The best and worst of the Wilderness Lodge

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We also have stayed at both and prefer the WL. We will be staying at WL for our third time this fall.

I am going to put the question of the boat to the Contemp on the transportation board. I really hope they did not stop this.

 

[EeyoreBrat]

Pluto2
Why don't you take the boat to MK than the boat to GF?

EeyoreBrat

 

[SnowWitch]

We have stayed at the WL x 4 and the AKL x 3. We have enjoyed both. They are both similiar to me but I believe I read the same man designed them and that may be why.

The AKL has slightly larger rooms than the WL, big whoop, we spend more time on our balcony than the room if you subtract sleeping time.

I find the rooms to be equally dark if you want to call it that.

I didn't care for the fast food options at either resort but we hardly ever use fast food so no biggie there.

We enjoy Boma and Whispering Canyons equally for different reasons. Don't care for the menu at Jiko or Artist Point.

I would split the stay and see what your preference is. I love them both for different reasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Leota]

I love the Theme of WL - One of our favorite restaurants is Artist Point - That said, I did not enjoy my stay there as much as I thought I would. I didn't like Roaring Forks at all, I had the worst customer service at WL that I've ever had at any Disney resort & the rooms were not to my taste at all & I found them small, dark & cramped. I did love the public areas and the boat launch to MK. Even if the boat no longer goes to CR, you can still boat to MK & hop the monorail there, or walk to CR for dining etc.... I would give them a second chance if a VERY low rate became available - I liken it to a moderate, to be honest. DH was so angry at the treatment I had there that he has refused to give them another shot.

We stayed at AKL for my 40th birthday. I LOVE the Savannah view & frankly, that's really the main reason we are staying there again. The rooms are also small & dark. I do love the immersive theme - the scents, sights & sounds of Africa - It's quite impressive. But, the beds are hard as rock. The buses were slow & inefficient when we were there. We really love the Dolphin the best of all WDW resorts & find the other resorts don't really live up to it. If I could have a Savannah view from the Dolphin then I'd be all set, lol.

Based on my personal experience, I would do AKL over WL. But a split stay would be pretty equal in my eyes. I feel both resorts have good & bad points that are fairly equal, with an edge to AKL only if you have a Savannah view room.

 

[TMM]

We have stayed at the WL x 4 and the AKL x 3. We have enjoyed both. They are both similiar to me but I believe I read the same man designed them and that may be why.

The AKL has slightly larger rooms than the WL, big whoop, we spend more time on our balcony than the room if you subtract sleeping time.

I find the rooms to be equally dark if you want to call it that.

I didn't care for the fast food options at either resort but we hardly ever use fast food so no biggie there.

We enjoy Boma and Whispering Canyons equally for different reasons. Don't care for the menu at Jiko or Artist Point.

I would split the stay and see what your preference is. I love them both for different reasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...from all the great feedback we reserved a split stay at WL and AKL. Our first 4 nights will be at WL in a standard room. We should be able to see the holiday decorations and then after we finish the marthon we will move to AKL for 4 nights. Our last two nights will be Concierge Level at AKL so we can do the sunrise and sunset safaris.

We are very excited about this trip. It is beginning to rank up there with our Maui 'weddingmoon'.

Now if I could just get working on an itinerary.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I've stayed at AKL once and WL umm 3 or 4 times? (Too early to count ) Here are my prefrences:

Better Lobby: WL
Better counter service food: AKL
Better sit-down restaurants: AKL for food, but WL for atmosphere/fun
Better view: Tie, depending on if the animals are out at AKL or not. When they're not out, I'd rather have my woods view than the barren savannah
Easier resort to get around: WL
Better transportation to AK: AKL
Better transportation everywhere else: WL

Overall favorite? WL

 

[catbertdave99]

You'll have a great time at both resorts! We've stayed at both and liked both for different reasons, like many of the previous posters. WL is incredible, the atmosphere is so unique, and we loved the pool, the outdoor "river" and the small beach. The boat ride to MK was neat too.
AKL was also incredible. Nothing like sitting on the balcony and looking at giraffes, etc. We preferred the Whispering Canyon to Boma, just because my DS11 didn't like the African food -- and American options weren't as plentiful. My DS14, on the other hand, loved Boma. Go figure, right? Anyway, we enjoyed both, but we'll probably be back at WL before AKL. It's just beautiful.

 

[kotagg]

We were at the WL in June and the boats were still running directly to CR. There are the boats with the green flags and the boats with the blue flags. I cant remember which color goes where, but the smaller of the two boats goes directly to CR; the larger boat does the Ft. Wilderness/MK/WL loop.

 

[Frank_M]

We just got back from our second stay at the WL. We love it. We stay in a deluxe room... which is perfect for us as it allows us to put our DS 6 1/2 to bed and stay up in the other room. The idea of keeping him up late just wouldn't work for us.

As for boat transportation, there are two boats:

GREEN - Magic Kingdom
BLUE - Contemporary

The Green boat goes from the WL to MK and then to WCG. The order will chance slightly during the day, to accommodate those going to Hoop Dee Doo. So if you're catching a boat back to the WL at around 2 pm, it might go right to the WL. But early evening, it will probably go to the campground first.

