WL resort information

[trishadono]

Yes, I have already booked 3 nights from July 27th to the 30th at the Hard Rock hotel....it's a Saturday, a Sunday and a Monday....I hope to get to see and do everything at Universal with two and a half days having the 'express pass.

Yep good plan.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

will be staying 9 nights in July 2024 but would like to go to Kennedy Space Center one day. I'm really in doubt between wl and CR...

Personally I don’t know if I would stay in a regular hotel room for 9 days. I would want the flexibility of having some kind of cooking facility (and laundry, but I have children) because at some point I get tired of eating (and paying for) only Disney food. WL does have 2 DVC properties on site (Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge). But keep in mind that MK resorts are definitely not central to anywhere, so you will be spending a fair amount of time on transportation just to get around. The only resort we have ever stayed in for 9 days straight is our beloved Beach Club, but even now we’re tending to favor split stays for convenience’s sake.

July will be HOT and HUMID, so you are definitely going to want to factor in pool time, water park time, and overall a slower pace of travel. Take advantage of mornings/evenings when it is cooler. All of this (to me) points to staying somewhere convenient to the parks. For Epcot/HS think Beach Club, Boardwalk, or Riviera if you want to go DVC, or consider something like a Caribbean Beach if paying cash. For Magic Kingdom I might recommend one of the monorail resorts if you are planning on rope dropping, but WL is wonderful if you want to take it easy (it’s very relaxing over there). Animal Kingdom and the water parks aren’t really super close to anywhere (even Animal Kingdom Lodge), so you can visit from either “home base.”

Sticking with the DVC theme, the other thing you could consider doing is staying at a less expensive property and using some of the difference to take Lyfts (or Minnie Vans for Disney Springs or Magic Kingdom). Saratoga and Old Key West are going to be the most economical DVC choices on property if you wanted to pick one home base.

Also FWIW Disney makes it very easy to hotel hop, as long as you don’t mind being “out of your room” for part of one day and don’t have refrigerated food. Drop your stuff off at the concierge in the morning and pick it up from your new resort’s concierge in the afternoon. Easy peasy.

 

[Chili327]

There are no direct monorails from MK to Epcot, you have to switch train at the TTC.

The Express Monorail goes between MK and TTC only. The Resort Monorail goes clockwise MK-CR-TTC-Poly-GF-MK.

Excellent info, I had no idea.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. I'm still undecided about the resort between WL and CR because I'm fascinated by the idea of the monorail, but WL in my opinion is more themed and costs less, which doesn't hurt. But eventually you can change the reservation, that is, if I book one and then later I want to move the reservation to another resort, can I do it independently or do I have to call them or send email...?

I was stuck between CR and WL for next year as well (March) and decided on WL. It’s just so beautiful and I think a resort day will be more enjoyable there. The pool at the Contemporary looks like a pool one might have in their backyard at home. Just a concrete rectangle without even much shade. WL is so beautifully themed that I think we will enjoy spending a day there without going to a park. And the day we go to MK the boat seems like a cool way to get there.

 

[MaxDrake79]

It's all great information, among other things the price difference with the Contemporary is a lot if you decide to stay in the main building of CR and that would be nice only for the monorail but I don't know how many times you will use it because I understand that with the buses you do it first or am I wrong? The monorail done once, twice at most, then, in my opinion, would tire and waste time. I don't know what distances there are from WL to the other parks but at the moment I'm oriented WL. Beach Club WOW and also BW in Crescent Lake....it's beautifull resort but a lot of expensive than WL

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

@MaxDrake79 - what’s your nightly budget? Do you want a classic hotel room or do you need more space? How do you intend to spend your Disney time (i.e. how many days in each park)?

 

[MaxDrake79]

My idea? 2 days mk 2 days Epcot 2 days AK 1 day DHS 1 day Kennedy Space Center plus the day of arrival a park by draw or Disney Spring. I'll be a park hopper so it's not excluded that I'll move from one park to another. I want to take advantage of morning and afternoon after a nap at the hotel from mid-afternoon onwards. WL seems better to me as a theme and as a pool than the CR. That's enough for me. I can still take the monorail from the CR or MK.

