Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge is a deliberate nature-inspired resort for the previous River Nation water park location alongside the shore of Bay Lake between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World. This improvement can be combined use, with each lodge rooms and Disney Trip Membership villas. (Up to date September 20, 2024.)
Initially introduced in October 2018, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge will “be a celebration of Walt Disney’s lifelong love and respect for nature” with greater than 900 lodge rooms and Disney Trip Membership villas. Reflections resort was slated to be the sixteenth Disney Trip Membership property, a part of a big enlargement on the lodge aspect of Walt Disney World. That plan would have introduced a complete of greater than 1,700 new lodge rooms and Disney Trip Membership villas on-line over 4 years.
Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was additional elaborated upon on the 2019 D23 Expo, and it was billed as one of many “most unusual resorts ever constructed” at Walt Disney World. Idea artwork was shared of the novel lodging, together with each treehouse suites and waterfront A-frame cabins that may be obtainable on the resort. Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge would additionally function a restaurant impressed by Princess and the Frog, situated “alongside the bayou of Bay Lake.”
September 20, 2024 Replace: Let’s begin by bringing you up to the mark, as not a lot has really occurred with Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge in roughly 4 years. However that’s nearly actually going to alter quickly, because the groundwork is being laid for a building resumption.
Again when the parks closed in March 2020, the Reflections undertaking was successfully cancelled and crews on website eliminated concrete and rebar. At that time, just about all that had occurred was website clearing and staging for building to start. The undertaking had but to start basis work, not to mention vertical building. Quick-forward 4 years, and it’s primarily an empty parcel that was mothballed for future improvement.
There have been a few new developments throughout the final month. Most lately, Walt Disney World has submitted a submitting with the Federal Aviation Administration for a 240 foot cell crane from October 14, 2024 till August 14, 2025. There isn’t a lot information–it merely signifies this may be a cell crane of that top, with GPS coordinates that correspond with the Reflections website.
That is all pretty routine. As Walt Disney World has gotten into the behavior of constructing towers (Riviera, Gran Destino, Island), we’re seen giant cranes within the early levels as all of those tasks go from basis to vertical building. If reminiscence serves me appropriately, all the different tasks have used a number of cranes–and each Riviera (above) and Gran Destino had tower cranes.
We didn’t obsessively doc FAA filings with these tasks as a result of, frankly, there was no want to take action. These tasks have been introduced; the existence of cranes was no shock. The distinction right here is that the resumption of Reflections stays a (poorly stored) secret, and we’re attempting to piece collectively permits and filings to show this undertaking is going on.
To that finish, this FAA submitting is essentially the most conclusive proof but. Previous to this, there was the chance that you could possibly interpret different information as an enlargement at Wilderness Lodge, with extra of the Cascade Cabins at Copper Creek being constructed. It might’ve been the wrong conclusion, however it was attainable. That’s now not the case. This cell crane coupled with the flurry of different permits and exercise ought to put the difficulty to relaxation: Walt Disney World is on the precipice of resuming Reflections–and shortly. Seen work ought to start across the begin of the brand new fiscal yr in October 2024.
Shortly earlier than this, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) is evaluating a Grasp Companies Settlement with Chen Moore & Associates to put in new electrical transformers as a part of a proposed “Challenge S.” In keeping with the submitting, the aim of the undertaking is to “present a brand new transformer service yard, transformer loop, and SCADA monitoring cupboards for a brand new resort.”
This comes just some weeks after Walt Disney Imagineering filed a building allow in August for building between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, with an prolonged expiration date via March 31, 2027 and Balfour Beatty listed because the contractor. The allow is puzzling as a result of it lists addresses alongside Wilderness Method that don’t exist–they aren’t present property addresses at Walt Disney World.
Nonetheless, that’s lots much less puzzling while you examine the brand new allow to at least one filed in 2019 for Challenge 89, which additionally has Balfour Beatty because the contractor. They’re for an identical addresses–and that 2019 allow was for the A-frame cabins at Reflections Lakeside Lodge.
Regardless of the Grasp Companies Settlement referring to “Challenge S” and different permits referring to “Challenge 89,” make no mistake–these permits all confer with the Lakeside Lodge on the previous River Nation Water Park parcel. Whereas we anticipated this announcement to be made on the latest D23 Expo, that didn’t occur for no matter cause. There’s each cause to consider the revival information might be made by someday in 2025. Barring a sudden recession or last-minute change, this is taking place.
Previous to this, Imagineering filed a request with the South Florida Water Administration District to increase one of many permits associated to ‘Challenge 89’ by a further 5 years. This is without doubt one of the massive image ‘allow packages’ for the proposed resort, pertaining to building of the resort and (because the title suggests) water administration ensuing from the undertaking. They’ve additionally prolonged different smaller-scale permits over the course of the final yr.
Along with all publicly-filed permits, we’ve acquired credible rumors (plural) that this lodge idea is being revived. I used to be skeptical once I first heard this over a yr in the past, however I’m now satisfied that Disney’s plan is to proceed with plans on this parcel.
