Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is located in the Magic Kingdom area of Walt Disney World Resort. It is themed after the gorgeous lodges found in California, particularly in the Yellowstone area. But that doesn’t stop it from having a huge dose of Disney magic! It’s located right on Bay Lake, which means movies on the beach, a possible view of the Electric Water Pageant, and a quick boat ride to the Magic Kingdom park. The atmosphere is homey, unique, and very Disney. As soon as you enter the lobby, you immediately feel like you are in a woodsy lodge, with a gorgeous fire place, a fun bridge, and of course a Disney themed totem pole!
- Wilderness Lodge is a Deluxe Tier resort on Disney property. Although, in comparison to other Deluxe Tier resorts, it tends to be a bit less expensive per night. It also is home to the Wilderness Lodge Villas, which are part of the Disney Vacation Club.
- Rooms at Wilderness Lodge can accomodate up to five guests {if one of those guests is sleeping in a crib}. Otherwise, they are great for four guests. Something really great about Wilderness Lodge is that some rooms are offered with bunk beds, in addition to the queen size bed. Other rooms are standard with two queens.
- For larger families, Deluxe Club Level Suites are an option. They accommodate up to six guests, consisting of two queen beds and a queen sleeper sofa.
The Wilderness Lodge is home to several popular dining locations on Disney property. All your Disney Dining Plan credits can be used in various ways at the restaurants here. They have a quick service dining location, as well as a signature dining restaurant.
- Artist Pointe is the Signature Dining restaurant at Wilderness Lodge. You’ll enjoy salads, salmon, halibut, chicken dishes, as well as filet mignon at Artist Pointe. This location will be two credits when using the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan, and reservations are required.
- Whispering Canyon Cafe is the home to cowboys, cow pokes, and lassos! You’ll find an atmosphere of fun, games, and whooping and hollering at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. The servers will have good natured fun with your family when you wear a Universal Studios or Sea World shirt, chew gum, or even order a soda for breakfast. This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s sure to be a good time if you add a reservation to Whispering Canyon Cafe to your itinerary.
- Roaring Fork is the Wilderness Lodge’s quick service dining option. You can use your snack or quick service meal credits here. This is also the location to fill up your Disney mugs!
When staying at the Wilderness Lodge, you might want to know that you cannot see Wishes {or at least not very well} from this resort. The resort is enveloped by gorgeous trees, to really give you the feeling that you are in the western woods. One of the highlights of this resort is that you can walk some pretty trails and enjoy nature along Bay Lake.
The resort has two pools to enjoy. The Silver Creek Springs Pool has a 67 foot water slide, a relaxing hot tub, and a view of the replica of Old Faithful-which does erupt! You can also rent bikes, watch movies under the stars, enjoy jogging trails, and take a specialty cruise from the Wilderness Lodge.
Transportation to Disney’s Magic Kingdom is via boat. Otherwise, you can enjoy Disney’s bus transportation to the other parks and Downtown Disney.
Overall, we give this Disney resort an “A+”.
Dining Options:
Find a complete overview of dining here
Sit down restaurants: Whispering Canyon Cafe
Quick service restaurants: Roaring Fork
Bars & Quick Stops: Terriotory Lounge, Trout Pass Pool Bar
Signature/Dinner Shows: Artist Point
Transportation:
To Magic Kingdom: Boat/Bus
To Epcot: Bus
To Animal Kingdom: Bus
To Hollywood Studios: Bus
To Downtown Disney: Bus
To Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon: Bus
*Note: It is usually pretty easy to grab a boat to Magic Kingdom and board the monorail here for Epcot or Ticket & Transportation Center!
Melissa has created Chip & Company’s ‘Guide to Walt Disney World: Restaurant & Snack Options’ posts as well as chronicling her Disney baking (and cooking) exploits In the Kitchen. She also writes original articles about her experiences visiting Walt Disney World and finding Disney magic in her home state of New York. Melissa is a World History teacher and you can find her on tumblr. Oh & you should probably know she believes in fairytales.