News Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge (Project 89 - Development near Fort Wilderness)

[ToTBellHop]

Shhhhhhh!

Some of us enjoy being on the monorail and paying only paying AKL/WL prices.

My family watching you from one of the towers:

 

[Sectorkeeper71]

It’s possible?…len would have a better opinion.

My thought is what the complete mishandling of APs (more on that later) has done is reduce the frequency of repeat visits by their core clientele in more damaging fashion

I know DVCs that now burn points on room sizes they don’t need for less trips.

Or go for 5-7 days and get 2 or 3 days of tickets.

this is exactly what my parents do now. Growing up, it was economical to be able to get APs for the family and then get two trips in one year span on those passes. Now? Forget it.

They go for 4-5 days now vs 6-7. 3 or 4 park days vs 6 or 7 back in the day.

Hell, on my honeymoon which was on my parents gifted points, the wife and I did 4 park days out of a total of 8 spent there.

 

[danlb_2000]

@sndral brought to our attention that the addresses in the recent Balfour Beatty permit are a match for a permit that they filed in 2019 which we are pretty sure was for the Reflections project. I think this is confirmation that Reflections is coming back in some form.

2019:

2024:

 

[Unbanshee]

@sndral brought to our attention that the addresses in the recent Balfour Beatty permit are a match for a permit that they filed in 2019 which we are pretty sure was for the Reflections project.

Is it possible that it was misinterpreted in 2019? The list reads more like a series of cabins than a new hotel structure

Edit: I forgot that there was a cabin element to that project. Carry on

 

[HauntedPirate]

Bob making sure a bad idea never dies so the DVC gravy train can keep generating revenue.

 

[Disstevefan1]

this is exactly what my parents do now. Growing up, it was economical to be able to get APs for the family and then get two trips in one year span on those passes. Now? Forget it.

They go for 4-5 days now vs 6-7. 3 or 4 park days vs 6 or 7 back in the day.

Hell, on my honeymoon which was on my parents gifted points, the wife and I did 4 park days out of a total of 8 spent there.

In effect you were a DVC owner, using your DCV for 8 days and only going to the park for 4 days.

I really think Disney loves guests like you; you still ate and shopped for the 8 days and only taxed their theme park resources for 4 days.

 

[sndral]

A couple of additional matching addresses on W. Wilderness Way that Balfour Beatty previously pulled permits for in 2019/2020 that are listed in the 7/31/2024 permit:
10/10/19 - 632 for structural foundations
4/3/20 - 612 (transportation dock,) 636 (bus stop & walkway,) & 640 (table service restaurant.)

 

[monothingie]

@sndral brought to our attention that the addresses in the recent Balfour Beatty permit are a match for a permit that they filed in 2019 which we are pretty sure was for the Reflections project. I think this is confirmation that Reflections is coming back in some form.

2019:
View attachment 806035
2024:
View attachment 806036

@danlb_2000 you had asked about the SFWMD permits not being submitted. If this is a resumption of Reflections, the permits appear to have a 5 year expiration unless renewed. So it is possible that they either have not expired yet or have already been renewed.

 

[danlb_2000]

@danlb_2000 you had asked about the SFWMD permits not being submitted. If this is a resumption of Reflections, the permits appear to have a 5 year expiration unless renewed. So it is possible that they either have not expired yet or have already been renewed.

Yeah, I totally forgot about the original permits for this. It's been a long 10 years since 2019.

 

[wdwmagic]

@danlb_2000 you had asked about the SFWMD permits not being submitted. If this is a resumption of Reflections, the permits appear to have a 5 year expiration unless renewed. So it is possible that they either have not expired yet or have already been renewed.

