The Wilderness Lodge

[echoscot]

Although not on the Monorail loop, this is one of the Magic Kingdom Resorts at Walt Disney World and one of my favorites. It has room rates that start as low as $215 per night in the off season and go as high as the Presidential Suite during peak holidays of $1290 per night.

As a WDW Cast Member on several occasions I took advantage of discounts to treat my parents to Anniversary stays and this was the favorite of the hotels they stayed in. It is designed similar to lodges in the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone, complete with a geyeser in the courtyard that goes off on a regular schedule. It is set back from the road in the wooded areas off the main Monorail Loop.

It has great bus service to all points of the property.

But the real treat is the breakfast buffet at Whispering Canyon Cafe. This was my favorite thing about the place. Breakfast is my favorite meal and at Whispering Canyon they DO IT RIGHT !!!!!

There is also the Artist Point for more luxurious dining and a counter service cafe called the Roaring Forke. Both of these restaurants are wonderful.

I can't say enough about The Wilderness Lodge. If you get the chance you will really enjoy your stay there. It can be a bit tricky to see Wishes from there, but a quick trip to the Contemporary which isn't far away, will fix that by going to the roof of the hotel and watching.

Our whole family loved the Wilderness Lodge and you will too if you get to stay there (I know I sound like a PR guy) but I am being honest, you will love this hotel. It is Disney Resort stuff at its best.

I don't have a good pic, but maybe a mod or somone can put one up!

Here is the link on the official site to get more info

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/resortLanding?id=WildernessLodgeResortLa ndingPage

[LoehnWolf]

This place is awesome!! Its so beautifully built and well designed, with the attention to detail very high. From the guyser at the landing to the winding brook that travels thru the lobby to the carvings this resort hits you with beauty and detail as soon as you check-in. The arcade and shops are somewhat standard fair, but with the headpices and clothing worn by Native Americans it wasnt just another standard Disney resort. They took their time and did this one right. Not to mention some of the finest dining around with Artist Point being my go to every place..Everytime I go to WDW whether I stay at WL or not I make sure I get a PS for Artist Point. The service, the ambiance and the food are all just great. Highly highly recommended!!!

[BGW4SC]

I've made seven trips from Southern California to Walt Disney World in the last twenty years. My first two trips were spent at the Grand Floridian with the next two at the Polynesian Resort. Trip number five was spent at the Wilderness Lodge shortly after it opened just to try it out. In my book there was no comparison and I have returned to the Wilderness Lodge twice since my first stay there.

In my opinion the Wilderness Lodge does the best job of making you feel like you are on vacation. When you first enter the lobby your eyes are immediately pulled up, following the columns of totem poles that support the roof. Whether it was intentional or not the scale of the lobby and all of it's detail truly reminds me of my first visits to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon because you need a few moments to take it all in. Every travel book and website will point out that the Wilderness Lodge was fashioned after the great hotels of the national park system like the Awahnee in Yosemite and the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and Disney did a great job of capturing that magic.

The standard rooms at the Wilderness Lodge are small but well appointed. The size of the room shouldn't be an issue for most people visiting Walt Disney World though because most of your time should be spent outside enjoying the magic that surrounds you. A neat feature that I took advantage of was that some rooms have bunk beds in place of a second queen bed. Even if you are traveling with two people a bunk bed room can get you a little more space and storage if you use it creatively.

The Wilderness Lodge has the three restaurant offerings. Artist Point is the Wilderness Lodge's signature dining experience. The menu is based on food and wines from the Pacific Northwest. Their version of surf and turf -which is not on the menu but something you can request- is cedar plank salmon and buffalo tenderloin. This will be some of the best salmon you will ever eat and if you haven't tried buffalo be prepared for a tender cut of beefy that isn't at all gamey.

The Wispering Canyon Cafe is the hotel coffee shop and is open for breakfast lunch and dinner. The food is marginal but the real treat is the "show" put on by the cast members. The service is loud, obnoxious and hilarious. You need to keep your head on a swivel so you don't miss the fun being had all around you. And beware of the consequences if you ask for ketchup.

Roaring Forks is the food court option at the Wilderness Lodge. It's open as early as 6:00AM and doesn't close until as late as midnight. The food is good and actually not a bad value based on quality and portion size. If you are considering a Disney Dining Plan, several of the items served at Roaring Forks qualify as a snack option which means you can use your two snacks a day to fuel up with real breakfast food and then use your extra meal for a signature dining experience. Roaring Forks is also the place to go for your free resort mug refills.

There is a full range of activities at your disposal at the Wilderness Lodge. There is a great pool with a slide, boating, fishing, bike rentals, etc. The gift shop has everything you could desire from clothing to snacks and sundries to film developing.

The only real downside to the Wilderness Lodge compared to some of the other hotels is the transportaion. Don't get me wrong, the transportation is very good and you can get to the Magic Kingdom by boat or bus. However, if you have stayed at one of the monorail resorts you can't help but miss the convenience of that option.

[disneyfan365]

This hotel is so worth it.Its true there is no monorail loop but it does have a farry boat that takes you to the magic kingdom and Fort Wilderness Campground!

[wsu97rx]

My wife and I have been to disneyworld twice, the first on our honeymoon at the wilderness lodge, the second to the animal kingdom lodge 10 years later with our kids. We were bummed at how long the bus ride was to anywhere from animal kingdom. Don't get me wrong animal kingdom resort was really nice. Wilderness Lodge though was nicer. Easy access to the park by ferry. can go next door to Polynesian to catch the monorail. Quicker trips to epcot, pleasure island and the likes. We really enjoyed our experience at the wilderness lodge and after 11 years of marriage we are only going to stay there from now on. The hootenany type dining in the main resturaunt is worth the price just in the entertainment factor. The Lodge itself is amazing, and just like the real things...trust me I'm from Washington State and you'd think I'd want to get away from that kind of theme! But the experience was too amazing!!!! two thumbs and both hands up wooohooo.