Ill keep this pretty short and sweet. First, we spent Friday night at All Star Sports as our flight wasnt scheduled to land until 11 PM and I didnt want to spend the points. Due to the Midwest weather, we actually didnt get in until 2 AM and were in our room until 3 PM so Im REALLY glad I didnt spend the points. The All Stars really make you appreciate DVC. I had left my hairdryer and was surprised that the hotel room didnt have one. I knew better than to look for the fridge and washer/dryer, though! 
We were up and about early eager to catch a cab to VWL and get HOME!!
We checked in about 10:00 on Saturday and check in was wonderful!!! Friendly CM and our room was READY!!!! I was SO excited as this never happens to us.
We went up to the room and it was very nice and clean. We were in 4553, a dedicated 2 bedroom pretty far down the hallway. It had a nice view of the lake.
A few maintenance problems: the Master Bath toilet seat was loose and the child safety lock on the living room patio door didnt work. I called maintenance and both times things were fixed quickly. We were gone when they fixed the toilet seat, but the CM who came to fix the patio door was there in about 15 minutes. I was really impressed. One quick question, isnt there supposed to be a hairdryer in the second bathroom? It was missing, but housekeeping brought one right up. Basically, anything that was wrong was taken care of promptly once I reported it.
One quick note for parents, the window in our Master Bedroom had been left unlocked. Since theres no screen or anything, that could be a scary situation with little ones. You might want to check that when you first get into your room.
The only negative thing about VWL was the transportation around the MK area. It was terrible. We tried the boat and the bus and wither way it took forever, which is really weird since WL is an MK area hotel. It took nearly 2 hours to get to GF from WL and we were VERY late for an ADR.
We had much better luck getting to Epcot, MGM, and AK, although sharing a bus to Epcot with FW seems like they go around the long way to get everywhere.
DH was grumpy because we couldnt get bell services to come when we checked out. They were backed up at least 30 minutes, but that was really DHs fault for not calling sooner. I had gone down to get breakfast for everyone, which took a while, and no one else thought to call until I got back (yep, thats why Im the trip organizer, not DH). Just a note to help your vacation go more smoothly make sure someone knows to call bell services in plenty of time if you want their help for check out!!!! No one likes a grumpy DH!
We had a very disappointing meal at WCC. I did a separate dining review if you need details. We may just have to spring for Artist Point next trip if we want a sit down meal at WL. That make s me pretty said as weve always loved WCC, but it was just not good. Roaring Forks was good for quick service though. We did several pastry breakfasts from there, a few snacks, as well as one dinner.
The kids got to swim on Tuesday night. It was too cold for me, but the dads took the kids to the theme pool and it must have been warm enough because they stayed in for 2 hours.
We did a grocery order from Garden Grocer, which went well except they forgot one item. They promised to bring it the next day, which was fine. I actually ended up calling them and asking that they bring a few more things too and they were happy to do it. We had a bit of confusion concerning the second delivery and I had to call Brian a couple of times to get it figured out, but it all worked out in the end. It was really nice to feed the kids cereal or eggs for breakfast in the room while the adults were finishing getting ready. One of us usually went down to Roaring Fork to get pastries for our breakfasts. What a great way to spend a snack credit!!
Basically, we had a great time and our friends really loved VWL. They agreed that it felt like home. I did miss the traditional WL music, but the Christmas Carols were nice too and the trees in the lobby were very pretty.
Thats it in a nutshell great trip at a the lodge.
We were up and about early eager to catch a cab to VWL and get HOME!!We checked in about 10:00 on Saturday and check in was wonderful!!! Friendly CM and our room was READY!!!! I was SO excited as this never happens to us.
We went up to the room and it was very nice and clean. We were in 4553, a dedicated 2 bedroom pretty far down the hallway. It had a nice view of the lake.A few maintenance problems: the Master Bath toilet seat was loose and the child safety lock on the living room patio door didnt work. I called maintenance and both times things were fixed quickly. We were gone when they fixed the toilet seat, but the CM who came to fix the patio door was there in about 15 minutes. I was really impressed. One quick question, isnt there supposed to be a hairdryer in the second bathroom? It was missing, but housekeeping brought one right up. Basically, anything that was wrong was taken care of promptly once I reported it.
One quick note for parents, the window in our Master Bedroom had been left unlocked. Since theres no screen or anything, that could be a scary situation with little ones. You might want to check that when you first get into your room.
The only negative thing about VWL was the transportation around the MK area. It was terrible. We tried the boat and the bus and wither way it took forever, which is really weird since WL is an MK area hotel. It took nearly 2 hours to get to GF from WL and we were VERY late for an ADR.
We had much better luck getting to Epcot, MGM, and AK, although sharing a bus to Epcot with FW seems like they go around the long way to get everywhere. DH was grumpy because we couldnt get bell services to come when we checked out. They were backed up at least 30 minutes, but that was really DHs fault for not calling sooner. I had gone down to get breakfast for everyone, which took a while, and no one else thought to call until I got back (yep, thats why Im the trip organizer, not DH). Just a note to help your vacation go more smoothly make sure someone knows to call bell services in plenty of time if you want their help for check out!!!! No one likes a grumpy DH!
We had a very disappointing meal at WCC. I did a separate dining review if you need details. We may just have to spring for Artist Point next trip if we want a sit down meal at WL. That make s me pretty said as weve always loved WCC, but it was just not good. Roaring Forks was good for quick service though. We did several pastry breakfasts from there, a few snacks, as well as one dinner.
The kids got to swim on Tuesday night. It was too cold for me, but the dads took the kids to the theme pool and it must have been warm enough because they stayed in for 2 hours.
We did a grocery order from Garden Grocer, which went well except they forgot one item. They promised to bring it the next day, which was fine. I actually ended up calling them and asking that they bring a few more things too and they were happy to do it. We had a bit of confusion concerning the second delivery and I had to call Brian a couple of times to get it figured out, but it all worked out in the end. It was really nice to feed the kids cereal or eggs for breakfast in the room while the adults were finishing getting ready. One of us usually went down to Roaring Fork to get pastries for our breakfasts. What a great way to spend a snack credit!!
Basically, we had a great time and our friends really loved VWL. They agreed that it felt like home. I did miss the traditional WL music, but the Christmas Carols were nice too and the trees in the lobby were very pretty.
Thats it in a nutshell great trip at a the lodge.
I mentioned the music to DW and she said "of course they'll have Christmas music!". Silly me for thinking otherwise. 
