Wilderness Cabins

[sam_b]

Hi
After much debating we have finally booked - after all of the comments here - thank-you - we decided to go with Virgin PE rather than TCD SF.

We debated long and hard over the accomodation, we were going to find a villa offsite, but when it came to it we were reluctant to leave the magic.
We looked at the (IMHO very expensive) Disney villas at OKW and WL and decided that we couldn't justify that kind of money for what boils down to a large hotel room witha kitchen.

Finally we decided that a good compromise would be a Fort Wilderness Cabin - all the advantages of a detached villa, at a price level just above a moderate resort and still in Disney!

Has anyone else tried these cabins? I know that transportation can be a problem, but we will have a car and it will be low season.
I would appreciate any comments (good or bad) from people who have tried a cabin in the woods!

Thanks

 

[Madjock]

Hi Sam,

Unfortunately I haven't tried them but I think they look great and am considering them for when the kids are a bit older and need their own space.

Have you tried the resort board your sure to find opinions over there.

Annmarie

 

[vernon]

Disney villas at OKW and WL and decided that we couldn't justify that kind of money for what boils down to a large hotel room witha kitchen.

While I agree the DVC units are quite pricey, I can only assume you've been looking at the wrong units to draw those conclusions about what is actually offered. To say a DVC villa is just a large hotel room with a kitchen is so incorrect that it is only possible to conclude you've made some type of error in your research.

DVC have four room sizes they are

1) A studio, this is basically a regular hotel room with a fridge, microwave and "wetbar" (AKA sink). Some resorts ( OKW) have two queen sized beds, some Boardwalk and the Beach Club have one queen sized bed and one (I think) queen sized sofa bed (not a bad option for a couple or a couple with a small child as it does offer a nice alternative having a propper sitting area, and obviously when in it's sofa mode it takes up a hell of a lot less floor space). These rooms in price are comparable to regular rooms at similar quality hotels, ie the rooms at BCV run about the same as a regular room at the Beach/Yacht Club. I'll guess these are the rooms you've been looking at, but think they are a one bedroom unit. This is a Studio at BCV. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...id=BeachClubVillasResortGuestRoomsListingPage
Prices at OKW run from about $200 a night, but if you rent points off a member you can get them from about $80 a night

2) A "one bedroom unit". This comprises of a main bedroom (about the size of a normal hotel room) with a kingsize bed, an en-suite jacuzzi bath with a sink (areas about the same as most hotel bathrooms at OKW), a further en-suite "bathroom" with large walk in shower , a sink and a toilet, at OKW you get a separate laundry room (at the more recent resorts they have economised on space and have fitted the washer/dryer into a cupboard), you also have a fully equiped kitched and finally you have a living/dining room with a three seater sofabed, a two seater sofa, a "love seat" and a large dining table. Here is a link to a picture of the living room part of the unit. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/roomsDetail?id=OldKeyWestResortGuestRoomsListingPage and this is a link to the living area of a one bedroom at the boardwalk http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...id=BoardWalkVillasResortGuestRoomsListingPage
Prices at OKW run from about $300 a night but renting points will cost from about $160 a night

3) a "two bedroom unit". This is basically a studio and a one bedroom with an adjoining foor. Some 2 bedroom units are dedicated units. I.E. they can not be separated to accomodate two different groups/reservations. Some units are "lock offs" where the door between the units is in fact two doors back to back and each can be locked by it's own side.
Prices at OKW from $450 , renting points will cost from about $220

4) a Grand Villa. These sleep up to 12 and at OKW are about the size of a decent 3 bedroom semi.
Prices From Disney about $1,000 a night, renting points (in the unlikely event you can actually book one, they are hugely popular and in short supply) will cost from about $360 a night. By far the best value deal, but very limited supply and VERY popular.

N.B. When renting points Sunday to Thurday nights are at their cheapest. Friday and Saturday nights cost basically about 2.5 times as much as a weekday evening. So for example if a studio at OKW is 8 points ( points rent at about $10 per point) so $80 a night for weekdays it is likely they will be 20 points each night ( or $200) for a Friday or a Saturday.

