Wilderness Lodge or Contemporary for x-mas??

[Claud26]

Can you help me decide please ... between staying at the Wilderness lodge Woodsview room or ath the Contemporary Standard Wing room,
This will be our first trip to Disney, we are going 12/11-12/17 with DS 2 & DD 5...
I really like the Charm of the Wilderness Lodge... and I think there would be a lot for us to do, however I'm not to crazy about the restaurant options there. Also it's not on the Monorail.... How long is the boat or Bus ride to MK??

the Contemporary is just a hotel, no charm ... but it seems like there is a lot more food choices there... not to mention it's on the monorail.

Please help... wanted to book my trip by the end of the week

thank you
Claud

 

[cepmom]

I have never been to the Contemporary, but we did go to WL in November 2002. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was all decorated for Xmas...the tree in the lobby is breathtaking! I would go back there in a second! The Contemporary just doesn't seem Christmasy to me. Even though it's not on the monorail, the boat ride to MK is not too long (maybe 15 minutes?) we never took the bus to MK and we had our own car, so we drove to all the other parks, resorts, etc. There is also a boat to Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary to give you some more restaurant choices.

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

This is what I Would do, it seems that the WL is much more decorative during Christmas. I'd stay there and just take the boat over to Contemporary whenever I wish to get something good to eat (Chef Mickeys or Cali Grill) and then from there I Can hop onto the monorail to check out other resorts, goto Epcot, and goto MK. Ofcourse, if you are going to MK you can just take the boat directly there. For AK and MGM you will have to take the bus from any other resort anyway so you're not losing much there.

The only reason I'd stay at the Contemporary is for the Tower room, so if you're between a woods view and a garden view, go for the woods view. You'll always be inside the resort (just incase theres bad weather) and won't have to dash to get in the main building to do stuff.

just my 2 cents

 

[knoxt]

Another vote for the Wilderness Lodge!!! Words can't describe it decorated at Christmas!!! BREATHTAKING

 

[ellenmiele]

You can't go wrong with either. Here's my list of pros and cons for each for a family with a 2 yr old and 5 year old:

CR - convenience of monorail, can also walk to MK, Chef Mickey's and Concourse Steak very kid friendly, good size snack bar and arcade
- pool slide is big (lots of steps) and a bit old looking/not "themed"
- no balcony for wing rooms (I think)
- kind of boring lobby area
WL- awesome theme and lobby area, Whispering Canyon is SO FUN, good snack bar but it's a little small but it is close to pool area, great pool and smaller slide (better for younger kids)
- spectacular at the holidays (I've never actaully heard anything about the decorations at CR but I'm sure they are nice but the theme of WL just makes it so great at Christmas)

 

[Stitch Inside]

We're thinking of doing the opposite of what most here are suggesting. We're liking the idea of the CR for the convenience and larger rooms. We can visit the WL, which will probably be full all of December and have few AP rates, and look at the decorations. But, most of our time will be spent at MK. And on a short trip, at CR, we'll have more time to do MK and still get naps. That's just what we're thinking. What we do will depend on AP rates and availability.

 

[Gary M]

We have stayed at WL several times, including during the Christmas season, but have never stayed at CR. The CR just isn't our kind of place, just like the WL doesn't appeal to other people.

The boat ride from WL to MK takes about 10 minutes before 3:00 pm. The boat from the WL to CR takes about 5 minutes.

 

[n2mm]

I think you need to check availability for these resorts. That will probably help make up your mind. Delux resorts are going fast for December and we tried for both the first and second weekend of December and things were already slim pickins. We settled for AKL for the first weekend of December because it was the only delux left available. Good Luck.

 

[mommykds]

I would have to say the WL without a doubt. The Christmas decorations against the pines, the fireplace, the wooded scenery sounds lovely. CR has nice holiday decorations but the theme at WL goes much more nicely with holiday decoration...think of having a nice hot cocoa by that hugs fireplace..very nice.