Wilderness Lodge? Good bad Indifferent.

[JrJuice]

Hello all. I am planning to make my reservations for Sept. and wanted to know everyones opionon*sp on the Wilderness Lodge. How it is. Whats the best views/ How efficient the transportation and how long the boat ride takes and anything that could help me . .Thank you in advance

 

[Sansaarai]

Its a great resort. THe rooms are a little smaller than most deluxe hotels. Great resturants and the themeing is top notch. I never had a problem with transportation. But then again, I dont mind waiting 10-15 minutes for the buses. You will be glad you made a reservation.

 

[gepetto]

It's very nice. The busses were good but they also stop at Polynesian and GF. They ran quite often and it never took all that long to get to the parks. I liked the food court a lot.

 

[arstogas]

I could stay at the Wilderness Lodge and not bother with the parks at all. It has that much atmosphere and sense of place.

If you are a person that needs to get to the parks as fast as you can, then this is not the hotel for you, though the buses and water transport move pretty regularly and reliably.

If you want a true resort, or just want a wonderful place to feel very "removed" from the parks at night or during the day, this is it.

Don't cheat yourself out of the following: the pool, the hot-tubs, and the number one thing: late at night, take a stroll down the wooden walk all the way to the boat dock. The atmosphere is perfect, and it is usually very quiet and meditative, and romantic, if you have a special person with you.

 

[dalton30720]

The Wilderness Lodge is an excellent choice. The decor and atmosphere are wonderful, you will love it The only problem we had last time was that the buses were not exactly on schedule., but they weren't that bad. Make sure to eat at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. It's a lot of fun. Be sure to ask for some ketchup.

 

[cymbaldiva]

The resort is FABULOUS! The transportation is iffy at best... But once again, a beautiful resort!

 

[Buzzforprez]

Great place to stay. We are probably going back there again this year. Small arcade but it's got Galaga. The food is not that great in the restaurants but the atmosphere makes up for it. Definately take a walk to the geyser. The lake and the lobby at night are excellent places to unwind or read a book. Got the "backdoor" to get out of the Kingdom. Go monorail to Contemporary then boat to WL. Quick and not that many people think to do this.

 

[swordsman_24]

Great Experience

I had a great time with my wife on our honeymoon at WL in 1999. The transportation was OK, but we only used the water taxi over to MK and then we took monorail over to Epcot. Can't speak to the bus transportation.

Restaurants were good. We hit Artist Point one night and that was the best meal we had the whole time we were on property. Try to get a table on the outside looking toward the bay.

If you stay at WL be sure to update the post. We are wanting to go back for our five year anniversy next year and stay at WL again.

 

[Jedi Osborn]

Is there a real food court there? I've never been able to get a straight answer on this. We're used to the fc's at Dixie or C beach and I've heard rumors that all W. Lodge has is an oversized food cart. We like to have breakfast at our resort and w/o a food court, that would be kind of tough.

 

[swordsman_24]

Food

WL does have "an oversized food cart" on the lowest level beside the pool. (Or at least they did when I was there in 1999.) There were a number of options available in the facility and they seemed to change menu slightly between breakfast and lunch/dinner. Not totally sure what the breakfast options were, but I don't think they were any worse than your standard breakfast options at off site hotels. Obviously the big difference is that you have to pay for the coffee and doughnuts. But hey it wouldn't be Disney if it didn't cost you a little something.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Wilderness Lodge has a snack bar on the lower level. It is open most of the day, something like 7 AM to 11 PM.

They have burgers, pizza, salads, soup, etc.

For breakfast there are bagels, muffins, and hot breakfast items including a breakfast pizza.

You should be able to fill your belly in the morning at the WL.

We love this place. I had no complaints with the transportation--we were there in Jan '02.

You can watch the Electrical Light Parade from the beach, or from your room if you have a courtyuard view.

A big selling point for us was that you are getting a deluxe resort (Queen beds, entry hallway, full service restaurant, those little extras) for less than the other deluxes.

