Eagle Pines DVC Project?

[tigger2on]

Has anyone else heard this? If it is true, whendo you think they'll start seeling DVC points for it?
I read an article on it @ www.themeparks.com

 

[crisi]

I was just thinking about this.

It was announced before SSR was annouced. Then Disney needed to do something with the DI property and decided to do SSR. Who knows if Eagle Pines is simply "on hold" or if it is cancelled. I suppose it will depend on how SSR sells, if they need a new DVC resort afterwards, and if they decide to do something else with the property.

What I was wondering is if anyone knows if the resort will be attached to or within walking distance of the clubhouse. Sure would be nice for Disney to have a good golf hotel.

 

[tjkraz]

In a similar thread, someone else reasoned that Eagle Pines is still likely to be the next dedicated DVC property. DVD probably has already spent hundreds of thousands of $$$ on the development of this property, and would have to start from square one if they decided not to move forward with EP.

The primary "unknown" factor is whether they would choose to first add-on at an existing property like AKL or Contemporary. If so, such a project may receive higher priority than EP.

 

[Doug Wolfe]

I have some old articles and an old DVC press release.

Eagle Pines was announced in the fall of 2001, and was to be built along the Eagle Pines Golf course. SSR was announced in early 2002, when it was decided to close the Disney Institute on February 10th 2002. At that point, Eagle Pines went to the back burner.

An article at the time indicates the Disney Institute site was chosen because the infrastructure was already in place. This would include sewers, water lines, roads, etc.

SSR is probably going to be built up over the next several years, so it could be a long while, if ever, that we see Eagle Pines. In fact, when I bought at Beach Club in March 2002 my contract specifically indicated that Eagle Pines may never be built.

DVC announced a California project in the 1990's and even bought the land. It was eventually sold and now has a Marriott timeshare on that land. I am not sure if Eagle Pines has ever got past the planning stage. It was suppossed to be 600 units. It sounds to me like they took a lot of the Eagle Pines ideas and just simply applied them to Saratoga Springs.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

At one point there were artist's renderings floating around the web.
Does anyone happen to have any those?

MG

 

[tjkraz]

I think there is still pleanty of reason to believe Eagle Pines will be constructed. After all, both EP and SSR were on the development slate less than 2 years ago--it just happened that SSR was made a higher priority due to the deteriorating condition of the Disney Institute.

The California project is a bit of a different story. DVC decided that off-site resorts were simply not viable. With Vero being available for what, 8-10 years now, it's hard to argue with that.

Back to SSR, the construction plan calls for 12 total buildings. The first 4 will open this year. Construction has already begun on the other 8 buildings, and they are tentatively scheduled to all be open by August 2005.

SSR is expected to sell out in as little as 4 years. That would be Fall 2007.

Further, if we assume about 2 years to develop a new resort (SSR took 21 months from announcement to opening), a new property would have to enter the pipeline in early 2005.

I think they would have to have a pretty compelling reason to simply discard Eagle Pines altogether. While I'm not a golfer myself, I always thought there would be appeal for a resort with a strong golf theme.

Of course, adding-onto an existing WDW resort property could put EP further on the backburner.

All my opinion, of course.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Maistre Gracey
At one point there were artist's renderings floating around the web.
Does anyone happen to have any those?

MG

Try this...

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dvceaglepines.htm

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by tjkraz
Try this...

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dvceaglepines.htm

Thanx, tjkraz. That's the one!
I'm by no means an architect, but does anyone else see a little SSR in that design?

MG

 

[DWatWDW]

I think they would have to have a pretty compelling reason to simply discard Eagle Pines altogether. While I'm not a golfer myself, I always thought there would be appeal for a resort with a strong golf theme.

When I first went as a kid (86), we stayed at a resort called the Disney Golf, which was (obviosly) Golf themed. When we went back (88) they had renamed it to the Disney Inn, because the Golf theme was not selling. My understanding is that the resort never did very well, it attracted a few golfers but not much else, so Disney sold it to the Department of Defense, who turned it into Shades of Green.

I do not know anything about Eagle Pines, but if a golf themed resort was in such demand the Disney Golf would still be in existence.

Just my thoughts.

 

[tjkraz]

Not sure about the golf issue, but I have to question why they would have spent thousands on the initial phase of development unless they were sold on the concept. If not for 9/11, they may be building both SSR and EP right now.

As I re-read the original press release, one item did catch my eye. It makes reference to an Inn building and several Villa buildings. Assuming that the Inn represents run-of-the-mill Deluxe resort rooms, perhaps it will be a bit longer before this one sees the light of day. As long as half of Pop Century and a full moderate resort remain closed, I find it hard to believe that they would want to add more non-DVC rooms elsewhere.

I guess only time will tell...