My expectation (and this half is theory–not rumor) is that Disney will wait to announce till it’s strategically advantageous from the attitude of DVC gross sales. Disney may be very methodical with its Disney Trip Membership method–longtime followers could recall over a decade in the past when Bay Lake Tower was going vertical and Disney nonetheless pretended it didn’t exist. It grew to become a punchline amongst followers, because it was very clearly a DVC tower, and but, guides would play silly should you requested them about it, as an alternative pushing Saratoga or Animal Kingdom Lodge or no matter else was on sale on the time.
Don’t be stunned if one thing related occurs right here to keep away from cannibalizing present gross sales. Conversely, the lodge is likely to be seen as an asset to the Cabins at Fort Wilderness and introduced earlier because of this. The salient level is that the announcement will occur when it’s most conducive to promoting extra DVC. It might be actually as quickly as tomorrow or through press launch, some random weekday in April 2025, or as late because the 2025 Vacation spot D23. Personally, I’d guess on it taking place across the time the Island Tower goes on sale.
Additionally don’t be stunned if there are materials modifications to the looks of the lodge or its title. Once more, purely speculative. However with a lot passage of time, completely different management each at Imagineering and Parks & Resorts, and shifting traits in lodge design, it appears inevitable that what we first noticed in 2018 will change to some extent by the point it opens nearly a decade later.
In Why We Need Disney’s River Nation Lodge, we detailed the form of modifications we’d prefer to see to this undertaking upon its revival. For one factor, ditch the Reflections title. It sounds just like the place the place Don Draper went to rehab.
Within the intervening years since Reflections was mothballed/cancelled/delayed indefinitely, a trio of latest Disney Trip Membership tasks within the Magic Kingdom resort space has been introduced, not directly changing Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. The primary and smallest of those was at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort, changing one outlying constructing to new Resort Studios on the Grand Floridian. That undertaking is finished and obtainable on the market already bought out.
The following of those is the New DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (pictured above), which is presently beneath building and is slated to open in December 2024. This might be a license to print cash for DVC, as everybody loves the Poly. It’ll promote out quick, no matter Reflections (which means the latter won’t cannibalize Poly gross sales).
Lastly, there’s the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Trip Membership Resort (idea artwork beneath). These have began to open in phases, and might be completed by early 2025. That is the most important query mark–does asserting Reflections assist or hinder gross sales of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness? (The reply most likely relies upon upon how Disney treats them.)
The opposite cause it’s value drawing consideration to those tasks is as a result of there are loads of them. There’s additionally the Villas at Disneyland Lodge, Disney’s Riviera Resort, and Aulani in Hawaii. That is all important as a result of it means a ton of factors being bought concurrently, and quite a few resorts competing with each other for the eye of consumers.
If happening previous precedent, it could appear unlikely that Disney Trip Membership would resume Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge anytime quickly. Nonetheless, it’s not simply the permits. That alone might be ignored or defined away as pertaining to a different undertaking, housekeeping, or Imagineering wanting to maintain its choices open. There’s sufficient smoke right here that there’s most likely fireplace.
Reflections resuming by 2025 would’ve been deemed loopy even ~5 years in the past, again when Disney Trip Membership didn’t announce the subsequent undertaking (and actually denied the existence of building occurring in plain view), however lots has modified since. Again then, DVC tried to house its additions so that they wouldn’t straight competing with each other. Bulletins for the subsequent DVC property didn’t begin till gross sales have been wholesome and had progressed for the earlier one.
Issues have modified extra lately, and Disney Trip Membership has had a number of properties on the market concurrently for the final a number of years. There hasn’t been hesitation in asserting the subsequent massive enlargement or beginning building–it looks like there’s been a philosophy change. Disney Trip Membership is ok with a bigger variety of properties being obtainable on the market, with the thought course of that extra selection equals larger client alternative and a better chance of promoting memberships. (In any case, they’re all going to promote out ultimately…nicely, possibly minus Aulani!)
Having extra unsold DVC stock at Walt Disney World isn’t significantly regarding as a result of it serves as lodge stock within the meantime that may be booked out at increased money charges. There’s nonetheless loads of Riviera and Island Tower on the Poly that haven’t been declared, and people rooms fetch $600+ per night time on the lodge aspect.
No matter what occurs within the near-term, it’s fairly protected to say that the Reflections website might be developed in some unspecified time in the future down the highway. Walt Disney World solely has a lot prime parcels for resorts, and that is considered one of them. Not solely that, however loads of the location prepwork was already finished and it’s nonetheless in fairly good situation. It simply is sensible for building to occur right here sooner or later, and my guess can be that it begins earlier than 2030.
Whether or not that’s Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge or a completely new idea is anybody’s guess. The additional eliminated we get from the prior mothballing/delay/cancellation, the extra doubtless it’s that Disney will revisit each the title and the idea. Even when this undertaking have been re-announced tomorrow, I feel the chances are fairly good that the idea artwork would look materially completely different and the title wouldn’t be the identical.
