New DVC Between FW & WL Announced

[Lehuaann]

I don’t care for the artist rendition, but have been anticipating the announcement of this DVC location. I like the idea of it being for families.

Thoughts?

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/new...el-announced-for-walt-disney-worlds-bay-lake/

 

[bama_ed]

We all knew it was coming some day, Lehuann - guess that time is now. Thanks for the post.

No name yet? Huh.

Built between two resorts with the name "Wilderness" and they claim it will be nature-inspired? That took a lot of brainstorming.

When they announced the Backyard BBQ wouldn't be coming back in the spring, that was the sure sign.

Bama Ed

PS - interesting it will have hotel rooms and DVC "villas". To me, "villas" are for larger parties/groups. Does that mean no DVC studio/1BR (which would accomodate parties/groups that the proposed hotel rooms could match up to)? Guess they have research to support the mix.

 

[ljcrochet]

PS - interesting it will have hotel rooms and DVC "villas". To me, "villas" are for larger parties/groups. Does that mean no DVC studio/1BR (which would accomodate parties/groups that the proposed hotel rooms could match up to)? Guess they have research to support the mix.

Villia's is just what they call DVC rooms. Usually some of the 2 bedrooms are made up of a studio and a 1 bedroom that can be booked as either a 2 bedroom, or a studio and 1 bedroom. T

 

[PaHunter]

Call me unimpressed. 900 rooms right by the campground.

 

[Hopefully]

We all knew it was coming some day, Lehuann - guess that time is now. Thanks for the post.

No name yet? Huh.

Built between two resorts with the name "Wilderness" and they claim it will be nature-inspired? That took a lot of brainstorming.

When they announced the Backyard BBQ wouldn't be coming back in the spring, that was the sure sign.

Bama Ed

PS - interesting it will have hotel rooms and DVC "villas". To me, "villas" are for larger parties/groups. Does that mean no DVC studio/1BR (which would accomodate parties/groups that the proposed hotel rooms could match up to)? Guess they have research to support the mix.

We are a couple and DVC Owners. We usually stay in Studio “Villas, which is really just a hotel room with 1 bed(most), a couch and a small kitchenette.
I love FW and hope this development honors it, not ruins it

 

[Lehuaann]

Call me unimpressed. 900 rooms right by the campground.

It says more than 900. Makes me wonder what the final number of units will end up being.

We are a couple and DVC Owners. We usually stay in Studio “Villas, which is really just a hotel room with 1 bed(most), a couch and a small kitchenette.
I love FW and hope this development honors it, not ruins it

We love FW as well and are hoping this has all the charm of FW. It will also be interesting to see the transport between resorts and if there is going to be golf carts allowed.

 

[Fsudisney]

This makes me soooo nervous for the Fort. Someone on Instagram just posted that concierge just said it would be on the site of River country and mickeys backyard bbq. We know how close that is to the settlement so I really hope this doesn’t ruin the feel of it there.

 

[bama_ed]

This makes me soooo nervous for the Fort. Someone on Instagram just posted that concierge just said it would be on the site of River country and mickeys backyard bbq. We know how close that is to the settlement so I really hope this doesn’t ruin the feel of it there.

Oh yes, the design has been kicked around here in the past, seems like every six months or so. Gonna take out the Horse Barn/TCD, River Country, and the Backyard BBQ.

EDIT: the tiggerdad map of the new FW/DVC resort (as it was at the time) is included below in post #19. For visual reference, where you see the square parking lot in the middle of the drawing, Pioneer Hall in the rectangle just up above the right corner. So HDDR and TE will carry on, it appears, but behind it will be the construction zone.

Bama Ed

PS - I can't get over the fact after all these years of planning this thing (designs floated out in 2011 as early as I recall) they haven't got a name picked yet. And as Lehuaann indicated, the picture is pretty generic.

 

[4077]

Trails End gonna be busy....

 

[Lehuaann]

Oh yes, the design has been kicked around here in the past, seems like every six months or so. Gonna take out the Horse Barn/TCD, River Country, and the Backyard BBQ.

We put the design (as it stood at the time) in this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/time-for-river-country-to-be-developed.3668702/ in post #8. For visual reference, where you see the square parking lot in the middle of the drawing, Pioneer Hall in the rectangle just up above the right corner. So HDDR and TE will carry on, it appears, but behind it will be the construction zone.

Bama Ed

PS - I can't get over the fact after all these years of planning this thing (designs floated out in 2011 as early as I recall) they haven't got a name picked yet. And as Lehuaann indicated, the picture is pretty generic.

Thanks for the link. Shoot, now I have missed emotions about this. Is the parking lot going to be right behind HDDR/TE?? Hopefully they plan to add some great amenities/restaurants and not horn in on FW. I can’t imagine not being to do walk ups anymore at TE because people can park there.

I love DVC, but not at FW’s expense

 

[Lehuaann]

Trails End gonna be busy....

One of my fears - exactly!

 

[amcc]

Thanks for the link. Shoot, now I have missed emotions about this. Is the parking lot going to be right behind HDDR/TE?? Hopefully they plan to add some great amenities/restaurants and not horn in on FW. I can’t imagine not being to do walk ups anymore at TE because people can park there.

