Wilderness Lodge or a Monorail Resort

[RositaFound!]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to posting on this board, but I've been browsing it for a while as I start to plan our upcoming, first half of November 2025 trip. We'll be a party of 8, going for 10 days and 9 nights (hoping for 2 days at MK, 2 at Epcot, 1 AK, and 1 HS) hoping to celebrate a big wedding anniversary for my parents and a couple milestone birthdays as well. We are all HUGE Disney fans that are Disneyland locals. We had passes for decades. While we know Disneyland like the back of our hands, Disney World is pretty much brand-new to us. My parents went once right after Epcot opened, and I've been a couple times (once in high school and once in my early 20's...and now I'm edging closer to 40!) but no one else has been, so we're effectively total newbies!

This will be a multigenerational trip which definitely complicates things. We'll have my girls, who will be just a few weeks short of 3, and 5.5 years old; my generation of adults in our family (early 30's though early 40's - my sister, me, and our husbands), and my parents who will be in their early 70's. My parents have some mobility issues. Both walk completely independently in real life, but my dad has a knee injury and my mom has MS, so we typically rent one ECV at the gate at Disneyland for them to rotate using to prevent fatigue/pain, but by the end of the day they usually both need it and it's a struggle. I don't know if I could talk them into it (both resist using them more than they need to in the parks), but given the major increase in distances at Disney World, I sort of think both of them need their own. But this complicates things because it seems like renting at the parks each day at Disney World might be a huge pain, but my parents would HATE the bus system and boarding with them (and don't need them to get around the resort/etc, just for a long park day).

In an ideal world, the resort my whole family would love would be Wilderness Lodge. We're all gigantic national park fans, we love the Grand Californian (and I know it's not the same, but a somewhat similar vibe), and I love the idea of a boat to MK! We do plan to rent cars anyway (we want one day to be a side trip to Cape Canaveral) so we could just drive to the other parks were it not for the ECV concern. How big a pain is it to rent for the day at the parks? If they were out at the beginning of the day and we had to wait for one to be available, my parents could handle that (happens at Disneyland sometimes) but I wonder how much of a pain timing-wise it would be. I know renting at the parks is probably more expensive, too, but that's not an issue for them.

Given that we'll have a double stroller, possibly two ECV's, and mainly be going to MK and Epcot, I was thinking a monorail resort might make more sense. But we're really not into the Contemporary, my older daughter is somewhat inexplicably terrified of Moana (she's only seen like 10 minutes of the movie but as it stands now, she'd flip in a bad way staying in a Moana room!), and I'd sort of prefer to not go with the most $$$ option with the Grand Floridian, haha, though we can (it's also one of the two places I've already stayed and would love to try something new if possible just since we don't often go).

Would love suggestions! And yes, I know my family is ridiculously high maintenance haha.

 

[pinkxray]

I haven’t rented at ECV before so I don’t have all the answers to your questions. I do watch a lot of YouTube videos about Disney and have seen people rent ECVs at park arrival without issue. Hopefully that will be the case.

If you do decide to just rent them in the park, WL is an awesome option. It always seems compact and easy to get around to me. We spend most of our time at MK so we take the boat to MK and then use our rental car to get to the rest of the parks. If you decide to rent an ECV before hand I might pick a different resort. For the boat to MK, they rotate little and big boats so your parents would have to wait for the large boat to use the ECV.

I know you said your daughter doesn’t like Moana, but Poly seems like a good fit since you can grab the monorail to MK and Epcot. Can you show her videos of the rooms. Or perhaps you can stay in a studio (dvc room but are usually available for cash through Disney). They have a Lilo and Stitch theme.

The Contemporary has rooms themed to Incredibles. My family just stayed at BLT and the walkway to MK was awesome. So much easier than having to get on a busy monorail or boat. My kids loved everything about Contemporary. They enjoyed the pool, Chef Mickeys, fireworks viewing, and my DH loved mobile ordering at Steakhouse 71.

I love GF but my family doesn’t. As much as I love it, it doesn’t really offer any benefits over any of the other resorts for your situation.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

to the DIS!

 

[OhThePain]

Unpopular opinion, but you couldn't pay me to stay at a monorail resort. Way too many people, with more to come with the upcoming Poly DVC building, on a system that was made for far less people. Not worth the price for that sort of "convenience", IMO.

