Hi all!
Our family of 3 just returned from a 7-nt/8-day stay at WBC and here's our assessment:
1. Check-in: I did everything by the book ... mentioned we wanted a high floor, lake or fireworks view and no poolview at booking, 2 weeks out and upon arrival. We checked in at 2:00 on Sat., 10/20. At 3:30, we received a call letting us know that our room on the 1st floor, poolview room was ready. I begged for a high floor and was told that if we were willing to wait, we should be able to get a higher floor. They'll call when it's ready. We waited and waited and finally decided to leave and grab dinner. By 7:00, I decided to call and was told that our room, in fact, is ready. (Nobody bothered to call and let us know.) We drove back around 7:30 and was told that, after a 5-hr wait, we got a 1st-floor, poolview room. (No joke) As you can imagine, we were seriously irate at this point. After some heated discussions, we were finally given a 5th floor room with parking lot view. They really went out of their way.
This doesn't include the fact that there was a HUGE line at checkin, a line at the parking pass/timeshare desk, a line each time we went to check on our room status and when we finally were given a room. The whole process was inefficient and NOT customer-focused. IMO, the first rep lied when he told us that if we waited, we would get a high floor. 5th floor, IMO, doesn't exactly constitute a high floor. We did check lowest income & no home ownership, and nobody ever called us. I'm wondering if that's why they didn't give us our requested room locale??
Once the whole check-in fiasco was over, everything else fell nicely into place ...
2. Room: We rented a 2-BR Deluxe (Tower 4, #568). While the location and view were pretty lame, the room itself was wonderful. While it was NOT renovated, it didn't have the appearance of being old/rundown. It was roomy, tastefully-decorated, comfortable and clean. There were no holes in the couches nor chipped bath tiles. The kitchen and baths were very well-equipped, and everything functioned exactly as described. Plus, it was fairly well insulated from outside noise. Note - The a/c when it kicks on is SERIOUSLY loud. It's a big "boom!" each time. We eventually got used to it. If you close your door, it really isn't too bad. We did have to override the a/c daily.
3. Restaurants: Aside from a couple of poolbars, there wasn't any other dining choices unless you went over to the hotel. Tesoro Cove was closed, so we dined at Deep Blue. Good food, excellent service but EXTREMELY pricey. We had reservations at 5 character meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) + dined at 4 upscaled theme park restaurants, and the only meal that was slightly more expensive was at Cinderella's Castle if that tells you anything. Unless you like bar food or paying dearly for your meal, I strongly suggest going offsite, cook in or splurge at the parks - they are still cheaper.
4. Pools & hot tubs: They were all nicely heated and clean. Never had problem finding an open lounger. Note - the pirate slide at Tower 5/6 has a 48" ht requirement, which really disappointed our 5-yo son who can swim 2 olympic laps without stopping. Otherwise, we thoroughly enjoyed the swims. Be sure to get your towels from Main Bldg or Bldg 6 before you head to the pools; otherwise, you will find yourself walking a LOT to get from 1 place to another.
5. Fitness center: I worked out at the main bldg fitness center once. Never again. It's the size of a closet with a few cardio machines, a nautilus machine and 1 set of multi-weight free weights. Plus, it was very poorly ventilated (even at 6 am). I ended up going to the wonderful hotel fitness center for the remainder of our stay. 2 thumbs up!!
6. Driving around: I was most worried about this b/c the parks just seemed so intimidating. It was a piece of cake. Wouldn't have it any other way. Easy, quick & flexible. Never used the buses once.
7. Misc: We did order our groceries from Garden Grocer. Highly recommend!! They did a great job of selection (no bruised bananas, rotting fruit, dinted cans, etc.). They were prompt and delivered our goodies to the WBC cold storage. Getting the bellmen to bring them to our room was another story. Took 3 tries and finally got it right. No biggy. BTW - we hated the dangling parking pass, so we took it down. They NEVER stopped us, so you can just by-pass the whole car pass/timeshare desk if you want.
Final summary: Would we stay there again? Yes. Despite the whole initial check-in fiasco, we did enjoy our stay at WBC. It is a lovely resort with clean, roomy and well-equipped suites. The location and price can't be beat. Took us approx 5-10 minutes to get to/from each park. Great for those with little ones who need a mid-day nap.