Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Have you stayed at one or both of these?
What did you like about the resort?
How are the dining options?
How's the transportation to and from the parks?
Is there anything you didn't like about the resort?


If Disney runs some kind of special promotion in Oct. I'm thinking about trying one of these resorts. I've been to WL and had dinner at Artist Point. That's the only experience I have with this resort. I just wanted to see what people thought who had stayed at these. Is it worth the upgrade from CSR?

[c&d]

1. Have you stayed at one or both of these?
We have stayed at both. At Wilderness Lodge we have only stayed at the Villas as we own there.

2. What did you like about the resort?
Wilderness Lodge: I love the feel of the resort. The pine trees makes it seem like you’re not in Florida. The nice exercise path to Fort Wilderness. It’s a wonderful place to take an evening stroll. When we’ve done that we’ve watched the deer feeding at dusk. I like the boat ride to MK and the availability of boat rentals at the resort. We went to Yellowstone over the summer and looking at the Old Faithful Inn reminded me of WL. You could see how the copied that resort.

Animal Kingdom Lodge: I also love this resort. There is something about when you walk into the lobby that makes me feel very relaxed. Maybe it’s the smell or the dark colors, but it’s just so relaxing. I like watching all the animals around the resort and really, can you beat watching a giraffe eat while you’re sitting in a hot tub. The zero entry pool is nice.

3. How are the dining options?
I prefer the dining options at Wilderness Lodge. We’ve had some of the best meals and service at Artist Point. When we ate at Boma I just really didn’t like it. Also Whispering Canyon is a fun place to eat. I would choose the Mara at ALK over Roaring Forks. Roaring Forks always seems chaotic. That may be because it is small and I always seem to be walking into or around someone when I’m there.

4. How's the transportation to and from the parks?
I love the option of the boat to the MK. The buses at Wilderness Lodge were fine. I didn’t like that we had to share with Fort Wilderness. It seemed to make the trips that much longer.

We never had a problem with the buses from AKL. It does take a while to get where you’re going if it’s not AK. I would say you need at least 45 min from the time you leave your room until you arrive at any of the other parks.

5. Is there anything you didn't like about the resort?
There really was nothing we don’t like about either resort.

I definitely think staying at either resort is worth the upgrade.

[Tygger7]

Have you stayed at one or both of these?
We've stayed at WL
What did you like about the resort?
Everything!! We love camping & the National Parks, and have always dreamed of having a log cabin. Staying at the WL fulfills our cabin dreams, and it's a beautiful resort.
How are the dining options?
Dining options are excellent....highly recommend all of them at WL.
How's the transportation to and from the parks?
Another reason I love WL...the transportation is excellent and you can get to MK by boat in 8-10 minutes. I refuse to stay at AKL because AK is the park we visit the least, and I don't want to spend 2+ hours a day on a bus getting to/from the parks.
Is there anything you didn't like about the resort?
About the WL, not a thing I don't like. :D

As a friend said, if I want to see animals, I'll go to the zoo. Having them outside my hotel room doesn't do a thing for me.

Is it worth the upgrade from CSR?
TOTALLY worth the upgrade!!

Have fun planning!!

[AllDisney]

We have stayed at both the AKL & WL:mickey:

The WL has beautiful trees surrounding the place that you have to remind yourself that you ARE in Florida. The atmosphere is like something you'd experience from a lodge in Oregon (just like Disney hoped for).

AKL,as C&D mentioned, has this wonderful scent that hits you as soon as you walk into the lobby. It's comforting, if a smell can be comforting? Perhaps it's the blends of all the woods, or the smell of food from Boma's or the fireplace that's at the other end of the entrance. It's a scent that you look forward to at the end of a long day at the parks. It's great to wake up in the morning and seeing the animals roaming around outside your room. You also can't be the night goggles for seeing where all the animals are hiding. You can do the night goggle thing even if not staying at the AKL.

Whispering Cannon is a truly fun place to eat at WL & Artist Point is a very relaxing way to end the day. AKL has Jiko which has become a fast favorite of ours over the years. We make a point of dining there on our vacations.

Transportaion at AKL can take you 45 minutes from resort to parks (other than AK). Just plan accordingly. We had some longer than anticipated waits at AKL, but it might have just been the time we were there.

We love both WL & AKL, and have no complaints about either one. We do like AKL better, just because of the fantastic lobby and the view of the animals 24/7.

Hope this helps!

[IC10]

We only stayed at AKL and we loved everything about it. We never had a problem with the buses in fact it is one of the few hotels that offer its own buses. The only bus complain that we had was from WL to DTD I swear we stopped EVERYWHERE to get there. We never had a long bus ride or wait but that might be the time we stayed there. We would stay again in a heartbeat the smells, the food, the gift shop all were incredible.

