Reviews of Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/16/2023
Rating: (1) Recommended
Beautiful grounds and lobby etc. Have stayed at all resorts over the 20 years being a DVC owner. Last week had our credit card compromised at the front desk Wilderness Lodge. Our credit card company confirmed it happened on property. With in hours thousands of dollars charged. This is the third time this has happened at the Wilderness Lodge. No other resort. After struggling to get a manager, one finally came to our room and explain nothing they could do other than have us go to the orange county Police Department. My wife is trying hours and hours over the last couple days to get a hold of someone. She has been disconnected, put on hold no resolution.. Impossible to get a hold of anyone that can help. Very frustrating. Our adult son is planning on staying there next month and my wife and I have a return visit to Grand Floridian in March. Not sure we will keep it. Not so magical anymore
Pros:
Beautiful resort. Rooms are being updated. Close to parks. Beautiful setting.Cons:
Can’t speak to a manager if there is a problem. Try calling the resort. Good luck. Better chance of reaching the White House. Promised a call back several times. No call back.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 derf92 Review Date: 11/18/2015
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
My fifth visit and first time at a deluxe hotel - very disappointed. bus transportation was terrible - boat transportation was great but it only goes to magic kingdom. housekeeping was awful. my sister had a woods view - housekeeping left her patio door open and when we got home later that night her room was filled with bugs and mosquitoes. quick service restaurant did not ofer many options and they were the same all week. It's an okay place if you are planning a short trip only to magic kingdom and epcot. I was excited to stay there but if given the choice between Wilderness and a moderate, I will take the moderate.
Pros:
close to magic kingdomCons:
bus transportation terribleReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 03/27/2021
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
Not sure why this resort would be named a couples or girls weekend away. Tons of screaming kids everywhere. Restaurants are below par and rooms are bare and have no character, same with restaurants and entrance/ etc etc
Pros:
Close to Magic Kingdom. Good if you have small childten and want them running around with other kids.Cons:
Noisy, bare, without much character, below par restaurants. Would chose this as an absolute last option.Reviewed by PoorNanaPoorFather Review Date: 02/10/2021
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
This resort is absolutely beautiful, but that's about it for me. The laundry facility is poorly located and you have to walk through the main lobby with your dirty laundry. The quick service is just so-so. Also, they lost one of our suitcases, and on our last day as we were leaving I happened to see it over in a large holding area. The location is not great, especially for a Deluxe Resort. Busses are long, and the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom is long and slow. I now stay somewhere else when I visit WDW, but stop over here for dining on a resort tour day.
Pros:
Atmosphere and food. Restaurants have great food. Nice poolside bar. Great character meal with Snow White, the Evil Queen, and the Dwarves.Cons:
Location.Reviewed by Cheesetony Review Date: 11/21/2016
Rating: (7) Recommended
The Wilderness Lodge has been on my bucket list for a long time, so perhaps my lower rating should be taken with a grain of salt. I'd built up expectations for years. The resort is beautiful. The theme is great, and you really feel like you're in the Pacific Northwest from the moment you enter the lobby. We especially loved the pool, and the splash area was perfect for my 3 yr old DD and 8 month old DS.
Unfortunately, I was really surprised by how thin the walls were, especially for a deluxe resort. Our neighbors were night owls, and they woke us up every night when they returned from the parks and the cranky kids argued about going to bed. One morning, I had to call down to the desk because we could hear their alarm going off for about 15 minutes.
I loved having the option of taking a boat to the Magic Kingdom, which we did several times. They also had boats to Ft. Wilderness and The Contemporary. We took advantage of this one night to eat dinner at Chef Mickey's.
If we decide to stay at a Deluxe Resort again, I will probably save a little longer and try to choose something on the monorail loop.
