WL tell me everything!

[TakeMe2TheMagic]

I am so excited :sohappy: two weeks ago DH and I booked at trip for WL. Seeing how it was a spur of the moment kinda of thing we are only staying 4 nights. We plan on spending more time at the resort than what we normally do. I want to know what every one thinks of the WL I have wanted to stay there since I was a kid (I'm 22). I was reading some reviews on a travel website and they were not so nice.

 

[happymom52003]

I am so excited :sohappy: two weeks ago DH and I booked at trip for WL. Seeing how it was a spur of the moment kinda of thing we are only staying 4 nights. We plan on spending more time at the resort than what we normally do. I want to know what every one thinks of the WL I have wanted to stay there since I was a kid (I'm 22). I was reading some reviews on a travel website and they were not so nice.

What travel website was this???
I have a splitting headache right now so I can't type very much, but I can tell you that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the WL. We also always wanted to stay there, and finally we did in 2006, and have now stayed there a total of four times with our next trip coming up in October.
The atmosphere and theming is amazing, and it is so much fun being on the lake. You are going to love it!:sohappy:

 

[elizs77]

I aboslutely love the WL!

1. It will take your breath away when you go into the lobby. It is eight stories high, there is a beautiful rock fireplace and windows at the far end of the lobby. A bridge goes over a stream inside, then the stream flows out to the pool.

2. We never had any problems with service.

3. We love the architecture.

4. We enjoyed the food at Whispering Canyon enough that we have an ADR to go back on this trip. Roaring Forks (quick service) was ho hum. The selection was not very good, and there isn't a ton of seating in the dining room. It also closed kind of early, and we had the refillable mugs, so that wasn't very convenient.

5. We went in the off season and booked a standard room. We got a gratis upgrade to a woods view, and it was great. We overlooked the woods and the WL Villas.

6. Our three year old son loved the pool! He still talks about it. He loved the slide, and the setting was beautiful.

7. Biggest downside - Disney transportation. The boat to/from the MK wasn't bad unless you got on it during a cycle where you had to go to Ft. Wilderness first. The bus service did leave something to be desired, especially after we waited for more than 45 minutes for a bus to come get us at Blizzard Beach. We started to wonder if it was even coming! I would recommend taking the boat to the Contemporary and taking the monorail as much as possible.

 

[tigsmom]

I am so excited :sohappy: two weeks ago DH and I booked at trip for WL. Seeing how it was a spur of the moment kinda of thing we are only staying 4 nights. We plan on spending more time at the resort than what we normally do. I want to know what every one thinks of the WL I have wanted to stay there since I was a kid (I'm 22). I was reading some reviews on a travel website and they were not so nice.

I can say that after spending 10 trips there it is our favorite and we will be going back again!

It is so relaxing there, from the minute you pull up. We love the breakfast skillet in the Whispering Canyon Cafe, snacks from the Roarin' Forks, a fancier dinner at Artist Point and sitting by the pool sipping on a way too costly drink. :lol:

Both woods and courtyard views are nice. To overlook the MK see if you can get a room ending with _020 - _ 032 with the higher floors the better for a nicer view. Shopping at The Mercantile always brings a goodie or two and my kids usually head there first.
The boat ride to the MK is relaxing and especially nice at sunset when you head back to the park after a nice swim and some relaxation time.
I'm not much of a slide person, but the kids love the slide in the pool and don't forget to see the Electrical Water Pageant from the boat dock or beach. You can see it from the overlook above the patio also.
Don't forget to take some time to watch the geyser erupt also. I know a lot of people complain about the bus transportation, but we have never had a problem at all.

:wave:

 

[TakeMe2TheMagic]

thank you everyone for your response, keep'em coming :animwink: We are getting a woods view room. We are planing on watching the Electrical Water Pageant and the geyser.

 

[Eyekimore]

Ask about being the family to do the flag on the roof. They used to pick a family a day to participate in the placing of the flag. Also- get the schedule of activities at the Concierge desk. Look for the duck races. They're a blast- not sure if you have kids or not- but they'd love it.

