Wilderness Lodge
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Reviewer's Name:
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Michael Kerr |
Reviewer's Email Address:
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michael.kerr@hsv.boeing.com |
Rate / Night (for your stay):
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219 |
Date(s) of Stay:
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5-19-01 to 5-24-01 |
Accommodation Used:
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Standard Room / Studio |
Accommodations Review:
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Beautiful grounds, great service, breathtaking lobby and interiors.
Most extensive theming of any resort I have ever visited. But
as in all WDW hotels I have visited, the perks stop at the rooms.
The rooms themselves are rather sparse for the price. Very clean,
however. We had the queen with bunk-beds which gave us a bit
more floor space. Kids (8 and 10 year old) loved the bunk beds;
not for anyone approaching adult height. Double sinks separate
from shower/toilet helped with getting everyone ready. Did not
use valet parking but did use the bell-service which was very
fast and friendly. Housekeeping was top notch (very flexible
in when they cleaned the rooms) and our girls always looked
forward to what little extra surprise "Mimi" had for theme (displays
with their plush animals, animals made of washcloths, etc.). |
Why Did you Select This Resort for your Stay?
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WDW visits have dominated our vacations in the last decade
so we decided that this was going to be our last visit for a
while. Decided to "live it up" this last go round and stay at
a premium resort for the first time. Wanted to be near the MK
since it is our favorite park and WL seemed best bet for the
money. |
Room # and Location Description:
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5064; standard view. Non-smoking, queen and bunk beds. Convenient
to lobby elevator and ice machine. Room faced truck delivery
area and smokehouse; wasn't a bad view since the service parking
lot is very small and has a thick grove of trees just behind
it. We did not realize until that night that the Contemporary
was just through the trees and we had a perfect view of the
fireworks from our balcony at night. Truck deliveries start
right at dawn and did cause some noise; we sleep with a small
oscillating fan for "white noise" so this wasn't too much of
a problem. Also seemed that you could hear more noise from adjoining
rooms and the hallway than other hotels I have stayed at but
again with the fan this wasn't an issue. |
Room Location Pros & Cons:
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Pros: close to lobby elevator, fireworks view. Cons: truck
noise |
Check-In / Check-Out Comments:
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We arrived about 12:30 PM, check in was rather busy but they
had several CM's working so I was waited on within five minutes.
Check in took about 15 minutes but this was because the CM left
to verify that the room requests that we had faxed in earlier
that week were being accommodated. All requests were met or
exceeded. Also purchased E ride night tickets, and single day
tickets for the MK. CM was also able to answer some very specific
questions ("Will this old park hopper work at the AK? What's
the best way to get from here to the GF?". Bell-services had
already taken our luggage and stored it. We changed and walked
the grounds and swam (the pool was packed; no chairs available)
until 3:00 but the room still wasn't ready. Finally ready at
4:15 and our luggage was already there waiting for us. Check
out was painless; I had requested a late check out the night
before and it was honored. Our bill was under our door checkout
morning and since there were no errors, we simply had to have
bell services load our car and go. Very efficient. |
WDW Transportation Comments:
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We don't like the busses so we only use them sparingly. We
used the boats to the MK and never had to wait more than 10
minutes either way. Unfortunately, the boat does not run from
the MK to the WL to take you home after E ride nights. We walked
to the bus pickup and there was no queue for the WL. We asked
a couple of bus drivers and they didn't know how we were supposed
to get back to our room. We walked to the monorail and the CM
there told us we had to take the monorail to the TTC and then
catch a bus to the WL!!! The other MK resorts had the monorail
to take them "home" and all of the other resorts (except for
the WL and FW) had direct busses! We left the MK at 11:00 and
didn't get back to our room until almost 12:30-- most of the
time was due to waiting for the bus at the TTC. Did I mention
we don't like busses? We drove our own car throughout the week
to the GF for dinner, to Downtown Disney and to the AK. One
morning we were going to D/MGM and since it was opening at 7:30
(Magic Morning) we decided to ride the bus. We got to the bus
stop at 7:05. Our bus didn't arrive until 7:30!! While we were
waiting, four (4) busses to FW stopped by as did two (2) for
EPCOT (which didn't even open until 9:00) and two (2) for the
AK. Did I mention we hate the busses? |
Restaurant / Lounge Review:
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We had refillable mugs so we visited Roaring Forks several
times a day. We ate a snack/dinner there one evening and a late
lunch there the day we checked out. The food was pretty average
and there wasn't a great selection. On a whim, we ate at Whispering
Canyon Cafe for a late lunch. We got absolutely no funny business
from our server so I'm glad I didn't build it up to the kids
prior. My wife and I shared two appetizers which were the smallest
appetizers we have ever had in the World. Never ate at Artist
Point. |
Pool Description / Comments:
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The pool was quite crowded in the late afternoon (people waiting
for check-in?) but was pretty deserted in the evenings and mornings.
It is very appealing visually in how it is integrated into the
waterfall and the rest of the landscape. The kids liked the
slide but the lifeguards won't allow you to lay on your stomach
or side so it gets old rather quick. For those with younger
kids be aware that there are a couple of areas that have pretty
strong water currents (around the water slide and where the
stream "enters" the pool). The beach is small but a fun division
and was never crowded. |
What Suggestions Would you Give Anyone that is Considering
This Resort?
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We loved the WL and will probably stay there again. If you
have never visited a WDW hotel before, bear in mind that the
rooms themselves are rather disappointing after seeing the grounds/pool/lobby. |
Other Comments:
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Not Reported |