 

[DrTomorrow]

And don't forget that golf might have a lot more appeal to the DVC crowd than to regular WDW guests. When people come to WDW the first few times, there's so much more to see and do before spending an afternoon on the links. But since DVC usually means one or more trips every year - trips that are a bit more laid-back - a golf resort would seem a good fit.

 

[vernon]

I do not know anything about Eagle Pines, but if a golf themed resort was in such demand the Disney Golf would still be in existence.

I don't think EP was designed as a "golf themed" resort, it just happened to be located among the land that's used at the Eagle Pines golf course. It's a sensible/economical use of land and the golf course gives quite pleasant views. OKW is situated in a similar fashion within the LBV golf course, but it isn't a "golf" themed resort and it's sales were more than adiquate.

 

[Dean]

Personally I don't think EP will happen but we will see.

 

[floridafam]

We would love to see EP.

It looks like "old Florida". I like the fact that it looks more like a hotel.

I hope they build it.

 

[childsplay]

My guess is that EP will be the "anchor" of DVC III (about 10 years from now), much the same way OKW and SSR were for the first two phases, large, stand alone resorts followed by smaller properties attached to exisiting hotels...........following this line of reasoning, if I were of the wagering persuasion, I'd bet my marbles that the Garden Wing of Contemporary is the next DVC.

 

[Rence]

We purchased in December. I had not found this board at that time to I was unaware of Eagle Pines.

I do recall our guide saying that DVC liked to have two different properties for sale at one time to give people a choice so that they try to overlap their development. BCV actually sold much faster than expected so they were almost caught with nothing to sell. She seemed to imply that we would see another DVC resort sooner rather than later.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The July 2001 press release about the Eagle Pines location is still posted at http://www.themeparks.com/wdw/eaglepinesdvc.htm

I like the theme. According to the press release, "The theme of the proposed DVC resort will complement and enhance the beautiful setting found at Disney’s Eagle Pines golf course. The new resort will be inspired by the architecture of Addison Mizner, a celebrated early 20th century architect who led the renaissance of Florida resort design. The property’s design will reflect a variety of motifs found in indigenous Florida buildings of this era, including Spanish, Moorish, Romanesque and Gothic forms. The atmosphere and elegance found in the coastal communities of southeast Florida (including West Palm Beach and Boca Raton) will be found in the resort’s architecture, ranging from tile roofs to fountains to lush, tropical landscaping."

That's not just a golf theme. And it's not yet another "Eastern U.S. resort of a hundred years ago" theme like BWV, BCV, and SSR.

The Eagle Pines site was on the WDW master plan as a site for a Disney timeshare resort years before it was announced. There's no reason to think that those plans won't be dusted off once there is a projected sell-out date for SSR. DVD probably spent millions drawing up the plans for the 600-unit development. The plans may be updated somewhat, based on the lessons learned from SSR.

The only question is whether DVD would first want to build a DVC wing on an exisiting deluxe resort before embarking on another freestanding resort.

 

[crisi]

The Disney Golf Resort was closed long ago - as the Disney Golf Resort...and Disney never did a good job marketing it. Back then, it was the only resort off the monorail - except FW which had the boat - making it seem like a very inconvient option for families where dad wanted to golf, but mom would take the kids to the parks. Lots of people didn't even know it existed - and I'm not sure Disney wanted them to - they didn't seem to want to make it the "Poly and CR overflow hotel" because back then, they were certainly selling out the few hotel rooms they had on property.

Times have changed. Golf resorts have increased in popularity, Disney now has a reputation as a golf destination independant of its theme parks (which it did back then, but its reputation has improved), Disney has figured out how to handle resorts off the beaten path. Plus, as was said, DVCers may be more interested in golf than the average DW guest. Although it looks from the press release like the plan was to have a small number of Inn rooms (like BW?) for Disney to market to golfers.

 

[Nink]

When I was at WDW in November 2003, the sad day came to leave and go home. I take the Mears Shuttle to the airport, and our driver that day was more like a tour guide.

If I remember correctly, we passed a land area that had been cleared, but nothing else had been done. The driver said that this is where the Eagle Pines Resort WILL be.

Maybe that is an omen of things to come.

 

[goofy4dvc]

I too hope they build Eagle Pines. DH and I are both golfers. We're also empty-nesters. So we only go to the parks when we bring grandchildren. When it's just the two of us, we find other things to do in and around Orlando. We usually spend several days golfing. Even when we bring the grandkids, DH golfs while I take the kids to the parks, then he joins us after his round of golf.

I was very impressed with the theming and architecture of the proposed resort when it was announced. In fact, we decided to purchase additional points there when it opened. Well, needless to say, we couldn't wait that long and purchased points elsewhere. But by the time it is built (if it is built), we might be in the market to purchase some more points.