The_Insider
Ask me anything.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2005
Disney's Wilderness Lodge Fun Facts
Opening Date: May 28, 1994
Ground Breaking: August 1992
NOTE: The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge opened on November 15, 2000. The Villas represent the third vacation ownership project developed by Disney Vacation Club at the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort.
Architects: Designed by Urban Design Group of Denver, Colorado, headed by architect Peter Dominick, Jr.
Acreage: 150 acres
Rooms:
Wilderness Lodge: 728 Guest Rooms
Villas at Wilderness Lodge: 136 Vacation Homes (181 Guest Rooms)
POINTS OF INTEREST:
Artifacts: Artifacts from a variety of Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Crow, Sioux, and Blackfoot, have been collected and re-created, and are displayed throughout the lodge.
Authentic reproductions of headdresses, painted robes, and weapons, created by the tribes who adorned the originals, illustrate the relationship between the Indian and the land.
Works by Charles Bird King and publishers McKinney-Hall portray chiefs, braves, and family members in a variety of poses.
Artwork: An artwork collection displayed throughout the lodge portrays images of exploration, hunters and trappers, American West landscapes, wildlife, and cowboy life.
Artists Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, whose pieces are featured throughout the resort, are noted for their detailed and accurate landscape paintings.
Works of "cowboy" painters Charles Russell and Bill Gollings are on display in the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
Hunters and trappers, the first "Easterners" to cross the plains, are accurately portrayed by artists William Tylee Ranney and Alfred Jacob Miller.
Large murals (located in Artist Point) and paintings (located in the "Teddy Roosevelt" themed Territory Lounge) have been re-created from the works of Carl Rungius and capture the West's wildlife, featuring Rocky Mountain sheep, elk, mule, deer, mountain goats, and moose.
Chandeliers: Four massive torch-cut iron chandeliers that look like suspended tepees grace the lobby. Authentic rawhide has been stretched over the lights' structural framework. Inside each tepee is a 48-bulb fixture which provides 2,880 watts to light the huge lobby. The tepees are 9 feet, 4 inches in diameter at the base and 12 feet, 6 inches high at the peak. Each tepee chandelier weighs 600 pounds. The tepees are handpainted with a geometric design.
In a silhouetted style, riders on horseback and buffaloes encircle the base of each tepee chandelier. The design of the riders and animals resulted from a study of photographs. A variety of poses was selected and crafted in bronze and steel with an aged finish.
Fire Rock Geyser: The geyser, located outside between the swimming pool and Bay Lake, serves as a re-creation of the famous geyser, "Old Faithful." It can shoot a water plume as high as 120 feet at regular intervals.
The computer controlled geyser system has specific programming ability and on-line input adjustment for wind drift.
Grand Canyon Fireplace: The towering stone fireplace in the lobby stands 82 feet tall.
The three-sided fireplace represents two billion years of the Grand Canyon's strata, which includes fossilized remains of prehistoric animal and plant life. According to artist and geological consultant Robert Reid, the fossil life recorded pre-dates the dinosaur era. As part of the re-creation, more than 100 colors, from black, green, and magenta to light buff, red, and brown, are visible in an almost unbroken sequence of deposition. The variations are re-created in the same proportions as those that appear in the Grand Canyon, where each layer tapers, ranging from 50 to 700 feet thick.
