Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge Coming to former Reflections Site in 2027!

[patm95]

I must be easy to please because I have no issue with the monorail. I do read a lot of people have a different opinion than I do though.

I don’t have an issue with the monorail either. Like the above poster, I think it is gradually becoming cost prohibitive. If it wasn’t such a stupor of Disney world, I bet it’d be gone by now.

 

[sachilles]

Don't construe my comments as a dislike for the monorail. I love it. I'd be happy if it were expanded. However, I know the cost isn't worth it. There are other, better options that move more people per hour.

 

[patm95]

Don't construe my comments as a dislike for the monorail. I love it. I'd be happy if it were expanded. However, I know the cost isn't worth it. There are other, better options that move more people per hour.

Same here. I’d love for it to last forever but I’m sure Disney could find more cost effective ways to transport people.

 

[RickNJane]

Animal Kingdom is unlikely, already has a huge DVC space, and it’s one of the less in demand.

I suspect Lakeside Lodge will take a while to sell. Likely a huge resort. So there may not be a rush for something new.

But I agree it’s likely that something would be planned for 2029.

I see 3 most likely locations:

1. Epcot area. Perhaps tear down Atlantic City Dance Hall and Jelly Rolls, build a tower there. Maybe build another resort next to Riviera.
2. A small expensive DVC hotel INSIDE Epcot. Been rumored before. Build behind the Land Pavillion.
3. DHS adjacent, maybe the land where the Star Wars hotel was built.

Next set of possible but less likely:
4. On the Seven Seas lagoon, between Contemporary and Poly. This has been a rumored development site since WDW was built.
5. Beyond Big Thunder Mountain: hotel with entrance to Villains land.
6. Like OKW or SSR, develop an unused part of the property that is not adjacent to parks. (Lots of land options, but such locations have proven less popular).

Or switch to West Coast. Only 2 DVC properties in DLR. I really think that things are being over built at WDW. Need a place for all the guests to go! Transportation is already a real pain at times, a new 900 room DVC property does not help. But I think I may be in the minority here.

 

[havoc315]

Or switch to West Coast. Only 2 DVC properties in DLR. I really think that things are being over built at WDW. Need a place for all the guests to go! Transportation is already a real pain at times, a new 900 room DVC property does not help. But I think I may be in the minority here.

It’s not like the Villas at Disneyland Hotel is selling massively.
DL is not a long-stay destination. A high percentage of guests are local. Out-of-town guests typically stay no more than 2-3 nights.

WDW averages almost 200,000 guests per day.
Adding rooms doesn’t necessarily add park visitors — it partially converts off property guests into on property guests.

But even if 900 new rooms brought 2000 additional guests — that’s only a 1% increase.
And WDW is effectively adding more than 1% capacity to the parks— expanding Magic Kingdom, converting under-utilized Dinoland.

Finally, 4 WDW DVCs expire in January 2042. They aren’t going to just flip those properties as new 50-year contracts in Feb 2042. Many of those buildings may be torn down or gutted. So Disney will want to get a head start at replacing that capacity.

 

[RickNJane]

It’s not like the Villas at Disneyland Hotel is selling massively.
DL is not a long-stay destination. A high percentage of guests are local. Out-of-town guests typically stay no more than 2-3 nights.

WDW averages almost 200,000 guests per day.
Adding rooms doesn’t necessarily add park visitors — it partially converts off property guests into on property guests.

But even if 900 new rooms brought 2000 additional guests — that’s only a 1% increase.
And WDW is effectively adding more than 1% capacity to the parks— expanding Magic Kingdom, converting under-utilized Dinoland.

Finally, 4 WDW DVCs expire in January 2042. They aren’t going to just flip those properties as new 50-year contracts in Feb 2042. Many of those buildings may be torn down or gutted. So Disney will want to get a head start at replacing that capacity.

One thing holding back VDH is the TOT. It can really add up. That and high dues makes VDH very expensive. We bought in since we are west coast and a trip for 5 to 7 days is pretty easy. The VGC have the TOT baked into the dues and the demand for it is pretty high.

The 1% you quote is for park traffic, Transportation is a much scarcer resource that is already at capacity, Have you tried to get on the monorail or a boat back to any of the bay lake lodges? Or the Skyliner, which has much better throughput can be very tough. I do agree that something will happen in 2042 and maybe they are trying to get the inventory up for that event. But I still think Disney is really over building DVC at this time. I have been a member since 1997 and have seen lots of changes. I am just not fond of this one.

 

[Mikey15]

Finally, 4 WDW DVCs expire in January 2042. They aren’t going to just flip those properties as new 50-year contracts in Feb 2042. Many of those buildings may be torn down or gutted. So Disney will want to get a head start at replacing that capacity.

OKW - they can’t do anything with really until 2057 unless they did it in phases, maybe.

Boulder Ridge - are we really thinking this is a tear-down, especially with Lakeshore coming and already expanding capacity nearby?

Boardwalk - this one will be a prime candidate for maximizing the potential come 2042 but seems like a multi year project

Beach Club - even though this building will only be ~40 years old in 2042, it is prime real estate and could be replaced without touching the main building. Do they focus on this first?

Either way I think after a big added-capacity project like Lakeshore we’re more likely to see a conversion project next.

 

[havoc315]

OKW - they can’t do anything with really until 2057 unless they did it in phases, maybe.

