Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Resort

[PortMickey]

I hope this resort is shut down like the second half of Pop Century and they get some time to rethink the concept.

I LOVE Ft. Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. I have grown up at FW since it opened in 1971 and it is the most unique special resort on property. It has a very different "vibe" then the rest of the resorts on property. If you have never stayed there, its hard to describe.

Reflections looks nice. It also looks like any other generic hotel you can find anywhere in the US. It looks like it was designed by a bunch of people in an office in California that have never even spent one night at FW. That resort looks like any new resort on I Drive. It doesn't even look very Disney. (Wilderness Lodge, Poly, GF, Boardwalk, etc.) This huge generic resort on top of FW could really do permanent damage to the Fort's vibe. Buildings last a long time, especially timeshares. With all the land they have, I can't believe they are building this on the campground beach.

I understand that is prime Real Estate and it a business. I'm always happy to see a new resort at WDW. If they get it right, it could really be special. But this doesn't look very "Special" or "Disney". Something along the lines of the old Wild West Riverfront town "Buffalo Junction" Resort concept they developed in the 90s seems like it would have been a perfect fit for that area. Maybe they can circle back to those ideas if it's on the shelf long enough.

 

[jlwhitney]

I am bummed because it was gonna have a lazy river.

 

[skeeter31]

I am bummed because it was gonna have a lazy river.

Typhoon Lagoon still has a lazy river. Plus I’m sure the one that would have been at Reflections would have been smaller than you were hoping and probably a let down.

 

[jlwhitney]

Typhoon Lagoon still has a lazy river. Plus I’m sure the one that would have been at Reflections would have been smaller than you were hoping and probably a let down.

No guarentee it would be a let down, its still a nice feature, I was overall looking forward to the hotel.

 

[Sandisw]

virtually no chance it will be canceled, at least for the DVC portion. A billion dollars in profits is not something that Disney is going to give up. Obliviously there is some level of delay, the question is just how long, I think much will depend on how fast existing new resort points sell.

I could see the cash side going away or being converted to more DVC

Putting it on hold allows them to ride out the storm with sales of RIV. Given the current situation, not having this to come online in 2022 for sales gives them breathing room if it takes awhile to get RiV back up to speed for sales

 

[WhitneyMB]

I’m disappointed and, like others, hope the project is ultimately only delayed not canceled. If they use the time to tweak some of the plans, and end up with an even better final project, then I’ll be satisfied.

 

[firefly_ris]

If they resume at some point, I hope they tweak some of the ideas or a more cohesive overall theme.... or something that would fit a little more nicely alongside Ft. Wilderness. The whole thing was kind of blah and also all over the place thematically to me.

 

[pinkxray]

I was looking forward to staying here. I didn’t love the name or the outside but thought the rooms and nature touches they had in the artwork looked cute.

I can’t see how they can cancel and still keep the restrictions on Riviera. I just purchased my first DVC contract resale. I was going to hold off until Reflections to buy direct. The biggest reason for me to spend the extra money to get direct points is that I am blocked out of new resorts with resale points. I don’t go to Disneyland so just having Riviera is not enough for me to buy direct over resale.

 

[mamaofsix]

It would be great to see some information as to why reports are that it is actually cancelled, not just postponed.

As others, I was really looking forward to this resort. The concept art of the interior looked incredible. Heavily themed, unique and perfectly fitting nature theme for the location. And so many Disney character touches. Not sure why some thought it looked like a generic hotel - maybe they hadn't seen all of the interior concept art that's been circulating. It's the first resort I've been excited about in a long time.

 

[hertamaniac]

If cancelled, I do wonder what they plan on doing with the cleared out space for the short-term. Maybe extend the barn area so the horses can roam in a fenced area.

 

[NoTime42]

It would be great to see some information as to why reports are that it is actually cancelled, not just postponed.

