BOULDER RIDGE VILLAS & COPPER CREEK VILLAS & CABINS: Wilderness Lodge DVC Expansion Thread

[MaggiesMomNJ]

Any thoughts on when we might hear dates? I want to finalize our plans.

 

[npcougar]

Might be time to sell our DVC after our next scheduled two trips. Really going to miss the beach, the trees and the peaceful view on the boat. In my opinion, we shouldn't have to pay more for an extension, they owe us for everything they have taken away. lol I'm sure DVC does not agree.

 

[dansdad]

Any thoughts on when we might hear dates? I want to finalize our plans.

My thoughts are we won't hear anything about dates directly from Disney. That will have to come from some of the Super Sleuths here on the DIS. The only time you will hear directly from Disney is if you have a reservation and they are going to be doing something that will affect the DVC pool. Then guests will get a letter/email stating the dates the DVC pool will be closed.

Just my $.02.

 

[cadale]

Have a family trip planned for October and am now worried about construction. Chose VWL because of the peace and beautiful surroundings. How far out will they notify us of construction?

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

Have a family trip planned for October and am now worried about construction. Chose VWL because of the peace and beautiful surroundings. How far out will they notify us of construction?

I'm wondering too... Even though we changed hotels I would change back if they moved the start date.

 

[WDWKOOK]

WDWKOOK thank you for this information. I look forward to updates as the project progresses.

You're welcome and stay tuned

Is it looking like they are only adding cabins or is there still rumor that some of the lodge rooms will become DVC ?

The permit filings only indicate the addition of cabins, a pool rehab/rebuild, a restaurant, a new parking lot and what appears to be a parking garage, new paths and two unidentified buildings that may be a Community Hall and possibly a bathroom.

The DVC conversion of part of the South Wing has not yet been substantiated with permit filings, but seems likely, given the Poly longhouse conversion and the fact that some WL rooms had been demo'd.

Wonder if they might add a monorail station, could be close in the north west corner.

That, unfortunately won't be happening. If they had built the Mediterranean Resort, essentially across the street, those plans show the monorail running right through the property. But there are no plans, that I've found, for expansion of the monorail beam to WL.

Have a family trip planned for October and am now worried about construction. Chose VWL because of the peace and beautiful surroundings. How far out will they notify us of construction?

This is only my assumption: If they do in fact begin construction in September, I would think they would start notifying impacted guests sometime in August. But, as dansdad touched upon, Disney Resort GMs have been notifying guests when there is a pool closure involved or some major amenity is unavailable. So it's possible that until the VWL pool is impacted in some way, the GM may not notify guests until closer to its closure.

 

[OKW Lover]

Is it looking like they are only adding cabins or is there still rumor that some of the lodge rooms will become DVC ?

The info in the original (and followup) posts are related to a permit filed for the ground water control system. It might be that a similar permit wouldn't be needed for converting existing rooms.

 

[Andrew015]

Given that the project time table is projected at ~2 years, I think it's suffice to say that more will be happening than just the cabin construction and a new community hall / restaurant. The cabins aren't "over-the-water" like the Poly, so those should go up rather fast. I suspect that more will plans will come out (perhaps under a different permit) for the conversion of one of the existing WL wings to DVC. That, along with what has been mentioned within this thread, could potentially justify a ~2 year time table. What has been divulged thus far doesn't come close.

 

[WDWKOOK]

The info in the original (and followup) posts are related to a permit filed for the ground water control system. It might be that a similar permit wouldn't be needed for converting existing rooms.

The South Wing ground floor (two?) room demo occurred back around the end of December. A guest took photos of the gutted room through the sliding glass doors, (which were completely covered in April when I checked) and mentioned the demo of the rooms on the WL thread.

The NoC for that demo would have been filed around the end of the year. The only Orange County permit (NoC) that I could find that may possibly be related to the rumored "DVC model room" is this one below. It matches the other NoC for the cabins, etc... in that it has the same misleading address, the same "Wilderness Rehab" title, involves WDI and is signed by the same VP/GM.

A CM did tell a guest who asked about the room demo that it was just part of a new HA room test so this is still in the official rumor category, but seems likely to be a DVC conversion seeing how the NoCs are almost identical.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

Given that the project time table is projected at ~2 years, I think it's suffice to say that more will be happening than just the cabin construction and a new community hall / restaurant. The cabins aren't "over-the-water" like the Poly, so those should go up rather fast. I suspect that more will plans will come out (perhaps under a different permit) for the conversion of one of the existing WL wings to DVC. That, along with what has been mentioned within this thread, could potentially justify a ~2 year time table. What has been divulged thus far doesn't come close.

So do you think this is going to be a major mess? Enough to justify a hotel switch ?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

My thoughts are we won't hear anything about dates directly from Disney. That will have to come from some of the Super Sleuths here on the DIS. The only time you will hear directly from Disney is if you have a reservation and they are going to be doing something that will affect the DVC pool. Then guests will get a letter/email stating the dates the DVC pool will be closed.

Just my $.02.

Typically they don't "announce" until construction is underway and a significant portion of the prior development(s) are sold...

Why compete with yourself?

Im sure the Poly is selling well (not to me at that point price... But whatever...) and I never heard if they competed the sale of the GF lodge?

This wilderness lodge construction won't be announced till late this year at the earliest - my guess.

