Tell me about WL and villas

[BedknobsandBroomsticks]

Hey everybody, we are still six months away from our Oct. trip but my husband is getting nervous about staying in a mod. We have always stayed deluxe. I am looking into prices at WL for my group and want to know some more about it. Likes, dislikes, memories etc. We have never stayed there. Tell me more. We are currently booked at POFQ. I don't know if we'll change or not. Just curious. TTFN

[Grace]

I think you will like POFQ, but WLV is very nice too.

The villa we stayed in was a 2-BR, and it overlooked the villas pool. We could watch the Electric Light Parade from our balcony. The villas were very quiet and peaceful. The colors are "woodsy", greens, deep reds, tans. The entryway has a hall table, and coat hooks, and leads to the kitchen and to the second bedroom. The kitchen is fully equipped with dishes, glasses, wine glasses, plates, cutlery, and all kinds of cooking utensils. There is also dish soap and detergent for the dishwasher. The living room contains a fold-out couch, an easy chair, and two kitchen-style chairs placed at the kitchen counter. There is also a dining table with a bench. The master BR has a king bed, jacuzzi, vanity with sink, and a separate sink & shower room, separate toilet room. These can be closed off from the master bedroom. The second bedroom contains either two queen beds or a queen bed and foldout sofa, plus table and chairs and full bath with large vanity. Both the living room and master bedroom had balconies. (ask to be close to the elevators).

The atrium of the villas building is really stunning- all carved logs and stone- it makes you look up. There are lots of carved small animals in the log-ends. The detail is wonderful. There is a part of the Carolwood Railway (Walt's personal railroad that was in his back yard) in an adjoining room, along with checkers tables, lounge chairs, and fireplace.

The building is linked to the Lodge by a covered walkway, so it is quick and easy to get to the deluxe amenities offered there. But the workout room is in the villas, if you are interested in that.

But I must say, POR is one of our eternal favorite resorts, and the sister resort to POFQ.

Hope this helps!

[jefmblrd]

We stayed in the WL Villas just after we bought into the DVC. The Beach Club is our home resort, but we couldn't get in there, so I booked the WLV and loved it there. It was just my wife and I, so we had a studio and found it to be fine. I enjoyed the theming of the lodge very much-National Park outdoors motif.

The Villas are separate from the Lodge but a quick walk to the main lobby, which is beautiful. The pool is great with a nice hot tub area and of course the geyser. We were able to watch the Electrical Water Pageant (I think that's what it's called) from there and thought it was great!

It was great being able to take the boat to the MK. The busses were okay, a few long waits (which could happen anywhere) and sometimes they stopped at the campgrounds which added a bit to the journey but wasn't a problem.

Until I stayed at the Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge was my favorite resort. Like I said, we really loved it there.

[BrerGnat]

I think the WL is the best value for the money on the entire WDW property. You get a Magic Kingdom resort with some superb theming, beautiful grounds/views of the lake, a massive jaw droppingly beautiful lobby, 2 great full service restaurants plus a very good quick service location, one of the best gift shops at any of the WDW resorts (in my opinion anyway), and access to a fitness center that offers spa services as well. The hotel pool is very nice, and the hot tub is EXCELLENT! The rooms are well appointed and although they only sleep 4, you get QUEEN sized beds rather than doubles, which is what you get at the moderates. The rooms were all recently refurbished and come standard with a flat screen LCD t.v., new mattresses and pillows (which are VERY comfy), and all have a mini fridge and coffee maker in room. I can go on and on about the Lodge. I have stayed there 3 times, including on my honeymoon and have always had the best experiences.


These are my favorite things about the lodge:
-It's a Deluxe resort all the way, but at a very low price, when you compare to the other deluxe resorts
-You are in the BEST THEMED hotel on property, period. This resort's attention to detail around every corner is just amazing. The lodge is an attraction in itself
-at the end of the day, nothing beats the serene atmosphere of the lodge. Its lobby is the best place to unwind, and has a lot of seating areas, sort of like mini living rooms, which are great when a large group of people want to hang out and chat.
-Whispering Canyon Cafe is a really fun restaurant with some great food!
-On a warm evening, nothing beats the boat ride to/from the MK.
-On a cold evening, nothing beats returning to the lodge and pulling up a rocking chair to the massive fireplace in the lobby.
-In the standard view rooms (the lowest price category), if you request a room on the MK side, floor 6, you will have an amazing view of the MK as well as a "private" fireworks show every night right from your bed.

Now, I have not stayed at POFQ, but have done the Riverside several times. I love that moderate resort, and is the one I recommend when people are going moderate. I think the rooms at POFQ are some of the nicest decorated rooms on property, though, and I would not hesitate at all to try POFQ if I was choosing a moderate. The one thing is that I believe the facilities over at the Riverside are better than at the French Quarter (food court, pool, recreational stuff, etc--I have visited FQ and used the pool and food court over there and did not care for either). Although the walk to the main building at Riverside is not THAT long, it's just long enough to be a hassle, and if you decide you want to use the Riverside pool, the walk to the pool is VERY long from anywhere on FQ property. Just keep that in mind.

I don't know how big your group is, but if you can swing it at all, I would really highly recommend switching to the WL (not necessarily the villas, which get to be pretty expensive with a large group).

[Dopey's Girl]

I stayed in the VWL last October/November and it was wonderful! We had a 1 Br for 3 adults and a 2 year old and it was a great amount of space. We just had a woods view, but it was very nice, peaceful and quiet, very relaxing after a long day in the parks! We loved the 1 br because the little guy could nap in the bedroom, while we could be watching TV, or cooking in the living room without having to be so quiet! We also loved having the washer and dryer in the room...that was a huge plus for us!

The whole atmosphere of the lodge was wonderful, and I loved staying there. Having said that though, I'm not sure I would ever pay to stay there (my friends are wonderful and paid for my whole trip!). I generally don't spend enough time at the resort to justify spending that amount of money on a room. We like the mods, and most of our trips are spent there.