cabins at wilderness resort

[motherof4]

I usually stay at all star music or one of the other value resorts. this aug we want to stay at a moderate resort because of the free ddp. we were thinking of the cabins at the wilderness resort has any one every stayed there? I was wondering if it is along walk to the buses. and is there a pool or just the beach to swim in.

[CosmicRay]

We just got back from WDW this past week and stayed at the cabins for the first time. Before that we've stayed at All Stars and Pop mostly. I think the cabins were very nice, but we have four kids ages 9,8,2 and 1. The campground is very spread out, and they put us at the far end of a loop so we had to walk around (past 40 cabins) to get to the bus stop that takes you to the MAIN bus stop. With small ones, we had to take our strollers to the bus stop and then messing with the strollers from bus to bus wasn't very fun. We ended up just driving to all the parks each day.

By about the middle of our trip, we requested to be moved to a different resort because something else we missed was there was no food court on the premises. They had some restaurants, but they were at the other end of the camp ground. We had a pool that was one loop over, but the bigger pool was on the opposite side of our cabin as well.

If we had older kids, these things may not have been so bad, but if you have younger ones, it's something you would have to consider.

[faline]

I don't think the cabins fall in a moderate category - in fact, I think they're in a category all by themselves.

It's been a while but we stayed there several times and enjoyed each and every stay.

All cabins are located in loops - think of each loop as a tiny sub-division. At the end of each loop, you will find a bus stop - not far to walk at all. However, to get to any destination outside the campground, you will likely need to use two modes of transportation. For instance, to get to the Magic Kingdom, you will take the internal bus to get to Pioneer Hall. From there, you will board a bus or boat to the Magic Kingdom. For this reason, many folks rent golf carts and don't use the internal busses but take the golf cart to Pioneer Hall, park it, and take transportation from there. Golf carts can be rented directly from Disney but also from off-site locations.

No swimming is allowed in the lake. While the beach was actively used years ago, swimming was banned a number of years ago. There are two pools. One in the Meadows area and a smaller pool in the cabin area.

[CosmicRay]

Oh and one night we stayed for extra magic hours, the CM's said we take the bus to Wilderness Lodge and from there another bus will pick us up to take us to the camp grounds. We left the park at 11:30 and didn't get back to our cabin till 1:15 AM because we had to wait for a bus. The WL CM said he didn't know if there was a bus picking up for the campground. He made a call and we waited about 15 more min and a bus got there. Luckily I was just with my older ones and not the little ones. I don't know how they would run the buses in August, since it's a busy season and all.

[CosmicRay]

Sorry I keep writing, but I was going to say, you can rent a golf cart, but they were $63.54/day ($59 plus tax).

[CosmicRay]

AND you can stay there and get the free DDP, that's what we did. Last reply... I think

[faline]

Sorry I keep writing, but I was going to say, you can rent a golf cart, but they were $63.54/day ($59 plus tax).

There are some off-site rental locations which charge less than Disney. The deliver their carts to the parking lot. I'm not sure they would have helped you as I don't know that they would seat a family of 6. I'm also not sure I'd want to take a 2 and 1 year old on them.

[CosmicRay]

There are some off-site rental locations which charge less than Disney. The deliver their carts to the parking lot. I'm not sure they would have helped you as I don't know that they would seat a family of 6. I'm also not sure I'd want to take a 2 and 1 year old on them.

Yes, that was our concern as well! If we didn't have smaller children (and SO MANY kids) the campgrounds would have been great! I don't mean to bash FW in any way.

[magicjasb]

We stayed at the Cabins this past August, for part of our trip, with 5 children ages 1,4,6,9,12. We loved the Cabins! We have usually stay at a Monorail resort and actually were at BLT for half our trip, but our children loved the cabins and wanted to go back. We did have to walk to the bus stop, but it was not a long walk. We were in a loop next to the quiet pool, but it was also a quick bus ride to get to the big pool. We did have our own car, and though we don't usually drive to the parks, found it was helpful some days. If we were going to be at a park later, it was very easy to drive. We also stocked the kitchen with breakfast items, juice, water, and snacks, so that we did not have to take the bus to go eat. With planning to have some food (we went to the store but considered having it delivered), I would highly recommend the cabins. We loved them and will stay at them again.

