PO Riverside Vs Wilderness lodge

[fball1208]

We are looking at maybe staying at WL instead of POR. It will be a trip in early March or early February. Anyone know approx how much more a stay at WL would be for a standard room? And is it worth the extra money?

 

[DisAl]

Cost varies greatly at different times of the year. A river view room at POR can be as low as $275 or as high as $380 depending on when you go.
To see the room cost for every day of the year go to the resort page, chose a room type, and then look at the rate calendar.
Here is a link to POR https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/port-orleans-resort-riverside/rates-rooms/
Whether it is worth the extra money or not is something each individual has to figure out. We have stayed at both and they were both very good.

 

[fball1208]

Isnt that the truth on room fluctuation. We are looking at some pros and cons of it.

 

[Zé_Carioca]

I love both and they are both stunning and the "is it worth it" depends on the family.

Port Orleans Riverside is pretty vast and you can be in a suite that is very far from the lobby/pool/central area but there are internal buses.

Wilderness Lodge is currently under renovations so next year you would get one of the new rooms.

Pros of Wilderness Lodge: More compact, boat to MK, many food options (they have a signature restaurant, a pool bar, a sit down bar, a lounge and their quick service location. Honestly, it is my favorite resort and as soon as you walk in it has a "wow" factor.

POR: Stunning and nice to walk around (yet very vast), boat to Disney Springs, short walk or boat ride to POFQ for beignets, good entertainment with Yehaa Bob's shows, fishing, a greatly themed pool and carriage rides.

All in all, you can't go wrong so if money isn't an issue you might as well splurge, but if money would be somewhat of an issue, there is no real need to upgrade, POR is a great resort.

 

[Heppenheimer]

As others have noted, the Wilderness Lodge has the "wow" lobby effect. This alone wouldn't justify the extra cost for me...

... but what does justify the extra cost is the boat to and from the Magic Kingdom. Why? Because the boat only serves the Wilderness Lodge and no other resorts, at the end of a busy day at the Magic Kingdom, when everyone else waits in a long line for the monorail or the ferry back to the parking lot, the line and wait for the Wilderness Lodge is usually very short, and the short ride is actually quite relaxing. It's a very nice way to wind down your day.

And the outdoor lounge. I really love this place for breakfast.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

...but what does justify the extra cost is the boat to and from the Magic Kingdom. Why? Because the boat only serves the Wilderness Lodge and no other resorts, at the end of a busy day at the Magic Kingdom, when everyone else waits in a long line for the monorail or the ferry back to the parking lot, the line and wait for the Wilderness Lodge is usually very short, and the short ride is actually quite relaxing. It's a very nice way to wind down your day.

That is not my experience. At all. The boat is a much *nicer* ride than the buses, but I haven't found it to be any faster.

 

[Heppenheimer]

That is not my experience. At all. The boat is a much *nicer* ride than the buses, but I haven't found it to be any faster.

Shorter as compared to the monorail or ferry lines.

 

[Dave B]

I don't think the OP ever said it was faster....

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't think the OP ever said it was faster....

"...at the end of a busy day at the Magic Kingdom, when everyone else waits in a long line for the monorail or the ferry back to the parking lot, the line and wait for the Wilderness Lodge is usually very short..."

 

[Dave B]

Short line vs. fast are very different terms

 

[fball1208]

Thanks well have to see exactly how much more it would be. We don’t need a fancy view for the amount of time we spend there.

 

[correcaminos]

If you spend any time in the rooms or resort relaxing I'd say it is worth it. If you only really sleep in your room and maybe a little pool time, location really doesn't matter.

I do like transportation at WL a lot though. We are back there there year for one of our trips.

 

[fball1208]

Well maybe since we don’t stay in room or resort that much we’ll save the money and use it for other things while there. Thanks for the replies

 

[humphreys lodge]

We have posted pictures of the newly refurbished rooms at the Wilderness Lodge on our Facebook page, Humphrey's Unofficial Wilderness Lodge Pages!

 

[*Jules*]

You cannot go wrong with the look and feel of the WL. I also agree that the transportation at the WL is a plus. The Whispering Canyon Cafe is a very nice place to dine as well. They also have a nice Quick Service area at Geyser Point Bar & Grill and a Service Bar as well. The pool is extremely nice and the lobby is absolutely stunning.

 

[bunnyman]

We have stayed at both many times. The biggest appeal for us at the WL is the fact that it is a much more compact resort with most everything (not counting the bungalows and the separate DVC building) in one building. Depending on location at PO, you can have a nice hike back to the main building for dining, etc.

 

[fball1208]

Looks like we are going to save the extra cost staying at WL and use it for an extra day or two to extend our trip some. That seems like more fun to us then spending the extra at a resort we really dont spend much time at.

 

[mdcpr]

WL is beautiful. We had a Nature View room on the 2nd floor and a great view of the MK fireworks every night.