Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE Information & Questions

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Silly question:
Are there otters in the Otter Pond?

 

[dansdad]

Silly question:
Are there otters in the Otter Pond?

I saw a couple in the pond 4 years ago.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Mini trip report - part two
quick recap of my earlier mini trip report
We landed at MCO on Tuesday, Feb 27th at 9:32 am. We were on the Magical Express by 10:02 am. Our bus stopped three places - Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian, in that order. I think we pulled out of the airport around 10:15 am. We were at the WL before 11am. We went to Disney Springs for lunch and received the room ready text around 1 pm.

It was a little chilly and windy that day, so we didn't go to the pool. We took a nap, then had an early dinner at Geyser Point. We were seated next to a couple from Philadelphia who were DVC owners and had a 2 bedroom villa at Copper Creek. They said that they loved it. I asked how the size of the villa compared to Boulder Ridge, since I knew that CCV rooms were smaller. They said that the CCV villa was so well organized with lots of places to store things, that they didn't find the smaller size to be a problem. We had a lovely visit with them, which lasted about an hour, in fact, then another couple from Philadelphia was seated in the seats next to us. I only mentioned Philadelphia because we seemed to run into people from Philadelphia every time we went to Geyser Point. I guess they like the restaurant, too. We are from the Chicago suburbs, by the way.

We took the boat to MK after dinner and the park was packed with people. I stayed for the fireworks and it took me about 1/2 hour to get back to the WL. My husband bailed before the fireworks began and walked right on a boat. We had great luck with the MK boats the entire trip. I love those boats.

Wednesday morning was the opening day for the Flower and Garden Show. We decided to go to Epcot that morning and it seemed like everyone at the WL bus stop had the same idea. We waited for about 1/2 hour for an Epcot bus. The bus went directly to Epcot. It did not stop at another resort. We came back after lunch and spent a couple of hours at the villas pool. That is the day I took the pictures of the bathroom. We had a lovely dinner at Artist Point. My husband had the filet and couldn't eat it all. There were also a few pieces of bread left, so I asked the waitress if she could wrap up the steak and bread for us. She gave us fresh bread with butter along with the leftover steak and mashed potatoes. We made good use of those leftovers, too.

We had breakfast at Trail's End on Thursday morning. We love the walk to Fort Wilderness from the WL. We saw some deer along the path. Breakfast was great, as usual, and from there we went to MK on the boat. We had good luck with that boat, too, since we were able to get on it just before it pulled away. We came back to WL, ate lunch at Roaring Forks, during which I ate most of my leftovers from Artist Point, then more swimming at the villas pool, and a nap. There was always a nap involved.

There was a special concert at Epcot that night that we just found out about a few days before the trip. It was the Jazz Ambassadors from the U. S Army Band - not exactly their name - but I don't remember the correct title. We got down to the WL bus depot around 3 pm, and found a group of people who had been waiting for the Epcot bus for at least ten minutes or more. We joined the group and ended up waiting another half hour for the Epcot bus. And then, of course, two of them arrived. Lucky for us, the second bus was only taking passengers while the first bus was taking ECV's, so we gratefully hopped on the second bus and made it to FW before the first bus got there. It took about an hour to get to Epcot, from the time we got to the WL bus depot until the time we got to the park. This isn't the usual experience that we have with Epcot buses. I blame the Flower and Garden Show. But I have noticed, that in general, afternoon buses are the most undependable at all of the resorts we have stayed at. We went to the Yacht Club after the concert for a light dinner at Crews Cup Lounge. We took a taxi back from the Beach Club, thereby avoiding the return bus.

I had initially booked fastpasses for Epcot on Friday, but with the crazy Epcot bus situation and the unplanned visit to Epcot on Thursday night, we ended up grabbing some fastpasses for MK and then going to the Polynesian for lunch instead of going back to Epcot. We took the monorail back to MK then the boat to WL after our lunch at Captain Cook's. We spent the afternoon at the pool again and stopped at Geyser Point for a drink before dinner. This is when we met our third group of people of Philadelphia. It seemed to be a trend. We had dinner reservations at Trail's End and had another nice walk to the Fort. We saw the same deer in the same spot during our walk to FW. That must be their territory.

