Ft. Wilderness Cabins becoming DVC?

[DonMacGregor]

Now that’s how you research, communicate, and link to sources. You did much better than that article. Thanks!!!
.

Well, I'm not so sure that it's much better. There are quite a few "outlets" that reported on it, but even the PlanDisney page doesn't provide a link, just that they "reached out to a Cast Member", so your point about no official announcement still rings true. Plus, I really only dug a little deeper because I had the same questions that you and @KAT4DISNEY had. The suggestion that it's happened before is even more curious.

 

[bama_ed]

Folks really pool hop to that pool? I wouldn't have expected that.

Not sure who mentioned the pool. Not me obviously. But as was pointed out, locals have been known to infiltrate (as they might at every resort). But current Fort management did do a good job of keeping non-Fort guests out of the campground the last year or two for the Halloween period.

 

[DonMacGregor]

But current Fort management did do a good job of keeping non-Fort guests out of the campground the last year or two for the Halloween period.

Interesting. How do they do that, and how often?

 

[bama_ed]

Confused over what you mean to "get in for the Halloween and Christmas festivities"? I'd say no though. You can go to the Fort now for any of those things and not be staying there. And like all other DVC's you can book any time thru Disney hotels or rent from an owner.

Well, they did the Magic Band scans beginning a few days in advance of Halloween last year (I was at the Fort for 10/31) and whether it was theme parks, Disney Springs, bus runs or boats, you had to either be a guest staying at the Fort or have a revenue producing ADR (HDDR, horse ride, segway, archery, etc.) to get into FW. This year the reports were that it sounded like they started a day or two sooner with the restrictions and it helped relieve the crowds during those few days and nights. Cars driving in were turned away unless they were Fort guests or had a revenue ADR.

Halloween is not like a regular week at the Fort when visitors can come in etc. But I have no experience with Christmas although I would expect it to be similar for the same reasons.

Bama Ed

PS - in rereading my post today, I use the term "ADR" which implies Dining but what I meant was ANY kind of reservation made in advance (that obviously spends dollars at the Fort) so maybe I should have said AR but I'm not sure the meaning would have come across right.

 

[AwfulWaffle]

Hopefully more details coming soon over these cabins. Mainly how many will be dog friendly and will they still allow Christmas and Halloween decorations. Not one for the cabins usually it would be nice if we could bring our Westie and decorate the exterior for Christmas. Of course I would need to buy a second controller but likely still go resale since we only do Disney at Christmas once every three years and I wouldn’t care about the restrictions if the resale price is good. Doubt I want direct points here but never say never

 

[CarolynFH]

One of the loops is already dog friendly, so I expect they’ll keep it that way. I don’t know how many cabins are in that loop.

 

[champagne&disney]

One of the loops is already dog friendly, so I expect they’ll keep it that way. I don’t know how many cabins are in that loop.

I’m here this week with my dog and there are 72 cabins in loop 2700 where they put the dog people!

 

[bama_ed]

I’m here this week with my dog and there are 72 cabins in loop 2700 where they put the dog people!

There are in fact 72 cabins in loop 2700.

 

[mamaofsix]

We've got some interior renderings, according to dvcfan.com there will be bunkbeds. Opening summer 2024

 

[CarolynFH]

We've got some interior renderings, according to dvcfan.com there will be bunkbeds. Opening summer 2024

View attachment 816194

Looks similar to current in that there’s a foldout bed in the living room (was a Murphy for us in 1994, currently a sofa bed I think, will be a Murphy again) with a regular bed plus bunks in the bedroom (see ladder just inside bedroom doorway).

 

[mamaofsix]

Looks similar to current in that there’s a foldout bed in the living room (was a Murphy for us in 1994, currently a sofa bed I think, will be a Murphy again) with a regular bed plus bunks in the bedroom (see ladder just inside bedroom doorway).

There's a stronger south-west theme in the concept art than I expected (with the carpets, colors and fixtures). Not sure I love it.

 

[CarolynFH]

There's a stronger south-west theme in the concept art than I expected (with the carpets, colors and fixtures). Not sure I love it.

Darn, I hadn’t noticed that, but you’re right! No, no, no, Disney, bring back the Davy Crockett wilderness, not the American southwest!

 

[mamaofsix]

Darn, I hadn’t noticed that, but you’re right! No, no, no, Disney, bring back the Davy Crockett wilderness, not the American southwest!

Agreed!

