Wilderness Lodge Questions

[Terk-1]

Ok, so I called CRO again and spoke to a different CM. She was able to get me a courtyard view, A/P rate at the Wilderness Lodge for 8 nights (was not available for the first two nights). The standard & woods views were not available at the AP rate, but she said to keep checking periodically and maybe they may open some more up. I'm pretty content with the courtyard view, though. Speaking of this, now I have some questions. I have stayed at the WL once before, but only for two nights.

Room Questions: Where do the courtyard rooms face? Do any of the higher level rooms face the Magic Kingdom? If you have stayed there before, do you have a specific room that you really liked or had just amazing views that you could recommend to me? Are there any rooms with a king bed? When I was making my room requests (i.e. non-smoking, etc.) I had asked the CM if the rooms with king beds cost more than those with 2 beds (as they do at some other resorts). She told me the rate was the same, so I put in a request for one with the other requests. I know there is no guarentee, but like I told her, I would rather leave a room with two beds to those who need two beds. Are there any courtyard rooms with king beds? How comfy are the beds? Do you still get the Mickey's soaps, shampoo's, etc. or are they wal mounted?

Resort Questions: How is the bus system? Does it share with other resorts? Is it faster to grab a monorail to the Contemporary from EPCOT, then grab the boat (if still available) back to the WL or is the bus quicker? Can you still take the shuttle boat to the Contemporary & Magic Kingdom? When do these start & end? Can you see the MK fireworks from the beach? Does the Electrical Water Parade still stop in front of the WL beach? If so, what time?

Thanks for your help!!!!

 

[jordgubben]

Where do the courtyard rooms face?
It's my understanding that they face the courtyard (pool area).

Do any of the higher level rooms face the Magic Kingdom?
see above

If you have stayed there before, do you have a specific room that you really liked or had just amazing views that you could recommend to me?
Stayed in the honeymoon room which didn't really have a great view (overlooked roofs and trees) but we could see the fireworks from Epcot over the tree tops.

Are there any rooms with a king bed?
yes

Are there any courtyard rooms with king beds?
I would assume so.

How comfy are the beds?
I do not recall them being UNcomfortable so I suppose they are comfortable enough.

Do you still get the Mickey's soaps, shampoo's, etc.?
We did.

How is the bus system?
We had no problem with the bus system never waited long than 10 minutes. You can take a boat to MK.

Does it share with other resorts? Fort wilderness

Is it faster to grab a monorail to the Contemporary from EPCOT, then grab the boat (if still available) back to the WL or is the bus quicker?
We always took the bus home directly from EPCOT.

Can you still take the shuttle boat to the Contemporary & Magic Kingdom?
You can definitely take it to MK and FW I'm not sure about Contemporary maybe someone else will know.

When do these start & end? not sure

Can you see the MK fireworks from the beach? not sure

Does the Electrical Water Parade still stop in front of the WL beach? If so, what time?
Yes. Approx. 9:35

 

[Alison Wonderland]

Fireworks: we had a decent view of the fireworks. It was over trees, so maybe the lower fireworks you couldn't see but the view was not bad.
Bus: When we went to AK the bus stopped at the Grand Floridian, so I believe some of the routes must be shared with the GF.
Courtyard views face the pool but a view facing the other pool by the WL villas is also considered courtyard view. The courtyard views do not face the Magic Kingdom, but some of the "woods" view do.
Boat: still goes to Contemporary and MK. But I don't know the start times. I think I remember the time on the sign for the MK boat stated it started at 8:30, because we just missed the 1st one and we were heading to the MK for opening at 9AM.
Beds: We split our stay and remember noticing that the WL beds were more comfortable than the YC beds.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

You must go to the WL thread and read it . WONDERFUL info there.... and if you cant find what you need there is a WONDERFUL Diser that is the "Keeper" of that thread Kimmar067 Knows everything and if not she will find out for you


Wishing you a Tagged night
Cause Tagging is Cool

 

[Forever a Princess]

Terk-1

The main courtyard view overlooks the small brook, roaring forks waterfall, the pool and geyser.

Occasionally I have heard that a courtyard view may be considered as one of the rooms that overlooks the pool at the Wilderness Lodge Villas.

We request at room at the far end of the lodge as close to the pool and geyser as possible. 5th floor because of the great unobstructed view from our balconey.

The beds are extremely comfortable. I have a bad back and hips. I sleep so well in the WL beds. Better than my bed at home!!!!

The best place to watch the EWP is from the beach which is located right by the boat and bike rental.

Yes, mickey soap and shampoo are a "standard" item and they replinish the stock every day.

Yes separate boats go to the Contemporary and the MK.