As for the WL, my only knock against it for your family is that if you feel WL and GC might have the same vibe, you are going to spend a lot of time comparing the 2 while you are there. I'd go for something completely different that you can't or haven't done at Disneyland.

Any thoughts on looking into an EC resort area hotel? They are a walk or short boat ride to EC and DHS. Yacht Club and Beach Club have Stormalong Bay (which is one of the best pools on property), the Boardwalk area is a nice area to walk around day or night (there are entertainers on some evenings), lots of restaurants to choose from between all the resorts, Swan and Dolphin are typically less expensive but basically offer the same benefits as a deluxe resort, all are at most a 10 minute walk to Fantasia Gardens mini golf. In other words, more food/beverage/entertainment options that don't require transportation.

For all the options WDW has to offer, you'll get twice as many opinions. No one here knows your family like you and what will ultimately be the most important factors in your trip. Do your research and go with your gut and take reviews and opinions (even mine) with a HUGE grain of salt. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy and second guess everything you decide over the next year and a half.

 

[sponica]

I like to say that all resorts are good, but some resorts meet your needs better than others.

A) Find a cost point you're happy with. Price out rack rate and if discounts are available, yay.
B) What do you want/need from a resort? Do you need something contained, like the contemporary/riviera/yacht club/beach club/etc? Or are you ok with scattered buildings like the Poly and a lot of the other resorts? How many beds do you need? How many bathrooms? Does everyone need to stay in the same place or is nearby ok as well?

We did a huge family trip in 2023, my inlaws and my family split a 2 bedroom, one of my husbands aunts and uncle stayed at Boardwalk (they love that place) while everyone else was at Caribbean Beach. The 2 bedroom gave us a base of operations though, we could have everyone over for pre-dinner drinks (which we did the night of my FIL's 65th birthday).

I like Wilderness Lodge, but I prefer the pool and pool bar of the Poly, because the pool bar is right there. The set up with the hot tub at WL is weird, you either have to walk through the splash pad to get there or walk outside the pool and go in the other way.

I also agree with checking out the Epcot Resorts, as they are self contained buildings and you can walk/boat to 2 parks and bus or drive to the others.

 

[jimmymc]

I think my response will depend on how reliant your parents are on the ECVs. There are ways to rent an ECV for the whole trip that are cheaper than doing it every day at the park, but the boats from Wilderness Lodge are not all accessible, which means you'd be waiting a while for an accessible boat or taking a bus to every park. But if they are good with walking to the boat and renting at the entrance every day, then this won't matter. IMO, renting an ECV at the park is not difficult. There might be a line, but it will move quickly. If you park hop, then you'll need to turn it in as you leave and pick up a new one in the next park, but even that isn't really an issue.

Wilderness Lodge is my favorite resort, so much that I own DVC there. I'm also a big fan of the national parks and have been to the Old Faithful Inn, and Wilderness Lodge lives up to the high expectations. The pool and food options are great, and the lobby is really something else. You do get busses to three of the four parks, but they only share with Contemporary, and they are never as crowded as the ones you see going to the All Star or moderate resorts. For the theming and money saved over staying at Grand Floridian, I would stay at WL, use the boat to Magic Kingdom, and either drive or take the bus to the other parks.

 

[luisov]

Yeah, renting ECVs at the parks can be a bit of a hassle, but if you can swing the timing, it's doable. Polynesian could be a good call for your crew, with easy monorail access and none of that Moana stuff.

 

[Mle8308]

If you do decide to rent ECV's at the park, make sure you are there early as they do run out. You an be put on a waitlist. Also, if you park hop, you don't have to pay for another ECV at the next park you hop to, but it's not guaranteed there will be an ECV available. If it's a necessity, I'd look into renting from an outside company. It will save you money and you won't have to worry about them not being available at the parks. Another resort to consider is RIviera, they have the Skyliner and boarding with ECV's is easy. YOu aren't going during the rainy season so the likelihood of shut downs is lower. It will give you Skyliner access to 2 parks. However, the WL is my favorite on property, so you won't go wrong there! Congrats to your parents!

 

[RositaFound!]

