Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[MousetersInc]

Looking for recommendations/advice on room requests for our stay. We are staying at WL for first time May 8th-14th, currently have a standard room reservation. We will have a 10 year old and 3.5 year old along with my wife and I, so while a view of the fireworks would be nice we also value convenience and a somewhat quiet location as the little guy still intermittently naps and we are generally early risers, early to bed type people (weird I know). Having never been it's hard for me to visualize what would be good spots to request (aside from higher floors). I don't mind if there's a "parking lot" view if I look down, I just don't want to hear delivery trucks all night keeping the kids awake. Anyone with experience at the WL have some advice for me? Thank you kindly in advance for your response(s).

I don't have experience, so I can't speak to noise, but as far as views go, do you know about Touringplans' view finder? I've heard some concerns about "lobby view" rooms getting noise from the shenanigans of Whispering Canyon Cafe (though I've also heard others prize such rooms and don't find it to be a problem). Personally I'm shooting for a "fireworks view" and hoping that being on the outer side will also avoid any pool noise that there may or may not be.

Finally, I should add that white noise is always a good idea. I'm already curating a perfect blend of masking noise with mountain streams, crickets, and nighttime woodlands just to, you know, stay on theme.

 

[donnypump]

Ha love the white noise idea . I had not tried that site yet, looks cool thanks for the tip!

 

[MousetersInc]

I should probably also post my favorite source of white noise and soundscapes: https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Looking for recommendations/advice on room requests for our stay. We are staying at WL for first time May 8th-14th, currently have a standard room reservation. We will have a 10 year old and 3.5 year old along with my wife and I, so while a view of the fireworks would be nice we also value convenience and a somewhat quiet location as the little guy still intermittently naps and we are generally early risers, early to bed type people (weird I know). Having never been it's hard for me to visualize what would be good spots to request (aside from higher floors). I don't mind if there's a "parking lot" view if I look down, I just don't want to hear delivery trucks all night keeping the kids awake. Anyone with experience at the WL have some advice for me? Thank you kindly in advance for your response(s).

Congratulations on booking your first WL stay. Based on our experience, we only book Standard View, since we really believe there isn't a bad room at WL and we appreciate saving the money. In six trips to WL we've wound up with every category of room (besides CL) and all with Standard View reservations. You can't expect an upgrade, but it is possible. If you really want a specific view then it might be worth paying for a category that guarantees it, but that's just not the case for us.
We do like to request high floor, primarily for the view but also to get away from ground level noise. There is a loading dock area that the Standard View rooms are above, but the lowest floor with guest rooms on it in that section is the 4th floor, so it's not super close. We heard more noise from the trucks delivering luggage to the front of the resort than we did when we were above the standard view loading dock, but those rooms are Copper Creek Villas now so you don't have to worry about that. The Courtyard View rooms that overlook the main pool have potential for pool noise in the afternoon. Also related to noise, we are in the camp that prefers a room that opens to the lobby, despite possible noise from WCC. The only times when we could hear it from our lobby rooms were during the dinner rush, and we usually were not in the room at those times anyway. By the time we went to bed, it was nice and quiet. We really like the view looking down into the lobby, but some people prefer to avoid it due to fear of heights.
Overall our advice is that while you can spend a lot of time trying to optimize your room location, there isn't a huge difference in rooms that will drastically affect your trip. WL is a fairly small resort, and half of it is Copper Creek Villas now, so your room location will basically just be how far down the hallway you are. At one end of the hall are the rooms that open to the lobby, and the other end has the rooms closest to the transportation boat dock (which is another possible source of noise). In the middle there's the elevator bank that takes you right down to the pool and Roaring Fork, the QS food location. There are also elevators in the lobby, which are nice to get to WCC, the Mercantile (gift shop), and the walkway to the bus stops. All in all, it takes just a couple of minutes to walk from one end of the potential room locations to the other. Have a great time planning your trip, and a wonderful stay at WL!

 

[donnypump]

Thank you so much for the detailed response, great info and much appreciated. My wife and I haven't been to Disney in over 25 years, my kids have never been, a lot has changed and there's SO MUCH to absorb and research. We fell in love with the pictures of WL and have read great things, we are very much looking forward to our visit. Thanks again.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Thank you so much for the detailed response, great info and much appreciated. My wife and I haven't been to Disney in over 25 years, my kids have never been, a lot has changed and there's SO MUCH to absorb and research. We fell in love with the pictures of WL and have read great things, we are very much looking forward to our visit. Thanks again.

You're welcome. You should have a great time. It is good that you have a nice long trip, but you still probably won't see it all. That's ok though, just have fun and enjoy everything that you do. There's a good chance you won't have to wait as long before your next visit to WDW. Feel free to post as questions come up.

 

[crazycheryl]

Looking for recommendations/advice on room requests for our stay. We are staying at WL for first time May 8th-14th, currently have a standard room reservation. We will have a 10 year old and 3.5 year old along with my wife and I, so while a view of the fireworks would be nice we also value convenience and a somewhat quiet location as the little guy still intermittently naps and we are generally early risers, early to bed type people (weird I know). Having never been it's hard for me to visualize what would be good spots to request (aside from higher floors). I don't mind if there's a "parking lot" view if I look down, I just don't want to hear delivery trucks all night keeping the kids awake. Anyone with experience at the WL have some advice for me? Thank you kindly in advance for your response(s).

