Reviews of Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by Suzy Review Date: 10/02/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
In 2010 we rented a Studio and loved it!! Loved the theming of the resort and the staff were friendly and helpful. Our room was comfortable and loved the common area to sit for some quiet time. On one rainy day, we ordered food and sat with the extended family to eat together. Fun! Very convenient to have the kitchenette in the room. We ordered water, breakfast items and snacks to have on hand. The pools were clean and a refreshing. Loved having the option of taking the bus or the boat for transportation. Heading back shortly and can’t wait to see the renovations that were completed.
Pros:
Theming, beautiful resort, boat or bus transportation, friendly staffCons:
Only complaint is that for a Deluxe, not on the MonorailReviewed by sandra loveless Review Date: 09/30/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
I lllooovvvve this resort! The staff can't be beat. It is close to the Magic Kingdom and you can use a boat as your transportation to Magic Kingdom. Since this granny takes grandchildren to celebrate 5th birthdays at Disney World, we use the boat alot and the kids think this is awesome!
Pros:
convenient to Magic Kingdom, the design - reminds me of national park resort, fireplaceCons:
loudReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
absolutly beautiful resort with an amazing Staff. Disney turned a bad experience into an awesome vacation. Bell boy turned our ice chest onto the cart by accident. Disney repaced all our food that was ruined plus some. than on day 4 had an accident . broke foot fell in showe. staff bent over backwards to made the remainder of our trip magical. gave us fast pases so we would not have to wait in the heat with a broken foot. I cant say enough about the place. Whispering canyon cafe was amazing. we will come back here in future. i rate it a 10
Pros:
good food friendly staff and amazing duty general managers as a hold. beautiful resortCons:
only issue if i have to pick one would be buses due to handicap scooters had to wait over an hour on some daysReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
beautiful quiet room..enjoyed staying here a lot!!
Pros:
easy walk to buses and had a nice quiet roomCons:
wish had 2 bedsReviewed by MomRN59 Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Love the lobby, love the quick service, amazing restaurants, convenient to Magic Kingdom to take ferry, great pools for kids.
Pros:
Great location, great quick service, great restaurants, beautiful decor, great poolsCons:
NoneReviewed by allec999 Review Date: 11/03/2017
Rating: (7) Recommended
My home resort. Always a good place to stay. Two issues this time: 1) Friends stayed in a separate studio, and their bathroom floor would flood a bit, so they used their towels to deal with it. When they called for extra towels, they were told it would be for a fee. I understand that towel service is a pre-set schedule and otherwise costs a fee, but they should have at least asked why towels were requested. Had I known I would have dealt with it, but my friends did not say anything until their last day. Still, a little disappointing. Also - twice the bus for DHS was well over a half-hour wait.
Pros:
themingCons:
towels, bus to DHSReviewed by spunkyfunk Review Date: 11/03/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at Boulder Creek in a dedicated 2 bedroom villa (room 5537) for 6 nights in August 2017 as a prelude to our cruise on the Disney Dream.
We were DVC members staying on points and this was our first time staying at BCV. We have stayed at other DVC resorts and typically make AKL - Kidani Village our choice but we decided to switch it up and give the Wilderness Lodge a try.
Our group consisted of my husband and I our two boys (14 and 12) and 75 yr old Mother.
I'm so glad we did. Here are the things we loved about it.
1. Atmosphere/Layout
Our villa faced the lake and the Boulder Creek pool and it was pretty quiet there. If you wanted to join in on pool activities you could go over to the CC pool which was a very short walk away. I felt like there were plenty of spaces to explore but none were too far away to be inconvenient.
2. Activities
We rented bikes and rode to Fort Wilderness stables and around the camping loops. The ride was so nice and we had a good time exploring. We also rented searays (small boats) and that was highlight of the trip for my 12 yr old who was old enough to drive his own. The pool areas were very nice and well maintained. Several shady cabana type areas available. We also took advantage of roasting marshmallows at the fire pit on a few occasions as well as hung out waiting for the Geyser to erupt on the hour.
3. Geyser Point Grill and Territory Lounge
We made use of both the Geyser Point Grill and the Territory Lounge several times during our trip. Cast members were friendly and the menu was good. GPG had a very relaxing respite from the sun. I loved the décor of the Territory Lounge and they had good local beers to try. We also made our way to the raucously wonderful Whispering Canyon Café and our server did not disappoint.
4. Common area in the Boulder Ridge Section
There were fun little places to gather and play board games or wait for others to meet up.
