Reviews of Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by dandnmom Review Date: 02/11/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
After trying Value & Moderate Resorts on prior vacations, booked a room at the Wilderness Lodge. The greeting was wonderful - didn't even have to check in- the package was brought to us and we were oriented to the Lodge. WOW - what incredibly beautiful surroundings. No theming detail was missed.
Paid extra for a Courtyard View - this was a waste of money! Was on the second floor - only saw trees off the balcony w/ a glimpse of the pool & nothing of the geyser or lake. Food in quick-service was very good but the actual serving area was much too small for a resort of this size. Food service staff was best we've ever met.
On second to last day, my son (who has Asperberger's type problems) had a meltdown which involves crazy levels of crying - the Manager saw this and interferred - said he couldn't have any situations where children were obviously upset by their Parents. Tried to explain son's needs and interventions - he didn't listen. He threatened to call Authorities if we didn't follow his advice and separate our son from the rest of the family for the night - ruined everything!!
Next time - will do Moderate or Value where we can spread out and have more privacy - if our son gets overwhelmed and starts to have a meltdown, will be able to just walk him around the resort which is all he needs to calm back down!!
Pros:
beautiful surroundingsCons:
manager interefered; upgraded room not worth $$Reviewed by Gadawggirl Review Date: 02/17/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Our first time at the Lodge and it's soooo nice! I hope to be able to stay there again. We have stayed in the value and the moderate resorts and this place blows them out of the water! Quite and relaxing place. Only disappointment was that the 6th floor balcony is a wall and not a rail so you have to stand up to see the view. We had a courtyard view.
We took our bikes this year and was able to ride them to Ft. Wilderness Campground where we ate breakfast one morning.(de-lish) We rode about 10 miles just looking around the campground.
You can see the light parade from the beach at night.
Buses were good and I enjoyed that you can take the boat to Magic Kingdom.
Roaring Fork was a great place to grab a quick bite.
Pros:
Room, decorations, lots to do.Cons:
6th floor balcony, boat hornReviewed by Cameragrl Review Date: 04/27/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed here 4/17-4/22 and our stay was amazing! I was a little nervous when we checked in at 1 am. The girl working the front desk was not overly helpful and didn't seem too happy to be there, but then again it was 1 am.
The room was clean and really quiet. In fact, the room was so quiet that we kept our balcony door open so that we could sleep. We had a room on the 6th floor over looking the courtyard. It was so nice to sit on the balcony and over look the courtyard.
We were traveling with my 13 month niece and never once worried about her being too loud or allowing her to run in the lobby. She is not in any way unruly, but she is a 13 month old that had spent a lot of time in the stroller. She loved the lobby and being able to go out on the balcony. In the other deluxe resorts we would have been nervous to let her run around, but here we felt at home while keep that deluxe resort feel.
The last day of our trip we went to DTD and came back with a very sleepy child. The front desk offered us a key to a room so that we could let her take a nap before our flight home. That was going above and beyond! Would highly recommend the Wilderness Lodge!
Pros:
Beautiful, amazing staffCons:
—Reviewed by fcoffey Review Date: 06/02/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our first time at WL. We LOVED IT. Stayed April 2013. Super friendly staff. Super Clean room-- Fridge was great. Used coffee maker to heat water for grits in the morning. We stayed on 6th Floor --room 6006-6008. Easy access to Boat from this side of resort. Will definitely stay here again!!
Pros:
Wonderful decor, Super clean room, Boat rideCons:
Bit of a walkReviewed by ginny3 Review Date: 07/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I adore staying at the Wilderness Lodge, as do my grandchildren and other family member's that have stayed here because of my recommendation.
Truly a magical experience. The Cast Members are wonderful, the service exemplary and the ambiance impeccable.
Pros:
Complete PackageCons:
noneReviewed by Hamill04 Review Date: 09/23/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed here for the first time September 15th-20th. The resort itself is beautiful-everything is clean, plenty of lifeguards, pool activities, dining options. Our housekeeper did an amazing job keeping everything stocked. The boat to the Magic Kingdom takes about 5 minutes to get there and is a beautiful ride. We previously stayed at Pop Century and it seems that except for the buses, you really get what you pay for. Pop was literally a motel with bus service- food court was a mess, we constantly had to call for more towels/shampoo, no activities that I saw. Buses, however- I'm all for saving money where you can but I think a Deluxe resort should have Deluxe bus service. We never really had to wait for a bus(maybe 5-10 minutes tops) but the bus makes multiple stops before you reach your destination. Our trip to Animal Kingdom took 40 minutes!!! We had to stop at either the Floridian or the Campgrounds, then the water park and then on to the Kingdom. I might be a little biased because I have horrible car anxiety but if you can get a direct bus at a Value, you should be able to have it at a Deluxe.
