Wilderness Lodge Villas - UPDATED with a Refurbed Villa Review

[Weather_Lady]

FYI, I posted a question over at the "Your First Visit" website and asked the gentleman in charge (Dave) if he was going to do a review/ update for the refurbished Wilderness Lodge Villas. I really enjoy his in-depth observations about how various accommodations work out, on a practical level, for families, and figured he might have some new and better photos than I've seen thus far, and some insight on the best way to utilize the new furniture and floor plan. He said it would be a little while before he could visit to do an update, since he'd just been there in December, but he posted a helpful link to some pictures -- in this very thread! So I've been referred back... to myself, and my online interactions have come full-circle! I fear the universe may end at any moment.

http://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/02/07/review-the-villas-at-disneys-wilderness-lodge/

 

[epcotisbest]

We have been on a quest to stay at as many Disney World resorts as possible and hope to maybe try them all someday. We have also done HHI and Vero Beach. Have made pretty good progress, with the only repeat so far being VWL. Loved it so much we did go back this past May. Now seeing the refurb pics here, VWL may well be a three-peat.

 

[bgraham34]

I don't really love the new decor but I will reserve complete judgement until my trip in May.

 

[alawrence]

We will also be there in May. Seems like a popular time of the year in this forum. Maybe we will run into some of you.

 

[Weather_Lady]

A user named debbieandroo over at the Disboards just posted these beautiful pictures she took of a newly-refurbished WLV kitchen/living room. They communicate much more warmth, texture, woodsiness (is that a word?) and detail than the photos we've seen up to now. The textiles are much more detailed than previous pictures showed and the rooms have more color and contrast -- check out the decorative nails and leather cushion on the armchair! The new family room TV stand has a much bigger flatscreen but is far more shallow, freeing up extra space to access the breakfast bar. I still really dislike the overly-contemporary throw rug, but you can't win 'em all. And those Bambi pillows! Squee!

 

[Weather_Lady]

More pictures taken and posted by debbieandroo (via Photobucket), showing the villa's secondary bedroom and vanity area:

The bed really needs a little something extra. Perhaps there's a decorative scarf (like the one shown in the DVCNews before-and-after shots) that just wasn't there at the time the photo was taken.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Some more pictures - these are from the Mouseowners forums. A daytime view of the living area, more Bambi pillow designs and a glimpse into the master bedroom (with new flooring, bedding and drapes), master bath (where not much has changed except for the floor tiles), and secondary bath. One thing that all of the photos I've seen appear to suffer from (regardless of who took/posted them) is that the lighting in the refurbed villas gives a yellow/orange cast to the surfaces, so it's hard to gauge how colorful the new decor is (or isn't). Also, this set looks like the cabinets have dark knobs (dark green, perhaps, or brushed nickel?). The previous set of pictures clearly showed white ceramic hardware on the cabinets. Some things must still be in flux.

Helooooo, trash can! (Tell me those aren't price/bar code stickers on it!??!) What do you want to bet that the first thing most guests do is move it somewhere else?

Different Bambi pillows from the ones we saw before! I wonder how many different designs there are.

This is the first picture I've seen of a rehabbed master bedroom. It's tough to assess it from this angle, and I'm still surprised at the lack of bed scarves. The beds look quite "naked" without them.

Nice new lighting! Since they replaced the old, more colorful floor tiles, I really wish this room had some yellow, green or blue in it elsewhere - in the form of new artwork, perhaps? - to offset the Lizzie Bordon-inspired, "neutrals with puddles and splatters of oxblood" color scheme.

 

[ABQ]

Has anyone stayed a floor below one of these renovated villas? My question is whether or not you hear a ton from the neighbors above you with the new wood or wood laminate floors? Having lived beneath someone with such flooring before, it's not all that sound absorbent and I can't imagine if someone moves the chairs either around the little round table or next to the counter behind the sink that it's going to sound all that great downstairs. Being part of a party that does often use the sleeper sofa, it's going to be quite crappy to hear chairs sliding and shoes stomping upstairs at either very late or early morning hours.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Has anyone stayed a floor below one of these renovated villas? My question is whether or not you hear a ton from the neighbors above you with the new wood or wood laminate floors? Having lived beneath someone with such flooring before, it's not all that sound absorbent and I can't imagine if someone moves the chairs either around the little round table or next to the counter behind the sink that it's going to sound all that great downstairs. Being part of a party that does often use the sleeper sofa, it's going to be quite crappy to hear chairs sliding and shoes stomping upstairs at either very late or early morning hours.

