Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[dansdad]

Can anyone tell me if there in a possibility to get connecting BUNK COURTYARD and 2Q COURTYARD rooms?

Thanks!

Yup, it sure is.

 

[Circusgirl]

Can't multi-quote right now, but wanted to report we are having a wonderful vacation. Parks are very crowded, but with FP+ and some ADRs and resort downtime, it's enjoyable and very doable. I visited WL today and took many photos. WiFi is very slow so I can only post a few now, but I'll post more next week from home. We ate at Trail's End for breakfast and I was able for the first time to watch them shod the horses. It was so much fun to see close-up at the Blacksmith between the horse stables and ponies.

The scaffolding is currently near the Bear Face rooms in the North Wing. The scaffolding will be making its way throughout the resort for probably the remainder of the year. The cowbells are alive and well and so is Randy S. who is now the Recreation manager at CR where we're staying. He was the WL CL manager for about 4 years and while he is greatly missed from WL, CR is very lucky to have him on their team.

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Thanks for the great photos, and glad you are enjoying your time!

 

[mrsap]

Can't multi-quote right now, but wanted to report we are having a wonderful vacation. Parks are very crowded, but with FP+ and some ADRs and resort downtime, it's enjoyable and very doable. I visited WL today and took many photos. WiFi is very slow so I can only post a few now, but I'll post more next week from home. We ate at Trail's End for breakfast and I was able for the first time to watch them shod the horses. It was so much fun to see close-up at the Blacksmith between the horse stables and ponies.

The scaffolding is currently near the Bear Face rooms in the North Wing. The scaffolding will be making its way throughout the resort for probably the remainder of the year. The cowbells are alive and well and so is Randy S. who is now the Recreation manager at CR where we're staying. He was the WL CL manager for about 4 years and while he is greatly missed from WL, CR is very lucky to have him on their team.

So happy to hear your having a great trip!!!!! Thanks for the pictures!!!!! (Our family members arrive at WL on Saturday!!!) Enjoy the rest of your stay! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!!

 

[SeattleJen]

Scaffolding! holy cow! So now I'm wondering if I should ask for a courtyard view without scaffolding?!?

 

[animalkingdom15]

About to book 5 nights in a Deluxe Room - Club Level Access 4/16-4/21 for a little solo get away and wanted some quick feedback on room choices when I do the check in information.

 

[kastoney]

About to book 5 nights in a Deluxe Room - Club Level Access 4/16-4/21 for a little solo get away and wanted some quick feedback on room choices when I do the check in information.

The deluxe rooms are on a different floor than club level. We had requested to be close to the old faithful lounge and ended up in a decent room on the 5th floor that was just a short elevator ride away. Some of the rooms are on the outer edges of the resort, so it could be a long walk. The deluxe rooms are quite spacious and sleep 6. If I were traveling solo I'd likely just do a regular club level room

 

[bluecastle]

Great pictures KOOK! Looking forward to your report when you return.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Scaffolding! holy cow! So now I'm wondering if I should ask for a courtyard view without scaffolding?!?

The rooms behind the scaffolding are vacant, so you don't have to worry about that. They seem to have finished with the south wing and are working on the north wing. If you don't want to risk being in a room that is near the scaffolding then you could try for an inner courtyard view in the south wing. The rooms that face the villas pool are also courtyard view rooms. That section is free of scaffolding but doesn't have a view of Bay Lake.

 

[goofystitchfan]

We are excited to be staying for the first time at VWL in 2 weeks. My DS14 is interested in doing the fishing that they offer. Would anyone have any type of guestimate as to how much that is $$? Also any other activities that would be great for first timers? TIA

 

[1disneychic]

I understand that the resorts are getting new washing machines/dryers that you can use a credit card with instead of bringing change. Does anyone know if they are in VWL yet? Also, does anyone know if it will start charging DVC guests staying on points? It has always been free to use the machines for DVC members staying at a DVC resort. Since we usually stay in a studio that has been a great perk for us. I hope it doesn't get taken away. Any insight would be very helpful!

And I love this thread! Since we are returning to stay at the VWL this summer (July 8-16), I've been checking out all the tips here. We haven't been here since 2005 so I'm excited to be back. Love the ambiance. And everyone is so friendly, helpful, and positive on this thread.

Thanks for any answers you can give!

 

[CJK]

Any word on the April activities schedule? I can only find March. Thanks!

 

[BellsFam]

Does anyone know when the activity calendar is posted for April?

