Wilderness Cabins - Warning!

[tjkraz]

And so do the very slow sales.

Sales of the cabins would not be massively improved if they were equipped with a washer and dryer. There are other problems.

 

[robinb]

Sales of the cabins would not be massively improved if they were equipped with a washer and dryer. There are other problems.

I’ve not been paying a lot of attention to the cabins. I didn’t even know they didn’t have washer and dryers until now. I just assumed they had them since they’re a 1 BR! What a poor choice, especially if you’re trying to attract larger families.

 

[muppets3d]

Sales of the cabins would not be massively improved if they were equipped with a washer and dryer. There are other problems.

There are many problems, the lack of amenities that DVC owners expect is a huge one though.

 

[tjkraz]

I’ve not been paying a lot of attention to the cabins. I didn’t even know they didn’t have washer and dryers until now. I just assumed they had them since they’re a 1 BR! What a poor choice, especially if you’re trying to attract larger families.

The cabins have always had this general layout, with one private bedroom and a kitchen, but they've never had a washer/dryer. They aren't a "One Bedroom Villa"...they're a cabin. A Saratoga Springs treehouse has three bedrooms, but it's not a "Three Bedroom Grand Villa."

 

[teamsamant]

Regardless of all the definitions being debated here compared to every other DVC resort in WDW the Cabins are missing amenities. No towels? A bus to the pool? No bathtub, yet bring your family? Spread out over a campground. No laundry in room or out of the room for miles. Ridiculous dues? They don't fit the rest of the DVC portfolio at all.

 

[bakerworld]

We're hoping to stay at the FW Cabins in 2026 so hopefully the construction will have abated by then. Luckily for us, the pool towels and laundry facilities aren't as issue as we don't swim nor wash clothes for a 5D stay. I'm just hoping the golf cart reservation is easy to set up.

 

[scoobysgirl]

I really don't get it, these are considered a deluxe resort (DVC) but if you want to do some laundry you have to shlub it to one of the laundry facilities.

I believe they are considered a moderate resort (non DVC). We stayed in these before the redo and we loved them. It was perfect for 4 of us. We loved the Trail's End restaurant (buffet at that time). Not sure I would stay there again. Don't know why they redid them, as we loved them as they were.

 

[tjkraz]

Regardless of all the definitions being debated here compared to every other DVC resort in WDW the Cabins are missing amenities. No towels? A bus to the pool? No bathtub, yet bring your family? Spread out over a campground. No laundry in room or out of the room for miles. Ridiculous dues? They don't fit the rest of the DVC portfolio at all.

The cabins have existed for around 30 years, largely in their present form. I don't really know why they should have to fit with the current DVC portfolio at all. Every new resort seems designed to expand DVC's appeal in new directions. Whether it's Disneyland Hotel bringing more accommodations to the west coast, Riviera adding a location with easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Island Tower with larger rooms for the Poly.

We may have another 20 years of debating whether the cabins are a "success" or "failure." Financially, Disney's ability to rent unsold DVC units to cash guests makes it sort of a moot point. We've got 3 decades of evidence that there are people willing to take a bus to the pool and hop in their golf cart to do a load of laundry. *I* have no great interest to stay there, but that doesn't mean they're wrong for everyone. Though it will certainly take time to find buyers willing to pay upward of $30k for this product. That could change if they're combined with some other product which adds a new reflecti...I mean, dimension.

 

[Judique]

The cabins have existed for around 30 years, largely in their present form. I don't really know why they should have to fit with the current DVC portfolio at all. Every new resort seems designed to expand DVC's appeal in new directions. Whether it's Disneyland Hotel bringing more accommodations to the west coast, Riviera adding a location with easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Island Tower with larger rooms for the Poly.

We may have another 20 years of debating whether the cabins are a "success" or "failure." Financially, Disney's ability to rent unsold DVC units to cash guests makes it sort of a moot point. We've got 3 decades of evidence that there are people willing to take a bus to the pool and hop in their golf cart to do a load of laundry. *I* have no great interest to stay there, but that doesn't mean they're wrong for everyone. Though it will certainly take time to find buyers willing to pay upward of $30k for this product. That could change if they're combined with some other product which adds a new reflecti...I mean, dimension.

I've stayed in the old cabins several times and never worried about a washer/dryer. I was also able to get a couple of nights first week in December when I couldn't complete my week at BWV with a standard view. Not complaining since I won't be buying or paying the high dues yet I am getting a 'new' room cheaper than most of the recent options.

For those talking about golf carts, how about making them a selling point, by suggesting a reduced price for DVC'ers? I will be paying the $65 in December but I think $35 or $40 would be a nice perk for those of us who have the direct points, lol. Won't hold my breath though.

(only half joking here)

I do think Reflections would make a lot of difference.

At any rate, I'll be barbecuing, driving my golf cart, maybe hoop dee doing, and parking a few feet from my deck/door and I will not be complaining about getting 'any' room for that week in December.

