Wilderness Lodge Club Level Trip Quandry

Yes, Copper Creek is the DVC section within the main WL building, but none of the DVC rooms have CL access.

I get your disappointment. Unfortunately, "Club Level Access" is the case in many of the resorts - CR, Garden Wing Suites, GF Outer Building Suites, some of the Suites and deluxe rooms at BC, etc. They all have access to the lounge, but are on different floors or, in the case of GF and CR garden wing, some rooms in completely different buildings We once stayed in an outer building suite at GF with Sugar Loaf access and never even went to the lounge (not our most cost effective trip!).

If not being able to send your kids to the lounge on their own is a deal breaker, you may want to switch. My DS is 11 and, just being the kid that he is, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending him alone at this particular time. If you would feel more comfortable all going together and it fits into your schedule, I would think about keeping the reservation. We stayed WL CL in a standard room last year (7th floor) and it was amazing. I tried and tried to get a WL CL for last December and couldn't get it. We ended up in a 1-bedroom villa in Copper Creek and it was stunning. I just ended up stocking that fridge with things we would have had in the CL lounge. WL at Christmas time is absolutely gorgeous.

If you ever want a better idea of where rooms are located at each resort, Touring Plans has a "Room View" finder which, while not always completely accurate, will typically show you where the CL rooms and suites are located.
Great post... thanks! I think DH and I will just have to discuss and figure out what to do. But I learned from this thread already what CL “access” means! Thanks guys!
 
We were at WLCL Oct. 12 till 16,2018 My Grandsons 11 & 13 . It was fine. The grounds are lovely .My Daughter & I had a nice lunch ( Boys too) & Drinks At new Gyser point Wonderful they have an area very close boys played Ping Pong then joined us .Its right on water/ Bay it’s lovely.we all loved sitting by The Large Fireplace & Reflect of how lucky we are & Thankful.We also reserved taking a boat out to see the Fireworks on 1 st night we arrived .Its right on the Property.so much to do just have to research it before you arrive. Any other questions I can help you with is no problem.
 
We were at WLCL Oct. 12 till 16,2018 My Grandsons 11 & 13 . It was fine. The grounds are lovely .My Daughter & I had a nice lunch ( Boys too) & Drinks At new Gyser point Wonderful they have an area very close boys played Ping Pong then joined us .Its right on water/ Bay it’s lovely.we all loved sitting by The Large Fireplace & Reflect of how lucky we are & Thankful.We also reserved taking a boat out to see the Fireworks on 1 st night we arrived .Its right on the Property.so much to do just have to research it before you arrive. Any other questions I can help you with is no problem.
That sounds wonderful!!! Exactly my hopes... were you staying in one of the delux rooms or just a standard club room?
 


We were at WLCL Oct. 12 till 16,2018 My Grandsons 11 & 13 . It was fine. The grounds are lovely .My Daughter & I had a nice lunch ( Boys too) & Drinks At new Gyser point Wonderful they have an area very close boys played Ping Pong then joined us .Its right on water/ Bay it’s lovely.we all loved sitting by The Large Fireplace & Reflect of how lucky we are & Thankful.We also reserved taking a boat out to see the Fireworks on 1 st night we arrived .Its right on the Property.so much to do just have to research it before you arrive. Any other questions I can help you with is no problem.

I concur with gayles on just how lovely WL is, especially at Christmas. My DS11 loves basketball and they have a 1/4 court there which we played on a few mornings. WCC is a lot of fun and one of DS11's favorites. He also enjoyed swimming and getting lunch at Geyser Point. They have corn hole, ping pong, etc. You can also walk or boat over to Ft. W to visit the stables. We did HDDR and a sleigh ride last December at Ft. W and it was so special. There are just so many fun things to do that are very conveniently accessed from WL. And the lobby at Christmas is so, so stunning!
 
I love everything about this post!! I really do!! The problem is that I trust THEM! I don’t trust all the crazy sickos in the world.

I should also reiterate my thought about “should we splurge” on the CL if it’s not what we thought? We’re die hard CL lovers... BW,poly, YC, BC... they’ve all been awesome!

Oh yeah, I definitely understand what you mean. I was just trying to brainstorm some options that might make the situation work for your family.

You could also request the highest possible floor? If you aren’t on 7, you’ll at least be as high up (and far from
busy common areas) as possible?
 
Oh yeah, I definitely understand what you mean. I was just trying to brainstorm some options that might make the situation work for your family.

You could also request the highest possible floor? If you aren’t on 7, you’ll at least be as high up (and far from
busy common areas) as possible?
Yes... I know... that’s what we would do for sure. Not sure what our chances are of getting the 5th floor with only 2 on each floor I believe
 


Yes... I know... that’s what we would do for sure. Not sure what our chances are of getting the 5th floor with only 2 on each floor I believe

Just so you know, if you all would fit in a standard size room, you can add club level for $99/night at WL. That way you could request close to elevators, high floor, and most likely it'd be short elevator ride up. Now it's still a request, not guaranteed. Not sure if there are rooms available for your time, but just thought you should know.
 
