Wilderness Lodge - Standard View Room

[purplestarlisa]

We have chosen the Wilderness Lodge for our 9 day honeymoon 11/12/07. I chose a standard view room, but now I am debating if I should fork over an extra $500 for a better view. I watched Great Hotels on the Travel channel, and they said that any view at this hotel is great, but is it, really? For my honeymoon, I would be unhappy with a view of the garbage cans or something. I am not banking on a 'free upgrade", but will try to get to the hotel early anyway.

Thanks for any advice you could give me!
Lisa

[DisneyDudet]

My whole rule for anyone booking a hotel is to book what you will be happy with. If you don't think you'll be happy with a standard view, then upgrade. We never book views, as we aren't really there for them, most of the time. We were given standard view at WL, and it turned out to be the best view out of any hotel we've ever stayed that. We were right over a service area and "Smokehouse" and right across the way, was the Contemporary, Monorail, and MK! We could watch Wishes from our bed!

I know that there are more standard view than that one, but if you don't think you'll be happy taking your chances, go ahead and upgrade

Besides, its your honeymoon!! Life a little! Congrats!

[javamama]

Lisa-IMO don't waste the 500 bucks, it's alot. Honestly how much time do you really spend in your room anyways( I know it's your Honeymoon;) ) Spend it on a spa day while your there, something fun not a view--but that's just me. Certain standard rooms there have better views, it's in a Unofficial Guide I'm reading now. Congrats on the Big Day!

[Donald A]

I would not spend $500. We stayed at a standard view room at WL and had a nice pond in back with a duck. If Disney knows it is your honeymoon (hopefully you told them) I think they will make your request a priority. We had an awesome room at Animal Kingdom Lodge for our honeymoon and it was just a standard view with a king bed but off the lobby.

I mean a king bed is a request and last trip to Boardwalk we ended up with two queens. So what if you spend the $500 to get a premium view and end up with 2 queens? I would just trust them to try to give you something nice for your honeymoon. I hope your honeymoon trip is great!

[goofygirl67]

The 1 time I stayed there I got a standard view and got to look at the roof and a bunch of trees. The only good part was that it was over the front desk and not a long walk after being in the parks all day. Seeing the fireplace as I left the room was nice also. Now at AKL, I would spend the extra money for a better view.

[BrerGnat]

For a KILLER view, request the following, directly on your reservation:

"Would prefer a room on the sixth floor, Magic Kingdom side of the Lodge."

When you check in, even if your room is not ready, ask where it is. The best location is floor 6, in the middle "wing" of the WL, on the side that faces the Magic Kingdom. These rooms, while they have the service area in the foreground, have an almost unobstructed view of the Contemporary and MK and a COMPLETELY UNOBSTRUCTED view of the nightly fireworks. You can sit on the balcony and even hear the music from the park during the fireworks. In addition, this floor/wing is serviced by an AWESOME mousekeeper named Pam Rios. She is the best mousekeeper I have ever had, and a couple other Intercotees have had her as well on the 6th floor in this wing.

To be completely honest with you, if you can even SORT of afford it, book one of the honeymoon rooms at the WL. They are great, have a whirlpool bath for 2, and concierge service as well. It is a stellar deal as far as "honeymoon" suites go. It's not too expensive...we stayed in one for our honeymoon and it was out of this world!

[dizneyfreek]

Is the 6th floor concierge or is it the 7th floor?

[richardsa98]

When we stayed at WL last year, we got to our SV room and were very dissapointed because we were over a service station with lots of trucks and no view! I simply went back to the desk and asked for a different room away from a service area if possible! They were great and gave us a room over the main desk on the 5th floor with a view of some roofs and trees. However, every time we came out of our room we walked out to see the fireplacve and whispering canyon cafe! Loved having a lodge view! In addition, there were rocking chairs outside our door, so when my 2 year old went to sleep, my husband and I could sit in the rockers outside our door with a night cap and relax from our long day/night at the park;)
However, the Honeymoon suite the last poster wrote about sounds like you would be on :cloud9:

[wdw_bound]

The 1 time I stayed there I got a standard view and got to look at the roof and a bunch of trees. The only good part was that it was over the front desk and not a long walk after being in the parks all day. Seeing the fireplace as I left the room was nice also.
We must have had the exact same room - and we LOVED it. Yes, there were rooftops partially obstructing our view, but the trees were also clearly visible and the combination of the two gave us a very secluded feeling. We also spent time on the rockers just outside our room overlooking the lobby - WOW!!!

Having said that, I agree with the advice of going with a view that will make you happy, especially for 9 days. This is a really personal decision, but if you think it will impact your honeymoon, I'd change now while that is still an option. If you don't think it will be that bad (and I truly don't think any room at WL could be called "bad"), I'd save the $$$ for some other memory making opportunities - a fireworks cruise, perhaps?

[Crow]

been there twice. first time they gave me a pool view wo asking. 2nd time overlooked the villas n bus stop.
for Sept i asked for standard for AAA discount, but there was only courtyard view w the discount. of course it costs more than i was hoping, so i hope its worth it. and mayb a better room discount will come along.
but WL is great so enjoy!