We just got back from our WL trip Friday and had this view in room number 6048. It overlooked the loading dock area, but we only heard trucks a handful of times and it was in the early morning. We loved watching the fireworks from our room. The walk to the room from the lobby wasn't that far and the elevators at WL are some of the quickest I have ever used in an hotel.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We just got back from our WL trip Friday and had this view in room number 6048. It overlooked the loading dock area, but we only heard trucks a handful of times and it was in the early morning. We loved watching the fireworks from our room. The walk to the room from the lobby wasn't that far and the elevators at WL are some of the quickest I have ever used in an hotel.

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Room 6046 was our favorite view that we’ve had, and my parents were in 6048 for that trip. Both are great. What category room did you book? I can’t imagine a better fireworks view than that.

 

[crazycheryl]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Room 6046 was our favorite view that we’ve had, and my parents were in 6048 for that trip. Both are great. What category room did you book? I can’t imagine a better fireworks view than that.

It was a standard view. I’m still sort of sad the trees were removed but the view makes up for it.

 

[grannyminnie]

That is a gorgeous view! I should be so lucky!

 

[mrsap]

We just got back from our WL trip Friday and had this view in room number 6048. It overlooked the loading dock area, but we only heard trucks a handful of times and it was in the early morning. We loved watching the fireworks from our room. The walk to the room from the lobby wasn't that far and the elevators at WL are some of the quickest I have ever used in an hotel. View attachment 380787

Great view!!!

 

[donnypump]

Wow incredible view, if noise was minimal that looks like a great spot to ask for (or in the vicinity). Thanks for posting!

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

In July I have a Deluxe CL for myself, DD17, DS15, and DS7; and a standard CL booked for my oldest DD and her DH and kids.
Am I correct in understanding that we will be a few floors away from each other? Also, do the standard CL have better views? Wondering if I should switch us to a standard, but the space in a deluxe was appealing.

 

[Dave006]

The Standard CL rooms are all on the 7th floor. The Deluxe rooms with CL Access are located on floors 1-5 (2 per floor) at the very end of the building near the boat dock walkway.

Dave

 

[MousetersInc]

In July I have a Deluxe CL for myself, DD17, DS15, and DS7; and a standard CL booked for my oldest DD and her DH and kids.
Am I correct in understanding that we will be a few floors away from each other? Also, do the standard CL have better views? Wondering if I should switch us to a standard, but the space in a deluxe was appealing.

To address views: My guess would be that the higher the floor the farther you can see, but floor 7 has "dormer" style balconies enclosed by a solid wall instead of a railing, meaning that you can't see as much when seated. However, on the touringplans view finder, I see someone on 7th floor saying they could watch the fireworks from bed

 

[ToyStory3]

Hello and congratulations! I'm glad that you get to stay at your dream resort. The original author of this thread isn't very active on the DIS anymore, so our Lodger's Log doesn't get updated with upcoming trips. That's ok, we have a great thread with lots of helpful people and great information.

You are correct in that all of the regular Club Level rooms are on the seventh floor. WL also has Deluxe rooms that come with CL access and they are on floors 1-5 at the end of the wing nearest the boat docks. Finally as others have mentioned people have been able to add CL access to a reservation elsewhere in the resort based on availability. In your case, having a CL reservation, you'll be on the 7th floor, which gets you nice views. Your balcony will have enclosed railing, but we've had those rooms and enjoy them, and it is a more secure feeling. The downside is you don't have as great of view while seated.

As for room requests, with CL either side of the hallway is the same bookable category, so you can either request to have a balcony that overlooks the main pool or faces towards MK. We would probably prefer the MK view, since our favorite view we've had at WL was in that same area of the resort, just on the 6th floor (since we haven't stayed CL).

Happy Planning and have a great time at WL!

This is very helpful! Thank you so much for the reply! I think I'll not make a room request since both of those views sound amazing. Sounds fun to just be surprised.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are just two weeks away from our trip to WL. We have a nature view room booked and hope to get a room over the lobby, but just about any nature view room will be fine. We are looking forward to spending a lot of time at the resort, like we did in September the quiet pool and Geyser Springs are great and have made the WL an even better resort than it was before.

 

[VicarJT]

I wonder how many of us there are who love both FQ and WL?
Happy Holidays!

That would be me!

 

[ksromack]

We just added on one night at WL at the beginning of our May trip! It's not going to add up to a lot of time spent at the lodge because our plane doesn't land until 10:30, which is a bummer that we'll have to get our checked bags ourselves. But we'll get to wake up there and get an earlier start to our MK day so that's a good thing. We saved $400 by flying out Thursday night so we decided to spend it at the lodge!

 

[RachelTori]

We are just two weeks away from our trip to WL. We have a nature view room booked and hope to get a room over the lobby, but just about any nature view room will be fine. We are looking forward to spending a lot of time at the resort, like we did in September the quiet pool and Geyser Springs are great and have made the WL an even better resort than it was before.

Enjoy!! I just left yesterday. Had a fabulous stay, as always!! I'll be back again in May!

Over the past 2 years (I think their 2 year anniversary is in a couple days!), I've spent many hours sitting at the bar at Geyser Point!! Love everything about it!