By Amanda from mouzekateerz.com.
If you’re Couponing to Disney, then you know all about scrimping and saving, rolling change and cutting corners, etc. You’ve probably stayed at the Disney Value Resorts, maybe off property in an even-more-value hotel. But when is it time to splurge? Have you ever thought about stepping up to one of the Disney Deluxe Resorts, or upgrading even further to a Club Level Room?
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is a Rocky Mountain themed resort surrounded by deep woods, decorated with authentic touches like 55-foot man-made totem polls and granite flagstones. On-site entertainment includes boat rentals, fishing trips, bike rentals, and even horse-drawn carriage rides. The landscaping is absolutely breathtaking, from a Disney-made stream and geyser, all the way down to the boat dock on Bay Lake.
Wilderness Lodge has a family restaurant called “Whispering Canyon Cafe” that’s quite popular with families staying at the resort. Need some details and menu prices?
Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge: Three Reasons It’s a Disney Must-Eat!
So what exactly will a stay at Wilderness Lodge cost? There are many different options, but here are prices per night for a stay during Value Season at different locations throughout the resort.
- Standard room with standard view – $265
- Standard Room with Woods View – $300
- Woods View with Bunk Bed – $330
- Standard Room with Courtyard View – $320
- Courtyard view with bunk bed – $355
Here’s where we take a jump in price and amenities. Remember the saying about how you get what you pay for…
- Club Level with Concierge Service – Standard Room – $445
- Club Level with Concierge Service – Honeymoon Suite – $475
- Club Level with Concierge Service – Deluxe Room – $580
- Club Level with Concierge Service – Vice-Presidential Suite – $915
- Club Level with Concierge Service – Presidential Suite – $1030
Couponing to Disney fan and Mouze Kateerz.com writer Teri Scavette described the Club Level experience she had with her husband.
“We stayed on the 7th floor Club Level for a belated honeymoon. We were greeted by the bellman and our bags were taken from us upon our arrival. We were escorted by a Wilderness Lodge Cast Member up to the seventh floor for a private check-in. You need an ID card to be able to access the seventh floor.
I was taken back by the size of the room, and amazed by the vaulted ceilings. The detail in the king-sized bed headboard was beautiful. In the bath, we had a full marble Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall spigot. Perhaps best of all, our room was located right near the lounge where food and drink were served all day long.”
Teri has also stayed at another amazing Disney Deluxe Resort, the Polynesin Resort on the Club Level, and her review of the perks is just as enticing.
The Polynesian Resort: Are You Ready for the Fabulousness of Club Level?!
What comes standard in the Wilderness Lodge Honeymoon Suite on the Club Level?
- Club level with concierge service honeymoon suite offers a view of the woodlands or the Magic Kingdom theme park
- One king-size bed
- Bathroom with marble whirlpool tub
- Vanity area with 2 sinks and bath
- Table and chairs
- Private balcony
- Ceiling fan
- DVD player
- High-speed Internet access (for an additional fee)
- Refrigerator
- voice mail
Think these ammenities sound great for your next vacation, but you’ll have to save for a while to pull it off? Here are some dining tips that could help get you there.
Want to Save Money on Food at Walt Disney World? Try These Three Simple Tips.
What was Terri’s favorite part of Club Level experience?
The view and the individualized service.
“The view of the lobby from up on the seventh floor is amazing. We were literally at the top of the totem pole! Another feature that we both enjoyed was a private balcony; it’s very serene being up above the tree tops! The Cast Members were always eager to help with any request, greeting you with a huge smile each time you departed the elevator.”
When staying on the Club Level, you will receive access to the Old Faithful Club, located on seventh floor of the Resort. There are many benefits to the Old Faithful Club.
