We spent the week between Sept/Oct at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Our 1BR villa was on the 4th floor overlooking trees and the Villas pool, very peaceful in the early morning and late evening. Loved the atmosphere of the resort and easy access to the boats on Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon.
On the main resort side, the experience inside the lobby atrium and inside the restaurants (including Roaring Forks counter service toward the back of the building) was unaffected by the courtyard and pool area construction. One intermittently rainy afternoon, we took some reading material and walked over the main lobby atrium. There are a couple upper level quiet sitting areas that overlook the lobby on one side and have huge, high windows on the other, with small, gas fireplaces and cushioned seating. We picked a spot to read, sip coffee, unwind, people-watch for a while. There was a little ongoing work in the courtyard outside but we didn't hear any of it. However, the noise outside in the courtyard area, heard while sitting outdoors near Roaring Forks or when walking out past the wooden fence barriers to go to the boat launch to MK, was very loud at times... even with jackhammers, other power equipment and beeping trucks. It would not be possible to really relax anywhere outside or with windows open on the courtyard side during the daytime hours while construction is active.
We could hear a little of the noise over on the villas side when outside during the day too but it wasn't bothersome from over there. The "quiet" pool activity (kids playing) and distant boat horns were actually more noticeable (and those weren't bad either). As our villa room was obviously NOT in the main resort's courtyard, we just kept our windows and sliding balcony door closed when we wanted to nap or watch TV during the daytime, which we don't do very much anyhow.
In the heat of the day, if we were at our room, we wanted the A/C and did not care to use the balcony. With our morning coffee or in the evening, we did enjoy relaxing on the balcony. So we didn't find construction noise disruptive to our vacation, in the least. We would definitely not hesitate at all to use our precious vacation time there at the villas or at a woods view hotel room during this time. The Lodge and Villas are both really wonderful.
As for the smaller villas pool and hot tub, we did use them a couple times but it tended to be pretty busy every day with families, as it was the only available pool within walking distance of so many rooms. They have set up a temporary outdoor bar, just outside the villas' entrance to the fitness center, to provide service to the villas' pool while the main pool's bar is being renovated along with the rest of the courtyard. We did manage to find open lounge chairs by the pool when we wanted them. It seemed like many others only visited this pool when they just wanted a brief swim too. For this, it served well.
We saw some people in swimsuits getting on the boats to the Contemporary Resort or Fort Wilderness, to use their pool areas, which is what is offered when you check in at this time. However, we had also read that guests checking in should ask about access to Blizzard Beach (or once BB closes for annual maintenance, Typhoon Lagoon). So we did and it worked. We visited BB twice that week using pass access that had been added to our Magic Bands. Disney is providing these to guests at both Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian Village Resorts, on request, while both have their feature pools closed for renovations.
Enjoy your visit to the Lodge! Ours was a terrific vacation and we hope to return again.
The resort is stunning. I'll try to post a few photos.