WIlderness Lodge Construction

Wondering if we should keep our WL reservation for Dec 4-12 (courtyard view) or switch to another resort due to the extensive construction? When we made the reservation we knew about some of the construction but never knew about the construction in the courtyard or in the lobby. It seems much more extensive than we were lead to believe. I hear holidays at the lodge are amazing but I’m afraid the construction could ruin it. Do you think switching to the Poly for an extra $1000 would be worth it or should we stick with WL? TIA

Honestly, I would keep my WL reservation. I do not think you can predict what the contruction will be like in 9 months and I am sure they will do everything they can to maintain that Christmas magic.

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I would have advised keeping it, as I had heard that there was little impact on Courtyard views. Are you saying that there is now construction in that area? And that’s also the first I’ve heard of anything affecting the lobby… what are they doing to the lobby? Jeez… we were going to go back there, but opted to go to AoA instead. Glad we made that call now.

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Are those photos from this week? They are so helpful!

Photo’s are from this website, they are quite recent Extensive Refurb at Wilderness Lodge Gives Me Pause In Recommending It - yourfirstvisit.net

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The photos and yourfirstvisit.net article are very useful. Looking at them, it appears to me that WDW has at least done a very good job of minimizing the impact of the construction on the look of the main hall. Putting the construction walls behind the railings and pillars was a good touch.

As an aside, I usually like yourfirstvisit.net’s advice, but occasionally they say something that leaves me scratching my head. In the article above they say “On the other hand, Wilderness Lodge studios would be really small, comparable to the not-so-wildly popular “value” studios at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.” Really? The not-so-popular value studios? The ones that are so “unpopular” that they are virtially impossible to book without having to resort to tricks like reservation walking?

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What’s reservation walking?

We love WL and have stayed at WL and WLV before. I’ve spent some time on the yourfirstvisit,net review, including the photos… I absolutely would LOVE to be at WL right now! I expect decorations will be in full force, but occupancy will be low so likely to have GREAT service and transportation, and low crowds in pool. :slight_smile: Xmas at WL is amazing, so I vote stick with WL and soak it in before the place is overrun with even more guests when all the construction is done.

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That’s a great way to look at it, thanks for the advice. I was 90% sure about switching resorts and you might have just talked me out of it…the key word is “might” :smile:

You start looking for reservations before the 11 month mark of the time that you really want. Once you get one, you call back every day and move it out one day until you get to the dates that you want - “walking” it forward. This is a highly controversial subject in the DVC community.