 

[kiford]

The pool at the Contemporary looks like a pool one might have in their backyard at home. Just a concrete rectangle without even much shade.

That's one of the problems we found with staying at CR. We only used the pool around dusk because it was way too hot with too much direct sunlight during the day. WL has areas that get shaded during the day so we much prefer it. It is also very beautiful; very much resembles the Pacific Northwest IMO especially when walking on the paths between the trees.

The monorail isn't nearly as efficient as it would seem especially since you have to change over monorails to go to Epcot. We personally prefer to use the bus (or boat) if we can even when staying at a monorail resort.

 

[Karebear]

My idea? 2 days mk 2 days Epcot 2 days AK 1 day DHS 1 day Kennedy Space Center plus the day of arrival a park by draw or Disney Spring. I'll be a park hopper so it's not excluded that I'll move from one park to another. I want to take advantage of morning and afternoon after a nap at the hotel from mid-afternoon onwards. WL seems better to me as a theme and as a pool than the CR. That's enough for me. I can still take the monorail from the CR or MK.

Given that you want to see all of the parks, I would choose a more central resort than the WL or the CR. I would look at one of the Epcot resorts (Beach or Yacht Club or the Boardwalk). You can easily walk to Epcot and HS from these resorts which makes it easy to take an afternoon break at the resort if you wish to. They have nice pools for relaxing and are a short walk from Epcot which is nice to have easy access to for dinner. Just my opinion.

 

[rstevens333]

You can't go wrong between CR and WL. They're both wonderful, just very different.

If you have park hoppers, it's fun to think of Epcot and DHS as one mega-park. You might want more than one day at DHS. Riding the Skyliner between them is as fun as any ride.

A fun way to do it would be:

Bus to DHS for rop drop. When you've had enough of the crowds, ride the Skyliner or boat to Epcot. Work your way to the front of Epcot as you leave, and you can monorail or bus back up to CR or WL.

 

[MaxDrake79]

The problem with Crescent Lake is that then you are tempted to book at the Dolphin or Swan and of course you save good money and they are deluxe resorts... Between YC and Beach club, which one do you think is better? The BW fascinates me as well. I go from one resort to another. I would stay at the WL which perhaps has the best theme ever, but now you have made me want to go back to Crescent lake

 

[Flossbolna]

If you are from Italy, make sure you read the booking terms on the website! WDW automatically redirects you to the European website and there might be different terms than for USA reservations, especially less flexibility for cancellations! Also, the European websites has other offers than the US.

One way to be sure to get the US terms and offers would be to go through a US based travel agent. That’s what I have done regularly before becoming a DVC member and still do for cruises. There are specialized Disney travel agents that are easy to work with via email, so it doesn’t matter where they are located and you seem to be able to communicate very well in English. This board is sponsored by Dreams Unlimited, one of those travel agencies, but there are many others.

However, for tickets I would recommend to look into booking them through the Irish website. Just go to book tickets on the WDW website. It will send you to the WDW travel company in the EU. You then choose to change location and choose Ireland. There they have the UK tickets priced in Euro and you can get a 7 or 14 day park hopper for a usually very good price. I am not sure if it works out better for you since you are only there for fewer days than us. But it’s worth it to check. It’s absolutely legit to buy from there even if you are in Italy as it’s against EU law to not sell something to someone in another EU country.

I think for two adults the WL is a wonderful resort. As a European the theme is wonderfully American, you will be able to add a little of a National Parks atmosphere to your trip by staying there.

 

[MaxDrake79]

Thank you for all the information and advice, I continue to be oriented towards the WL even if very similar in theme to the Sequoia Lodge of Disneyland Paris where I have been many times but the WL seems to me and is definitely more beautiful. Of course, it is beautiful for the Crescent Lake resorts to get to the two parks on foot, but in the end, considering that you already walk a lot, taking the bus or the boat does not seem so negative to me.

