Pricey deluxe Disney World hotel faces 'unacceptable' air conditioning outage as heat wave descends on the theme park

Disney fans staying at one of the company's Orlando resort hotels are finding their vacations less than magical. 

Guests have been left sweltering at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, one of the Florida theme park's most coveted 'deluxe' resorts, after a multi-day air conditioning outage hit during a brutal Florida heatwave.

The problems first began on Thursday, when guests reported higher-than-normal temperatures in the resort's main building, including guest rooms, the lobby, restaurants and other indoor areas. 

Boulder Ridge, the separate Disney Vacation Club wing of the Wilderness Lodge, reportedly has not experienced AC issues at this time.

The outage came just as Central Florida and its beloved Disney theme park were baking under heat index values of 100 degrees or higher, leaving some visitors struggling to escape the oppressive heat and humidity.

'That's ridiculous, it's gotta be about $300 to $600 a night in this place,' one Reddit user wrote. 'I would be super upset. This is the hottest it's been right off the bat.'

As of June 21, the air conditioning has been 'partially restored' in most rooms, according to WDWNT. 

Reddit users report that the main AC is still not working in the lobby and restaurants. While there are portable fans set up, the building overall is 'still pretty warm.' 

Some rooms reached over 80 degrees even after the sun went down, leaving sticky current guests, and those with trips on the horizon, furious with the Disney hotel.  

'If I'm spending that much on a resort, I expect AC when it's 106 degrees outside,' one Reddit user wrote, while another chimed in saying, 'it's not like you can crack a window, not that it would improve anything. This is Florida after all.'

'I hope you got reimbursed! That's absolutely unacceptable,' another Reddit user wrote. Disney did offer compensation for resort guests who were not shuffled to an air-conditioned hotel. 

As one of Disney's 'Deluxe' resorts, the Wilderness Lodge is known for its coveted location close to the theme parks, (just a short boat ride from Magic Kingdom), along with its Pacific Northwest-inspired theming, dining options and fun perks. But those amenities come at a cost. 

On the Walt Disney World website, a standard 'resort' view room with two queen beds costs $584 for one night on June 22. Even with Disney's current summer discount, guests would still pay $429.75 for a one-night stay. 

By comparison, a room at Disney's Pop Century Resort on the same date starts at just $192 per night - less than half the discounted Wilderness Lodge rate.

Where possible, guests impacted by the AC outage were offered stays at the Art of Animation or Coronado Springs, both of which are considered a downgrade from the 'deluxe' category of the Wilderness Lodge. 

Some guests, however, were upgraded to the Gran Destino Tower and the Grand Floridian, according to Fantasyland News. 

But changing hotels hasn't been an easy task for everyone. 

'We booked an impromptu night at the Boardwalk Inn tonight to come up a day early before checking into Wilderness Lodge for the next six days starting tomorrow,' one Reddit user wrote. 'We've been trying all day to move our reservation without much luck.'

Disney's Wilderness Lodge is also home to table service restaurants Whispering Canyon Cafe and Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White - both of which were closed for the day during the peak heat of the outage. 

The company also blocked out Advance Dining Reservations for last Saturday at those indoor locations. 

The resort's counter service restaurant, Roaring Fork, remained open, as did the outdoor restaurant Geyser Point Bar & Grill.