WILDERNESS LODGE QUESTioNS

[SorcererDonald16]

I'm still trying to justify spending that extra $1,000.00 and so far, I just can't do it. Anybody out there stayed at both the CBR and Wilderness Lodge who can offer their thoughts?

I've stayed at CBR 3 times (2001, 2006, & 2007) and WL one time (2005). I'll be returning (God willing) to WL next May. I love both places, and I definitely love the "feel" of CBR, but I don't know if anything could compare to WL. It is just in another realm for me. I'm not really a woodsy-type of gal, but I loved the themeing and decor there; the music, the teepee chandeliers, all of it. It was so nice to return there after a nutty day in the theme parks and feel like I was in another world entirely (a much more peaceful, less crowded world! ). I truly loved it and can't wait to go back.

As for your specific questions/concerns:

While I do think we would like the convenience of the boat to and from the Magic Kingdom and we would probably rent a boat one day, I still don't know if it's worth it.
The boat to and from MK is a feature I liked a lot. It was always fairly quick and efficient, and that was in June with a ton of people everywhere. There's also another boat you can take to the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. At FW, you can take in the campfire sing-a-long, I believe it is with Chip and Dale; didn't get to try this, but hopefully will next time. Plus there's trails, a petting zoo, and all of that fun stuff there.


1) Buses: How efficient are they? How many bus stops are there? Time to the parks? Etc.

Cannot comment on this as I've never taken a Disney bus (we drive our car everywhere usually), but there is one bus stop that's at the main entrance area of the lodge (aka right by the building).

2) Does the WL have a food court? We will probably not eat but a few meals there but I sometimes like to pick up a quick breakfast and take it back to the room before heading to the parks. Is this easy to do?

This has been answered, but Roaring Forks is a nice, convenient place. Not big, but there are some tables and the food was good. We usually brought our food back to our room since we were on that side of the building anyway. You could also always get food to go and sit outside at the pool or on the beach and chow down. I might do that myself next time.

3) If I book a standard view room, will I be very far away from the restaurants/store/main pool, etc.?

If I have my facts correct, WL is one of the resorts where you're more likely to get a free upgrade from a standard room. Now there's obviously no guarantees, but there is a chance. We booked a standard and wound up with a pool view where we could also see the edge of the courtyard (we didn't ask for an upgrade, nor were we told we received one; we went to our room and found that out ). We could see most of the Electrical Water parade as well from our balcony. I believe most of the actual standard rooms are either the lobby or by a kind of service area as it was described to me. The Lodge is large, but even though we were in one of the farthest rooms from the front door, it was only maybe a five minute walk from our car in the parking lot to our room.

4) How many pools does the WL have?
Already answered by others, so no need to repeat.

5) Other than the marina, what other activities are there?
Flag family as mentioned, Lodge tours, Electrical Water parade most nights, Fort Wilderness activities, Whispering Canyon Cafe is an activity in itself sometimes, or so I've heard. Even if your room doesn't have a fireworks-ready view, if you're on the left side of the Lodge (the side Roaring Forks is on), you can just go in the hall and look out the window and see the fireworks fairly clearly, at least from the 5th floor anyway.

I have some pictures of WL on my computer. I need to upload them to a hosting site and then I'll post them here for you. I know $1,000 is a lot of money, but to me it's worth it. It may not be to you though, it's hard to say. Check out All Ears and search here for threads on WL is the best advice I can give you. Read as much as you can and look at as many pictures as you can and then go from there. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong. I'll post my pictures later today, hopefully.

 

[drogerstn]

We stayed at WL when we were able to get a really good rate and it cost us "slightly" more than staying at a moderate. We had read so many good things about it and thought it was worth giving it a shot. Our past visits have included stays at CBR, POR, and 2-rooms at AS-Music. We have several stays at POR.

I prefer CBR and POR over WL even for the same money. We have always had a car, so buses haven't been too much of an issue. We like the trail at WL and the boat to MK and FW and the beach area is okay. We used the quiet pool and the main pool at WL and they aren't any better than the pools at POR or CBR.

You can visit WL and eat dinner there and check out the lobby and stay at CBR. There are many things you can do with the $1000 savings including putting it towards another vacation or doing some extra activites while at WDW.

 

[dizkidz2]

We just stayed at the CBR May27th - 31st, then switched over to WL for the 31st - 4th of June.
It was our 1st stay at CBR, (we have been to WDW over 20 times) and even though we liked it, there was a big difference when we switched to the WL.
One of the biggest differences was the comfort and quietness of the rooms.
The transportation we found to be better then the CBR and less crowded. The pools were crowded at times but not unbearable. The Roaring Fork was small, but they also have outdoor tables as an overflow. There were more then enough food selections. We also ate at the Whispering Canyon, which was quite entertaining.
We would spend the extra money to stay at the WL. We have a DD 17 & DS 15 and with the extra room and bigger beds, it makes for a more relaxing stay.
If you are unsure about a resort, do a split stay. You cut the $1000 in half and try something new. It really isn't difficult to do if you plan.