It was extended in May 2024

Disney Keeps Future Options Open For New Disney Vacation Club Property at Bay Lake

Disney Keeps Future Options Open For New Disney Vacation Club Property at Bay Lake

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[John park hopper]

Oh boy another DVC --is that all Disney can do now because they sure can't make a ride that is reliable -- TB

 

[Kamikaze]

Oh boy another DVC --is that all Disney can do now because they sure can't make a ride that is reliable -- TB

The real reason is that they're figured out they can rent the rooms as cash only until they sell the % via DVC and then turn around and remove them from cash rooms. Lets them increase new room capacity while later getting that DVC money.

 

[Advisable Joseph]

Yeah, I totally forgot about the original permits for this. It's been a long 10 years since 2019.

I'm not sure if this is helpful or horribly redundant (not fully following your conversation), but you can search for "Project 89" at https://my.sfwmd.gov/ePermitting/PopulateLOVs.do?flag=1

I get "Project 89 Ad Phase 2" etc. I'm not a construction guy: any clue what "Ad" means?

 

[monothingie]

I'm not sure if this is helpful or horribly redundant, but you can search for "Project 89" at https://my.sfwmd.gov/ePermitting/PopulateLOVs.do?flag=1

I get "Project 89 Ad Phase 2" etc. I'm not a construction guy: any clue what "Ad" means?

Adendum.

If the site plans have been modified from original submissions.

 

[HauntedPirate]

The real reason is that they're figured out they can rent the rooms as cash only until they sell the % via DVC and then turn around and remove them from cash rooms. Lets them increase new room capacity while later getting that DVC money.

When they can't fill the rooms they have and haven't been able to for going on 2 years, including mothballing blocks of rooms at multiple resorts. And Bob's knee-jerk reaction is to build more DVC? That seems like a solid business strategy.

 

[monothingie]

When they can't fill the rooms they have and haven't been able to for going on 2 years, including mothballing blocks of rooms at multiple resorts. And Bob's knee-jerk reaction is to build more DVC? That seems like a solid business strategy.

The Poly Tower is likely going to sell well, not because it's anything special, but because it part of "The Poly". Publicly, they're going to use this as the justification to say that guests want more, so we're bringing back Reflections: A Generic Disney Resort.

Between Wilderness Lodge, Copper Creek, Boulder Ridge, the DVC double-wides, and DVC cabins, the entire area already seems like a mess of sprawl without any sort of plan, other than it's "Nature" theming.

 

[HauntedPirate]

The Poly Tower is likely going to sell well, not because it's anything special, but because it part of "The Poly". Publicly, they're going to use this as the justification to say that guests want more, so we're bringing back Reflections: A Generic Disney Resort.

Between Wilderness Lodge, Copper Creek, Boulder Ridge, the DVC double-wides, and DVC cabins, the entire area already seems like a mess of sprawl without any sort of plan, other than it's "Nature" theming.

Yup. Bob could be staring at a steaming pile of garbage and say that is indicative of guests wanting more.

There's a theme to all the things they've built/are building around SSL. Not sure "nature" is the word I'd use, though.

 

[monothingie]

Yup. Bob could be staring at a steaming pile of garbage and say that is indicative of guests wanting more.

There's a theme to all the things they've built/are building around SSL. Not sure "nature" is the word I'd use, though.

The interesting thing to see will be what is on tap from Disney when USO Epic’s in park hotel debuts. Is it a game changer for how new resort hotels re imagined at Disney?

 

[Jambo Dad]

Thank goodness 1960s Imagineers were visionaries. They are still cashing the checks on that to this day.

Kids still stare in amazement at the monorail passing through the cinder block.

They would never attempt something as daring as this or SSE nowadays. Can’t even commit to maintaining SSE….

Or Animal Kingdom Lodge, or Wilderness, or Aulani, or Yacht, or Beach, or Boardwalk, or Swan, or Dolphin, or even Port Orleans.

 

[BrianLo]

The interesting thing to see will be what is on tap from Disney when USO Epic’s in park hotel debuts. Is it a game changer for how new resort hotels re imagined at Disney?

A good game changer or a bad?

I didn’t think anyone was pining for an in park Bellagio at WDW.