- Advanced Walt Disney World Resort Itinerary Planning service
- Personalized Front Desk and Concierge service from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Evening turn-down service with chocolates
- Complimentary Health Club access
- Complimentary fax assistance
- Secure key access to the Club Level floors and Lounge, which serves refreshments daily:
- Continental breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
- Midday snack from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Evening wine and cheese from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Evening cordials and desserts from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Back to Teri for her thoughts on the Old Faithful Club, “My husband and I both especially enjoyed the continental breakfast that was served every morning,which consisted of hot cereal, fresh fruits, bagels, croissants, coffee, teas, juices, etc. We were able to grab a bite to eat, and then we could be on our way to enjoy the Disney fun. During the day there were offerings of homemade potato chips with a dip, liquors at night and at dinner time, there was a hot dish with many finger foods. My very favorite offering? The late night cobblers!!!!”
I asked Teri what her overall impression of Club Level was, and if she felt it was worth the extra money. “Our overall experience on a scale from 1 to 10 was definitely a 50! I loved the personal service and over the top accommodations. I can honestly say I’m ‘hooked’ on staying at Club Level in the Disney World Deluxe Resorts. We truly enjoyed our stay at Club Level at the Wilderness Lodge, and we look forward to experiencing it again.”
There is an additional adult charge of $25 per adult per night for more than 2 adults, except in Suites and rooms with King beds.
Additional information you may need if you decide to make the leap to Club Level.
- Online booking for Club Level accommodations is not available. You can call WDW-MAGIC or (407) 939-6244. for reservations.
- Voice mail is available.
- Wheelchair-accessible rooms are available.
- All rooms are non-smoking rooms.
Need help deciding when to book your Club Level stay, or really, just a stay anywhere in Orlando? Here’s info. that can make your planning easier.
When is the Best Time to Go To Walt Disney World?
So there is an overview of Club Level accommodations at Wilderness Lodge. Even if the amenities are nice, that’s a lot of money. Think it’s worth it? I’m not sure I could ever roll enough quarters to afford a night on the club level, but is sure is nice to take a peak into what’s offered just in case my Lottery ticket finally pays off!
Amanda M. and Teri write about all things Disney at Mouze Kateerz.com, and they hang out frequently at Mouze Kateerz on Pinterest.
You will also find their articles on Meet the Magic.com.
I always stay at WL and have never, ever found it to be anything short of amazing–and I used to work in hospitality, for a much lauded (overrated IMO) boutique hotel company. My friend and her family had previously stayed at value and moderate resorts and she vastly preferred the Lodge, as well.
We’re visiting in December and will stay Club Level, but it will be a first. I’ve always found the service to be just fabulous—gracious, attentive and friendly. And my stay to be worth every penny!
We are going to WDW in August, and staying in a value resort(All-Star Movies). We are staying for 6 days and 5 nights. We have already bought our park tickets(FL resident 4 day tickets with NO park hopper. So far— we have only spent about $800 on the hotel and tickets. I am trying to keep the whole trip under $1000 by bringing our food with us to the hotel and parks… I’m doing all of this to save for our next trip– which we will go ‘all out’ on!
I got a free upgrade to club level at the Yacht Club one year. The very few times I made it into the lounge, I enjoyed what I ate there. But when you’re in the park all day, you’re lucky if you make it in for breakfast and dessert, which wouldn’t have been worth paying for.
I see you didn’t post my email. I think it’s important to share the good with the bad.
My dream is to stay at the Contemporary one day. I doubt I will splurge to do the Club Level. While I’m sure the perks are nice, I just don’t see us getting our money worth out of it. But paying the extra $ to ride the monorail to MK and Epcot? Totally worth it!
My mom always says “one day we will stay at either the Animal Kingdom lodge or Wilderness Lodge” (my dream hotel is the Grand Floridian) And although we do stay at the moderate hotels (we stayed at the all star sports and my parents just didn’t care for them, they said they were too loud) I cannot imagine spending that much for a hotel room that I am not going ot be in most of the day. I had a hard time this past trip trying to validate swictching from a condo type hotel we were staying at which was $160/night for a 3 bedroom suite to$150/ a night for one hotel room (which we needed two so really $300 a night) for the Coronado Springs for the last two days. My parents decided to foot the bill for the Disney Hotel. We suprised the kids when we got there and they were disappointed that we had to leave the hotel with the cool pool (It had a pirate ship in it) and the huge tub in our room.
