Attack of the Lakeshore Lodge

[ark101]

Is that partly due to fewer declarations since sales are so slow

I forgot the numbers but pretty sure they declared a whole lot more than they sold. A non trivial difference like selling 4% and declaring 20% (I am making those up).

 

[jolynne28]

Are you thinking a taller Kidani/Boardwalk with long hallways?

It's not much taller, but yes very sprawling like those. I've seen all the pictures on this board, but I'm telling you when we were taking the boat to MK my husband and I were in total shock when we realized that we had originally only been looking at half of the resort. I can't imagine checking in and being assigned a room on either end.

 

[jolynne28]

Is that partly due to fewer declarations since sales are so slow

So having ridden through the cabin loops a lot this past week, we noticed that all the DVC declared cabins had a "Welcome Home" sign on the outside written on oars hung on the exterior of the cabin, road-facing. Some loops just had partial DVC, others all/most, and we actively saw them adding the signs to cabins as we drove by. When we go back in October I'll make a point to try and get a more accurate picture, but I feel like at least half were declared.

edited to add they also opened up 2 new models in between the bus stop and Pioneer Hall. The two in the 100 loop don't have the DVC signs on them anymore. The new models still have the new car smell to them when you walk by, so they've not been there long. Obviously they're hoping to catch people heading over for the Hoop-Dee-Doo or just visiting the fort.

Also, the cabins are really beautiful, they did a great job with them. They were all full when we were there, while there were a few empty/nearly empty camping loops, b/c it's July in Fl. The cabins are popular for a reason, being lumped into LL, if that were to happen, isn't going to affect the value of that resort IMO. Sleeping 6 with that point chart is a huge pro. If people buy the cabins, they aren't doing it hoping to one day trade into LL. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that more people will buy LL and want to trade into the cabins now and then, making it more competitive.

In case I haven't said this before, I am not outdoorsy. We don't camp. Ever. Glamping is a stretch for me. But the fort hits different and we would go every single month for a week (like a lot of locals that we meet when there do) if not for the kids' school. OK I don't love it enough to home school them, but almost.

 

[intamin]

Is that partly due to fewer declarations since sales are so slow

I think it's just because theres demand for larger space for lower points and you don't get close to that price for a 1BR at other resorts unless it's a value AKV or OKW 1BR.

 

[Sandisw]

Also, how would DVC do the declaration of units??? There are already a bunch of Cabins declared, but what happens when the owners all want to stay at LL and no one books Cabins. They would have to declare a ton of LL inventory to satisfy all new and old points owners or face the wrath of people not getting what they want to stay in.

The same way they dealt with PVB tower. They didn’t over declare there because of all the PVB points in existence.

If the decide to put LSL into the trust and then activate the units into the same RTU plan as the cabins, then people who buy are buying for home resort advantage for both.

Antone who has bought CFW already knows that they can add other component sites.

And, those buying LSL would know it as well before buying.

My guess is we won’t have any answers for how they intended to sell this thing until late 2026 or early 2027.

 

[intamin]

I guess they could do that, but I wouldn't want to be the CM that gets the call from a new owner who can't book the room they want in the new tower. I'm guessing there will be a lot of undeclared inventory used to make new owners happy for their first visits.

I'm fairly certain there will be plenty of inventory to go around at LSL. The resort is massive.

 

[tidefan]

So having ridden through the cabin loops a lot this past week, we noticed that all the DVC declared cabins had a "Welcome Home" sign on the outside written on oars hung on the exterior of the cabin, road-facing. Some loops just had partial DVC, others all/most, and we actively saw them adding the signs to cabins as we drove by. When we go back in October I'll make a point to try and get a more accurate picture, but I feel like at least half were declared.

We'll be there in a little over a week and can report back. We love the cabins to stay in, but would never buy there for 3 reasons:

1. Restricted Points
2. Dues
3. The Trust model that allows them to reallocate the point totals. I don't have faith that the point charts for the cabins will stay the same over time.

All that said, I am more than happy to use my other points at 7 months at CFW. We plan to stay here every year, availability permitting.

We have 0 interest in the monstrosity that is the LL building. I personally think that it is ruining the vibe of FW...

 

[Patmcpsu]

Lakeshore Lodge: 10 Stories / 900 Rooms (estimated) = 90 rooms per floor
Polynesian Island Tower: 10 Stories / 261 Rooms = 26 rooms per floor
Bay Lake Tower 15 Stories / 281 Rooms = 19 rooms per floor
Kidani Village: 5 Floors / 458 Rooms = 97 rooms per floor

 

[jolynne28]

Lakeshore Lodge: 10 Stories / 900 Rooms (estimated) = 90 rooms per floor
Polynesian Island Tower: 10 Stories / 261 Rooms = 26 rooms per floor
Bay Lake Tower 15 Stories / 281 Rooms = 19 rooms per floor
Kidani Village: 5 Floors / 458 Rooms = 97 rooms per floor

Definitely couldn't tell by looking that it was 10 stories. But looking at your numbers it definitely aligns with Kidani in regards to the sprawling nature.

 

[Brian Noble]

Then there's the fact of the sheer number of rooms those huge sprawling resorts have. A little part of me is always glad I'm not staying at SSR/OKW when inevitably at the end of the night, the lines for the buses going back to those resorts are completely full with 3 rows of guests who will likely have to wait for multiple buses to go back.

Keys at OKW: 761
Keys at SSR: 1320
Keys at BLT + CR: 428 + 655, or 1083.