 

[MonaMN]

There's a stronger south-west theme in the concept art than I expected (with the carpets, colors and fixtures). Not sure I love it.

I like it. The current cabins are so dark and the log cabin theme is not my jam.

 

[Doberge]

Looks similar to current in that there’s a foldout bed in the living room (was a Murphy for us in 1994, currently a sofa bed I think, will be a Murphy again) with a regular bed plus bunks in the bedroom (see ladder just inside bedroom doorway).

They've swapped the bathroom and living room/kitchen to put the bathroom on the opposite end with the kitchen / living room sandwiches between the bedroom and bathroom. I don't love the distance from the bedroom to the bathroom but I'll probably get get used to it because it is a more efficient use of space compared to current setup.

It's also a little different that they've turned the beds 90 degrees so they're not so close and that should leave more walk around room. So the bedroom is likely a little "longer" than previous. The bathroom is likely also a little wider. Together, it'll narrow the living space a tad but that will likely feel larger squared off with increased light. The length of the current living area makes it feel smaller in width, comparatively, and that's more or less "fixed" at the same time other spaces are bigger. Clever but risky, we'll see how people react to the distanced bathroom.

 

[Doberge]

I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about actual renderings of a new resort compared to the pages and pages of Poly association talk.

 

[CarolynFH]

They've swapped the bathroom and living room/kitchen to put the bathroom on the opposite end with the kitchen / living room sandwiches between the bedroom and bathroom.

How can you tell that? I thought maybe it was sort of at the foot of the bunk bed, out of the picture but kind of in current position relative to living room and bedroom.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about actual renderings of a new resort compared to the pages and pages of Poly association talk.

The question of whether the Poly tower will be part of the existing Poly condominium association or not has consumed the DISboards DVC community ever since the tower was announced. That distinction has tremendous implications in determining which DVC members will be able to book there and will also affect resale prices for the current Poly DVC. The questions about the cabins are roughly the same as the questions about the refurbishments of the existing DVC resorts ongoing now - nothing to argue about!

 

[gmi3804]

We've got some interior renderings, according to dvcfan.com there will be bunkbeds. Opening summer 2024
\\\

They've modern farmhoused the cabins! Eeew.

 

[mamaofsix]

View attachment 816298

They've modern farmhoused the cabins! Eeew.

It's really kind of weird, actually. I'm all for using lighter tones so it's not dark, but they could have done a light tone that kept the log cabin/ rustic look. Instead this is a strange mish-mash of styles. It looks cheap to me? Not sure I'd stay here.

Something like the pic attached (on a small scale) would have fit better IMO.

 

[Doberge]

How can you tell that? I thought maybe it was sort of at the foot of the bunk bed, out of the picture but kind of in current position relative to living room and bedroom.

A few things to deduce. First, there isn't any enough room for the bathroom in the direction that we are looking. The bedroom is likely a queen bed + the bunk that you spotted, and turned 90 degrees. The cabins are 12ish feet wide and queen beds are about 7 feet deep. That only leaves 5 feet to play with at the head or foot of the bed, and it's not enough room to have walk around space and bathroom space. Instead, from the rendering we deduce that the 5ish feet of space is allocated to the foot of the bed. It's most likely also where the bedroom storage will be integrated with TV across from foot of the bed. Above this are the big Rectangular windows (called clestory windows). From bed you'll be able to look up at a sloping ceiling toward these long windows and you'll be able to see the sky and trees more than neighboring cabins.

Second, the bathroom needs to be accessible from the living room because folks don't want guests on the Murphy bed to need to enter the bedroom to get to the bathroom. There's no bathroom in the picture, and as we discussed about the width, there's no where in this rendering to hide the bathroom.

Third, and important, is the exterior rendering with the clestory windows on the left (bedroom) and the right (previously unknown, where I'm suggesting bathroom will be located). These types of windows are used in spaces where you want a lot of light but maybe more privacy. They're also useful when wanting to use the wall space under the window for other uses (like proposed idea of storage furniture in the bedroom). I have some ideas for the bathroom but it'd be spitballing and I'm trying to stick here to what I'm confident we now know from the renderings.


Rough drawing. Ignore how doors are drawn because they'll likely not that close to bottom. But this gives an idea of general layout.


This is what a clestory window can look like above furniture, like I'm proposing storage under a bedroom window.




These two have nothing to do with layout ideas as much as just showing examples clestory windows can look like in a bathroom.