Roaring Forks has some new choices. Fresh salads and sandwiches! They are so great we visit just to get them when we're staying elsewhere!

If you're lucky enough to get ADR's at Whispering Canyon- don't forget the ketchup!

WL is one of our favorites! Enjoy your trip!

 

[dove_]

I've stayed there once, many moons ago. :lol: It was my second trip, and I was only nine, so I can't really attest to many details. I wasn't there for the resort- I was there for WDW!

Anyways, I remember our stay at WL was really great. We ended up with an amazing room! It was above the smokehouse, so it smelled delicious anytime we went out on our balcony. And we did that a lot. We had a beautiful view of the castle across the lake, and I loved watching it at night (they shine rotating color lights on it all night long.. beautiful!)

My parents LOVED it, though. After staying there, my mom was in full WL mode, and overhauled our house to be lodge themed. Not EXACTLY my cup of tea (I'm more an AKL kinda gal ) but it was still really nice.

I'm sure you'll love it. I don't know if there's a way to request the smokehouse room we had, but I really don't think it would matter.

Have fun!!!

 

[WDWGuy]

I have found the best way to deal with WDW Transportation....is very easy...

Rent a car....

I have never had a problem when I did that....

 

[bgraham34]

Its my favorite resort. You dont feel like your in Disney World nor do you feel like your in Florida when staying there. Its a great resort. I have never had a bad time there.

 

[elizs77]

Its my favorite resort. You dont feel like your in Disney World nor do you feel like your in Florida when staying there. Its a great resort. I have never had a bad time there.

Which reminds me of something else that we liked - the way they built the hotel makes you feel like you are away from everything, but in actuality, you're so close to the MK area and Contemporary. It was nice to not feel so over the top in the Disney experience.

 

[tigsmom]

Just remembered...get the list of Hidden Mickey's at the desk and go on a hunt in the lobby!

And I love how it feels like you are far away, yet you are really close.
You can hop the boat over to the Contemporary and hit the monorail too.

 

[johnralow]

WL vs. Moderate

For those of you who have stayed at the WL and a moderate resort on WDW tell me what differences you like about WL vs. Moderate.
Thanks!

 

[elizs77]

For those of you who have stayed at the WL and a moderate resort on WDW tell me what differences you like about WL vs. Moderate.
Thanks!

Two things made the original sale to us on deluxe - queen sized beds and interior hallways. My husband is 6'3" and is built like a defensive lineman, and so we appreciate the larger beds. We also love how everything at WL was in one building and had interior hallways. It's a nicer feel, and it's more convenient. The rooms are slightly larger as well.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Two things made the original sale to us on deluxe - queen sized beds and interior hallways. My husband is 6'3" and is built like a defensive lineman, and so we appreciate the larger beds. We also love how everything at WL was in one building and had interior hallways. It's a nicer feel, and it's more convenient. The rooms are slightly larger as well.

Someone in another thread pointed out how many rooms are at the Pop vs. the WL. It's a HUGE difference. Anway, their point was that it makes a big difference in the transportation madness. The lines seem to be shorter for the WL bus/boat as opposed to the bus line for Pop.

I have a good WL question. Is it quicker to take the bus to Epcot from WL or boat to the Contemporary and do the monorail ride to the TTC and switch to the Epcot monorail?

 

[clairew]

I love this resort, the atmosphere and theming is incredible, the boat service to the Magic Kingdom is super. Artist Point is a must for a great meal! The rooms are great...I do not have one negative thing to say about this resort!
Have a great trip!!!:wave:

 

[Enderikari]

I have a good WL question. Is it quicker to take the bus to Epcot from WL or boat to the Contemporary and do the monorail ride to the TTC and switch to the Epcot monorail?

I would say take the direct bus, the boat is more scenic, but it does take a bit to get to the Contemporary, then Monorail-TTC-Monorail loop

 

[DisneySam]

Can I please say...I am so jealous!!!!

I LOVE the WL, and have stayed there several times. The newly (well recently) remodeled rooms are great! The last 3 times I have sayed at the WL they have upgraded our rooms at check in for no additional charge, which was really nice!

