We are staying at the villas in June, as well, with a 5 yr old and 3 yr old. We plan on midday pool/rest breaks pretty much every day. I plan to spend most of our time at the splash pad at the main pool. If you want to see what it looks like there is a couple youtube videos. I showed it to my boys and they are very excited. So we may not even spend much time at the villa pool even if it is open.
I believe just the south wing of the Lodge which is where the new DVC suites will be located.
The majority of the construction should be completed by then, and even now in the height of construction, I'd still do CL and not worry. The construction hasn't really been an issue at WL: the restaurants are all open and operating; the main pool and kids' splash pad are wonderful; the majestic music still plays; the lanterns flicker and crickets chirp; it's still a great place to be. And by October, I suspect it will be even better.
Well, there are some who would prefer to stay away until all construction is done, and I understand that. However, we were there during the construction, and I've seen plenty of reports from acquaintances and strangers alike, and we all nearly universally agree that the impact of the work is minimal. The crews only work from roughly 8-5, and if you're inside the room, the noise is barely noticeable if at all. While the construction area is walled off, the rest of the Lodge areas are certainly open as mentioned before: restaurants, the Mercantile, the Geyser, the main pool, the boat dock, the bus stop, and even the paved bike path to FW (though the nature trail is closed, of course). The CL lounge has moved, and by the reports I've read, it's been very nicely redone. According to comments emanating from a recent DVC owners' meeting at VWL, the new quiet pool is slated to open by late summer, and there's a decent chance the new grill and bar in the building now resting where the beach once existed (which I sadly miss) will also be open by October. Go and enjoy, I say!
New Lounge?
We stopped by the Wilderness Lodge on Saturday, December 3rd for a quick visit. I only took a couple pictures of the construction outside of Roaring Forks. This is the wall that is hiding the patio construction:
And they have frosted the windows near Roaring Forks so that you can't see what they are doing to the patio:
Then on Tuesday morning, Dec 6th, we booked a private water taxi from GF to FW for our breakfast at Trail's End. I asked the CM if he could take the boat past the construction at WL and he was happy to do it:
This is the cabin closest to the monorail and the least finished of all the cabins.
This one has some interior walls and you can tell that there will be a chimney.
It looks like a few of the trees are dying. There are a lot of trees in the courtyard area. The Trout Pass bar is to the right, the construction wall which blocks the view of the construction from the pool area is in the middle, and the new grill area is on the left.
This looks like it will be an open air patio.
This is probably the restaurant. The CM's on the boat said that there are job postings already for the new bar and grill. The marina building is getting a new roof.
I posted a copy of these pictures to the main Wilderness Lodge thread.
Bill
