The Wilderness Lodge (Walt Disney World Resort)

Whenever I go to Disney World, I always stay at The Wilderness Lodge. Nestled on the shores of Bay Lake near Fort Wilderness campground and across the lake from the old River Country waterpark, the Wilderness Lodge is patterned after the old great National Park lodges, particularly the Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park.

Starting from the moment you walk into the cavernous lobby, you will fall in love with the Wilderness Lodge. The main lobby of the giant A framed log structure is seven stories tall. Giant redwood trees form the structural poles that rise up all the way to the roof. There is a grand fireplace in one corner that also reaches all the way to the top – and has been sculpted to look like the strata of geologically correct rock found in the side of the Grand Canyon. Incredibly designed metallic chandeliers float above it all. There are comfortable chairs for sitting and contemplating it all.

Off the main lobby you can find a mercantile store with just about every amenity you might possibly want or need. There’s also the entrance to the Whispering Canyon Café – a restaurant that you have to experience to believe and about which I’m sure I’ll talk about later. Other restaurants at the Wilderness Lodge include a snack bar called Roaring Forks and a premium four star restaurant called the Artist Point – that serves the delicacies of the Northwest like cedar plank smoked salmon, and buffalo, and other delicious entrees.

The pool is rough hewn out of rock with a zero degree entry, a water slide, and a waterfall. And once every hour the resorts very own geyser spouts off. The exterior of this resort is just as breathtakingly beautiful as its interior.

There are two ways to depart the resort – busses go everywhere, but if you want to go the Magic Kingdom or to Fort Wilderness or The Contemporary Resort, you also have the option of taking a boat across Bay Lake.

I keep telling myself that all of Disney’s resorts are probably just as good, but after that first time I walked into the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge, I’ve never wanted to stay anywhere else.

And now some links:
Allears
Laughing Place
MiceAge
YouTube
Disney (Official)
SURPRISE!