Where to Stay - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 71

er, and a toilet and tub in a separate room. Of the three room types at the Villas, studios
are most comparable to standard WL rooms. They sleep five in a slightly larger space,
on a queen, a fold-out couch, and a fold-down smaller bed that's 32 inches by 75 inches.
These five-person studio rooms will be great choices for five-person families looking for
Wilderness Lodge kid appeal who can fit in their beds. Rooms have balconies or patios,
and are accessed from interior corridors. Like the other deluxe resorts, you can also re-
serve concierge-supported rooms (“club” rooms) and suites, and WL also has larger “de-
luxe rooms” that sleep six.
There are two table service restaurants at WL. Artist Point has a resort casual dress code,
and offers a Pacific Northwest inspired menu. Whispering Canyon Café provides raucous
fun and family-friendly dining. There are no character meals here, but these and other kid
and adult-appealing meals are available at the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness—each
just a boat ride away. WL has one of the better counter service options among the deluxes,
and the best bar of the Magic Kingdom resorts. There's another bar at the pool.
Amenities include a beach, nightly movies, campfires, jogging trails, playgrounds, boat
rental, fishing, a spa/fitness center, hot tubs, volleyball, and arcades. More water sports
and a pirate cruise are at the nearby Contemporary. WL is one of three deluxe resorts (the
Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge are the others) that are not convention hotels.
At the Wilderness Lodge you can pay extra for views. Standard view rooms are $367/
night on weekdays and $407/night on Fridays and Saturdays during the 2015 Fall season.
2015 peak prices for these rooms are $561 and prices bottom out at $325/night.
Jim's Gems
by Jim Korkis
Artist Duane Pasco carved the two 55-foot-tall totem poles for the lobby of the Wil-
derness Lodge. These totem poles measure 3-feet wide at the top and 5-feet wide at
the bottom, and each is constructed of two 27-foot sections spliced together. The goal
in designing the totem poles was to use legend and lore common among the many
tribes of the Northwest Coast, but not necessarily specific to any one tribe. One pole
tells the story of the eagle and the other tells the story of the raven, two animal icons
familiar in many Native American stories.