Disney Lakeshore Lodge (formerly Reflections Lakeside Lodge) is a nature-inspired resort being built on the former River Country water park on Bay Lake. This mixed use development between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World will feature both hotel rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas. (Updated February 21, 2025.)
Originally announced in October 2018, this Lakeside/Lakeshore Lodge will “be a celebration of Walt Disney’s lifelong love and respect for nature” with more than 900 hotel rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas. Reflections resort was slated to be the 16th Disney Vacation Club property, part of a significant expansion on the hotel side of Walt Disney World. It’ll now be the 19th DVC resort, and part of a new wave of significant expansion.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge is billed by the company as one of the “most unique resorts ever built” at Walt Disney World. Previously released concept art showcases a range of novel accommodations, including both treehouse suites and waterfront A-frame cabins. There is also expected to be a waterfront restaurant located “along the bayou of Bay Lake.”
February 21, 2025 Update: Work quietly resumed on this project about 6 months ago, and has really kicked into high gear. There are currently a half-dozen cranes on site and the base structures have now reached their second and third floors.
Active construction is visible from Bay Lake, Wilderness Lodge, and even the Settlement area of Fort Wilderness. Lots of concrete, rebar, columns, and activity from the cranes. It’s interesting to watch, even if you’re not necessarily excited about the finished product.
Walt Disney World hasn’t really said much officially about Disney Lakeshore Lodge. With the Island Tower at the Polynesian still brand new and in active sales, this makes sense. Disney Vacation Club doesn’t want to steal the spotlight from that. What we do know officially is that Disney Lakeshore Lodge is projected to open in 2027.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge is a proposed new Disney Vacation Club resort that will be inspired by the majesty of nature and its enduring influence on Disney artists. The proposed Disney Lakeshore Lodge will be located within the same footprint of the previously announced Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge resort. Additional information will be released at a later time.
That’s it. Walt Disney World has not shared new concept art, how Disney Lakeshore Lodge will differ from Reflections, or anything else. It’s our understanding that nothing has changed with regard to the site plans for what was known as Reflections. Thus far, this has been substantiated by construction permits and other government filings, as opposed to announcements from Walt Disney World.
Accordingly, we can still expect Disney Lakeshore Lodge to be a 10-story mixed use hotel and DVC property (similar to Disney’s Riviera Resort), with waterfront treehouses and A-frame cabins. There will still be a restaurant along the “bayou” of Bay Lake, too. Basically, the structures themselves will be substantially similar–or the same–to what was previously announced.
Thanks to a new rumor first reported by wdwmagic, Disney Lakeshore Lodge is also expected to offer a main feature pool and a leisure pool, with the former being the flagship amenity at the resort. The highlight of Disney Lakeshore Lodge’s pool complex will be a lazy river, making it only the third Walt Disney World hotel to offer one, joining the iconic Stormalong Bay at the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts (pictured above).
Disney Lakeshore Lodge’s feature pool will also include a zero-entry design for easy access, water slides, and a splash pad for the children’s play area. Positioned near the lake and nestled behind the main hotel building, the pool area is expected to offer scenic waterfront views of Bay Lake. We want to underscore that this is rumor and we cannot corroborate the current plans; nothing has been announced by Disney.
With that said, I did see plans for Reflections years ago, and a large pool complex featuring a lazy river in the central courtyard was the highlight. I can’t speak to the splash pad or anything else, but the lazy river caught my eye. It’s always possible that plans could change or budgets cut, so until Disney officially announces this, it should be treated as rumor.
However, every new resort needs a marquee offering–a selling point. Island Tower has the Polynesian and monorail, Riviera Resort has the Skyliner. It would make sense for Disney Lakeshore Lodge to have an impressive pool. It’s not only a logical feature, but a great nod to the River Country water park (see below) that it replaces. I’m sure there will be many River Country nods and easter eggs for longtime Walt Disney World fans in the pool complex.
We made the case for exactly this–a large pool complex that rivals Stormalong Bay with a large pool complex, sand beach, lazy river, and awesome water slide–in Why We Want Disney’s River Country Lodge. That was written prior to the announcement of Disney Lakeshore Lodge, and details what we’d like to see from this project upon its revival. The emphasis was on the pool complex, but that also argued for ditching the Reflections name because it sounded like the place where Don Draper went to rehab.