• A WL CM told me once, that the best viewing area for the Electrical Water Pageant at the WL was the fourth floor balcony.
• I am another HUGE Whispering Canyon fan...definitely dine there during your stay.
• In my experience transportation has never been too slow (but after waiting for the bus to the POP Centry at EPCOT after Illuminations...nothing is a long wait compared to that!) I like to take the boat to the MK, hop on the monorail, to the TTC and go to EPCOT. Sounds like a lot...but there's nothing like going to EPCOT on the monorail.
• I am unfortunate not to be able to sleep in (on most weekends and vacations), on my last trip my friends wanted to sleep late so I stopped at the Concierge and got a map of the jogging trail, and walked it every morning while they woke up. It's a really nice walk and you really do feel like you are in the wilderness. I was lucky enough to see many deer, and a mama and newborn baby ducks.

Have a great trip! Did I say I'm so jealous!!!

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Yes, what everyone else said, plus it has two nice restaurants,

Whispering Canyon which is rather rowdy...not for an intimate encounter, but great fun for any meal.

Artist Point which is a superior high end restaurant. Very nice menu and atmosphere. Some special touches for celebrating special events.

The pool is really nice, that "originates" from a spring in the back of the lobby...and a truly "faithful" geyser

 

[KaliSplash]

It bothers me more than a little that we haven't been at the lodge since about 2003. It bothers me even more that we haven't been to WDW since 2005.

That said, you've chosen the finest resort at the place. There are wonderful things I love about the Grand Floridian. And there are truly wonderful things about being on the MK side of the tower in the Contemporary.

But for an overall resort experience, the Wilderness Lodge is our choice time and again.

The lobby is overwheling, in a good way. The shop is very good. All three restaurants are good. Roaring Forks was my kids favorite in all of WDW when they were young. Not sure about the early closing someone mentioned earlier. Last time we were there, it was open until 12 midnight, although the grill may have stopped at 11. (I remember originally it was 24 hours, although the grill shut down at 12. It was great coming back from an E-Ride night at 3:30 in the morning and getting some chocolate cake and a drink

The boat ride is relaxing. It is sometimes not direct as you have to go by Ft. Wilderness first. The bus service is the biggest drawback. It's not that the buses don't come and they're not overly crowded if you are an early-bird, but they often stop at Fort Wilderness or even Contemporary, Poly or Grand Floridian on there way to somewhere.

Rooms are very nice. Not as big as the monorail resorts, but very nice.

The spring that turns into the creek that turns into the pool is wonderful. There are whirlpools and the geyser and the trail to the boat and the exercise trail and the marina and the bike rentals and etc...

The staff has always been wonderful.

You will like this a lot.

 

[elizs77]

Someone in another thread pointed out how many rooms are at the Pop vs. the WL. It's a HUGE difference. Anway, their point was that it makes a big difference in the transportation madness. The lines seem to be shorter for the WL bus/boat as opposed to the bus line for Pop.

I have a good WL question. Is it quicker to take the bus to Epcot from WL or boat to the Contemporary and do the monorail ride to the TTC and switch to the Epcot monorail?

I would say take the direct bus, the boat is more scenic, but it does take a bit to get to the Contemporary, then Monorail-TTC-Monorail loop

We went in the September off season, and we thought we were going to have blood shooting out of our eyes by the time we got to Epcot via Disney bus. We actually said that next time, we would indeed to the Contemporary/TTC monorail loop. At least you are moving most of the time and not just sitting/standing at the bus stop waiting to see "Epcot" illuminated on the bus.

Also, we don't advise taking a bus from TTC to WL! Talk about forever. We had gone to Epcot for EMH, and we had the grand idea to take the monorail from Epcot to TTC, then instead of heading on to the Contemporary and catching the boat, we would just get the bus from TTC to WL. Seemed more direct. It was indeed direct. But that was after we waited stinkin' FOREVER with our 3 yr old son at the stop. We were to the point we were trying to find a driver who we could ask about checking on the bus if they could.