Hope this helps.
Renee

 

[MassMom94]

Based on my recent (8/23 - 8/30) experience, busses are shared with either GF or FW, depending on where you are going. The BB/AK bus stopped at GF, and the Epcot bus stopped at FW. I think the MGM-Studios bus stopped at GF, but if not, it stopped at FW. Not having express service was a minor inconvenience but nothing major.

Yes, there is a boat to the MK, but many times the boat to the MK will stop at FW, too. IME it was express in the early AM, but not at other times of day.

The boat to the Contemporary starts running at 7 AM, I believe, and stops at 10 PM. I would guess that generally this is not faster than taking a bus, especially because you can't grab a monorail directly to Epcot from the Contemporary - you have to change at the Transportation and Ticket center (TTC), so you have three connections (boat, first monorail, second monorail) that can hang you up. You can, however, get a bus from the WL to the TTC and catch the Epcot monorail there.

The ELP does stop in front of the WL. The official hotel info says 9:35, but when I was there, it was more like 9:30. It's great, be sure to catch it!

 

[FloridaCat]

Room Questions: Where do the courtyard rooms face?
TOWARDS THE WATERFALL POOL AREA, IN OTHERWORDS THE COURTYARD.

Do any of the higher level rooms face the Magic Kingdom?
WOODSVIEW ON THE UPPER FLOORS AND TOWARDS THE LOBBY CAN VIEW MK AND THE FIREWORKS.

If you have stayed there before, do you have a specific room that you really liked or had just amazing views that you could recommend to me?
WITH EXCEPTION OF SOME STANDARD ALL ROOMS HAVE A PRTTY GOOD VIEW, DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU CONSIDER GOOD VIEW.

Are there any rooms with a king bed? When I was making my room requests (i.e. non-smoking, etc.) I had asked the CM if the rooms with king beds cost more than those with 2 beds (as they do at some other resorts). She told me the rate was the same, so I put in a request for one with the other requests. I know there is no guarentee, but like I told her, I would rather leave a room with two beds to those who need two beds. Are there any courtyard rooms with king beds? How comfy are the beds? Do you still get the Mickey's soaps, shampoo's, etc. or are they wal mounted?

CANT HELP ON THE KING BED QUESTION, BUT YES PLENTY OF MICKEY SUPPLIES.

Resort Questions: How is the bus system? Does it share with other resorts? Is it faster to grab a monorail to the Contemporary from EPCOT, then grab the boat (if still available) back to the WL or is the bus quicker?

GO TO THE TRASPORTATION THREAD AND CHIPNDALE WILL GIVE YOU THE FACTS. BUSES ARE SHARED BY OTHER RESORTS, BUT DEPENDS ON TIME OF DAY. TRANSPORTATION IS VERY GOOD AT WL. IT’S FREE AND YOU CAN RELAX ENJOY THE SIGHTS ALONG THE WAY.

Can you still take the shuttle boat to the Contemporary & Magic Kingdom? When do these start & end?

SMALL BOAT GOES TO CR. LARGE BOAT GOES TO MK, CHECK WITH CHIPNDALE ON TIMES.

Can you see the MK fireworks from the beach?
Does the Electrical Water Parade still stop in front of the WL beach? If so, what time?
YES, 9:30 PM

 

[floridafam]

When we were there last October they also considered some of the rooms that face the pool at the Villas to be Courtyard views.

 

[FloridaCat]

Here is the layout of WL and the link is to photos of WL. This should help to give you a better feel of WL and all its granduer.

http://www.wdwig.com/g_wl.htm

WILDERNESS LODGE REPORT

Floridacat
July 7th to 10th, 2003


Purpose:
To give you first hand information on Wilderness Lodge. A very magnificent lodging experience.

Lobby; Information I provide here is to give you a heads-up on locations in the lobby. To describe the lobby it self, would be like telling you how a good movie ends and I will not deny you that experience at any cost.

I also want to state at the outset that the service is impeccable throughout the resort.

Upon entering the massive front doors, you will find on your left public rest rooms, Whisper Canyon Café, The fireplace and then to Artist’s Point. You then descend down a wide ramp hallway to the doors to the courtyard. Turning left you will find Roaring Forks Food Court, Public Restrooms, elevators and across from the elevators is Guest Laundry.

Back at the main entrance, turning to your right will be the Bell Service desk, and then along the right wall is the check in counter. At the end of the counter is an information center where you can pick up maps and time sheets for the parks. The CM will give you a packet with Wilderness information and a Lodge activities sheet. Continuing along that wall is the elevators.
Going down the hall at the end of the check in counter is Mercantile Gift Shop, across from them are elevators. Then there is the Arcade room and Cubs Den. Going out the doors takes you to the bus terminal. There are signs informing you where each bus will stop and where it is going.