Thanks so much for all the info, everyone! Maybe I should look at other resorts, too. In regard to the Beach Club - I feel like it will probably be our ideal resort when the girls are older. I could live at Epcot and just do a quick visit to other parks myself, haha, and when they are strong swimmers I think it will likely be the perfect spot for us. But, correct me if I'm wrong because I'm going entirely off photos alone here - the theming doesn't seem quite as immersive/magical?

I've been wanting to stay away from skyliner resorts because two people in our party would never, ever set foot on the skyliner out of fear, so the benefit would really be lost on us. We do all want to stay at the same resort, and ideally together in connecting rooms (at the very least) or in a suite type situation. We have three separate groups of adult couples who need their own bedroom and then my husband and I would have the little ones in our room, too, so I am having a harder time finding room set-ups like that. Our ideal set-up was our recent stay at the Disneyland Hotel - we had a three bedroom suite that was essentially a one bedroom suite with a little kitchenette and living room, and two connecting normal hotel rooms.

We're an odd group in that the most cost-effective option for us is likely a suite-type situation! One of my family members (not my husband or me) is with Disney Corporate (not in a creative capacity like Imagineering) and we get a massive discount on rooms, especially if the employee themself is staying in the room (hence the suite being cost effective, we all paid less than $300 per night per family at the Disneyland Hotel splitting it this way). So paying straight to Disney using the discount is going to be a better deal for us than renting DVC points or maybe even staying at the Swan and Dolphin. If we can't do a suite, we do still get Friends and Family discounts which I believe are usually around 15-20% (pretty decent but also not as good as the employee discount). We also aren't paying to get into the parks (we are truly aware of how lucky this situation is) so this all impacts our budget in a very positive way!

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I’d split stay if I was going that long personally but with that many people, might not be logical. 5 nights wilderness / 4 nights Poly or 4 nights Epcot area resort but I don’t consider any of those in the boardwalk area particular theme filled. Beautiful resorts just low on theming to me.

I get the vibe you like to be transported into a world when going to Disney.

If theming is most important, Wilderness lodge is awesome. Grand floridan is very nice but to me it’s just a really upscale beautiful resort. I don’t get transformed over there but that’s just me.

Judging by the early 70s age, you might like the fact it’s all located inside room wise, without having to walk outside to your room building. Unless you stay at boulder ridge. I think you walk there? Not 100 percent sure.

I’d do the Poly over any of the other monorail resorts. Closer to the ticket and exchange center to get to Epcot also.

Never really had interest in contemporary. I’d also make sure I’d have a room located in the main building if I ever stayed there

 

[val1234]

We love YC and there is a very large shallow sand bottomed pool that my youngest granddaughters love. It is the largest swim area for little kids on property. Plus there is another smaller pool and pool slide for littles across the walkway. And this pool is also great for adults and older kids due to the lazy river, volleyball and large slide. It is the only pool on property that I actually want to get in myself and swim in and relax in one of 3 hot tubs the pool provides. Because of the sheer size of the pool you can actual have room to swim and enjoy. I can,t say the same for any other resort pool where they are usually to small and it’s like people soup smh. YC might not be the most “themed” resort but kids love it. My 4 grandkids ages 16,11, 6, 3 have stayed at Rivera, GF, POLY and AKL in the past few years and they all place YC as the best. I mean you can watch the Epcot fireworks from the pool, see the boats on Crescent bay, walk the boardwalk in the evening and see the performers and play the arcade games if you wish. The BC right next door has Minnie and friends at Cape May for breakfast and you can walk into Epcot! I mean how much more Disney theming do you need?? Also just an FYI we much prefer YC as mentioned over BC due to all rooms having balconies.

 

[kylenne]

But, correct me if I'm wrong because I'm going entirely off photos alone here - the theming doesn't seem quite as immersive/magical?

BC/YC are definitely nice resorts but absolutely boring as all get out theming and have no real grounds to speak of, just endless indoor hallways and the pool. Depending on where your room is located you may have an obnoxious trek to the lobby. I have stayed on each side a couple of times and while I've enjoyed my stays for the most part, I find that anything longer than like 4 days has me desperately needing enrichment in my enclosure lol. For me they're ideal on a split stay with a monorail resort, with the bulk of the nights on Seven Seas Lagoon.

