Wilderness Lodge Boat Line Caution!

[lastminutemomma]

Just returned last night from a 4 day getaway. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and had an early character breakfast scheduled yesterday (1/23) at 8am in MK. The boat line between WL and the Contemporary usually begins around 6:45am and from the Contemporary you grab the monorail to the MK. The problem yesterday was the boats were not running but the WL front desk didn't tell the guests! So quite a crowd formed on the docks, waited for a boat that never came and headed up to the buses. We ended up catching the boat that brought you directly to the MK at 8:30 - better late than never for the breakfast. The moral of the story - double check to make sure the boat line is running before heading down to the docks! Otherwise we had a fantastic trip. BTW - starting 2/06 the Cinderalla's Royal Table breakfast will be 2 table service meals if you are doing the dining plan. Also Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station is closed until 2/06. Hope these little tid bits help you have a great trip!

 

[DVCCarrie]

We had the same problem. On 1/14/06, my sister called the front desk to make sure the boats were running as we had reservations at the California Grille for 8:20. The front desk reported that due to the wind the boats were not running and they have a bus that would come to the front of the WL to take guests directly to the Contemporary. We went to the front of the hotel and spoke with the valet. They reported they were not aware of any buses going directly to the CR and called transportation. Transportation confirmed there were buses. Well, we waited and waited, no bus. The valet then suggested that we take the bus to Magic Kingdom and get on the monorail or take a taxi. We ran down to the bus stop and every other bus but Magic Kingdom came. I then picked up the phone for transportation services and the cast member was very rude and adamantly stated there was no bus service to the Contemporary. I asked if they could send a shuttle or something as we were now going to be late. She was so rude and stated "we dont do that, wait for a bus and take the monorail." When I asked for her name, she became even more sarcastic. We ended up running back up to the front and splitting a cab with another couple. Needless to say, it was a very aggravating way to start off my birthdday celebration dinner. I am thinking of complaining for all of the misinformation given, especially when we called ahead of time to make sure transportation was available.

 

[lastminutemomma]

I am sorry to hear you had problems too. I did speak with the WL manager Jeanette (?spelling) and she was very concerned and responsive. Giving them feedback may help them improve their communication skills and prevent other guest from delays (and stress!)

 

[ncseric]

I'd have to echo my unhappiness (at WDW? Say it ain't so!) about the boats to and from Fort Wilderness. The bad thing about FW is having to 1) walk about a half mile from the boat dock to the bus stop, and 2) having to wait for the inter-campground bus to get back to your trailer. You start adding all that time up and you're burning daylight. One night, we decided to leave MK before the fireworks started, since our girls were exhausted (1 and 4 -- they did quite well considering). We went out to the boat dock and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I think we waited there for an hour and a half before there were enough boats flowing for the line to actually move.

That was probably the worst time...going from FW to MK was generally not bad. You could typically see the boat coming towards you, which meant it wouldn't be a long wait. I personally prefer monorails, but unfortunately, WDW thought buses would be a better idea than more monorail track. Bad idea.

Eric