[diz_girl]

1 - Have you stayed at one or both of these?
I've only stayed at WL and I highly recommend it.

2 - What did you like about the resort?
The theming (the lobby is phenomenal), the location (short boat to MK or the CR and the monorail) and the accommodations (you may be lucky enough to get a room that faces the MK and area able to see Wishes at night). These are not in any particular order. I love renting the water sprites out onto Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. There's also the brook that turns into a waterfall that goes into the pool, taking a bike ride on the path to FW and feeding the ducks at the dock (with the special food, of course).

3 - How are the dining options?
Excellent - and much better than AKL. Not only do you have the two TS restaurants at WL (Artist Point and WCC), plus the CS, Roaring Fork, but you can take a short boat ride to FW and dine at Trail's End Buffet, which is probably the best dining value at WDW. However, if you take the boat to CR, you get even more dining options. There's Chef Mickey's and California Grille at CR (there's also the Concourse Steakhouse - but I think that they're closing soon), or hop on the monorail to the Poly with their two TS restaurants ('Ohana and Kona Cafe) or the GF with their five TS restaurants (1900 Park Fare, Grand Floridian Cafe, Citrico's, Narcoossee's and V&A). Then there's more dining options at MK. I left out the dinner shows at FW and the Poly, since you mentioned just dining options, not shows.

At AKL, you have the three restauants (Jiko, Boma and Mara) and that's pretty much it, unless you want to take a bus ride to somewhere else (but there are some dining options at AK until they close - 7pm if no EMH).

4 - How's the transportation to and from the parks?
Good. There's the boat to MK, which is where we spend more time than at any other park. There are buses to every other park, which can be shared with FW. But you can take the aforementioned boat to the CR and take the monorail to the TTC and then take the monorail to EPCOT.

5 - Is there anything you didn't like about the resort?
Not really. The last time that I was at WL Roaring Fork's dining options were a little limited, as compared to our recent stay at the Poly and eating at Captain Cook's. But Roaring Fork was recently refurbed, so maybe there's more variety since I last stayed there, which was less than three years ago.

The fact that WL is secluded has it's appeal, but I do miss not being on the monorail loop when I stay there.

[scootch713]

I have only stayed at WL, but I think your decision would definitely depend on which park you go to most. Since I have two princesses... we spend most of our time at MK... and only a day at AK, so WL is so much closer. A little written about fact about the WL is they also have a bus to MK that is so fast, it is faster than the monorail... three min and you are there or home.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Thanks for the input. We spend most of our time at MK and Epcot so from the sounds of it WL would be the better resort. Also I like how you can take a ferry ride.

[Sinewiz]

I've stayed at both as well. I really can't add much more than what has already been said. While the theming at each resort is completly different there is still a very similar feeling when entering the lobby of each. I suppose because they were both designed by the same individual.
In a nutshell you really can't go wrong. Ive stayed at AK twice and WL on three occasions and I still have a difficult time making a decision. I like both resorts so much, that I've while I've stayed at the Poly, I still prefer both of these resorts to it. You really can't make a bad decision here. Flip a coin and have a great time. :thumbsup:

[Donald A]

Have you stayed at one or both of these?

I have stayed at both. AKL was for my honeymoon so we had a bit of a nicer room off the lobby since Disney wanted to do this for us.

What did you like about the resort?

I found the AKL to be much more unique than the WL. Quite frankly the AKL is newer and it shows. Plus the AKL has the animals and everything.

How are the dining options?

AKL seemed to have bigger counter service dining then the WL. (Down by the pool). Both lodges have signature restaurants. Whispering Canyon Cafe at WL was fun. I did eat at Jiko (AKL) on my honeymoon and was not impressed. It was a last minute thing for Thanksgiving dinner at like 9:20 since I didn't make reservations like I should have.

How's the transportation to and from the parks?

Well WL has a boat to the MK and AKL is solely bus transportation. I don't recall any huge problems either place.

Is there anything you didn't like about the resort?

I actually didn't like how AKL was so far from everything. I didn't like how WL seemed older and not as nice as AKL. Keep in mind these trips were one year apart with the AKL first for the honeymoon and the WL one year later. I did have the AKL in my mind still and it seemed to me like the WL did not compare.

[jefmblrd]

We have stayed at both places and loved them both.

The resorts are both beautiful and similar in the sense of the main lobby, but diverge from there. The theming of both is exquisite, but AKL was more appealing for us. The African theming and the smells from the firepit are wonderful. And of course you can see animals on the Savannah from certain rooms.

We didn't eat at the Wilderness Lodge, but we have eaten at Boma and Jiko at the AKL and love them both. The food in both places was fantastic, but we enjoyed Boma more.

WL edges out in terms of transportation, because you can take a boat to the MK. You have to take a bus to every park from the AK.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.