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

Mem11

Active Member
Ok sure it’s a little generic but there’s no need to freak out that they didn’t build a multi million dollar brand new resort in 2020 based off a small, abandoned water park from decades ago that nobody visiting today cares about or has heard of.
Nobody wanted or cared about river country before they opened it, but it's success and popularity created the themed waterpark industry of today.

This is exactly what's wrong with today's Disney - We must slap some IP on everything we do, because little Jenny from eastovershoot needs her frozen fix. Disney used to give you what you didn't know you wanted... "just slap on whatever is popular" seems to be their current business plan.
 

DisneyTalks

Active Member
They should bring back the Legendary Years resort, or make some type of Great Gatsby resort for some great theming. Dunno, just putting it out there.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Disney's wanted to build a resort on this plot of land for a long time, and there's no doubt in my mind that they will consider it again when the economy and the resort rebounds.

But the appeal of Fort Wilderness is its rustic, secluded setting. River Country supported this theme, without encroaching upon the camp sites. Building any large/tall hotel would impact that feeling, regardless of what theme they chose.

If they must add more, upscale rooms, I think lakefront cottages like Wilderness Lodge would work much better.
 

Yoshifumi

New Member
Just wanna say, with reflections going down.... that doesn't make it look good for the people begging Disney for a certain re-theme. Money problems and covid/travel issues aint gonna help for Disney anytime soon.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
If I could make a suggestion, however unlikely, they really should dust off the plans for Fort Wilderness Junction and do that. The success of Cabana Bay shows that there’s room for innovation in the kind of moderate resort product Disney created in the Central Florida market with CBR/PO/DL/CSR. High quality theming with a roomstock mix of well designed family suites and regular rooms would do very well; possibly at the current rack rates too.
They could do worse. If I recall correctly, this was supposed to be something like the Cheyenne at DLP, right? I have stayed there and found it an atmospheric moderate that would fit the location well in terms of its theme and scale.
 

nickys

Premium Member
They could do worse. If I recall correctly, this was supposed to be something like the Cheyenne at DLP, right? I have stayed there and found it an atmospheric moderate that would fit the location well in terms of its theme and scale.
I think it was meant to be more like the Les Villages Nature Resort at DLP, which isn’t actually Disney owned IIRC. Cheyenne is the “Wild West” themed one.
 

jmuboy

Well-Known Member
I don’t know if it ever would happen, but it would be lovely to see the site grassed over and turned into an extra large field for the horses and animals for a bit.

I agree 100%!!! I was going to type this suggestion myself until I saw your post. I love Fort Wilderness campground's facilities - and think many fans do - for its wooded "old school WDW" vibe. But a large meadow adjacent to Bay Lake (even with a small beach ) would be an ideal amenity for Fort Wilderness. Call it "Lakeside Meadow" which I think could be a really serene setting. Add a few well placed clusters of mature trees to break up the openness / sight lines. Voila, you have a new natural setting for campground guests to explore and enjoy.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I don't think that's true. Unless I'm missing something, I've really only seen that thrown around regularly since the Riviera. And I don't think anyone could say that it doesn't apply to the Riviera without being disingenuous.

I think people also misinterpret the meaning, though. It's not an attack on the quality of the hotel itself (there are plenty of Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton, whatever that are very nice hotels); just a statement that it's relatively generic and void of the elaborate theming most Disney resorts rely on.
The lack of theming is embarrassing...DVC owner standards have fallen as they’ve shelled out more and more...Barbados villas is just the latest example...with “copper creek” being the real poster child.

“You get what you overpay for”
Hey, I grew up on a Kraft Mayo. What do I know about quality? I only discovered Hellman’s a few years ago.



It cropped up a lot around the PV lobby refurb.

I’m just sayin’ y’all are a tough crowd, that’s all!

Personally, i don’t know why BLT doesn’t come in for the comparison. It’s pretty generic. I’m withholding judgment on a Reflections until I see it.
Looks like that’s moot...
 
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MMFanCipher

Well-Known Member
I don’t know if it ever would happen, but it would be lovely to see the site grassed over and turned into an extra large field for the horses and animals for a bit.

What are they going to do with the space if this is cancelled? I hope they won't just leave the construction fences up.
 

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