 

[focusondisney]

Thank you for all the information and advice, I continue to be oriented towards the WL even if very similar in theme to the Sequoia Lodge of Disneyland Paris where I have been many times but the WL seems to me and is definitely more beautiful. Of course, it is beautiful for the Crescent Lake resorts to get to the two parks on foot, but in the end, considering that you already walk a lot, taking the bus or the boat does not seem so negative to me.

It sounds like Wilderness Lodge is right for you. It is a beautiful resort & definitely well themed. WL is so relaxing, the Cresent Lake resorts are a lot busier. Go with your instinct. You don’t want to book somewhere else & regret it after the trip. You can visit the other resorts and ride the skyliner if you want to see them.

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you for all the information and advice, I continue to be oriented towards the WL even if very similar in theme to the Sequoia Lodge of Disneyland Paris where I have been many times but the WL seems to me and is definitely more beautiful. Of course, it is beautiful for the Crescent Lake resorts to get to the two parks on foot, but in the end, considering that you already walk a lot, taking the bus or the boat does not seem so negative to me.

As someone who has been to Sequioa Lodge: WL is so much more themed and luxurious! Yes, they share the theme. But they are two very different places and WL is far superior.

Also as someone who has been both to DLP and WDW many times: you need to prepare yourself that WDW is so spread out. Nothing is really conveniently located to everywhere.

While walking up two parks might sound as a bonus: it’s going to be hot as hell (you might know what hot feels like if you are from Italy) paired with crazy humidity (which most likely will be new to you). It’s a 15 minute walk at least from Crescent Lake to the Studios. In the sun, no shade. I am a walker usually, but will only walk there on a cold winter day or at night in April/May. And the boats are lovely, but also a very slow method of transport. I actually think the WL busses work great to get you everywhere in a timely manner. Especially to MK it’s a 5 minute drive. They are nice modern air conditioned busses - often playing Disney music.

 

[MaxDrake79]

Dear friends I have booked the WL, can you help me understand and remember? For the moment I have made a small deposit, the balance if I am not mistaken 8 weeks before, I booked with the package with park hopper tickets will I receive the tickets at the email? When will I get my tickets? As far as booking is concerned, where can I find the manage booking button? Where can it be modified? And until when can you cancel and get your money back?

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Congratulations on booking WL. It really is a beautiful resort.

 

[MaxDrake79]

Thank you very much, however I have many questions, I have purchased hotels plus tickets but I don't understand when and how I will receive the tickets, if I go to MDE I can't find the manage booking button, so how do I make installment payments? I also didn't understand if I cancel the holiday 30 days before, for example, will everything be returned to me? I had read somewhere that the price of the tickets would not be refunded but perhaps I misunderstood? I have a lot of doubts guys, maybe to make changes or cancellations I can only do it by phone? This would be bad for me, I was hoping to be able to do everything online.
Help

 

[MaxDrake79]

So I went a little further, I also associated the other guest (my mom) to my account, I was able to enter the reservation both from the pc and from the app, I find the complete reservation I also associated the tickets to the wallet but can I then pass my mom's ticket on her smartphone or every time I will have to use mine to use my mom's ticket? -I can't find the manage booking button, to make the various payments in installments and to modify the booking, where is it?

 

[Wood Nymph]

I also associated the tickets to the wallet but can I then pass my mom's ticket on her smartphone or every time I will have to use mine to use my mom's ticket?

The easiest way to handle your mom's ticket is to wait until you enter the first park. They will hand your mom a plastic ticket to use instead of your phone. You can do the same for the room access. Ask for a key card at the front desk when you check in. The other way to handle it is to have her download the MDE app to her smartphone. You can either give her your password and access to your account, or she can create her own MDE account which you can connect to so she can access her ticket and resort room using her account on her smartphone.

I don't have a suggestion for making payments, since we always book room only and don't need to make payments ahead of time.

Want to plan an WL resort this weekend. Should I book all the stuff from now?

The Wilderness Lodge is a small resort and very popular. I would book a reservation as soon as possible in order to get the room I want. You can always apply a discount later if one becomes available.