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Erin’s Walt Disney World Confession: Always a Visitor, Never a Guest

 

Disney's Wilderness Lodge Christmas tree - esFor anyone who has read my previous blog posts, it comes as no surprise that I’m pretty darn passionate about the Walt Disney World Resorts.  In my house, a Walt Disney World vacation isn’t complete without some awesome quality resort time.  For the uninitiated, the resorts aren’t just a place for sleeping between park hopping or cooling off in the pool. Each fanciful resort is a completely detailed micro-environment.  Architecture, color, landscaping, and other design elements all work together to create a totally immersive, detailed, and unique resort experience. Each resort is an experience unto itself, no two are the same.

By far, my absolute favorite Walt Disney World Resort is the Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. There is just something about this rustic (though glamorous) resort that speaks to my soul! It opened on May 28, 1994, and was built by the Urban Design Group to resemble the grand hunting lodges of the Pacific Northwest. In fact, the beautiful, rustic wilderness envelopes guests before a foot is even placed in the lobby – outside the lobby and by the bus terminal areas, keen eared guests will be able to hear the sounds indicative of the wilderness (crickets, frogs, etc) as well as various animal prints in the cement. While this detail is pretty cool, for me, the real magic of the Wilderness Lodge can be found in the extensively detailed lobby. Here, everything speaks and has a story – from the lobby pillars to the lobby floor and everything inbetween!  In fact, when the Wilderness Lodge first opened, Guests received a copy of the Silver Creek Springs News which featured the Imagineered story of the lodge’s creation.

Yet, despite all this awesomeness, for some reason, I have yet to stay at my beloved resort! Hopefully, in 2018 I will be able to finally enjoy the Disney’s Wilderness Lodge as a Guest and not just as a resort hopper!

 

(Photo from the author’s personal collection.)

 

To learn more about Erin and read her recent post for WDW Radio, visit her author page by clicking the link on her name at the top of this post.

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About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

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