(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~2014~

[WDWKOOK]

Here at the Beach Club Villas since Monday and I cannot wait to check into Wilderness Lodge on Friday.
It's nice here, but I prefer the Lodge.

We're looking forward to hearing from you Friday. Did you try Beaches & Cream? We enjoyed lunch there this past summer and like that they now takes ADRs. Have fun at SAB

 

[JnKinVA]

We're looking forward to hearing from you Friday. Did you try Beaches & Cream? We enjoyed lunch there this past summer and like that they now takes ADRs. Have fun at SAB

Yes to Beaches and Cream! We have eaten lunch there twice. The grilled cheese and tomato bisque is soooooooo good!
We did walk up the first day and sat at the counter and second day was when my parents arrived. Funny story about the ADR but we had one for our lunch then.

Funny, I booked BCV for SAB but we haven't used it. Either massive downpours, hungry hubby followed by a tour cut our time short or it has been too cold! Oh well, just gives an excuse to maybe give BC or YC a second chance....but not in the Villas haha.

 

[nogreenworld]

I'll add one other thing I've learned....

when you enter your hotel room, you can put your luggage in the bathtub while you check your room.

A friend was on a trip, and found them after they returned from their supervision duties (a school trip, she's a teacher) The hotel was very helpful (like CaPang, she put it in a plastic bag, looked like a speck of dirt) They told her to take only the essentials she would need (shoes, keys, purse,) They treated those items separately with their pest control (it was not Disney btw) and the rest of her items were treated and mailed back to her. She was advised to put her items in the freezer for 24 hours, or like CaPang said, dry first, then wash (she had hand knitting, and that can't be put in the wash or dryer - all of us knitters *gasped* when she had to leave her knitting projects!)

i always put the bags in the tub till i check out the room.

most things can go in the dryer on a rack if they can't be tumbled.

 

[Tbone17701]

This is probably a long shot, BUT...

On our last stay at WL we discovered the larger (maybe 1L) bottles of Desani Water and ended up buying one of those a day that fit perfectly in the cup holder of our bag to share between DH, DD9 (at that time) and myself instead of buying and carting around at least 3 smaller bottles. I think the cost of those larger bottles was under $4 each (maybe $3.75-ish) at that time. I did look at the photos on the first page of this thread and saw them there, but was wondering if anyone can verify that they do indeed still sell those and might miraculously know what they cost now? I'm trying to weigh buying one of those daily again vs shipping a case of water down. The case would be about $11-$12, but I have to pay a delivery fee to WL as well, right? Even so, shipping probably cheaper, but not necessarily easier.

P.S. Just had a thought...we are staying CL for the first time. Can I refill the larger bottles with the CL water?

 

[wifey]

During our only club level stay at the YC in 2013 we politely asked for water each morning before we left the lounge, the concierge staff were always happy to give us some very cold bottles of Dasini bottled water however they did also offer Evian too. I would guess the OFC staff would be happy to oblige you. It was so wonderful to have such attentive and lovely staff to make sure our stay was as magical as possible, I hope everyone gets such service on their vacations too.

 

[outahere]

P.S. Just had a thought...we are staying CL for the first time. Can I refill the larger bottles with the CL water?

Yes you can refill water bottles in the lounge. There is a sign near the water asking you to see a CM to refill bottles. They prefer you not refill them from the water container on the counter so you don't have the possibility of contaminating the spout.

 

[wifey]

Just wanted to ask, can you add us to the Log please? We will be there from August 12th 2015 to August 26th 2015. So looking forward to our upcoming stay, we never actually thought this was gonna happen but Disney helped to make it possible Planning our ADRs at the moment since we both have a couple of days off work at the same time yay We booked a woods view room and are hoping to make the most of the dining options close by and catching the EWP at long last.

 

[trishadono]

This is probably a long shot, BUT...

On our last stay at WL we discovered the larger (maybe 1L) bottles of Desani Water and ended up buying one of those a day that fit perfectly in the cup holder of our bag to share between DH, DD9 (at that time) and myself instead of buying and carting around at least 3 smaller bottles. I think the cost of those larger bottles was under $4 each (maybe $3.75-ish) at that time. I did look at the photos on the first page of this thread and saw them there, but was wondering if anyone can verify that they do indeed still sell those and might miraculously know what they cost now? I'm trying to weigh buying one of those daily again vs shipping a case of water down. The case would be about $11-$12, but I have to pay a delivery fee to WL as well, right? Even so, shipping probably cheaper, but not necessarily easier.

