WL scaffolding

Going to WL for 11 nights from July 12th.
Worried about reports that there is still scaffolding up around the exterior of the hotel.
I appreciate that renovations must happen but I’d like to have been informed at the time of booking.
I have contacted them but has anyone been there recently? Is the scaffolding intrusive?

We were there April 26-May 2. Of course you’d wish the scaffolding wasn’t there, and I was mildly disappointed when we got there and saw it, but after day 1 I really didn’t notice it. The real “oomf” of the WL is the central lobby, and there’s no scaffolding there. You only really see the front of the place on arrival and departure day, and on the pool side there’s only scaffolding to one side, assuming they haven’t expanded it over the past week and a half.

Thank you for your reply. It’s really helpful.
I am disappointed that we weren’t informed. I know it’s only scaffolding but I’d like to have made a decision about hotel choice bearing that in mind.

You know what really helped was that we were on the wing that had the scaffolding. That might sound counter-intuitive, but what it meant was that our view (we had an inner courtyard view) was of non-scaffolding. Had we been a pool view on the opposite side, and we looked out each morning on scaffolding, perhaps it would have intruded more. We were room 4051, for what it’s worth.

And the scaffolding was further down the wing, not around our room itself, so you could only really see it from our room if you hung out of the balcony and looked far left… and who’s going to do that?

Did the scaffolding block your view at all?
I saw a photo of workmen painting on it, wouldn’t fancy that outside my window!

No blockage from 4051. The scaffolding on our side, but further down the wing. We were 4051, which you can get a look at here:

The scaffolding was more around the outer courtyard area (example 4023). I didn’t really inspect to see if the scaffolding was blocking any views, so I can’t say how intrusive it would have been had we been assigned one of those rooms.

Thanks. That’s all really helpful.
Waiting to see what guest services say. Although it doesn’t sound to be too much of a distraction.
Thanks for all your help.

You’re welcome. Here is a post from a TripAdvisor thread that seems to echo what I noticed, though with a bit more of a negative spin:

"We just returned from a trip to the wilderness lodge yesterday (March 23, 2015). There is still scaffolding up and work going on in both the courtyard and the woods side - although it’s probably only about 10% of each area. It’s mostly around the artists point right now. In addition they are storing the scaffolding in some areas of the center courtyard. We wound up with a room that had its view mostly blocked by scaffolding - and also a not so magical view of the work area. After 2 days I requested they move us and they were able to accommodate dispite the resort being almost 90 percent full. The room they moved us to was completely awesome.

Anyway - they may be done by April - or they may move to a different area. I have to say it is quite annoying that they didn’t mention this when we were booking ( even though we specifically asked) - but they went out of their way for us to correct it.

I would recommend you check in online before leaving - and then call the front desk at the resort itself and request a room far away from the scaffolding."

We were there May 7-11, stayed in the “wing” closer to the DVC building, overlooking the quiet pool. The scaffolding is so well blended that we didn’t notice it at all. It’s very unobtrusive and doesn’t mar the overall beautiful look and feel of the resort. Given that WDW is continuously improving and upgrading all properties, I would only want them to give me “warnings” about property improvements if they interfere with the resort experience - pool/restaurant/common area renos. If you have an unpleasant view, as another poster mentioned, let the desk know and they’ll work hard to fix it for you.

Not counter-intuitive at all. We are going in August, and I plan to request to be on side of courtyard with scaffolding / no view of scaffolding, if still applicable.

Butting in… :slight_smile: Did they say or anyone hear anything about when they would be done? Thinking of going back in October… Last year the pool was closed so if we stay again and there’s construction… My dh will never let us go back! :wink:

Won’t be finished until the end of the year, the lady from guest services told me yesterday. I’m disappointed that we weren’t told when we booked.

Thank you! Think we are going to try akl in October instead of WL again :slight_smile:

I appreciate this info. because we have booked for June 22 through 29. I just saw something about construction ongoing on the Lines Chat and am now wondering if I should change from WL to a different resort. We had considered POR royal room in the beginning of our plans and switched to WL when the summer discounts came out. Now thinking maybe switch back to WL or if I could spend a bit more maybe to BC or YC? Any thoughts. It’s our first trip and not sure when we’ll get back so maybe our last for a while! I just want it to be wonderful!!!

I’m getting alarmed at the talk of cancelling or switching resorts… I spent a week there end of April, as stated earlier in this thread. Upon arrival, I was certainly disappointed to see the scaffolding. But I can’t state strongly enough that this is not a Polynesian-level event. There is no intrusive construction. The scaffolding does not envelope the entire exterior. The scaffolding had no impact on our vacation, and when I remember our time at the hotel, scaffolding does not appear in those memories. Within a day, I no longer even noticed it.

This is coming from someone who has some experience with scaffolding on vacation. I was in London during major scaffolding around the Parliament buildings and Big Ben. That sucked. I was in Rome, and went to the Vatican when there was serious scaffolding around and across the Sistine Chapel. That REALLY sucked. This scaffolding at Wilderness Lodge is nothing, seriously.

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Lol Crasstastic!! If you can just let me know where you’re going next so I can avoid further scaffolding issues!!

Perfect reasons to return to London and Rome :wink:

Agree with @Crasstastic, the scaffolding is minimal. I have no words for how much I love WL - the theming and whole feel is just so chill and refreshing, boat to MK is great, I love the “outdoorsyness” of it. Yes, I’m totally biased because it’s my favourite resort. :slight_smile:

Thanks! Great info. yes @mossmaci I am so looking forward to that Boat Ride to MK and Contemporary. Especially with it being our first ever visit. I think we’ll want to spend most of our time at MK, and with Park Hopper we can take advantage of that too.

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