Walt Disney World has introduced resort refurbishments and lodge building tasks for 2025 & 2026. The most important certainly one of these will happen at and round Wilderness Lodge, and is now confirmed to incorporate a room reimagining. This shares dates, particulars, plus photograph updates on the present tasks, and our commentary in regards to the impacts of the work.
That is one of some tasks that had been not too long ago introduced, together with the 12 months-Lengthy Pop Century Room Refurbishment and Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts Room Refurbishments Underway Till 2026. These in all probability aren’t the one lodge renovations on the horizon, both–simply those which have begin dates earlier in 2025. Control our Walt Disney World Resort Building Tracker for additional updates.
Wilderness Lodge is not like these two tasks as a result of the room redo is definitely only one piece of the puzzle there, and possibly the smallest. Let’s begin with what you could know on that entrance, immediately from Walt Disney World: From mid-Could 2025 to September 2025, Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge will endure refurbishment. Whereas all Resort facilities will stay accessible, you could discover refurbishment work throughout daytime hours.
This was to be anticipated. As mentioned in our Disney Trip Membership Resort Refurbishment Timeline, this was already introduced on the apartment affiliation assembly late final yr, and easily given a 2025 timeline. What the newest replace does is slender down the dates, suggesting it received’t be that prolonged of a challenge.
That additionally is smart. Copper Creek has comparatively latest rooms, so it is a tender items refurbishment based mostly solely on timing. It’s value stating that pre-existing Grand Floridian and Polynesian Villas obtained tender items refurbishments in the previous few years that had been extra bold than the usual selection.
For reference, listed below are the present Copper Creek customary rooms:
Copper Creek opened previous to the wave of Inova pull-down beds, so it’ll probably get through the challenge. That’s exactly what occurred with the GF and Poly rooms. This could imply changing the couch sleeper on the far left of the photograph with a combo sofa-bed that pulls down from the wall.
Disney has additionally demonstrated a defter design contact with latest DVC rooms, and we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked to see the interiors ‘thematically streamlined’ a bit. Copper Creek had flashes of excellence earlier than, and if this brings it on par with Boulder Ridge, it’ll be an enormous win.
Talking of which, right here’s a have a look at the brand new Boulder Ridge rooms that can assist you visualize what this might appear to be:
As we’ve talked about repeatedly, the Boulder Ridge Villas are our new #1 rooms in all of Walt Disney World.
The Boulder Ridge rooms simply obtained a tough items refurbishment and had been gutted within the course of. In order that challenge was extra vital in scale and scope, however the distinction was the start line. The outdated Boulder Ridge rooms had been actually outdated, and whereas a few of us had nostalgia and sentimentality for them, the brand new rooms at Boulder Ridge have extra in frequent with the present Copper Creek rooms than they did the outdated Boulder Ridge ones.
Which is to say that even absent a tough items refurbishment, the upcoming Copper Creek rooms might find yourself trying much like the brand new Boulder Ridge rooms just because they’re already quite a bit nearer to that. My expectation is that the flooring, current mattress/headboard, kitchenette, and loos will probably be unchanged. The most important wildcard is the dresser, and whether or not that’ll be transformed right into a pull-down fifth sleeper and storage combo, much like what you see within the Boulder Ridge photograph. Among the art work changed and Disney particulars being added are additionally givens.
Maybe that is overly optimistic, however my perspective is that the Copper Creek rooms have a close to 100% probability of bettering because of the room redo. The pull-down mattress alone virtually assures that, however I’d additionally count on new artwork that includes the Junior Woodchucks, Humphrey the Bear, or another outdoorsy Disney IP. Easter eggs to Walt Disney, railroads, and the corporate’s wilderness-inspired historical past additionally appear to be givens. Suffice to say, I’m optimistic.
By way of the affect to friends staying at Wilderness Lodge, there in all probability received’t be a lot of 1. The final time Walt Disney World did a room reimagining in the principle lodge was a couple of years in the past for the lodge rooms. Throughout that, complete flooring had been taken out of fee one after the other, and the work was solely accomplished throughout daytime hours.
