dsnymom14
Registered: April 2008
Location: Kennesaw, GA
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Fri January 1, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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helpful and friendly staff; good food offerings
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Cons:
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bus service
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My family of four adults stayed on club level 12/19 - 12/24. Shortly after booking the reservation, I received a welcoming e-mail from CM Stephanie offering her assistance with our trip planning. I sent her the dates and times of the restaurant reservations I wanted, and she booked them for me the morning the 90-day booking window opened up. I received my exact requests!
We were greeted by a friendly bellman upon arrival who escorted us to the 7th floor where we checked in. We enjoyed snacks and beverages in the lounge during the half-hour wait for our room to be ready.
Room 7061 was located next to a service elevator/staff area where banging and clanging began before 6 a.m. the next morning. At 7 a.m. I was at the concierge desk asking for a room change. CM Miguel and Linda were most helpful in finding a new room, which was unoccupied so the transfer of our luggage was immediate.
The triple-sheeted beds were very comfortable, though we had to request turndown service a little later than 4:45 p.m. when the maids usually came by. They always left plenty of chocolates, towels and soap. Mousekeeping was excellent.
We got a lot of use of the DVD player in the room, as we brought Christmas movies with us to watch.
Though the breakfast and snack offerings were the same each day, there was enough variety to suit us. The evening appetizers changed each day and were always delicious.
There were plenty of tables to sit at and the lounge area is very spacious.
The only downside to our stay was the slow bus service; we always had a 20-30 minute wait wherever we wanted to go.
We were glad we splurged on club level as a Christmas treat, but will likely return to a regular room in the future.
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Disneytwin
Registered: December 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Tue December 29, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Lounge Areas, Turndown Service
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Cons:
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Staff, Food Variety, Crowds
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My family and I, four adults, stayed in the Old Faithful Club the week of Christmas 2009. The lounge and hotel were decorated beautifully for Christmas, nice touches everywhere. We really enjoyed staying on the 7th floor...but we feel that there could've been more for what we paid for!
It was nice knowing there was always going to be some kind of snack and drink in the lounge. We saved a lot of money throughout the week, but always felt we needed to get back to the lounge for snack time! The continental breakfast saved us a lot of money. The menu never changed...cereals, oatmeal, bagels, and muffins. These items would cost at least $10/person from the room service menu. At snack time there were always pretzels, nuts, gummy bears, and goldfish crakers. At night you could get a glass of wine, beer, and a few hot items (chicken skewer, meatball, etc). Dessert was always a cobbler of some sort, "magic" bars, cookies, and brownies. We never had to order dessert at dinner...there was always something waiting for us. The lounge areas were large enough that there was always a table. There was also two TVs to watch.
The housekeeping staff was excellent. The room was always made early and we were given plenty of mints during turndown service.
The main staff were not as friendly. We were always the first to say hello, or have a nice day. I've read reviews of people getting to know the staff and having the staff remember which parks they were going to...we never once got that. I think part of the reason was that it was Christmas time and the floor was packed. There were several families with younger children...who did not pick up after themselves, and used their hands instead of tongs when getting food.
All in all, the Wilderness Lodge is a nice resort, but I prefer the Beach Club and Polynesian.
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TikiGoddess
Registered: August 2009
Location: CT
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Thu August 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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location to MK, theming, helpful staff
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Cons:
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solid balconies
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We stayed at the WL Concierge in a standard (2 queen bed) room from Aug 10-17th. It was WONDERFUL! The staff was very friendly and helpful -- so nice to have someone on hand to answer questions at any time of the day. The lounge was great -- plenty to eat at breakfast and yummy chocolate chip cookies at night. The only complaint we had was that the room seemed dark because of the solid balcony. We didn't get to see much of our courtyard view because of it. Otherwise, it was just the perfect hotel for us as we went to the MK multiple days and loved the boat ride.
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jberrong
Registered: January 2007
Location: Indianpolis, Indiana
Posts: 16
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Review Date: Mon June 29, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Food, Cast members,
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Cons:
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too much food with the dinning plan!!
