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Walt Disney World

Villas as Wilderness Lodge

Wilderness Lodge Villas, a Disney Vacation Club resort, has been built right next to the popular Wilderness Lodge resort. In fact, all of the Lodge's amenities are available to Villas guests. The main Lodge building itself (where the Villas shares check in and guest services as well as other common resort facilities) is a log lodge, reminiscent of those built by the national park service in the early 1900's. The lobby is huge. A fireplace stands in one corner and the check-in desk is serviced by park rangers...everything looks, feels, and smells like the Western national parks.

The villas building, though, is said to "pre-date" the Lodge next door by several years. Built by the railroad work crews that came through laying rails across the continent at the end of the 19th century, the villas building is a bit more rustic and definitely themed toward the transcontinental railroad. The building lobby is much more rustic than the lodge lobby next door and the Iron Spike Room, a combination game room and living room for guests staying at the villas, both give nods to the rails and ties of the era.

General Information - Hide Section
  • Address: 901 W. Timberline Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830
  • Resort Phone #: 407-824-3200
  • Resort Fax #: 407-824-3232
  • Reservation #: 407-934-7639
  • Date Opened: 2000
  • Resort Category: DVC
  • Room Information
  • # of Buildings: 1 five-story building
  • # of Rooms: 136 rooms
  • Room Rates: Studio, 1-, and 2-bedroom suites are available. See the official Disney page for Villas at Wilderness Lodge for current room rates.
  • Services Information
  • Concierge Service: No
  • Valet Parking: Yes ($12/day)
  • Room Service: Yes. Avaiable 6:00 a.m. to midnight, daily.
  • Internet: Wired in-room ethernet port. $9.95 for 24-hours. Wi-Fi access is available in certain public common areas. Access is free for DVC members staying on points.
  • Laundry: There is a self service laundry, available 24 hours with room key, on the ground floor of the main building as well as near Roaring Forks Snack Bar at Wilderness Lodge. Some of the 1- and 2-bedroom suites have stacked washer/dryers in the room. Dry cleaning and valet laundry services are also offered.
  • Pools and swimming: The Wilderness Lodge Villas has a small unthemed quiet pool. Swimmers looking for a grander experience can go over to Wilderness Lodge.
  • Gym and Exercise: The Sturdy Branches Health Club is available to guests of the Villas.
  • Spa: Massages are available, by appointment, at the Sturdy Branches Health Club.
  • Turndown service: No
  • Smoking:
  • Owner's Locker
  • MousePlanet partner Owner's Locker provides a highly useful service for repeat Walt Disney World visitors. It will allow you to to store a large amount of your "only-in-Florida" belongings on-site between your visits. Owner's Locker will deliver your locker to your resort early on the morning of your arrival and pick it up the day that you leave. Your locker will stay in climate-controlled storage until you return on your next visit. Owner's Locker delivers to resorts throughout the Orlando area, not just to Walt Disney World. Some of the many things that Owner's Lockers have been used to store are full-sized liquid containers to avoid the TSA hassle, clothing, holiday decorations for annual visits, pool playthings, and more. Visit their site and check them out for yourself, or order now!
  • Transportation Information
  • On foot: There is no pedestrian access to other areas of Walt Disney World.
  • Bus: Busses are available for the four theme parks and Downtown Disney. Once to any of those you can transfer to busses for other locations.
  • Monorail: No
  • Ferries: There is a ferry that connects to Magic Kingdom.
 
Dining - Hide Section
    • Please see the dining section of our Wilderness Lodge page for dining options, which are shared by both resorts.
    Entertainment and Shows - Hide Section
    • Villas at Wilderness Lodge provides access to the entertainment options at Wilderness Lodge, these include a video arcade, bike and surrey rentals, and the Iron Spike game room.
    Stores and Shopping - Hide Section
      Reader Reviews - Hide Section

      The following are recent reviews for the Villas as Wilderness Lodge from our Reader Review system. Click the Show All Reviews link to see every review for this location. To browse all reviews in the system, please see this page.

      Average Reviewer Rating: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
      Number of Villas at Wilderness Lodge Reviews: 6
      Show All Reviews
      5.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.0   March 8, 2009 through March 11, 2009
      Reviewer: BrandonHRich (brandonhrich@gmail.com) Nashville, TN     March 23, 2009
      We were at WDW for a week-long trip March 8-15, 2009. We are DVC members and decided to stay three nights at the Villas (Wilderness Lodge) before moving to the Boardwalk. I LOVE Disney's Wilderness Lodge! It is so beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. After a fun day in the parks it is so nice to retire to the natural beauty that surrounds the lodge & villas. We greatly enjoyed the ferry boat rides to Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. The walking trails, pools, the geyser, the watercraft rentals, the restaurants (especially Whispering Canyon Cafe) and the lobbies of the main hotel and the villas are fabulous! A couple of evenings we went to the lobby of the villas and just sat in the leather rocking chairs and enjoyed the ambiance and the fireplace. I would love to go back and spend a day or two just soaking up the resort. The lodge isn't perfect, of course. The walk from the parking lot to our room was quite long which was an issue with luggage and groceries. We could have used the bellman, but I'm cheap! Really, that was the only negative about the whole stay. (You want to talk about a walk from car to room? It was so long at the Boardwalk Villas I lost the will to live.) We've stayed at Saratoga Springs, The Boardwalk, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom and now Wilderness Lodge. All of the on-property resorts have their finer points and advantages, but Wilderness Lodge is really something special!
       