Although the boats to and from MK were great for us, the same can't be said for the resort boat that travels between WL, FW and the Contemporary. We decided to take the resort boat back to WL after dinner at FW. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the Pirate Cruise from the Contemporary docks on both sides of the Contemporary dock. We had bad timing and happened to be on a boat that had to wait at least twenty minutes for the Pirate Cruise boats to pull away from the dock before we could dock at the CR. From there we went to the WL and it took approximately an hour from the time we got to the FW dock after dinner until the time the boat got to the WL. Just a warning - you might want to find out when the Pirate Cruise boats will be at the CR boat dock and then avoid them. The Pirate Cruise boats leave the CR dock at 7:40pm, at least during our trip they did. The one nice thing about the boat ride back to the WL after a Delicious dinner at Trails End was the gorgeous full moon shining on the waters of Bay Lake as it rose over Discovery Island. It was beautiful.

We had booked this trip late, after the 60 day early fast pass day, and I couldn't get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania or Flight of Passage, so we never went to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom on this trip. We were at the Beach Club in January, so it didn't matter that we skipped those parks.

Saturday was departure day and our Magical Express pickup time was 1:40pm. We decided to go to the Wave at the Contemporary for breakfast, but after our "less than pleasant" boat adventure the night before, we decided to skip the boat to CR this morning and take a bus. The bus sign at the WL bus stop wasn't working that morning and we didn't know when the Disney Springs bus would be by, so we took the MK bus and then walked to CR. That worked fine, although we had to go through bag check at MK. Next time we'll wait for the Disney Springs bus. It comes between 8:30 and 9am according to the bus monitor CM. We had a lovely breakfast at the Wave and took the boat back to WL. The one nice thing about the boat dock at the Contemporary is that they try to time the two resort boats to arrive at the dock at the same time. That way you can grab the boat that is going directly to your resort.

We had asked for a late check out and were able to stay in our room until 1 pm. That worked perfectly and we had plenty of time to pack. I even had time to call the bounce back number to book a return trip to the Wilderness Lodge in the fall. Unfortunately, we could not get a room at the WL during any of the several dates in September that the CM tried to find. This resort is just too popular now. And the reduced room volume probably adds to the problem. We temporarily booked a bounce back Sept 19-25th at the Yacht Club, which will be fine since Food & Wine will be going on and we love Epcot, but we haven't given up on trying to get a return visit to the WL. This was the eighth time we have stayed at the WL and I think it was our favorite trip. Geyser Point and the new villas pool have made the resort even better. And I was surprised at how well I liked our room on the second floor. We loved being able to use the stairs to go to and from our room. And it was a very quiet room.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Silly question:
Are there otters in the Otter Pond?

The pond is now fenced in to keep out the alligators. All we saw was some turtles.

 

[Sue M]

@Wood Nymph sounds like a great trip. We booked 2 ADRs at Trails End too for Aug trip. A dinner and a breakfast our leaving day. I also enjoy the walk over. But have always used the Nature Trail now closed so how long does it take on the paved path?
Good to hear the boats are running well. But sounds like park busses not so much? Good note about pirate cruise! I was in WDW late Nov/early Dec and it seemed resort wide there were problems with busses. 30-40 min waits were common. Even for park opening. I’ve never experienced such bad bus service at wdw. Consistently long waits.
I’m really looking forward to our stay, it’s been a few years since our last time. We visited during our Dec visit to see the decorations. Checked out Geyser Point, and peeked thru fence at villas pool lol. Geyser Point will be our arrival dinner too. And we have Artist Point ADRs!
Great trip report Thanks

 

