Reflections Resort at Walt Disney World Moves Forward: Cranes Now in Place

Oct 18, 2024 in "Disney Lakeshore Lodge"

Gallery / 2 Photos
Reflections - A Disney Lakeside Lodge Construction - October 18 2024

Posted: Friday October 18, 2024 10:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Construction activity appears to be ramping up at Walt Disney World, with cranes now in position at the site where the long-delayed Reflections—A Disney Lakeside Lodge project may be making a comeback. The arrival of the cranes follows recent filings with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which both indicated a potential revival of the resort development.

Reflections - A Disney Lakeside Lodge Construction - October 18 2024

The FAA filing, submitted earlier this year, detailed plans for the use of large mobile cranes for the construction of a 10-story hotel, with cranes reaching up to 240 feet above ground level (AGL) when fully extended.

This height and scale closely align with previous plans for Reflections, a deluxe nature-themed resort originally planned for the shores of Bay Lake, between Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort.

As of today, the cranes are onsite and in position, ready to begin work on what many speculate will be the restarted Reflections project. According to the FAA filing, the cranes are expected to be onsite through August 14, 2025, indicating a long-term construction schedule.

Reflections—A Disney Lakeside Lodge was initially announced in 2018 as a deluxe resort featuring over 900 hotel rooms and Disney Vacation Club (DVC) villas. However, in 2020, the project was quietly shelved amid the financial uncertainties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and much of the initial pre-construction work was dismantled. Since then, the area has largely remained dormant, with many believing the project had been abandoned for good.

Nature-Inspired Resort concept art

Recent filings, however, have hinted at a renewed focus on the project. In addition to the FAA filing, a recent CFTOD filing pointed to ongoing preparations for new electrical infrastructure, with Chen Moore and Associates contracted to install electrical transformers for what has been referred to as "Project S"—widely believed to be the Reflections resort. These filings, combined with the cranes now in place, paint a picture of a project that is very much back on track.

Disney has yet to make any formal announcements regarding the revival of Reflections—A Disney Lakeside Lodge, but the developments at the construction site are hard to ignore. With cranes in position and the groundwork being laid, it seems increasingly likely that the nature-themed resort will soon take shape along the shores of Bay Lake, bringing to life Disney's vision for a new deluxe retreat between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort.

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John park hopper3 days ago

If I rent one of these sheds an I drive my riding lawnmower there?

eddie1043 days ago

I actually really loved what I saw of the interior of this project when it was originally announced. If they stick with that design I will be happy.

castlecake2.06 days ago

It’s an additional pool and redesigned sports courts

2600loop6 days ago

The cabins are tanking ? I wonder why though because barely themed poorly designed sheds are what the people want surely

nickys6 days ago

Kind of. They always want a ‘new’ resort in active sales. Plus ideally an alternative. In practice it means a new one every 3-4 years. Likely this got nudged earlier because the Cabins at FW are tanking. So now it’s the Poly in active sales plus Riviera. And when this goes on sale Riviera should be declared sold out (95-97% to allow for the minimum 2-3% that Disney must retain). But it’s the percentage of points sold that counts, not the # of contracts - since the size of contracts can vary.

DisneyHead1236 days ago

The memberships are somewhat resort specific with buyers having a “base resort” (they can use points for other resorts or cruises though). They won’t start selling Lakeside DVCs until the resort is open.

tpoly886 days ago

That’s a great point I didn’t think about. So does Disney build these DVC resorts because they just sold for example , another 2000 memberships and they know they will have the capacity to fill it similar to a condo building that won’t start until over 3/4 of units sold? I find it amazing how many people are still buying DVC.

dseepersad6 days ago

The construction in the Meadows area will begin very soon. Whatever that will be, I just hope it's an amenity that the campers can use too. From Disney's site: "Beginning early May, construction will take place near the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool area. The Meadow Swimmin’ Pool and Wilderness Swimmin’ Pool will remain open. However, the nearby tennis courts, volleyball court and the Meadow Playground will be closed temporarily. Please note that Guests may see and hear construction in the area until the work is complete." The construction noise can impact campers in 1300 and 1500 loops the most.

nickys6 days ago

Hey, that might be the new idea for “the part of the park where Cars will be”. 🤪 It’s an extension of the “You are the Magic” concept. Grab a shovel and start creating the dirt pile.

WDWhopper6 days ago

Here’s Lakeshore Lodge currently: And here’s Car’s Land currently: Pretty obvious where Disney’s priorities are. Another resort is not going to help them compete with Epic Universe this summer, or even next year….or the next.

Jambo Dad7 days ago

I still harbor at least a little hope for this resort. It has more room around it as a buffer than Island Tower and they are doing some good things, like a lazy river. Theme could be interesting in competent hands. However I will also say that we had a chance to walk Island Tower a couple months ago and it was very disappointing. It has ambitions to be calm, relaxing and sophisticated, but you really start feeling how how faux it all is. The site is too tight. The finishes are so bland it hurts your eyes. Every opportunity to inject color was avoided. The pretense of reflecting aspects of the Polynesian culture is a pale, cheap trinket imitation of Animal Kingdom and Wilderness. It is not a worthy companion to the original Poly.

nickys7 days ago

I don’t know how much of a resort’s points they need to sell to recoup their costs. What do you think is the magic percentage? As a guide, Riviera had sold around 22% of points after 2 years, 76% after 4 years and is now around 86% sold. My guess is they need to sell more than 50% at a minimum. And the operating costs are determined per point, so Disney is still on the hook for a significant proportion of the operating costs until the resort sells out. They cannot legally manipulate the maintenance fees to lessen their costs.

HauntedPirate7 days ago

It’s still a 2 year build for a resort. 🤷‍♂️

John park hopper7 days ago

Disney builds DVC because they recoup the building costs almost immediately when they are finished. CASH cows. New attractions cost a lot and they don't recoup the cost as quickly plus DVC maintenance is payed by the DVC owner. Attractions Disney has to pay maintenance costs----all about the money