Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Once again things only keep going downhill at these villas. We have been coming for 20 years due to the fact it is our “home” resort for the DVC and have enjoyed it much more in the past. The rooms have been refurbished to bare bones. We are in a studio room as it is just my husband and myself this time. Somewhat larger than an average hotel room it feels very plain. No bedside table to charge the phone, place a book or anything. One big long white counter under the TV that hides a child’s pull down bed along with a few drawers. A small fridge and empty cabinets, except for a few paper plates. The water pressure is terrible. And the smell of the water is terrible. I realize it’s built over a swamp and the water in Florida isn’t the best, but couldn’t they use better filters??? The bed is not comfortable so neither my husband nor myself slept well the four nights we were here. The drinks are outrageously expensive (17$ for a margarita in a small Dixie type cup). The last straw was this morning when we were trying to sleep in a little before a long drive. The garbage trucks were right outside our balcony (we were on the third floor) banging the garbage bins and making all kinds of noise at a little before 7. Couldn’t they at least wait until 8? Anyway, the pool area is nice and we do love the relative quiet out by the vacation club pool. We used to love the running trail they had that connected this property to the Fort Wilderness campground but they have done away with that as well to make room for their outrageously expensive cabins. If you have DVC it’s a less “hectic” type place and it is pretty in the lobby and outdoors with all the pine trees. However, if you’re booking it as a hotel room I think you might be disappointed when you see the rooms for the price you have to pay to stay here.

This place is fine. I think if we had stayed in the main part of the hotel, we would have had a somewhat different experience. We were really disappointed with our first Disney experience and didn’t leave wanting to return like we had hoped. -When we checked in, I had some questions about transportation and the hotel in general. The cast member said he was new and that he was unable to answer any of our questions. -The shower was either freezing cold or scalding hot, with no in between. The sheets are paper thin and there is no comforter on the bed. They use the equivalent of a giant towel, which I guess is because they have such high volume they have to be able to rip the bedding off quickly. -We asked for a crib for our 2 year old, and it was never brought to us which completely disrupted their ability to sleep. -There is no room service, so if you find yourself needing food or something simple like a bottle of water at night, you’re out of luck. When we asked about water or anything else, we were simply told about the club level and how they have all of those amenities for those rooms only. This is something you might really take for granted at a Marriott or other hotel chain that gives you free bottled water at the bare minimum. -We decided to valet because we knew we were going to be using our car often. This was the most bizarre valet experience we’ve ever had. It seemed almost like an after thought, or they were just hoping nobody would use the valet service. We had to get a new valet ticket almost every time we came back to the hotel, and continuously had to give our name and other information, even though we saw the same staff over and over. -Another negative part of our experience is that, when we booked our specific hotel room type, we weren’t given the option of what view we wanted. We just paid the price to reserve a 1 bedroom in Boulder Ridge. We had a first floor view of a fence and some grass, which was absolutely not what we wanted. I would have paid more for a better view, but was never given the option. It would be really helpful to have separate categories for some room types based on views that can be booked (like they have for a few of the room types). It doesn’t really make sense to pay the same amount when some people end up with terrible views and some get amazing ones. -One of the most disappointing things is that there really were never any staff to ask how you’re doing or if your stay is going well. Even when I asked the front desk as we were leaving what I needed to do for check out, she just said “nothing, it’s automatic”, with no “how was your stay“ or a simple “thank you for coming”. Disney Parks seem to pride themselves on customer service and experience, but it seems to be more of an illusion than reality in the Hotels/Resorts. There are far too many people for them to genuinely care about everyone’s experience. They also use computers for a majority of what staff persons would typically do at a resort. Th

The Wilderness Lodge, and its adjacent Boulder Ridge Villas are nicely themed to the idea of the national parks, with lots of theming with wood and trees and nature. The Boulder Ridge Villas is a Disney Vacation Club property, primarily intended for stays by DVC members, but also available to their guests, and frequently rooms not reserved for that purposes are available to rent from Disney just like a regular hotel room in the main lodge building, to which it's connected by a covered walkway. Like other DVC properties, the Boulder Ridge Villas (and the Copper Creek DVC property with is also at the Wilderness Lodge) offer studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom offerings. All the common services like dining, shopping and transportation are in the main Wilderness Lodge building. Dining varies fancier character experiences with Snow White at the Artist Point, to the purposely-boisterous "Whispering" Canyon Cafe, a bar, the Roaring Fork quick-service offering (with mug-filling), and the Geyser Point open-air Bar and Grill down by the shores of Bay Lake (also offers mug-filling). The price for any of the lodging offerings at the Wilderness Lodge and its two DVC properties can get expensive, but can be so worth it for a nice, relaxing environment. Complimentary boat service to the Magic Kingdom and busses to all other resort destinations are included. The Electrical Water Pageant stops here for a fun show - you can get great views down in the area of the Geyser Point Bar and Grill. The Boulder Ridge Villas include a ground-floor sitting room themed after the Carolwood Pacific Railroad the Walt Disney had built in his yard - for fans and Walt, history, and railroading, it's an awesome room with cars and lots of photos.

