Is staying at Wilderness Lodge (villas) really convenient?

[micheluvscorgis]

We're hoping to bring our two kids to WDW in November 2009 to celebrate my older son's fourth birthday. My other son will have just turned two in September. Nevertheless, naps are going to be a vital part of our trip's success. I was just wondering about the location/convenience of the Wilderness Lodge (villas). I understand there's a ferry there. About how long does it take to get to MK using the ferry, including wait time? Back?

Thanks so much!

-Michele

 

[PatsMom]

If I definitely had to be somewhere at a certain time (like an ADR), I'd allow at least 45 minutes for the boat from Wilderness Lodge to the MK. That includes walking time to the dock - the Villas are the farthest away from the dock. Best case is about 15 minutes - that assumes that you time it just right. Since the boats are not on a particular schedule, that doesn't often happen.

In mid-November (assuming you aren't going Thanksgiving week) the hours will be fairly short in the parks. If the youngest will nap in the stroller, it might be worth trying to skip the naps and just leave the park early. Wilderness Lodge has a great counter service restaurant if you don't want to do a table service every night with the two little ones. When DD was just barely 5 we used to stay at Fort Wilderness and what we found was best for us was to get up at her usual time, eat breakfast and then head for the parks. We'd take a fairly long mid-day break in the park and have lunch. We'd also have a "time out" and drink a frozen lemonade if anyone was getting frazzled - including the adults. Doesn't work for everyone and it probably wouldn't work if the two year old won't nap in the stroller!

 

[bellazachmom]

Hi!! We are DVC members who own at Beach Club Villas, but our last 3 stays have been at WL due to the convenience of travelling to and from the MK.

We were there last month with our 5, 3 and 1 year olds and it could not have been an easier, smoother trip!!

The great thing about the WL when it comes to getting to and from the MK is that both modes of transportation, boat AND bus, are direct, they do not stop at any other resorts! Now, I agree that the boat has much better atmosphere, but the bus has a 5 minute travel time from door-to-door! Can't beat that when you have a sleepy toddler you are trying to get back to the room, or when trying to make rope drop or an ADR at the MK. Wait times for both are about 20 minutes if you happen to just miss a boat or bus, travel time by boat would be about 15 minutes.

There is also a boat that will take you to the Contemporary directly, great for eating at CM or when you want to catch the monorail and there is a boat that goes to Ft. Wilderness -- great for the campfire, Mickey's Backyard BBQ and all the fun things there are to do over there.

We love the nice and quiet atmosphere at the resort, you seem so removed, but still close to everything. There is also a wonderful little beach with a playground that is a lot of fun.

Please let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to try and help out!

 

[ktlm]

We stayed at WL 2 weeks ago. We loved the boat to MK. I don't think it ever took us much more than 20 minutes from the time we got to the dock to get to MK or back. I think the boat ride itself is just a little over 10 minutes. The bus is not always faster. My MIL had to get a scooter halfway through our trip because her ankle swelled up and was huge and purple (old injury). One day ILs took the bus and we took the boat, they only beat us by about 2 minutes. The next day we rode the bus with them to and from the park. The bus took a lot longer than the boat ever had both times. It took us 50 minutes from the time we got to the bus stop to get back to WL. We had the longest waits for any bus we had the entire week both in the morning and coming back later that day. The good thing about the boats, is that they run 2 types and one of them you do not have to fold your stroller. We were lucky enough to get that one most of the time. Also, a word of warning, depending on your 2 year old's personality, leaving the park may not be as easy as you think. My DD had an absolute meltdown about leaving the park for a nap. When we got back the resort, she was so mad that she absolutely refused to go to sleep no matter how tired she was. After 2 hours, we finally gave up and went to MK. The minute she knew she was back there, she got right in her stroller and fell asleep. We did stroller naps the rest of the week with no problems.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We loved staying at WL! We stayed in Jan 08 when the kids were almost 3 and 4. Naps are always essential for us. We generally took the bus to MK as it was the quickest way there. Literally 5 minutes! We took the boat back to the resort for naps. The boat was nice and relaxing. We all loved it on the way home but prefered the quickest way on the way to the park.