What happened to Eagle Pines DVC?

[jpeka65844]

I was just surfing another Disney site and pulled up an article from 2001 about DVC's expansion into something called Eagle Pines. Where exactly is this and why did it never happen?

 

[Caskbill]

Eagle Pines was announced prior to SSR. Shortly after the announcement, the old Disney Institute area became available and DVC developed SSR at that site. It made sense because a lot of the infrastructure was already in place there, whereas EP would need to be developed from the ground up.

The location of EP was going to be down by the campground and the Eagle Pines golf course.

If you exited OKW, turned left, went to the traffic light, and turned right, went down past Port Orleans, eventually you'd come to a "T" intersection where you would have to go left or right. That intersection would have become the entrance to the EP resort. Instead of a "T" intersection, you would have driven straight across, into the EP resort.

 

[JimC]

That area of the property will be developed by Four Seasons.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Walt Disney World Resort has announced two projects as part of an expansion plan for the resort in Central Florida: a 900-acre luxury resort anchored by the prestigious Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a 450-acre retail, dining and lodging district on the western edge of the Disney resort.

Along the northeast border of Walt Disney World Resort, Disney plans to convert its Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge golf courses into a luxury resort and golf community. The development will include a luxury hotel, 18-hole championship golf course, single- and multi-family vacation homes and fractional ownership vacation homes.

Disney entered into a letter of intent with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to bring these two complementary and respected brands together to anchor a new world-class family resort destination. Once terms of the project are finalized, site work could begin later this year, with a hotel opening forecasted for 2010.

On the western edge of the resort, Disney is planning a mixed-use tourist commercial district just outside Disney's gateway entrance. The master-planned development is comparable in size to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The project combines third-party branded lodging, retail and dining in a pedestrian-friendly environment and will be another example of Disney's commitment to unique placemaking. Located outside Disney's gateway around the interchange where Western Way meets the Western Beltway, early development plans include 4,000 to 5,000 low- to mid-rise, value-priced lodging units and 300,000-500,000 square feet of commercial space. Designed around a retail village, the development will become a convenient shopping and service center for cast members, nearby residents and Central Florida visitors.

The project is currently in the design stage. Site work and branding is anticipated to begin later this year. The project will be built in phases over the next 8 to 10 years.

 

[drusba]

9/11 killed Eagle Pines/Osprey Ridge golf course area resort, which is located east of Fort Wilderness. It was announced a few months before and then after 9/11, Disney suffered significant decrease in guests and closed Disney Institute "until further notice." Obviously recognizing opportunity out of disaster -- Disney Institute had been its weakest link for occupancy even before 9/11 -- Disney decided to remove all the Institute villas and put SSR, a DVC resort in its place. Now SSR is a huge success (when it comes to DVC, if you build it, they will come).

As noted above, Disney has now gone in a new direction for the Eagle Pines area by partnering with Four Seasons to build a new resort that will include hotel and fractional ownership interests (very expensive timeshares where you purchase a significant amount of time per year) that will include hotel like units, villas and homes. The Eagle Pines golf course is now closed. Osprey remains open until they get going with the construction. There will be a new clubhouse in the area where the Eagle 17th and 18th holes were. There will be one golf course when all is said and done which will consist of part of Eagle, part of Osprey and some new holes, and the ninth hole will bring you back to the clubhouse. The golf course itself will remain in the control of Disney.