This has been the year of BIG Disney World announcements.
The newly announced Lakeshore Lodge ©Disney
We finally got more details about the DinoLand, U.S.A. replacement in Animal Kingdom. We learned about a Monsters, Inc. land coming to Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom is getting a huge Cars expansion PLUS a Villains-themed land (FINALLY). Disney has NOT been playing around. We also found out about a project that we thought was shelved that has been resurrected: a project now called Lakeshore Lodge. We asked you, our readers, what you thought about it, and you told us!
Here’s a little background on Lakeshore Lodge. This new hotel will be located in the same location — the former location of Disney’s River Country water park — that the previously announced Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge Resort was supposed to be built. Reflections was originally announced in 2019, but construction was halted on it after Disney World’s closure in 2020 due to the global health crisis.
Reflections concept art ©Disney
Lakeshore Lodge will be “inspired by the majesty of nature and its enduring influence on Disney artists” and is expected to open in 2027. The concept art looks a lot like the previous concept art we saw for Reflections. However, when you zoom in on the concept art, you can really see all these nature details, including characters from Bambi!
©Disney
We asked you, our DFB Readers, what you thought about this new hotel, and we got some varied responses to say the least.
Several readers were happy about the new announcement, including reader Jeni who was glad to see the plans resurrected and reader Shawn who said the announcement was “good for us DVC members!”
Disney’s River Country, the former water park on the site ©Disney
However, not everyone was so positive. Reader Leigha lamented that Disney is opening yet another DVC resort, writing “Another DVC resort 🙄 – when will we get another value or moderate resort?” while reader Barb took the opportunity to rail against the modern DVC system overall. They wrote, “Yawn. DVC, once upon a time was $11, 000 with no “home resort” or limited amount of time you could stay. Then Disney got greedy, put limits on time you could stay, jacked up the cost and added the “points” system. Back then you owned it for 99 years then it automatically reverted back to Disney. No forever in the family.”
©Disney Vacation Club
Finally, reader Jamie seemed to play things down the middle. They said they’d “love to see what it’s like” but “until it’s walking distance to Epcot” they’d “keep staying at Beach Club.” Can’t argue with someone who knows what they like!
Beach Club
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more information about Lakeshore Lodge, so stay tuned to DFB for more. If you’d like to participate in these discussions, be sure to follow us on Facebook.
Everything We Know So Far About Walt Disney World’s Lakeshore Lodge
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It seems that Disney is becoming less and less interested in catering to regular people. New DVC resort after New DVC resort, Extra Magic Hours only for Deluxe guests, paying for perk after perk that used to be free (magical express, fast pass, etc), the cost of holiday parties soaring (remember when the Mickey’s Christmas party was $49?) All prices increasing faster than the rate of inflation. Within a decade, no one but the very rich will be able to visit the parks. I suppose you go where the money is.
Frankly, I don’t care for any of the later resorts. Bay Lake Tower ruins the look and majesty of the Contemporary when it had its dual wings on either end of the tower. A great design for a timeless look. Wilderness Lodge is inspiring with the theming just right. But Riviera, Hawaii and Polly are more along the lines of a luxury hotel with few of the luxury amenities. Polly tower is a poor replacement for the Spirit of Aloha event each night.
First of all there will never be another value resort. The value resorts now are barely affordable to us Canadians who want to stay for 2 weeks. The realize resorts now are not value. A camper site is $189 USD now!!!! 2029 4 of us in little mermaid rooms for 14 nights and 8 park days/memory maker was $3400 USD. Now for me and my 13 year old for same is $8000 CAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t afford that! 8 nights this April at all star sports with 6 parks day tix for my 13 yr old and myself is $3000 USD!! It is pure insanity. Greed! Last year it was cheaper for us to go to Disneyland Paris then to Orlando. How ridiculous is that. The greed is quashing my love for Disney and it saddens me. I only booked this upcoming trip because I have to get Disneyland California out of my system and memory from Sept. My world is Disney however I can’t sustain it and we make good money. The Canadian exchange and Disney greed makes for a sad reality.
How many times and how much proof do you pixie dusters need to be thrown in your face that corporate disney DOESN’T WANT YOU!!! They only tolerate you as a necessary evil of doing business. They only want whales, but at this point they begrudgingly have to allow the people that Walt wanted into the parks. The regular fans. That’s why EVERYTHING that’s being done is for those for whom the money doesn’t matter.
They barely want to even take care of moderates and value resorts.But as long as your rose colored glasses pixie dusters keep forking over money to pay MORE and get LESS, corporate disney will keep doing this and laughing at ALL of you, all the way to the bank. Because you’re underwriting their catering to the whales at YOUR expense! The hotels “design” is lame, weak, and generic. The new Ginsler people aren’t “imagineers” because they don’t have the first part of the name, IMAGINATION. They design a Marriott or Sheraton type place, follow Iger’s directive of ONLY IP allowed, so throw in a character like Bambi, and that is what they think makes a “Disney” hotel. They ignore that the former resorts had very little “Disney” in general and instead told a story and theme. Put you in a place or time. Took you out of the regular world and brought you to a new one.
NONE of that is present in ANY of the places being done now. So go ahead, hand over that money for a lackluster product. They will take it and keep thinking of you all as the suckers and fools they think that you are. But seem to be proving it by doing so and paying it. But yet complaining about it while paying it.
For them to build this resort at Fort Wilderness just means they are messing up Fort Wilderness. Why can’t they leave Fort Wilderness alone and leave it the way it is