I love DVC, but not at FW’s expense

Let me start by saying that I don't necessarily hate this project despite my deep love for the Fort. That said, this parking lot is the ONE THING about this project that really upsets me. A parking lot is the most noxious use of space in any kind of development and Disney is putting one next door to a supposedly peaceful, natural area. I love urban design and this parking lot tells me that the architects for the project were given a delineated site to design the project in and that they were not encouraged to expand the boundaries to see how connections and adjacent uses could best fit with their design. A parking lot in that area will destroy the ambiance of the settlement no matter how much landscaping they do (note that the landscape buffer is pretty inconsequential and that a new road for service to Pioneer Hall and access to the parking lot will cut off the existing approach to Pioneer Hall.) As to my previous point of the limited scope of the design, note that access from the campground to Pioneer Hall is not shown as improved. Theres a small path from the bus loop and the cart path but both are minor and seem like afterthoughts. There is so much land in that area - MOVE THE PARKING LOT.

 

[Teamubr]

Progress.

I guess that's what they call it. Like Ed said, most of us that have been watching this, knew it was coming eventually. When I was down last month, I did quite a bit of looking around. There is a lot of space between WL and the Fort. The overlays do show it pushing up close behind the Settlement, but I'm willing to see what future drawings and plans really show. The other thing I've noticed is how a berm and landscaping can hide quite a bit. It is fun to pull up Google Maps while riding the WDW buses and realizing there are entire structures or large lots just on the other side of a hill or hedge that you would otherwise never know was there.

This should make for some good investigating, observing and speculating at the 2020 DIS meet.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

If given the choice between dank, haunted looking, mosquito infested old River Country and this...

I'd choose the bugs.

I just can't see a positive thing for FW out of this, I just can't. Maybe I'm wrong, hope I am.

 

[KristinU]

And there it is. Long time coming, that's for sure.

I'm torn on this...on one hand I'm glad that we'll have another space to bike to for a treat or something, but on the other hand I don't love the encroachment into the laid-back and peaceful feel of the Fort. Not to mention, now we'll be the 4th stop on the smaller boats!

It is clear that DVC is very profitable for them and they don't see that market drying up any time soon.

 

[tinkerjo]

I personally have never seen the value of DVC. I have run the numbers and feel it is way more expensive than what I normally would pay, but then I don’t stay deluxe or concierge.

 

[4077]

I personally have never seen the value of DVC. I have run the numbers and feel it is way more expensive than what I normally would pay, but then I don’t stay deluxe or concierge.

I believe you are correct...they sell the value as staying at similar accommodations over whatever the number of years is (7 years of vacations...and I think it was based on one week of vacation per year...) to pay/make back your investment. The 7 years was what it was at the time we started in 2009. We did a bit better than advertised as we bought resale.

 

[ilovedisneymm]

The architect and Disney know exactly what they're doing. That parking lot is perfectly placed...if your going to put another DVC/hotel on the other side...at some point taking out the preferred loops...revamping Poineer Hall maybe to mimic whatever future DVC has in mind. Unfourntaly, that is what I see when I look at that drawing on the other thread. That's the only way placing that parking lot where they did makes any sense at all.

They know the value of water front property and they're going to keep going with it.

This really stinks!

 

[bama_ed]

Ed, I’m still scratching my head. Looking at the attachment, why does the DVC parking lot need to be so close to the FW marina? No one will ever want to use FW’s front parking lot for anything FW related again.

It’s premium almost waterfront parking. Better than even WL. However, FW guests will still be required to use internal shuttles, purchase golf carts, etc. If they were so “nature inspired,” they’d come up with plan to keep vehicles far away, encourage the use of bikes, carts, and trails. It would help profits, as well.

My uninformed opinion, Lehuaann, is that they put the parking lot there because you don't have many other good places to put it (for 900 rooms plus DVC villas requires a lot of blacktop).

I think it was put there to keep everything on the north side of the WL-FW bus road. If you put it more to the left/west of the new development and still north of the bus road, the lake comes in a lot closer and you don't have as much space. The land on the south side of the bus road is lower by a couple feet which I've noticed when tramping through the woods following the old Fort Wilderness Railroad grade bed. It had to be built up 3-4 feet in the woods behind loop 700 (the newer leg that was built to serve River Country). I don't know if that low land is technically wetlands which triggers more environmental stuff. But if you go very far into the woods there at the Settlement Bus Depot, you will note quickly the land drops down a couple feet. That's nothing a Disney-sized construction engineer couldn't fix but it might be a consideration.

And don't you think they would still have a guard shack to get into the new resort parking lot? It would be run much like the Contemporary Resort/Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge/DVC's parking lots. We drive up to the door of our cabin or campsite - those poor folks can't do that (kinda feel sorry for them already).

I would think a resort that size would have a counter service and table service restaurant of average (not Signature) quality so poor Trails End doesn't get swamped. Counter and Table (off a menu) augments the FW offerings at Pioneer Hall and offers more dining variety which I think would be acceptable to campers as well.

Melissa (ilovedisneymm), you're trolling me about building on the Preferred loops. That's where I camp and now you're just messing with my head.

For reference, here was the diagram tiggerdad had that I referred to in the thread above.



Let's keep all the current conversation in this thread and not bump old threads. For my sanity if for no other reason. The year 2022 is a LONG way off....

Bama Ed

PS - in the map of tiggerdad's above, I've higlighted some landmarks in color: yellow is Pioneer Hall (Hoop Dee Doo Review, Trails End, Crockett's Tavern), orange is the Settlement Trading Post, and green is the replacement Mickey's Backyard BBQ Pavilion as shown in this rendering. (The Horse Barn/Tri-Circle-D Ranch would be rebuilt up by the horse ride corrals near the Outpost Bus Depot and main parking lot).

PPS - does anyone else notice: no golf cart parking at all down by the Fort boat dock?

 

[PaHunter]

This was an announced Deluxe hotel. I am sure there will be a high faluten, hoity toity suits required sit down service restaurant. Just not fond of the whole idea, really wanted water front campsites, with a steam train to MK.