It is something of a cliché within the Walt Disney Company that in Imagineering, no good idea is ever truly dead. It may get postponed or put on the shelf, but if it is a truly good idea, it will eventually come to fruition in some manner. This notion clearly applies to Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, a resort hotel complex currently under construction with a planned opening date in 2027.
Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is being built on the shores of Bay Lake next to Fort Wilderness Campground on the site of the old River Country water park, Disney’s original old-fashioned swimming hole, that closed in 2001. The resort is going to be the 19th Disney Vacation Club (DVC) property and will consist of 900 villas and suites, along with A-frame cabins along the shoreline of the lake. Some rumors even indicate the resort will include a massive pool and water play complex equivalent to Storm Along Bay at the Yacht and Beach Clubs. Hopefully, full of easter eggs and theming from River Country.
Superficially, the Lakeside Lodge is nothing more than a reset of Reflections – a Disney Lakeside Lodge. Reflections was going to be built on the same site and was announced in October 2018 as the 16th DVC property. Land clearing and construction began, and concept art was released. However, by late summer 2020, work on the resort had halted, and all references to Reflections were removed from Disney’s websites and media pages. The COVID-19 pandemic likely played a role in the cessation of work on Reflections, although it is possible that other issues factored into the decision as well. Then, in November 2024, DVC announced the project was back on under the new name Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge.
However, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is more than the restart of a recent project temporarily postponed by global events. The true back story is much richer and has its origins in some of the earliest designs for Walt Disney World and has gone through more than one iteration since. In other words, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is proof positive that in Imagineering no good idea is ever truly dead.
According to Jim Korkis in his book Extra Secret Stories of Walt Disney World, the initial concept for a resort hotel associated with Fort Wilderness was mentioned in the 1973 Walt Disney World souvenir guide, and for a time, a rough model of it was featured in the post-show area of the Walt Disney Story attraction on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. Later in the 1970s, the concept coalesced into Cypress Point Lodge, a western-themed hotel to be located next to River Country on Bay Lake that would consist of 550 rooms and 50 cabins. It was supposed to be one of three new hotels, the other two being the Grand Floridian Resort and a Mediterranean-themed hotel located between the Transportation and Ticket Center and the Contemporary Resort Hotel. All three hotels were announced in 1980, although due to cost overruns associated with building EPCOT, only the Grand Floridian was built. It is worth noting that not only is the basic concept of Cypress Point Lodge finally being realized as Disney’s Lakeside Lodge, but the planned Mediterranean-themed hotel was ultimately realized with the opening in 2019 of Disney Vacation Club’s Riviera Resort, a spectacular hotel near EPCOT and the Caribbean Beach Resort themed along the lines of the French and Italian Rivieras.
Disney’s next attempt at building a lodge next to Fort Wilderness came in 1992 with Wilderness Junction. Again, according to Jim Korkis, this time in Secret Stories of Walt Disney World, Disney announced in 1992 a new addition to the Fort Wilderness Campground, first called Buffalo Junction and then changed to Wilderness Junction. This called for a 600-room resort hotel between Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge (already under construction in 1992) themed to Dodge City, and it was going to include a version of Disneyland Paris’ popular Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. There were even plans to connect the three resorts with a revived version of the old Fort Wilderness Railroad that ran from 1974 to 1980.
From the Cypress Point Lodge to Wilderness Junction and ultimately to Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, this new location should be a worthy addition to DVC’s family of resorts. Additionally, part of what makes this resort so exciting is that its origins date back to the earliest days of Walt Disney World, and it represents a dream within Walt Disney Imagineering that is over 50 years old. Disney’s parks and resorts are full of rich history and easter eggs, many from closed attractions and experiences. Given the history behind the Lakeshore Lodge and its presence on the site of Disney’s original old-fashioned swimming hole, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Imagineers working on this resort to pay homage to the past. For those of us who are looking forward to staying at this resort after it opens, all of this will only make the experience that much better.