While picking a resort to stay in at WDW is clearly the most difficult part of planning a trip there, I had an inclination of where I wanted to stay before I picked up “The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.”
I had thought I wanted to stay in the Wilderness Lodge. It’s supposed to be one of the most beautifully themed of the resorts. The theme is “national parks”- clearly, that sounds like Jimmy & I. Besides, as a child I never got to stay there, and I believe we only ate there once.
However, once I began reading the accommodations section of the Unofficial Guide, I realized this decision is far more complicated than I had imagined. With Disney transportation going down the crapper, it is important to either pick a centralized resort, or one next to a park you love. The Wilderness Lodge is said to have the most convoluted of the transportation out of all the Disney resorts.
Because we will be going as a couple and without children, and because I love food, the dining experience is clearly one of my top priorities. The Guide suggests that if dining is important to you, you stay at an Epcot resort. The Epcot resort cluster has the most options for restaurants, and Epcot itself has the best dining selection (esp. in World Showcase). The Wilderness Lodge is NOT an Epcot resort, and it would take forever to get anywhere else.
Obviously, a spreadsheet will be needed for this decision. I will need to write all the factors that are important to me and assign point values. Then score each resort. Yes, I’m crazy, but it’ll be fun.