If anyone on here has stayed there post-refurb, they haven't been forthcoming about it! Any information I've been able to find has come from other sources.

If you're concerned about the potential for noise, the best advice I can give is to request a 5th-floor villa so there's no noise from overhead.

Also, reading reviews like this one (the latest describes a stay in a newly-renovated villa, and observes that the kitchen counter was stained with paint, and that other areas are already dirty and damaged) has made me a little nervous that the renovations were not done with due care, and in that case, proper consideration to floor soundproofing was likely not given: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...isney_s_Wilderness_Lodge-Orlando_Florida.html

I guess we'll see when we arrive in 34 days!

 

[ABQ]

If anyone on here has stayed there post-refurb, they haven't been forthcoming about it! Any information I've been able to find has come from other sources.

If you're concerned about the potential for noise, the best advice I can give is to request a 5th-floor villa so there's no noise from overhead.

Also, reading reviews like this one (the latest describes a stay in a newly-renovated villa, and observes that the kitchen counter was stained with paint, and that other areas are already dirty and damaged) has made me a little nervous that the renovations were not done with due care, and in that case, proper consideration to floor soundproofing was likely not given: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...isney_s_Wilderness_Lodge-Orlando_Florida.html

I guess we'll see when we arrive in 34 days!

Huh, that's an odd review. But some parts are telling. Moving to the wood flooring from carpet presents a problem for mousekeeping. Guests would not notice the dust around the areas the vacuums miss with carpet alone, now with the wood, it's going to require more effort to keep clean.
I assume the shabby carpet and broken grout noticed were both original to the room and not part of the refurb plan. Stinks that something that should be maintained routinely is let go.
But what really strikes me as odd, her knock on Artist Point, I've never seen them go 0-5 in one party's meal.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Huh, that's an odd review. But some parts are telling. Moving to the wood flooring from carpet presents a problem for mousekeeping. Guests would not notice the dust around the areas the vacuums miss with carpet alone, now with the wood, it's going to require more effort to keep clean.
I assume the shabby carpet and broken grout noticed were both original to the room and not part of the refurb plan. Stinks that something that should be maintained routinely is let go.
But what really strikes me as odd, her knock on Artist Point, I've never seen them go 0-5 in one party's meal.

The carpets and tile were all completely replaced in the refurb -- there is no flooring left that is original to the room (even the closets have new flooring inside), so if she saw carpet or grout in poor condition, they were the new stuff.

While I've seen similar criticism of the bathroom grout from an experienced and credible WDW visitor on another board which backs up what this reviewer says, it is possible that her conclusion that the brand-new carpet looked "shabby" was a mistake, owing to its pattern. From the pictures I've seen, the new carpet in the bedrooms/studios has lots of variation in the height of the loop patterns and some blotchy spots of darker color or shadow (check out the studio pics on the first page of this thread, and you can see how the carpet resembles tree bark with knots). I like it, but it's definitely not a look we're used to seeing. She may have seen the texture and color variation and thought that the carpet was simply old, stained and unevenly worn... I also couldn't help but wonder if her reference to the countertops being "covered in spilled paint" wasn't a bizarre misinterpretation of the speckled pattern in the granite. She also admits that there are dark specks/streaks in the new tile that she thought were dirt until she inspected it further (so at least one of the "flaws" she noted turned out to be a design choice, not a cleaning issue). It's so hard to know what you're getting when it comes to online reviews!

 

[Weather_Lady]

More negative reviews of the refurb, unfortunately. Another DVC member reports that: (1) the new resilient flooring in the refurbed villas is a poor-quality laminate that is already showing scratches; (2) the kitchen cabinets were repaired and painted, but only superficially -- they are still forest green on the inside; and (3) there are 2x4s that have been nailed to the wall behind the appliances in order to make them extend forward enough to allow the doors to open. (I know that this is often done in kitchen installations and covered over with extended countertops, decorative cabinet sides or molding, but I'm pretty sure that no guest should be able to see the 2x4s!)

It's a shame, because I like the "look" of the new refurbishment -- I wish the materials and workmanship were up to par.