As far as success goes, there always will be somebody who will buy, however slowly. One fan base - older FW lovers who no longer want to deal with the logistics of a camping vacation but still want to go. Reading on the camping board, I've seen a few campers trying to get rooms already. There's a market for everything, and I'll be happy to jump into one of these with my cheaper points on occasion.

Oh and for whoever said it, OKW is not a motel. It's an old folks home.

edit: in a way the old cabins were a part of the DVC portfolio: you could use your points to book a cabin way back when. If you canceled your points turned into reservation points, but I used my points at least once. You could also use your points to book campsites for something like 6 or 8 points in slow season, although I was never able to snag that deal. Back in those days dues were under $4 a point, so a significant bargain if you could get it.

 

[jennypenny]

We went to visit the cabins a couple of weeks ago on our vacation. We had pretty much convinced ourselves to add on at the cabins ... get two or three fixed weeks in a row during the winter to do a little snowbirding with our dogs. I emailed our guide ahead of time to get the financials and told him when we wanted to visit. He said no problem, to head on over to the model near HDD.

We went around 11am on a weekday. Waited about 30 minutes at the DVC kiosk near the model cabin. No one ever showed up. We could see the cabin so we just walked over. We knocked and explained to the guide who answered the door that we'd spoken to our guide, just wanted a 5 minute peek at the cabin, etc etc, and she wouldn't let us in the cabin. She told us she was eating her lunch but if we came back in 1/2 hour she would schedule a tour for us (she thought maybe she could get us in later that afternoon).

We were flabbergasted. She was so rude and was clearly trying to get ride of us. There was no one else there. I could understand waiting until she was finished eating but she was obviously not letting us even peek inside without scheduling a tour. We were mad about wasting time but laughed at the absurdity of it. They can't give those cabins away and we made it clear we were looking to buy three weeks, and she held the door so we couldn't even look inside from the deck.

Maybe the cabins are a front for something, or they were shooting DVC p*rn to try to drum up sales lol. Regardless, we decided we didn't want to give DVC more money after being treated like we were trying to rob the place. Made me wonder if the sales problem isn't just about cabin amenities. They should have a scheduled open house time every week if they don't want people just showing up (but isn't that the point of dropping the model cabin near HDD??)

 

[tjkraz]

We went to visit the cabins a couple of weeks ago on our vacation. We had pretty much convinced ourselves to add on at the cabins ... get two or three fixed weeks in a row during the winter to do a little snowbirding with our dogs. I emailed our guide ahead of time to get the financials and told him when we wanted to visit. He said no problem, to head on over to the model near HDD.

We went around 11am on a weekday. Waited about 30 minutes at the DVC kiosk near the model cabin. No one ever showed up. We could see the cabin so we just walked over. We knocked and explained to the guide who answered the door that we'd spoken to our guide, just wanted a 5 minute peek at the cabin, etc etc, and she wouldn't let us in the cabin. She told us she was eating her lunch but if we came back in 1/2 hour she would schedule a tour for us (she thought maybe she could get us in later that afternoon).

We were flabbergasted. She was so rude and was clearly trying to get ride of us. There was no one else there. I could understand waiting until she was finished eating but she was obviously not letting us even peek inside without scheduling a tour. We were mad about wasting time but laughed at the absurdity of it. They can't give those cabins away and we made it clear we were looking to buy three weeks, and she held the door so we couldn't even look inside from the deck.

Maybe the cabins are a front for something, or they were shooting DVC p*rn to try to drum up sales lol. Regardless, we decided we didn't want to give DVC more money after being treated like we were trying to rob the place. Made me wonder if the sales problem isn't just about cabin amenities. They should have a scheduled open house time every week if they don't want people just showing up (but isn't that the point of dropping the model cabin near HDD??)

For what it's worth, there are two cabins at the Settlement Outpost. The one nearest the DVC booth is actually their sales office. It's definitely not set-up to be toured as a model. Usually they walk people over to a nearby cabin to look around. It's possible that there was another guide in the actual model with a group. There has been a lot of interest in touring. But it sounds like whomever you spoke with could have handled it much, much better.

 

[jennypenny]

We laughed it off but she was really rude. And honestly, I contacted my guide a few days beforehand and he could have told me to schedule something too.

We'll be there in November and maybe I'll schedule a tour then. Maybe.

 

[cabloom]

I posted in another thread about our interest in adding on at the cabins. When I contacted my guide about our scheduling a tour, he gave me a schedule of specific times that the model would be open to look at and he put our name on a list at the front gate (I don’t think the guard even checked the list, though) and said to check in at the DVC kiosk and someone would take us over for the tour. However, nobody ever showed up at the kiosk, so we walked over and talked to the guy in the cabin sales office (who acted like he wasn’t expecting us at all) who then walked us next door to the model. We never saw any signs anywhere, at the kiosk or at the model, saying what times tours were available.