The Blue boat goes to the Contemporary right from the WL. It too picks up folks from the campground and transports them there for the Hoop Dee Doo.

The efficiency of the boat transportion is one of the best features of the WL. We love it! On one of our trips to Epcot we took the bus, and for another we took the boat to the Contemporary and then the Monorail to Epcot. The bus is faster, but the other journey was much more fun!

 

[sotoalf]

I've read conflicting messages. Most of the more recent reports I've ready indicate that there is no longer a boat connecting Wilderness Lodge, Ft. Wilderness and the Contemporary; instead the boat just connects Wilderness Lodge, Ft. Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom.

Some friends returned from WL last week and they mentioned taking the smaller boat to the Contemporary for dinner.

 

[jugglinfish]

Ok - just got back from WL yesterday!

LOVED it. Had thought in the past of continuing to try different resorts on different stays, but I think we'll hope to go back to WL. It really felt like you were out in the middle of nowhere relaxing.

BOAT TRANSPORTATION:

There is a blue flagged boat that carried passengers between WL, FW, and Contemporary. A nice quick trip.

The green flagged boat carried passengeres between the WL, FW, and the MK. This green boat took longer than the bus, but was extremely plesant and if we were not in a hurry it was the way to go. A great was to force yourself to slow down on your way back to the hotel or to the park.

Yes, the bus is a faster mode of transport. But it was nice to have the boat option.

 

[LolitaBelle]

We love both the WL and the AKL so much, that we're staying in both of them during our upcoming vacation, which is in 2 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and 26 seconds...but whose counting?!

If you put a gun to my head, the only thing I would improve upon at the WL are the laundry facilities. They have too few machines for the amount of guests. I guess since it's a deluxe, they'd rather have you pay them to do your laundry. In any case, not enough machines can be a pain in the butt.

 

[purplern]

We have stayed at both AKL and WL. We liked them both but love WL!!!!!!! The theming is excellent, renting boats was a blast. AKL was nice, the cast members there were really nice! Akl is nice but WL won our hearts!

 

[PLUTO2]

Pluto2
Why don't you take the boat to MK than the boat to GF?

EeyoreBrat

Another option. Okay so which way is the fastest?

 

[Superman]

I've stayed at the WL on two occassions (1/05 and 5/05). Both times we were upgraded to pool view. Services and staff were outstanding. Love the restaurants and the convenience of a short boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. Only downside on the WL, in my opinion, rooms were kinda small.

 

[DisneylandAlum]

Just back from 10 nights at WDW, including 5 nights at WL. We *loved* WL in '04, hence spending half of our vacation there this year.

I regret to say that although much of what we loved about WL a year ago was intact, the appearance of the resort had declined precipitously in just a year's time. I discussed this with a manager who told me they are going to begin a resort-wide rehab by year's end, including new granite sinks, linens, etc. She agreed the place (carpets, walls, etc.) was currently looking rather "dinged." I assume they have not been putting money into upkeep recently in anticipation of tearing everything out soon. In our room itself there were unpainted dings in the wall (apparently from furniture), the light fixture was dirty, and the room was obviously in need of some TLC general maintenance-wise.

We were happy to receive our requested bunkbed room but terribly disappointed with the cleanliness when we arrived, which included jelly smeared on part of the bed's wood frame, coffee splashes on the wall and coffee stains on the floor, and dust thickly coating the ceiling vent over the shower. Management did handle it well, refunding half our first night's stay -- it would have been hard for them to move us because of the computer virus that attacked the resort computers last week. We were promised a VIP cleaning the next morning, but only half the problems were resolved. That night two managers toured our room to view the remaining problems and they immediately had housekeeping come in to clean the remaining areas. When we returned we found lovely concierge chocolates left on the bed -- a large Wilderness Lodge heart and smaller mints. Although I wish the issues had been taken care of before we arrived or at least during the VIP cleaning, we were satisfied with management's attention, including the refund, the personal tour, and the chocolates. After that our room stayed clean the duration of the trip and housekeeping called later in our stay to follow up and make sure we were satisfied.

Whispering Canyon was great as usual!

I'll probably try WL again after the rehab -- love the architecture, the landscaping, and the lobby music! -- but I offer this note just as a word of caution for the next few months. Hopefully our experience was an aberration.

We stayed 3 nights at Beach Club and our room was so clean I might have been willing to eat off the carpet . Next time it's Beach Club for us!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I lOVE WL!! It's one of my favorites!! I love everything about it. I will stay at WL only if I can get a courtyard view. I really can't think of anything I don't like about WL, except the location that I got put in when we stayed in the woodsview..not much of a view. The whole place is just breathaking, especially when you have the courtyard view! I enjoy sitting in the balcony and see and appreciate the beauty of the nature.

I like the fact that they now have the bus transortation to MK. Though the taking the boat is nice... but we love taking the bus to MK! It is so easy and fast to get there! And the bus is always half full! And I like that a lot! The bus wait is not very long either. I think they have great bus service to all the parks.