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(For the first page of this review of the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, see this.)

MORE ON THE AMENITIES AND ART OF THE VILLAS AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE

The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge is an underappreciated gem of architecture and design.

While showing nothing so dramatic as the lobby of next-door Wilderness Lodge, the Villas have some very nice vistas from rooms on the long arm of the resort–at left in the image.

The rooms at top have views of Bay Lake, and those below of the forest. See the image at the top of the page for these forest views.  The grassy area closest to the building is not set up as a playground, and does not have paths leading to it.  But many kids from the first floor villas and studios that border it find their way here from their patios and play on it.

The Villas show the same attention to detailed theming that you’ll find in the main lodge, including these lights…

…and these.

Note the woodsy theming of this bench.

Also notable is the art and decoration. Art in the rooms has some Bambi theming–this from a Studio…

…and this in One and Two Bedroom villas.

Both rooms and public spaces have art with national park themes, like this…

…and this.

And you’ll also find many western vistas, some with trains…

…but most just of people and a view.

The Wilderness Lodge itself has the best, and best-executed, theming of any Disney World resort.

The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge both share in and complement this theming.

The only thing wrong with the Wilderness Lodge is the small bedrooms. Villas don’t have this problem except for groups larger than 6, so for everyone else they are the most highly recommended DVC resort for first-time visitors.

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(For the first page of this review of the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, see this.)

THE AMENITIES AND ART OF THE BOULDER RIDGE VILLAS AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE

The Boulder Ridge Villas at the Wilderness Lodge share the amenities of the next door Wilderness Lodge.

At the Wilderness Lodge you’ll find

• A great pool themed to a mountain spring
• A second newly-redone smaller pool
• A pool bar, hot tubs, and the like
• An imitation of the geyser Old Faithful
• Indoors, three dining options and a bar, and outdoors a bar and grille.
• All kinds of art and exhibits, with  a strong focus on Native Americans and on the geology of the west

The Boulder Villas at the Wilderness Lodge also have a few amenities of their own.

Most charming among them is the main lobby, themed–though most won’t notice it–as a rare fully enclosed railroad roundhouse.

There’s charming sitting areas here…

…including a few chairs on front of a fireplace.

The ceiling beams have their ends carved with wilderness creatures…

…including a perhaps too realistic rattlesnake.

Around the corner is a larger but still cozy sitting room.

Another view of the sitting room.

This area is filled with railroad memorabilia, much of it celebrating Walt Disney’s love of railroads and his outdoor model railroad, the Carolwood Pacific.

Some of the railroad mementos…

…more.

A railroad map.

Outside this sitting area you’ll find porches with rocking chairs, some sized for little ones.

Off the other side of the lobby you’ll find the elevators.  Note the train etching on the elevator door…

…and also note the train details on the hanging.

The other elevator door features a moose or elk or deer or something wild and wildernessy.

Also in this area you’ll find the health club Sturdy Branches.

The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge is an underappreciated gem of architecture and design.

While showing nothing so dramatic as the lobby of next-door Wilderness Lodge, the Villas have some very nice vistas from rooms on the long arm of the resort–at left in the image.

The rooms at top have views of Bay Lake, and those below of the pool and the Cascade Cabins of Copper Creek.

The Boulder Ridge Villas show the same attention to detailed theming that you’ll find in the main lodge, including these lights…

…and these.

Note the woodsy theming of this bench.

Also notable is the art and decoration. Art in the rooms has some Bambi theming–this from a Studio…

…and this in One and Two Bedroom villas.

Both rooms and public spaces have art with national park themes, like this…

…and this.

And you’ll also find many western vistas, some with trains…

…but most just of people and a view.

The Wilderness Lodge itself has the best, and best-executed, theming of any Disney World resort.

The Boulder Ridge Villas at the Wilderness Lodge both share in and complement this theming.

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OVERVIEW: MAY 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews May 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Earlier May is a great time to visit Walt Disney World, with low crowds, moderate prices, and good weather.

Crowds build over the month, and the end of the month sees high crowds from Memorial Day, and the beginning of humid and rainy summer weather.

MAY 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Few US school kids are on break in earlier May. Summer breaks in some districts begin in later May, and many families go during Memorial Day week (Memorial Day in 2015 is early, on May 25.)

I rank the weeks beginning April 25 and May 2 as 3/low crowds, the week of May 9th as 4/low-plus crowds, the week of May 16th as 5/moderate-minus crowds, and the week of May 23 as 9/high crowds.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

MAY 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

May 2015 prices begin the month 16% higher than the lowest of the year at the deluxes,  20% higher at the moderates, and 25% higher at the values. They stay at this level through late May.

On May 29, they switch to 50% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 15% higher than the lowest of the year at the moderates, and 12% higher at the deluxes.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

MAY 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for May 2015. See this for more.

MAY 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

May weather begins as good as it gets at Walt Disney World.

Over the course of the month, temperatures and humidity rise to near-summer levels, and the rainy season typically begins late in the month.

Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

MAY 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival continues through May 17.

Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios start May 15, 2015 and will crowd that park Fridays-Sundays.

MAY 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR MAY 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

• 4/25/2015  Moderate prices.  Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=8. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary
• 5/2/2015 Moderate prices. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=9. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary
• 5/9/2015 Moderate prices. Low-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=12. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary
• 5/16/2015  Moderate prices.  Moderate-minus crowds. Crowd ranking=5. Week ranking=16.  Use the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary
• 5/23/2015  Moderate to high prices.  High crowds. Crowd ranking=9. Week ranking=30. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2015 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2016 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2015 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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(For the first page of this review of the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, see this.)