As others, I was really looking forward to this resort. The concept art of the interior looked incredible. Heavily themed, unique and perfectly fitting nature theme for the location. And so many Disney character touches. Not sure why some thought it looked like a generic hotel - maybe they hadn't seen all of the interior concept art that's been circulating. It's the first resort I've been excited about in a long time.

The rumors say the construction site is being cleaned out and being returned to a pre-construction state, including spraying grass seed around.
If true, this would indicate it will be at least several years before any construction is started or resumed at this site.

 

[jknezek]

Really hoping this is cancelled. It was, quite literally, on top of The Fort. Ridiculous given the space they have. I love Fort Wilderness and have no problems with a resort between WL and FW, but it doesn't have to sit on top of the campground. So close they had to move buildings. I know the campground is pretty much the "least resort" as far as corporate goes, but it has a huge following. And if it was managed better it would work so much better as part of how Disney runs. But since they seem unable to make those decisions, they instead decided to foist another resort right on top.

I hope it's cancelled, I suspect it is simply delayed. The only reason that property will ever be safe from a resort is if they find some reason it can't be built on. I have little faith in that happening. But a reprieve is always welcome.

 

[Eric Smith]

If cancelled, I do wonder what they plan on doing with the cleared out space for the short-term. Maybe extend the barn area so the horses can roam in a fenced area.

I would guess they wouldn't do anything with it. They'll probably let it sit until they get to a point where they can build something on the site.

 

[hertamaniac]

I would guess they wouldn't do anything with it. They'll probably let it sit until they get to a point where they can build something on the site.

Expanding the area to have the horses in a pseudo/real pasture would make the longer walk from Settlement Trading Post area to the barn more visually palatable in my opinion. It also still allows them to easily build onsite as the only structures would likely be fencing, water bins, etc.

 

[gharter]

Not a surprise that it is at least postponed given the time they were closed and lost income.
Would still like to see it built in the future.
It looked nice, but wasn't wowed by any of the artwork. This could give them time to tweak the ideas.

 

[mamaofsix]

The rumors say the construction site is being cleaned out and being returned to a pre-construction state, including spraying grass seed around.
If true, this would indicate it will be at least several years before any construction is started or resumed at this site.

Right, but that would be a postponement, not an all out cancel. Is that all people are going on to say it's been completely axed? Put off for a few years is a lot different than not happening at all...

 

[NoTime42]

Right, but that would be a postponement, not an all out cancel. Is that all people are going on to say it's been completely axed? Put off for a few years is a lot different than not happening at all...

Yes, Disney plans a lot of stuff that gets shelved, and some of those plans are revived or revisited.

They may refresh or re-do those plans when they are ready to build in the future (ala the 2nd half of PoP that was redesigned and finished as AoA).

 

[Drfate102]

This is sad. This was the DVC that we were going to buy into. We want to buy direct so we would have access to all future resorts and Rivera just doesn't fit us. We were really hyped for this.

 

[SL6827]

I was looking forward to staying here. I didn’t love the name or the outside but thought the rooms and nature touches they had in the artwork looked cute.

I can’t see how they can cancel and still keep the restrictions on Riviera. I just purchased my first DVC contract resale. I was going to hold off until Reflections to buy direct. The biggest reason for me to spend the extra money to get direct points is that I am blocked out of new resorts with resale points. I don’t go to Disneyland so just having Riviera is not enough for me to buy direct over resale.

Right, that is what I said. That I bet Disney is dissapointed with the fact that their DVC-2 project will now at least be very much delayed. With them only having one DVC-2 resort, that could make for much harder sales of direct points.

 

[Eric Smith]

This is sad. This was the DVC that we were going to buy into. We want to buy direct so we would have access to all future resorts and Rivera just doesn't fit us. We were really hyped for this.

Totally understand the feeling. Do you have interest in Disneyland? That tower seems to be still going forward. We’re targeting that one since that’s the only property I’d be confident about being able to re-sell even with the restrictions.