Ft wilderness vs wilderness lodge

[jweb20]

I'm having a hard time making my mind up between the two!! Any input from others who have stayed at both would be great. We aren't doing the dining plan but do have a few adrs. 2 children 5 and under. We plan on taking a break during the day. Thanks!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'm having a hard time making my mind up between the two!! Any input from others who have stayed at both would be great. We aren't doing the dining plan but do have a few adrs. 2 children 5 and under. We plan on taking a break during the day. Thanks!

I'd do WL, no question.

 

[hoosll]

WL is a great resort in that it is small by WDW standards and everything is in one buiding unless you are staying in the Villas which is a separate building.
There is a good QS restaurant (none at FW). There are great swimming pools.

The problem with FW is that you must ride the internal bus system to get to your cabin or camp site or the pool; this can add 20 minutes or more to any excursion. We are now going to FW because we can go more often and take our dog, it is cheaper for us. For a great visit I would recommend the Lodge.

From the Lodge you can ride the boat to Cont or to FW. FW does have a great playground near the dock. We also love the breakfast and dinner buffets at Trail's End (great value on the meal plan!) and we have also enjoyed the ala carte lunch at Trail's End.

Since you have 2 little ones, stay at WL, but certainly take a boat ride to the Fort for a meal, see the horses or enjoy the laidback atmosphere.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We have spent time comparing the two, and keep coming back to WL. Unless you have enough people that you need the extra room space of a FW cabin or you are really looking to be seperate from your neighbors, a hotel room at WL will provide you with a more normal Disney hotel experience. People associate the two because they are close to eachother and have Wilderness in their name, but staying at the Deluxe WL is far from roughing it. Disney categorizes FW Cabins as a Moderate resort, but they are just very different from any other option since each is its own seperate building spread out over a large rural area mixed with campsites for RVs and tents.
We definitely love FW and visit there multiple times each trip, but our first choice is still staying at WL. Either way, enjoy the neighborhood and have a great trip.

 

[trishadono]

I'm having a hard time making my mind up between the two!! Any input from others who have stayed at both would be great. We aren't doing the dining plan but do have a few adrs. 2 children 5 and under. We plan on taking a break during the day. Thanks!

I have stayed at both. We stayed in a cabin when dd11 and ds9. That was perfect times for that resort and ages. It took longer to get anywhere but they were old enough to have patience. It was difficult that the shops and eating was a bus ride away. Also the pool was blah! Luckily they were old enough to go to water parks ( our first time after over 10 disney trips) so that worked best for us. Also we ate most meals at the parks before heading back to room. To small kids it will not feel "disney" at the cabin. WL has so many fun details. A creek that runs through the lobby, a geyser, fireplaces hidden on upper floors. Truly is a convenient hotel with small ones, pretty compact and elevators too. The food court has lots of options as well. Pictures can not express how truly gorgeous a resort it is. I have only stayed there once but I take a boat from CR often just for a quick visit to shop, explore or eat.
Hope that helps
Trish

 

[disneylovin24]

I spent my whole childhood staying at FW. This past year my family tried out WL for the first time (we stayed in a Villas) and we LOVED it, we will probably never stay at another resort again.

Don't get me wrong, we loved FW for years too. The cabins provide a good amount of privacy and are roomy. If you want a slower paced vacation, I think FW is the place. When I was young, my family didn't worry about getting to a lot of parks and we never really want anywhere to eat besides the buffet at FW (Trail's End). Since we spent most of our trips just relaxing, FW was a great place.

My family has changed however and while we still don't put a lot of priority on the parks, we do go to more different places to eat now and enjoy spending more time at DTD and off property even some nights. For this reason, FW became less practical for us. It is a big place and it gets annoying to navigate. The bus system is a PAIN and MK is really the only semi-convinent park to get to.

WL makes more sense if you are going to spend your trip going to the parks and doing a lot of stuff. Everything is located right there and there are a few more eating options. If you want a bit more space in your room the Villas are great! I would highly recommend looking into the Villas.

To sum it up, I think it depends on what kind of vacation you want. If you want a more relaxing one than FW is nice, if youre going to do more I think WL has the better location.

 

[clapton]

Absolutely WL! No comparison to FW!