In what is another sure sign of Disney’s push into expanding its Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties, Disney announced a brand new resort near Fort Wilderness along Bay Lake, in the space formerly occupied by the River Country water park. But, this is actually an updated version of a DVC resort announced years ago, that in its wake will change the landscape of the existing Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. 

Let me explain what you need to know about Disney Lakeshore Lodge: history, updates, and construction about the new DVC resort coming to Walt Disney World in 2027.

Reflections No More: Resort Confirmed as Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge

This past November (2024), Disney confirmed that a previously announced resort is under construction again—just under a new name. It will now be called Disney Lakeshore Lodge, and it will be opening in two years (2027)!

Now, astute Disney fans will know this, but for those who don’t know, Lakeshore Lodge is going to located in the same footprint of the previously announced Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge resort, which is also the same location where Disney’s now-defunct River Country water park sat before it closed in 2001.  Let’s briefly discuss the history of Reflections to better understand how we got here. 

Announced back in October 2018, Reflections was billed as nature themed DVC resort on the shores of Bay Lake, to be sandwiched between Disney’s Wilderness lodge and Fort Wilderness Cabins and Campgrounds. The deluxe resort looked big, bringing 1,700 new rooms, including DVC villas across various styles, meaning one-bedroom, two bedroom, likely grand villas, and probably standard rooms, as well. 

According to a quote from Georgia A. Kalogridis, president of the Walt Disney Resort at the time: “Walt Disney World is in the midst of our most significant expansion in the last two decades and the combined 1,700 new hotel rooms and proposed Disney Vacation Club villas we are building will drive economic opportunity and incremental revenue for Central Florida. He continued, “We continue to add new attractions, new lands – and these beautiful accommodations will be right in the heart of all that magic.” 

Terri Schultz, SVP and GM of DVC at the time, described it as follows: “This resort experience will be a celebration of Walt Disney’s lifelong love and respect for nature, with some fun and even surprising accommodation types that families will find irresistible.”  She continued that, “It will give our members and guests yet another opportunity to stay in close proximity to all the newest attractions and experiences in our theme parks, and with the flexibility, value and world-class service families expect from Disney.”

I can’t deny that that sounds promising. Let’s look at some concept art from those announcements so we can get an idea of what to expect from Lakeshore Lodge. 

The first thing to note is how modern this resort would’ve looked at the time. Now that we have the Riviera (my review is here) and Island Tower (see my YouTube guide), it’s hard not to compare. What I mean is, early concept art shows similar muted colors and modern sensibilities, but with nature-inspired touches. 

The entrance would feature a striking Porte Cochere surrounded by glass and rocks, a blend of open spaces and natural light. This would differ from nearby Wilderness Lodge, which is darker in decor, intentionally tucked away, an emulation of a specific region of the country, while Fort Wilderness (see my YouTube guide to Fort Wilderness here) is mainly spread out cabins, and not really something you can experience from one vantage. 

Multi-storied mid rises flank both sides of the lobby, showing a mixture of newer Tower-based designs with the sprawl of Disney resorts from yesteryear. 

Disney looked to impresss with the lobby, leaning more Island Tower and less Riviera. A small check-in desk would be off the entrance, which may no longer be a thing: based on my experience at Island Tower, I can confirm there is no check in desk, only cast members with iPads. 

Most intriguing is the centerpiece: a large Pocahontas statue, on a rock, in the middle of a frankly busy place. Note the glass orbs, wooden beams and steel. 

Open-concept pods featured among many seating options—not unlike the furniture on the four terraces now found at Island Tower, but more open and accessible, which looked promising. If anything, this looked like a beautiful place to gather—something you can’t really do at Fort Wilderness resort as it stands, as there is not really a lobby, only a small check in area and the restaurants in Pioneer Hall. 

The infusion of nature would extend through the resort, on upper floors overlooking the lobby, and even a lounge type area that would provide a fireworks view. 

Other characters featured would be Bambi, The Fox and the Hound, and even Brother Bear—, classic characters that don’t otherwise get a lot of love at the Disney World theme parks at this time. 

Disney also hinted at a lakeside, table-service restaurant themed to The Princess and the Frog that would offer sweeping views and a unique menu though, it is not clear whether it would feature character dining. This is again something that is missing from Fort Wilderness, where, as fun as it is, it sort of lacks in the food department. 

Construction Updates and A Little Fort Wilderness History

Construction for Reflections began in earnest, moving steadfastly through 2019. As a brief aside, I didn’t get to visit Disney World as a kid. When I finally did visit, in addition to the rides and the magic, what truly drew me in was the rich history and evolving landscape of the Disney World resort and the impact that has on experiences. In researching this article, I discovered something new—another reason I started this blog is that I believe there is always something new to discover about Disney—and that is Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.

Located at a now-demolished Fort Wilderness Pavilion, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ was an outdoor character dining experience featuring barbecue and Mickey, Minnie, Chip ‘n Dale and Goofy and a live country band. 

