Walt Disney World Resort Outdoor Scene — Courtesy: Annsley/Shutterstock
A significant resort project has been shelved by Walt Disney World Resort, and this is probably not a one-time move.
Many initiatives at Disney World have been abandoned throughout the years. They seem promising, grabbing people’s attention with their audacious plans and alluring ideas, but before they even get a chance to be implemented, they vanish into obscurity.
Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was one such project that attracted a lot of interest and was revealed by Walt Disney World Resort in 2018. Located between Disney’s Fort Wilderness property & Campground and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, on the same grounds as the cherished River Country, this property was poised to be a beacon of luxury and enchantment on the magnificent Bay Lake.
The original idea for Reflections was incredibly ambitious. With more than 900 rooms—many of which were Disney Vacation Club villas—the resort sought to reimagine what an upmarket Disney property could be. A further layer of wonder was added when a restaurant with a Princess and the Frog (2009) theme was promised. This attracted guests with the promise of great dining surrounded by the captivating world of Disney animation.
But like with many grand projects, there were numerous challenges along the way to fruition. Disney pulled any references to Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge from their blog post announcing the D23 Expo in 2019, which was an odd move. The project’s abrupt quiet left enthusiasts and admirers wondering what would become of it. In 2023, Disney stayed silent and provided no formal information about the whereabouts of the previously eagerly awaited resort.
The fact that building was not taking place in the approved area added credence to the cancellation claims. Disney subtly withdrew all building equipment from the location, giving astute observers cause to surmise that the dream of Reflections might have vanished like mist over Bay Lake in the morning. The lack of any additional permission filings suggested that Disney had put the project on indefinite hold.
But just when it appeared that Reflections had vanished forever, there was a ray of hope visible in the distance. Though it still doesn’t seem feasible, a recent permit extension from this past fall that granted a five-year reprieve hinted at the chance of a rebirth.
Is it possible that Disney still has plans to make Reflections a reality? Although the extension is encouraging, it does not offer a firm guarantee of the project’s resuscitation. Uncertainty surrounds Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge’s future, as the property is expected to stay idle for the foreseeable future.
Disney has a long and distinguished history of taking on large-scale projects and then giving them up midway through. Disney’s America, a planned historical theme park planned for Virginia in the 1990s, is one such instance. The proposal, which aimed to honor the diverse fabric of American history, was eventually doomed before construction could begin due to strong resistance from locals and preservationists.
Comparably, the history of Disney’s Mineral King Resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California offers as a warning about environmental concerns superseding business goals. The project, which had been planned as a ski resort, was abandoned in the early 1970s after failing to gain traction in the face of growing resistance from environmental organizations and environmentalists.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