[BigRedDad]

DO NOT PAY for the upgrade. Simply fax a request to them 5-7 days before your arrival. Tell them it is your Honeymoon. Ask them if there is anything they can do to make your Honeymoon more magical. Also, tell them when you were booking that you told them it was your Honeymoon and they did not know anything about Honeymoon suites. They will probably bump you up at least two levels without charging, maybe even give you the Honeymoon suite without charging.

The CM's are going to go out of there way to help you have a more magical stay. Be sure every ADR you make knows it is your honeymoon. I wouldn't recommend the silly Bride/Groom hats. I can't remember where to get them, but there are Honeymooner pins. Find them, where them, and watch what the CMs do. If they see you in a line, they may pull you out and take you to the front (happened twice for us). We got preferred seating at all sit down meals: Thanksgiving at Cali Grill on the window for the fireworks (we let all the kids come over and get between us also), front row, center stage at Hoop-Dee-Doo.

Remember, don't spend extra for your Honeymoon. Let WDW handle that for free.

[Spaceship Tigger]

DO NOT PAY for the upgrade. Simply fax a request to them 5-7 days before your arrival. Tell them it is your Honeymoon. Ask them if there is anything they can do to make your Honeymoon more magical. Also, tell them when you were booking that you told them it was your Honeymoon and they did not know anything about Honeymoon suites. They will probably bump you up at least two levels without charging, maybe even give you the Honeymoon suite without charging.


We spend our honeymoon at the WL in January 2001. Despite it being a slow time and the resort knew it was our honeymoon, we were not upgraded. It's just not always possible for them to do this, especially if you're there for quite a few days (we were there for 10). Also, the honeymoon suite is concierge, so I don't think they would be doing too much free bumping to this level.

The standard rooms at WL are some of the best "bang for your buck" in a deluxe resort. Not all of the views are great (I wouldn't want to look at a roof or parking lot personally), but being over the lobby would be nice. I've heard a few concerns about noise from Wispering Canyon Cafe, but if I didn't have children I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[purplestarlisa]

Thanks for all the advice! I won't be counting on an upgrade - but I will be keeping my fingers crossed anyway. I think I will keep the $500 and buy something fabulous! In the end, how long are we going to be standing on the balcony admiring any view?

Thanks again! You guys are all GREAT!

Lisa
:mickey:

[pamickeys]

We always book a view room no matter which resort we stay at.It's a vacation,not a business trip.Coffee on the balcony in the morning, a cocktail at night, I'm not taking a chance on what I have to look at.This is our one vacation every year, and if we can't afford it, I'll wait till next year when we can.

[BrerGnat]

Lisa, it is really a personal decision as to how much you want to spend for your room.

However, be aware that you may find yourself out on the balcony more than you might think, especially for a 9 night stay! We had our wedding at WDW and stayed for our honeymoon and we ate breakfast out on that balcony every morning (the "free" concierge breakfast helped with being able to do that!) and we also were out there numerous evenings with wine and desserts (again, from concierge lounge), and until then, I had NEVER spent any considerable time out on a balcony "enjoying" the view. Prior to that trip, I would have never even paid for an upgraded view, but the truth is, you will be in your room a lot during your honeymoon ;), and you might find yourself using the balcony more than you might think you will at this point.

That said, I honestly think that the standard rooms that face the MK are definitely the best bang for your buck at WDW. The honeymoon room we stayed in was on the 7th floor on that side of the lodge, and it had almost the exact same view as my "standard" room this past February. In fact, I'd argue that the standard room had a better view, since it was more centrally located on the side of the lodge. The honeymoon rooms (there are only 4) are in the main lobby, and two of them overlook the Villas, not the MK, so the view is nothing special.

Go with the request for 6th floor standard room, MK side. If granted, you will NOT be disappointed!

Don't count on a free upgrade just because it is your honeymoon. Remember, WDW is the #1 honeymoon destination in America, so you won't be the only ones there celebrating that. :) Also, there are only 4 honeymoon suites. They are usually always booked up, and pretty far in advance too, so I doubt they'll just have an extra one sitting empty to upgrade you to. In general, upgrades are hard to get at the WL. It books up close to full capacity most of the time. I tried to PAY for an upgrade in February (slow time) and there was nothing to upgrade TO, except the Yellowstone Suite, and at $2,000+ per night, I said "NO thank you!"

Have a great honeymoon! The lodge is very romantic...you will both LOVE it there.

[pook@wdw]

You may not have to pay an extra $500 for an upgrade. We've had every view available and the only one we weren't thrilled w/was standard view, as the only thing outside our balcony was a tree! Last year we were upgraded to a courtyard view for an addtional $100 and LOVED it! We do like to sit on our balcony alot and the view over looking the pool, bar and Bay Lake was fantastic. We've also had a lodge view right above WC and enjoyed people watching in our rocking chairs. Our MK view offered us a lovely view of the castle, the monorail, and "Wishes". So your choice should depend on how much time you plan on staying in your room and utilizing the view!!:thumbsup:

[Nicki'sMom]

Thank you everyone for the great tips for standard rooms at WL. We are going 9/4/07 for 7 nights and I have just added "sixth floor,Magic Kingdon side" to my request. Little tips like that could make things a little more special for us!