I am surprised people don’t talk about this more—and along with River Country and the Fort Wilderness Railroad—it shows that the Fort Wilderness resort is rich with Disney history. I have a full guide to Fort Wilderness and a look at the new DVC cabin villas, and I think I might post more history this resort in the future—let me know if you want to see that. 

Anyway, I am sad to report that Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, along with the pavilion that housed it, were demolished as Disney made way for Reflections. Parts of Tri-Circle D ranch, another unique offering at the Fort, were demolished, requiring relocation of the ponies to other facilities.

So what happened? In 2020, as with so many things, construction stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Astute reporters noticed that Disney edited its promotional materials from the resort announcement at D23 to remove references to Reflections—which is never a good sign. Sources reported l that the project was delayed or canceled, and that construction had halted. As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic seriously altered Disney’s construction, altering opening dates for major attractions and slowing down the transformation of EPCOT. 

And suddenly, in September 2024, a light in the darkness: boots on the grounds reporters started seeing movement in the same location. Disney made it an official with an announcement in November of last year, confirming that the resort was indeed back on—with a slightly different name. Disney in a press release described Lakeshore Lodge as follows:

Projected to open in 2027, this proposed new Disney Vacation Club property will be located alongside the shores of Bay Lake at Walt Disney World Resort. The resort will be inspired by the majesty of nature and its enduring influence on Disney artists.

With the new announcement came a look at already circulated concept art. From that photo, you can see Bambi, Thumper and Flower outside the entrance. Above the doorway, in cursive, it reads, The Wonders of Nature are Endless. 

The renderings show a water feature, rock elements similar to the Reflections renderings, wooden beams and glass, rock work, tree designs infused into resort buildings, and hints of what could be rooftop terraces, either for rooms or fireworks views. Think Island Tower meets Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

Thanks to folks at WDW Magic, we have excellent look at the current progress. As you can see, the first story is already rising up in earnest. If you look closely, you can see how close this will be to Pioneer Hall—one can’t help but wonder how this will impact the Fort Wilderness Experience. 

Another look from February courtesy of WDW News Today shows added steel frames, a second floor, and connected structures.

Time to Speculate

• Based on the use of same concept art, I would expect similar characters to be incorporated, though we don’t know if Pocahontas will still be the central lobby figure. As a reminder, other than that, we can perhaps expect Bambi, The Fox and the Hound, Brother Bear, and The Princess and the Frog. But what else would we like to see? I think Meeko and Flit would fit in perfectly either in decor or character experiences, at least for Meeko. If we are incorporating the Bayou theme from the Princess and the Frog, why not add chracters from The Rescuers? I would like this resort to focus on less-featured characters, but we will have to wait and see whether Disney decides to incorporate other films and characters. 
• The retheme of Slash Mountain to Tiana shows Disney is leaning further into that film, so I think the proposed restaurant is on. I would like to know whether this will be a character experience, and I know it’s kind of early for speculation but based on the vibes, I can see this place being a little more upscale, maybe with just the name “Tiana’s” and it could feature character dining at breakfast but then transition to signature dining at dinner time, similar, to Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort (see my review of Topolino’s, the best character dining at Disney). I also would expect a quick dining option and some merchandise options given the size of the resort, so I will be staying tuned for that. 
• Lastly, I am curious to know about the transportation that will service this resort. Bus service is spread out across Fort Wilderness, and there are boat launches on Bay Lake that get you to various Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon resorts, plus the Magic Kingdom, and if you know what you’re doing, the Transportation Ticket Center and other monorail stops. I am wondering whether Lakeshore Lodge will have its own boat launch and bus stop, or, similar to Island Tower, will it feed off of the existing transportation at Fort Wilderness. I am also curious how this will affect traffic in the area, and logistically speaking, whether new pathways and connecting sidewalks will be made to integrate the resort with Fort Wilderness. Only time will tell. 

Alright, that was a lot of information. As you can glean, I am a huge fan of Disney World resorts, and as always, I am excited about Disney expanding with a new resort. The Bay Lake area is perhaps my favorite, and I am excited to see how this will modernize this area. That said, there is already lot of modernization for this area that Disney has quietly worked on that has perhaps fallen under the radar due to other Disney  World changes. For example, the Fort Wilderness cabins were just updated and converted to DVC units—here is my walkthrough of the new cabins—which kind of changes the tone of the otherwise relaxed resort now that it is no longer a moderate resort, but a DVC property. 

Considering that Lakeshore Lodge will be sandwiched between Fort Wilderness Cabins and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge—both of which are popular, and nature focused, it begs the question: who is this resort specifically aimed towards?  Also, how will this new, modern resort impact the nature-lined, off-the-beaten path of the Fort? As a fan of the distinct experience available at the Fort, I am hoping that vibe remains, even with this exciting new addition. 

Ok, tell me all your thoughts about Disney Lakeshore Lodge! Are you excited? Thoughts on the new name? Will it be different from concept art? Will it change the Fort Wilderness area for better or worse? Let me know, and as always, thanks for watching and consider subscribing to the Disney Download, my free weekly Disney newsletter—no spam, no fuss, a newsletter that’s Disney plus.

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See ya real soon!