P.S. Just had a thought...we are staying CL for the first time. Can I refill the larger bottles with the CL water?

I have found (and purchased) this size bottle at all villa resorts I have stayed at.

 

[CoP Luv]

Hi everyone! I need help with a room request for our upcoming trip. First time staying at the Lodge and I am so excited!! Here are some "ideals" for the room, but I am completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to request.

Booked a woods view with queen beds.
Traveling with a toddler so will need as quiet of a room as I can get.
Need a "see-through" balcony - is there a better term for that??
Non-ground floor (because an upper floor is quieter than having people walk by your door, right?)

We will have our own car and will probably use that to get to most parks except MK, so should I want to be close to the parking lot??

Thanks!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi everyone! I need help with a room request for our upcoming trip. First time staying at the Lodge and I am so excited!! Here are some "ideals" for the room, but I am completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to request.

Booked a woods view with queen beds.
Traveling with a toddler so will need as quiet of a room as I can get.
Need a "see-through" balcony - is there a better term for that??
Non-ground floor (because an upper floor is quieter than having people walk by your door, right?)

We will have our own car and will probably use that to get to most parks except MK, so should I want to be close to the parking lot??

Thanks!!!

The quietest woods view room we've ever had was a room on the third floor, near the lobby in the south wing. The room faced the villas. The woods view rooms in the north wing face the Contemporary, and although they are great for having a chance to see the fireworks, the boats blow their horns as they approach the dock. This goes on from about 6:30am to an hour after park close, or 11pm - ish. You would probably be better off in the south wing.

The parking lot is right across from the main door. It is really close to the building so in order to be close to the parking lot you would want to be close to the lobby. I think the main door is the only exit to the parking lot from the WL. It is a very small resort.

I refer to a "see-through" balcony as an open balcony. I'm not sure what the correct term is but I know that I don't want an enclosed balcony or dormer balcony.

 

[CoP Luv]

The quietest woods view room we've ever had was a room on the third floor, near the lobby in the south wing. The room faced the villas. The woods view rooms in the north wing face the Contemporary, and although they are great for having a chance to see the fireworks, the boats blow their horns as they approach the dock. This goes on from about 6:30am to an hour after park close, or 11pm - ish. You would probably be better off in the south wing. The parking lot is right across from the main door. It is really close to the building so in order to be close to the parking lot you would want to be close to the lobby. I think the main door is the only exit to the parking lot from the WL. It is a very small resort. I refer to a "see-through" balcony as an open balcony. I'm not sure what the correct term is but I know that I don't want an enclosed balcony or dormer balcony.

Thanks for the advice, especially about the boat horns. I am a very light sleeper so that will keep me up for sure!

 

[Deb & Bill]

i know no one likes to talk about these things, but i dare to tread where others don't.

we have a return trip to VWL coming up. we've been three times before and loved it.

i will admit some degree of anxiety in any travels with the issue of bed bugs. we have never seen any or any evidence of them at vwl. i check VERY thoroughly.

i follow along on the website bedbugregistry.com. sadly, there are reports of bed bugs in the wilderness lodge entries. some are clearly bogus, but a few have potential to be real. up until now, i have not seen any listed for the villas ever. one was recently reported, though.

i was wondering if anyone knew of protocols, issues, or information regarding how they handle this reports or instances, or who to talk to if we had questions regarding the issue.

super excited to go back, but i need to be conscientious, too--even at the happiest place on earth.

thanks.

Just one tip. The bugs got into the hotel room some way. Probably hitchhiked on luggage and escaped into the room. And maybe they hitchhiked onto your luggage from other luggage (especially if you fly or stay somewhere else before you get to VWL) or another location along the way. Disney is very good about taking care of bedbugs in their hotel rooms and villas. They have dogs that can sniff out the bugs so they can identify what rooms might have them. And they have a process for cleaning the room and cleaning your belongings. But check your luggage before you get into the villa.

If you find bedbugs in your villa, notify the front desk immediately - don't call, go down to the front desk. Your calls will go to the call center in Who-knows-where, USA. They will take care of you and your belongings so you don't take them home with you.

 

[JnKinVA]

Checked in this morning.
My parents who are staying VWL are in the last deluxe studio room of a wing...not the best, and I probably should have asked for near the elevators.
But they had it good at AKL so it's a trade off

We checked in and our room was ready right away (about 9:30am)
Now, here's what I had requested.
Higher floor, no higher than floor 5 and inner courtyard view.
We got.
2135. The view was of a rock wall and walking path.
Not gonna work.
Went down and requested another room that was higher.
Told there wasn't one ready yet. That's ok! Because I didn't come from BCV where my 'Theme Park View' was some trees and a road to look at a rock and people walking at WL
All is well now and we are in 5137 which is right beside where we stayed in April (5135).
Love the Lodge, scaffolding is up on the south wing beside the Bear Face and they are doing some painting outside.

