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

[Kamikaze]

For what it’s worth, I had a meal at Crocketts Tavern and some guests were complaining to the waiter how there is no longer a restaurant at the campground. He said that he’s been told there will be a restaurant when the “DVC project opens”

CMs don't know ****

 

[Touchdown]

For what it’s worth, I had a meal at Crocketts Tavern and some guests were complaining to the waiter how there is no longer a restaurant at the campground. He said that he’s been told there will be a restaurant when the “DVC project opens”

Hoop is still there, and last I checked, still a resturant.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Hoop is still there, and last I checked, still a resturant.

I will miss trails end. It was relatively good food and a relatively good value and I did like the theming of the place. The good old days.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Hoop is still there, and last I checked, still a resturant.

That’s a stretch. I love hoop but it’s not really a restaurant.

And either way, the fort has 1 less restaurant than it had for decades so that’s clearly a downgrade.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Tossing this here from a new Robert Niles article on Destination D23 (bold text by me).

"The new Disney Vacation Club tower at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim opens September 28. Construction continues on the "Project U" DVC complex at Walt Disney World's Polynesian Village Resort. And, I have on reliable authority, Disney is gearing up to begin construction on the long-delayed Reflections Lodge that will be built on the old River Country site at Disney World."

What really happened this weekend at Disney's Destination D23?

www.themeparkinsider.com

Somehow Reflections returned

 

[castlecake2.0]

Was in this area today, there was some small construction equipment and some dirt being moved around… not sure what exactly is being done

 

[GCTales]

Was in this area today, there was some small construction equipment and some dirt being moved around… not sure what exactly is being done

Ladder sighting or nothing happened,

 

[castlecake2.0]

Ladder sighting or nothing happened,

I think he’s still tied up with communicore

 

[PK2]

I did see a big truck heading in there this morning. Don't think it means much but can confirm some level of activity on the site, at least.

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

I'm hypothesizing that they may be using this area to stage the new cabins for the replacement project?

 

[castlecake2.0]

I'm hypothesizing that they may be using this area to stage the new cabins for the replacement project?

I don’t think this area is suitable for that, but they could be using the large area they cleared to originally stage reflections for the cabins, thats a little further away though.

 

[nickys]

I'm hypothesizing that they may be using this area to stage the new cabins for the replacement project?

That has been suggested previously, but until we see some cabins arrive we can only guess.

 

[Doberge]

Was in this area today, there was some small construction equipment and some dirt being moved around… not sure what exactly is being done

If we're talking about the corner near the settlement bus depot and Pioneer Hall, it looks like it could be a new bus station or building support for Pioneer Hall. It's not the best picture here but they're paving at least one horseshoe shaped road. Presumably this work was budgeted at time Reflections still coming and that the project continued regardless, like we've seen with Trail's End conversion, etc.

Again, the photo is terrible so need to trust my eyes here.

ETA: I guess it could be building support but it looks rounded off like one way in and one way out.

 

[lentesta]

Sorry to resurrect this thread. I was reading the latest RCID land use plan and it mentioned on page 2B-3 that Reflections would've had 974 rooms. I didn't see that number mentioned in this thread, so I thought I'd add it.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Sorry to resurrect this thread. I was reading the latest RCID land use plan and it mentioned on page 2B-3 that Reflections would've had 974 rooms. I didn't see that number mentioned in this thread, so I thought I'd add it.

View attachment 770519

 

[Doberge]

There's another section that teased. Here, we can see where there were 1,224 rooms.

With Reflections 974 rooms that left 250 approved rooms and my mind quickly spinning, at least until...

It was Flamingo Crossing. 250 rooms once on hold at Flamingo Crossing.

 

[Doberge]

Two other quick hits.

I think this was already part of discourse, but hotel rooms were thought to maybe increase by 14,000 by 2030. Of course that's likely more than just Disney owned and operated.

And something I don't remember seeing about developments in parking lots. It's straight phrased as an "economic necessity." it's written that parking lot sizes are expected to be downsized with potential to reuse for other development. Why? It says there is an expectation for decreased parking in the future, plus potential to convert surface lots into parking garages. I guess whatever offsets they make when building on undeveloped land would not be necessary if developing something on an existing parking lot, e.g. runoff should be able the same?

The interesting thing, to me, about expected decreased parking demand is that there's an expectation that each park expands, so I'd think that increased attendance at would offset decreased parking demand per guest.

 

[Batman'sParents]

While we're on the train, I thought I'd post something I found interesting.
This shows areas for potential development. I found a very interesting to see the areas by the wide world of sports, the little area by flamingo crossing that is east of 429, and the area west of Magic Kingdom.

 

[lentesta]

While we're on the train, I thought I'd post something I found interesting.
This shows areas for potential development. I found a very interesting to see the areas by the wide world of sports, the little area by flamingo crossing that is east of 429, and the area west of Magic Kingdom.

Good catch.

 

[FerretAfros]

In addition to the paving operation that @Doberge spotted in January, it looks like additional site work has been going on recently. On Saturday, I spotted a backhoe (which wouldn't be stored onsite during an extended hiatus) visible over the vegetation from one of the MK boats, and concrete storm pipes were plainly visible along the shoreline.

Comparing images from Google Earth from April of last year to February of this year, additional land clearing has occured along with grading, possibly for a new or expanded pond near the fresh asphalt. The concrete storm pipes and structures being stored on the northwest portion of the site also appear to be different, indicating that this laydown area is being used for semi-active construction.

From 4/15/2023:

From 2/13/2024:

The asphalt and curblines look similar to the southeast corner of the parking lot (near the C-109 label) on the original Reflections plans, with some modifications to connect to the existing roadways without the rest of the site being developed. This doesn't necessarily mean they're sticking with the original plans for the entire project, but it could explain how work is continuing without a new set of permits being filed.

It's also worth noting that Google Earth (and Google Maps) defaults to an aerial image from 2018 for all of WDW, even though there are about 10 images more recent than that date, showing the site prior to demolition. Given that it shows the entire resort from this period (including an incomplete Galaxy's Edge and Tron foundation), I assume the reason for that image isn't related to this site specifically, but it does make it easier to hide any work in this area.

As always with Disney, they're not just doing construction out of the kindness of their hearts; construction costs money and wouldn't be done without a distinct purpose. Whether that purpose is for the original Reflections project, a revamped DVC offering, or something entirely different remains to be seen.