Wilderness Lodge Opinions

[summerrluvv]

We have ressies to stay at PC in November, but I keep going back and forth on where to stay. I want to be close to the MK and the monorail resorts, since DS wants to do the Neverland Club at the Poly, 1900 Park Fare and the Pirate Cruise at the GF. I think the GF is a little out of my price range and the Poly and the Contemporary both just don't look appealing to me.

I was checking out the WL page on Deb's site and it looks like a neat place to stay. I like that we could rent mouseboats and my son would love the bunkbeds!! I see you can take a boat to the MK, how long does it take? I saw another post about swarms of bugs there...are the bugs really bad? (I hate flying bugs...they get stuck in my contacts LOL). Also, how about quick bites to eat? I like the Value's because they have the food court which makes it quick and easy for my picky eater.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated

 

[Stitch Inside]

The Wilderness Lodge is wonderful. If the earlier post was referring to the "love bugs," they were everywhere recently, not just WL. It was their season. And the boat from WL to MK doesn't take long at all. There is also a boat that goes from WL over to the Contemporary if you want to jump on the Monorail there and go to the Poly or GF.

 

[fam4jc]

Hi. We've booked the WL for June. Our first time there. We've stayed at the FW Cabins and LOVED the boat rides! It's a nice bonus to staying at either place.

We selected WL because it does look awesom Selecting a resort is the HARDEST part of WDW planning. My tip would be to figure out what is most important to your family and rate each resort you are interested in according to those particular items.
Have fun Then you can choose based upon your family needs.
Wherever you stay, it will be GREAT

 

[DisFam95]

We love the WL..we are owners there now!! I think your son will love the WL!! There is a quick counter service place with the usual pizza,burgers,chicken strips, also sandwiches, fruit etc. It's very small compared to the larger Value food courts but WL has much fewer guest rooms comparitively. We've never had a problem eating there. I was worried when I first saw it.


We've never expereinced any bug problems there either. The boat ride to MK is very nice and comes every 10-15min and takes about 10 min to load and get across and dock.

We love to sit in the grand lobby and listen to the soft music playing. You hardly notice the music until you stop to listen. The 'crickets' are chirping as you walk in!

You'll love it!!

 

[summerrluvv]

Thanks for all the replies I'm going to call in the morning to see what the AAA rate would be. Of course I'm hoping there will be a room only code during that time frame!!

 

[tinkerb]

We just returned from the WL.... and honestly, I was not impressed. We have stayed at many different resorts, it was beautiful, and the theming is one of the best I have seen, but we don't spend any time in our room, expect to sleep, and I would much rather stay at a moderate. Transportation was not ideal either, to go to the Magic Kingdom we had to go through the Ticket and Transportation Center, then each time our bus had to do back and pick up all the campers from Fort Wilderness, so even though you can see the Magic Kingdom, count on 30 minutes (or more) to get there.

 

[j3mom]

just back from a week stay at WL and as has been said beautiful, but not going back. nice boat ride to MK. but you really are "stuck" there. we like to be able to walk to parks whenever we want. everyone has there own favorite. for us it is the Y&B. if you have young disers think about the bus rides to whereever you need to go. can't tell you how many screamers and kickers we encountered on the buses.

 

[Terk-1]

I love the Wilderness Lodge!! This is a great resort and I love the fact that it is small and easy to get around.

 

[Kimberle]

WL!! It's a wonderful resort!

It is so convienent to lots of stuff! Large boat goes WL/MK/FW (any order), you can just wheel your stroller on! Takes about 10-15 minutes. Very nice ride! Small boat goes WL/CR/FW. WL to CR is less that 5 minutes. It is very easy to get to Chef Mickeys, etc. or Trails End. You can boat to CR, then monorail to Poly or GF. You can also take the bus (about 2 minute ride) to TTC to walk to the Poly.

The pool areas are so relaxing at WL! You can rent the boats and bikes. There is a paved path to FW so you can bike around.

