Wilderness Lodge

[Mazzy]

Have you stayed at the Wilderness Lodge?

Please tell me what you thought of the hotel, transportation and particularly the rooms.

We visited the hotel in December last year, to do the sleigh ride, and thought it looked fantastic, but would like to hear from anyone who has stayed there before I book it for next August.

Thanks :D

[m84ourlife]

The rooms are only of a standard size, we had a room with a balcony with a view over the lake and the pool.The transportation is via ferry to the magic kingdom as its just across the lake.All in all we enjoyed our stay atmosphere was great, would stay again

[Mazzy]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay, how did you go on with the buses to the other parks, did you have long to wait?

[crux]

We like it so much, we own part of it by having DVC points at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge :D Wilderness Lodge is the best themed resort in my opinion - although the rooms are a little dark for some people as they have quite a lot of dark wood. The buses are similar to the other resorts - in theory the maximum wait is 20 minutes, but usually less. You can also use the monorail to EPCOT if you go to the TTC via Magic Kingdom. Depending on how busy it is, the buses can be shared with either the Grand Floridian or Fort Wilderness. There are also boats to the Magic Kingdom, Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary. Try the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Trails End Restaurant at Fort Wilderness, it the best value on-site buffet. Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge is also a great place to eat, plus Artist Point is a quieter (and more expensive) option.

Ian

[Sue]

WE LOVE IT!!!!

Every time we go back and plan to stay in WDW we look at other places but always go back to WL. The atmosphere is second to none - deluxe but relaxed. The restaurants are great, we even love Roaring Forks - the cafe. The pool area is great, the geysers lovely. The boat to MK is regular and a lovely way to arrive. We have never had a problem getting anywhere - no delays on the buses (heard before we went that it could be iffy from WL as it was out of the way, but honestly never found that).
The rooms are not huge but we were only there to change and sleep!
You can hire the little boats from the WL marina and go bombing about on Bay Lake and onto Seven Seas Lagoon, we even got up close and personal to the Grand Floridian:grin: The electrical pageant comes by at night.

Just do it Mazzy - PM me if you want any more raving lol:d:

[Mazzy]

Ian - you reminded me of those adverts on TV where the man says 'I liked it so much I bought the company' ! ;) Seriously though, you mentioned the rooms being dark, and that was a concern, but I think we can cope with that just for the great location. ;)

Sue - I guess you kinda like the Wilderness Lodge then? ;) Glad to hear another positive report. Thanks, I will remember you are Sue the Raver, for future reference! ;)

[Keyser Soze]

We were there during 1 of the hurricanes. It pruned a few of the trees and improved the view of the lake.

The rooms were comfortable, as were the beds. The lobby is visually stunning and the whole place has a far calmer atmosphere than the AKL.

The pool is ok, the hottub was popular but not my thang. The Boat trip to the MK can be pleasant providing its not to hot and overcrowded.

The Grounds are nice and thee are path ways to Fort Wilderness where there are lots of activities.

There are two resturants, Whispering Canyon which does western type food. Its a quiet relaxing intimate venue, ketchup is freely available, and there is good reception for mobile phones.

The other dining area is Artists Point which is a bit more formal and the food a bitmore upscale.

There is a standard food court area but it is quiet small and canbecome congested.

I think this is a fabulous resort and would go back any time.

[Sue]

There are two resturants, Whispering Canyon which does western type food. Its a quiet relaxing intimate venue, ketchup is freely available, and there is good reception for mobile phones.




:pgig: :pgig: :pgig: Keyser, you wanting to cause trouble lol?

[Mazzy]

LOL, yes I know about the KETCHUP!!!!!! ;)
Thanks for the great info Keyser, I think we will def have to visit this relaxing intimate restaurant when we go! ;)

[cityblueboy]

Another vote for WL, fantastic hotel in a great setting. The rooms can be a little dark but IMO thats part of the theming. It feels really relaxing and you feel miles from anywhere. Great facilities with the trails to Fort Wilderness, horse riding etc. A definite recomendation

[Andy]

Mazzy we too own DVC at WL and I would agree with all that has been said, also where else can you be so close to the Magic but feel like your miles away in the wliderness:cool2:

[Mazzy]

Thanks boys - we will certainly be ready for a relax after our California Tour, so it sounds the perfect place for us. :D

[ANGEL]

Just a slight note of caution from us then Im afriad Maz:)

We spent part of our honeymoon there (was it really 3 years ago!) and loved the hotel, our room was fab, overlooking the pool and across the bay. We did feel tho that the pool was always very crowded and is quite small for a big hotel, and we found the bus transport appalling (we had no car) to the parks, always having to wait a long time, esp to MGM, and you had to go via other hotels too which meant a much longer journey.

