Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
With over 25 different resorts, picking where to stay at Walt Disney World may seem like a daunting task! Fortunately, there are so many unique options for every price point so there’s definitely a perfect resort for every family and every type of trip. For my family our favorite resort changes depending on when during the year we are going and what kind of trip we are looking to have! One of our absolute favorite resorts, on Disney property, is Wilderness Lodge! Wilderness Lodge is especially our favorite during the holiday season. I feel so strongly about this, that if there is even a chance we will be visiting during “Christmas Tree” season (which is Early Nov to End of Dec in Disney) I basically refuse to stay anywhere else! Why does this resort rank so high on my family’s list of Disney resorts?
The Location and the Perks!
Wilderness Lodge is ideally located. Honestly is kind of magical for a resort to be so close to the parks and still feel like it’s on its own peaceful oasis! This resort is perfect for families that want to be conveniently located to Magic Kingdom AND still be a peaceful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the parks! Not only can families easily take a short boat ride from Magic Kingdom back to the resort mid-day for a break, but once they get back to their resort, it will feel like a peaceful haven! Wilderness Lodge is also right next door to Fort Wilderness, which has such amazing activities like fishing, boat rentals, or Tri-Circle-D ranch, making it ideal for families that are looking for something more than the standard theme park vacation. Also, since Wilderness Lodge is a deluxe resort (and absolutely the best value for a deluxe), you get all the perks of that category of resort. The pool has a slide and a kids play area, there is table service dining onsite, and starting in fall of 2021 guests staying at this resort will have access to extended evening hours at select parks on select nights!
The Accommodations!
There are so many accommodation options at Wilderness Lodge! Most of the rooms in the main lodge are standard rooms with either 2 queens or a king bed. Those rooms have several view options, anything from courtyard view to fireworks view (honestly none of the views at Wilderness Lodge are bad). Wilderness Lodge is also a deluxe resort so it offers Club Level, which is perfect for families looking to spend more time in the resort and take advantage of the amenities of the Club Level, like access to the lounge and drinks/small food servings throughout the day. Finally, Wilderness Lodge has a Yosemite VP Suite (life goals right here) that is truly staying in the lap of luxury! Wilderness Lodge has recently undergone a renovation, so I can’t wait to see what the new rooms look like! I’ll make sure to update this post as soon as I do.
While this isn’t the main resort, on the same property you can find 2 DVC (Disney Vacation Club) Properties. Cooper Creek Villas and Boulder Ridge Villas. Cooper Creek is in the main lodge with the resort accommodations. Boulder Ridge is a separate building right next to the main lodge. These DVC properties can be booked by regular guests as well and offer studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and 3 bedroom villas for larger families or families looking for more of a “home away from home”. On our last trip we stayed in a 1 bedroom Boulder Ridge Villa and it was to die for!
The Dining!
Wilderness Lodge has a formidable dining line up, with some of the best themed and delicious restaurants on property! The quick service onsite, Roaring Fork, serves family favorites like mickey waffles for breakfast and burgers for dinner, but it also offers some of the best seasonal treats of any Disney resort. There are also 2 lounges on property-Geyser Point Bar & Grill and Territory Lounge. These are easily 2 of the best lounges anywhere in Disney. Geyser Point has amazing drinks and the Cheesy BBQ Brisket small plate might be my favorite savory snack ever. What really seals the deal on this lounge is the location though. This beautiful lounge is located right on Bay Lake with gorgeous woodland landscaping all around that you truly do believe that you are dining somewhere in the forest in a National Park instead of a theme park resort in Florida. Territory Lounge is the lounge that is attached to Artist Point, which is signature dining onsite. Territory Lounge is amazing, the bison burger from there basically has a cult following and for good reason! Next up we have Whispering Canyon Café, which is an old-west themed eatery that serves all you can eat skillets and shenanigans all day long! This restaurant is so fun and family friendly. If your family is looking for a hearty meal and loves BBQ, then this is one of the best values for your money! I love the wings, my son could eat a skillet full of their ribs, while my daughter is just there for the bottomless milkshakes! Now for a serving of shenanigans, just ask for some ketchup and see what happens! Finally, we have Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White. This is a prix fixed character dining, where guests can meet Snow White, some of the Seven Dwarves, and the star of the show—Evil Queen. Sadly this restaurants is currently closed and has not reopened since the closures caused by the COVID pandemic. No face character dining has officially returned to Disney, but we are hopefully that it will be back when the rest of the princess character meals return!
The Theming!
Last but definitely not least, the main reason that has my family coming back to this resort every year (especially during the holidays) is the incredible theming. Wilderness Lodge is themed after the rustic majesty of America's Great Northwest. It is inspired by National Parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. Now, if you know me, you might be thinking…um Rosette…you don’t exactly love nature, why is a resort based on National Parks your jam? I may not be the outdoorsy type but I know exquisite theming when I see it. Every inch of this property is exceptional. From the gorgeous porte-cochère that greets you when you first drive up, to the iconic character totem poles throughout the lobby, to the amazing grounds everything is just perfection. I have stayed at a lot of resorts (most of Disney’s as well) and there is no lobby in the world I would rather spend a day in than Wilderness Lodge. I mean for goodness sake they have an actual babbling brook with rocking chairs right in the lobby! Imagineering really outdid themselves with the design and attention to detail of this resort. But wait…it gets even better. How? Wilderness Lodge is…well an actual lodge (large and luxurious, but still a lodge) which instantly makes it an idyllic setting for the Holidays! Now add Christmas tree that is 5 stories tall, beautiful fir and balsam garland, and that signature lobby scent and honestly it’s what Hallmark dreams are made of! If I had to describe one of the top 5 perfect moments in Disney World, it would be this---My family (all in holiday PJs) gathering around the Wilderness Lodge lobby Christmas tree with cups of hot cocoa reading our bedtime story, while the tree lights twinkled and we could hear the babbling brook in the background. That moment happened last year (2020) for us, which was a hard year, and I can’t really describe it, but it made my heart so happy. It is now one of my core memories, it is etched in my brain for all eternity. To me, that is what Disney does, it serves as a setting for families to make lasting core memories. Moments that define a childhood, moments that a family will look back on forever, so the fact that this moment happened at Wilderness Lodge means that this resort will always hold the most special place in my heart!
There are a lot of reasons why a Disney Resort will be a family’s favorite, for some it’s a specific theme or type of accommodations. Other families stay at resorts for the pool or onsite activities. While some pick a resort simply for the proximity to a specific park. There is no right or wrong answer to which Disney resort feels like home to you, for my family that resort will always be Wilderness Lodge during the Holidays!