Perhaps if one day just my husband and I go by ourselves we will splurge on something like that.
We have stayed at various resorts on property and off. Since this article is about the Wilderness Lodge, I’ll speak to that experience. We booked our vacation for two adults and four children. We went over Spring Break, traveling from Dallas. It was a vacation we all needed and had saved and planned for some time. We purchased 6 park hoppers and the Disney Dining Plan for each of our family members for the week. With airfare, our trip cost close to $10k. It was also the year that WDW offered to make our dreams come true. Well, it was the biggest collassal waste of money we ever spent at WDW. We had a better time at the value resorts than we did at the Wilderness Lodge. Of course the Lodge is attractive. We have had meals there in the past during other trips prior to the time we stayed there. Upon arrival, our room was not ready, which does happen, however, we checked in after check in time. We were sent to a room that was not what we had chosen AND it was dirty. We went back to the front desk where we were told to wait. The front desk was rude and insensitive to our children’s needs–who by this time had been up and traveling for quite some time. No cast member even seemed to care that we had to come back to the front desk. We waited 45 minutes to be waited on again. We were told to get back in line, which we did. Eventually we were given another room. The pool was being renovated, which we were not told prior to arrival, and we had to take the ferry to the Contemporary to swim. Our view, the staff and the food, on this particular visit, was so disappointing. We specifically booked the Wilderness Lodge for a great experience and everything we were sold and told by the Vacation Disney representative. We will never stay there again. I guess all their energy goes to the club level. No service was left for other guests. Our bill from the Wilderness Lodge was the biggest expense of our vacation. We knew that in advance looking forward to all the amenitites. When asked if we would be given any credits for the pool being unavailalbe and our room being unavailable, we were told NO. We felt like we were sold a bad deal and no one on property would take responsibility. For the price we paid, we would have expected the same level of service Teri mentions. I will tell you that the value resort was accommodating, friendly, the pool was fun and the children had alot more kids to play with AND we only spent $1500 for our room, park hopper passes AND the Disney dining package!! The rooms are like a Motel , but we weren’t in our room enough to care. AND the cleaning staff made cute little bunnies out of our wash clothes. The kids looked forward each day to see what was new and, the cleaning staff hid them around the room for the kids to find! Transportation came and took us everywhere we needed to go. Yes, it was a different experience on the hotel side, but we weren’t there to bask in the glory of the hotel. We were there to give our kids a great experience at the parks, which we did for an amazingly low price. In spite of the terrible service and amenities for our trip at the Wilderness Lodge we had a fantastic time at the most magical place on Earth! We felt absolutely no one cared how we were treated and how disappointed our children were at the Wilderness Lodge. Since then, we have learned that many of the positions are held by college students participating in the Disney College Program. The students are only in their positions for four months. We tried to elevate our concerns but to no avail. No, we did not write a letter or call or complain to anyone. We enjoyed our children and the parks with lots of character meals and fun, fun, fun! But like I said before, we will NEVER stay there again, or recommend anyone spend that much money for a place that does not care. There are just too many other choices on and off property who do want the business.
Someday…maybe. I’ve always wanted to stay at Wilderness Lodge, but when I price it, I just can’t get past the fact that I could have 3-4 days longer of a vacation at a value for the same price.
That said, we did stay two nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge in Nov before going to All-Star Moves. I rented points from a friend of a friend and those two nights only cost us about $100 or so (maybe it was $150) more than the value. With DVC in value season Thanksgiving weekend and the value resort at holiday rates those same nights, it brought the per night cost much closer than usual.
Definitely something I’ll watch for to happen again just in case I can really splurge without blowing the budget or sacrificing trip days.