Now of course this may ahve changed since but just thought I'd add my 2 penny worth!:):)

[Sue]

Just a slight note of caution from us then Im afriad Maz:)

We spent part of our honeymoon there (was it really 3 years ago!) and loved the hotel, our room was fab, overlooking the pool and across the bay. We did feel tho that the pool was always very crowded and is quite small for a big hotel, and we found the bus transport appalling (we had no car) to the parks, always having to wait a long time, esp to MGM, and you had to go via other hotels too which meant a much longer journey.

Now of course this may ahve changed since but just thought I'd add my 2 penny worth!:):)

I'm amazed Angel, we were there in 1998 and 2000 and the transport was fab, maybe we just got lucky with timing our arrival at the bus stop. We also found that the WL bus often came in first at the park bus stops at the end of the days!
Maybe it's changed since we were there, but we never did a bus journey via another hotel??????

[Mazzy]

Thanks Angel, I do remember reading in the past about the Wilderness Lodge transportation not being that reliable, but hopefully that has changed for the better. Thanks again. :D

[ollie]

Hi, we are planning 10 days at WL Villas with the vacation club for next May. Can't wait!!:cool2:
We don't bother with a hire car, so will rely on Disney transport as usual. (never had a problem in 7 visits) Enjoy your stay at Wilderness Lodge

Ian :wave:

[Mazzy]

Thanks Ian! :D

[jds]

We stayed in 2004 and going back in October. Loved it!!!:thumbs-up

[TandCmum]

Wilderness odge is undergoing refurbishemnet at the moment and the new refurbed rooms look amazing, with flat screen tv's and carved headboards

[Orlandobelle]

We stayed there in 2004 - just one night for MVMCP. I loved it and would like to go back again. We booked a standard view & ended up in a room overlooking the VWL & quiet pool.
The boat to MK is lovely - we went via there to GF for Alice's Tea Party.

Off to find some pics for you :D

[Mazzy]

Thanks everyone, great to see more good reports. We are actually debating now whether to go to Wilderness Lodge or our old favourite, the Dolphin - just finding it hard to make up our minds!

[TinkTatoo]

We are staying at the VWL at end of our Christmas trip and I can't wait. I'd say go for it Mazzy as it will make a change from the Dolphin

[Mazzy]

Thanks Tink, it's just we will be going in August and it will be VERY hot, and the Dolphin pool has a great waterfall which you can sit behind, which is brilliant for me, as I am not good in the hot sun. :rolleyes:

[Sue]

Thanks Tink, it's just we will be going in August and it will be VERY hot, and the Dolphin pool has a great waterfall which you can sit behind, which is brilliant for me, as I am not good in the hot sun. :rolleyes:

Useless excuse Mazzy
WL has a great pool with a massive waterfall above it and slides into the pool that adults can use:thumbs-up

[Mazzy]

LOL Sue -are you sure you are not on commission? ;)

[princess_anita]

I am in love with the WL.

We first stayed in it last march and ever since we have stayed there. The staff are soooooo friendly, the theming is the best, it has one of the best resturants at WDW, transport is fine, the rooms are a good size with again great theming.

[Sue]

LOL Sue -are you sure you are not on commission? ;)

It's the theming Mazzy, I'm a country bumpkin at heart:blush:

[Mazzy]

princess anita - thanks, glad you like the resort! :D

LOL Sue - I wonder how the rooms compare in size to the Dolphin rooms? I had heard that the rooms are a bit on the small side? Also heard reports on the transportation being a bit iffy too, and how it takes ages for the boat to get over to MK. I've read lots of good reviews too, but those two factors are what are swaying me over to the Dolphin.

[Sue]

princess anita - thanks, glad you like the resort! :D

LOL Sue - I wonder how the rooms compare in size to the Dolphin rooms? I had heard that the rooms are a bit on the small side? Also heard reports on the transportation being a bit iffy too, and how it takes ages for the boat to get over to MK. I've read lots of good reviews too, but those two factors are what are swaying me over to the Dolphin.

Never stayed at the Dolphin Mazzy so cannot compare. The rooms at WL were fine for us, much bigger than Coronado Springs (don't get me started:mad2:) And can only say we have absolutely no problems at all with transportation and the boat to MK, maybe we just got lucky and it will be different at Xmas:confused2

[Mazzy]

LOL, oh what's wrong with Coronado Springs, we've never stayed there, it's a conference resort as well isn't it? Hope you didn't just get lucky and have a fab stay at Christmas - we visited it last Xmas, the tree is fantastic! Are you going to book the sleigh ride, we did this - it was very nice! :thumb:

Royal Pacific was great at Christmas too, they had cookie decorating in the lobby which even my two teenagers had good fun with. If you are going to see the Macy's Parade, make sure you stand where the parade ends - outside Macy's - as they have a countdown to light the tree, and then it snows, it was VERY christmassy! Oooh I'm wishing we were going at Xmas again this year! ;)