Disney XXIV

Time for the last set of Walt Disney World entries until I go again, waah! For our ’97, ’00 and ’03 trips we stayed at Wilderness Lodge, which is a deluxe resort, and very cool at that. In the lobby there’s a six-story totem poll, and there are also large chandeliers. In the lobby too there’s a small wooden footbridge to cross to get to other side, where the big-screen TV is. You see now the chickens have to cross a bridge, not just a road. Anyway the bridge spans a small man-made hot spring that flows into one of the pools, I think.

A large fireplace and some rocking chairs also adorn the lobby. From the lobby you can walk down a series of ramps to Roaring Forks or the arcade. Don’t remember if I was ever in the arcade, but we were in Roaring Forks a lot. Roaring Forks serves mainly snacks cookies and stuff, but you can also get soups and things.

Whispering Canyon Café is another restaurant, but we only went there once. The menu consists of mainly roasts and other meats. Don’t get me wrong, I like my meat, but I also like my salad, pasta, seafood, stuff like that. Also the theming was annoying; the waiters were dressed like cowboys and talked to you as if they were cowboys. Artists Point is the third restaurant, and the menu consists of unpronounceable words. The Pop Century food court puts all three of these to shame.

Wilderness Lodge also has an outer deck area, which is over water I believe and this deck is where I spotted the water pageant first. Actually, I think I heard the music first and then looked. The reason I keep coming back to this is I very seldom if ever spot something first, and I’m very pleased when those rare occasions occur. The giant lighted sea gods and monsters were neat to look at too.

From the Lodge there’s ferry transport to the Magic Kingdom and bus transportation everywhere else. Usually the buses go other places before going to EPCOT or wherever, which is sometimes frustrating. The buses at Pop Century were direct to the parks. Granted, I haven’t been to Wilderness Lodge since 2003, so bus schedules could’ve changed.

Most of the rooms have balconies, and a few times when we came back to the hotel early, for some unknown reason, we saw the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Wilderness Lodge is in the Magic Kingdom area, so we could see them.