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My husband and I arrived June 18 to check-in to our standard room for our 9th anniversary. To our surprise, we were upgraded to the Club Level! We had never stayed on a club level before. It was amazing! Our room was not ready, but our key worked in the elevator and we went to check it out. I was so happy! The food was outstanding, different every night. The people that worked in the food area and the concierge were always happy and had a smile on their face. We had the dining plan, so we were always full. Next time, no dining plan and only club level. We loved it!
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sarahv2480
Registered: March 2009
Location: Aurora, IL
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed March 11, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful room, excellent view, food
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Cons:
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none
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My husband and I stayed in the Concierge level of WL on February 4, 2008. Unfortunately, I don't know the details of exactly what kind of room it was because my husband set everything up as a surprise for my birthday! I do know that we were not originally supposed to stay on the Concierge Level, but we were bumped up upon check-in. What a wonderful surprise it was! I will say our room was wonderful. The room itself was very nice with a huge bed, gorgeous bathroom with a huge jacuzzi tub, and the best part was our balcony and view. Since we were pretty high up and facing the Magic Kingdom, we could see just about everything. A nice view of the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary and Grand Floridian. It was beautiful!
We did partake a bit in the food that was provided... I believe we had some dessert after we returned from dinner the night of our stay and then breakfast in the morning. The food was excellent with the berry cobbler as the highlight. Boy, was that stuff delicious!! We didn't really use the staff at all since we only stayed one night and already had our plans set, but they were very friendly and provided a little bit of magic for me on my birthday with balloons and a card signed by all the Disney characters. It was a lot of fun and a thoughtful gesture.
All in all, our stay was wonderful. I wish we would've been able to stay there for the entire week!! If we can ever afford to stay in the Concierge Level, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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mom2owen
Registered: March 2009
Posts: 7
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Review Date: Fri March 6, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything
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Cons:
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Nothing
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I cannot say enough how wonderful staying on the club level at Wilderness Lodge is. For my family, it is worth every extra dollar. We have stayed at Wilderness Lodge three years in a row and our recent trip from 2/22-3/1 was our second time on the club level. We ate breakfast at the Old Faithful Club every morning, enjoyed cordial hour (with those addictive and delicious magic cookie bars) almost every night and even had dinner there one night. The extra concierge service was also a wonderful benefit. They called us before our trip to make sure they were ready for our arrival, helped us with dining plans, ordered a cake for my son's birthday and provided us with a wonderful magical moment.
The last day of our trip (2/28), I ended up talking a bit to the club level concierge on staff. She asked how our trip had been going, and I ended up telling her how disappointed we had been with many of the restaurants. I also shared how my son hadn't been having a particularly "magical" birthday. She went out of her way to make sure he had a day to remember. She brought him a special gift from the Wilderness Lodge with celebration balloons and then ended up inviting our family up on the roof of the resort to watch Wishes that night. It was amazing! My son didn't stop talking about it for days afterwards. Such a small gesture meant the world to him, and we can't thank her enough.
We have stayed in several of the resorts and have decided that we will always stay on the club level at Wilderness Lodge anytime we visit Disney.
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disneynutfromoz
Registered: February 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed February 18, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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theming, atmosphere, castmembers..everything!
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Cons:
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none
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Just spent 7 wonderful days at WL (1/31 - 2/7)! DH and I stayed in a honeymoon room and found it just fantastic! DH is very hard to please but said it was the best resort we have ever stayed at. Previously we have stayed at YC and CS. We found the theming of the WL to be breathtaking and the concierge staff were wonderful and so very helpful. Ian in particular helped us to get a last minute booking at California Grill and it was the highlight of our trip to see Wishes from our table! Food was good and plentiful. We never had to wait for transport longer than 10 mins and found all castmembers we encountered so nice and helpful. We had a wonderful dinner at Whispering Canyon (also last minute booking by concierge thanks to Rob!) and found it to be just a hoot! We think the reason why we loved the WL above all other resorts we have stayed at is the fact that although you are in the middle of DW and all it's glory the WL is just so beautiful and peaceful it felt like coming home after a loooonngg day at the parks! We liked the fact that the WL is a little out of the way cause sometimes we just needed a break from all the hubbub! It is our new favourite resort and we will be hard pressed to go anywhere else!