 

[MEM]

WL is a fabulous resort -- I would stay there again any time except that I have a goal of staying at a different resort each time. I do not understand one of the above posts about having to go through TTC to get to MK? The boat goes there all day long and is a pleasant, relaxing way to get there. Never waited more than 10 minutes for the boat, even in the busy season. Ride takes about 10 minutes. We also used the MK boat to get to the monorail and from there to Epcot. We also walked to Fort Wilderness for breakfast at Trail's End.

I thought the pool was a tad small for a resort of this size, but many folks would disagree. Kids and adults love the slide. The food court has a very limited menu but it was never busy. With 2 on-site sit-down restaurants too, you have many options. Rooms were always spotless and quiet! With regard to the lovebugs, they were all over WDW -- the mousekeepers at WL were very good about sweeping them off the balconies every day. The bugs are harmless.

The Electric Water Pageant floats by WL on Bay Lake and is a relaxing way to enjoy a parade. Also, the MK fireworks can be seen above the rooftops at WL.

You will not be disappointed with this resort!!

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by tinkerb
Transportation was not ideal either, to go to the Magic Kingdom we had to go through the Ticket and Transportation Center, then each time our bus had to do back and pick up all the campers from Fort Wilderness, so even though you can see the Magic Kingdom, count on 30 minutes (or more) to get there.

Why did you go to the TTC to get to MK? It's so much easier to just take the boat.

 

[helenk]

We stayed at the WL in Dec. 2002, and I loved it. The grounds were beautiful, it was a nice place to just stroll around, the geyser was a neat touch. The main pool was nicely themed, and the hot tubs were wonderful.
We had a courtyard view room, but next time I would chose a woodsview, a bit more relaxing I think.
The food court is small but they had a nice variety, we had dinner one night at Whispering Canyon, it was very good. I really enjoyed sitting in the lobby and listening to the music, we sat by the fire place and just soaked in it all in.
We did share bus service with Fort Wilderness, but that really only added about 10 minutes to the ride. The ferry to MK went right to the MK. We found when you left the MK at night say when the park was closing or after the MVMCP, it was better to take the monorail to the TTC and then the bus from there to the WL, but during the day the ferry was fine.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Originally posted by tinkerb
We just returned from the WL.... and honestly, I was not impressed. We have stayed at many different resorts, it was beautiful, and the theming is one of the best I have seen, but we don't spend any time in our room, expect to sleep, and I would much rather stay at a moderate. Transportation was not ideal either, to go to the Magic Kingdom we had to go through the Ticket and Transportation Center, then each time our bus had to do back and pick up all the campers from Fort Wilderness, so even though you can see the Magic Kingdom, count on 30 minutes (or more) to get there.

Wow somebody sure missed the boat:
Sorry tinkerb I guess you just didn't know about the large boat that would have taken you directly to the MK.

summerrluvv,
Received my Disney Magazine Summer 2004 yesterday, the magazine's is titled The Readers' Choise Awards The staff had an indedendent firm specializing in on-line research, to administer a survey of their subscriber...(Disney Magazine)...many interesting questions, ranging from the personal (attraction you miss the most) to the pracitical (best place for kids to blow off steam) and covered everything in between.

What is your favorite Walt Disney World Resort?

Survey said the #1 Resort is...

1. Wilderness Lodge Resort
2. Polynesian Resort
3. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

[tlady]

We just returned from our first trip to Disney and stayed at WL. All in all, it was great. I do have a few complaints. When we checked in, we were informed that we would get a room upgrade to one with a pool view. Previous room was a woods view. In retrospect, I wish we had kept the woods view room. The noise from the pool kept my 7-year old awake at night. Also, just before the pool closed each night, they played (loudly) a medley of songs on the speakers and this kept all of us awake until it stopped.

But, dinner at the pricey restaurant (forgot the name!) was great and so was the service. Room service was good too.

We avoided eating at the Whispering Canyon Cafe - WAY too noisy and busy for us. CMs were loudly encouraging kids to scream and yell, so we cancelled our PS there and ate at the pricier restaurant. After a full day at the parks, the last thing we wanted was a very loud dinner crowd.

Other than the pool noise and the loud cafe, we loved WL. But, next time I might try another resort just to see the difference.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I like the pool view...Woods view can be boring sometimes..I always ask for a Center Courtyard view...I have never noticed the noise, but that was just me...I also never heard any music...Hmmm..