MORE ON ACCOMMODATIONS AT THE VILLAS AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE

There are currently nine official Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World.

However, I have come to count them as eleven, and rank them as ten.

Ten because two of the resorts–Saratoga Springs and the Animal Kingdom Villas–have two very different areas, and a third– the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows–has too different an offering to include in the rankings.

In order of their appropriateness for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World, they are:

1. The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
2. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Kidani Village
4. Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
5. The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
6. Disney’s Beach Club Villas
7. Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
8. Disney’s Old Key West Resort
9. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, main resort
10. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort, Treehouse Villas area.

(I don’t include the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows in this ranking, as the offerings there–except Studios–are so different from all the rest. Ranking solely among Studios, the Poly Studios would come near the top of the list.)

These resorts are available to anyone to reserve through the regular Walt Disney World website or the resort reservations phone number at 407-939-7675.

They also are available to the general public at great discounts through renting points from a Disney Vacation Club member.

ROOMS AT THE VILLAS AT DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE [Read more →]

A couple of my imaginary internet friends have published detailed reviews/overviews of the offerings at this year’s Epcot International Food And Wine Festival, which still has about another month to go.

• While Josh’s material starts here, there’s also a PDF of all his stuff linked to from here.
• …And my friend Kristen has a bunch of Food and Wine stuff linked to from here

Check them out!

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Disney World now and then offers a couple of discounts that everyone pretty much understands:

• “Room-only” deals: room rate discounts that lower the cost of rooms compared to whatever standard prices are offered the same dates
• “Free dining” deals: those who buy rooms and tickets at full standard prices get one of Disney’s Dining Plans for free

A third common deal, however, seems to cause a bit of confusion. This is Disney World’s “Play Stay Dine and Save” deal.

Some people call this “free dining.” That’s wrong.  Other say that the savings in it come from people 10 and older paying the dining plan and ticket prices of 3 to 9 year olds.  That’s wrong too.

What Stay Play Dine is is a discount of around 9%-17% off of what the price would otherwise be for a package including hotel nights, tickets, and dining plans. The actual percentage savings varies by the hotel, the number of people booking, and the age structure of the group, and the only way to calculate it is to do test bookings for the same dates and rooms with and without the deal.

Moreover, it’s almost always offered with a “room only” deal also offered the same nights. Smaller, younger groups in more expensive rooms may do better with the room only deal than Stay Play Dine. Here too you need to test to know.

THE CURRENT PLAY STAY DINE AND SAVE DEAL

Last week Disney World released two deals, Play Stay Dine (“PSD”) and room only, for into March 2015.

I tested PSD savings per night for several different hotels and family structures during a late January period and also compared them to the room rate deal (to see which saved more) and to rack rates (to see percentage savings).

Here’s the results:

At value resort Pop Century–where the dining plan is quick service–the room rate discount for a standard room is $21.38/night on the tested nights, and PSD is always better for any family type these nights.

Total discounts range from 9% to 14% and are in the higher end of the range as more of the party is 10 or older. At best, the discounts are 60% of the cost of the dining plan

At moderate resort Caribbean Beach, with the regular dining plan on the same nights in a standard room, nightly savings are below:

Room rate savings per night these nights for the same room are $45.56.  Only a solo traveler does better with the room rate deal than PSD. Discounts range from 11-17%, with the higher percentage savings for families with more people 10 and older.  The savings cover between 59 to 72% of the dining plan costs.

At the expense deluxe resort the Polynesian Village, the room rate deal is better for many families

Nightly savings from the room rate deal for a standard room the nights I modeled are $144.79, and PSD nightly savings vary depending on family size and age structure from around $100 to almost $200.

Many families do better with the room rate deal than PSD (in yellow).  SPD percentage savings range from 13 to 17%. PSD Savings actually exceed free dining savings for some family structures, and at worst savings pay 80% of dining plan costs.

The Wilderness Lodge is the least expensive deluxe resort at Disney World.

Nightly savings for the room rate deal are $97.54 for standard rooms for the nights I tested.

PSD saves less for many family structures (in yellow) and saves more for others.  Percentage savings for PSD are 9 to 15%, showing the same patterns as the other resorts–higher discounts with more people older than 9. The PSD savings in effect pay for 60-75% of dining plan costs.

Compare savings for a similar family–e.g. with two adults and two 3-9 year olds–across the last three resorts and you’ll see the nonsense of the claim “10 and ups pay 3-9 rates.” If that were true, nightly savings would be the same per family type, not varying across resorts as in fact they do!

HOW TO DECIDE IF PLAY STAY DINE IS FOR YOU?

In more expensive rooms, your savings will vary depending on size and the number of people older than 10 in the room.

For such groups, you simply need to test your reservation both ways. Go to Disney’s website, price for your dates, family size and ages, and room based on Play Stay Dine, then hit the radio button on the right next to the Play Stay for the room-rate deal price. Then go into the room rate deal and make sure the tickets and dining plan are set, and compare total prices at the end of your process.

(Note that the packages like PSD initially show with taxes included, but room pricing–rack or discounted–doesn’t add taxes til later in the process.  I dunno why…)

Standard value resort rooms will pretty much always be a better deal under PSD than the room rate deal. Standard moderate rooms ditto except for very small parties (like a blogger on a solo visit to update a room review…). Deluxes should be double checked based on the radio buttons!!

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