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pagund
Registered: November 2008
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed November 5, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Beautiful themeing, attentive CM's, great boat service
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Cons:
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spotty bus service,overcrowded concierarge eating
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We just returned from a 10 day vacation at the Wilderness Lodge. As usual, we really enjoyed our stay and the view from our room which allowed us to see the fireworks every night. As this was our 4th stay here (3rd on the conciearge level) we knew how to get around without waiting forever. Always take the boats if possible. To go to EPCOT, take the launch to the Contemporary, take the monorail to the TTC, and change to the EPCOT monorail. Yes, it can be a lot shorter than waiting for the bus!
Our CM's were great, but the eating area is too small and many guests are lazy and don't pick up their dirty dishes. Help others have a great vacation, too!
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monkey girl
Registered: June 2008
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sat November 1, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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concierge service was awesome, mousekeeping thanks Sandra, balcony
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Cons:
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looks like it needs to be rehauled
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Hubby and I stayed in the honeymoon suite and the level of service from concierge was outstanding. I ordered Mickey ears from the Disney florist to arrive on 10/18 (day of our arrival), I even called 2 weeks ahead of time to confirm delivery day, no problem they'll be there. Wrong. They were not. So the concierge desk called the florist and they said that they would be delivered on 10/20. I ordered them specifically for the MNSSHP (they lit up). To make a long story short concierge made sure we had our Mickey Ears in time for the party. (In fact 2 sets showed up at the last minute.) Thanks for your help.
I know the WL went through an overhaul but it needs alot more work. The condition of the value resort was better than our room. Our bath tub leaked, some of the marble was chiped, the crome on the door handles was coming off, and alot of other odd and end things like that. I gave it such a high review because of the service and friendlyness we received. Everyone was great. Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!
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lsyves
Registered: October 2008
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Fri October 24, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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food, mousekeeping, service
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Cons:
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buses
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Just returned from the concierge level. LOVED it! We had 9 people in our group and therefore had a hard time getting dinner reservations, so we ate on the concierge level several nights.
For the foodies:
- breakfast was 3-4 kinds of cereals, 2 juices, regular and choc milk, coffee, tea, fresh fruit, yogurt, bagels, croissants, and either apple or cherry pastries
- daytime snacks were gummy bears, goldfish, cookies, and drinks
- evening brought two hot items (while we were there it was pork tenderloin, corn chowder, chicken and pesto pasta, beef stroganoff, minestrone soup, and a few others i can't recall), plus four different cheeses, crackers, freshly baked bread, veggies and dip, and either hummus or baba ganoush. And every night they had uncrustables for the kids. perfect! There was wine, beer, soda, juice, coffee, tea, and water.
- dessert time was cordials, coffee, tea, choc chip and sugar cookies, magic bars, and brownies. PLUS a hot dessert, usually a cobbler (apple, cherry, or mixed berry).
- all the food was excellent
Mousekeeping and service in general was great. We were there for the Halloween Party and came back the next day to pumpkins and ghosts made out of towels. And my son's stuffed animal was always lounging in bed watching TV when we came home. He loved it.
I did feel a little bad for the honeymooners who were next to the kids' TV area, but I doubt they were disturbed late at night or early in the morning.
The buses at Disney are my biggest complaint. They are inconsistent and frustrating. I live in a big city and am used to things coming frequently and on time. The Disney transport system really needs to be improved. It should embarrass them!
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elithomur
Registered: September 2008
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Thu September 18, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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friendly,convenient, comfortable, relaxing
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Cons:
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not much
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We stayed at Wilderness lodge Labor Day weekend and had a great stay. The weather was very rainy and we were happy that we took a chance and upgraded to the club level. We had extra time to snack and nap, watch football, etc. Buses and boat to parks running frequently. The club level food was excellent. Heavy appetizers, nice cheeses, good wine and beer. So we made it dinner a couple of nights. (Only negative might be the food we had every night was some kind of pork. It was always delicious and we were happy. They had other items as well.) Room with a Magic Kingdom view and fireworks was very clean and recently updated. Pool so relaxing. A nice calming getaway from the hustle and bustle. Staff very friendly Brought my husband a beer or two when food area not open. Much warmer than Grand Floridian and Boardwalk. It was the best club level experience we have had so far. We come to WDW at least 3 times a year and have been for 20 years !! Give it a try !!
