VWL Groupies & Lovers Thread (Special Collectors Edition 2.5) updated 2 February 2025

[n2mm]

I read this info too. Excited to see the new changes to WLV one day.

 

[jimmytammy]

Got to share...last night we took Capt.D to Celebration Station to ride go karts and eat some pizza for his birthday. My brother, our DD and her fiance, Capt.D, myself and my 82 yr. young Dad rode karts. Earlier in the day, my Dad told me he didnt think he would ride. I told him I was buying him a ticket, one set price, ride as much as you can. So I told him, ride once, and you will get your moneys worth(knowing once he started he would continue). And he did, didnt set out one time, rode at least 10 times!! He is like a little kid once you get him there, made for a memorable Bday for Casey

 

[blossomz]

This is the article from DVCNews that blossomz mentioned. Sounds very appealing. Like AKL, hope some of these become concierge

With construction well under way at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, let's take a look at the next several Disney Vacation Club projects currently earmarked for Walt Disney World Resort.



Disney's Wilderness Lodge & Villas

Several weeks back, reports emerged that the next Disney Vacation Club project may be conversion of hotel rooms to villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Additional sources have since confirmed this project, along with some new details on the plans.

In recent years, occupancy has dropped off significantly at Disney's Deluxe resorts. The causes are numerous: the economy, Disney's ever-increasing prices, frequent Deluxe resort guests buying into Disney Vacation Club. Whatever the reason, Disney's Wilderness Lodge has been hit particularly hard with occupancy occasionally sinking to just 40-50% of its 728 rooms.

Disney has repeatedly used Disney Vacation Club to address occupancy problems at its resorts. Two floors at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House were converted from hotel rooms to DVC villas. Approximately 250 rooms in the North Garden Wing at Disney's Contemporary Resort were demolished to make way for Bay Lake Tower. Perhaps most famously, every single guest room at the resort formerly known as The Disney Institute was bulldozed to make way for Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

Disney will continue this trend by converting hotel rooms at the Wilderness Lodge to DVC villas. The exact number of rooms to be converted is not known, but expect it to be significant. Several hundred rooms will remain available to cash guests but expect more to become villas.

The exact layout of the converted villas is not known at this time. Disney executives may wait to decide until after they get feedback on the Polynesian villas. As previously reported by Steve "Tikiman" Seifert, converted Polynesian villas will not feature any of the familiar One or Two Bedroom setups. The three converted longhouses appear to be entirely Deluxe Studio villas, likely with expanded bathing facilities similar to the Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and a sleeping capacity of 5 guests.

Demand for Deluxe Studio villas often exceeds availability at current DVC properties. Previous design philosophy has lead Disney to build roughly equal numbers of Studios, One Bedroom villas and Two Bedroom villas over the last decade. However, the lower nightly cost of a Studio combined with modest needs of owners--many of whom are buying DVC after frequenting traditional hotel rooms--have lead to shortages in that room category.

With the Wilderness Lodge already home to more than 100 One and Two Bedroom villas, it would come as no surprise if the hotel rooms were all converted to Studios rather than the more elaborate approach taken with Jambo House.

Borrowing another page from the Polynesian playbook, the expanded Wilderness Lodge DVC will also feature prestigious bungalow-style accommodations. Keeping with the wilderness theme, Disney plans to build stand-alone cabins along the beach bordering Bay Lake. The cabins will sleep 8-9 guests and feature high end amenities like a private fire pit and hot tub.

A new or expanded pool facility is being planned for the resort, possibly including a lazy river.

Disney Vacation Club's target date for opening of the new Wilderness Lodge villas is 2017, but the relative simplicity of converting existing rooms (compared to new construction) leaves this date somewhat fluid. The exact timeline could be shortened or lengthened by several months depending upon response to the Polynesian.

