Wilderness Lodge Questions

[Cinderella822]

I've always stayed at value or moderate resorts and am now thinking of staying at WL. In looking over all the info on the various websites, I see a couple of concerns.

I see some mention of the rooms needing rehab - with dirty carpet, peeling wallpaper, etc. Has anyone else noticed this or are the rooms mostly in good shape?

Another bigger concern is the transportion. Is it really has horrible as I've read - with long waits to all the parks? I love the Disney transportation system and prefer it to driving when I'm there, but I don't want to waste half my day waiting for busses. Any comments?

 

[Ratpack]

We stayed there this past July and it was great. Our plans are to never stay anywhere else. The room that we had was in good condition. Please keep in mind that these still are hotel rooms and have hundreds of people staying in them in any given year. If Disney repaired every little thing each time it came up, the costs would drive prices up and no one could go. I don't think any room would be in total disrepair but if it is, I am sure they will move you. As far as the transportation, it was fine. Didn't wait very long at all for a bus or boat except when returning from DTD. Of course this didn't bother us, we were at Disney, what hurry could we be in. Just plan enough time so that if there is a wait, it will not interfere with your plans.

 

[king_triton2001]

We just got back from the WL. We were in a courtyard view room and had no problems with the room regarding carpets or wallpaper. We were initially concerned with the transportation too but found that the bus and boat transportation was pretty good. Keep in mind that the WL shares its transportation with Ft. Wilderness so it doesn't go directly to the parks first.

 

[MauraAndIainsDad]

We were just at WL last week as well. I wouldn't say that it is our favorite Deluxe resort (a tie between BC and AKL) but it was in good shape. My only complaint is that I found the vanity area a little cramped.

I'm not the person to ask about Disney transportation. We gave up on it several trips ago and usually drive ourselves. We did however try the boat to MK on our first day and it was too slow for our tastes (45 minutes from our room to the MK dock), especially considering that the TTC parking lot is practically across the street.

 

[crisi]

We stayed at WL, our room was lovely (though cramped for a Deluxe - it is the cheapest of the Deluxe's for a good reason) and in good shape.

We had no problems with Disney transportation. But we are seldom in a rush - we usually arrive fifteen minutes before the gate opens.

 

[las3888]

Last May everything was pretty much in order when we were there. I didn't notice any major wear and tear (not really any minor wear and tear either!)

It isn't my favorite deluxe either, but we enjoy the good deals they offer...

Not sure about the transportation either - we usually rent an inexpensive car so we have freedom to move about...

My final two cents is if cost-saving is a concern, skip the courtyard view room...not worth the extra $$$ in my opinion.


Good luck!

 

[jwfla422]

Sorry so long but just wanted to give our experience:

I stayed there in August with my 4 yr old dd. The room was in very good condition as far as I'm concerned. As some posters mentioned the rooms are a little smaller for a deluxe but I was QUITE comfy with my dd. She actually sleeps on an aerobed (even though we had 2 queens). I hang a sheet over a clothesline I tie to the door and then to a chair and she loves her little tent I did not find it crammed moving the furniture around to do that either.

I found the bathroom area large, with 2 sinks outside with a nice size counter top and then there's a vanity on the way in the room on one side with drawers (i kept all of our food related items there).

I really like this resort. Everyone will find something wrong with every resort, if your there to go around with a fine toothed comb then you may find "tiny" things but if you're there for the magic that WDW has to offer, the things will go unseen.

One thing I would recommend is if you are light sleepers, try to request a room at the end of the hall away from the elevators, we had a lot of traffic going by our door, day and late at night and it was fairly noisey.

As far as transportation, we barely used it because I had my car (and took advantage of valet)...since it was just dd and I it was easier. We did take the boat one day from MK in the pouring rain, we lucked out, got right on and by the time we got off the rain let up. We also took the bus in the early morning to go to MK's CRT's which was a TTC bus, it pulled up as soon as we got to the stop and we were the only ones on it. The monorail took longer

Don't be steered by negative comments on this board, all of the resorts have their little drawbacks and sometimes people have bad experiences but yours will always be different from everyone elses! I recommend WL highly ENJOY!

 

[Cinderella822]

Thanks to everyone who replied. The more I hear about WL, the more excited I am to stay there. This will be my first deluxe resort so I'm sure it will be nicer than my past resort rooms. It seems to have a lot to offer in the way of recreation, which I'm looking forward to. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the resorts at WDW anyway. I've always been pleased with them.

 

[blossombrd]

QUOTE]The more I hear about WL, the more excited I am to stay there. This will be my first deluxe resort so I'm sure it will be nicer than my past resort rooms. It seems to have a lot to offer in the way of recreation, which I'm looking forward to.[/QUOTE]

Me, too! When are you going?

 

[Cinderella822]

I'm not going for some time yet - the end of August - but its never too early to start planning.