Also, for those wondering, we transferred our luggage from BC to WL and there was NO fee to do so (I know there was a rumour they were going to start charging).

Now, to rest my weary feet....

 

[CoP Luv]

Do you make your room requests before doing online check in? We booked with Orbitz.

 

[Carrie772]

Just one tip.
If you find bedbugs in your villa, notify the front desk immediately - don't call, go down to the front desk. Your calls will go to the call center in Who-knows-where, USA. They will take care of you and your belongings so you don't take them home with you.

I like this!

Checked in this morning.
We checked in and our room was ready right away (about 9:30am)
Now, here's what I had requested.
Higher floor, no higher than floor 5 and inner courtyard view.
We got.
2135. The view was of a rock wall and walking path.
Not gonna work.

Had you reserved a Courtyard view? My family did as well and I don't want to look at a rock wall for a week.

 

[JnKinVA]

Had you reserved a Courtyard view? My family did as well and I don't want to look at a rock wall for a week.

Yes, we had reserved a Courtyard View.
We have been in CY rooms before, so I had an idea of what we would be looking at, but because we were so low, you couldn't see much other than the rocks.

 

[denisekayt]

This is probably a long shot, BUT...

On our last stay at WL we discovered the larger (maybe 1L) bottles of Desani Water and ended up buying one of those a day that fit perfectly in the cup holder of our bag to share between DH, DD9 (at that time) and myself instead of buying and carting around at least 3 smaller bottles. I think the cost of those larger bottles was under $4 each (maybe $3.75-ish) at that time. I did look at the photos on the first page of this thread and saw them there, but was wondering if anyone can verify that they do indeed still sell those and might miraculously know what they cost now? I'm trying to weigh buying one of those daily again vs shipping a case of water down. The case would be about $11-$12, but I have to pay a delivery fee to WL as well, right? Even so, shipping probably cheaper, but not necessarily easier.

P.S. Just had a thought...we are staying CL for the first time. Can I refill the larger bottles with the CL water?

Just a caution on the water bottle, from the above I'm not sure if you meant carrying just the one bottle and all sharing from it or if you meant you had the one bottle and split it into each person's drink holder.

One of our early WDW trips we were sharing water bottles between my husband, son, and myself, and my husband caught a nasty cold. Since we were sharing those water bottles my son and I never had a chance...we all caught it.

Since that trip we now never share while on vacation. Especially at Disney where it's so easy for one person to pick something up around all those crowds.

 

[BlueFairy]

Checked in this morning.
My parents who are staying VWL are in the last deluxe studio room of a wing...not the best, and I probably should have asked for near the elevators.
But they had it good at AKL so it's a trade off

We checked in and our room was ready right away (about 9:30am)
Now, here's what I had requested.
Higher floor, no higher than floor 5 and inner courtyard view.
We got.
2135. The view was of a rock wall and walking path.
Not gonna work.
Went down and requested another room that was higher.
Told there wasn't one ready yet. That's ok! Because I didn't come from BCV where my 'Theme Park View' was some trees and a road to look at a rock and people walking at WL
All is well now and we are in 5137 which is right beside where we stayed in April (5135).
Love the Lodge, scaffolding is up on the south wing beside the Bear Face and they are doing some painting outside.

Also, for those wondering, we transferred our luggage from BC to WL and there was NO fee to do so (I know there was a rumour they were going to start charging).

Now, to rest my weary feet....

I feel the need to clarify for new people reading this thread who aren't familiar with the WL and the Villas. If you are in a Courtyard View room you are not in a deluxe studio, which is a DVC villa. Those are in a separate building and have views of the quiet pool or woods.
It sounds like you are describing a Deluxe WL room, which is a hotel suite containing a wet bar, bedroom, and living room. Most of these are at the ends of the wings, but I think there are some midway down the wings on each floor as well.
Glad they were able to give you a nicer view!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We'll be arriving at the WL one week from today. We had Mickey waffles for breakfast to celebrate.

 

[blackmamba10000]

We'll be arriving at the WL one week from today. We had Mickey waffles for breakfast to celebrate.

What a cute and fun way to celebrate! Have a great trip and maybe we will see you there!