Personally if I were y'all I would do a suite at the Poly. They have less in your face Moana theming than the regular cash rooms and the transportation is more convenient than GF or CR because you don't have to change lines to catch the monorail to Epcot, you can walk 5 minutes over to the TTC to get it direct. Poly also has the awesome splash pad for the kiddos.

 

[RositaFound!]

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

BC/YC are definitely nice resorts but absolutely boring as all get out theming and have no real grounds to speak of, just endless indoor hallways and the pool. Depending on where your room is located you may have an obnoxious trek to the lobby. I have stayed on each side a couple of times and while I've enjoyed my stays for the most part, I find that anything longer than like 4 days has me desperately needing enrichment in my enclosure lol. For me they're ideal on a split stay with a monorail resort, with the bulk of the nights on Seven Seas Lagoon.

Personally if I were y'all I would do a suite at the Poly. They have less in your face Moana theming than the regular cash rooms and the transportation is more convenient than GF or CR because you don't have to change lines to catch the monorail to Epcot, you can walk 5 minutes over to the TTC to get it direct. Poly also has the awesome splash pad for the kiddos.

We enjoyed our stays at BC/YC but my family agreed with Kylenne and did not really like the theme and, unfortunately, we also had a room with a loooong hallway, plus SAB was also very crowded while we were there. We also did not think, an almost, mile walk to HS as a benefit, the last thing I want to do is to add a mile or 2 (round trip) of walking to my day of walking. LOL We did totally enjoy the walk to EPCOT Now that the clown face is gone at BW, my family wants to try there again. We like GF much better than POLY, but with possible mobility issues, POLY would be a better fit. GF to/from EPCOT, to us, is a pain and from POLY you can just walk to the TTC to catch the EPCOT monorail. Our family would rather stay at a more themed resort over location. We also would like to stay at WL, because of that.
This is what WDW does very well and that is to offer so many choices of resorts to stay at

 

[jsternad]

Last time I was there (2019), we stayed at Wilderness Lodge and I think it's my fav. Going with my mom she always insisted on staying at a monorail resort, which is great for people with strollers, which we always had until now (mine are 11 & 15 now). You can, most of the time, keep the kids in it and push it right on without breaking it down. The boat to MK at Wilderness Lodge was super easy with a single stroller (though you do have to break it down). If you're going to have a double, the boat might be tight and a hassle. Unless you're one of the first on, it might be hard to find a place for a double stroller. I think it's totally doable with a single, not too bad with a double. The boat ride is less than 5 min and if you're going to Epcot you just ride to MK and then on up to the monorail. Super easy. The boat was no more of a wait than waiting for the monorail at Poly. And it was way more fun and kind of an adventure! I would 100% stay at Wilderness Lodge again over Poly, even with a double stroller. The theming was amazing at WL, and Poly is kind of...meh. It's fine, but I don't get the feeling I'm being transported to Polynesia when I walk in, and I love that feeling when I walk into WL. it's so neat inside. Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We're an odd group in that the most cost-effective option for us is likely a suite-type situation! One of my family members (not my husband or me) is with Disney Corporate (not in a creative capacity like Imagineering) and we get a massive discount on rooms, especially if the employee themself is staying in the room (hence the suite being cost effective, we all paid less than $300 per night per family at the Disneyland Hotel splitting it this way). So paying straight to Disney using the discount is going to be a better deal for us than renting DVC points or maybe even staying at the Swan and Dolphin. If we can't do a suite, we do still get Friends and Family discounts which I believe are usually around 15-20% (pretty decent but also not as good as the employee discount). We also aren't paying to get into the parks (we are truly aware of how lucky this situation is) so this all impacts our budget in a very positive way!

We did a 12-person multi-generational trip a few years ago that included 2 sets of grandparents. I was the one in charge. Glad we did it but also glad it was a one-time thing! (I kid, I kid... kind of)

2 of the grandparents rented scooters from an off-site service to have on hand whenever needed, 1 should have but refused and would only get one at the park (and even then we basically had to force him). He had the hardest time of all with the distances so I began to dread each travel leg coming and going from the parks, if I'm honest. We were staying at Poly and getting to Epcot, for example, requires SO many steps and ramps before you ever get to the scooter rental. Combined with the July heat it was a lot for this individual. We all made it, but it wasn't without stress. Gave me a new appreciation for those with mobility challenges when traversing a property as vast at WDW.

