This week in our DVC History series, we take a look at the story of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Although its roots begin with some of the initial hotel discussions for Walt Disney World, it took until 1994 for the resort to become a reality. Wilderness Lodge is also home to two Disney Vacation Club properties: Boulder Ridge Villas & Copper Creek Villas and Cabins.

DIS Contributor Chuck Mirarchi leads us on this exploration of Wilderness Lodge. If interested in just the DVC portion, fast-forward to Part Two!


The History of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – Part One

The History of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – Part Two

The History of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – The Landscaping


One of the most interesting things I read as part of this history related to the construction of the Boulder Ridge DVC addition to Wilderness Lodge. One of the biggest design challenges that architects faced was making the addition look as if it were built prior to the construction of the main lodge, despite being built almost a decade later.

Share in the comments your thoughts and what you found interesting about Disney’s Wilderness Lodge! Also if you haven’t caught our previous editions of DVC History, you can check them out here:

Paul Krieger

Amy and I are new Orlando, Florida residents where we live with our dogs Odie the greyhound and Hermès the Spanish galgo. We are DVC owners at Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk Villas, Grand Californian, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian, Disney World Annual Passholders, and love educating Disney Vacation Club members on how to both use and maximize the value of their DVC points!