I stayed at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge-Boulder Ridge Villas in September, 2022. I stayed in a Deluxe Studio. The idea behind the Wilderness Lodge is to make you feel like you are staying at a lodge in a national park. And this is accomplished admirably, from entering the resort area, to the beautiful lobby, to the magnificent grounds. I have stayed at most of the Disney Deluxe Resorts and visited all of them, and in my opinion, Wilderness Lodge is perhaps the most beautiful of all; Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House lobby might be more impressive, but the grounds around Wilderness Lodge are nicer. I stayed in the Boulder Ridge building, which adjoins the main building. The resort has a beautiful main pool, with a small water slide. There is also a “quiet pool.” There is a daily pool party for the kids at the main pool (some activities are also fun for adults). One of the best amenities is the boat that goes to and from Magic Kingdom—very convenient! Now about my room. Unfortunately, I had the dreaded “Dumpster view” room. Not really Dumpsters, but a view overlooking the towel laundry facility. C’mon Disney—can’t you put an awning over it so people paying so much for a room don’t see it? The Boulder Ridge building is being refurbished, and the rooms completely re-done. So I won’t bother addressing some issues with the room, as hopefully they will be taken care of in the refurbishment. This was my second stay at Wilderness Lodge, and I can honestly say I miss it and eagerly look forward to going back someday.

This is what Disney is supposed to be - I feel like I’ve been taken back to the 80s - the ultimate Disney experience is old Disney! This is it! Everyone, and I do mean everyone from the wait staff to the bartenders, to the cleaning staff through the retail workers, maintenance up to the front desk and back office are top notch and HAPPY! Yes, Happy! Try finding that in Disney in 2023!!! This speaks volumes about the management at this resort! We were lucky enough to get to experience this resort on many occasions and meet some of the wonderful management team stand outs, including Warren and Arlene. This team and their staff are the epitome of customer service and the utmost satisfaction! I truly feel like I’m coming home when I pull up at this building and look for our new found friends!!! Beyond the amazing staff, the resort it immaculate, the food offerings cannot be neat, and the environment is the best relaxation that I’ve found in Disney since I’ve been a kid!

Spent one night here on rented DVC points at the end of a WDW visit after my traveling partners had all left. Definitely wish we had spent the whole vacation here! The resort has a relaxed, fun vibe. As Disney resorts go, it's relatively compact and easy to get around -- though there's no guest parking near some of the villas. Of course, easy ferry access to the Magic Kingdom is a huge plus. My one bedroom suite was spacious and had all the amenities you could hope for. Loved the washer and dryer -- so handy to do that while resting in the room. The bathroom set up would be handy for larger parties. I couldn't figure out the coffee maker for the life of me, but I had a resort mug so no problem. The room was very quiet and had two patios to sit and enjoy nature. As I noted above, I rented points for this stay and was expecting a deluxe studio, which is what I reserved, but a little bit of pixie dust came my way, resulting in a one bedroom suite. I'm glad I got to experience this -- never would have done so any other way! -- and will try to nab this level of accommodations for future family trips. Highly recommended!

This was our first visit to Boulder Ridge villas. It was perfect for our family vacation! Check in was a breeze! We dropped our bags with the bellman and enjoyed the resort amenities until our villa was ready. We received a text and our luggage was delivered to our villa. The theming is perfection right down to the erupting geyser. Beautiful hotel! The amenities are great! There are several restaurants to choose from and the food was average for WDW. We loved the choice of boat or bus to visit the Parks. Fireworks were visible from the resort as well as the Electric Boat Parade. We had campfire and s’mores in the evenings….the kids loved this! The staff were welcoming and courteous. Special shout out to our bellman Ricardo and life guard Joshua (I think, May 19 slide side of pool in the afternoon). While I’m giving kudos James the photographer at the MK entrance on morning of May 20 was SUPERB! BR may be my favorite resort at WDW!

Wow. The room and hallway refurbishments have taken this place to a whole different level! As long time DVC members, we’ve stayed at every DVC property. Boulder Ridge was always at the bottom of the list because rooms were drab, outdated, stale looking, and motel-esque. The hallway looked like something out of “The Shining” and I was convinced twins would be standing at the end asking me to play. Well, the most recent refurbishment has now completely changed our opinion. The “new” rooms are modern and colorful (for rustic theming standards). Accents, furniture, curtains, walls, the new Murphy bed, and the cute decor really brightly tie the room all together now. The hallways have been updated with much more colorful and fitting carpet, new light fixtures, and freshly painted doors. We were lucky enough to stay in a two-bedroom villa and it was spacious and clean. Although it’s a separate building, Boulder Ridge feels seamlessly “connected” to the main Wilderness Lodge building. It’s an extremely short walk to the park buses. You’re also close to the Boulder Ridge busses and Geyser Point bar and grill. The boat to Magic Kingdom is a bit of the walk, but it also is from the main Wilderness Lodge lobby too. Overall Wilderness Lodge is an excellent property to stay at, and with Boulder Ridge finally getting the love it deserves with a full renovation, this is truly now a wonderful place to stay.

There are not enough superlatives to use about this resort. Its the best in every way, you will not be disappointed. The one bedroom villa was spacious and clean and brand new. The pools were great and the hot tubs were as well. I highly recommend this resort.