A "Notice of Commencement" recently filed with Orange County suggests big things to come at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.
In the summer of 2014, DVCNews detailed tentative plans for the next several Disney Vacation Club projects throughout Walt Disney World. According to that report, Disney's Wilderness Lodge was the odds-on favorite for resort-wide renovations and conversion of hotel rooms to DVC villas.
With most major projects at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort nearing completion, Disney is preparing to move forward with its next resort initiative.
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Wilderness Lodge Notice of Commencement
According to the Notice, Walt Disney Imagineering will install a temporary construction trailer adjacent to the Wilderness Lodge. While otherwise light on details, the need for such a facility suggests that pending work is far more substantial than interior cosmetic upgrades.
Previous reports indicated that an unspecified number of hotel rooms would be converted to DVC villas. Disney's Wilderness Lodge & Villas is currently home to 728 hotel rooms and 136 timeshare accommodations. It is the second smallest DVC property at Walt Disney World, slightly larger than the 100-room Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Other modifications to the resort are said to include an expansion of pool facilities and construction of waterside cabins or other theme-appropriate structures similar to the Polynesian bungalows.
More recent rumors suggest that the Disney Vacation Club facilities may feature a concierge lounge. Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas is currently the only DVC property to offer club level accommodations. Five units on the sixth floor of Jambo House have access to the concierge lounge, daily housekeeping and other modest perks at a cost of approximately 25% more points per night than identical non-club villas.
Despite the fact that Disney's Polynesian Villas was only recently offered for sale, construction lead times of 2-3 years require advance planning for all projects. The stated Expiration Date for use of the Wilderness Lodge construction trailer is December 17, 2017.
Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will open tomorrow, April 1, 2015. The timeshare component consists of 360 Deluxe Studio villas and 20 watertop bungalows. A Polynesian sales window of approximately 3 years would mesh nicely with an expansion of the Wilderness Lodge DVC debuting in late-2017 or early-2018.
Thanks to Wil and Tim H. for information used in this report!