[vinotinto]

Although the boats to and from MK were great for us, the same can't be said for the resort boat that travels between WL, FW and the Contemporary. We decided to take the resort boat back to WL after dinner at FW. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the Pirate Cruise from the Contemporary docks on both sides of the Contemporary dock. We had bad timing and happened to be on a boat that had to wait at least twenty minutes for the Pirate Cruise boats to pull away from the dock before we could dock at the CR. From there we went to the WL and it took approximately an hour from the time we got to the FW dock after dinner until the time the boat got to the WL. Just a warning - you might want to find out when the Pirate Cruise boats will be at the CR boat dock and then avoid them. The Pirate Cruise boats leave the CR dock at 7:40pm, at least during our trip they did. .

Thank you for this info! I have a 7:35 ADR at Cali Grill and was planning to take the boat. I'll look into the time of Pirates cruise!

 

[theostwalts]

Are there pool cabanas available at the Wilderness Lodge?

 

[Wood Nymph]

I also enjoy the walk over. But have always used the Nature Trail now closed so how long does it take on the paved path?

We always preferred the nautre trail, too, since the path followed the shoreline of Bay Lake. It reminded me of the trail in the woods that we walked when we visited my grandmother's cabin in Wisconsin. The paved path follows the back road that the FW buses use to travel between WL and FW. It is approximately a 20 minute walk, about the same as the nature trail.

Good to hear the boats are running well. But sounds like park busses not so much?

We only took two buses to Epcot and one return bus from Epcot, not counting the bus to MK one morning. And it was the opening of Flower and Garden, so I'm not sure that our experience would be considered normal. We really love Epcot and find ourselves going there a lot when we stay at the WL. Most of the time the morning Epcot buses are fine. Afternoon buses are often slow to arrive, but I've found that true at most resorts. I like the fact that the WL is the first stop for all of the returning buses.

We visited during our Dec visit to see the decorations. Checked out Geyser Point, and peeked thru fence at villas pool lol.

We did a lot of fence peeking during the construction phase. It was great to finally be able to walk into the villas pool area and see the finished product, which we couldn't do until we were guests. The keypad on the gate is a great way to keep out pool hoppers.

Geyser Point will be our arrival dinner too. And we have Artist Point ADRs!

Geyser Point is a little confusing because they have both a bar menu and the counter service menu to choose from. We like to get the edamame appetizer from the bar menu and then order off the counter service menu for our entree.

Are there pool cabanas available at the Wilderness Lodge?

The villas pool has cabanas on a first come, first serve basis. They are really nice, too.

 

[twoolle]

We are headed home after Mar4-10 stay. Our group consisted of me, DH, DS8, DS6, DD4, and DS2. We rented points from a DVC owner here on disboards and stayed in a deluxe studio at boulder Ridge. My parents also decided last minute to join us so they booked a standard room in the lodge.

We drove in about 930am and parked our car then took the boat over to MK. Waited maybe 10 minutes for the boat. It was a nice ride and the security line was smooth but it was the smaller boat so We had to fold the stroller. We got our room ready text about 10am which was earlier than expected but I did put 10am as our arrival time on the online check-in. We headed back to WL via boat (the big one) about 2pm. We checked into our room 4563. It was at the very end of the BRV hallway but still had a great view. The room size was so nice, we had plenty of room for the 6 of us. 3 kids would sleep in the pullout couch bed and another on the Murphy bed. There was storage space everywhere so that was nice. My parents room seemed much smaller as it was more narrow than ours.

We enjoyed the main pool that afternoon. It was cool outside but the kids thought the water was great. I enjoyed the hot tubs. We ate dinner at Geyser Point and DS2 fell asleep on the chair so the waitress brought him a blanket. Very nice of her and we were able to take it back to our room which was nice.