 

[Wood Nymph]

I understand that the resorts are getting new washing machines/dryers that you can use a credit card with instead of bringing change. Does anyone know if they are in VWL yet? Also, does anyone know if it will start charging DVC guests staying on points? It has always been free to use the machines for DVC members staying at a DVC resort. Since we usually stay in a studio that has been a great perk for us. I hope it doesn't get taken away. Any insight would be very helpful!

And I love this thread! Since we are returning to stay at the VWL this summer (July 8-16), I've been checking out all the tips here. We haven't been here since 2005 so I'm excited to be back. Love the ambiance. And everyone is so friendly, helpful, and positive on this thread.

Thanks for any answers you can give!

Here is the discussion thread for the new washer/dryers

http://disboards.com/threads/new-laundry-machines-coming-to-disney-world-resorts.3396347/

here is the website:

laundryroom.com\disneyworld

and if I go to Villas at Wilderness Lodge I see the following:

http://www.laundryview.com/laundry_room.php?lr=4575691

At this moment there are three washers in use and one is available. The two dryers are currently available, too.

This is an awesome new feature.

Hopefully someone who is staying in a studio at VWL can find out if the washers and dryers are still free for DVC members.

 

[pixarmom]

We're home from spring break and don't even know where to start with our fantastic WL stay! This was our third stay at WL, but our first stay in the Old Faithful Club. Wow. We've stayed in all the CLs except for YC, and Old Faithful is our new favorite. A quick review:

Check-In. We arrived via taxi after spending a couple nights at Pop. A CM was waiting for us and already knew we had a CL reservation (not always the case at other resorts, in our experience.) He took us upstairs where CM Mike finished our check-in. This guy is great. Friendly, genuine, informative, helpful. Gave us a quick tour of the club lounge (including the very important "to go" cups!) explained operating hours and invited us to ask for anything we needed while the serving area was closed. (More on that later.) Told us our room would be ready shortly (even though it was around 9am!) and that it was overlooking the inner courtyard as requested. When our room ready notification arrived (about 15 minutes later!) Mike offered to take our luggage ticket and they called for Bell Services. He showed us to our room, checked to see the magic bands worked and said luggage should arrive shortly. About 10 minutes later, Mike calls the room to apologize the luggage hasn't arrived yet and took the initiative to check on status with Bell Services. Luggage arrives and we're on our way to MK. We're already loving this - they are really on top of things at WL CL.

Lounge. I love this lounge. I love the view into the lobby. I love the view out to the lake. I love the fact that the children's area is visible from all around the lounge but we're all spread out comfortably. Wonderful to have all that space. Truly relaxing. Everything about this lounge is comfortable and I so appreciate that the seating area is available even when the food service area is closed. Speaking of which, when Mike said we could ask for something while the food service area was closed, he meant it. Every time we asked for a soda, wine or snack, CMs were friendly, helpful and receptive. They went above-and-beyond repeatedly. For example, I asked for wine and a CM brought a glass of wine and a to-go cup with more for a refill. I asked whether I could check out a deluxe room because we might book one for our next visit and the CM (really wish I could remember his name - he was so helpful) gave me a quick tour and answered questions about the room type. We just enjoyed being there. And our oldest son declared that Keith is the best CM on property. We also love the CMs at BWI, but our teen sons are not as much into having a full conversation with CMs at this stage - so the WL CL CMs are a great fit for that right now.

Kids' area is really cute and well-located. Nice to have the crayons and coloring pages available. Our youngest son made many friends and we were fortunate to have a great group of fellow guests there during our stay.

Breakfast is just OK, but we're not really into breakfast anyway. I do prefer the hard boiled eggs and the meats/cheeses they offered at BC this weekend. Evening appetizers, however, were great. Since this was our first CL stay at WL, we can't compare it to offerings in the past. But WL offered so much food - we were very surprised. Just a bit of what I can recall . . . one hot appetizer (examples: chicken tenders, conch fritters, bacon wrapped scallops), a soup (salmon chowder, beef stew) a salad (caesar, caprese) a sandwich (egg salad on roll, turkey roll ups) cheese and crackers, fruit, veggies and dip, sourdough bread with red pepper hummus and gouda spread. We never use CL as a meal substitute, other than for breakfast, but we can't really eat much more after WL appetizers. In the future, we'll usually pair WL CL stays with TS lunches and CS dinners. It worked best when our dinner plans were for Territory Lounge or the F&G outdoor kitchen stands.