Assuming this endeavour succeeds at the Wilderness Lodge, expect Disney's Beach Club and/or Disney's Yacht Club to follow with a similar project. There is some internal debate at Disney as to exactly what would occur at the Yacht and Beach Club resorts. By mid-2015, Disney's Yacht Club will be the only Walt Disney World Deluxe property with no Disney Vacation Club presence. Some are pushing to keep Yacht Club DVC-free due to resort convention business and other factors.

Regardless of its final makeup, Disney will find a way to bring more villas to the popular Epcot resorts area.

Still in the mix is the proposd new construction at Disney's Fort WIlderness Resort. This facility was literally weeks away from a scheduled groundbreaking when Disney decision-makers shifted focus to the Polynesian villas. The project is still on Disney's radar with a tentative construction start in 2018 and 2-3 year completion timeframe.

Finally, rumors of Disney Vacation Club eyeing Disney's Moderate-class resorts are true...but it would most likely not be a "Moderate DVC."

In the past, DVC has looked into the possibility of placing villas at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. With an elaborate feature pool, multiple dining options and convention facilities, Coronado Springs is arguably the most upscale of the Disney Moderates.

But the resort currently receving the most attention is Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Caribbean Beach would not be a "Moderate DVC" in that no current guest rooms would be sold as timeshare villas. While some argue that a lower-priced "Moderate DVC" would make the program more accessible to budget-conscious owners, expect DVC to continue pursuing the Deluxe pricing model as long as they have buyers.

The plan designers are currently pursuing involves completely demolishing three or four of the resort's six "islands"--at least half of the resort--and building a DVC villa tower. The proposed design could see a DVC villa building up to 7 stories tall at Caribbean Beach.

As part of the Caribbean Beach Resort redesign, one source indicates that Disney is considering extension of neighboring waterways to provide boat service between Caribbean Beach and the Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios theme parks.

Some rebranding of the resort may even occur if Disney feels the need to distance itself from that "Moderate" label associated with the Caribbean Beach Resort name.

Keep in mind the above projects are all on the proverbial drawing board and are subject to change--particularly projects which are at least 5+ years down the road. Changes in executive leadership, changes in the economy and a variety of other factors can have an immediate impact on capital improvements of this scale.

With the Polynesian Villas less than a year away from completion, expect to see some activity on the Wilderness Lodge hotel conversion soon. We will continue to update other rumors as new details emerge.

I do think it sounds intriguing! I would love to stay in a cabin!

 

[ottawagreg]

Got to share...last night we took Capt.D to Celebration Station to ride go karts and eat some pizza for his birthday. My brother, our DD and her fiance, Capt.D, myself and my 82 yr. young Dad rode karts. Earlier in the day, my Dad told me he didnt think he would ride. I told him I was buying him a ticket, one set price, ride as much as you can. So I told him, ride once, and you will get your moneys worth(knowing once he started he would continue). And he did, didnt set out one time, rode at least 10 times!! He is like a little kid once you get him there, made for a memorable Bday for Casey

It is wonderful that your father can still do things like that. Great for him and for you and your family. My father turned 80 in July. I want to try to make memories for as long as possible, and I'm sure you do too. Godspeed to all of us. Every day is a gift from God.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

[twinklebug]

This is the article from DVCNews that blossomz mentioned. Sounds very appealing. Like AKL, hope some of these become concierge

... The exact number of rooms to be converted is not known, but expect it to be significant. Several hundred rooms will remain available to cash guests but expect more to become villas.

...

Disney plans to build stand-alone cabins along the beach bordering Bay Lake. The cabins will sleep 8-9 guests and feature high end amenities like a private fire pit and hot tub.

A new or expanded pool facility is being planned for the resort, possibly including a lazy river.

Disney Vacation Club's target date for opening of the new Wilderness Lodge villas is 2017, but the relative simplicity of converting existing rooms (compared to new construction) leaves this date somewhat fluid. The exact timeline could be shortened or lengthened by several months depending upon response to the Polynesian.