If doing that trip again, I would rent enough scooters off-site for those that need them just to have on hand - if they feel like they need it, great - if not, get one at the front of the park. More $, yes, but I wish we had had the optionality at the time. A 10-day trip is long and spirits/mood/physical abilities may shift around day to day.

Not sure when you say "Suite" if you're thinking a hotel-side suite or 2 or 3 BR DVC villa. I've stayed in many of the hotel-side suites so happy to comment on them if helpful. WL only has one hotel-side suite (have not stayed there, it's hard to book!), I'm not sure off the top of my head if it holds 8.

FWIW on our multi-generational trip we were in a few suites at Poly. There are pros/cons with every resort but it worked well for us. That said, when reading your original post I was left thinking WL sounds like a solid choice for your family given your description.

Good luck with the planning! Despite my maybe slightly negative tone above, we all still speak fondly of the trip and it created a lifetime of memories for multiple generations.

 

[kiford]

Even when we stay at a monorail resort, we almost never use it. You have to go through all of the metal detectors which can really slow down boarding (GC and Poly sometimes have huge long lines that snake all through the resort).

When we stay at WL, we will often take the bus to MK which puts you at the MK bus terminal where you can get a bus to every resort. We find that gives us a lot of options. And if we want to go to Epcot, you just take the bus from WL. You can check and see when the bus is coming to your resort on the app so we just time it to get there 3-4 minutes in advance. We definitely do not miss having the monorail. We also find WL to be quieter than the monorail resorts. I don't think the buses are any more or less convenient than the monorail with an ECV. And because there tend to be fewer people boarding at WL than on a monorail, I think it's probably a bit more efficient, especially during morning rush.

 

[pixiedust33]

I'm following along with this because we're also in the early stages of planning a November/December 2025 trip and staying at a MK-area resort, and are currently on the fence about whether my mom should come because of similar mobility issues (walks without aid in daily life but has multiple joint replacements and RA and would need an ECV to tackle Disney), and we had also been targeting WL because the Christmas decor is supposed to be amazing. So thanks for asking about this!

I just wanted to chime in on two points:

1) The DVC side at the Poly has basically zero Moana theming and the Moana theming in the public areas, if it exists, was so minimal I didn't notice it when we went last month. So I wouldn't rule it out just based on that! I just paid cash/booked through Disney but the DVC rooms were the same price as the regular ones, but with the benefit of an extra shower room (not two bathrooms, because only 1 toilet, but two separate showers) and more of a kitchenette area. We LOVED the rooms and the Poly general. WL will be cheaper though.

2) Are you positive your family member can't book two rooms with the discount at WDW? I also have a sibling that used to work for Corporate and she was able to book two separate rooms for our party at WDW at a like 40 percent discount. This was in 2018 and she (very sadly for me!) no longer works there so maybe it changed, but just wanted to make sure you're positive this restriction applies at WDW and not just Disneyland, because I know you said that's your usual spot.

 

[LuvBulldogs]

In my opinion, Wilderness Lodge has the best theming of any onsite hotel -- keep in mind, it's been a while since we stayed there:
- The boat -- is it a Friend Ship? -- that runs between the Lodge and the Magic Kingdom is wonderful.
- The busses run all over Disney World.
- The Electric Water Parade comes by each evening.
- The lobby is so detailed. It's an event in and of itself.
- We had a great room with a queen sized bed + bunk beds, which gave us more floor space (and made our girls happy).

You say you're thinking of renting a car -- I wouldn't. A car is not a plus at Disney World. The roads are busy, and I'd rather let someone who knows the directions do the driving. I don't enjoy walking a long way from the parking lot to the gates, and then returning to a hot car. The bus system runs quickly and efficiently; the only time you may have trouble is if you leave a park at a popular time -- like right after the fireworks. Even then, driving yourself isn't going to be any faster than the busses. Forget a rental car.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We had a great room with a queen sized bed + bunk beds, which gave us more floor space (and made our girls happy).

You noted your trip was awhile ago, but just wanted to mention for the sake of anyone reading that Disney removed the bunk beds from the WL as part of the most recent room renovations. FYI.