My husband and I visited Walt Disney World a year or two ago and we had a ball. We went at the perfect time for 2004, Hurricane Charley had hit in August, Hurricane Francis had hit a week before we arrived, Hurricane Ivan actually was just past Florida and entering the Gulf of Mexico when we arrived, and the week after we left, Hurricane Jeanne hit. We rented a car, and since Ivan was so close, all the evacuation routes were activated, and we didn't have to pay tolls. We drove the short jaunt up the highway to Disney World and made our way to our hotel.

Arriving at The Wilderness Lodge

We arrived at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, where we had our reservations. It is a sight to see. It's by far the largest "log cabin" I've ever seen. It's built to resemble a turn-of-the century national park lodge, however I doubt they had bright green roofs back then. Green roofs and all, they still manage to fit in very well with the appearance and there is an atmosphere of rustic luxury as you enter the lobby. We were welcomed in by cast members dressed as park rangers, khaki camping shorts and shirts to match, wide ranger hats. The lobby decor is breath taking. There is a giant 80 foot stone fireplace that would be an awesome place to snuggle up in front of with a good book (if it ever gets cold enough to do that in Florida!) and enormous, towering totem poles that immediately catch your attention when you walk in. The lobby boasts a babbling brook that runs through the lobby and then outside, to a spectacular waterfall when then plummets into the swimming pool.

This hotel is considered by Disney to be a deluxe resort. It has over 700 rooms, two full service restaurants and one counter service restaurant. Bus transportation is provided as well as boat transportation to and from the Magic Kingdom. It is considered to be a Magic Kingdom resort however, it is not accessible by the monorail. As a former cast member myself, I know that they did this to keep the rustic feel of the Lodge and not to ruin the "show" atmosphere of being in a national park.

The front desk cast members greet you graciously, and there wasn't any wait hardly for us to get checked in. We prepurchased our park passes so everything was ready and waiting for us at the desk. Our room was on the 5th floor, directly off the lobby. The only downfall with this location was the lobby music. I can't recall the name of the tune, however if you visit Disney's webpage, it's the music the website plays for the Wilderness Lodge page, and it is broadcasted fairly loudly starting at 7AM. They do turn it down at 10PM. This really wasn't an issue for us, we were up by 7 every morning, getting ready for breakfast/going to the parks. I did note that if I wanted a day to relax (something we hadn't scheduled for this trip), I would probably be irritated by the music being so loud so early in the morning. Our room was spacious enough for two of us (about 350 square feet), clean, with a king size bed and a balcony. The view from our room was of a wooded area, and through the trees we could see a little bit of the monorail, but not enough to ruin the atmosphere. Our room came with a hair dryer, color TV, alarm clock, iron and ironing board. We could request a coffee maker and refrigerator, but we didn’t have a need for those. The bathroom was nice, it had sink outside the actual bathroom so I could continue to get ready while my husband was in the shower. Other rooms contain bunk beds as well as a two double beds. We did not see these rooms but they are available. We only encountered the housekeeping staff once, and they were more than accommodating with returning later to clean our room.

Restaurants

The country family style restaurant, Whispering Canyons Cafe, is deceptive in name. Nothing is quiet about the hooting and hollering done by the wait staff, as well as the guests during the fun but corny performances during your meal. If you want a refill on your tea, be prepared to get a gallon mason jar of tea. If you ask for ketchup – be ready to work for it. You will be served with a case of ketchup, some in a box and many, many just dumped on your table by the last gullible guests who asked for ketchup. It will then be your responsibility, much to the amusement of the entire restaurant, for you to move each and every bottle and case of ketchup, to the next victim! There’s an all you can eat skillet for about $23 per person or you can order an entrée off the menu ($16-$20 range).

If you’re more in the mood for a quieter experience, then Artist Point may be more your speed. This quiet, romantic restaurant with a rustic atmosphere. Menu options for us was chicken and beef tenderloin. My husband didn’t care for his tenderloin but loved my roasted chicken. There is also a chef’s choice option for about $50, you get a salad, meal and dessert. We chose to order off the menu, and each meal was between $25-$30. The restaurant was practically empty when we ate there, however the service was not exceptional. We found ourselves waiting for the server to return for refills on our drinks and for our ticket when it came time to leave. I would be willing to try it again though, I’ve had so many friends tell me what a wonderful place it is to eat. I’m wondering if the evacuation plans could have left them a bit short staffed.

The counter service restaurant at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is called Roaring Fork. It’s open from about 6AM to midnight, with breakfast and lunch hours for the grill section. You can get bacon, eggs and a biscuit for a little over $5. Lunch platters run from $5-$7, and your choices are burgers, hotdogs, chicken strips, sandwiches and pizza. The good part (and Disney does this at all resorts, however they’re resort specific) is that they sell a reusable mug for about $10-$15, and with it you get unlimited refills for the length of your stay. You can get coffee, soda or tea with it. This restaurant also sells beer for about $5-$6 per can.

The Pool Area

I’ve already mentioned that the resort sports a majestic waterfall that leads to the pool. There’s a wandering path that leads through a cave in the man made “mountain side” to give you a great view of it all. The pool sports a water slide that is a part of the mountain and also has two hot tubs. Next to the pool is a bar, serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Towel returns are conveniently placed as well as plenty of clean towels for use.

Across the bridge from the pool is Old Faithful. Disney actually has a geyser that goes off every 15 or 30 minutes and shoots water probably 30 feet into the air. It’s like a miniature version of the real thing (I’ve seen the real one as a kid). It’s super neat to see one shoot off from your hotel room!

The lake is a few feet away and they offer rentals on little boats that you can take out on the lake as well as jet skis. We didn’t schedule any time for these activities on that trip, but we did take note of them for our future trips.

Transportation

Another great part of staying at the Wilderness Lodge is the boat transportation. You have a ferry boat that takes you to and from the Magic Kingdom, as well as to Fort Wilderness. We used it when we went to the Hoopdee Do Review (highly recommended). Afterwards, on the way back to our resort, the Magic Kingdom’s nighttime fireworks display, Wishes, was going on. Our boat driver stopped our ferry out in the middle of the lake so we all could enjoy the show, and it was very memorable.

Bus transportation is also available to all other parks and Downtown Disney. I prefer taking the boat, it’s always a fun experience, even if sometimes you do feel like you’re waiting a bit longer for it.

Overall Stay

Overall, I loved staying at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. The cast members are friendly, courteous and helpful. The hotel is grand, breath-takingly beautiful. The waterfall is amazing. It costs a little more to stay there ($200 per night when we went in the off season) but it is well worth it. While we were there, they had “battened down the hatches” for Hurricane Ivan – lanterns were tied to the posts, water craft out of the water, beach chairs stacked up and put away, but practically overnight, all of it was restored back to normal. There was some hurricane damage in the gardens, and they had workers out cleaning it up and when it was finished, you couldn’t tell that anything had ever been out of place.

The restaurants are good, the geyser, waterfall and pool are amazing. We are planning another trip to Disney this fall. I’m disappointed that all the standard rooms are already full, but for an extra $400, we can get an upgraded room. We opted to save our money and stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge instead this time. I’ll let you know how that goes when I get back, but my gut feeling is to whine “I want to stay at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge!”


Review: A Summer at Disney University with the Walt Disney World College Program
http://www.epinions.com/content_2246418564




Recommended: Yes