 

[leeocean]

The Wilderness Lodge is the best resort! It's out of the way a little so you don't get the traffic of other people coming from different resorts as much. The theming was perfect and it was always very clean. The view you might want to get is a courtyard view that looks over the pool - at night, it is stunning. The restaurants in WL are top notch too. The rooms were smaller than other deluxe resorts and be careful not to bang your knees on the bed posts too much should you choose to stay there. The jacuzzi at night is the best in all of WDW.

 

[Ariel]

I agree that this is a beautiful resort. My sister and I spent several evenings relaxing by one of the fireplaces in the vast lobby. The pool area is beautiful and the rooms are gorgeous. Our only problem was the transportation. There were several times we had to transfer busses at the TTC and that could get rather annoying, and the fact that busses were shared with GF, the Poly and the Contemp. was frustrating at times, especially in the morning when we were anxious to get to the parks. But, the hotel itself was well worth the inconvenient transportation and I would stay there again for sure.

 

[JrJuice]

Thank you. All . From the great reviews I think I will call first thing Monday Morning.. I will let you know how it was when i get back in sept.. I hope to have a great time just like all of you's had because this is my first time staying at a deluxe resort.

 

[mickey-nut]

I just got back from the WL this past Monday 4/22/02. It is a wonderful place. The rooms are a little small for a deluxe but the atmosphere is superb! We had no problem with the transportation. There is a boat that takes you to the MK and the Contemporary. There are buses that take you everywhere else. The WL only shares a bus with the Fort Wilderness campgrounds. There were no other stops. Downstairs there is a "fast food" /cafeteria type place called the Roaring Forks, and 2 full service resturants, Whispering Canyon Cafe and the Artist Point. The WCC is a hoot (especially if you have kids)! If you eat there make sure to ask for ketchup and straws for the drinks! There is also a pool bar that serves snacks and drinks. There is a geiser out near the pool that blows everyhour on the hour. At 9:35 you can go out to the boat dock and get a great view of the electrical water parade. Also, request to be the "flag family" one f your days. You get taken to the roof of the resort and raise the flags for the day. The views are incredible! Epcot is about 5 miles away and we could see it great! We had a standard view room and our view was of the woods, quite pretty. We have stayed at the Port Orleans, Poly & GF and the WL has become our favorite. Have a great time and if you have anymore specific questions post it here and I'll answer them the best I can.

P.S. Make sure to buy the refillable mug-well worth the $9.99!

 

[Thespis]

The WL only shares a bus with the Fort Wilderness campgrounds. There were no other stops.

This is subject to change when demand warrants. It's the same with BWV, YC&BC, Swan/Dolphin. If there are enough WL folks, they won't share a route.

 

[hayuk]

We love Wilderness Lodge and would stay there every time if money were no object. Getting to MK by boat is so relaxing compared to having to go through the TTC. Only thing I ever caution folks about is that if you are expecting a large room because it is a deluxe, you might be disappointed.

 

[J_Wilcko]

Sorry couldn't log in with JrJuice. it wasn't letting me dunno>

Just Updating. I ordered my 2 rooms today for my Trip Sept 12th. Both Rooms I got using my annual pass and got the Courtyard View.. I can't wait to go Only 131 days Left...


I just wanted to Say Thank you all for your help .....:sohappy:

 

[arstogas]

>>> Only thing I ever caution folks about is that if you are expecting a large room because it is a deluxe, you might be disappointed.<<<

True, but there is a reason for this. The Wilderness Lodge was actually intended and designed as a "moderate" hotel, but the initial immediate, enthusiastic response caused them to reclassify the lodge as a "deluxe". The fact that they could get away with smaller rooms (though with a strong overall hotel theme) at deluxe rates, is why the rooms at the AK Lodge are similarly diminuitive (and of course, both resorts shared the same designer/architectural firm).

But again, you're right, the rooms are smaller than you might expect... however, if you are there to enjoy the resort as a whole, and don't need a massive amount of space to be happy in your room, you're going to be fine. There is so much more to this place than the rooms.

 

[J_Wilcko]

Heck Room size doesn't matter to me > I've stayed twice and after august it will be three times in the All Stars Resorts . So for me that is no biggie. Plus I called up to find out how to raise the flag.. Man I can't wait