Hidden Mickeys: There are many hidden "Mickeys" located throughout the lodge. Eight are carved in the balconies of guest rooms and 14 individual ones are located in the common areas, including one in a fireplace screen:
Artist Point, right-hand muralcoloration of lower right-hand tree varies creating shape
Artist Pointcloud in the distance of the left-hand mural
Cubs Denguitar in painting near the entrance to the movie area
Cubs Denplush in teepee of painting across from the one mentioned above
Cubs Denwhite marking on the brown cow in the left-hand cattle painting as you enter
Library areain the back side of the lobby fireplace is another fireplace on the next level; on the door of the screen of that fireplace are two sets of acorns which are highlighted by a curved surface, connect the curved surface
Lobbyin a key on display between the front desk and Mercantile merchandise shop
Lobbyright-hand side of fireplace just below the red rocks
Mercantileoutside, the bus driver on the sign showing the resort transportation location
Outside entranceright, inside support post below iron band at top
Outside entranceright, outside support post below iron band at top
Territory Loungecolored area on rear end of a pony in mural on ceiling
Territory Loungemap at the entrance, one of the pots about two feet from the bottom
Whispering Canyon Cafein bottom ironwork of fireplace in back room
Indian Carpet floor: The "Indian Carpet" floor pattern in the lobby is made up of four different types of wood: Brazilian Cherry, White Oak, Bird's-Eye Maple, and Burl Walnut.
The design depicts the symbol of unity among the four seasons, wildlife, man, and the cosmos.
Lodgepole Pine: A total of 85 loads of "Lodgepole Pine" logs were delivered from Oregon and Montana to help in the building of the 7-story atrium lobby which serves as the centerpiece of the resort.
Log-Bundle Columns: The reinforced 7 story log-bundle columns not only hold up the steeply pitched lobby roof but, according to Native American legend, the bundles "hold up the heavens" as well. Carvings on the top of these bundles feature figures of native northwestern wildlife.
Silver Creek and Overlook Point: A bubbling hot spring in the lobby expands into a rocky, geothermal area outside the building. The water flows under a window wall to become "Silver Creek" in the upper courtyard. The quiet creek widens and is transformed into a roaring waterfall which plummets 15 feet past "Overlook Point."
Totem Poles:
The two 55-foot handcarved totem poles, the "Raven" and the "Eagle," located in the lobby depict various myths and legends of Native Americans.
A 10-foot "totem" of Disney characters stands adjacent to Wilderness Lodge Mercantile. It took Orlando based artist William Robertson months to carve out the intricate features of Humphrey Bear, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse.
Opening Date: May 28, 1994
Ground Breaking: August 1992
NOTE: The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge opened on November 15, 2000. The Villas represent the third vacation ownership project developed by Disney Vacation Club at the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort.
Architects: Designed by Urban Design Group of Denver, Colorado, headed by architect Peter Dominick, Jr.
Acreage: 150 acres
Rooms:
Wilderness Lodge: 728 Guest Rooms
Villas at Wilderness Lodge: 136 Vacation Homes (181 Guest Rooms)
POINTS OF INTEREST:
Artifacts: Artifacts from a variety of Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Crow, Sioux, and Blackfoot, have been collected and re-created, and are displayed throughout the lodge.
Authentic reproductions of headdresses, painted robes, and weapons, created by the tribes who adorned the originals, illustrate the relationship between the Indian and the land.
Works by Charles Bird King and publishers McKinney-Hall portray chiefs, braves, and family members in a variety of poses.
Artwork: An artwork collection displayed throughout the lodge portrays images of exploration, hunters and trappers, American West landscapes, wildlife, and cowboy life.
Artists Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, whose pieces are featured throughout the resort, are noted for their detailed and accurate landscape paintings.
Works of "cowboy" painters Charles Russell and Bill Gollings are on display in the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
Hunters and trappers, the first "Easterners" to cross the plains, are accurately portrayed by artists William Tylee Ranney and Alfred Jacob Miller.
Large murals (located in Artist Point) and paintings (located in the "Teddy Roosevelt" themed Territory Lounge) have been re-created from the works of Carl Rungius and capture the West's wildlife, featuring Rocky Mountain sheep, elk, mule, deer, mountain goats, and moose.
Chandeliers: Four massive torch-cut iron chandeliers that look like suspended tepees grace the lobby. Authentic rawhide has been stretched over the lights' structural framework. Inside each tepee is a 48-bulb fixture which provides 2,880 watts to light the huge lobby. The tepees are 9 feet, 4 inches in diameter at the base and 12 feet, 6 inches high at the peak. Each tepee chandelier weighs 600 pounds. The tepees are handpainted with a geometric design.
