- Average night
- $607
- Standard room sleeps
- 4
- Quickest park
- Magic Kingdom, by boat
- Pools
- 8 / 10
The short answer
Wilderness Lodge is the answer for families who want Magic Kingdom without the monorail price. A boat runs straight to the gates, which beats every Value and every Moderate on property, and only the six monorail resorts do better.
What's special is that nobody in the family gets left out. It scores 9 for under-fours, 7 for ages 7 to 13 and 7 for adults. Nothing here is spectacular, either. About $607 a night buys you steadiness, a good pool, dinner with Snow White at Artist Point, and a lobby that really wows people.
The original DVC villas on the same site, sharing the pool, the restaurants and the boat.
Room alerts for Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge →Wilderness Lodge sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Your ages, budget and parks re-rank all 32. Free, about a minute.Which room to ask for
Rooms open onto internal corridors with elevators throughout, so which floor you get matters less here than at the Values and Moderates. A request costs nothing and is never guaranteed: make it at booking, and again a day or two before you arrive.
Every measure, against the other 30
Disney does not set a height minimum on its resort waterslides, unlike the water parks. Riders go down one at a time and land in water deep enough to swim in, so the question is whether your child swims on their own, not how tall they are.
| Scored category | This resort | Average of all 32 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pools | 8 / 10 | 7.1 | 7th of 32 |
| Splash pads and slides | 8 / 10 | 7.6 | 14th of 32 |
| Everything close together | 9 / 10 | 6.0 | 3rd of 32 |
| Things to do on site | 7.5 / 10 | 7.2 | 10th of 32 |
| Suits under 4s | 9 / 10 | 7.8 | 1st of 32 |
| Suits ages 4 to 6 | 8 / 10 | 7.8 | 14th of 32 |
| Suits ages 7 to 13 | 7 / 10 | 6.2 | 8th of 32 |
| Suits adults | 7 / 10 | 5.5 | 8th of 32 |
| Getting to Magic Kingdom · boat | 7 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to EPCOT · bus | 4 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to Hollywood Studios · bus | 3 / 10 | 4.5 | – |
| Getting to Animal Kingdom · bus | 3 / 10 | 4.0 | – |
Rank is out of all 32 Disney resorts on that one measure. The park rows show the fastest route Disney actually runs, so a bus and a monorail are not scored the same even when the map says they are the same distance.
Where it wins
Where it loses
Wilderness Lodge, Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek?
Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge
What it costs
About $607 a night on average. Copper Creek villas on the same site run about $599 and Boulder Ridge about $689, all sharing the pool, the restaurants and the boat, so check all three before you book.
Across 53 check-in weeks, a night here ranged from $543 to $931, a swing of 71%. The cheapest week checked in on August 16, 2027 and the priciest on December 28, 2026.
Room only, before tax, for a four night midweek stay for two adults, read from Disney on September 27, 2026.
What Wilderness Lodge is really like
The boat ride is the nicest trip to any park, across Bay Lake with the castle coming into view as you round the corner. It's also the one most likely to leave you stuck in an August thunderstorm.
There's a walking path to Fort Wilderness that hardly anyone uses, and it opens up archery, horses and Hoop-Dee-Doo without a bus.
Whispering Canyon Cafe is a themed restaurant where the servers are rude to you on purpose. Families either love it or ask to move, and there's no in-between.
The Electrical Water Pageant passes the beach most nights around 9:35pm. It's free, it takes 10 minutes, and it's the best thing here that nobody plans for.
Your family will rank this differently
Ages, budget, room size and which parks you are doing all change the answer. Resortings scores all 32 resorts against what your family actually needs, and tells you when not to spend the money.
Wilderness Lodge sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Common questions
Who is Wilderness Lodge best for?
Families doing mostly Magic Kingdom who want a Deluxe without the monorail price, especially with kids of different ages. It scores 7 or better for under-fours, older kids and adults at the same time.
Does Wilderness Lodge have a boat to Magic Kingdom?
Yes, and it's the cheapest Deluxe hotel room with one. It scores 7 out of 10, ahead of every Value and Moderate resort and behind only the six monorail resorts.
Wilderness Lodge, Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek?
They share the site, the pool, the restaurants and the boat, and they score the same. Copper Creek is usually cheapest at about $599, the main lodge about $607, and Boulder Ridge about $689. Book on price and availability.
Is Wilderness Lodge good for toddlers?
Yes, it's one of the stronger resorts for under-fours, at 9 out of 10. The pool is above average, though the splash area is nothing like the Polynesian's or Caribbean Beach's.
How far is Wilderness Lodge from EPCOT?
A long way. It scores 4 out of 10 for EPCOT and 3 for Hollywood Studios, both by bus. If either is a big part of your trip, this is the wrong end of the property.