School Comouter
Our family’s once-in-a-lifetime Disney vacation ended in disaster because of the bell services at Boulder Ridge Villas (Wilderness Lodge). We arranged for an early morning checkout with assistance from bell services for our luggage. The night before, I even visited the bell services desk to schedule a 4:00 AM pickup, but I was told “That’s not necessary – just call when your bags are ready, and we’ll be there in 5-10 minutes.” Unfortunately, that promise was not kept. We called at 4 AM as instructed, but no one arrived for an entire hour. It took 60 minutes and a follow-up call to finally get a bellman to our room – an unacceptable delay when we had a flight to catch at the crack of dawn.
When the bellman (named Bill) finally showed up around 5:00 AM, he appeared groggy and rushed. We had multiple bags (traveling with five young children means a lot of luggage), and I personally offered to help carry or load the bags onto the cart. Bill insisted it wasn’t necessary: “I’ll handle it – I’ll meet you downstairs,” he told us. I was wary of the time we had already lost, but as a paying guest I trusted the cast member to do his job. We hustled our family down to the lobby to meet the airport shuttle bus, while Bill loaded our bags. Again I offered to assist with loading the bags onto the bus, and again Bill refused and assured me he’d load everything. I even tipped Bill generously for his help (despite the long wait) to show appreciation – a decision I deeply regret in hindsight.
To our absolute horror, one of our bags was forgotten and left behind by Bill. We only discovered this after arriving at the airport. Imagine our panic: our kids and my wife were already heading to the check-in counter when we realized one suitcase wasn’t with the others. This was not a small inconvenience – it was a critical mistake by the bellman. The bag contained important items for our family. Because of this negligence, I had to take an expensive taxi all the way back to the resort at the last minute (a 30+ minute drive each way) to retrieve the missing bag. That round-trip taxi ride cost us $259 out-of-pocket, and more painfully, it caused me to miss our scheduled flight.
Missing the flight meant my wife was forced to fly home alone with our five young children (all under age 8) – a stressful and exhausting ordeal for her as a mother. Meanwhile, I was stranded back in Orlando, frantically trying to catch up. I ended up having to purchase a new same-day one-way airline ticket for myself at the cost of $489 in order to rejoin my family. In total, Disney’s bell service blunder directly cost our family roughly $748 (not to mention the emotional toll). Our vacation went from magical to miserable in those final hours.
What’s most upsetting is that this catastrophe was entirely preventable with basic competence and care. We did everything we were supposed to: we followed the resort’s instructions, we double-checked and offered help, and we trusted Disney’s staff. Yet due to one employee’s carelessness (and perhaps lack of sleep), our luggage was mishandled. There was no proactive help from the resort when the mistake was realized – we received no phone call or warning about the left-behind bag. I had no choice but to scramble on my own. (In another incident at a different Disney resort, when a bellhop left a family’s stroller behind, a manager at least arranged to have it driven to the airport in 90 minutes  – but in our case, no such assistance was offered in time.)
Daniel Chapman
Staff were great. Room was clean however several things were dated and our room had some small issues. Lights didn't function properly. Microwave was damaged toilet had no power behind its flush which was a hassle. No cleaning took place during our stay or freshened our towels. We did ask staff for some small things on 3 small occasions such as fresh towels or 1 extra laundry soap and got denied both times! The amount of money spent here and to have this not be top tier is crazy. We will stay loyal to universal properties. Their premium hotels maintain high standards on everything!
Anthony B
New favorite DVC location. It had just the right amount of vibe with still being relaxed. My only issue was that I didn't get to spend more time at the resort and relax by the pool. Enjoyed the boat ride to MK and the camp fires at night. Even the gym was first rate.
Gloria Cabell
This is a BEAUTIFUL PLACE 😍
The service was great and the restaurants were REALLY FUN!
GREAT SERVICE♥️
Brophmeister 128
This place was an unexpected surprise.
We went to Disney and wanted something with a kitchen for my Wife and Daughter who have special dietary requirements.
Wilderness lodge is one of my favorite resorts so we decided to try the Boulder Ridge Villas. Fantastic rooms. the building is great with the same feel as the lodge. and as always the people are incredible.
I would definitely come back and would highly recommend to anyone.
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