Mark Backstrom
We had a wonderful experience staying at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. The location is incredible—surrounded by beautiful woods, peaceful trails, and views of Bay Lake that make it feel like a true retreat. The resort’s rustic aesthetic really transports you to a different time, adding to the overall charm. We stayed in a fireworks-view room with a king-sized bed, and the view was absolutely amazing. This was my second time staying here, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique and memorable Disney resort experience.
Andrew Hayman
This is a gorgeous property. The grounds are meticulously landscaped. The interior is like a Christmas wonderland. There are many many lovely little spaces to hang out. The pools are well kept and they have fun activities for guests. Why 3 stars... the food at the quick service spot is cafeteria quality. Very little effort to make the experience match the deluxe status of the hotel. And then there's the pricing. I've paid less for beachfront access in Hawaii per night. Nightly rates here for early December were above $600/ night. The least they could do is comp a sit down breakfast! That said, we love this hotel. This and Animal Kingdom are faves, especially for Christmas.
Andrew Noel
I’ve stayed at this property twice, and visited specifically for the restaurants. While this resort is not advertised for its food options, it should be noted that this is one of the best resorts in terms of fresh vegetables from quick service. My wife and I found the room to be spacious, the amenities on property plentiful, and the location desirable. While the main lodge is a lot of fun, it can be relatively noisy, especially due to the Whispering Canyon’s antics. Still, between the pool and scenic views, you can’t really go wrong with this one.
Mike Riess
Great Disney resort! We generally try to pick a different place every time we go to Disney. I’m pretty sure we’ll be back at this resort though. The atmosphere is great and the facility as a whole is nicely maintained. Everyone of the employees we came in contact with was extremely nice too.
Formula Motorsports
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Walt Disney World overall have become a masterclass in how to hollow out a once great brand while charging more than ever for less than ever.
The rooms at Wilderness Lodge have been refurbished, but already feel tired, generic, and worn. Worse is the total elimination of housekeeping. During COVID, Disney claimed cleaning rooms was somehow unsafe. That excuse never made sense and now, years later, they’ve kept the policy purely to cut costs. We stayed an entire week without the room being cleaned once. No beds made, no bathroom cleaning, no vacuuming. Towel drops are not service. This is unacceptable at a so called Deluxe resort.
Food across Disney World is atrocious. Disney publishes its own nutrition data, and it confirms what your taste buds already know. Everything is engineered around sugar and salt. Even cheeseburgers are sweet. Vegetables are nearly nonexistent unless drowned in sauce. Every restaurant serves the same low quality food in different formats. Geyser Point has about six items. Whispering Canyon is a sodium and nitrate nightmare. Fine dining is an embarrassment. The people responsible for food and beverage should be fired.
Alcohol is everywhere. From early morning onward, there are drink carts, vodka stands, and hard liquor being pushed constantly. EPCOT has been turned into an alcohol loop. What was once cultural and educational is now fast food and drinking. Disney has clearly decided that sugar and alcohol are the fastest way to increase spending, and they push both relentlessly in what is supposed to be a family destination.
Ride wait times are out of control. From park opening, most major rides are one to two hours. Hollywood Studios has maybe four real attractions, all with two to three hour waits immediately. Disney brings in massive daily crowds without having the rides or infrastructure to support them, then charges extra for paid line skipping to fix the problem they created.
Transportation is one of the few things that still works, but everything else is visibly understaffed. Pools, restaurants, guest services, all stretched thin. Meanwhile ticket prices approach $200 a day, bottled water is over $6, and hotels labeled “value” still cost $800 to $900 a night. There is no value. Only access.
The hotels are no longer destinations. They are revenue extraction tools. Themed but soulless. No magic, no exclusivity, no care. Most guests order Uber Eats because even Disney Springs restaurants like Boathouse serve overpriced, poorly plated food that feels like fast food with a bigger bill.
Disney has kept every COVID era cost cutting measure while dropping the pretense of guest experience. Everything now points toward profit through crowding, sugar, alcohol, and merchandise. Longtime guests and Disney Vacation Club members are right to be disgusted. Disney didn’t lose its way. It chose this.
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