Wilderness Lodge Views (while under construction)

[sandam1]

So I currently have a Courtyard view room booked for the Wilderness Lodge in mid-November for 3 nights. At the time, I booked that was the only thing available so I took it.

Now, however, I see that a Standard room has become available that would save me around $100 (total). This is our first time at WL so I have no concept of the layout and all descriptions of construction impact are completely lost on me. So my questions for y'all:

1. Will the construction be visible/impacting the courtyard view? How do that compare to the potential impact on a "standard" view?

2. What is your opinion - is the courtyard view truly worth the extra money?

3. With the construction, will we still be able to see the Electrical Water Parade from the hotel (either potentially from our room with the courtyard view or from a public space within the hotel)? It's not a deal-breaker as seeing it would be a "bonus" if we get back to the hotel in time.

I'm already paying to stay at a deluxe hotel (I had originally hoped that I could get a room-only discount, but there were NONE to be had) so I don't want to "cheap out" on the experience. But that extra money could also be used to pay for a good portion of our MVMCP tickets or getting the Memory Maker so I'm torn at what to do. If only I could win the lottery...

 

[Tuvalu]

A courtyard view will overlook the main pool (no construction) and you should be able to see the Electrical Water Pageant from your room, especially if on a higher floor. Changing to a standard room you will overlook the parking lot, roof, or service area. For me, it would be worth the $100 for the nicer view. (I have stayed in both room categories.)

 

[lostpro9het]

Here is our view from a standard view room overlooking the service area:

And again at night:

Photos taken with my cell phone.

EDIT: This was in mid-May. There was scaffolding near our room but not in front of our room at the time

 

[bigorangeandy]

We have stayed in both, but our courtyard view we got upgraded. For the EWP I would suggest going down to the beach and watch from the beach. I'm sure your family will enjoy taking the boat to MK and back, and the pool is great. Now that I think about the beach, my memory is that is where the new rooms will be built, and it might not be open for viewing the pageant.

 

[jenos0524]

I have a standard room booked for 10 days, if I could pay less than $500 for an upgrade to a courtyard view I would do it in a heartbeat.... Right now it would cost me approx $900 ($100 a night) to upgrade. Does anyone think that is worth it? Especially considering construction will still be going on in August when I go.

 

[danlb_2000]

I can report that as of October 6th, no signs of DVC expansion.....yet. Expect walls to go up soon. Check out our FB page for the latest.

Disney was going back and forth with the South Florida Water Management District on this project, but the most recent permits just go approved a week or so ago.

 

[Space Ranger]

I have a standard room booked for 10 days, if I could pay less than $500 for an upgrade to a courtyard view I would do it in a heartbeat.... Right now it would cost me approx $900 ($100 a night) to upgrade. Does anyone think that is worth it? Especially considering construction will still be going on in August when I go.

We've stayed in both types rooms several times. We don't typically hang out on the balcony so the view isn't that important to us. We've been able to see the water pageant from some of the walkways down by the water or pool with no problem. Once or twice we had a standard view room that even had views of the fireworks - sometimes obstructed by trees though.
We love the look and feel of the entire Wilderness Lodge, so we don't get too hung up on the little part you can see from your room. For my money, I'll book standard view if it's available.

 

[epcotisbest]

First time around I would say courtyard view and you want a room on the higher floors if possible. Is it worth $100 a night? Depends on what price you put on a view. Been there done that so I would get a standard room view, one time I was over the truck entrance or whatever you would call it but the view wasn't bad, mostly pine trees. I think from that room I could also see the fire works going off at MK? Not a 100% on that though. I've stayed in lodge maybe 7 times so it's kind of blending together now.

For the Electrical Water Parade I would just go down to the beach. They also run movies on the beach every night so you can kill two birds with one stone if you around the hotel in early evening.

For those who haven't been to WL a couple of suggestions. Use the boats to go to MK. You can also boat over to the Contemporary and use the monorail if you want to. Not the quickest way to go but for first timers and kids fun to do. One time we took the monorail from Epcot back to MK then monorail to the Contemporary then boat back to WL. It was back when you could ride in the front so my kids loved riding up front From Epcot to MK.

Also if you have kids you can go over to the camp grounds by boat where they have sing alongs etc. outside by the fire.

Another cool thing they do is if you are watching the outdoor movie when the EWP comes by, they pause the movie so you can watch the EWP then resume the movie where you left off. We love catching both while staying at WL.

 

[Jon81uk]

For the Electrical Water Parade I would just go down to the beach. They also run movies on the beach every night so you can kill two birds with one stone if you around the hotel in early evening.

Don't forget the beach area closes at the end of October 2015 for construction. Movies will be indoors during this time. It might be a year or longer until the beach re-opens.

 

[jenos0524]

I love all the advice, but I am looking for specific advice with the construction involved. I booked the standard room, because the view isn't a big deal to me at this resort. The problem is I do not want to see a TON of construction going on. I am hoping to get pictures from other guests in the next few months so i can decide to save the $900 or to upgrade for a courtyard view where disturbance would be minimal.

 

[Jon81uk]

I love all the advice, but I am looking for specific advice with the construction involved. I booked the standard room, because the view isn't a big deal to me at this resort. The problem is I do not want to see a TON of construction going on. I am hoping to get pictures from other guests in the next few months so i can decide to save the $900 or to upgrade for a courtyard view where disturbance would be minimal.

