Wilderness Lodge Cabins -- whatcha think??

[Mandalou]

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at the Wilderness Lodge cabins and would like to share their experiences with it? We are considering staying there this December with the in-laws and my family (DH and 2 DS's) because we could always be together and we save some $$ by making breakfast in the kitchen. What do you think? We've also got an Annual Pass, so does anyone know what kind of discount they got last year on the cabins with that? Thanks, guys!!

 

[kwdietrich1]

I would like to know this too, so I'm giving you a

 

[MinnieGi]

Just to make sure you know - the cabins are located at Ft. Wilderness in the campground not at the Wilderness Lodge Resort.

You may want to post this same question on the camping board. I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses that way.

While I have not stayed in the cabins I do know that I have seen very decent AP rates on them.

 

[MichiganMommy]

We stayed in the cabins 3 years ago with DS2 and DS5 (ages then). We really enjoyed having a kitchen and also being able to put the kids to bed in another room. The cabins were very nice. The furnishings were nicer than I expected.

I would think that 4 adults and 2 kids might be a bit cramped though. The bedroom is quite crowded with bunk beds and a double bed pushed against the wall. There definitely isn't a lot of "passing room" when walking around! And obviously sharing one bathroom for 6 people might be a challenge. The pools there are nice, but they are just "standard" pools - no theming. We rented a golf cart when we were there and it was definitely worth it - things are pretty spread out. If you rent a golf cart in December, you'll want jackets as it gets pretty cool, zipping around in the evening.

If you haven't seen Jeff Spencer's website - it has a lot of info and photos. http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlspence/faq_fw.htm.

Hope this helps!

 

[princessplanner]

I don't know if the WL has any cabins or not. Maybe they do, but my family has never been there. However, we have visited the Ft. Wilderness cabins for the last 2 years and think they are great! Of course, my family only traveled in a group of four (2 older teens and 2 adults). It might be a tiny cramped for 6, but I think that you could probably do much worse. Only one bathroom, but at least it is nice and big. The pools are pretty "standard" but still nice... and rather peaceful. I definitely would recommend a golf cart. It makes it easier to get around, and the grounds are pretty to just ride around and look at. I think our passholder rate last year was something around $160 (but they may charge a little more per extra adult after "double occupancy").
When weather allows, Ft. W also has Disney movies outside in the evenings. You can watch the movies, eat s'mores at a camp fire they set up, and just relax if you need a break. For kids, if you go a little early, Chip and Dale come out to take pictures and shake hands. Further, if you don't feel like cooking sometime, the sit-down restaurant there (sorry, I forget what it's called) serves excellent food buffet style at a semi-reasonable price for Disney. Hope you have fun!

 

[Kimberle]

Yes, Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness are 2 very different resorts. They are about a mile apart and have seperate amenities (for example, they do NOT share pools).

The cabins are located in Fort Wilderness, not in/near Wilderness Lodge.

I've heard a lot of nice things about the cabins, though we've never stayed there.

Have a great trip!

 

[Gillian]

Too much togetherness!

I loved the FW cabins with 3 people and would stay in them again now that we've added a 4th. But I'd hesitate to stay in one for more than a day or 2 with that many adults. One bathroom and no outside sink (except in the kitchen) would not work for us!

1 TV could be a problem for some.

The cabins are usually available for $150 or so. I think a better bet, for everyone's sanity, would be 2 rooms somewhere.

If you have considered staying offsite, pool homes with 3-4 bedrooms should be no more than 1 cabin. Check the Orlando board for info!

 

[jaguar9748]

We stayed at the Ft Wilderness cabins (down the road from the Wilderness Lodge) and were quite impressed. The living area/kitchen area is quite spacious. The bathroom was nicely serviceable. The bedroom was a bit dark and cramped with a double bed and a bunk bed, but it was comfortable. I do think that while they sleep 6 people, it would be a bit cramped. One bathroom for six - shudder! While there's a Murphy bed in the living room, there is no privacy for those guests. I would also lean toward 2 rooms with 2 bathrooms and some privacy.

 

[dpic]

We've stayed at both Lodge and Cabins.

Cabin pros: kitchen, much larger than standard room, quiet, nicely decorated, could park the rental car right next to us.

Cons: Too far from pool/store/boat landing/restaurant, felt isolated, had to take a bus to get anywhere (when we didn't feel like driving--and we weren't going to rent a golf).

In short, we were too far from anything at the cabins. It feels more like a subdivision than a vacation get-away. Also, we did not use the kitchen as much as we thought we would. We bought all sorts of food and never cooked it. We wanted simple and quick and ended up leaving most of the food stuff we bought (who wants to cook on vacation at Disney?).

All-in-all we did have a wonderful time at the Cabins--it was a great vacation. For us, after staying at WL, the Lodge is more our cup of tea. At the lodge, the pool/boat launch/restaurants are all just a quick walk away. We felt much MUCH more magic at the Lodge over the Cabins.

