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Outside of the Mercantile at Disney's Wilderness Lodge you'll see a totem pole with Mickey, Goofy, Donald and...a bear! A quite friendly looking bear in fact. Who is this fellow hanging out with 3 of the "fab five?"

One of the best ways to spend a day in Disney World is hunting for Mickeys...Hidden Mickeys, that is! And the Wilderness Lodge has a few of the own for you to find.

Whispering Canyon Café is a pretty popular restaurant at Disney World, but it can be divisive among fans. Though most people seem to enjoy the setting and atmosphere, those who don’t seem very passionate in their disdain. Whispering Canyon is a love it or hate it kind of place, and many of those who hate it do so because they don’t have the right expectations.

This blog post is a cautionary tale! It's one of those little-known nuances of the Wilderness Lodge that you won't find out until you stay there, but that could easily ruin your dream vacation: the Courtyard View Room fiasco.

Courtyard View Rooms Are Great...
If you've done your research, you know that Wilderness Lodge has several room views, and that costs go up depending on room view desirability. For example, standard rooms have the lowest prices, and courtyard view rooms have the highest prices.

One of our favorite, and most difficult to answer, questions here at Wilderness Lodge Site is, "How can we be the Flag Family?"

For those who don't know what I'm talking about when I mention the Flag Family, here's a primer. Each and every single day at the Wilderness Lodge, one family is chosen to be the "Flag Family." This "family" (could be a solo person or a group of any sort -- it doesn't have to be a family) rises very, very early in the morning to accompany a Wilderness Lodge cast member to the roof of the resort to raise the five flags that fly over the hotel: the American flag, the Florida State flag, the Walt Disney World flag, and two Wilderness Lodge flags.

However, it's not easy to get a spot as the Flag Family! Reservations to take part go fast, so the best way to increase your chances to participate is to ask about being the Flag Family when you check in at the Wilderness Lodge. Ask the front desk cast member to check the schedule and see if there are any Flag Family openings during your stay!

Even though the Wilderness Lodge opened recently -- in 1994 -- the resort is steeped in history and culture. Imagineers and architects spent years developing the intricate details of the resort, including the famous sentinels of the lobby -- the totem poles.

Eagle and Raven Clans
When you first walk into the resort, you can almost feel the presence of two massive, 7-story, authentic totem poles. They're located on either side of you as you look toward the back of the lobby out onto Bay Lake.