...

Still in the mix is the proposd new construction at Disney's Fort WIlderness Resort. This facility was literally weeks away from a scheduled groundbreaking when Disney decision-makers shifted focus to the Polynesian villas. The project is still on Disney's radar with a tentative construction start in 2018 and 2-3 year completion timeframe.

... expect to see some activity on the Wilderness Lodge hotel conversion soon.

Thanks for the copy JT. I didn't have a chance to go look it up & it's a fun read, even if we have to read it as only partial truths. Snipped the parts I found of interest.

Would they really re-make the swimming pool? I like hidden springs pool as it is. Why would they re-design it if all that is being added are some cabins. Unless we are talking about a whole city's worth of cabins, which would just not be welcome.

There's a strong "let's embellish and fill in some gaps here" feeling added to the text.

 

[twinklebug]

Got to share...last night we took Capt.D to Celebration Station to ride go karts and eat some pizza for his birthday. My brother, our DD and her fiance, Capt.D, myself and my 82 yr. young Dad rode karts. Earlier in the day, my Dad told me he didnt think he would ride. I told him I was buying him a ticket, one set price, ride as much as you can. So I told him, ride once, and you will get your moneys worth(knowing once he started he would continue). And he did, didnt set out one time, rode at least 10 times!! He is like a little kid once you get him there, made for a memorable Bday for Casey

My dad is hitting 80 this year too. He's had his fair share of issues for sure, but is still dreaming of buying a plane and learning to fly (yes, in that order... he's an engineer and does things his own way, LOL)

 

[sleepydog25]

I've been working a lot lately and just breezing in here. My belated birthday wishes for Cap'n D! Also, I remain skeptical of new construction--one reason I love VWL and by extension the whole WL resort is because of its serenity and intimacy. I don't want them messing with that.

 

[Granny]

Would they really re-make the swimming pool? I like hidden springs pool as it is. Why would they re-design it if all that is being added are some cabins. Unless we are talking about a whole city's worth of cabins, which would just not be welcome.

I think they are referring to the main pool when they talk about lazy river, etc. Clearly the main pool could use a little juicing up (at least a better slide) and a lazy river could fit nicely into the theming of the courtyard area.

As for the cabins...that sounds the most far fetched of the ideas. We have heard over the year that VWL is so small because of the marshland preserve restrictions in the area. Unless the beach they are talking about is the existing beach which would be horrible.

I would assume that the new points would be priced at about the VGF & Poly DVC point levels? To justify that, there would be a whole set of points with an expiration much later than 2042. I guess since they are not part of the existing VWL building it won't matter that much as they can still do what they want to VWL existing building in 2042 without messing with any additional villas added on during a conversion.

So...what would the point structure look like for all these new studios? Somehow I don't see the points chart as being the same schedule as the existing studios.

 

[Corinne]

Thanks for posting Blossom and Jimmy! This sounds so interesting! I love the idea of a lazy river at the Lodge! I cannot believe the WL occupancy is at 40-50%

I truly love the VWL, but the Epcot area has always been the sweet spot for me and my family. Our first stay with our boys was at the Yacht Club, and we stayed there numerous times prior to becoming DVC members. It holds a really special place in our hearts, and I have always hoped there would be a DVC option there....although part of me does worry about how big DVC has become.

 

[Granny]

I truly love the VWL, but the Epcot area has always been the sweet spot for me and my family.

No problem, Corinne. Us Groupies have never had a problem with Resort Bigamy.


I do believe that those first impressions and memories are what can bind people to a resort. My guess is that if we had stayed at, for example, BWV as our first stay at WDW then that would hold that kind of place in our memories.

Having said that, we still would have been jaw-dropping on our first WL visit.


Just sayin'...

 

[Corinne]

No problem, Corinne. Us Groupies have never had a problem with Resort Bigamy.