While the structures and layout are unlikely to differ from the previous plans, don’t be surprised if there are material changes to the appearance of Disney Lakeshore Lodge versus Reflections. This is purely speculative, but with so much passage of time, different leadership both at Imagineering and Parks & Resorts, and shifting trends in hotel design, it seems inevitable that what we first saw in 2018 will change to some degree by the time it opens almost a decade later. Basically, anything aesthetic is likely to change, whereas the original site plans seem to be set in stone.
Our hope is that the interior is made to look more interesting, timeless, and ‘lodgy.’ What was previously shown is dated already, and looked fairly unambitious. But there’s no reason to believe the bigger picture plans for the exterior, layout, etc. have changed. There’s another misconception among fans that the original Reflections plans were simply recycled for the Island Tower at the Polynesian. That is categorically false. I know they’re both bland and boring towers that appear relatively interchangeable, but they are distinct.
In the intervening years since Disney Lakeshore Lodge was mothballed, a trio of new Disney Vacation Club projects in the Magic Kingdom resort area has come to life. The first and smallest of these was at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort, converting one outlying building to new Resort Studios at the Grand Floridian. That project is done and already sold out.
The next of these is the New DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (pictured above), which opened last December and is in active sales. This has been a license to print money for DVC, as everyone loves the Poly. It’ll sell out fast, but that’ll still take some time.
Finally, there’s the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort (pictured below). These have opened in phases, and are now mostly completed as of late February 2025. They’ve proven controversial among Disney fans, but we love the new DVC Cabins at Fort Wilderness. The biggest question mark–does Disney Lakeshore Lodge help or hinder sales of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness? (The answer probably depends upon how Disney treats them. If they’re part of the same trust/condo association, sales of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness will improve.)
The other reason it’s worth drawing attention to these projects is because there are a lot of them. There’s also the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Riviera Resort, and Aulani in Hawaii. This is all significant because it means a ton of points being sold simultaneously, and numerous resorts competing with one another for the attention of buyers.
All of these new Disney Vacation Club resorts still in active sales explains why Walt Disney World hasn’t said much about Disney Lakeshore Lodge. They don’t want to take attention away from those, causing people to wait and see what happens with Lakeshore Lodge before buying DVC.
The only thing Disney has done is buried an announcement in a newsletter–no press release, concept art, or any fanfare. And the only reason they did that because speculation was rampant based on a multitude of construction permits, appearance of cranes on-site, and the resort starting to go vertical. It was an open secret, and would’ve been silly for Disney to pretend otherwise.
Radio silence isn’t Disney’s normal MO when it comes to new construction. If anything, they typically overshare and try too hard to generate hype. So this is very much a divergence from the norm. However, it’s very consistent with past precedent when it comes to Disney Vacation Club. I still remember when Bay Lake Tower was going vertical and plainly visible from the monorail…and DVC sales reps pretended it didn’t exist.
Nevertheless, our expectation is that Walt Disney World starts sharing more about Disney Lakeshore Lodge in 2025. The best bet is later in the year, during the Destination D23 event over Labor Day. The timing of that is about perfect, giving the new resorts more time to sell, and showcasing the next project when it’s about 2 years away from opening.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge also reflects a sea change at Disney Vacation Club. In the last few years, they haven’t been afraid to have several properties for sale simultaneously. That didn’t used to be the case. Now, DVC is fine with a larger number of properties being available for sale, with the thought process that more variety equals greater consumer choice and a higher likelihood of selling memberships. (After all, they’re all going to sell out eventually…well, maybe minus Aulani!)
Having more unsold DVC inventory at Walt Disney World isn’t particularly concerning because it serves as hotel inventory in the meantime that can be booked out at higher cash rates. There’s still a lot of Riviera and Island Tower at the Poly that haven’t been declared, and those rooms fetch $600+ per night on the hotel side.
Turning to my original commentary, I love Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. I’m a Disney Vacation Club member. In theory, Disney Lakeshore Lodge seems perfectly tailored to some of my favorite things about Walt Disney World. I want to love the idea of the River Country parcel finally being redeveloped, instead of rotting in plain sight. I’m truly hopeful for the best here.
Unfortunately, like pretty much every Fort Wilderness fan, I’m very apprehensive about this Disney Vacation Club project (well, mixed-use, but presumably mostly DVC). Part of what makes Fort Wilderness special is that it’s been relatively undisturbed by time, and is one of the last bastions of “Vacation Kingdom of the World” era of WDW.