Pros:
Beautiful ResortCons:
Bus routesReviewed by Drakegirl Review Date: 09/29/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Stayed at the lodge from 9/20 to 9/25 for the first time. My husband and I loved it! Short bus trips to all parks and downtown Disney. Beautiful room and great view of the woods. Whispering canyon café was great for breakfast. Roaring forks was a little small and cramped when it was a prime time for meals. We are already planning next years trip to this amazing resort.
Pros:
Central locationCons:
roaring forks smallReviewed by DisneyJunkie Review Date: 11/01/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
If unable to stay at a monorail resort in the MK area, the Wilderness Lodge is a fantastic alternative. Wonderfully themed and nestled away in its own little nook of the property, the WL is truly an impressive resort. It's close enough, yet far away enough to be in the Magic Kingdom area and feel like its own secluded resort. Rooms are spacious, restaurants are enjoyable, and the lobby is something special.
Pros:
Cheapest deluxe resort. Great location. Terrific eating places. Great overall theme.Cons:
No monorail. Too much wait for bus transportation.Reviewed by Disneyhenry Review Date: 12/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our stay was 12/2/13 - 12/10/13
We had party of 15 with 4 rooms, 10 adults, 1 13 year old, 1 6 year old, 2 4 year olds and an 20 month old. 3 rooms with courtyard views and bunk beds, 1 with a woods view and 2 queen beds.
We did an online check in, we checked in at 7:30 AM, we knew our rooms would not be ready, we just wanted to start going to the parks. The lobby was just amazingly beautiful!!! Of course I asked if any rooms had a view of the Castle in the MK, she told me no, the trees have taken over. Check in was timely manner and staff very happy, friendly.
We all received a text about 2PM telling us our room numbers. We had 6051, 6049, 6045 and the wood views had 6034. All the rooms have a nice view, but room 6034 had an amazing view of the Castle!!!
I did go down to chat with the front desk staff when it was quiet for them, they told me what rooms had a view of the castle for future reference.
All the staff at WL was just so happy, fun and friendly. Our rooms were very clean and the style was up to date.
The boat to MK was perfect, we all loved the pool (it was around 85 for most of our stay), the walk from the parking lot was not to long (we had rented a 15 passenger van), my sisters and adult kids used the buses and said they were fine, I never used the bus system.
We loved Whispering Canyon, Roaring Forks had great food but was way to small. Christmas decor was just perfect
We will stay here again for sure! All of us want to, it was a perfect stay
Pros:
Theming, Great Location when you have little ones, Happy & Friendly Staff, Great FoodCons:
Roaring Forks to small, no monorailReviewed by Irishrabbit Review Date: 01/04/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Hubby & I stayed at the WL 12/13-12/20. We'd stayed here years ago, but this trip was my 50th Birthday trip from hubby.
We used the Magical Express from the airport, and were greeted by a cast member as soon as we got off the bus. Check in was fairly quick. There were magic bands waiting for us even though we didn't opt to take them. We're old fashioned when it comes to those, would much rather have the card. We opted for a "woods view" room, and were assigned a room on the 6th floor overlooking a few trees, but with major views of the parking lot & bus loading area. The room was very old looking, and not what I was expecting for this special trip. We called the front desk, and were told there wasn't much available that night, but they would have the manager call us. The front end manager (Jackson?) called us & asked if we could stay in this room that night, and the next day he could get us into a room "more appropriate for a birthday celebration". The next morning we had bell services bring our luggage downstairs to be stored, and our important stuff was locked in a safe by the front desk. Because we had breakfast reservations at the Kona Café and things were taking longer than expected, the cast member had a taxi take us over to the Poly on them so we could make our reservation. We got back to the resort around 4, and went to the front desk to get our new room keys. We were assigned room #4169, which turned out to be a concierge suite overlooking Bay Lake! Needless to say, this room was incredible, amazing views, totally worthy of a 50th Birthday trip! This room seemed to have been updated, and was very comfortable. Our Mousekeeper Qun kept our room spotless, and made us little animals out of small towels to go along with the stuffed characters we had purchased!
The dining options at WL are very good, having both a quick service, casual and fine dining spot.
The lobby was decorated beautifully for Christmas too. WL has a nice shop, much larger than I remembered, with a nice selection of merchandise, including resort themed items.
The bus service at WL seemed to be a bit better than last year when we stayed at POFQ. We did wait about 30 minutes for buses, and twice waited 40 minutes on nights we needed to make connections to get to dinner reservations. The boat from WL to MK & Contemporary was very pleasant. I do recommend this beautiful resort, it made for an incredible birthday present for me, but it is a bit pricey.
