Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Review: Disney's Wilderness Lodge

We just decided to book a new trip to Disney World in a few weeks, and I realized I hadn't shared my 1st experience staying at a Disney Property.  Read my review and see if this property would work for you and your family!


PICS coming soon!

“Surpassed Expectations”

We have always stayed at the Dolphin/Swan hotels while visiting the "World", but decided this time to stay at a Disney Owned property since we are now Annual Passholders. While we were researching- initially the only thing that looked grand about this property was the foyer/lobby, and we began to wonder why this hotel was considered "deluxe". 
 We arrived with sort-of low expectations but were pleasantly surprised! I'm very picky about certain things, and guest rooms are on that list...But our room was quite clean! No dust, no dirt! If you've ever been grossed out noticing that your bath mat is dirty at the bottom after it slides on the bathroom floor BEFORE you even take a shower; then you'll appreciate how I felt when I noticed my mat was still white AFTER the floor was wet from my shower: Ecstatic & Ready to go spend some more money with Disney! 
That alone was big for me. The carpeting looked well maintained, there was no dust/dirt on the furnishings either: the headboard included. I have been to many places where the TV remote is sticky-That wasn't the case.. I'm hoping that it wasn't a fluke - and that wasn't the only clean room on Disney properties....we'll see.
Since we had a balcony- with a lovely view of the bay - we were provided with complimentary OFF spray to combat Disney's mosquito problem. We had no bites at all during our stay. I loved the online check-in, the fact that they held our groceries that were delivered while we were at the park, and the receptive staff.
The gift store lacked the proper sizes for Wilderness Lodge t-shirts, but the team worked hard to try to find us something that meet our needs.
My toddler loved it! He had a blast with other toddlers and preschoolers running around the in the kids pool and even in the lobby on the bridge. There were rocking chairs for us adults to sit, listening to the babble of the creek's water under the bridge, meet new parents, and watch the kids have a ball! 
Everything was close enough for the young and the mature adults to not be tired going from the room to eat, or from the room to the transportation stops.
The only gripe I have is for the bellhop we had. He was grumpy and was not friendly at all. We decided to take our own luggage to the Magical Express when it was time to check out - to avoid having someone's attitude affect our energy. But overall, I shall return. The western-US themed property felt like we were at a fishing retreat.