It’s almost remarkable how different Fort Wilderness feels from the rest of Walt Disney World—even its neighbor, Wilderness Lodge. It’s almost as if Walt Disney World leadership has forgotten about Fort Wilderness, and it hasn’t seen the same fiscal mandates, changes in emphasis, or character as every other resort over the last couple decades. In large part, it’s been doing its thing, more or less unchanged since the 1990s.
There’s a very legitimate concern, especially after seeing how the Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge projects at Wilderness Lodge unfolded, that any expansion at or around Fort Wilderness will destroy the primitive and secluded characteristics of the campground that give it so much appeal. After all, this is a campground with wilderness right in the name–the environment is the heart and soul of Fort Wilderness.
The development of Disney Lakeshore Lodge doesn’t necessarily have to destroy the tranquil and secluded atmosphere of Fort Wilderness, but that seems like a very distinct possibility. Disney’s recent approach to developing hotels adjacent to existing resorts doesn’t inspire much confidence, and if there’s a ham-fisted approach when clearing land or an overzealous mentality when it comes to the size or proximity of the resort to the campground, it will be incredibly detrimental to Fort Wilderness.
As for the design, only a couple pieces of concept art have been released, and they’re nothing special. I don’t want to rush to judgment here, as I think there is potential for this to end up being interesting once more is released, but right now it looks like a fairly generic hotel with some modern rustic flourishes.
On the plus side, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) is the lead designer for Disney Lakeshore Lodge, and they have a very good track record with Disney. They designed the original Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, along with Disney hotels in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong.
If this were a decade or two ago, I might be more deferential to Disney with regard to this concept art. However, the last several years have shown that Walt Disney World is very hit or miss with resort development and redesigns, skewing towards boring designs. It seems the approach is to choose the most middle-of-the-road offerings as possible so as to not alienate those with bland tastes.
When you compare Walt Disney World resorts built before the mid-1990s to ones built or redesigned in the last few years, there’s generally a clear division. Contemporary projects are often interchangeable with real world Holiday Inns or other mid-tier chained brand hotels.
Look at the difference between BoardWalk Inn or Beach Club and the new Gran Destino Tower at Coronado or Disney’s Riviera Resort. Don’t get me wrong–I like both for the amenities they offer, luxuriousness, and room designs. However, the exteriors of both leave a lot to be desired, and neither are exactly exemplars of themed design. (Admittedly, they have both grown on me a lot, but I still wish they were more ornate or unique.)
One explanation is that Disney wants to make things as crowd-pleasing as possible so as to not alienate any potential customers. The thing about this approach is that when you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one.
Another explanation is that Imagineering’s talents are spread too thin. I know some readers might only follow the projects at Walt Disney World, but every single property around the world has huge projects in various stages of development or construction.
In the past when less was occurring simultaneously, maybe some top-tier Imagineering talent who “got” Disney’s distinct approach to hotels worked on a resort project. Now? Maybe they’re mostly designers who view working for WDI as “just another job” no different than Best Western or IHG.
Along those same lines, with so many projects in development, it’s entirely possible–if not probable–that leadership in the Parks & Resorts division is trying to trim the budget from each one, cutting aspects or details viewed as superfluous.
The problem is that those leaders are not creatives, and their experience is often in consumer products or other division of the company. They have absolutely no insight into what details are actually superfluous, and what are necessary for reinforcing theme or creating a sense of immersion.
Ultimately, more concept art could be released that’s really good. The project could employ a deft hand when developing around Fort Wilderness in a way that doesn’t damage that landscape. (Disney, just think of how much you could pat yourselves on the back by utilizing eco-friendly and sustainable construction practices–it’d be worth it in the PR alone!) It could end up being really good–a true tribute to both Walt Disney’s love of nature, but the spirit of River Country, which was never coming back anyway.
I’m cautiously optimistic that’s what could end up happening, but I think it’s equally likely that we’ll get a generically modern and vaguely rustic design. It’s also more likely that instead of eco-friendly construction that preserves the natural beauty and wilderness of the area, we get excessive tree clearing for the construction, and an end product akin to Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge in terms of wide walkways and bare grounds.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about Disney Lakeshore Lodge? What do you think of the potential of this and other new hotels at Walt Disney World? Any other questions or comments? Hearing your feedback is part of the fun, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!