The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Wilderness Lodge's front where a waterfall flows past native plants

Next up in our series exploring the Disney Vacation Club resorts are the Villas at Wilderness Lodge (VWL). Exciting changes are coming to Wilderness Lodge that will affect stays at the Villas and we’ll make sure to note those changes at the end of this article.

 

Location: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort sits on the shores of Bay Lake in sight of the back side of the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower. The resort is accessible by boat from the Magic Kingdom as well as the Walt Disney World bus transportation system. The Villas at Wilderness Lodge are held in an annex that is connected to the main building by a covered and mostly sheltered walkway.

Lobby and Common Areas: Like the other older properties with DVC annexes rather than rooms in the hotel proper, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge have a common room within the annex and also have easy access to the main lobby of the hotel. VWL’s annex common room houses lots of railroad memorabilia and is named the Carolwood Room after Walt Disney’s model Carolwood Railroad. The Carolwood room sits just off the annex common space. There are no check in desks or cast member spaces in either of these rooms, rather they provide seating and a kind of lobby for the villas. All services for the villas must be obtained in the main lodge lobby (pictured below. Photo courtesy of the Walt Disney Company).

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Room Types: VWL has three room types. All photos are courtesy of the Walt Disney Company.

  • The deluxe studio sleeps five people in a queen bed, a queen pullout sofa, and a twin pull-down sleeper (pictured below). Deluxe studios feature a small seating area and a kitchenette with microwave, mini refrigerator, toaster, and coffee maker.

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  • The one-bedroom villa sleeps up to four people in two separate rooms. The bedroom has a King bed and the living room features a queen pullout sofa. The one-bedroom also has a kitchen with full-sized refrigerator, oven, and stove, and a dining area.

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  • The two-bedroom villa is the one-bedroom villa with an extra bedroom furnished with two queen beds and its own bath. Two-bedroom villas sleep up to 8 people on a King in the master, two queens in the guest bedroom, and a queen sleeper sofa in the living area. The two-bedroom villa also has a full kitchen. *It should be noted that the dining areas provided in the VWL two-bedroom villas seat at maximum five people.

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Convenience: Guests may check in at any time of day in the main lodge lobby. Bell Services is located next to check-in and does serve the villas at all times.  Wilderness Lodge’s quick service restaurant, Roaring Forks, is across the resort from the villas and is a fair distance, but can be accessed with an indoor route after guests have walked up the walkway to the main building.  The resort store, sit-down restaurants, and lounge are all housed in the main building as well. The villas are on the opposite side of the resort from the boat launch to the Magic Kingdom and depending on the route, are about a five minute walk to the launch. The walking trails, fire pit, beach, and recreation cabin are all easily accessible with a short walk from the villas.

 

Pools: There is a small swimming pool dedicated to the villas, and guests also have access to the feature pool, Silver Creek Springs Pool.

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CONSTRUCTION NOTES: Beginning in late October, 2015, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge will undergo major renovation as cabins are added to the lakeside behind the existing villas structure. Disney confirmed on September 22, 2015 that the waterfront cabins will be the 14th Disney Vacation Club development.   The resort itself will undergo multiple closure phases to complete construction over the next two years. Resort recreation will be limited (pathways, fire pit, beach closed) and the villa pool will be closed. Silver Creek Springs pool (the feature pool) is currently slated to remain open and accessible to guests. The process will likely involve a good deal of construction noise with demolition and construction active from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Guests considering staying at the resort should consult member services to find out what activities and accommodations are limited at the time they wish to vacation.

Comments

  • Nick Cotton
    October 10, 2015

    Wendy, from our understanding at this point it does sound like these cabins will be similar in size to the ones at the Polynesian.

  • Wendy Hall
    October 10, 2015

    Are these “waterfront” villas going to be standalone cabins for larger families similar to the Polynesian huts on the water? They are very expensive.

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