Sources: Keys for DVC resorts from DVC News (max lockoff #s); Touring Plans for CR rooms.

 

[Patmcpsu]

Definitely couldn't tell by looking that it was 10 stories. But looking at your numbers it definitely aligns with Kidani in regards to the sprawling nature.

Lakeshore Lodge is effectively a Kidani Village on top of a Kidani Village.

 

[jolynne28]

We'll be there in a little over a week and can report back. We love the cabins to stay in, but would never buy there for 3 reasons:

1. Restricted Points
2. Dues
3. The Trust model that allows them to reallocate the point totals. I don't have faith that the point charts for the cabins will stay the same over time.

All that said, I am more than happy to use my other points at 7 months at CFW. We plan to stay here every year, availability permitting.

We have 0 interest in the monstrosity that is the LL building. I personally think that it is ruining the vibe of FW...

We don't spend a lot of time down at the Pioneer Hall area, so it doesn't really affect the overall feel of the fort for us. I doubt too many guests staying there would want to wander around the fort on foot, and they won't be able to rent a golf cart, so that leaves catching the buses to check it out. I'm not convinced it will have a huge impact, with the exception of maybe the holidays. The majority of campers have a golf cart and don't even ride the buses.

The big question for us is, would we enjoy the cabin loops as much as the camping loops. They feel different when riding around, and we love the uniqueness of the campsites. We will have to pay cash to do a cabin stay and see what we think. If we love it as much, I'd consider selling the RV and buying at CFW.

 

[jolynne28]

Lakeshore Lodge is effectively a Kidani Village on top of a Kidani Village.

I've stayed at Kidani and hated the walking. Parking underneath helped, and it almost looked like LL would have that set up as well, does anyone know if that's happening?

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm waiting to see the finished product before I decide what it is or isn't. For exmaple, if they stick to the original plan of a mixed-used DVC + standard hotel, that will reduce the footprint of "900 rooms" by quite a lot.

 

[tidefan]

We don't spend a lot of time down at the Pioneer Hall area, so it doesn't really affect the overall feel of the fort for us. I doubt too many guests staying there would want to wander around the fort on foot, and they won't be able to rent a golf cart, so that leaves catching the buses to check it out. I'm not convinced it will have a huge impact, with the exception of maybe the holidays. The majority of campers have a golf cart and don't even ride the buses.

The big question for us is, would we enjoy the cabin loops as much as the camping loops. They feel different when riding around, and we love the uniqueness of the campsites. We will have to pay cash to do a cabin stay and see what we think. If we love it as much, I'd consider selling the RV and buying at CFW.

The Cabin sites are different, even unto themselves. For instance 2200/2300/2500 will be very different than 2800. We stayed in the 200 loop in a rented RV a few years ago and absolutely loved it. There is such a feeling of camaraderie among the RV crowd that we really loved. That said, if you do have a cart, you can still go looping, etc. and get most of the feels of the Fort. I personally request 2200/2300/2500 as it is so close to the 2100 camping loop that you still get the same feel.

 

[Patmcpsu]

I'm waiting to see the finished product before I decide what it is or isn't. For exmaple, if they stick to the original plan of a mixed-used DVC + standard hotel, that will reduce the footprint of "900 rooms" by quite a lot.

But does that actually change things? A physical room is a physical room, regardless of if the person is paying with cash or DVC points.

And in mixed-use situations, doesn't DVC tend to get the less desirable rooms? Anecdotally at least, it seems like DVC members are being assigned low floors in the PIT, and I presume those paying cash are getting the higher floors. Maybe I'm reading too much between the lines and/or being conspiratorial.

 

[Brian Noble]

A physical room is a physical room, regardless of if the person is paying with cash or DVC points.

Yes, because 1BRs and dedicated 2BRs are physically much bigger than a hotel room.

I don't mean only "mixed use" in the ownership model, I also mean mixed-use in how the building is laid out--much like the lower floors of Jambo are more dense than the higher ones, and the WL wing of the Lodge is denser than the CCV wing. If Lakeshore is designed to be part-DVC and part "regular hotel", the hotel side will have hotel rooms, not villas.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm waiting to see the finished product before I decide what it is or isn't. For exmaple, if they stick to the original plan of a mixed-used DVC + standard hotel, that will reduce the footprint of "900 rooms" by quite a lot.

Nothing confirmed of course and not like Disney is helpful with any details about this project at all, but often reliable sources on other sites who have some level of info have indicated it’s something along the lines of 557 hotel rooms and 399 DVC units (308 not locked off, 399 locked off). I haven’t been able to determine if the 17 A-frames and Treehouses are in that 399 number or not, but I suspect it should be added to it.

Much of the chatter around here seems to consistently think of this as all DVC, but personally I think a room mix directionally like the above makes a lot of sense in terms of relative hotel room and DVC unit counts. And I’m also of the opinion that that very little, if anything, has really fundamentally changed with this project since the original plans.

Time will tell of course.

 

[Brian Noble]

And I’m also of the opinion that that very little, if anything, has really fundamentally changed with this project since the original plans.

I am 100% with you on this. As far as I can telll, the only thing that changed was the name and the timeline.

 

[intamin]

Keys at OKW: 761
Keys at SSR: 1320
Keys at BLT + CR: 428 + 655, or 1083.

Sources: Keys for DVC resorts from DVC News (max lockoff #s); Touring Plans for CR rooms.

Yeah but I'd be walking back from MK which is usually the worst offender of this because everyone goes home after fireworks lols