Your thoughts on Wilderness Lodge

[Marquis de Disney]

I'm looking forward to my first stay at Wilderness Lodge this December w/ wife and daughter. I have heard wonderful things about how it is decorated at Christmas time. I visited WL a couple years ago when the whole family did Thanksgiving dinner at Whispering Canyon and I just remember being taken back by the lobby and general scenery.

 

[oasispaul]

Love it. The theming & ambiance do it for me.

If you like the idea of a Pacific Northwest National Park Lodge theme (think Yellowstone), you'll love it. If you don't desire that theme, you probably won't like it.

We thought the rooms were average, but the lobby & grounds blew us away. The courtyard & pool area is beautiful. We loved the music playing throughout the resort - it really makes the theme.

In addition, we enjoyed the boat rides to and from the MK. We stayed there a few years back in early February, so crowds weren't much of an issue. Plus, we got to be the flag family on our last day - a gorgeous morning without a cloud in the sky - you could see for miles.

The resort feels a little more secluded - which is both good & bad. Good for the theming, bad because it's not as convenient as staying on the monorail line (where you can quickly hop on the monorail and have dinner in another resort). However, we felt the reduced price (compared to the monorail deluxes) was attractive.

 

[minnieandkids]

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.

While there rent a pontoon boat fireworks tour one night. It can be pricy but you can split with another family if you are so inclined. The tour you around the lagoon, park you in front of the castle out in the water and you see the entire show. It was FABULOUS!!

 

[Nainolaf]

We have upgraded from CSR to WL in October!!! Really Really excited! Its the one Deluxe we haven't actually visited so hoping it will live up to the pics!!!!

 

[WLfamily]

As you can tell by my signature it is our favorite!! You will have an amazing time! We love the secluded feel of the lodge, it is sooo relaxing after a hectic day at the parks. Take time to check out all the little details...carvings in the wood throughout the resort, animal prints in the sidewalk, ducks swimming in the pool (yes they do that!), the geyser (not so little). Be prepared...the music they pipe through that resort is intoxicating! Don't forget to check out the electric boat parade around 9:30 nightly, go down to the beach to view it best. Have a magical trip!!!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

I can't say enough good things about the WL. We love it. The lobby is great, the pool is great, the whole resort is so well themed. We had a birthday dinner for DD11 in WCC, and loved that too. Also, Ranger Stan works there, and you have to try to spend some time with him. Then, you'll discover the true magic of a great Disney CM.

 

[boxer]

This place is AWESOME, and we will be back in a little over a month (4/30-5/8). We stayed at the Swan for a night last trip, and while we like the Swan, it really does not compare to the WL. Whole different feel---Swan feels like a really nice hotel, whereas the WL feels like a RESORT.

Also, I'm not sure why people say it seems 'isolated', as we thought the exact opposite---it is in the middle of all the action, but you don't have the noise or surroundings to deal with.

We always rent a car, but that boat to MK was great, and sometimes we even took the boat to CR to hop on the monorail. Also, not sure if you are into working out, but they have one of the best resort gyms and jogging trails of all Disney resorts.

Just to give you an idea of where we've stayed: POR, PFQ, CSR, CBR, Pop, Swan, and of course WL. I'd choose WL over ALL of them in an instant.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Our last 10 plus trips have been here. Cheapest deluxe closest to the MK. Very serene, beats the chaotic hub-bub of the parks. One big roof so no need to go out side, little nooks on each floor to get away, fireplaces there too, couches etc. We done 42 trips to WDW and all our stays have been deluxe, out of all the resorts WL wins hands down. Some other deluxes my be nicer or better located but have out priced themselves in our book. I'm not going to pay an extra 100 plus bucks a night say for monorail access, for us that would be at least 900 plus bucks. WL has everything anyone could ask for, it is not dark, just turn on your room lights, open the slider curtains. Bus transportation is satisfactory, no different than any other resort but the plus is the boat to the MK, CR and FW, which we do spend alot of time . Boat dock, bike and surrey rentals, nice bike trail to FW, so many things to do around the resort plus boating to CR and hopping the monorail to 3 other resorts is our ideal place to stay, and at a good price.

Sorry to come out bias but we have done Y&B, CR, GF, Poly and AKL but they still can't beat WL for the price and to us, more time on property is the best vacation and WL allows us that.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

We stayed at WL for our January trip and LOVED it. The grounds are lovely, as is the lobby. I loved the little touches (I'd love to be able to find the Mickey and friends character silhouette coat hooks for the family cottage!) in the rooms and in the lobby. We used the spa pools one night, and they were fantastic after a day in the parks (well, and a half marathon earlier in the day). We only ate at Roaring Forks once (and it was lunch) and found the selection to be adequate and the food to be reasonably good. The best part? We felt entirely at home there.

We found transportation to be the best of anywhere we've stayed. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a boat (and that was at 11:00 at night coming back from dinner at CR) or 5-10 minutes for a bus. Maybe we were just lucky, but they seemed to be really on the ball. We loved the boat transportation and found it to be the perfect end to a fantastic day.

We did find the resort to be isolated, but in the best possible way. The resort just feels so peaceful in the evenings, that it's easy to forget that you're in one of the busiest vacation destinations in the world, and just relax with the lake and the trees. I know that it isn't for everyone, but we really enjoyed the peace and quiet amongst all the Disney craziness.

Have a great trip! I'm sure that you'll really enjoy WL! Just make sure you take some time off from the parks to enjoy the resort! If you do have some time, Fort Wilderness is an easy 20 minute walk along a forested path (you can also rent bikes and head up there) and it's also a lot of fun to explore for an afternoon!

I'm rather jealous, though. We're getting married this summer and, because of the costs associated with that, our 2010 marathon weekend trip will be at ASMovies. I love the All-Stars, as well, but it's definitely a different kind of Disney vacation.

 

[Atchley]

We love it. Stayed there last year and staying there again this year. My kids love it as well. There is so much for kids to do there. Make sure to read the first post on this post: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1710310 It will tell you sooo much information on WL. You made a great choice!

 

[hotdogmj71]

We took advantage of the the 4/3 deal in January & I think now we are hooked on WL. Our best trip to WDW yet.

 

[islandtimect]

subcribing - may stay there in aug.

 

[Silver Queen]

WL has very devoted supporters and it is a beautiful resort. We're DVC owners at SSR and we have stayed at SSR and have upcoming reservations for OKW and AKL. Someday we hope to try out WLV but we're not overly anxious because we live an hour away from the Adirondack Mountains and go to the Colorado Rockies and the national parks every summer so we've seen a lot of the wilderness theme. We visited WL in December and the lobby was lovely.

 

[bcuinohio]

If you go to the WL in late July- mid August, it is not much more than a moderate. The deluxes start their value season about three weeks earlier than the values and mods.