Disney Wilderness Lodge

mgnjnsn2 · December 2011

We are planning to take my son to Disney in the begining of March, he'll be 2 1/2 then. Anyone stayed at Wilderness Lodge before? Good for kids? Also is you had to choose between Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios which would you do?

Paigeo · December 2011

I am working on planning a trip in 2012 and am close to booking the Wilderness Lodge. Seems to get good reviews... especially for families with little kids. For the parks our current plan is to skip Holywood Studios and do Animal Kingdom instead. Seems like there is more for small kids at AK. Our current plan is to allow 2 days for MK, 1 for Epcot and 1 for AK. We plan on going again when she is older so I am not all concerned about hitting absolutely everything.

stephnews · December 2011

A 2 1/2 year old will like Animal Kingdom better. There's more to do/see for the little ones. Hollywood Studios has a lot of thrill rides.

I haven't stayed at Wilderness Lodge, but it looks really cool!

Wally3 · December 2011

I have heard wonderful things about the wilderness lodge. Definately do AK much more for kids. THe DIG is there a big playground where kids can run around and get their energy out.

Kristine Schilling · December 2011

For a 2 1/2 YO... animal kingdom. More to do, lots of animals and a few good shows. Kind of like Disney meets Zoo. Hollywood studios has several things for kids, but it wont be as interesting to a young child.

shopgirl78 · December 2011

Never stayed at the Wilderness Lodge but there is a girl on parenting (Hidiesean) who did and I believe she liked it.

We did the 4 major parks last time we went. MK is by far one to spend a couple of days at. The kids were 4 and 2. We did the princess breakfast at Epcot but other than that and a Nemo show/ride. There was nothing there for my kids...maybe we were missing something. It was also A LOT of walking. The char were not all that exciting but we were glad to see them...they might like Honey I shrunk the kids now but they are still a little young for the movie.

In AK, we loved the safari, the parade, the characters, Lion King show, saw Lilo & stitch and I can't remember what else.

We really liked HS, by far Toy Story was DS's fav ride (fast pass) and it was sooo nice to have a down day. It was HOT in August and this allowed some AC and rest from walking. We loved many of the shows. I remember specifically the muppets the kids loved. Also Beauty and the Beast, Playhouse disney (loved), Little Mermaid, etc. If you have a girl and boy and doing a lot of Princess, this is a way to get in some boy stuff: Cars, Power Rangers, Buzz and Woody, etc..Mine loved meeting all the playhouse disney characters.

We are going again (second time) in March and are chosing to skip Epcot this time.

amos07 · December 2011

I definitely would choose the Animal Kingdom, it has so much more fun stuff for kids that age. I agree with the poster that mentioned skipping Epcot instead, that way you could go to Hollywood studios too. I have never stayed at the Wilderness Lodge but I have been there on several occasions. The resort looks really nice and seems really family friendly. Not sure what your budget is but if you can afford it, I would recommend one of the resorts on the monorail so you can avoid the buses for the most part. We usually stay at the Contemporary and it has been nice with little kids.

mgnjnsn2 · December 2011

Thanks everyone! We were able to book Wilderness lodge for only $200 more than a moderate resort due to a special they are running. If we could afford it my pick would be Animal Kingdom or Polynesian! Looks like we are going to go with Animal Kingdom.

Anyone have any restaurant recommendations?

MsKellDel · December 2011

We stayed there and loved it. The best part is the convenient location and besides the shuttles, there is also a boat that takes you over to the MK and then from there you can take the monorail.

I think Hollywood Studios has more to do for little ones than Animal Kingdom

shopgirl78 · December 2011

mgnjnsn2:
Thanks everyone! We were able to book Wilderness lodge for only $200 more than a moderate resort due to a special they are running. If we could afford it my pick would be Animal Kingdom or Polynesian! Looks like we are going to go with Animal Kingdom.
Anyone have any restaurant recommendations?

shopgirl78 · December 2011

mgnjnsn2:

Thanks everyone! We were able to book Wilderness lodge for only $200 more than a moderate resort due to a special they are running. If we could afford it my pick would be Animal Kingdom or Polynesian! Looks like we are going to go with Animal Kingdom.

Anyone have any restaurant recommendations?

Sweet deal!~we stayed at a moderate, Port Orleans last time and while it was wonderful, the buses were a PITA with stollers, toddler, bags and I can only imagine driving. Didn't help I was 17 wks pregnant.

We are staying at the Polynesian this time. I think the monorail will be a huge plus.

Last time we ate at:

MK- the Tavern (thanksgiving type) and the Cyrstal Palace (character)

Epcot: Askershus banquent (LOVED) but about the only thing worth it at the park besides the Nemo thing unless you are bringing extra adults

Hollywood Studios: Hollywood and Vine another character

AK: anther character Tusker house

All of the character meals were buffets. My kids wanted nothing but mac n cheese, figured we are on vacay why not...but it sucked that once they ate and you got yours and started to eat, they were done...

We did our quick service meal almost evert AM at the hotel. It was wondeful...mickey mouse waffles for the kids every AM

This time we are eating at:

Cinderella's Royal Table. I can tell you we booked 3 months out and got a crappy time but its what is available...

1900 Park Fare- princess

Chef Mickey's

Tusker House

and OHana's- Lilo and Stich

babywisher · December 2011

We have been to Wilderness Lodge and LOVED it. I think it is great for kids. The pool is very nice. The ability to ride the boat the Magic Kingdom is a plus especially with a toddler. One thing I really liked about it was how small it is. The buses are great there also. With a toddler I would pick Animal Kingdom for sure!

cs1007 · December 2011

We just got back from Disney. We looked at all the on site hotels, but actually ended up getting a condo on homeaway.com. We got a 3 bedroom with full kicthen and washer dryer for $70 a night...and the place provided a pnp and stroller too...it was really nice not having to eat every single meal out-which gets expensive and fattening!!! We did the Park Hopper option which included Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. DS actually really liked Hollywood Studious. Thye had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse live show-which he is really into, meet and greets with Mickey, and a 3D Kermit show-all of which he really loved! GL! You can PM me if you need any help/info

amos07 · December 2011

We are going in May and we are planning on eating at: Chef Mickeys (Contemporary- character buffet), Cinderellas Royal Table, Crystal Palace (MK-character buffet), Tony's (MK), Rainforest Cafe (Downtown Disney), 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian- character), Kona Cafe (Polynesian), Biegarten Restaurant (Epcot).

MrsCripe10 · December 2011

I love wilderness lodge. I would definitly do animal kingdom over hollywood studios. We have annual passes and went to hollywood studios once last year. DD loves animal kingdom and i think that it has some of the best organized character greetings.

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