Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt <<I love the Lodge (and one day Ill even stay there...) course my fav thing in the whole resort is the pin cart (but I *am* biased)>> The CM at the WL pin cart is UNREAL!! She's been there for 20 years (so she said) & knows everything about every pin ever made. I l♥v her!!
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad I have heard bus service there is time consuming and difficult to navigate. Did you have any problems? I also read that if you stay high enough and on the right side of the building that you can see the fireworks in the magic kingdom. I have a few more questions. How long was the boat ride to MK from the lodge and did it stop at the campground also? Is the boat quicker than bus? If the boat doesn't stop at the campground , is there a boat you could take to get there so you could go to trail's end or Hoop de Do? I agree that from the pictures I have seen WL looks like a beautiful place to stay. The building looks very impressive. someday I hope to stay there or at the poly.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I have heard bus service there is time consuming and difficult to navigate. Did you have any problems?>> The bus service is OK. Not difficult to navigate; just time consuming because it usually stops at the Campgrounds, the Poly and the Grand Floridian before heading to the parks. <<I also read that if you stay high enough and on the right side of the building that you can see the fireworks in the magic kingdom.>> Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. If you want to see the MK fireworks the Wilderness Lodge is probably not the place to stay. <<I have a few more questions. How long was the boat ride to MK from the lodge and did it stop at the campground also?>> The boat to the MK is pretty quick. I'd guess travel time at about 5-10 minutes. The boat stops at the campgrounds BEFORE getting to the WL, so that stop has no impact on people at the Wilderness Lodge. <<Is the boat quicker than bus?>> Absolutely. <<If the boat doesn't stop at the campground , is there a boat you could take to get there so you could go to trail's end or Hoop de Do?>> Yes there is. I agree that from the pictures I have seen WL looks like a beautiful place to stay. The building looks very impressive. someday I hope to stay there or at the poly.>> The Wilderness Lodge is one of the absolute best resorts at WDW. I highly recommend it.
Originally Posted By dshyates They have 2 differt shuttle boats that stop at the WL. One goes straight to the MK, and the other goes to the resorts around the lakes (Grane FL, Contemp., WL, and FW. But it is far quicker to take the trail to FW. It takes about 1o mins. from the dock to MK. and the boats come about every 20 mins. And yes you can see the fireworks from some of the upper rooms on the west side of the building. You can also go down to the lakes edge and watch them (and the bar at the pool is close by to boot). I suggest the next time you are there (if you don't stay at WL) go over the Trails End for a fun family style BBQ feast, and just walk around the place. It is spectacular.
Originally Posted By MPierce Not to put you off CDD, but I will be addressing quality of transportation in a seperate post. I think I will surprise some folks with my report. The boat ride to the magic Kingdom takes about 10 minutes, with the boat arriving at the Lodge approximately every 20 minutes. There are no other stops. 5th, and 6th floor main courtyard view south wing can see the high burst of the fireworks. I don't know about the north wing woods view. Yes there is a boat that goes to Fort Wilderness as well as the Contemporary. There are also buses to the campground. Depending on timing, and the time of day will make a difference in which is faster, boat or bus. The boat is more scenic though. I suggest you visit the WL if you can find the time.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Thanks guys, every time I go on Disney.com to get some pricing I take the virtual tour of WL. It is so different from any of the other places and so unique. It is one of those places on my bucket list. WELCOME BACK MPierce. Glad you are back and adding some excitement into LP.
Originally Posted By -em >>The CM at the WL pin cart is UNREAL!! She's been there for 20 years (so she said) & knows everything about every pin ever made. I l♥v her!!<< She's one of my favorite people to the fact I still answer to her and Ive been gone from the Lodge for over a year and a half...
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 I'm sure that CM loved Happy Haunt too, she dropped plenty $$$ on pins there. As MPierce said, the boat from the WL goes directly to MK, no stops either way. There is a separate boat that does the loop from Poly to MK to GF to Poly all day/evening long.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Hmmm, difficult one. I do think WDW does not offer the same value as other high end hotels, but I would perhaps still consider the WL. I felt ripped off after my last stay at the AKL deluxe Savannah View, but I paid $500 for a night at DLP's Disneyland hotel in October and loved it. Also, I felt the Grand Californian was a good deal at $290 a night this time last year (where we have always had turn down). The only Disney hotel I feel like we have had good value in the last 9 years in the Grand Californian, and most people feel that is expensive on the west coast. But this week I stayed at the 5* Midland in Manchester (famour for being the birth place of the Rolls Royce where they signed the deal to start the company up, and famous for not allowing the Beatles to stay there as they were too unkempt) with a Michelin * chef. It was $160 including breakfast and free minibar. I then stayed at the Millenium in Grosvenor Square, London later this week for $240 for the night (though breakfast as $46). WDW seems to milk people. That said, the Wilderness Lodge is my fav resort to look at in WDW and I am tempted to try staying there some time.
Originally Posted By MPierce With 3 free nights I felt it was a deal. They still need to work on some things to get it up to where it should be. I am going to start my report on the parks today, and there is going to be one common thing about almost every one. That would be the lack of true quality Disney landscaping, and the disappearance of the waterfowl. Anyone who has ever stayed at the WL knows you have to walk around the ducks there. They are every where. On this visit there were only 5 ducks that hung around the pool. Maybe -em can help me on this one. Where have all the ducks gone. I don't miss the Sea Gulls, but I love my Ducks.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt No ducks? maybe it was the time of year? We had cute little ducklings in the pool! DD8 kept swimming with them!
Originally Posted By MPierce This is the time of year I always go. I'm not kidding when I say there is an extreme duck shortage property wide.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo How many duck items are on the menues? Either that, or maybe Donald felt he was being upstaged.
Originally Posted By MPierce That was my first suspicious that Mickey was supplementing his sagging income by selling the ducks to Chinese restaurants.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt You may have something there Dave, I think I remember seeing duck on the menu! My Dad had a Buffalo steak, said it was great & for $60- I guess it should have been. I don't mind paying as long as it is worth it. We stay at the WL because we spend most of our time at MK & don't feel it is worth $100 more a night to have monorail access. I hate waited for the boat & would just over to MK from the Contemp..if I could..well I would run full speed, who am I kidding!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Happy Haunt, if the MK is your fav park, and the Wilderness Lodge your fav hotel, and you hate waiting from transport, you must go to DL and stay at the Grand Calfornian, it would be like a dream come true.
