've got bunches of pictures to share soon. It is such a artistic and peaceful setting.
I was suprised though that I felt a bit restless at night. I spent some time trying to figure it out, and I realized that after years of Disney vacations pre-DVC - I am "used to" a specific touring style and it's hard for me to break that pattern. In the end, even though I like the whole look and feel and closeness-to-the-MK of VWL, I think it will be a once-in-a-while resort choice for us.
My ideal way to do Disney is to hit a park early in the morning (at opening or pre-opening) and stay until late afternoon or early evening. Then, I like to go back to my room and change for dinner. We typically eat dinner around 7:30, and after dinner, I don't want to do more parks but I also don't want to retire to the room. What I want to do, is to go to DTD and walk around. I ended up not doing DTD at all this trip, and I did love the lodge and I loved just being there - but I missed the whole DTD/PI love after the parks close. It was a good change though, because I actually had a reason to go back to the MK to watch Wishes, and I had not seen it from inside the park in a long time.
All in all, I was impressed with almost everything about VWL (except the bus). I also love WCC - it's a great restaurant - we ate there TWICE this trip and it was just great being so conveniently located for the on-site dining.
VWL owners, your home is very lovely. It was a great treat and pleasure to stay there.
I honestly did not realize just how much I gravitate towards DTD after dinner until I was away from a quick way to get there - but I probably end up at DTD from 9-11pm about 40-60% of my trip. I think I'd like to try it again someday in the summer and plan to spend some more evening time outside and at FW. 
It was still cute.