We stayed at Wilderness Lodge twice throughout that challenge, and I needed to exit of my solution to see indicators (actually–pictured above and beneath) of the work. I wouldn’t have even identified it was happening, however for these and varied hallways being blocked off, which was seen from the foyer beneath.
In the event you’re staying above or beneath one of many flooring being labored on and you are likely to take naps through the day, it’s solely potential your expertise might differ. By which case, we’d merely advocate inserting a room request to be on a flooring that’s a minimum of one-removed from the present progress. This largely applies to friends staying within the Copper Creek Villas, although. In the event you’re staying on the lodge facet of Wilderness Lodge, you need to be high quality with none requests.
As intimated above, this isn’t the one work being accomplished at or round Wilderness Lodge in 2025 and past.
Walt Disney World filed a building allow a couple of months in the past for Wilderness Lodge that mirrored a prolonged and large-scale challenge happening over the following two years. We mentioned this at size in New Allow for Wilderness Lodge Building Challenge Lasting Till December 2026.
The allow itself didn’t inform us a lot, solely that it was “common building” and assigned to Adena Company, which is an everyday collaborator with Walt Disney World. The allow was purposefully prolonged past the default 1-year timeline to December 25, 2026. The challenge can be being dealt with by Walt Disney World’s Facility Asset Administration (FAM) group moderately than Walt Disney Imagineering. This usually means that’s upkeep of an current facility moderately than a wholesale building challenge. Resort refurbishments–much more bold ones like that of the Grand Floridian–undergo FAM.
There are a selection of prospects as to what that challenge lasting via December 2026 might entail.
One theoretical candidate is changing extra of the Wilderness Lodge lodge stock into Disney Trip Membership, however I’m extremely skeptical of that. There’s already a ton of DVC stock accessible for buy or coming on-line, together with on this very area of Walt Disney World. Plus, the lodge rooms are brand-new! This isn’t it.
One other chance is a pool refurbishment. Once more, that’s unlikely. Nothing has began or been introduced, and a pool challenge of that length would’ve appeared on the calendar by now to alert friends. So that just about actually isn’t it, both.
This leaves the probably candidate as exterior refurbishment work to Wilderness Lodge.
That challenge began just a few days after the allow was filed, and Walt Disney World added a bulletin to the web site with an open-ended timeframe. That’s a very long time for exterior refurbishment work, however that wouldn’t be too shocking. Walt Disney World took its time with related tasks at Yacht and Seaside Membership a pair years in the past.
Accordingly, we’re going with exterior refurbishment work because the probably challenge related to the allow lasting via December 2026. Whereas the work might final that lengthy, it additionally may very well be a case of Disney erring on the facet of warning.
As for visitor affect of the outside refurbishment, we additionally don’t count on an amazing quantity.
I truly simply stayed at Wilderness Lodge throughout a latest journey whereas this challenge was ongoing. Mildly comic story, as I hadn’t deliberate to remain there–I used to be booked at Pop Century for an “necessary” analysis keep there. Nonetheless, as Mears Join was dropping me off on the lodge, Sarah acquired a name from Disney asking if they may bump me to Wilderness Lodge as a result of Pop was overbooked.
That is the type of factor you solely hear about on the web, however by no means occurs to you. (In truth, it had by no means occurred to me previous to this!) And whereas I in all probability ought to’ve stayed at Pop Century for the sake of analysis…c’mon, it’s Wilderness Lodge! I’m solely human. In fact I took the free improve.
Anyway, the purpose is that I might see the outside work being accomplished from my balcony. I additionally walked across the resort to scope out some other work being accomplished. There have been small areas of scaffolding up on varied parts of the resort.
Not as soon as did I hear something from my room, however my room was sufficiently faraway from the outside work. If the work proceeds on this focused vogue, that is going to be the expertise of in all probability 98% of friends staying at Wilderness Lodge at any given time.
The one exception to that is the rooms which are close to the scaffolding, however these will in all probability be taken out of fee if/when the work will get to these factors. So once more, a easy room request to be away from the work ought to suffice. I in all probability wouldn’t even proactively make that request because the odds of affect are exceedingly low.