Just so you know, if you all would fit in a standard size room, you can add club level for $99/night at WL. That way you could request close to elevators, high floor, and most likely it'd be short elevator ride up. Now it's still a request, not guaranteed. Not sure if there are rooms available for your time, but just thought you should know.
I did not know that! So you mean as a general rule they let you add CL amenities to any room for the $99? There isn’t anything available but if that’s true that’s good to know
 
I did not know that! So you mean as a general rule they let you add CL amenities to any room for the $99? There isn’t anything available but if that’s true that’s good to know

This is only available at WL, no other resort. It is only available at check-in and is subject to availability. You don't physically move rooms to the CL floor - you keep whatever room you were assigned for your booking category - but you are given access to the lounge and CL CMs for your stay.
 
Hi... I booked our upcoming WL Club level delux room almost a year ago.. the Pickens were slim even then. I’ve always wanted to stay at WL around Christmas time and we’ve stayed CL at other resorts many times but this is our 1st time at WL. Having 4 kids, we usually request as close to the lounge as possible. Our oldest kids are old enough to pop down there without us if we’re with the younger ones for a few minutes and it works out well.

I had called to Speak to reservations to doublecheck that that request was noted and I decided to ask about how the room layouts were on the floor in relation to the lounge. They told me The lounge is located on the seventh floor and my room could be anywhere on floors one through five! What?? I was shocked! You mean we can be 6 floors away from the lounge?? This seems obsurd to me. We’re paying a lot of money for the convenience of proximity and comfortability to the lounge. I feel like they should disclose this upon booking! Like I mentioned, our oldest would pop down there but I would never feel comfortable sending them in an elevator any amount of floors without us. One floor where they could walk the stairs (like at POLY is ok). I feel disappointed that I planned this for almost a year and the trip is relatively soon and feel like canceling.

Has anyone had this experience? Am I making a bigger deal out of this than necessary? I feel like it will change the whole conjecture of the trip and the point is to utilize the lounge and relax. Thoughts?

I went through your dilemma a few years ago! Same thoughts as you. My kids were borderline age where we let them go to the lounge on their own, but I was nervous of the location of the deluxe rooms to the lounge. Also, same as you, I totally trust my kids but can't completely trust all strangers, sadly.

With your trip so close, I'd be hesitant to cancel it altogether? Especially with all the planning and anticipation. Maybe you could even try splitting your trip. Might be easier to find availability that way. In our case, we did end up switching resorts, but it was well ahead of our trip and it wasn't the Christmas season either.

Good luck!
 
I did not know that! So you mean as a general rule they let you add CL amenities to any room for the $99? There isn’t anything available but if that’s true that’s good to know
As GADisneyDad14 said, only for WL, based on availability, add at front desk. WL started doing this because they took half of their CL rooms out with the creation of Cooper Creek.
 
As GADisneyDad14 said, only for WL, based on availability, add at front desk. WL started doing this because they took half of their CL rooms out with the creation of Cooper Creek.

Do you have to do this for all nights of your stay or could you upgrade to club level access for some nights only?
 
I think I was at delux level . 2 queens . We had to move over to Boulder Ridge Villa ( 1 Bedroom) only reason because they didn’t have a 5 Day Window for us to stay whole time .i was sad at 1 st but not anymore love being over at BR. Would stay again next year when we go in October.ive also been at WL & watched them ( being the Elves) put up the amazing tree. Everyone sits around with a drink or Hot Chocolate . It was Midnight but something our Family will never forget. It truly was Magicial .
 
How often would you be sending the kids by themselves? It seems short sighted to cancel a trip that is so close over this. Do the kids know you are going?
 
At 11 and 13 I feel they’re inbetween the age of being able to head down to the lounge and wait for us and being able to ride up potentially 6 floors on an elevator. Maybe I’m just being overprotective but I’d worry too much.

I cannot tell you that you are overprotective, that is a personal comfort thing that every parent decides for themselves. I am a Nana and have found I am way more protective of my DGD than I ever was of my own kids.

What I would say is that children are way more aware of their surroundings than we give them credit for, given that they are actively learning how to be prepared for situations in school that we never even contemplated. In pairs a team of girls should be fine if they are provided specific instruction on where they can meander to, and that they should not separate.

Maybe I would... it’s not necessarily “riding” the elevator that’s the problem. But I wouldn’t know how comfortable I’d be until I was there... and yes, my family :-). If I had boys, I bet I’d feel different. I think people get in a “Disney bubble” when in property and lose track of their kids too much... but that’s me

I think I woudl keep what you have planned, scope out the trek to the lounge, and then make arrangements as a family to manage it. At this point changes are not as easy as they would have been 6 months ago, and you really have booked a beautiful place to experience Disney Holidays. I know that you will enjoy your trip, and you may fins that the proximity to the lounge is in fact a positive rather than a negative aspect of your location.
 
Are there also regular club level rooms on the first, second and third floor? I also believed that the CL rooms were all on the lounge floor
 

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