Pros/Cons Wilderness Lodge 2BR Villa vs. Boardwalk 2BR Villa

[MelRavenswood]

Hi all
We are planning a WDW trip for February 2020. It will be my family of five and my sister's family of three.Our combined 4 kids range from 6-12. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge Villas on our last WDW trip about 7 years ago,and we loved it; but our kids are older, so I feel like they may be more into DHS and Epcot now than MK. If anyone has any feedback, please chime in.
TIA!

 

[FSU Girl]

Boardwalk will only have lock off two bedrooms so it’ll be a one bedroom and studio. Wilderness will have a dedicated if that is something that matters to you. One of my favorite resort stays was at the Boardwalk villas though.

 

[MelRavenswood]

Boardwalk will only have lock off two bedrooms so it’ll be a one bedroom and studio. Wilderness will have a dedicated if that is something that matters to you. One of my favorite resort stays was at the Boardwalk villas though.

Thanks, @FSU Girl !
I've read your dining reviews and your wedding trip report and really value your opinion

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would switch to BWV or, consider BCV as you could get a dedicated 2-bedroom there. We just made a similar switch as we are traveling with 2, 11-year old boys and, while CCV is GORGEOUS, we knew they would enjoy the BC pool and the nighttime entertainment on the Boardwalk more than what WL/CCV/BRV has to offer (we are doing BCV, 2-bedroom). I would also take a look at your park plans. We have two late nights and one RD planned for EP/DHS, so staying in the EP resort area just made more sense for this trip.

 

[FSU Girl]

Thanks, @FSU Girl !
I've read your dining reviews and your wedding trip report and really value your opinion

Aw thank you

 

[MelRavenswood]

I would switch to BWV or, consider BCV as you could get a dedicated 2-bedroom there. We just made a similar switch as we are traveling with 2, 11-year old boys and, while CCV is GORGEOUS, we knew they would enjoy the BC pool and the nighttime entertainment on the Boardwalk more than what WL/CCV/BRV has to offer (we are doing BCV, 2-bedroom). I would also take a look at your park plans. We have two late nights and one RD planned for EP/DHS, so staying in the EP resort area just made more sense for this trip.

Thanks,@DisneyWishes14! I am now leaning towards Boardwalk, but I'll have to get my sister on board
I just think that the Epcot area would be better for our older kids. I was actually considering just doing A DAH Magic Kingdom Event if they have one available when we go, and calling it good. Our kids would be much more into Star Wars, Animals @ Animal Kingdom, and rides @DHS&Epcot. We were also planning to hire in-room babysitting for one night and head out on an adults-only excursion. I think world showcase would be a fun place to do that!

 

[MelRavenswood]

...On another note, I can't tell you how lame it is that my 9 and 12-year olds are considered "Disney Adults". That is pretty much what solidified our not getting the dining plan this time, although we enjoyed the convenience of it on our last trip. @ 9 &12, our kids still eat light and prefer kids meals, so it just wasn't worth it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With the lockoff, you'll get a bunk sized murphy bed in the second bedroom. You won't get it in the dedicated .

 

[Lacoccinelle]

I don't know if this matters to you if you are in a villa with the ability to cook, but WL has a much better quick service for breakfast IMO. We did Beach Club (someone suggested to switch there) and while the pool was amazing, the resort was not our thing, the food options were not great. You mentioned no dining plan so it may matter that you don't have the QS options. We walked over to Boardwalk to get quick service, but even Boardwalk didn't have good QS breakfast. WL is our favorite and we have stayed at all the Deluxe except BW, we are doing a split stay between WL and BW this summer to try BW. Did you consider something like this?
We are doing Epcot and HS on the Boardwalk days and then MK and AK on the WL days. Every time we have deviated from WL, we are sad as we just love that resort.

 

[DisMommyTX]

Have you considered two separate rooms instead of the 2br? Connecting is not guaranteed, but we've always been able to get it by the second night. Then you can add DxDP to one room and have enough credits for everyone 1-2 big meals per day. You can still pay for kids meals oop for the 10-12yo and save the adult credits for more adult-y eaters. At least the 9yo is still a child

I would definitely choose the Boardwalk/Beach Club area. We love walking to the parks and especially entering Epcot at the World Showcase!

 

[MelRavenswood]

With the lockoff, you'll get a bunk sized murphy bed in the second bedroom. You won't get it in the dedicated .

Thanks for the info.! I had missed that when looking at the room layouts. I think that the Murphy Bed layout would suit us better.

 

[MelRavenswood]

I don't know if this matters to you if you are in a villa with the ability to cook, but WL has a much better quick service for breakfast IMO. We did Beach Club (someone suggested to switch there) and while the pool was amazing, the resort was not our thing, the food options were not great. You mentioned no dining plan so it may matter that you don't have the QS options. We walked over to Boardwalk to get quick service, but even Boardwalk didn't have good QS breakfast. WL is our favorite and we have stayed at all the Deluxe except BW, we are doing a split stay between WL and BW this summer to try BW. Did you consider something like this?
We are doing Epcot and HS on the Boardwalk days and then MK and AK on the WL days. Every time we have deviated from WL, we are sad as we just love that resort.

 

[MelRavenswood]

I don't know if this matters to you if you are in a villa with the ability to cook, but WL has a much better quick service for breakfast IMO. We did Beach Club (someone suggested to switch there) and while the pool was amazing, the resort was not our thing, the food options were not great. You mentioned no dining plan so it may matter that you don't have the QS options. We walked over to Boardwalk to get quick service, but even Boardwalk didn't have good QS breakfast. WL is our favorite and we have stayed at all the Deluxe except BW, we are doing a split stay between WL and BW this summer to try BW. Did you consider something like this?
We are doing Epcot and HS on the Boardwalk days and then MK and AK on the WL days. Every time we have deviated from WL, we are sad as we just love that resort.

A split stay would be amazing, but @ 4 nights, I feel like our trip may be too short to make it worth it. We always do a very light in room breakfast, and Then on the couple of days that we have character breakfasts, schedule those in the very latest slots for an early lunch. I was also researching Dolphin/ Swan food options since we are going sans dining plan. They have several good-looking menus for QS(picabu/fresh mediterranean market) , and I can take advantage of the 20% AAA discount