Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness Cabins or the Contemporay Resort?

[miked3544]

Question, If you had the choice to stay at The Wilderness lodge, Cabins or the Contemporary Resort, where would you stay? Considering they are all about the same price when you figure in the cost of a golf cart the cabins. I have stayed at the cabins, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside before and had a great time with my family but, consider the cabins the best bang for your buck with the amenities that you get (full kitchen, 1 bed room etc,) I have not stayed at the other 2 but am considering it.

 

[Aurora79]

I would only stay at CR if it was in a main tower theme park view room, which is usually waaaay more expensive than the other options, so I’d choose WL for the value and feel of the resort.

 

[Ro<3]

Personally, wilderness lodge or cabins.

 

[beccasmom]

We’ve stayed at the Contemporary many times, most recently in April. We’re booked there for a few nights next week after a stay at BRV at the Wilderness Lodge. So we are big fans of both resorts, although our WL stays have all been at the BRV.

The Contemporary rooms are large and comfortable although I’m not wild about the bathroom set-up. We prefer the tower rooms - both views - lake or MK - are awesome. The garden wing rooms are the same size, but don’t offer MK views; however they are less expensive.

The WL is an impressive property. Gorgeous lobby and grounds. We loved our BRV unit, but I haven’t stayed at the hotel section of the resort.

We haven’t stayed at Fort Wilderness in many years, so I can’t really comment on that location although we visit the area to eat at Trail’s End on many trips.

 

[westie55]

Do you have children in strollers? I just stayed at the Contemporary and to be honest, I'm not rushing to go back. I much prefer the theming of the WL. It is so much more beautiful than the Contemporary, whose theme I am not crazy over. However, being on the monorail with small kids in strollers is essential for me right now. Having to wake my sleeping kids to get them onto a bus was worth not paying for, and I now understand why people are willing to pay a premium to stay at the monorail resorts. Unless you have small kids (in which case I would do the Contemproarary if Poly or GF are out of the question), I would pick the WL. I haven't stayed at FW but I hear transportation around the Fort itself can be time consuming. The WL is beautiful.

 

[Lacoccinelle]

Wilderness Lodge!!! It feel like a vacation on top of a vacation. The food is great and the them is wonderful.

 

[cwestpvb]

I'd go with either WL or CR. WL is great if you plan on spending time at the resort, and its great for families. The pools are great and the resort itself is incredibly themed. CR is great for convenience and large room size. The monorail is really convenient (when it works), but the walking path to MK is what really makes it worth staying there. The rooms are nice at both. If you need the daybed, then WL won't be an option. Personally I get a more "Disney feeling" from WL since its so immersive in its theming. It's honestly hard to leave once you're there.

 

[holden]

WL would be my first choice, followed by CR as a close second. I love the theming of WL but not CR. CR, however, has the bonus of being able to walk to MK. Inside the rooms doesn't bother me either way as they both offer the same amenities (one bathroom in a regular room, for example).

Now if you're considering BLT, that's another story. In the 1 bedroom unit you'll have a full kitchen and an extra full bathroom plus the walkability to MK. That's a no brainer for me. Plus renting points might be cheaper than paying rack rate for a regular hotel room. Point rentals, however, are not refundable.

 

[goodeats]

WL! I prefer a more compact resort and not having to go outside to get to the restaurants or shops.

 

[Dawn Peterson]

We haven’t stayed at WL but staying contemporary with kids in strollers is fantastic if you are magic kingdom focused. We love lake view tower. We did beach club water view last trip and it doesn’t compare for us. Even being able to walk to 2 parks we would still choose contemporary over it. (Except for SWGE we are doing yacht)

 

[Livelovedance]

We've never stayed at FW, but the cabins there seem really nice! We've stayed at WL and the Contemporary in the DVC rooms (CCV and BLT). I was excited to be so close to MK at the Contemporary, but we actually found the close proximity to be both a pro and a con. It was wonderful having the ability to walk at our leisure and not have to wait for a bus or a monorail. However, it is a bit of a walk (not far, but not as close as I had imagined) and when it was extremely hot, we actually wished we could have sat on a bus! The monorail was available, but to take it we would have to take the skybridge to the Contemporary, wait for the monorail, and then either ride the monorail all the way around the resort loop or transfer at the TTC. For this reason, we did miss the boat option from WL to MK.

We loved the theming at WL. The Contemporary was nice as well, and we agreed we would have no problems staying there again, but we would pick WL first. Good luck with your decision!

 

[mickeynut1]

Another vote for WL. We've never stayed at FW or CR as neither appeal to us, but we love the WL. Love the theme, dining options, and overall atmosphere of the resort.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Wilderness lodge for me as well. Don't care for the grounds at CR/BLT. WL is one of my favorite on property resorts.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

WL is my vote. Our friends stay at CR because of the convenience of being able to walk to MK. With kids that is a huge plus, but my husband & I just don't like the feel of CR. We love the feel of WL. Unfortunately we have been priced out of WL due to being a family of 5. It's actually more affordable for us to stay at Poly. We did get to stay at WL 5 years ago because we put our youngest on my mom's reservation. She slept in our room since all three were still small enough to sleep in one bed together. Last year we stayed for part of our vacation at Riverside with the Murphy's bed and wish they had something like that for WL. We felt like WL rooms were bigger, so it should be doable.

 

[Dave006]

The Wilderness lodge has 10 deluxe rooms with CL access that sleep 6. Have you looked at that as an option?

Dave

 

[rotlex]

Wilderness Lodge. I can stay there and never even feel the need to leave the resort. Truly a vacation destination in itself - at least to me!

 

[Eeyore daily]

I haven't stayed at any of them, but if I had to choose between those I'd pick the Contemporary. The style of the rooms are my absolute favorite.

 

[Luxurious_Lumiere]

I have stayed in all three and I think it really depends on what is most important for you. (Though I would note, that main tower rooms in Contemporary are MUCH more expensive than the other 2 resorts. And if you are talking a garden wing room...WL or Cabins def beat CR garden wing).

Contemporary is the best for ease of transportation. Right on the monorail, plus walking distance to MK. Also has the biggest rooms and is well appointed.
Wilderness Lodge is I think the most beautiful themeing, has boat access to MK.
Cabins are totally unique. still have boat to MK and the 2 resorts above for dining options. You can save tons of money on meals with the full kitchen.

Personally I'd go for Wilderness Lodge. I do hate the quick service at Roaring Fork and wish there was a place to get morning coffee and breakfast like Contemporary Grounds. But everything else feels so special there. I could sit at Geyser Point relaxing all day.

 

[mco65]

The Cabins are great and roomy and that kitchen can be a great $ saver.. but you have to use it.. we didn't our last trip. Still, loved the room. Only draw back was the single bathroom... We didn't rent a cart, we simply took the bus to the Trading post for the ferry to MK and drove our car to the other parks. A golf cart would have been nice but probably a waste for as little as we moved about the fort. If your planning on spending a day or more at the fort vs going to a park, etc...then a cart might be worth it.

As much as everyone loved the cabins, our next trip will either be AoA or the Contemporary. There are still a few resorts we have yet to stay in!

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Contemporary Resort. The walking access to Magic Kingdom and being on the monorail line can't be beat. We also like the elegant rooms & lobby. We stayed in the garden wing and really liked it.

That said, we liked WL and Fort Wilderness a lot, too. Fort Wilderness is great if you plan to participate in a lot of resort activities.