Using the room view finder on Touring Plans http://touringplans.com/hotel_maps/...ck_rate]=any&no_draw=false&rooms=true&floor=4

You will see that most standard view are facing out to the sides, overlooking loading bays, trash areas and rooftops.
Compare that to this image

You'll see most of the standard views won't look directly towards construction areas, although the south facing roof top view will probably see a little of the construction. With standard view I would worry more about getting the north-west facing rooms that overlook the loading area for the hotel.

I've booked Woods View (as I didn't want standard view) and I'm getting worried about the construction ruining the hotel. I don't want courtyard view either really, it doesn't appeal as much.

 

[jenos0524]

Thanks! I think from what I have read the woods view could be worse than standard with the construction... Hopefully I can get a discount and put it towards an upgrade to a monorail resort or to the courtyard view. My biggest concern was that my wife and I wanted to do this trip cheap, so I looked into POP. we then didn't love the idea of going to a value resort, so I looked into POFQ/POR. After reading about how buses at those, I heard POP was better... Still not wanting to do a value I booked WL and just told my wife thats what we were doing. The real construction should be starting soon, so hopefully guests will keep us all updated on what it is like. I would hate to spend 7-8K on a vacation and not be happy about it. If it ends up being that bad I may just go all out and switch to POLY.

I stayed at POLY twice as a kid and loved it then. Quick access using monorail/boats to MK and EPCOT may be worth it.

 

[Jon81uk]

Thanks! I think from what I have read the woods view could be worse than standard with the construction... Hopefully I can get a discount and put it towards an upgrade to a monorail resort or to the courtyard view. My biggest concern was that my wife and I wanted to do this trip cheap, so I looked into POP. we then didn't love the idea of going to a value resort, so I looked into POFQ/POR. After reading about how buses at those, I heard POP was better... Still not wanting to do a value I booked WL and just told my wife thats what we were doing. The real construction should be starting soon, so hopefully guests will keep us all updated on what it is like. I would hate to spend 7-8K on a vacation and not be happy about it. If it ends up being that bad I may just go all out and switch to POLY.

I stayed at POLY twice as a kid and loved it then. Quick access using monorail/boats to MK and EPCOT may be worth it.

Buses at POR weren't all that bad, we went there about 10 years ago and the only issue was that there was five stops so felt like it was forever before you left (we always got on at the main building). But we only once had an insane wait. But at Wilderness Lodge I have read the buses still stop at Poly or campground, only thing you gain is boat to MK. PO of course has boat to Springs.

Some people have been getting free upgrades or switches so it might be worth complaining nearer the time if you think it will affect you

 

[sandam1]

As the original poster, I want to thank everyone that commented. I wound up keeping the courtyard view room because I thought it was worth the piece of mind, knowing that the construction would have minimal impact on the view.

Now that I am 27 days out, I'm trying to decide what (if any) requests to make. Any suggestions? The area seems pretty compact so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks!

 

[ABQ]

As the original poster, I want to thank everyone that commented. I wound up keeping the courtyard view room because I thought it was worth the piece of mind, knowing that the construction would have minimal impact on the view.

Now that I am 27 days out, I'm trying to decide what (if any) requests to make. Any suggestions? The area seems pretty compact so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks!

I'm anxious to see some actual photographic evidence of what the views really are like as I'm a month behind you but staying in the villas which is potentially far worse off view wise.

 

[sandam1]

I'm a month behind you but staying in the villas which is potentially far worse off view wise.

Originally, I was thinking about trying to rent some points for the Villas, but I'm pretty glad that I didn't.

I'll try to take some pictures while we're there and post them. I know a lot can change in a month, but it should give you some idea of what the impact is.

 

[humphreys lodge]

Fencing pics around the pool, beach and Villas up on our FB site.

 

[slowjoe170]

Courtyard view should be nice. Got an upgrade to it one year. I personally like a little more privacy, so i get the standard or woods view. Standard is nice if you're on the fifth or sixth floor. View of the fireworks and high enough above the service parking lot. Also, the smokehouse for the restaurant is back there. Wonderful smells out on the balcony. Woods view, I try to get a room facing the main lobby, nice to crack the door open and hear the Christmas music or sit out on the rocking chairs and watch the carol singers. Really no bad choices there, as the entire place is excellent.

 

[humphreys lodge]

Bus monitors now up at the lodge. Also new construction pics up on our Facebook site.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

As the original poster, I want to thank everyone that commented. I wound up keeping the courtyard view room because I thought it was worth the piece of mind, knowing that the construction would have minimal impact on the view.

Now that I am 27 days out, I'm trying to decide what (if any) requests to make. Any suggestions? The area seems pretty compact so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks!

Nice choice. I'm looking forward to getting the courtyard view later this year. Previously had two different views. The first time was on the right side, not facing the courtyard (so I guess woods view), which was nice since it was near the secondary pool. The second time was on the left side not facing the courtyard and we basically looked at a swamp the whole time, and it was sort of not so good. Looking forward to the courtyard view, the whole area it faces is very nice, I doubt you'll be disappointed.