WL and Food & Wine Festival

[Marthasor]

HI! I really want to go to the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT next year and thought, at first, that it would be best to stay at an EPCOT resort so we could walk back and forth easily. I have heard great things about all of the EPCOT resorts, but none of the theming really appeals to me. I've always wanted to stay at WL, but have heard of some transport problems. Would it be absolutely nuts of me to book WL when we plan to mostly go to Food & Wine and DTD? Thanks!

 

[FSUGrad97]

We stayed at the WL last week, and when we went to Epcot we had to take the ferry over to MK, then get on the monorail. I could be wrong, but I think we had to transfer to the Epcot monorail at the Tickets and Travel Center. This might be a pain to do if you aren't going to MK. You could also take the bus, but we never did, so I don't much about it.

I will say the theming of the WL is fabulous, and I love this resort.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

There is a bus direct from WL to Epcot.

 

[Marthasor]

I'm thinking it might be worth a try! How long did the bus take?

 

[Minerva]

The bus to Epcot isn't a long trip but I would do as FSUGrad suggested and take the boat to MK then the monorail to the TTC and get the Epcot monorail, the reverse for the trip home, whenever possible. I timed the trip doing it that way and it was only a half hour from getting on the monorail at Epcot to getting off the boat at the WL dock. My one and only complaint about the WL is the bus to/from Epcot. We were there last week also and it even being a very slow time of year the Epcot busses were very full and didn't seem to run as often as the other busses.

 

[Collette]

I always think that using Disney's transportation is part of the adventure. So unless I need to be somewhere at a designated time, I usually don't pay much attention to how long it takes to get anywhere.

We have stayed at Wilderness Lodge twice - an October trip and an after New Year's trip. We usually took the bus to Epcot, but one time we rode the smaller boat to Contemporary, monorailed to the TTC and switched to the Epcot monorail because I just love arriving on the monorail and circling World Showcase before we stop!

I don't think it's nuts at all to stay at Wilderness Lodge even if you are focusing on Epcot and DD. WL is a wonderfully, peaceful place to come "home" to each day. Last week, I stayed at Pop Century with friends and we visited WL for a gathering. While I love PC in its own way, being back at WL just felt so right.

What a great trip!! I loved the Food and Wine Festival, too.

Enjoy!!!

Collette

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Well, I just LOVE the WL! I do believe it has the best theming on property. If your heart is set on staying there, by all means, do so! I am like Collette...I just accept that "however long it takes" to get somewhere is, well, however long it takes!

That said, I was blown away by my first stay at the Boardwalk. We rented points and stayed in a studio...if you are going for any weeknights, you should look into renting points. It is such a bargain. Weekends are much more expensive, so it is not really worth renting points. If you are going for more than just a few days, you could do a split stay and stay at BWV during the week, then switch to WL for the weekend.

We went to the F&W Fest in Oct and we loved BWV's close proximity to Epcot. We are already planning our trip next Oct, and we are trying to replicate our exact trip.