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Disney’s Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida is one of my family’s favorite Disney hotels. It has a wonderful Western national park feel to it with incredible detail. it really makes you feel like you’ve gotten away from it all and are deep in the woods and yet you are just a short boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom!
If you haven’t already stayed here, I’m sure you want to; the one thing that may be stopping you is the price. Luckily, here at Green Vacation Deals, we have picked up a few tricks over our many years of visiting the Disney parks so here are 5 tips that can help you get to the Wilderness Lodge!
Disney Vacation Club
One of the best ways to get an affordable rate but stay at the Wilderness Lodge is to stay at the two Disney Vacation Club sections of Wilderness Lodge. The sections are Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek (I went into detail about our room at Copper Creek here).
Now, you may be thinking, but I’m not a Disney Vacation Club Member! Well, luckily, you can still stay there. And it’s actually a lot cheaper than staying at the hotel section of Wilderness Lodge!
What you can do is rent Disney Vacation Club points through David’s Vacation Club Rentals. If that sounds complicated, don’t worry. We made a video here that can help you through the process of renting a room at Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek. Trust me, you can save a lot of money by doing this and your family (and bank account) will thank you for it!
Priceline
But what happens if all the DVC rooms are booked up at Wilderness Lodge during the timeframe you want to visit Disney World?
Well, you can still stay at the non-DVC rooms at Wilderness Lodge. And one place to find good rates for those rooms is through Priceline. It will probably be more expensive than booking a DVC room, but you can get a discounted rate for a non-DVC room though Priceline. I have paid less money for Disney hotel rooms through Priceline than I have through my passholder discount on Disney’s website. You can find good rates on Priceline for Wilderness Lodge rooms here.
Vacation Packages
When you are staying at Wilderness Lodge, that is probably not going to be your only expense. You will often be paying for Disney World theme park tickets. You could also be paying for a flight or a car rental.
So one way you can save money on your whole trip is through a vacation package. This can help get your entire vacation under your travel budget. Then, you’ll be able to splurge on a great hotel like Wilderness Lodge.
We tell you about some great Disney World vacation packages here.
Swagbucks
Another trick my family does to help us afford multiple Disney trips a year is Swagbucks. Basically, what you do is earn Swagbucks online. You can get Swagbucks through online purchases, surveys, buying gift cards, etc. Then you can redeem these “Swagbucks” for Hotels.com gift cards. Then you can use those gift cards to book your stay at a Disney hotel.
Whew! It’s actually not as complicated as it sounds, and we go into more detail about Swagbucks here. I definitely recommend starting Swagbucks. Even if you say book your room through a Disney Vacation Club rental, you can use Swagbucks for other parts of your trip. For example, you can get a Landy’s Restaurant gift card which you can use at the following restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort:
- Rainforest Cafe (there is one at Animal Kingdom and one at Disney Springs)
- T-Rex Cafe (there is one at Disney Springs; you can read our review of T-Rex Cafe here)
Staying at an Offpeak Time
One final way you can save money on your Wilderness Lodge booking is by staying at an off-peak time. For example, if you stay during the week rather than the weekend, the rates will be cheaper. It is also cheaper if you don’t go on major holidays such as Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
A notable exception to that is Labor Day. I have found some great rates for Labor Day weekend.
More Ways to Save Money at Disney World
Looking for more tips to keep your Disney trip under budget?
Well, here’s how to get discount tickets to Walt Disney World.
And you’ll want to check out these 10 things to buy before your trip to save you money.
Wilderness Lodge Video Tour
See for yourself why Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is such a great place to stay on a Disney vacation!