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SandjloPhoto
Registered: September 2008
Location: Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 30
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Review Date: Tue September 16, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Mousekeeping, Cast Members, Theming, Transportation, Cleanliness, Atmosphere, Special service, Turn down service, travel and itinerary planning
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Cons:
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Not-a-one
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We stayed at WL 9.5.08-9.13.08 in room 7084 on the concierge level. Worth every extra penny paid. The food and snacks set out in the Old Faithful Club were wonderful. We had a quick breakfast there of bagels,scones and cereal several mornings. The special attention from Rob and Jack was fabulous. Our room was taken care of so well and each day our Mousekeeper Patricia left us towel toys and set our room up sweetly. Our room had a view of the GF, Contemp and SPace Mountain. MK was hidden by the trees but the fireworks weren't! Quiet floor and room. The buses and boats were very timely and we rarely waited more than 5 minutes. This was an ideal time to visit the parks. NO CROWDS at all. We didn't wait for any rides. Maybe one round for Dumbo and that was it. We will definitely go back and stay at WL. If you are contemplating spending the extra money for the Club Level, it is definitely worth it. The extra help with travel planning was wonderful too.
We used the concierge service for everything. They booked us into dining we thought impossible (Le Cellier, Cinderella's Castle etc). They booked our golf, ground transportation, Keys to the Kingdom tour, arranged medical service when I injured myself and made us feel like we were the only people on the floor. They made travel changes for us and saw to it that our check in was seamless. Definitely worth the extra money for this service.
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ADisneyphile
Registered: August 2007
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Tue September 9, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Quiet, relaxing,
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Cons:
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Better view room for this level of service would be nice
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Really enjoyed the concierge level at our stay August 21st. The staff was very helpful and courteous. The snack area was always enjoyable and filled with variety. We especially enjoyed the privacy of the lobby seating. We will do again.
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shanz1025
Registered: August 2008
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Fri August 15, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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theme, friendliness of staff, cleanliness, boats
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Cons:
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honeymoon suite
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We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for our honeymoon from May 24 - June 1 of 2008. This was my second trip to Disney World (first time in 1998, stayed at the Contemporary) and my Husband's first visit. Because it was our honeymoon we decided to not only pay the extra money for the concierge floor but for the Honeymoon suite as well. Let me first say that from the moment we drove up to the hotel (from Disney Magical Express airport transportation) we were beyond impressed. It cannot be stressed enough how incredible the the Lodge and it's theme is. We were absolutely blown away! We got into the hotel and immediately were taken up the the concierge level for private check in. All staff that day (as well as the rest of the trip) were incredibly polite and helpful. We were given a quick tour of the level and shown to our room.
Unfortunately, I have to go off the "good track" for a moment to point out the only cons of this trip. When stepping to the corner where our room was located we immediately realized this was the same corner as the "kids corner" with a large size TV and kids seating. Don't get me wrong I LOVE kids and I know this is Disney, however, wouldn't this be an area for the family suite not the honeymoon suite? Anyway, when entering the room we realized that much to our disbelief it was the same size (if not smaller) than most regular hotel rooms. Let me point out that the theme however was very tastefully carried over into the hotel rooms. What disappointed us was the only thing that made the room any different was the whirlpool tub. This was very nice but, in my opinion, not worth the major extra amount of money. However, I do not like to complain and knew we would make the most of it. We were happy to realilze that only twice did we hear the TV from the kid's corner and this was only in the early evening when we came back to change for dinner, no big deal.
