Wilderness Lodge or Swan...HELP!

[Emme]

O,K, Here are the facts...
I can stay at either the Swan or Wilderness Lodge from June 28-July 5 both at $144.00 a night including tax. I have stayed at neither one before and I don't know which way to go. There are 3 of us me, dh and 14 year old ds.

Please help those of you who have stayed at either, I really don't have a clue on this one and they are both the same price which makes it even harder...HELP

I know some say the transportation at the WL is bad but then others say it's fine, just need a bit of guidance here folks...

THANKS!
~Emmy

 

[slimplaw]

I have never been at the Swan, but I have stayed at WL and would suggest you stay there too. It is a beautiful resort. You could spend a lot of time just looking around WL. You have the boat to take you to MK. There is also a boat that goes to Contemporary. From there you could ride the monorail to Epcot. From experience, riding on the bus may take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 45 min. depending on where you are going. This is about the same from other resorts I have stayed at. For any of the resort buses, we have planned on 30 min to 1 hour travel time to be on the safe side.
I suppose the advantage of the Swan is it's location to BW, Epcot, and MGM.

 

[Grumpy92]

I vote for WL. It is a beautiful resort, I could spend hours curled up in front of the fireplace in the lobby just people watching. This resort also has some excellent restaurants. As for transportation I think most people are not used to public transportation and are so eager to get to the park they dont want to waste anytime. We have never had any problem with the buses and love the boats. While the WL is very much a themed Disney hotel, the Swan is not. It is a convention hotel that also serves vacationers. But the close proximity to Epcot & the studios is a plus.

 

[Blondie]

I say it all depends on which park you'll be spending more time at.

If Epcot and MGM are your parks of choice, then the Swan will be your better bet. Not only are the views of Epcot fantastic (see our Dolphin balcony view below) but you can walk to both parks as well.

Don't feel like walking? Then just walk on down to the boat dock and take the Friendship Boat. It's a leisurely cruise, also stopping at the Yacht/Beach Clubs and Boardwalk along the way.

Speaking of the Boardwalk, it's at your back door when staying at the Swan or Dolphin, with lots of dining options like ESPN Club, Big River Grille & Brewing Works, Flying Fish Cafe, Boardwalk Bakery, and Spoodles just to name a few! (I'm starting to sound like a commercial, aren't I?)

I also have to ask which theme do you prefer? With the WL you get a Pacific Northwest log cabin feel, very cozy and warm.

The Swan is very elegant, done in pastel colors.

Have fun on deciding, for me that is half the fun of planning a vacation!

 

[Lcm2108]

My Vote---

WL all the way!

Lisa

 

[NHAnn]

Wow, what a tough call!
I've stayed at WL and also the Dolphin. Since the price is not the issue, I'd be hard pressed to decide too! Maybe split your stay???
The location of the Swan to MGM, Epcot, and the mini-golf courses, and more fun/convenience in transportation, and its proximity to the dining/entertainment at Boardwalk might give it the edge for me especially with a teenager. (My teens loved the S/D last year....but they loved WL when we were there in '96!)
The WL is stunning - Disney theming at its best!

You'll have fun either way.....sorry I can't help with the decision

 

[DeeP]

This is a tough one....I absolutely love the Epcot resorts because the location can't be beat, but WL is such a beautiful resort. I would split my stay, however I just asked my teenagers (we stay at BWV and they Love this area) and they said definitely the Epcot resort! It is very convenient for teens and adults too to get around when staying at an Epcot resort. But then WL is so beautiful and relaxing.....

 

[Emme]

LOL! This is too funny, most of you all would have trouble deciding too. I believe we are leaning toward WL but PLEASE keep the opinions coming...I just want to be so sure this is the right choice.

Also, do you think the 140 w/tax is a fairly good price for the WL? It is a standard room, but that's really fine by us!

Keep the opinions coming...Thanks!
~Emmy

 

[msdis]

If location is what you want then the Swan. If overall experience is what you what then WL, 100+%. The decor of the Swan is too convention like. It is not relaxing and warm. The lodge on the other hand will blow you away. If I sound biased, I am. We bought at VWL thru DVC and have stayed there last Sept. and will be there the end of this month for 10 days, split WL/VWL, and then in Dec. for 5 nights. WL will ALWAYS be an annual event for us. IMHO, WL has the "warmest" feeling in WDW. We also own at BWV and love that resort as well, but more so for it's location, which is just across from the Swan and has easy walking acess to MGM and Epcot along with the other Epcot area resorts. We have that same price for our upcoming stay and am still in awe that we got that rate. I think the rack rate is about $279+tax. Since you have already made up your mind take a walk over to visit the Swan from Epcot while there and you will see you made the right choice. And if I am wrong, there is always next time.

 

[NancyIL]

I'm assuming you got a teacher, nurse, or government employee rate at the Swan. Those rates will be available in the future. You got a FANTASTIC rate at the Wilderness Lodge! If it were me, I'd choose the WL for the exceptional deal. You can always try the Swan or Dolphin on your next trip.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Emme
O,K, Here are the facts...
I can stay at either the Swan or Wilderness Lodge from June 28-July 5 both at $144.00 a night including tax. I have stayed at neither one before and I don't know which way to go. There are 3 of us me, dh and 14 year old ds.

Please help those of you who have stayed at either, I really don't have a clue on this one and they are both the same price which makes it even harder...HELP

I know some say the transportation at the WL is bad but then others say it's fine, just need a bit of guidance here folks...

THANKS!
~Emmy

Hi Emme,

If we had to pick between the Swan or the WL would would go with the Swan. Why? Location! Our fav parks are MGM and EC so being able to walk to both is great. We rank the MK last on our list.

So what is your families fav park? If the answer is not the MK then I would go with the Swan. Being able to walk to MGM and EC and then having the whole Boardwalk area to walk to at night along with being able to walk over to Beaches and Cream.

Well, my vote is for the Swan.

 

[Gary M]

The transportation at the WL is like the other resorts, if you just miss the bus, boat or monorail then the transportation seems bad because of the wait for the next one. Earlier this year I timed how long it takes to get from the WL to the destination desired. Of course the times can vary by a few minutes and this was during the off-season.

The boat from WL to MK took from 7 to 10 minutes. This is the time it leaves the dock to when it is docked.

The bus to EPCOT took from 10 to 14 minutes. This is from bus stop to bus stop. I'm not sure you can take the monorail from the monorail resorts and switch monorails at the TTC and make it faster to EPCOT. I'm also not sure you can walk to TTC from the Poly and ride any faster. I have stayed at the WL several times and have also stayed at the GF, Poly, DL, AKL and BWI.

I haven't stayed at the Swan, but have visited it and it just doesn't have the WDW feel to me. To me the WL is very much Disney themed.

 

[Swan]

I could not decide either, so we are doing both. Four days at the Swan and four at WL. We will be going to Epcot and Mgm while we are at the Swan. On the day of our transfer to the WL we will take a day off from the parks and enjoy both pools. Our days at WL will be spent at MK and AK.

 

[wdwfan]

I'm glad that so many people love the WL! I could also have stayed at the Swan or Dolphin with the teachers' discount, but when I came across the codes for the WL, I just thought it was too good to pass up. I've always wanted to try out the WL and this time we will.