We enjoyed the pools several times and the kids really liked the BRV pool and the zero entry was great for DS2. We spent most of one day at the BRV pool and this was the only time we had a waitress from Geyser Point coming around. I had the crab cake sandwich but undid not enjoy it as much as the one from GF a few years ago. The bison burger was great and we lived the waffle fries.

We had a PPO at BOG the same morning there was EMM. We wanted to get to MK by 730 and considered the boat to CR then walk to MK, but since my parents were with us we thought it would be easier to just take the bus. We met at the bus stop at 7am and there was a bus waiting. Pretty sure we were the only ones on the bus. It was a nice ride.

We drove to all parks except MK and mainly took the boat to MK. On Friday night the 9th we go to the boat dock about 6pm to head to MK. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus and when it came it stopped at FW then took us to MK. The security and entrance lines were backed up as lots of people were coming for the Fireworks. It was 645 at this point with HEA at 755 so just beware if you go close to HEA in the future.

One night we shared a boat with FW peeps but it dropped off at WL first. We took the bus back from HS one night and it shared with CR but dropped off at WL first. We took bus back from Epcot one night and it shared with FW but dropped off at WL first.

Out last night my daughter and i stayed at MK until closing at 11 and since we didn't have the stroller we took the bus and shared with one other couple.

All in all we had a great time and would stay again if there was an affordable option for a family of 6.

My parents were gifted a dinner at Artist Point because they tried to get take out from Whispering Canyon one night but they refused. They spoke to the front desk the next day and the manager apologized and gave them a credit so that was nice for them.

One more thought on the pools...the water was nice and warm for the chilly days, much better than when we were at CBR last year.

 

[vinotinto]

because they tried to get take out from Whispering Canyon one night but they refused.

FYI, none of the Disney resort or park TS restaurants offer take-out. The options for take-out are only QS. Or, order from room service, which often include items from the TS restaurants.

 

[twoolle]

FYI, none of the Disney resort or park TS restaurants offer take-out. The options for take-out are only QS. Or, order from room service, which often include items from the TS restaurants.

Thanks for the info, i wasnt there so I'm not exactly sure what happened. It sounds like they didn't even know there was a room service option, ...my parents are in their late 70s and definitely not Disney experts.

 

[vinotinto]

Thanks for the info, i wasnt there so I'm not exactly sure what happened. It sounds like they didn't even know there was a room service option, ...my parents are in their late 70s and definitely not Disney experts.

Totally understand! My mom is also in her 70's and I have also noticed that she has some difficulty navigating through some very every day things (like restaurants!) and will complain (to me!) about it.

 

[kcpinwdw]

sorry posted on wrong board

 

[DisneyArkie]

We’ll now I know how to get a free meal at Artist Point next time. Thanks!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hi all! We are not DVC owners (yet...lol) but we are considering staying in a 1-bedroom at Copper Creek villas when we visit again in 2020. I am active duty military. For non-DVC owners, would you recommend renting from an outside source such as David's, or booking a villa directly with Disney and having them apply the Armed Forces Salute discount? (I checked, and this resort does apply the discount when available, I'll just have to make sure the discount is renewed for 2020.) Thanks!

By 2020, you may have difficulty in booking a one bedroom on cash. Sales have been pretty good at CCV, so there might be very little inventory available for cash reservations through Disney Reservation Center.

 

[Meghan4]

We are headed home after Mar4-10 stay. Our group consisted of me, DH, DS8, DS6, DD4, and DS2. We rented points from a DVC owner here on disboards and stayed in a deluxe studio at boulder Ridge. My parents also decided last minute to join us so they booked a standard room in the lodge.

We drove in about 930am and parked our car then took the boat over to MK. Waited maybe 10 minutes for the boat. It was a nice ride and the security line was smooth but it was the smaller boat so We had to fold the stroller. We got our room ready text about 10am which was earlier than expected but I did put 10am as our arrival time on the online check-in. We headed back to WL via boat (the big one) about 2pm. We checked into our room 4563. It was at the very end of the BRV hallway but still had a great view. The room size was so nice, we had plenty of room for the 6 of us. 3 kids would sleep in the pullout couch bed and another on the Murphy bed. There was storage space everywhere so that was nice. My parents room seemed much smaller as it was more narrow than ours.

