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

10 days ago in "Reflections - A Lakeside Disney Lodge"

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Nature-Inspired Resort concept art

Posted: Thursday May 9, 2024 9:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A recent permit filing has raised speculation that Disney is continuing to keep its options open for the construction of a new Disney Vacation Club property on Bay Lake between Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort.

Disney has extended a South Florida Water Management District water management permit for an additional five years. While this alone does not mean work is imminent on a new resort, it suggests that Disney wishes to retain the ability to use the land for a future project.

The previously announced Bay Lake Disney Vacation Club resort, Reflections—A Disney Lakeside Lodge, was canceled in 2020 amid the pandemic downturn, and the land was mostly returned to its pre-construction state.

Reflections - A Disney Lakeside Lodge site in March 2020

Project 89, as it was first known, has been somewhat controversial since it became public knowledge in 2018. The resort offered a design style that was not to everyone's liking on a prime piece of land around the former River Country.

Nature-Inspired Resort concept art

Despite the 2020 cancellation of Reflections, the land is a prized location, and it would be no surprise to see the project revived at a later time, or a new project moving in to take its place.

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Sectorkeeper716 days ago

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.

ToTBellHop8 days ago

My family watching you from one of the towers:

CastAStone8 days ago

By the way BCV+BRV+BWV is still fewer points than just one SSR.

CastAStone8 days ago

Bingo. OKW will be 65 years old though and will likely meet my friend Mr Bulldozer. If SSR was expiring today, I think they’d bulldoze it too and create an integrated DVC into a new area of Disney Springs, kinda how GCH is more or less integrated into DTD. But will major retail destinations still exist in 2054? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ I also think they’ll bulldoze BW and build something new there; it will buy time as they sell BCV2 and BRV2, but also it will allow them to build a property that actually makes coherent sense, has indoor accessible dining, and is optimized for its absolutely prime location between DHS and Epcot (with significantly bigger rooms, for example). We’ll see, but no one and I mean no one would build BW today the way it’s laid out, it violates like every principle of good design.

Touchdown8 days ago

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

Tha Realest8 days ago

I don’t know if that’s feasible, or if TWDC wants to invite new voters within the CFTOD

Tha Realest8 days ago

I took a look at the way Disney factors in available rooms. It’s not clear, but the annual reports quantifies “available room nights (in the thousands).” These reports also caveat that this does not include rooms utilized by DVC members. So, what happens when all those contracts expire? Does the room inventory revert back to Disney resorts?

Tha Realest8 days ago

Could Saratoga / OKW be razed/repurposed to a Golden Oak type development?

BrianLo8 days ago

Old Key West will be mostly shifted to 2057. There’s lot of estates they are now acquiring. I assume Vero and Hilton head will be divested. Boulder Ridge is quite small and Beach Club/Boardwalk are quite desirable. They’ll have a lot of points, but plenty of time to sell them. Where they’ve screwed themselves is later on. Saratoga heading directly into Animal Kingdom Lodge AND Old Key West 3 years later. None of those resorts move cash rates well at that level of volume.

Kittlesona8 days ago

This is an interesting point that I’m surprised there isn’t more speculation about. Right now those 2042 resorts are essentially “guaranteed” to be “sold-out.” What the heck are they going to do this all this excess inventory in 2042 when they currently have large sections of various resorts mothballed?

nickys8 days ago

They can’t. People have bought a deeded interest in a specific resort. There are Florida timeshare laws that they have to follow. Now when the 2042 resorts expire they can do what they want with them.

BrianLo8 days ago

We’re still going to need 2-3 more Riviera’s, or 3-5 more Poly Towers or 6-8 more Grand Floridian wing conversions before the DVC train hits the end of the line. There is an end point though! Maybe 2038/39 is the last ‘new’ DVC product.