 

[drogerstn]

One of the biggest differences was the comfort and quietness of the rooms.

Which was quieter, CBR or WL? WL was much louder for us; there was always a lot of noise in the hallway where we were located. At CBR, we didn't get much traffic past our room.

A split stay is a good idea.

 

[dizkidz2]

The WL was quieter for us. We were in a standard wood view, room 4118. It was sort of at the end of a hall, so we really didn't hear a thing, (except for 1 morning when these little kids were running ahead of there parents and kept shouting back to them ) Our view off the balcony was of the pines and villas.
At the CBR we were in Aruba 52, 2nd floor. There were people next to us constantly sitting ouside their room and in between door ways drinking and smoking. (& putting their smokes out in the wall. ) We didn't say anything because we knew we were moving.
We have done splits stays several times, with the moderate 1st then move to the deluxe. We pack half of the suitcases for the 1st part of our stay and the other for the last.

 

[cjsmom5]

We just switched our ressie from the YC to the WL. We saved $1000 in doing that for our upcoming Sept. vacation as we got an AP rate at the WL. We could have saved more but the woods view was not available so we got courtyard with bunkbeds. We were just in that type of room in March and enjoyed it. At that time we stayed at the POFQ one night, went to Vero Beach and then came back to the WL. There were three families. All three families agreed that the WL was a much better deal for us over the POFQ (we've stayed at the FQ over 10 times in previous years).

If we had to decide between a moderate and the WL we would choose the WL. As our DS grows the queen beds are much more comfortable for us and he really enjoys the bunkbeds. The food court there is nice (as compared with the Marketplace at the BC) and we thought it fine (although smaller seating area) with several options available. We were originally concerned about bus transportation but never had an issue. We always got a seat (unlike at the moderates) and we were there during spring break.

It is has to answer if it is worth the extra $1000 for you. For us it would be worth it over a moderate. But, then again we were prepared to pay an additional $1000 more for YC/BC (which we have stayed at many times and enjoyed it very much). That said, we were having a harder time justifying the extra $1000 for BC (we have stayed at AKL before, too) over a property such as WL or AKL. The rooms are slightly bigger. YC/BC has stormalong bag but we are doing typhoon lagoon anyways. Location at YC is great but we also enjoyed the location of WL.

Good luck. I'm sure whatever you choose will be magical.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I appreciate all of the posts. If the Fairy Godmother were to wave her magic wand over me and give me a good discount at WL, I would jump at it. But, I just keeping going back to the fact that it would to cost over $1,000.00 to stay at the WL.

$1,000.00 is the spending money we took with us on our last trip! And I came back with $200.00 of that!

I also think that another reason I am hesitating is the fact that we live in a log home now and it is decorated in the Western/Old Time/Antique style. My husband and I own a cabinet/custom furniture shop and a lot of our furniture is handcrafted. I have wildlife paintings and woven rugs. So.....while our home is definitely not on the scale of the Wilderness Lodge, the theme is kind of the same.

The same thing goes for the Port Orleans resorts. While the resorts aren't rustic per se, the landscaping and restaurants will be like those here in Louisiana.

I guess I am just having a tough time letting go of the CBR and the money.

Decisions! Decisions! What to do?

 

[cjsmom5]

I can tell you that we lived in the Pacific NW for 16 years. When we were living there and coming to WDW we visited WL when it opened and thought .. this looks too much like home. It didn't appeal to us then. Now that we live in the Southwest we think the same thing about Coronado Springs and miraculously we enjoy the atmosphere and theme at WL. I think that from what you posted that WL might not be the best choice in terms of theme for the extra money. It is hard to know what to do but if you like the theme at CBR then I would go for it. We were making the same decision last week with BC/YC and WL. Now we are taking the money we save and going on another trip or not having to save any more money for our Sept trip since we have it from the reduced price. I think you have to be "sold" on the resort and what it offers differently in order to really justify the extra money. For us the queen bed and bunkbed do it for us but just two years ago my answer would have been different.

 

[scootch]

We are staying at the WL this year for the first time... but my experience with any of the deluxes.... there is such a different feel seeing MK whenever you look out. You feel like you are in disney.... whereas when we stayed at FQ, althought it was nice, I didn't not feel like we were in disney. I thought of going moderate this year as I spent so much last year making the trip memorable for my niece who had cancer..... but after thinking it over for months, I realized what i didn't like about the moderates was feeling like I was just at a hotel... the deluxes.. make you feel like you are at disney(not sure if that makes sense or not). To me, the extra 1,000 is worth it!