Rooms. We stayed at WL before the refurb and these rooms are such a significant improvement. It's not my favorite theme, but it's so well done that it doesn't matter. Beds are comfy and triple sheeting is clean and fresh. Appreciate the dimmer lights for the evening. I rarely comment on housekeeping, but they were great - we called late one night for extra bedding and they arrived within minutes. While I couldn't see out to the lake while sitting on the balcony, we had a beautiful view when standing and I liked the enclosed balcony while reading. Love the faux wood entry and the bathroom is clean, well-themed and very cute. Our room was incredibly close to the lounge, and that was another huge benefit.

Pool. The new splash pad is spectacular and our youngest son loves it. The pool slide is just OK, but as our oldest teen son says, we're not at Disney for the pool slide. The quiet pool looked great, and I'm hoping to spend time there during our next WL stay. It was the week before Easter, so the main pool was crowded, but that's the case everywhere. And we're not fans of the loud pool games, but again, that's everywhere and I get why all the resorts have them. I really appreciate the proximity of the pool to our room on the 7th floor - just a quick elevator ride and we're there.

Location/Transportation. There is some benefit to a more remote location, and all the other great things about WL on this trip made that apparent. It's so quiet, peaceful and remote. The quick boat ride to CR gave us access to the monorail and everything around it. On a rainy afternoon, we traveled to Poly - and actually enjoyed the journey. We used the bus sometimes, but we really loved mixing it up with boats and the monorail. Yay for Captain Carl and his pirate jokes. We walked the path to Fort Wilderness one evening - a fun mini adventure and nostalgic to see the front of the old River Country that's now Mickey's Backyard BBQ. We're looking forward to renting sea racers during our next stay.

WL CL exceeded our expectations in so many ways - we'll be back next year!

 

[roydavid7771]

We are excited to be staying for the first time at VWL in 2 weeks. My DS14 is interested in doing the fishing that they offer. Would anyone have any type of guestimate as to how much that is $$? Also any other activities that would be great for first timers? TIA

The two hour guided fishing excursions run about 270 bucks. You can have up to four people on the boat for that price, and they supply everything from the tackle to the bait. The guides are excellent and will do everything for you including baiting your hook and taking the hooks out of the fish you catch. Sofyt drinks are supplied as well. They usually have three start times, I believe 7 AM, 10 AM, and 1 PM.

My wife and I did it and we had a blast!

 

[Farps]

Great pics! Are all of the rooms getting new mattresses? That is good to know that they are comfortable!

It is good to know that they are getting new mattresses, but to be perfectly honest I could sleep on a pile of bricks after walking 14 miles a day at the parks.

 

[tinkerbella16]

It is good to know that they are getting new mattresses, but to be perfectly honest I could sleep on a pile of bricks after walking 14 miles a day at the parks.

Me too! I honestly get some of the best sleep in disney because I'm so exhausted at the end of each day. I sleep like a baby!

 

[disneywith4boys]

Does anyone know how strict they are being at the new splash pad on heights? My brother wants to stay at my WL, but his girls are a little over the height and he is considering another resort where they can have more pool time.

 

[pixarmom]

Does anyone know how strict they are being at the new splash pad on heights? My brother wants to stay at my WL, but his girls are a little over the height and he is considering another resort where they can have more pool time.

Our youngest son is 47 inches, so he's still within the height requirement, but during our stay (weekend of March 27-29) we didn't see any CMs monitoring height requirements. In fact, saw a couple of adults using the splash pad area with their children. I'm not recommending this, just mentioning that it occurred during our stay without interruption.

 

[VbChristy]

Does anyone know how strict they are being at the new splash pad on heights? My brother wants to stay at my WL, but his girls are a little over the height and he is considering another resort where they can have more pool time.

Our youngest son is 47 inches, so he's still within the height requirement, but during our stay (weekend of March 27-29) we didn't see any CMs monitoring height requirements. In fact, saw a couple of adults using the splash pad area with their children. I'm not recommending this, just mentioning that it occurred during our stay without interruption.

I have a 2 year old- I will have to enter the splash pad with my son. He won't nkr should he go in there on his own. I have never seen Disney scold someone for this type of policy. Sometimes that is frustrating. I want other kids to have fun which is why I don't let my young toddler play in an older kid area and it would be nice if sometimes parents would parent their older kids in a younger kid area. like my son gets intimidate with bigger kids rough housing near him or squirting water in his face (of course) and no one seems to care. That's a little frustrating.