      28 out of 29 people found this review helpful
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      5.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.0   9/23/07 - 9/29/07
      Reviewer: dcreinken Trenton, NJ     October 29, 2007
      We stayed in a dedicated studio in the Villas on the 4th floor.

      The room was a well-maintained corner room with view of pool and woods through which we could see Bay Lake. Everything was in top condition. The one question mark was the pine scent when entering the room - I couldn't tell if it was a freshener or something else. It was a bit of an odd touch (clearly artificial) but not unpleasant.

      Grounds, setting, and public spaces are absolutely wonderful. There are always nooks and crannies to explore and many areas of the resort are comfortable for just hanging out. It's as much a place to relax as it is to use as a center for park touring.

      Transportation to the parks was efficient and without long waits, given Disney standards. Bell services, concierge, and valet were all at the top of their game.

      My only criticism focuses on Roaring Forks Snacks. It has a smaller selection than Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge (which I consider a comparable resort), and the check-out is very confusing when there are large crowds of people.
       
      17 out of 17 people found this review helpful
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      5.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.0   May 24 - June 2 2005
      Reviewer: bandontherun Fairfield, CT     April 19, 2006
      · Date(s) of Stay: May 24 - June 2 2005
      · Type/Class of room Studio and 1 Bedroom Villa

      · Accommodations Review:

      We are DVC members and generally break up our stay to start in a studio and then switch to a 1 bedroom about 2/3rds through our trip. The best part about the WL Villas is that you use all the same lobby/check-in and facilities as the core hotel plus you have the health club and the quiet pool located conveniently at the Villas. So while separate from the main hotel, you really feel like you're just in an exclusive area.
      The Villas lobby is about 3 stories high and has rocking chairs and a fireplace. The Iron Spike room just off to the right. This room has oversized rocking leather chairs (apparently this was Walt's favorite type of "thinking" chair) and all sorts of railroad memorabilia including an actual train car from Walt's set. The room also has games like checkers etc. These are great spots to relax and plan the rest of your stay.
      The studios are generously sized and have sinks/refrigerators while the 1 bedrooms have washer/dryers and jacuzzi tubs along with a full size kitchen. The beds are very soft and the room theming perfectly compliments the Lodge.
      There is a 1 mile walking trail through the woods which takes you to Fort Wilderness for easy access to a petting zoo and/or the hoop-de-doo review. You are likely to see some wild life such as deer, ducks etc along the trail. You can also rent speedboats and bicycles from this resort. There is also a daycare center for kids over 4 and also an arcade and large gift shop. Walking around the facilities, there are bear and deer tracks etc. built into the pavement for added ambiance. Music comes from hidden speakers and at night, there are flickering lights and crickets chirping a la DL Blue Bayou. Even outside of going to the parks, this resort is really a destination in itself and is easily our favorite resort at WDW.

      · Rate/Night (for your stay): Approx 213 points

      · Ease of Disney Park Access: The bus is actually the fastest way to the MK, but the boat is a lot of fun and adds to the memories/experiences of the stay. You can also get a boat to the Contemporary and hop right on the monorail to Epcot or other monorail resorts. The bus stops are right in between the main hotel and the villas. Sometimes the boat to the MK will stop at Fort Wilderness first but WL is always the first stop coming back from MK. Both buses and boats seem to come about every 10-20 minutes. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get to the Animal Kingdom which is the longest ride.

      · General Restaurant/Lounge Impressions: This hotel is one of the nicer dining options outside of the Grand Floridian - this hotel features High/Middle/Low cost dining. Artist point is probably one of the best restaurants on WDW property, Whispering Canyon has great food and is a lot of fun for the kids and Roaring Fork has a nice selection of quick items and is conveniently located close to the main pool.

      · Pool Description/Comments:
      The main pool has a water slide and there is also a kiddie pool and 2 hot tubs. There is also a walk-up bar right by the pool and close to the geyser which erupts every hour or so. The Villas quiet pool also has a hot tub and is a favorite for adults, although kids can play there also without gettting dirty looks.
       
      48 out of 48 people found this review helpful
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