The courtyard is best enjoyed by your own exploration. I will have some comments later in this report to help you.

BUILDINGS:
For the sake of clarification I am naming the buildings LOBBY, NORTH WING A, NORTH WING B, SOUTH WING A, SOUTH WING B. With the A buildings close to the lobby and the B building connected to the A buildings; towards Bay Lake. The North buildings are on your left facing the lodge and South buildings on your right.

Rooms are numbered “Floor-Building-Room”. An example is 6008 is sixth floor, north wing, room 8. 6108 is sixth floor, south wing, room 8.
Even room numbers are to the outside and odd numbers are rooms towards the courtyard side.
Room numbers are somewhat confusing as you would assume 01 would be at the lobby and 99 at the farthest end. At WL it is the opposite. 99 is in the lobby area while 01 is the farthest from the lobby.

All 6th floor rooms are smoking and all others non-smoking.

LOBBY: South side #091 to #099 third floor to 6th floor.
North side #084 to #089

NORTH BUILDING, WING A: Outside is all Standard View overlooking the service area parking lot. This is where all deliveries are being made to the Lodge... This would work if you are only in the room to sleep. During the day there is a lot of activity of trucks making deliveries. The view is not distasteful; it’s the truck traffic during the day.
Inside rooms are Courtyard View in the general vicinity of the Waterfalls.
General Room numbers are #066 to #042 for all floors. There are some exceptions.

NORTH WING BUILDING B: Outside is Woodsview and is very quiet and private. We enjoyed it very much and would request it on future trips. We had a good view of Otter Pond, while we never saw any Otter’s there were plenty of Ducks swimming and Rabbits having dinner. The MK fireworks are very plain to see and my estimation is rooms 5010 to 5032 had the same opportunity as well as the same rooms on 4th and 6th floors. Rooms #008 to the end of the building are blocked by two large trees to view MK and to far from Otter Pond to see except a small end of it.

Courtyards views on the inside offer a fantastic view of the pool area and are somewhat noisy until the pool is closed for the day.
General Room numbers are #004 to #044 for all floors. There are some exceptions.

SOUTH BUILDING A & B: Both sides are considered Courtyard View; however the outside rooms view the Villas and are quiet. Inside view is the courtyard.
General Room numbers are same as the North Buildings and there are some exceptions.

Elevators are located where Wing A & B connect. Rooms to the far end have a long walk to the elevators or use the stairwell on the end to go to the pool or boat dock. It is my opinion that the North side offers more in convenience then the South side. Both sides are equal in access to Courtyard and pool, but the North has a greater convenience to Roaring Fork area of the lobby and to the boat dock. 5028 was a few steps from the elevator, not a noise problem, which opened into the RF hallway, Pubic restrooms and the Courtyard area just outside RF. My mornings were to fill my mug with their good coffee and sit out there and read the free newspaper and have a smoke. When the girls were ready, then I grabbed my shower and we were off.

All end units facing Bay Lake are suites

 

[Claire L]

Last year when we stayed at WL we had a courtyard room with king bed and normal bathroom along with being non smoking and it was room 4037 if that helps.
Claire

 

[Sanchez]

We feel that the WL is the best WDW Resort. In the spirit of constructive criticism, I would suggest that the transportaion system is the worst at WDW.

First, WL buses always share with another resort such as GF or FW making any trip longer than necessary given the proximity of WL to those resorts. Second, we experienced the time between buses to be as much as one hour. A bus driver explained it to us that they do not always repeat the same route - that is, the drivers are on call and go where needed. For some reason, especially during value season, this affects the WL. The driver claimed that WL, given its location, was difficult to put on a route.

I find it hard to believe that a "deluxe" resort should have a transportation system vastly inferior to the AS Resorts

We are early risers and thus did not have many problems, but others in our party who attempted to leave for the parks between 9-10 were significantly delayed.

MK - take the boat directly to MK. This is efficient.
EPCOT, MGM, AK - Going early, take the bus, if later drive.
Water Parks, Downtown Disney - always drive unless you plan to imbibe at DTD.

Have a great stay.

 

[Forever a Princess]

FloridaCat

Excellent post! Thank you.

Renee

 

[FloridaCat]

I invite all of you to come over to Kimar067, WL FAQ and her merry band of WL VETS.

For the newbies to WL your fears and doubts will be eliminated and you will set forth on your great adventure with confidence from their enlightenment.

For the experienced, new friends that share your love to the Grand Old Lodge of the Kingdom.

Forever a Princess, Thank you and my pleasure.