We did not make a lot of use of the buses since we had a rental car that made travel to parks/Disney Springs or other resorts easy. We did take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and it was a quick short ride. WL is so close to the Magic Kingdom it made sense to use the bus.
My husband and I both agreed that we found a new favorite place to stay. Hope this helps anyone doing future planning. Boulder Creek was a big thumbs up for us.
Pros:
Geyser Point Grill / Quiet Atmosphere / Lots to doCons:
Buses to all theme parksReviewed by amitch91 Review Date: 09/25/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
I have to preface this that WL is our favorite resort. I love the closeness to MK, as well as multiple modes of transportation. This was our first stay at BR - rented points. We will definitely do it again, and hope to buy into DVC.
We had 5 adults (myself, my husband, and 2 adult children, one future DIL). The plan was for the two girls to share the bedroom, our son to have the pullout couch. Let me just say, the couch was extremely uncomfortable. So, I let my son stay in the bedroom with his sister and fiance' (separate beds - sorry I'm still old school). The couch was even uncomfortable to sit on, in my opinion - so if you plan on using the pull out, I'd only recommend for a small child. I understand that the couch is easier to keep clean, but if you plan on spending any time on it, I'd go to GP or the lobby for more comfortable seating.
We loved having the kitchen - I ordered Garden Grocer delivery, and made breakfast every morning - saved money and calories. 🙂 Also loved having laundry facilities right in the room. It was a walk from the bus stop, or from the boat (Rm 3553), however, we felt it was an easier walk than at Pop from the 80's to the bus stop or food court.
Another plus was having 3 tv's! 🙂 For our afternoon nap/relax time, there were 3 different shows on in 3 different rooms!
This was the worst time we had with buses - we waited 40 minutes on two separate occasions for buses to HS and to EP. At AK departure, we had to wait 45 minutes for a bus to arrive, completely fill up to standing room only, then change out drivers, with an inspection mixed in. If we had had reservations, we would NOT have made the reservation - over an hour wait with all. We love the boats to MK, however, we even had one evening headed back to MK that we had to wait through 2 boats loading because there was no enough room on the boats for all that were standing in line waiting. One night there were people in rented pontoons that were blocking the way for the boats to even get to MK - we had to back up to let another MK boat through, and then coast because 3 pontoons were blocking the path for the boats. I was surprised that they let rented vessels out after dark.
We still love it - would go back today. But thankfully we can return, and do often, so we aren't as worried about getting everything in as others.
Pros:
Atmosphere, location, kitchenCons:
BusesReviewed by Fishfamily Review Date: 08/29/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
We are DVC members, but renting the points was in the $1700 range. Boy is this place worth it! First you start with the theming, which is everything it's cracked up to be. The lobby is spectacular. Now it is true that being in Boulder Ridge you're a little disconnected from the main building, but it's a short walk over.
We ate breakfast at Whispering Canyon, that was a blast. We ate lunch at both Roaring Fork (good food, very pleasant dining area) and Geyser Point. Geyser Point is right on the water and it's spectacular, I wish I'd gone back for drinks at night but we were there in August and the heat was oppressive.
Having two pool options is great, the smaller pool was almost deserted and the showers are sparkling new.
The thing I underestimated about the Wilderness Lodge is proximity to the parks. I knew we would have the boat option to Magic Kingdom, and that was great, but they go to the Contemporary as well. And the bus rides to Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios were 15 minutes or less! That is a huge deal in the morning when you have excited kids or at night when everyone is tired. Pile on top of that that this is a deluxe hotel and there are fewer people at the bus stop (1st bus is yours and you get a seat) and the premium is easily justified.
One night we stayed outside for the movie and you could see the fireworks from MK and in true Disney style, they piped in the music. It was really special.
We've stayed at All Star movies, Port Orleans French Quarter, Animal Kingdom, Saratoga Springs and Boardwalk and the only one that comes close is AK. But the transport times for WL put it a cut above AK which has the long bus rides. This is a fantastic hotel. I can't wait to go again.
Pros:
Location, theming, poolsCons:
NoneReviewed by lauri Review Date: 06/26/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
We just returned from a week stay in a two bedroom villa. The villa was roomy, comfortable, and beautiful. We were very close to the bus stops, and not far from the main lobby. Unfortunately Roaring Forks was not open, so our main quick service option was Geyser Point. It was okay, but a fairly limited menu. The main pool was not terribly interesting, and I guess I expected it to be better. The newest pool opened the last night we were there, so we did not get to check it out. We had no problems with transportation, and had great experiences with the cast members there.