In a silhouetted style, riders on horseback and buffaloes encircle the base of each tepee chandelier. The design of the riders and animals resulted from a study of photographs. A variety of poses was selected and crafted in bronze and steel with an aged finish.
Fire Rock Geyser: The geyser, located outside between the swimming pool and Bay Lake, serves as a re-creation of the famous geyser, "Old Faithful." It can shoot a water plume as high as 120 feet at regular intervals.
The computer controlled geyser system has specific programming ability and on-line input adjustment for wind drift.
Grand Canyon Fireplace: The towering stone fireplace in the lobby stands 82 feet tall.
The three-sided fireplace represents two billion years of the Grand Canyon's strata, which includes fossilized remains of prehistoric animal and plant life. According to artist and geological consultant Robert Reid, the fossil life recorded pre-dates the dinosaur era. As part of the re-creation, more than 100 colors, from black, green, and magenta to light buff, red, and brown, are visible in an almost unbroken sequence of deposition. The variations are re-created in the same proportions as those that appear in the Grand Canyon, where each layer tapers, ranging from 50 to 700 feet thick.
Hidden Mickeys: There are many hidden "Mickeys" located throughout the lodge. Eight are carved in the balconies of guest rooms and 14 individual ones are located in the common areas, including one in a fireplace screen:
Artist Point, right-hand muralcoloration of lower right-hand tree varies creating shape
Artist Pointcloud in the distance of the left-hand mural
Cubs Denguitar in painting near the entrance to the movie area
Cubs Denplush in teepee of painting across from the one mentioned above
Cubs Denwhite marking on the brown cow in the left-hand cattle painting as you enter
Library areain the back side of the lobby fireplace is another fireplace on the next level; on the door of the screen of that fireplace are two sets of acorns which are highlighted by a curved surface, connect the curved surface
Lobbyin a key on display between the front desk and Mercantile merchandise shop
Lobbyright-hand side of fireplace just below the red rocks
Mercantileoutside, the bus driver on the sign showing the resort transportation location
Outside entranceright, inside support post below iron band at top
Outside entranceright, outside support post below iron band at top
Territory Loungecolored area on rear end of a pony in mural on ceiling
Territory Loungemap at the entrance, one of the pots about two feet from the bottom
Whispering Canyon Cafein bottom ironwork of fireplace in back room
Indian Carpet floor: The "Indian Carpet" floor pattern in the lobby is made up of four different types of wood: Brazilian Cherry, White Oak, Bird's-Eye Maple, and Burl Walnut.
The design depicts the symbol of unity among the four seasons, wildlife, man, and the cosmos.
Lodgepole Pine: A total of 85 loads of "Lodgepole Pine" logs were delivered from Oregon and Montana to help in the building of the 7-story atrium lobby which serves as the centerpiece of the resort.
Log-Bundle Columns: The reinforced 7 story log-bundle columns not only hold up the steeply pitched lobby roof but, according to Native American legend, the bundles "hold up the heavens" as well. Carvings on the top of these bundles feature figures of native northwestern wildlife.
Silver Creek and Overlook Point: A bubbling hot spring in the lobby expands into a rocky, geothermal area outside the building. The water flows under a window wall to become "Silver Creek" in the upper courtyard. The quiet creek widens and is transformed into a roaring waterfall which plummets 15 feet past "Overlook Point."
Totem Poles:
The two 55-foot handcarved totem poles, the "Raven" and the "Eagle," located in the lobby depict various myths and legends of Native Americans.
A 10-foot "totem" of Disney characters stands adjacent to Wilderness Lodge Mercantile. It took Orlando based artist William Robertson months to carve out the intricate features of Humphrey Bear, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse.
where I might want to stay....