Afterwards, we went over to SSR to meet with our guide. He said that the cabins are a “different type of DVC product” that won’t appeal to a lot of current owners. But, as I explained in my other post, they do appeal to us for a very specific type of trip that is not park-centric. We would have been bringing our camper, and now instead we will be staying in a cabin and we are very excited.

It really does seem like they are not particularly concerned about selling out very fast, based on them not making it easy to tour a model, though. At least our guide did tell us the tour schedule so we knew not to just show up … which we totally would have and been annoyed if we were treated like jennypenny was!

 

[CarolynFH]

Don't know why they redid them, as we loved them as they were.

As mobile homes, they were reaching the end of their functional life and had to be replaced. My personal belief, without any evidence so maybe it's just a suspicion, is that Parks & Resorts management had the great inspiration "Hey, if we make the new ones DVC, we won't have to pay future maintenance and replacement costs, the DVC owners will!"

 

[WinterSolider]

I really don't get it, these are considered a deluxe resort (DVC) but if you want to do some laundry you have to shlub it to one of the laundry facilities.

Doing laundry on vacation is not what I consider a sign of a "deluxe resort."

I'd argue that the more deluxe a resort, the LESS likely you are to be doing laundry on vacation.

 

[eticketplease]

Oh and for whoever said it, OKW is not a motel. It's an old folks home.

I'm not sure about that. OKW has one of the best pool slides imo.

 

[muppets3d]

Doing laundry on vacation is not what I consider a sign of a "deluxe resort."

I'd argue that the more deluxe a resort, the LESS likely you are to be doing laundry on vacation.

By worldwide deluxe standards you'd be right. But Disney, and DVC in particular, doesn't really slot into that rubric.

 

[zackiedawg]

I wonder how many of the people wanting to stay at these cabins, as well as considering buying there, are folks who already are familiar with staying in the old cabins. I know I had a strong desire to try out the new cabins with DVC points as soon as they were announced as a new DVC product - our family has stayed at the old cabins for decades and it's always been a family tradition, usually during summer - often friends would come and we'd all get cabins together on the same loop, everyone rented golf carts, and we spent a little more time on the campground property than when staying at other resorts. More riding around in the carts, heading down to the waterfront to watch the electric parade, barbequing, etc. The relaxed, campy type environment is what I like about it.

I could definitely see some confusion with the cabins and what to expect if you've never stayed there - trying to compare it to a 1-bedroom DVC would lead to disappointment in the smaller size, and lack of separation from other parties such as when accessing the bathroom, lack of washer-dryer, and so on. For me, none of those things matter at all - I don't expect or need the washer-dryer, fortunately I don't really use pools at Disney (I live in Florida and have a pool in my yard, so it's not a particular draw for me when on a Disney trip). The low points, BBQ, and golf cart are why I want to stay there.

Rather than try to compare it to a studio or 1-bedroom DVC, it's just a Cabin to me - I'm very familiar with staying at them. And the points charts make it a heck of a bargain for me - almost studio level points, but with a little more room. The golf cart is a must for me - wouldn't be worth staying there without it - the convenience of heading down to Trail's for a takeout meal to bring back to the cabin, or parking at the boat dock or bus stop to head to the parks - knowing when I get back after a long day of walking, I just hop off the boat or bus, onto my waiting golf cart, for a relaxing drive back to my cabin, parking right in front and walking in. If I come back early from the parks, I sometimes just take a nighttime drive around the campground, spotting deer, armadillo, and possums wandering about.

I admit the dues are steep - enough to keep me from buying in here - but I love having the very cheap point option to book probably once a year, which is what I often used OKW for previously. With the charge for valet at most resorts now, which used to be included, I can partially justify the cost for the golf cart - $40 valet vs $65 cart, it ends up being $25 more than valet - considering how many points I save staying at the cabin, that's easier for me to justify for the convenience. I wish golf carts were available at OKW or treehouses, as that would make it easier to accept accommodations at the farthest sections!

 

[cigarboo]

We stayed in the new cabins and absolutely loved it. It provides something that no other DVC does which is dog friendliness. To be able to bring my dog, I willing give up all the amenities that people complain about. After all, this is the campground. It's not like they put these rooms in the Riviera or Grand Floridian. To ride around in the golf cart, with my pup and his ears blowing in the wind brings me so much joy. The experience of riding into town for drinks or Hoop dee doo is just like no other at Disney. I think you either dig it, or you don't. There's a certain small community feel at the fort that is sometimes missing in modern life. I came away longing to go back.

If the maintenance fees weren't so high and the new points system so restrictive, I would definitely buy in. It's not all loss for DVC since having these cabins makes me value my DVC membership more. I am more inclined to to purchase more points elsewhere and use them for the cabins. The cabins are such a small proportion of the overall DVC rooms. I'm so grateful for this new option.

 

[eticketplease]

It provides something that no other DVC does which is dog friendliness.

I really wish there were two booking categories. 1 for people that can tolerate pets and a 2nd for those that cannot do to allergies etc. Dander will most likely remain in the room and vents no matter how well the cast member cleans.