On our last visit to Disney World, we did something called "resort-hopping" where you split your stay between two or more resorts. The second half of our stay was at the Wilderness Lodge. This resort is in the lower price range of the deluxe resorts at Disney World. We received an annual pass rate of $579 for 3 nights. Since this was the last time we'd be staying at Disney with only 2 kids and most of the rooms have a maximum occupancy of 4, we thought we'd better give it a shot now.  
 
Walking into the lobby I was amazed. There are totem poles and a giant stone fireplace. Two restaurants are present just off the lobby, Whispering Canyon and Artist Point. Artist Point offers a Winnie-the-Pooh character breakfast, while there's good fun to be had at Whispering Canyon (just ask for ketchup and see what happens). There is also a cafeteria-style restaurant where you can purchase a refillable mug and get free beverages for the rest of your trip. During our trip there was a lot of construction going on in this area, so I don't know if we got a fair sampling of the food, but it seemed to be somewhat lacking.  
 
The rooms themselves are mainly in two wings. We asked for and received a room on the 5th floor overlooking the Magic Kingdom. The plus was having a view of the Castle and viewing the fireworks at night through the trees. The minus is that this overlooks the smokehouse for the restaurant and a delivery area. Some people have said they found it noisy, but we didn't notice any outside noise. The 5th floor balconies have a railing, while the 6th floor has decorative boards, making it harder for little ones to get a view and tempting them to climb up to get one.  
 
The room was nicely decorated and clean. The double sink is outside of the bathroom and has plenty of counter space. There was also quite a bit of closet space. One of the amenities the deluxe resorts have over moderates is a full room service instead of pizza delivery, Though we never used it, the menu was very tempting and would've been nice for a late-night snack after a day of touring the parks. Another amenity is the "Cubs Den" where your children can go for fun at night while the parents get a night out to themselves. We don't like to leave our kids on vacation, but I have heard from a lot of people that their kids look forward to spending this time away from Mom and Dad.  
 
But what we loved best about the Wilderness Lodge was the pool area. Water runs out of the lobby and down through a waterfall and a "brook" into the pool. There is a slide that my 9 year old couldn't get enough of. Even in the cool early March nights, the two of them would ask to go to the pool after a day in the parks. There is also a wading pool for little swimmers and two hot tubs. In keeping with the Northwest theme, a geyser goes off every hour. All of this area offers a clear view of Bay Lake. Our daughters had their hair "wrapped" poolside at a cost of about $60 for the two of them. If you can get out of doing this , it's a good idea. We started the tradition one year and now they look forward to it.  
 
The Magic Kingdom is just a short boat ride away from Wilderness Lodge. There is also a marina, and you can watch the water pageant on the beach every night. This resort is so interesting that Disney offers tours. Inquire at guest services if you are interested. This is one of the resorts I would love to stay at again if I had the money cause we enjoyed it so much.  
 