I do believe that those first impressions and memories are what can bind people to a resort. My guess is that if we had stayed at, for example, BWV as our first stay at WDW then that would hold that kind of place in our memories.

Having said that, we still would have been jaw-dropping on our first WL visit.


Just sayin'...

Resort Bigamy! I love it!

And ITA, our first visit to the WL was most certainly jaw dropping as well!

 

[Corinne]

Jimmy, it sounds like you had a wonderful celebration for your sons bday! How fun for you all that your dad had such a great time!

 

[bgraham34]

I know the original plan was to expand or add another building onto the DVC Villas. A Pool with a Lazy River was to be added that was only for DVC members. This plan was shot down pretty early.

 

[Granny]

I know the original plan was to expand or add another building onto the DVC Villas. A Pool with a Lazy River was to be added that was only for DVC members. This plan was shot down pretty early.

bgraham...nice to see you!

Yeah...I'll bet that idea was shot down quickly. Can't imagine anything exclusive to DVC members would go well...just look at the WL guests who use the free laundry at VWL that is supposed to be members only.

 

[bgraham34]

bgraham...nice to see you!

Yeah...I'll bet that idea was shot down quickly. Can't imagine anything exclusive to DVC members would go well...just look at the WL guests who use the free laundry at VWL that is supposed to be members only.

Thanks,

Yeah I am surprised there is no room key or something needed for it. It just raises members dues up, not much but still.

 

[twinklebug]

I know the original plan was to expand or add another building onto the DVC Villas. A Pool with a Lazy River was to be added that was only for DVC members. This plan was shot down pretty early.

It was mentioned that VWL & WL are basically surrounded by protected wetlands. I've seen how in construction there are sneaky tricks to get away with building on such spots, but some of them take years to dry out the land to get it re-declared, and let's face it, they're just not ethical. If anyone knows where we can find a survey map of the area, please share. I'd be very interested to see if it shows any construction-worthy land out there (other than the parking lot) to build on. Not that I'm great at deciphering survey maps.

Re: DVC exclusive pool: Isn't the BLT pool exclusive to just folk staying at BLT? Or are CR guests also permitted to use it... which would explain why it's so hard to find a seat.

 

[bgraham34]

It was mentioned that VWL & WL are basically surrounded by protected wetlands. I've seen how in construction there are sneaky tricks to get away with building on such spots, but some of them take years to dry out the land to get it re-declared, and let's face it, they're just not ethical. If anyone knows where we can find a survey map of the area, please share. I'd be very interested to see if it shows any construction-worthy land out there (other than the parking lot) to build on. Not that I'm great at deciphering survey maps.

Re: DVC exclusive pool: Isn't the BLT pool exclusive to just folk staying at BLT? Or are CR guests also permitted to use it... which would explain why it's so hard to find a seat.

I used to have a survey map but I no longer have it. I know there were plans to incorporate River Country into it but the cost was too high. BUt they do have some land by the Lodge that can be built on. I don't recall if it was in front or behind the Villas.

 

[Beazle]

Hi everyone. We are from the UK and love VWL . We are back there next Thursday ! Our pool will be crowded though because the main resort pool closes for refurb on Wednesday.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It was mentioned that VWL & WL are basically surrounded by protected wetlands. I've seen how in construction there are sneaky tricks to get away with building on such spots, but some of them take years to dry out the land to get it re-declared, and let's face it, they're just not ethical. If anyone knows where we can find a survey map of the area, please share. I'd be very interested to see if it shows any construction-worthy land out there (other than the parking lot) to build on. Not that I'm great at deciphering survey maps. Re: DVC exclusive pool: Isn't the BLT pool exclusive to just folk staying at BLT? Or are CR guests also permitted to use it... which would explain why it's so hard to find a seat.

The BLT pool is only for BLT guests. But still built way too small. Kind of a Disney/DVC theme IMO.

 

[jimmytammy]

Happy Birthday DODIE!!!!