Oh.my.goodness.friends. I was completely blown away when we stayed at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge for my daughter’s 4th birthday (be sure to check out my post on 8 Ideas for making Disney Birthdays Special). Even with all the COVID restrictions, we had an AMAZING time staying at this deluxe resort. I wanted to move in and never leave! From the homey, woodsy theming (We really felt like we were in a mountain lodge) to our super friendly server at the Geyser Point Bar and Grill, to the luxurious accommodations, we felt at home. Spending time together at a resort that made things easy made this mama soooo happy. Come along as I show all the remarkable features in my review of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
Rooms
We rented points to be able to stay at one of the two Disney Vacation Club “sections” of the resort. Our family of 5 fit beautifully into a deluxe studio villa in the Boulder Ridge area of Wilderness Lodge. Copper Creek is the other DVC section, and it is newer, with a more modern rustic feel. It’s very gorgeous as well! There are also “regular” rooms at the Lodge, though they have not been reopened yet post- COVID, at of the time of this post being written.
DVC rooms are set up to give a bit of extra floor space by utilizing a pull-out couch as one of the beds. This is in addition to the queen size bed and the pull-down murphy bed. The other great thing about DVC rooms is they have either a kitchenette (studios) or a full kitchen (anything room larger than a studio). I brought along bagels and simple breakfast items to save a bit of money!
Boulder Ridge rooms are probably ready for an update, but we found our room to be very clean, with adorable Christmas color décor! This resort is extra beautiful during the holidays! The giant tree in the main lobby is simply gorgeous. It’s a must see for sure. Our room was on the first floor, which was the opposite of my request, but we ended up loving having access to the “backyard,” as the kids called it!
The Boulder Ridge lobby is also a tribute to Walt Disney’s love of trains. There are many pictures of him with his family, as well as having two train cars from his 1/8 size train that he had built on his property in California.
Take a peek at what our room and other parts of the property look like in the video below!
Pools
There are two pools at Wilderness Lodge. The one closest to our section of the resort is called the Boulder Ridge Cove Pool Area. It is the quieter of the two pools, and was open earlier and later during our stay. This is not to say you couldn’t make any noise here, it just doesn’t have as many “extras” as the other pool does. The Boulder Ridge pool has a zero-entry slope into the pool, as well as very woodsy theming.
The Copper Creek Springs Pool Area is a kid dream come true!! Plus it’s not super spaced out so it was easy for us as parents to manage where the kids were! My kids’ favorite amenity was the great splash pad. It is technically for kids who are 48 inches or shorter though I will confess my older kids played there, too, and it seemed to be fine. They are about 50 inches tall. The splash pad has two slides and lots of water coming down whichever way they turned!
Food at Wilderness Lodge
Due to COVID, two of the five options were closed: the Territory Lounge, which is a bar that serves small bites, sweets and drinks from 5pm-10pm, and Storybook Dining with Snow White, the Queen, Dopey and Grumpy.
However, the three options that are currently open are really great (menus can be found through the links). We didn’t get the chance to eat at Whispering Canyon Café (reservations are strongly recommended, and I didn’t think ahead far enough), but they are known for their skillet meals, and also for a rowdy time! Do not ask for ketchup unless you are feeling brave!!!
We did eat dinner at Geyser Point Bar and Grill and were very happy with our experience there. It is a first come, first serve outdoor seating experience. We dined with views of Bay Lake, which was heavenly! Our server was very attentive and gave great recommendations for our meals. The kids enjoyed the ambiance, and my older daughter was in love with all the bunnies we got to see during our stay (her first sighting was at this dinner).
My family also enjoyed the indoor quick service option- Roaring Fork. We had to mobile order our food for this restaurant, and we could not eat inside due to COVID restrictions. However, the outdoor seating was very clean and tables were plentiful, even during dinner hours on a Saturday evening. I didn’t have high expectations because it’s a quick service location, but my pulled pork sandwich was very flavorful. My husband also enjoyed his chicken Cesar salad, and I have to give a shout out to the Mickey shaped brownie we all shared! Everything is better when it’s Mickey shaped, but I would have eaten it up even if it was a plain ol’ rectangle!
Boat Ride to Magic Kingdom
There isn’t much to dislike about going to Magic Kingdom. However, the process of parking at the Ticket and Transportation Center, walking up to security, temperature check, then deciding to go on the ferry boat or monorail, getting in that line, and taking your chosen mode of transportation over to the gates can be quite tedious and frustrating sometimes! Not to mention you’ve already walked half of your day’s steps before you even get into the park!
SO when staying at Wilderness Lodge, being able to take the provided boat directly up to the gates of Magic Kingdom was heavenly!! Right now (due to COVID), the boat goes directly there. In “normal” times, the boat also goes to the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Being able to start and end our day with a simple, relaxing boat ride was wonderful! Oh, and strollers can roll right on board!
Other Amenities
Disney really thinks of everything when it comes to vacation! Our building had laundry facilities (there’s even a vending machine with detergent for a nominal fee) and our lobby also housed the gym for the resort.
I thought the resort gift shop (named Wilderness Lodge Mercantile) was very well stocked. It had face masks, candy, clothes, souvenirs, sunscreen and even boys swim trunks (yep, I forgot my son’s swim gear). There were even two choices for swim trunks for him!
The highlight of our time there though was all the wildlife. Some real, some not! We saw bunnies and ducks daily, and there’s even a bison and baby bison topiary on property! So cool! We loved having a bit of space to run around outside our room, and found the resort to be peaceful, relaxing and fun!
Here is a map of Wilderness Lodge, so you can see the layout!
I have yet to stay at all the DVC Resorts, but Wilderness Lodge is definitely one I’d love to call home!
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