Wilderness Lodge vs. Port Orleans

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macefamily

Well-Known Member
We are a family of 5. We never stayed at a Disney resort property so our first attempt was to book a 3 night stay at Port Orleans. I couldn't believe it when we opened the room door. We specifically stated family of 5 on the reservation. Two double beds and my 12 year old had to sleep on the fold out "bed." Thankfully we didn't spend much time in the room. The grounds were nice, and it was convenient with the transportation right down the street to go anywhere in Disney.
 
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Dave B

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
macefamily said:
We are a family of 5. We never stayed at a Disney resort property so our first attempt was to book a 3 night stay at Port Orleans. I couldn't believe it when we opened the room door. We specifically stated family of 5 on the reservation. Two double beds and my 12 year old had to sleep on the fold out "bed." Thankfully we didn't spend much time in the room. The grounds were nice, and it was convenient with the transportation right down the street to go anywhere in Disney.
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May I ask, when you went? I don't remember double beds in the last 8 years we have been going. I believe they are Queen now
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
Dave Ber said:
May I ask, when you went? I don't remember double beds in the last 8 years we have been going. I believe they are Queen now
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Yes, they have been queen for all the years we have been to POR. Also, they should have known that it was a fold out bed that fits a small child. If they wanted a whole bed for a larger child, there are family suites at the Value's for this. We were always made aware that the fold out bed was for a certain sized small child. It sounds like a communication mixup to me.
 
tigsmom

tigsmom

Well-Known Member
Having stayed at both I will say the Wilderness Lodge. Both resorts are beautiful & each has their own merits, but I'm spoiled & like having everything under one roof; no need to go outside to get to the shops or restaurants. I love to take the boat to the MK and then hit the monorail.
 
ELG13

ELG13

Well-Known Member
Jon81uk said:
If you can afford it then definitely Wilderness Lodge.
Internal corridors and the compactness of the hotel make it much nicer walking around and so much easier to get drink refills. Plus then boats to the Magic Kingdom.

Port Orleans is a great resort too and boats to Disney Springs are nice, but Wilderness Lodge is far better if you will spend a lot of time at MK.
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Can I piggy back on this post and ask...there are boats that run from Port Orleans to Disney springs?! We stay at ft wilderness campgrounds and I hate catching the bus to Disney springs. Could we drive to Port Orleans and catch the boat??? Do we have to pay to park at Port Orleans if we did? I honestly think we would rather pay to park there than take the bus!
 
ELG13

ELG13

Well-Known Member
macefamily said:
We are a family of 5. We never stayed at a Disney resort property so our first attempt was to book a 3 night stay at Port Orleans. I couldn't believe it when we opened the room door. We specifically stated family of 5 on the reservation. Two double beds and my 12 year old had to sleep on the fold out "bed." Thankfully we didn't spend much time in the room. The grounds were nice, and it was convenient with the transportation right down the street to go anywhere in Disney.
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Check out the ft wilderness cabins next time. When they release discounts they are usually it $40 or so more than a regular room. It has a queen and bunk beds in the bedroom, and I fold out Tempur-Pedic mattress in the living room with a small kitchen, table, and porch outside. We can ride a boat to MK, FT Wilderness Lodge and contemporary. We will never ever stay anywhere else.
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
ELG13 said:
Can I piggy back on this post and ask...there are boats that run from Port Orleans to Disney springs?! We stay at ft wilderness campgrounds and I hate catching the bus to Disney springs. Could we drive to Port Orleans and catch the boat??? Do we have to pay to park at Port Orleans if we did? I honestly think we would rather pay to park there than take the bus!
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Why not just drive to Disney Springs? the parking garages are very convenient.

There are boats from Port Orleans, but if you drive to the resort for this reason you may get turned away as of course parking is mainly for resort guests.

The boat takes a while and docks at the marketplace (Rainforest Café) far end of Disney Springs.
 
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Dave B

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
ELG13 said:
Can I piggy back on this post and ask...there are boats that run from Port Orleans to Disney springs?! We stay at ft wilderness campgrounds and I hate catching the bus to Disney springs. Could we drive to Port Orleans and catch the boat??? Do we have to pay to park at Port Orleans if we did? I honestly think we would rather pay to park there than take the bus!
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Yes you could drive to Port Orleans and tell them you are there to check out the resort and they will ask you for your id and let you in, have fun
 
ELG13

ELG13

Well-Known Member
Jon81uk said:
Why not just drive to Disney Springs? the parking garages are very convenient.

There are boats from Port Orleans, but if you drive to the resort for this reason you may get turned away as of course parking is mainly for resort guests.

The boat takes a while and docks at the marketplace (Rainforest Café) far end of Disney Springs.
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We are sucker for boat rides 😂 and since we've never done I think it might be a fun and different perspective. One of our biggest loves of ft.wilderness is the boat rides!
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
ELG13 said:
We are sucker for boat rides 😂 and since we've never done I think it might be a fun and different perspective. One of our biggest loves of ft.wilderness is the boat rides!
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Yeah I love the boat rides at Disney too, was the biggest benefit for both Wilderness Lodge and Port Orleans.

Was a very relaxing way to get back at night.

But the thought of then having to change and get in the car rather than just walking to the room isn’t so fun!
 
ELG13

ELG13

Well-Known Member
Jon81uk said:
Yeah I love the boat rides at Disney too, was the biggest benefit for both Wilderness Lodge and Port Orleans.

Was a very relaxing way to get back at night.

But the thought of then having to change and get in the car rather than just walking to the room isn’t so fun!
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No it's definitely not but I figure its a short drive and we'd be making a drive in our golf cart if we took the bus. I'm excited for the new perspective!!
 
Kingdom Konsultant

Kingdom Konsultant

WDWMAGIC Board Sponsor
Premium Member
WDWMAGIC Sponsor
I've stayed at both resorts numerous times and love the theming at both. Depending on your budget, go with WL. If it's not in the budget, go with Riverside. No matter which one you choose, you will love it.

Pam
 
muddyrivers

muddyrivers

Well-Known Member
I have never stayed in WL but I absolutely love Riverside! I've stayed there for almost all of my trips so I may be biased but the atmosphere to me seems much better than the other resorts. I feel like Riverside is within its own world within Disney World itself, it's very nice.
 
tigsmom

tigsmom

Well-Known Member
ELG13 said:
Check out the ft wilderness cabins next time. When they release discounts they are usually it $40 or so more than a regular room. It has a queen and bunk beds in the bedroom, and I fold out Tempur-Pedic mattress in the living room with a small kitchen, table, and porch outside. We can ride a boat to MK, FT Wilderness Lodge and contemporary. We will never ever stay anywhere else.
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There is no Ft Wilderness Lodge...there is Fort Wilderness & then there is the Wilderness Lodge, these are two separate resorts; the names get combined frequently because they are similar and close in proximity.
 
ELG13

ELG13

Well-Known Member
tigsmom said:
There is no Ft Wilderness Lodge...there is Fort Wilderness & then there is the Wilderness Lodge, these are two separate resorts; the names get combined frequently because they are similar and close in proximity.
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Yes I know...it was a typo. Thanks for the catch and clarification!! It's such a habit when I think about "wilderness" lol. Pretty sure my phone now autocorrects it to Ft.Wikderness 😆 I do wonder what they were thinking with such similar names though. Before our first trip I googled images and for a brief moment I thought the wilderness lodge registration was what ft wilderness was. I was slightly surprised to see the actual ft wilderness registration area lol. Needless to say...we love it at ft wilderness but always enjoy a boat ride to wilderness lodge for dinner 😁
 

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