[Dopey's Girl]

I love the cabins...they are so peaceful and homey. I loved all the space, and having a separate bedroom is great when you travel with little kids who need naps. I also loved that while you have neighbors, none of them are right on top of you, so you don't always feel like you have to tip toe around so you don't disturb anyone.

It can be a bit of a walk to the buses, but I have never found it too problematic.

[ftwildernesskid]

I was just wondering if you were aware that you could upgrade from the quick service dining plan to the regular dining plan by paying the difference in the 2. I was in the same situation as you and thought I had to stay in a moderate to get the dining plan, but was informed that I could just upgrade. It worked much better for our family and I was so relieved to find out that was an option.

[irish1967]

We stayed at the cabins for part of our visit last summer.

Overall, it was a positive experience. It was nice to have a full kitchen - we had breakfast each morning in the cabin.

There was plenty of room for all of us (3 adults and two "children" (13 and 10.) Grandpa and the boys slept in the bedroom (double bed and bunk bends) and DH and I slept on the (very comfortable) murphy bed in the living room.

But, only one bathroom... while definitely doable, wasn't completely desireable.

We drove down, so had planned in advance to drive to the parks. We did take the resort transportation to Hoop-Dee-Doo (HIGHLY recommend this dinner/shoe!) and had no problems.

They aren't "off" our list, but we were all happy to be back on the monorail when we moved to the Poly half way through our trip.

[Mousemates]

The cabins are great and offer a unique WDW experience. The feel of the place is MUCH more laid back than any of the resorts and it is likiely the most "restful feeling" property there. Restful however does not in any way equate with a lack of activity...since there are lots of recreational opportunities there. We loved it.

However, there is a drawback...namely the transportation system. Using it can add some serious time to your travels...since you have to first use the internal bus system before you ever arrive to line up for a themepark boat or bus. Usually its not an issue...but if you are "just a second late" twice (and have the maximum wait for the internal bus and then again for say the epcot bus) you can find yourself twiddling your thumbs for quite a while. I think the FWC are a place that actually works best with a car.

[JanetMegan]

I'm walking out the door to a meeting across town but I JUST got back from an 8 night stay in the cabins and will post my thoughts when I get back-overall VERY positive!!

[CU Tiger]

We love the cabins and stay there often! It is nice to be able to get the kids to bed in the back room while the adults can stay up a little longer. Hard to do in a standard hotel room. We use the kitchen to its' fullest. We eat every breakfast in the cabin and this saves on the meal plan you need to get. There are grocery stores close that you can stock up on drinks, snacks, etc. We like to hang out on the deck and let the kids ride there bikes and play. This is also hard to do at a stadard hotel.
The internal bus system can slow you down, but we bring our own golf cart and have rented them in the past. This gives you a lot more freedom to really enjoy all FW has to offer. We never had an issue with the outside bus system and only need our car if we go to DTD or off campus.
It is a special treat to be able to ride a boat to the MK and to other hotels. You can also catch the monorail after riding to the Contemporary.
I recommend the cabins to everyone and just plan ahead to take advantage of all you can do with the cabin and in FW.

[A Big Kid]

Thumbs up for the cabins. It is just my wife and I, but when we go with a bigger crew, we like the cabins.

The two drawbacks are:
#1) the internal bus system to get to a bus that takes you to a park.

#2) the single bathroom for 5 or 6 occupants.

#1 can be overcome by being flexible in your transportation "wants" like grabbing a bus to the first park bus that shows up instead of looking to go to a specific park.

#2) can be overcome by choosing a cabin near a camping loop and utilizing one of the "comfort stations"

[JanetMegan]

We just returned from a little over a week stay in the cabins and really enjoyed it. We had 4 adults, no kids. It was really by far the cheapest option for us. I found them to have a good bit of room and really the only time we were pressed for "space" was waiting for our turns in the shower or restroom. I found the cabin to be well stocked as far as kitchen stuff, sheets, towels etc. I brought down extras of things like trash bags, paper plates etc. Note they do not provide pool towels. Now they did give us enough towels in the restroom to carry to the pool, just be sure to bring them back and housekeeping will swap them out each day for you.

We did rent a golf cart from an offsite location and really found that to be the way to go-the internal buses did run fairly quickly most of the time though and sometimes if our group was split up we used them if someone else had the cart.

I think of the best things about it is having your car parked RIGHT next to your room, no walking in from a big parking lot at the end of a long day...

Let me know if you have any other questions