Bidding to reach the first FA Cup final in their history, the Potters raced out of the blocks and Jonathan Walters forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into an early save.
Wanderers responded as Gary Cahill fired over, but that was as good as it got for Owen Coyle’s men once Stoke struck twice in six minutes around the quarter-of-an-hour mark.
Matthew Etherington unleashed a powerful strike past Jaaskelainen after capitalising on a poor pass by Paul Robinson, and Robert Huth then produced a clinical finish after Cahill’s weak header fell invitingly to him.
Stoke made it 3-0 on 30 minutes when Jermaine Pennant stole the ball from Martin Petrov and fed Kenwyne Jones, who sent the red and white half of Wembley Stadium into raptures with a cool finish.
Wanderers were shell-shocked and manager Coyle responded by making a double substitution at half-time, sending on Matt Taylor and Mark Davier for Ivan Klasnic and Martin Petrov, but a comeback never looked possible as Stoke threatened to run up an embarrassing score.
Jones forced a smart save from Jaaskelainen before seeing a powerful strike blocked by Robinson, but a fourth goal was looking increasingly likely and it arrived with 22 minutes left when Walters surged forward, cut inside his man and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.
And Walters then completed the rout with his second goal of the game nine minutes from time, finding the net with the aid of a deflection after getting on the end of Jones’ cross.