We enjoyed the main pool that afternoon. It was cool outside but the kids thought the water was great. I enjoyed the hot tubs. We ate dinner at Geyser Point and DS2 fell asleep on the chair so the waitress brought him a blanket. Very nice of her and we were able to take it back to our room which was nice.

We enjoyed the pools several times and the kids really liked the BRV pool and the zero entry was great for DS2. We spent most of one day at the BRV pool and this was the only time we had a waitress from Geyser Point coming around. I had the crab cake sandwich but undid not enjoy it as much as the one from GF a few years ago. The bison burger was great and we lived the waffle fries.

We had a PPO at BOG the same morning there was EMM. We wanted to get to MK by 730 and considered the boat to CR then walk to MK, but since my parents were with us we thought it would be easier to just take the bus. We met at the bus stop at 7am and there was a bus waiting. Pretty sure we were the only ones on the bus. It was a nice ride.

We drove to all parks except MK and mainly took the boat to MK. On Friday night the 9th we go to the boat dock about 6pm to head to MK. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus and when it came it stopped at FW then took us to MK. The security and entrance lines were backed up as lots of people were coming for the Fireworks. It was 645 at this point with HEA at 755 so just beware if you go close to HEA in the future.

One night we shared a boat with FW peeps but it dropped off at WL first. We took the bus back from HS one night and it shared with CR but dropped off at WL first. We took bus back from Epcot one night and it shared with FW but dropped off at WL first.

Out last night my daughter and i stayed at MK until closing at 11 and since we didn't have the stroller we took the bus and shared with one other couple.

All in all we had a great time and would stay again if there was an affordable option for a family of 6.

My parents were gifted a dinner at Artist Point because they tried to get take out from Whispering Canyon one night but they refused. They spoke to the front desk the next day and the manager apologized and gave them a credit so that was nice for them.

One more thought on the pools...the water was nice and warm for the chilly days, much better than when we were at CBR last year.

Thanks for your review! We are also a family of 6, and finding the right room can be tricky. Right now we are booked there for the last week of September! I am so excited!!

 

[twoolle]

Thanks for your review! We are also a family of 6, and finding the right room can be tricky. Right now we are booked there for the last week of September! I am so excited!!

You will love it!

 

[Meghan4]

Help me out....I have heard nothing but wonderful things about WL and that is why I booked there. Like I have mentioned before we are a family of 6 and rooms are limited and expensive. We really are park all day kind of people, so would you still stay here? We don't go to Disney that often, so I don't mind splurging a bit, but I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[twoolle]

Help me out....I have heard nothing but wonderful things about WL and that is why I booked there. Like I have mentioned before we are a family of 6 and rooms are limited and expensive. We really are park all day kind of people, so would you still stay here? We don't go to Disney that often, so I don't mind splurging a bit, but I would love to hear your thoughts.

It is just nice and relaxing to come back to after a long day. No long walks to your room or the front desk. Hot tubs if it's chilly and nice to be very close to MK for park hopping. And if you get up early you can sit on the balcony and drink coffee. That being said I don't think we would pay for the deluxe room that sleeps 6...i think we might have to go with a suite at AoA or 2 rooms at pop next time.

 

[BamaBrad]

Help me out....I have heard nothing but wonderful things about WL and that is why I booked there. Like I have mentioned before we are a family of 6 and rooms are limited and expensive. We really are park all day kind of people, so would you still stay here? We don't go to Disney that often, so I don't mind splurging a bit, but I would love to hear your thoughts.

We spend at least 3 of our park days at MK, and on our last two trips, we just felt like we wasted so much time waiting for and riding on buses. The water transportation is what sold us.