Input: Wilderness Lodge or POFQ

Hi all! Mid 20s couple with no kids here, need help choosing between WL and POFQ for a Sept. 2019 trip!! We have never stayed deluxe but LOVE the atmosphere/small size of POFQ where we’ve stayed twice.

Very tempted to upgrade to WL but wondering on pros and cons, for example we love having a King Bed and from what I can tell the only Standard rooms at WL that have king beds are the accessible rooms and so no guarantee on getting one. Basically… looking for the major perks in upgrading to WL over POFQ to help push me over the edge. Or talk me off. LOL.

For those who have experience at both resorts, which do you prefer & why?!

Thanks in advance!

WL perks: The boat ride from WL to MK was nice, and also relatively easier to get to other MK area resorts for very good meal options (Ohana, 1900 PF, California Grill, etc.) Balcony. More dining options.

WL is our fav resort, but for my family going forward, we’ll likely stay at Port Orleans due to value and central location. We didn’t use the WL balcony because smoke drifted into our room from the WL smoking section when we opened our sliding door. If you haven’t stayed at WL yet though, I would highly recommend doing it at least once, especially since you like smaller size resorts.

And regarding smoke in my prior comment - I have never heard of anyone else complaining about this, and when we asked CM, they told us that no one else had this complaint, so perhaps it wasn’t coming from the designated smoking section and instead someone in a room near us was smoking from their balcony (against the rules, but who knows?) I wouldn’t use this as a deciding factor since likely just our bad luck that trip.

This ABSOLUTELY happens; I’ve seen (and smelled) it. The “distant” smell of cigarette smell doesn’t offend me all that much, so I’ve never reported it or made any kind of waves, but I’ve definitely experienced it at various different resorts…

We just got back yesterday and part of our stay was at POFQ.
I would definitely recommend it…
Theming and decorations were great.
It smelled good near our building, some type of bushes I guess.
Walking down the “streets” to get around was cool.
Beignets
Also like the boat ride to Springs.
Nice pool

We visited WL for lunch and it was impressive to see. Got there by boat from MK, nice ride.
It’s on our to-do list

We love POFQ. I’ve never stayed at WL, so I can’t add too much useful information there. Proximity to MK is certainly the biggest pro of WL over POFQ.

We love the size and peacefulness of POFQ. The resort itself is really lovely and we love the boat ride to DS. We’ve also had good bus service and we like that it’s only one bus stop.

I don’t think you can really go wrong with either resort, it’s more a question of what your personal priorities are for your vacation dollars. We tend to want to spend a little more on our dining options that some people, so we save a little by staying at a moderate rather than a deluxe. (Having said that, our plan for our next trip is to rent points to stay at CR because we’ll be traveling with two toddlers so for that trip, proximity to MK and the ability to easily go back to the resort is paramount.)

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