Opinions: Ft. WIlderness Cabins VS Wilderness Lodge Villas

Alrighty folks, I have been quibbling about which choice to make for our next stay.

The plan is for a early Dec. 2010 visit to the World. It will be me, DH and DD8. We are huge Wilderness Lodge fans, absolutely love it to pieces. We love the theme, the lobby and location. BUT we will need a kitchen next time since my DH has a very restrictive diet....gluten free and vegan. So he will need to cook for himself rather than attempt to get the Disney chefs to dance a jig for us every meal.

I am looking at either the FW Cabins or a 1br WL Villa. The biggest issue is price, the cabins are totally doable for the 10 days we like to stay.....but I have some misgivings about the bus situation and size of the resort over there. I am also really fretting that I will miss the Lodge so terribly that it will bum me out the whole trip. Are the villas totally worth their price?

I am asking ya'll for opinions on the matter. Would I be able to acclimate to FW, since it's still the wilderness theme? Sell me on the cabins if you love em'....or talk me up into the Villas if you think that's the ticket. I want to know what my fellow Intercotees think. :thumbsup::mickey:

I am a HUGE Fort Wilderness Cabin fan! Let me ask you a few things....

Are you driving or flying? If you are driving, I don't think the buses at Fort Wilderness should be an issue. You get to park your vehicle right at your cabin and you can drive it to the theme parks and park them for free as a resort guest. That's what we're doing next week when we're there! As for getting around Fort Wilderness, you can take the bus which yes, can be a little irritating waiting, OR you can rent a golf cart (book it ahead of time) and boot around the resort on your own schedule. You can even take the golf cart down to the waterfront, park it for the day while you go to MK, and then hop on it when you get back to return to your cabin. Seriously, I wouldn't be concerned about transportation within Fort Wilderness if you get a golf cart.

The cabin itself is awesome. How many people are you travelling with? The back bedroom has a double bed and bunk beds with a television, there's a full bathroom, the kitchen has a full-sized refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker, dishes, etc. And the front living room has a dining table, tv with dvd/vcr, Murphy Bed, couch & chairs, etc. Don't forget that the outside of the cabin has your own PERSONAL wood deck with picnic table. There's also your own Hibatchi outside.

Seriously, Fort Wilderness is like having your own private home away from home. It's relaxing and peaceful under the trees. You don't feel like you're tripping over people. You don't hear your neighbours. It's definitely worth a try if you like Wilderness Lodge. Make some reservations at the Trails End Buffet at Fort Wilderness. Take a ride in the horse drawn carriage too or go for a horseback ride!

I would suggest reading the Intercot "Camping" boards (look for the posts about the cabins obviously) to educate yourself some more. Trust me, you'll have a fantastic time and be able to save your money for other things (like a golf cart!!).

We are cabin fans that have stayed there the past 6 years straight, but we also have 6 people. This makes the cost much cheaper than what we could get at WL to sleep 6. The choice would be if you would want a more rustic, camping like environment or one that is closer to a condo environment. Is the difference worth the $? Even though I tell everyone how great the cabins are, my DW calls me cheap and I would probably pick WL just to save the $$.:mickey:

Thanks for the replies cabin fans!:D

We will be flying and not renting a car at all, so we will be at the mercy of the Disney transportation system. A golf cart does sound like a fun thing to tool around the resort in. How much does Disney rent them for?

To make the price less of an issue, you could try renting points for VWL. Just go to the Disney Vacation Club boards and DVC Mike's thread is the first one and discusses renting points.

I would be torn too. The WL has beautiful decorations at Christmas, but many campers decorate their campsites, and that is nice too.

I could be wrong, but I believe a golf cart is around $40/day.

Like your family, we fell in love with WL the first time we walked into the lobby. We love everything about it. We had another stay at WL booked last October. Then the discount codes came out - with no availability for our dates at WL. Staying at the cabins instead was over $1,000 cheaper, so we decided we simply could not justify the price difference.

We loved the cabin! It was great to have a kitchen, the extra room was wonderful, and the deck was really cool. It was kind of odd going to eat at WCC, (I was concerned that it would make me regret changing from WL), but we spent some time at WL, just relaxing (visited Walt's trains, sat and chilled in the courtyard), and then decided that the cabins were the right choice for that trip.

We relied on internal transportation most of the time, but rented a cart for one day ($50, I think) when we were going to MNSSHP. At midnight, it was worth every penny to hop of the ferry from MK, walk about 10 steps to the cart and drive with two sleepy/sleeping kids straight to our front door.

Here are some links to my trip reports that may also answer some of your questions:
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=144476
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=144537
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=144617
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=144619

Either way, I don't think you can make a bad choice.

Have a great trip! :mickey:

I'm wrong about the golf cart prices. I booked one today for my trip next week and it's apparently $59/day.