Pros:
Location, Transportation, BeautifulCons:
Construction, Thin wallsReviewed by brian222202 Review Date: 08/12/2015
Rating: (7) Recommended
Second stay at Wilderness Lodge. We had a great room (5167 if anyone wants a primo view of Bay Lake). But with WL rooms, expect significant noise from pool, boats traffic, movies on beach, and water pageant. Rooms were adequate but sparsely decorated. And furniture looked worn and old. WL rooms surely need an upgrade, and quick. AND, most disturbing, was lack of adequate charging stations for electronics and phones. Most hotels now have as standard charging stations on desks for multiple electronic devices.
Check-in/out and concierge staff was efficient and friendly, bag handlers at beginning and end were talkative, attentive and friendly.
Pool was nice, and well-staffed by lifeguards.
Whispering Canyon this trip was good, not great. No wait staff on our night seemed really into it, not just ours, just seemed a rather dead night. Roaring Forks is adequate, but nothing to rave about, in the least.
Boats were a hidden joy, riding the boats back from MK at night while watching WISHES may have been the highlight of our trip. Buses on other hand were sporadic and often crowded, and I cannot believe the amounts you pay for DELUXE RESORTS and you cannot get your own bus. Deluxe Resorts should not have to share buses in my opinion.
All in all, still a great resort, just nothing that stood out. There were no magical moments--for instance the one towel animal received was a simple one-rag mouse (adequate but not memorable)--although there were really good moments. This resort still is impressive, and I would even say worth the Deluxe prices, BUT there needs to be an upgrade in service to provide those magical DISNEY memories.
This seemed to be a theme throughout our vacation. Everything was very good, but nothing this time around that was truly magical--with exception of Yak & Yeti, San Angel Inn, and Rose & Crown. WDW was great, just needs that extra little bit that they are known for, it seemed missing this trip.
Pros:
Views, Friendly Staff, Trans. to MK & lake resorts, PoolCons:
Trans. to everywhere else, Roaring Forks,Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
we recently spent a week at Kidani.
Pros:
Loved seeing the animals from our balcony. Loved that we had a 1 bedroom and it had 2 full baths. Loved the décor and the atmosphere. Staff was friendly and helpfulCons:
we had a LONG walk to our room and it was only about half way to the end. Also it seemed the bus service was lacking-we had long waits many times for our bus.Reviewed by Joel0917 Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
My wife and I came here on our anniversary. We loved the northwest feel of this resort. The pool and geyser are awesome. there are some very good food choices here as well. We loved taking the boat to the magic kingdom. We were also fortunate to be here one day when a rocket launched and we saw it leave cape canaveral.
Pros:
The norhtwest feel of it. It really is unique.Cons:
a little isolated.Reviewed by tsteckert Review Date: 11/13/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
I've lost track of how many times we've stayed at Wilderness Lodge, but this was at least our seventh visit. While it suffers from not being on a monorail (I will say that bus service has improved immensely), we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. Our room has always been in excellent condition (note that refurbishment is going on as I write this), Artist Point is among my very favorite Disney restaurants, and even the Roaring Fork quick-service restaurant has scrumptious sweet rolls at breakfast. (Hey, I burn off calories at Disney World!)
However, during our past stay, management changed the opening time of Roaring Fork to 8:00. With parks opening no later than 9:00, and sometimes earlier, that just doesn't leave enough time to eat breakfast, take bus/boat/monorail transportation, and arrive in time for that early FastPass+ you requested months earlier. This shows a disregard for customer service that is rare for Disney, especially in a "deluxe" resort with a price tag to match, and seems to me to reflect a penny-pinching attitude. (Our room also didn't have a clock radio this time around. Coincidence?) Granted that half the resort was closed for renovations, but how much money does the late opening save at the cost of customer service? Compounding that, Whispering Canyon, the full-service family restaurant, opens at 7:30 but of course takes longer, and reservations appear to be limited.
Although seemingly a small thing, that late restaurant opening left a bad taste in my mouth, and next time we may check out other resort options.
Also, my wife, in particular, and I objected to the volume of a loudspeaker used for pool-area activities. This made it very difficult to take a nap, and parents with young children needing naps should take notice.