 

[ABQ]

Yikes! Up to you to raise a stink in 33 days!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Yikes! Up to you to raise a stink in 33 days!

As a non-owner, I don't think I carry enough weight to do that!

Plus, to be candid, although I've done my best to be as "educated" as possible about VWL, my upcoming trip will be my family's first-ever stay at a DVC villa, or at any deluxe resort at all. This trip has very little to do with where we're staying, and everything to do with the fact that 3 generations of our family will be enjoying WDW together in a "once-in-a-lifetime" configuration. We're not picky and we don't sweat the small stuff, so while I'm disappointed that the refurb isn't getting rave reviews, as long as the "fundamentals" are there (appliances work, there's sufficient hot water and it's not too noisy), I am confident we're really going to enjoy our villa.

I do feel bad for those who have an emotional and/or financial investment in this property though. They certainly deserve a refurbishment of a quality that matches their commitment.

 

[ABQ]

As a non-owner, I don't think I carry enough weight to do that!

Plus, to be candid, although I've done my best to be as "educated" as possible about VWL, my upcoming trip will be my family's first-ever stay at a DVC villa, or at any deluxe resort at all. This trip has very little to do with where we're staying, and everything to do with the fact that 3 generations of our family will be enjoying WDW together in a "once-in-a-lifetime" configuration. We're not picky and we don't sweat the small stuff, so while I'm disappointed that the refurb isn't getting rave reviews, as long as the "fundamentals" are there (appliances work, there's sufficient hot water and it's not too noisy), I am confident we're really going to enjoy our villa.

I do feel bad for those who have an emotional and/or financial investment in this property though. They certainly deserve a refurbishment of a quality that matches their commitment.

Well dang, I won't be there till November to raise my own stink.
I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time anyway, aside from the scratches on the floors, some of these other items sound as if they may be something you'll either seek out or have pre-existing knowledge to notice. And though you have that knowledge, it won't impact your family's enjoyment at all, I'm sure. Did you book a few massive villas?

 

[Weather_Lady]

Well dang, I won't be there till November to raise my own stink.
I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time anyway, aside from the scratches on the floors, some of these other items sound as if they may be something you'll either seek out or have pre-existing knowledge to notice. And though you have that knowledge, it won't impact your family's enjoyment at all, I'm sure. Did you book a few massive villas?

Oh, no -- just one 2-bedroom villa -- our family 'configuration' is unlikely to be repeatable, but it's not a large one. It will be DH and me, our two children (son 7 and daughter 5), my Dad (who has Parkinson's, so we don't know how much longer a trip like this will be realistic for him) and my beloved 70-year-old aunt, who has never been to Disney World, or even to Florida, in her life, but is a tremendously good sport about trying new things. Mom died nearly 2 years ago, but I know she'll be with us, too, in our thoughts.

 

[ABQ]

Oh, no -- just one 2-bedroom villa -- our family 'configuration' is unlikely to be repeatable, but it's not a large one. It will be DH and me, our two children (son 7 and daughter 5), my Dad (who has Parkinson's, so we don't know how much longer a trip like this will be realistic for him) and my beloved 70-year-old aunt, who has never been to Disney World, or even to Florida, in her life, but is a tremendously good sport about trying new things. Mom died nearly 2 years ago, but I know she'll be with us, too, in our thoughts.

Good times in store, I'm sure. I stayed in a 2 bedroom villa last year, pre refurb of course. Ours was a slightly odd configuration, but mammoth space, right off the elevator lobby, 2nd floor looking down upon the villa lobby Christmas tree. Only issue about the room, the 2nd bathroom, one has to be a contortionist to reach the toilet paper. Quite an odd placement.

 

[Weather_Lady]

<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Location...isney_s_Wilderness_Lodge-Orlando_Florida.html">

This photo of Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

 

[MOXOMUMD]

This place looks so darn cozy!

 

[Weather_Lady]

FWIW, I spoke with a CM on-site at Wilderness Lodge more than a week ago and she said that the refurb of VWL has been completely finished (and had been for several days, when we spoke). Given that fact, I'll likely stop searching around for post-refurb photos, and instead wait for WDW to update its website with pictures of the refurbed villas. Hopefully it will happen more speedily than I've seen in the past -- last time we visited, we were staying at PORS, which was being refurbed. The renovations had been over for 6 weeks or more by the time WDW updated its website...