Wilderness Lodge Tips

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

With our first trip only 31 days out, I wanted to ask again for tips on the Wilderness Lodge. This will be our first visit there and we are booked standard view.

I remember being told about Walt's train, the family of the day flag raising, the boat to MK etc....I know of at least one free evening we will have to enjoy the lodge and I have visions of sitting in front of the fire place in the rockers drinking hot chocolate. Anything else neat to do or see?

Thanks.

[goofy-4-disney]

The geyser that they have on the pathway to the boat dock is pretty neat. The water parade on the lake that they do at night is something thats pretty cool to check out if you haven't seen it before. Also, just enjoy the lobby in general. Whether it be the fireplace, the architecture, the sights, the sounds...it's one of my favorite places in all of Disney World.

[vicster]

There are some hidden mickeys in interesting places that are fun to find.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Oh yeah, forgot about the night parade. I wonder if there's a list of the hidden mickeys I can pick up there....

[vicster]

We picked up a list at the front desk

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sounds like that will be fun. Thanks

[Chic-a-pin]

If you're out on the water at night, say coming from MK and you go to Fort Wilderness first, be sure to look back at Wilderness Lodge and see the "bear" in the lights, thats really cool! The dormer windows and lobby window lights make a face of a bear! Territory Lounge is a nice relaxing time for a drink. Also, you can walk the path from WL to FW, we saw Bambi on that path one year

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

That sounds neat. Where is the bar in relation to the laundry mat? I like to grab a drink on laundry night if its not far....

[Chic-a-pin]

I'm not sure...I refuse to do laundry on vacation so I don't know where the laundry is, LOL!! But, Territory Lounge is right outside of Artist Point, off the lobby

[BrerGnat]

That sounds neat. Where is the bar in relation to the laundry mat? I like to grab a drink on laundry night if its not far....

The laundry is VERY close to the bar, so you're in luck! If you are in the lobby, and head towards the bar, the laundry room is sort of tucked into that corner before the hallway branches of towards Territory Lounge. Great bar, by the way!

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

If you get the opportunity, Artist Point is EXCELLENT!!!!!!

Loved my birthday dinner there in 2007... jeez, that was long ago.

[Janmac]

The lobby is awesome from the main floor but do take time to go up - maybe all the way up - and look at the carvings. I wish we had not waited to do this until our last day at WL.

Regarding the laundry, we tend to do that during afternoon pool time. The pool and the laundry are not far from each other either. And there is that pool bar . . .

Jan

[buzznwoodysmom]

We'll be at WL from Dec. 20th till the 26th!!! Love, love, love WL. Its our favorite resort on property (with the Poly a very close second), and it is absolutely at it's best around the holidays. We love Whispering Canyon Cafe. We always try to spend an evening just enjoying the lobby and grounds. Make sure you take the time to check out the lobby at the villas, lots of cool stuff to look at and cozy little corners. We love the gift shop there, and my kids enjoy the arcade. We try to watch the water parade at least once while there, and in the past when we've been in a courtyard room we've watched the water parade from our balcony anytime we are in the room at that time. You can get a hidden Mickey sheet from the front desk. Enjoy the holiday decorations, they are really pretty!

[gaffz70]

Love swimming at night there...so pretty!
On a rainy day they brought out board games for the kids to play in the lobby in front of the fireplace, it was awesome!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Oh one more thing that my kids enjoyed several years ago, not even sure if they still do this. We were there Valentine's week and every day in the kids club they had crafts for free from 2 to 4, I think. My kids did a Valentine craft while I had laundry washing on a rainy day. If they still do this I'm sure they'll have cute crafts for Christmas. Not sure of your kids ages, but mine were around 7 and 5 at the time, and they really enjoyed the quiet time in there.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

The laundry is VERY close to the bar, so you're in luck! If you are in the lobby, and head towards the bar, the laundry room is sort of tucked into that corner before the hallway branches of towards Territory Lounge. Great bar, by the way!

Sounds great! Any specialty drinks I need to try?

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

The lobby is awesome from the main floor but do take time to go up - maybe all the way up - and look at the carvings. I wish we had not waited to do this until our last day at WL.

Regarding the laundry, we tend to do that during afternoon pool time. The pool and the laundry are not far from each other either. And there is that pool bar . . .

Jan

Yep, my son usually swims on laundry night...sometimes I take my drinks out to the pool area while he swims...too cold for me in December even with the heated pool

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We'll be at WL from Dec. 20th till the 26th!!! Love, love, love WL. Its our favorite resort on property (with the Poly a very close second), and it is absolutely at it's best around the holidays. We love Whispering Canyon Cafe. We always try to spend an evening just enjoying the lobby and grounds. Make sure you take the time to check out the lobby at the villas, lots of cool stuff to look at and cozy little corners. We love the gift shop there, and my kids enjoy the arcade. We try to watch the water parade at least once while there, and in the past when we've been in a courtyard room we've watched the water parade from our balcony anytime we are in the room at that time. You can get a hidden Mickey sheet from the front desk. Enjoy the holiday decorations, they are really pretty!

We have ressies for Whispering Canyon. Do the villas have their own gift shop? That's good to know. My son is 17 now, too old for crafts and such.

[jodijo]

They have craft activities every afternoon for the kids. It takes place in the kids club (Babysitting area). It is free and my kids loved it. They also have pool games at different times during the day. Some of the games are played inside the pool and some are games are on the pool deck (around the pool). They do have one game you have to pay for - Bingo by the pool. I think it was $1 a card. My daughter and I played. It was great fun. I won and let my daughter pick the prize. She picked out a Disney themed Sorry board game. (I was surprised how wonderful the prizes were. They were not cheep little toys. They were great toys and board games.) After Bingo it rained and we sat in the balcony playing Sorry for hours. It was a great time!

Have fun and enjoy the Wilderness Lodge!

[jodijo]

Sorry, I didn't see that your son is 17. He might still enjoy the games at the pool- Kids and adults all play. However, he might like renting a little boat and exploring the lagoon. My 16 year old did this and loved it. My son also enjoyed renting a bike and exploring. We even rented bikes as a family and rode over to Fort Wilderness (I am not a bike rider and it was a flat easy ride). We checked out the horses and everything Fort Wilderness had to offer. It was a great afternoon.