There's no doubt that even by renting points using DVC is not a cheap experience, but in life you usually get what you pay for. There are cheaper options, but IMHO they don't offer the same quality of experience.

From what I gather the wilderness cabins could prove an excellent choice for you, anyone I've spoken to that stays there says it offers a really unique and pleasant experience staying on Disney. IMHO it's definately the best value option for a family that needs a little more space and/or privacy than a regular hotel room.

 

[catherine]

We (DH, DD's, and myself) usually stay in a 2 bedroom at OKW, which we love, as Vernon says much more than a large hotel room with a kitchen! A few years ago, I think it was in 2000 we stayed in a Wilderness Cabin. We just loved it. My DD's particularly enjoyed looking for the wildlife, and the bunk beds! However I found that there was very little closet space, so it was very difficult to unpack, we ended up leaving a lot of stuff in our suitcases on the bed, which we didn't use! This would be pretty difficult if there were more than 4 people staying there. You mentioned transportation. It does take a while to get to the cabins, however we didn't find this to be a problem. It was all part of the fun. We met lots of really nice interesting people on the buses. As far as having a car I seem to remember that you have to leave cars in the parking lot, and take internal buses to the cabins.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[sam_b]

Thanks for the replies - I didn't mean to cause offence by referring to the villas as hotel rooms with kitchens.

As much as I love the moderate resorts and (the one time we tried a deluxe) AKL, the thing that drives me mad is listening to the people in the room next door. When I looked into the alternatives (house/villa nr WDW) we realised that we didn't want to stay off-site so I looked at WDW villas - I suppose that I just assumed that they would be detached.

The one bed villas that I researched looked great in terms of space, but what really didn't appeal to me is that we may have a connecting door to a studio which could have 4 people in it.

I guess I should have explained that as there are only two of us, space isn't a priority, peace and quiet is!

The villas look beautiful, with their theming and all of the advantages of being in the middle of the magic. I would never question their worth for others. Its just that for us, we would be paying extra for a (much nicer) larger room, but not necessarily getting the peace and quiet that we were looking for.

I'm also not suggesting that you always get noisy neighbours, but we have had a few 'interesting' experiences in the past.

I hope this clears things up,

 

[vernon]

If at some stage in the future you do decide to try the DVC villas I would suggest you try OKW as the lay out of that resort is likely to suit you best. It is split into individual buildings ( I think about 40 buildings) , so unlike a resort like Boardwalk or BCV which has a more standard "hotel" design" you don't have the potential of hearing people (kids) walking (charging) along corridors talking ( shouting and screaming) .

I'm sure there are dedicated studios and one bedrooms at OKW as well as lockoffs, so that could be an alternative that suited you. On our most recent trip we were a top floor (so no noise from upstairs) , an end unit so our stairwell serviced only our unit and the one next to us. Unfortunately (for our neighbours , ) ours was a "lock off" but if you could get a dedicated in that position would would only have one neighbour to worry about.

Of all the Disney resorts I've stayed at OKW is the only one that I felt you can REALLY rest and relax and not feel like you're in the middle of WDW( or surrounded by people) . If peace and quiet is what you're looking for I would suggest you take a trip to OKW on your next visit and have a drive around the resort to get a feel of the ambience.

While one of the cabins should provide you with a little more distance from your neighbours than a hotel room would, the cabins are not as far from each other as a regular ( off site) villa would be, nor are they as well sound proofed. It is certainly not guaranteed that you won't have noisy neighbours, one of the attractions of the cabins set up is that there are open areas immediately outside the cabins where hyped up kids with energy to spare can be sent by frazzled parents to burn it off. You won't get the through traffic of a hotel corridor, but you might get a more sustained amount of noise from your neighbours kids playing outside. Don't forget that the cabins are usually the choice of families that have more than 2 children in their party, therefore noise is still a possibility. If it's nocturnal "horizontal gymnastics" you're alluding too, well on camp grounds I think the phrase is "don't come a knockin if the trailer is a rockin " so you might not escape that either LOL