Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map

Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide

- Look in: MousePlanet WWW

[ Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide - Contents ] [ Return ]

First Impressions  |  Pools, Shopping, and other Recreation  |  Restaurants  |  Lodge Rooms  |  Villas Building and Rooms

Wilderness Lodge

Wilderness Lodge opened in 1994.  It's a remarkable building, reminiscent of the old National Park Lodges built early in the century, such as Yellowstone Lodge (1904) and others in Yosemite and other Western National Parks.  As you enter the resort area, the first view of the resort is much like the one above.  The timer-framed building is expansive, but looks relatively compact from a distance, with it's multi-gabled roof covered in green "copper" sheathing, fireplace chimneys belching wood-fired smoke, and the national flag flying high over the central mast.  The area around the lodge is filled with pine woods and the scent of this place is just like what you'd enjoy in the woods in Northern Michigan or Wisconsin (or California, or Colorado, or Idaho, or Washington, or wherever this lodge is supposed to be).

The Lodge's roof and chimneys viewed from the front outside deck

From closer up, the details add to the atmosphere.  Fieldstone walls, "animal tracks" in the concrete walks, and that ever-present pine smell take you away from the hustle and bustle of central Florida and right to Wilderness Lodge's woods and lakeshore.

Entering the resort for the first time is an experience.  The ceiling of the main lobby stretches to the top of the five story structure.

The lobby viewed from above

Bundles of huge logs carry the weight of the structure.  Rough-hewn timbers and posts line the balconies, and a smooth, polished wooden floor completes the construction.

The lobby's expansive ceiling

Windows on the back wall of the lobby stretch to the sky letting in wonderful natural light to this room during the daytime hours.

The Lodge lobby lit by sunlight streaming from the East-facing windows

At night, huge teepee chandeliers add their luminescence along with the western-style table lamps.

One of the giant teepee chandeliers

Gatherings of couches and chairs around central rugs (and the fireplace in the back, left corner of the lobby) provide places for groups to meet and converse.

The fifth floor sitting area adjacent to the lobby

It's quite loud in here, with the many wooden surfaces kicking the noise about the room, but it's a homey buzz and not at all unpleasant.

The Lodge's check in area

The check-in desk, to the right as you enter the lobby, is guarded by a huge totem of native American carvings.  The cast members here, not surprisingly, are dressed in National Park ranger wear...and provide quick, efficient service.

Just beyond the check-in desk is the resort's mercantile.  It's a relatively small store, especially since the Villas have just opened up on the complex and the number of guests here will be greatly augmented.  The low ceilings make for a claustrophobic feel, but the intimate space does a brisk business peddling Lodge logo resort wear and other vacationer sundries and souvenirs.

The Mercantile

But it's outdoors that Wilderness Lodge again captures that Western National Park feeling.  Out behind the lobby, the u-shape of the lodge forms a quiet courtyard.  It's really quite large, the word "courtyard" makes it sound much less impressive than it really is.

The lovely wooded gardens enclosed by the Lodge's two wings

Winding through the space is a small stream that originates in a bubbling spring inside the lobby.

The spring inside the lobby that feeds Silver Creek

After flowing outside (through an opening in the building wall) the stream, known as Silver Creek, winds its' way through the gardens. 

Silver Creek peaks out of the Lodge in the foreground

Silver Creek meanders through the courtyard

Silver Creek eventually becomes Silver Creek Falls, shown in the next picture.  The falls form a small pool that flows, over some more rapids and small falls, into a larger pool -- actually the lodge's swimming pool. There are more pictures of the pool on another page of this photo tour.

Silver Creek Falls

One last feature of the Lodge stretches between the pool area and Bay Lake.  If you follow a raised boardwalk through the cypress woods...

The boardwalk to the boat dock

You'll come across the boat dock that provides boat service via Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary Resort, and Fort Wilderness Campground. 

The boat dock's resident heron (and there's a water turkey with it's wing's outstretched, off to the right -- visible on the water with Discovery Island behind )

First Impressions  |  Pools and other Recreation  |  Restaurants  |  Lodge Rooms  |  Villas Building and Rooms

Click here to return to the Wilderness Lodge "Fast Facts" Page or click here to return to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge "Fast Facts" Page.

[ Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide - Contents ] [ Return ]