Now, back to the good. Whereas, I was completely disappointed with the extra money we paid for the Honeymoon suite, we both agree that it was worth it to be on the concierge floor. The staff was always polite and always went out of their way to help us with anything we needed. Several times we came back in the early afternoon before switching parks to find that our room was already clean, sparkling to be exact. We always had towel animals (the monkey was my absolute favorite) and on the first day we received balloons, chocolates and a card for our Honeymoon. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that the food provided throughout the day were both tasty and filling for that time of the day. The only day we did breakfast no in the lounge was when we did Cinderella's Royal Table the first morning. Beyond that what the lounge provided was more than enough for us.
As far as transportation goes I highly recommend the boats over the buses if at all possible. In my opinion they are more fun and less crowded.
I do not want anyone to think that we did not enjoy our Honeymoon, we had a great time!! We would absolutely stay at the Wilderness Lodge again and would even pay the extra for the concierge level, we just did not believe the Honeymoon suite was worth the additional cost.
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rpayer
Registered: December 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Wed July 30, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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CM's, Old Faithful Club, Hotel property, Room view, personalized service
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Cons:
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None
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My DD (10) and I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge Concierge level from July 21st to July 24th. We were in room 7046 which had a spectacular view of Cinderella's castle. This gave us the opportunity to watch the fireworks from our balcony. we are frequent visitors to WDW, but this was our first stay at the club level.
It will be very hard to stay anywhere else after enjoying every minute on this trip. Upon pulling up at the front door of the WL, we were met by a concierge CM and a valet CM. While our luggage was being stored, we were personally led to the 7th floor for check in. There were no lines to stand in. It was just us and the Concierge CM. He checked us in, gave us a printed itinerary of our reservations, and answered any questions we had.
During our trip, we made great use of the lounge, almost too much use of it. Breakfast consisted of fruit, cereal, muffins/bagels, juices and tea/coffee. Snacks were pretzels, goldfish, gummy bears, cookies, and drinks. Appetizers were soups (quite delicious), chili, uncrustables, veges/dip, crackers/cheese, and wine/beer. Desserts were apple cobbler (another favorite), brownies, cookies, tea/coffee.
The housekeeping CMs seemed to be of a higher level then others we have experienced through the years. They always came in the am, so our room was always clean when we returned in the afternoon. Either there were towel animals (which we were told to keep) or my DD's stuffed animals were placed on the bed with the remote and they were watching tv. It was quite fun to run to our room and see what was left. There was also a chocolate canoe with choc truffles on our bed upon arrival. The turn down service always left a native american quote and chocolates.
Our room was in excellent shape. I like the rounded shower curtain rod which keeps the liner away from you. The bed was quite comfortable (a pillow top mattress) and there was a sheet, blanket, sheet combo. I have been told that only the higher quality hotels do that. I liked it because I always have a problem with the blanket touching me.
We really got used to the personalized service that we were receiving. Our key cards were yellow which I was told designates a club level guest and it seemed like we received extra attention whenever a CM saw the card.
We also enjoyed the pools, both the main one and the quieter one by the villas. My DD loved the slide. We ate at Roaring Forks and found the food to be good. We used the boat to MK and never waited more then 5 or 10 mins. When leaving the MK ten mins before the fireworks, the boat captain stalled a bit so that we could watch the fireworks from the water. It was quite a show and we really appreciated his stalling tactics.
We used the buses to Epcot, the Studios, and once to MK. We never waited more then 10 mins to get on and even after one stop at Fort Wilderness it never took more then 20 mins to arrive at our destination. The WL is the first stop for pick up and drop off. It seemed funny that a deluxe hotel would stop at the campground, but I understand the close proximity of the two places and it makes sense from a bus scheduling prospective. We did not have a problem with it, but some people did.
We only used our rental car to get to AK and that was because I didn't want to be late for our Wildlife Discovery tour (a tour available of the safari area at AK for club level guests). We enjoyed every aspect of the Wilderness Lodge and especially of the Concierge level. We have always been happy with the level of service at WDW, but the Concierge CM's seem to lift the bar a bit higher. I highly recommend it to all. We had a AAA discount which helped decrease the room cost a bit and it was certainly worth it. We hope to stay here again soon.
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