It will depend on how many points revert to Disney in 2042... but I do suspect they won't hit major changes until 2057.

Boulder Ridge - are we really thinking this is a tear-down, especially with Lakeshore coming and already expanding capacity nearby?

The original construction was not meant to stand for nearly 100 years. Might not need an entire tear down, but expect major renovations.

Boardwalk - this one will be a prime candidate for maximizing the potential come 2042 but seems like a multi year project

Correct. You can already see they have pulled back from investing in Boardwalk --- look at the slide where they replaced the clown with stickers.
Yes, they did major construction for Cake Bake Shop, but that's actually on the outer edge of the property. They can tear down everything except the Cake Bake Shop.

Yes, it would be multi-year. Which is why it make sense to have another DVC property in the Epcot area ready to go, BEFORE 2042.

Beach Club - even though this building will only be ~40 years old in 2042, it is prime real estate and could be replaced without touching the main building. Do they focus on this first?

Again, at a minimum -- Massive gutting type renovation. Beach Club Villas is a perfect example of a property not built up to the standards of current expectations. It's popular because of location and Stormalong Bay. But imagine how popular it would be if the rooms were the same quality as Riveria, Grand Floridian or Poly.
I actually expect a full tear down, as it's prime real estate for a tower, that could sell a whole lot more units and points.

Either way I think after a big added-capacity project like Lakeshore we’re more likely to see a conversion project next.

Conversations are all about balancing inventory with supply and demand. Last conversion was Grand Floridian -- A poorly kept secret is that Grand Floridian couldn't book up their rooms. They were offering big "secret" discounts on priceline. So the conversion was all about pre-selling those rooms that they had trouble booking, and reducing the supply of regular rooms to better meet demand. (They didn't want to openly cut prices to fix the supply/demand issue).

Wilderness Lodge ---> Copper Creek happened for the same reason.

I don't see any more conversions on the horizon, but it's a quick fix if they have an underperforming property.

One possibility I had not considered: Massive renovation/conversion of Boardwalk INN --- Sell it as a DVC properly in the 2030's...
Then in 2042, tear down Boardwalk Villas --- and can replace it with DVC and/or regular hotel.

 

[patm95]

I hope they give some major incentives for those of us that already own at BWV. Would love to buy back into there.

 

[havoc315]

I hope they give some major incentives for those of us that already own at BWV. Would love to buy back into there.

I’m sure that those with expiring contracts will get special incentives. I wouldn’t count on “major”… $10 to $20 less a point maybe.

So by 2042… $285 per point instead of $300.

And the point charts won’t be like the old charts.

 

[emchen]

For example, this declaration showed up as bookable for stays starting July 19, 2024, but the actual declaration wasn't until mid-October 2024: https://dvcnews.com/wdw-resorts/riv...5-more-vacation-homes-for-riviera-s-inventory

Thank you for the link. I suppose I can just follow dvcnews.com for my own narrow and selfish purpose (instead of asking you to stalk the website code nightly). Lol!

 

[havoc315]

Animal Kingdom is unlikely, already has a huge DVC space, and it’s one of the less in demand.

I suspect Lakeside Lodge will take a while to sell. Likely a huge resort. So there may not be a rush for something new.

But I agree it’s likely that something would be planned for 2029.

I see 3 most likely locations:

1. Epcot area. Perhaps tear down Atlantic City Dance Hall and Jelly Rolls, build a tower there. Maybe build another resort next to Riviera.
2. A small expensive DVC hotel INSIDE Epcot. Been rumored before. Build behind the Land Pavillion.
3. DHS adjacent, maybe the land where the Star Wars hotel was built.

Next set of possible but less likely:
4. On the Seven Seas lagoon, between Contemporary and Poly. This has been a rumored development site since WDW was built.
5. Beyond Big Thunder Mountain: hotel with entrance to Villains land.

I may need to move #5 way up the list of possibilities:

https://blogmickey.com/2024/12/land-clearing-west-magic-kingdom-roadway-expansion-new-hotel/

6. Like OKW or SSR, develop an unused part of the property that is not adjacent to parks. (Lots of land options, but such locations have proven less popular).

 

[T00dles]

Would make sense to have another hotel along the walkway to MK.

 

[patm95]

I may need to move #5 way up the list of possibilities:

https://blogmickey.com/2024/12/land-clearing-west-magic-kingdom-roadway-expansion-new-hotel/

Can I just buy some points for this right now???

 

[mrsap]

Construction Begins on Second Floor of Disney Lakeshore Lodge​

 

[Wedgeout]

Soon we will see it take shape and find out if it’s just another tower cube design.

 

[muppets3d]

I'm surprised they haven't released updated artwork for the resort yet. Or are we assuming it's going to be just like the original announcement?

 

[muppets3d]

I must be easy to please because I have no issue with the monorail. I do read a lot of people have a different opinion than I do though.

By the time it gets to Grand Floridian it's often full at busy times, and sometimes even at off-peak times. Then it's a long ride to get to the TTC to wait again for a full monorail train if you want to get to EPCOT.

 

[davidhr]

Soon we will see it take shape and find out if it’s just another tower cube design.

If the Poly tower threads showed us something, is that people will hate it when being built (surprise! Work in progress construction looks hideous) and then feel that it looks better than expected.

 

[Brian Noble]

are we assuming it's going to be just like the original announcement?

This is me.