 

[lyncruiser2]

I second what dpic says. Very remote. Difficult to get around without renting a golf cart -- which adds at least another $40 per day. The cabins are a ways from the boat landing and Crockett's Tavern. Crockett's Tavern was very annoying as we could buy pizza but had to eat it outside. Tables were apparently only for the buffet. No use buying a buffet lunch for a six-year old who fills up on one or two chicken nuggets. The worst was when we did E-Ride night. The boat quit operating much earlier. We took a cab, but the cab couldn't go back to the cabins. So, at midnight I was standing at the bus stop, with no one else around, pitch black and a sleeping child in my arms. Very scary. Fortunately, a bus came within about 5 minutes. Driver insisted on driving us right to the cabin as it was so late -- very nice. Nonetheless, that soured me on the cabins. The following year we stayed at Holiday Inn Family Suites and found it to be much, much more convenient.

 

[tci1212]

Staying at the cabins is a completley different experience than staying in a hotel in Disney. We don't mind exchanging the convenience of having the restaurants and pool at our finger tips for the extra room and the serenity of the campground. Now on the other hand my husband does not like the cabins at all. He said he feels like he is the middle of no where. He prefers the Beach club or the Boardwalk. As long as I have my daily maid service I'm happy!

 

[Gillian]

That's funny about Crocketts. That has not been our experience. In sept 2002, march 2003 and this year in May they had their own area of tables. Maybe that's a relatively recent thing?

On the first night of our 2002 trip, after waiting 30-40 min to check in, and having trouble figuring out the internal buses, we arrived at Crocketts at closing. The manager bent over backwards to get us and our sleepy 2 year old some food. However, not being able to drive to there and having to take a bus back to our cabin after eating was pretty bad. And it just isn't walkable.

If they had delivery service we would have used it and tipped big!

We really love FW, but until we get a camper and/or have extra money for a golf cart, we'll be staying elsewhere.

 

[momxx5]

Ft. W has cabins.

WL has rooms and villas.


Personally we love the cabins at Ft.W, but we have a big family and love the convience of throwing waffles in the toaster while I shower and having our van parked right in front. I think if you are close and can "live" with your inlaws it may work. But you will only have one bathroom and tv. We have never had a problem using the WDW buses.

The WL is beautiful during the holidays. A villa($$$) or connecting rooms may would work there. I'm not sure how you would do breakfast in the room, maybe cereal bars etc.

Have fun planning.

 

[SB in KY]

If you have a car it really helps at the cabins...otherwise the bus transportation is kind of cumbersome (IMHO)...if you request Loop 2500 it is close to a bus stop and pool and a short path takes you right to a comfort station...so some can run over there to shower if the AM rush for the cabin bathroom is too much. Honestly for the price you can't beat the accomodations and although one bathroom might be an inconvienence, it sure is nicer to have a comfortable living room and kitchen than 2 little hotel rooms with no place to sit and visit.

There are also a couple of cabins on the 100 and 200 loops...those are right by the boat dock and restaurant. I have no idea how you get those cabins...but you might inquire. They would be SUCH a great location.

Last fall AP rates were $149/night and this spring various codes were about $155/night. If you aren't opposed to close company it might be a good choice for you.

 

[TwingleMum]

I would suggest you check out renting a villa at WL.They are very spacious with washer/dryers in the villa and full kitchens - oven, full size frig, dishwasher, micro,etc. The bathrooms have big jacuzzi tubs. Check out the DVC rent board and see if its possible. Warning: these villas spoil you for regular rooms LOL.

 

[chancellor]

I stayed at a cabin last year with 5 people (2 adult couples and one 3-year old), and thought it was great. Although you only have one bathroom, in a pinch somebody can go to one of the camping stations to use those. You are basically getting a room the size of a suite for about 1/3 the price (I think with a Fl.Res discount we paid about $159 in May).

The isolation/transportation problems weren't an issue for us because (1) we rented a golf cart and (2) you can park a car right outside your cabin (we drove). I would be hesitant to stay there without these two transportation options. The golf cart makes the rest of the resort, which is enormous, MUCH more accessable (in fact, when looking at the rates, I automatically add $40 in my head to the price because I know I would do the cart again). I didn't encounter any problems with the MK boat, though we didn't do any e-ride nights, so we were out by normal closing time. All other parks we just took our car.

(I would also note that what some consider isolation, others might consider privacy. There's no place else in WDW where your room is self-contained, completely separate from your neighbors.)

 

[jann1033]

funny , we love Fw cause it is some what removed from the pace of the parks and has tons to do there, you could easly fill up a week and never go to a park( but then what would be the sense of going to wdw ) we wanted to stay in the cabins but we have too many in our group and some rebell about staying in the campground which hubby and I still may do since we like it best.

every trip but the last has been to fw and we never found the bus ride to be that big a problem. lets face it, going to the beach/swan/dolphin/boardwalk/ and whatever else on "that" bus trip to dtd or where ever is worse by far than the short ride to the settlement. and factor in ease of the boat ride to mk or the boat to the contemp or Mk.( to get to ttc to take the monorail for epcot which to us is the "only" way to get to epcot, a bus will not do, some traditions can not be tampered with!). at least they are more fun than a bus! we find the transportation at fw no worse than most other places in wdw.