Transportation to and from Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
In June I decided to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for the first time. Usually I stay in the moderate level (mostly Port Orleans Riverside) because I just cannot justify the expense of a deluxe resort. We literally only sleep in the room and usually don’t even use the pool. However, I was able to get a “room promotion” and you saved 30% off a deluxe, verses 20% off a moderate so that narrowed the price gap a bit. I absolutely loved the Wilderness Lodge and felt the price difference was well worth it! I loved the layout, the pool, the restaurants, the location but hands down the transportation was the BEST! I am sure I will blog about the other features at some point, but transportation had to be first!
BUSES- My mom, 15 month old son, and I never waited for a bus more than 3-5 minutes our entire stay! We were there for 5 days in JUNE and still never waited for a bus. I would chalk if up to good luck but really 5 days, of not waiting!? I have waited 20+ minutes at Riverside for a bus in the fall and winter slow periods. I don’t think not waiting at all is typical, but I can say without a doubt the buses run much quicker at Wilderness Lodge verses Riverside and Caribbean beach from my experience. This was true both to and from the parks. We also never had a bus full enough where we had to stand. This was wonderful! It was honestly the first time in years that I did not have to stand at all on a bus on my trip and I usually travel in less crowded seasons!
BOAT to Magic Kingdom- This was pretty much the most magical boat ever! Traveling with a young child, you spend so much time at the Magic Kingdom and the monorail resorts are not in everyone’s budget. If you plan to go with little ones, I HIGHLY recommend Wilderness Lodge because of the boat service. It is a direct boat ride to and from the Magic Kingdom and only services Wilderness Lodge. It is a short but beautiful ride and in the 5 days we only waited once. Literally the boat was unloading or pulling up every time we needed it except once. The one time we did wait, it was 15-20 minutes, but for 5 days it was pretty amazing! There are actually two types of boats that run the route and I have to say I did prefer one over the other. The smaller boat, a pontoon style, held less guests and you had to collapse your strollers. The larger boat was enclosed with a deck and you could roll your strollers right on. Please note that you do have to collapse strollers on all Disney buses but can leave them open on the monorail (for comparison). Another thing to mention is that two of our four nights we left during the fireworks (I have waited an hour or more for a bus in the past at this time) and we hopped right on a boat. You get an excellent view of Wishes (fireworks) from the boat. I wish they would play the music on the boat 🙂
I really cannot say enough great things about my experience at Wilderness Lodge and will definitely stay there again, especially while my son is young.
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