Turning to my unique commentary, I like Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. I’m a Disney Trip Membership member. In principle, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge appears completely tailor-made to a few of my favourite issues about Walt Disney World. I need to like the thought of the River Nation parcel lastly being redeveloped, as an alternative of rotting in plain sight. I’m actually eager for the perfect right here.
Sadly, like just about each Fort Wilderness fan, I’m very apprehensive about this Disney Trip Membership undertaking (nicely, mixed-use, however presumably largely DVC). A part of what makes Fort Wilderness particular is that it’s been comparatively undisturbed by time, and is without doubt one of the final bastions of “Trip Kingdom of the World” period of WDW.
It’s nearly outstanding how completely different Fort Wilderness feels from the remainder of Walt Disney World—even its neighbor, Wilderness Lodge. It’s nearly as if Walt Disney World management has forgotten about Fort Wilderness, and it hasn’t seen the identical fiscal mandates, modifications in emphasis, or character as each different resort during the last couple a long time. Largely, it’s been doing its factor, roughly unchanged for the reason that Nineteen Nineties.
There’s a really professional concern, particularly after seeing how the Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge tasks at Wilderness Lodge unfolded, that any enlargement at or round Fort Wilderness will destroy the primitive and secluded traits of the campground that give it a lot enchantment. In any case, it is a campground with wilderness proper within the title–the surroundings is the center and soul of Fort Wilderness.
The event of Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge doesn’t essentially should destroy the tranquil and secluded environment of Fort Wilderness, however that looks like a really distinct chance. Disney’s latest method to creating lodges adjoining to present resorts doesn’t encourage a lot confidence, and if there’s a ham-fisted method when clearing land or an overzealous mentality relating to the scale or proximity of the resort to the campground, it will likely be extremely detrimental to Fort Wilderness.
As for the design, solely a pair items of idea artwork have been launched, and so they’re nothing particular. I don’t wish to rush to judgment right here, as I feel there may be potential for this to finish up being attention-grabbing as soon as extra is launched, however proper now it seems like a reasonably generic lodge with some trendy rustic thrives.
On the plus aspect, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) is the lead designer for Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, and so they have an excellent observe document with Disney. They designed the unique Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, together with Disney lodges in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong.
If this have been a decade or two in the past, I is likely to be extra deferential to Disney with regard to this idea artwork. Nonetheless, the final a number of years have proven that Walt Disney World may be very hit and miss with resort improvement and redesigns, skewing in direction of boring designs. It appears the method is to decide on essentially the most middle-of-the-road choices as attainable in order to not alienate these with bland tastes.
While you examine Walt Disney World resorts constructed earlier than the mid-Nineteen Nineties to ones constructed or redesigned in the previous few years, there’s typically a transparent division. Up to date tasks are sometimes interchangeable with actual world Vacation Inns or different mid-tier chained model lodges.
Have a look at the distinction between BoardWalk Inn or Seaside Membership and the brand new Gran Destino Tower at Coronado or Disney’s Riviera Resort. Don’t get me mistaken–I like each for the facilities they provide, luxuriousness, and room designs. Nonetheless, the exteriors of each depart lots to be desired, and neither are precisely exemplars of themed design. (Admittedly, they’ve each grown on me lots, however I nonetheless want they have been extra ornate or distinctive.)
One clarification is that Disney needs to make issues as crowd-pleasing as attainable in order to not alienate any potential clients. The factor about this method is that while you attempt to enchantment to everybody, you find yourself interesting to nobody.
One other clarification is that Imagineering’s skills are unfold too skinny. I do know some readers would possibly solely comply with the tasks at Walt Disney World, however each single property around the globe has big tasks in varied levels of improvement or building.
Up to now when much less was occurring concurrently, possibly some top-tier Imagineering expertise who “received” Disney’s distinct method to lodges labored on a resort undertaking. Now? Possibly they’re largely designers who view working for WDI as “simply one other job” no completely different than Finest Western or IHG.
Alongside those self same traces, with so many tasks in improvement, it’s solely attainable–if not possible–that management within the Parks & Resorts division is attempting to trim the funds from every one, slicing elements or particulars seen as superfluous.
The issue is that these leaders are usually not creatives, and their expertise is usually in client merchandise or different division of the corporate. They’ve completely no perception into what particulars are literally superfluous, and what are crucial for reinforcing theme or creating a way of immersion.
In the end, extra idea artwork might be launched that’s actually good. The undertaking may make use of a deft hand when creating round Fort Wilderness in a manner that doesn’t injury that panorama. (Disney, simply consider how a lot you could possibly pat yourselves on the again by using eco-friendly and sustainable building practices–it’d be value it within the PR alone!) It may find yourself being actually good–a real tribute to each Walt Disney’s love of nature, however the spirit of River Nation, which was by no means coming again anyway.
I’m cautiously optimistic that’s what may find yourself taking place, however I feel it’s equally doubtless that we’ll get a generically trendy and vaguely rustic design. It’s additionally extra doubtless that as an alternative of eco-friendly building that preserves the pure magnificence and wilderness of the realm, we get extreme tree clearing for the development, and an finish product akin to Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge by way of broad walkways and naked grounds.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
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