Lastly, there’s the continuing work on the former River Nation web site, which is close by Wilderness Lodge.
A pair months after this challenge resumed, Walt Disney World lastly formally confirmed that the challenge has resumed beneath a brand new title: Disney Lakeshore Lodge (previously Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge).
Within the announcement, Walt Disney World confirmed that building is at present underway and that new combined use property (that means it’s Disney Trip Membership and an everyday resort, much like Disney’s Riviera Resort) is projected to open in 2027. Which means building between every now and then.
Building on Disney Lakeshore Lodge was additionally ongoing throughout my latest keep (above photograph taken from the boat dock at Wilderness Lodge).
Throughout that, I noticed building in motion on boat rides to and from Magic Kingdom. Most apparently, work was being accomplished beginning early within the morning–even after I departed for Early Entry–and on weekends. The big cranes had been shifting supplies even at 7 am! So clearly it’s full steam forward on Reflections–err, Disney Lakeshore Lodge.
Whereas technically between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, the Disney Lakeshore Lodge building web site is way nearer to Fort Wilderness than Wilderness Lodge. It’s far sufficient away that, once more, my expectation is that the affect to friends at Wilderness Lodge ought to be minimal. You’ll see work within the distance, however that’s about it.
The most important exception to that is friends staying within the Cascade Cabins on the far finish (nearer to Fort Wilderness).
Sooner or later, Disney goes to begin constructing the previously-announced A-frame cabins and treehouse villas within the common neighborhood of the present Cascade Cabins. As soon as that begins, friends staying in these waterfront DVC models which are closest to Fort Wilderness will probably have the ability to see and listen to work being accomplished.
Company staying on the far finish of Boulder Ridge may also have the ability to see or hear work from their balconies for the A-frame cabins and treehouse villas.
Most likely not sufficient to justify avoiding these rooms, except you want sitting in your balcony and being immersed within the wilderness as you take pleasure in your morning espresso or decompress noon. That’s truly me–so I’d take into account requesting a room away from the motion at Boulder Ridge (these are additionally actually lengthy hallways, so a room request is rarely a foul thought there).
Once more, the principle constructing of Wilderness Lodge is fairly removed from this challenge. I couldn’t see the cranes from my room (which confronted that route) and the 2 pictures above taken from the monorail don’t even present Wilderness Lodge as a result of it’s pretty far out of the body. This isn’t to say work on Disney Lakeshore Lodge received’t be seen or audible sooner or later between now and 2027–it’s a 10-story tower, in any case–however it’s not a challenge that may concern me as a lodge visitor at Wilderness Lodge.
Finally, there’s a whole lot of present and upcoming work at Wilderness Lodge between now and 2027. All of this may sound overwhelming, to the purpose that the totality of it makes you rethink staying right here. In the event you’re actually averse to visible blight and noise, maybe it’s best to.
Personally, this is not going to trigger us to rethink our upcoming stays at Wilderness Lodge–not even with a toddler who wants noon breaks for naps. Regardless that it’s going to final a number of years, the work is sufficiently remoted, focused, or off within the distance that it offers me no pause. This received’t be as unhealthy as staying on the Polynesian throughout Island Tower building, Riviera Resort from Caribbean Seaside, Gran Destino Tower from the remainder of Coronado Springs, and even Disney Lakeshore Lodge from Fort Wilderness.
Whereas I’ve some robust ideas in regards to the upcoming 10-story Disney Lakeshore Lodge and am extremely protecting of Wilderness Lodge and its thematic integrity, none of that extends to avoiding stays on the property between now and 2027. Maybe that’ll change if extra tasks are revealed which have extra of an affect, however for now, I believe most friends will probably be completely high quality with room requests in the event that they’re actually nervous. Even if you happen to don’t make a request, you’re unlikely to be inside earshot of the work.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on the development at and round Wilderness Lodge between now and 2027? Excited for the room refurbishment at Copper Creek? Have you ever stayed at Wilderness Lodge since work started on the outside or adjoining Disney Lakeshore Lodge? What was your expertise? Did you even discover that these tasks had been occurring? Do you agree or disagree with our suggestion to make a room request moderately than keep elsewhere? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
