Wilderness Lodge

[blondemom]

Hi, all. I'm new to this board, and I really love the valuable information and input you provide to each other. My dilemma is this: My family has always stayed at the Polynesian up until this point. For our next trip, we would like to do something a bit different (and a bit less expensive). We asked our six-year old son to pick a resort, and he chose the Wilderness Lodge due to its resemblance to Lincoln Logs! I have eaten at the Lodge once, and I, too, was charmed by it. It has a warm, cozy feeling that is infectious. For those of you who have stayed there, what are your feelings about it? I know the room size is smaller than the Polynesian, and that's okay. We more or less just sleep in the room anyway. Also, how is the transportation? Can you take the water transportation to the Contemporary? What about the pool? It looks fabulous from the pictures. I'd love any hints, suggestions, comments that you'd be willing to share. As much as I love the Polynesian, I didn't feel we got our money's worth. It doesn't seem as "kid-friendly" as some others, and we never took advantage of the perks it had to offer.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

 

[TooBoyz4us]

Hi there BlondeMom

I have not stayed at WL yet, but I will be there soon! I have already learned so much regarding the resort from these boards.
You may wish to check out The Wilderness Lodge FAQ thread .
It is full of tons of info regarding WL, and is monitored by many WL vets !
The first few pages have alot of basic information, and if you don't see what you need there, skip to the end to ask your questions.

I can tell you that yes there is water transportation to the CR. It is the small blue flag boat, and its hours are 7am-10pm.

There is also a direct bus to the TTC (a 5 min ride), from which you can board any monorail.

Hope that helps you!!

And BTW--- Welcome to the DIS Boards !!

 

[ead79]

blondemom, from what you have said, it sounds like your family will really enjoy the Wilderness Lodge. I have stayed there once, and my parents just stayed there after my wedding last December. It has tons of ambience, and it's very convenient to the Magic Kingdom. Plus, the restaurants are good. The rooms are a good bit smaller than the Polynesian, but it doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you. You could always request bunk beds if that would thrill your DS.

 

[Kimberle]

Welcome to the DIS!

You're in for a treat! WL is such a wonderful resort. We loved our stay last Sept.

Yes, the rooms are smaller, but they are set up nicely. You might ask for a room with bunkbeds as a treat for your ds. Each room has a private balcony (patio on 2nd floor). Rooms come in 3 "flavors", standard (overlook parking lot, lobby), woods (some rooms can see the castle) and courtyard (ask for a inner which views the main pool area. Some rooms overlook the villa & quiet pool, which is a lovely view, just not worth the crtyd price, imo). This is the smallest deluxe, under 1 roof, and nothing is more than a few minutes walk.

The pool area's are fun. The slide is a lot faster than it looks! The quiet pool by the villa's was never busy during our stay. There are 3 hot tubs too.

2 different boat's. The larger goes WL/FW/MK (any order) and runs abt every 20 minutes. The smaller one goes WL/CR/FW (and order) and also runs about every 20 minutes. It is so easy to hop over to the resturants at CR and FW. The ride to MK is abt 10-15 minutes and totally "cool" according to my dd.

The buses elsewhere were great during our stay. We rarely waited more than 5-10 minutes.

You can rent all kinds of bikes and there is a paved path over to FW (not lite, abt 1 mile).

Have a great stay! I have pictures below if you'd like to look.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Welcome to the DIS!

You have received great advice/insights already.

Kimberle's pictures are great...make sure you check them out!

Enjoy!

 

[blondemom]

Thanks, everyone! Kimberle, your pictures are awesome. Thanks for sharing. Also, your little girl is just beautiful.

 

[Winnie Pooh Fan]

I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever of recommending the WL!! We stayed there this past July and loved very second of our time there.

I still get a touch teary-eyed when I think of the gentleman at the guardstation saying "Welcome Home" each time. This is not just a catchy saying for this resort, they absolutely mean it.

While many have noted the rooms are on the small side for a deluxe and will definitely be smaller than the Poly we had 2 adults and 1 child in the room for 6 nights and never felt cramped. The separation of the bathroom area and a large closet helps considerably.

We had booked a woods view and received a 2 magical upgrades at check in to an inner courtyard view and had the absolute luck of being part of the bear's head.

Have no reservations about chosing WL, I'd go back in a heart beat given the opportunity!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Originally posted by blondemom
It has a warm, cozy feeling that is infectious. For those of you who have stayed there, what are your feelings about it?

We more or less just sleep in the room anyway.

I'd love any hints, suggestions, comments that you'd be willing to share. As much as I love the Polynesian, I didn't feel we got our money's worth. It doesn't seem as "kid-friendly" as some others, and we never took advantage of the perks it had to offer.

blondemom, WELCOME to the DIS

Well most of your questions have been answered, So I will tell you that for years I only stayed at the Poly...then I saw them building Wilderness Lodge so I thought I would give it a try...Made reservations for a stay when the Lodge opened 1994...we all loved it so much...but I missed the Poly so I tried the Poly again, but it no longer had the Magic for me. I will never say anything bad about the Poly because it was my first love...But the Wilderness Lodge feels like coming home when I walk through the front doors it just takes my breath away...When the Villas were built I purchased through DVC and now it realy is my Home-Away-From-Home.

As far as saying you just sleep in the room anyway...Well that's what we use to do. Now there are way to many fun activities to join in and do to just be in the room...my nephews and nieces if asked..."What do you want to do next? (while we are at the parks) they always say..."let's go back to the Lodge." We had to stop asking. If you check out the The New (Part 4) WL FAQ Thread... that TooBoyz4us told you of...I have a post on page one that will list a few of the activities and very "kid-friendly" games and options to do while staying at Wilderness Lodge. Remember you will only be a few minutes from all the additional activities over at Ft. Wilderness Campground

Hope you have a Magical Trip wherever you stay.