 

[OKW Lover]

One other restriction on Disney announcing a new DVC resort is Florida's fairly stringent laws covering time share sales. I'm not a lawyer but I understand that they can't say anything about a new resort or proposed features until some point in construction.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The info in the original (and followup) posts are related to a permit filed for the ground water control system. It might be that a similar permit wouldn't be needed for converting existing rooms.

Indeed... Remember that what was filed was an absolute necessity on Disney's part because they are altering drainage...that is the only reason we know of the new additions.

The existing lodge doesn't have to be filed with south Florida water management... It's just gutting and repurposing of an already built 1994 structure.

This is going to be a 200-300 unit conversion guaranteed.

The rumors are wilderness has been running 50-60% occupancy... Which meant they may be mothballed In "low occ" from time to time...

The easiset way to fix that? Convert half to villas.

Problem solved, money collected, employees eliminated.

 

[Andrew015]

So do you think this is going to be a major mess? Enough to justify a hotel switch ?

At this point, it is just too hard to speculate. The Poly project was so widespread throughout the entire resort (main lobby, beach, pool, multiple long houses, etc.), I just couldn't imagine a scenario where a stay there during that period of time could have been enjoyable. With the majority of work that has been outlined at the WL (at least as of the present), most of it seems to be isolated to areas that are, for the most part, "off the beaten path". The construction zone near the North Wing is an area that can't be seen unless you are staying in that particular wing with a woods view. Also, the cabins on the South side are beyond Teton Boat/Bike Rentals, which is also out of the way. The only construction that appears to be intrusive is the "community hall / restaurant" and potential work to the DVC pool.

Moral of my response, based on what we know today, I feel that it would be reasonable to book certain room categories that would be, by and large, unaffected by the pending construction (i.e. Courtyard view). The main lobby, restaurants, Silver Springs Pool and surrounding courtyard, Trout Pass, etc. all appear to be business as usual. From what I see, I think it would be a relatively safe play to try and book a Courtyard view. Anything on the outside of the resort could potentially be a roll of the dice.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

At this point, it is just too hard to speculate. The Poly project was so widespread throughout the entire resort (main lobby, beach, pool, multiple long houses, etc.), I just couldn't imagine a scenario where a stay there during that period of time could have been enjoyable. With the majority of work that has been outlined at the WL (at least as of the present), most of it seems to be isolated to areas that are, for the most part, "off the beaten path". The construction zone near the North Wing is an area that can't be seen unless you are staying in that particular wing with a woods view. Also, the cabins on the South side are beyond Teton Boat/Bike Rentals, which is also out of the way. The only construction that appears to be intrusive is the "community hall / restaurant" and potential work to the DVC pool.

Moral of my response, based on what we know today, I feel that it would be reasonable to book certain room categories that would be, by and large, unaffected by the pending construction (i.e. Courtyard view). The main lobby, restaurants, Silver Springs Pool and surrounding courtyard, Trout Pass, etc. all appear to be business as usual. From what I see, I think it would be a relatively safe play to try and book a Courtyard view. Anything on the outside of the resort could potentially be a roll of the dice.

We stayed at the poly last November...

And even after discount and adjustment that resulted in a 40% of rack rate (ie 60% off) of about $270 a night...

Let that soak it...

It still sucked - to be honest.

Too much going on...hard to justify anything close to their prices when anything less than fully operational was presented.

Ironically...wilderness lodge was the other choice...but the courtyard was ripped to shreds and that wasnt acceptable for the price.

They should just shut these places down when they convert them...really should.

Then they could do full rehab and open with a new look.

 

[Andrew015]

We stayed at the poly last November...

And even after discount and adjustment that resulted in a 40% of rack rate of about $270 a night...

Let that soak it...

It still sucked - to be honest.

Too much going on...hard to justify anything close to their prices when anything less than fully operational was presented.

Ironically...wilderness lodge was the other choice...but the courtyard was ripped to shreds and that wasnt acceptable for the price.

They should just shut these places down when they convert them...really should.

Then they could do full rehab and open with a new look.

I proposed to my fiancé at WL two years ago. We got married this past September, honeymooned in October. I had originally booked WL for the honeymoon, as it had special meaning to the both of us for obvious reasons. However, when I learned of the pool construction, there was no way that I wanted memories of our honeymoon to be the sounds of jackhammers and back-up beepers on heavy equipment. Our second choice would have been Poly, but that probably would have been worse. We ended up at BLT and had a very enjoyable stay, although not our first preference.

I totally agree that the resorts should just be shut down during major construction like this. If it's only 50% occupancy anyway, why not take it offline? That volume would simply be dispersed amongst the other remaining deluxe's, thus helping to boost their occupancy levels during that time. Also, this would allow them to expedite the construction process, rather than having to "tip-toe" around in a minimally-invasive manner. I guess some bean-counter(s) somewhere within TWDC seem to think that beating a half-dead horse is worth the trouble. A 2-day pass to Typhoon Lagoon wasn't quite enough to sweeten the deal for me...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

...there was no way that I wanted memories of our honeymoon to be the sounds of jackhammers and back-up beepers on heavy equipment.

Oh I don't know...that sounds like it could be alot of fun if you just loosen your collar and go for it...

 

[Andrew015]

Oh I don't know...that sounds like it could be alot of fun if you just loosen your collar and go for it...

Perhaps our neighbors at BLT would have preferred the jackhammers and backup beepers

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Ewww...

That thing you just crossed? Yeah... That was the line

 

[Andrew015]

Ewww...

That thing you just crossed? Yeah... That was the line

Total setup!