Hi there Christie, and a very wild welcome to planDisney!
As you're venturing from the lush jungles and savanna sightings of
Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park to the forested surroundings of
Disney's Wilderness Lodge, it's always best to avoid the anxiety of being late to
a delicious dinner waiting for you when you get there- especially when you're using
Walt Disney World Resort bus transportation to make the journey! I frequently take advantage of
complimentary resort transportation between the theme parks and Disney Resort Hotels whenever I get have an opportunity to research strategies and track the changes that occur from a guest perspective, so here's what I personally suggest based on our most recent stay at Disney's Wilderness Lodge courtesy of planDisney:
- The distance itself when traveling by vehicle should reasonably take under 20 minutes in the best conditions but in my experience, traffic heading up World Drive definitely increased the time it took overall. It's also important to factor in the time it takes to not only wait for a bus to arrive - the longest it personally took for me at times was about 25 minutes - but also the time spent unloading and loading fellow guests. This may take an extra amount of time if there are also any folks requiring additional assistance with their mobility devices or Electric Conveyance Vehicles (ECVs).
- For these possible scenarios, I would highly recommend aiming to leave Disney's Animal Kingdom and make my way to the buses at least 45 minutes in advance (in this case, at 5:00 P.M.) just to be safe. This is especially true considering the time of day when you'll be taking a bus, as Park Hours will often change over the winter months to close earlier at 6:00 P.M. which may result in a longer line of families waiting to board.
The grounds of Disney's Wilderness Lodge are rustic, diverse and interesting to explore if you do find yourself arriving earlier than anticipated, and since it sounds like you might be coming from a day spent trekking the trails and spotting wildlife it might be a great idea to relax in a rocking chair by the towering fireplace. Just a short distance away from where the bus drops off is a hidden gem that I enjoy over at the
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge; heading inside you might stumble upon the Carolwood Pacific Railway Room which we investigated during our stay, discovering some intriguing artifacts that evoked
Walt Disney's love of trains.
Wishing you all the best on your dinnertime journey Christie, be sure to make good use of the
My Disney Experience app while you're here so you can plan ahead and also check the kinds of transportation available to you throughout your stay. You're also welcome to come back to us here at planDisney for any other answers or advice you might have, as well as any other strategies that we can suggest!
Here's hoping it'll be the smoothest ride to the wilderness!
Prince