My family and I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge twice. Each time was a lot of fun (but for different reasons)
1st Trip
We had always wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge and after years of speculation, we finally booked a trip there. We were always a Polynesian family but we wanted to go for a change. And change we got. As soon as we walked into the lobby we were amazed at its height, its detail and of course, the fireplace with the rocking chairs. Huge difference from Poly. We definitely were not in Hawaii anymore...
We spend our afternoons at the main pool, since trying to walk the Disney parks in August from 12pm-3pm is a one-way ticket to exhaustion. The pool was very well themed, and our favorite place to relax was on the left side, where the waterfall cascades into the pool. That was our Christmas card that year no doubt!
Also the geyser was awesome. The Magic Kingdom boat ride (especially at sunset and up front in the open air) is a must do!! The WCC was a riot for dinner. I asked for a coke. And they gave me "a" whole coke (2 Liters worth) The humor there is very clever and funny. The arcade was nice, but we preferred the free game of constantly ringing the cowbell outside the arcade and annoying anyone who walked passed
Yet, our first trip felt like a whirlwind. As do most Disney trips, but this time it was more pronounced. I guess we just tried to do too much in one week. Needless to say we still had a great time, but we spent more time on the buses (probably my least favorite part of WL) and less time enjoying the detail and hidden treasures of the WL. So the first trip was fun! We got to stay at the resort we've always wanted to. But we all agreed we had to go back.
2nd Trip
We vowed to go back to WL. Now with experience we felt it wouldn't be as rushed and therefore would be able to enjoy the resort more.
We decided to drive to Florida from New Jersey. Eliminate the need for the buses so we can go to the parks (Epcot, DHS, AK) without having to wait for transportation. And we visited the Villas. This was the best part of the trip, because we discovered the "Train Room" A private fireplace, big leather chairs, and Walt Disney's own trainset from the Carolwood Pacific Railroad he had. It's really cool to look at all the history, and there's rarely anyone there, so it's very peaceful and relaxing. We also used the fitness center, Sturdy Branches. It's in the Villas as well, and again, it's very quiet.
We also decided to rent bikes, which was another fun feature we overlooked in our first trip. Biking through the woods to Fort Wilderness was my favorite trail (Not a fan of the hills on the Boardwalk/Beach Club bike loop) And we didn't do it, but there is also a boat rental as well. And we went to Artist Point for our "fancy dinner" of the trip. It was a tad pricey, but then again so is everything in WDW. The 2nd trip was great. We had experience from the first trip that truly helped us experience WL is such a more calming and relaxing fashion, which is what I feel the WL is intended to be like.
Also, I love Hidden Mickeys, and Wilderness Lodge is full of them! I'm pretty sure it had the most of any resort on property. There are so many that I actually remember there were tours given by the resort to show guests where all the Hidden Mickeys were. I won't spoil where any of them are...but some of them are in very very cool places!
So overall, it's a tale of two trips basically. Both were great, but my advice is just slow down and take everything in because it goes by really fast. Visit the little hideaways like the train room, or rent a bike/boat, or find all the Hidden Mickeys, or try and find something else to do that we missed!
You'll have a great time I'm sure!
