The latest Disney Vacation Club complex at Walt Disney World is an expansion of Disneys Wilderness Lodge. New waterfront cabins will soon dot the shore of Bay Lake surrounding the existing resort. Of course, the new buildings come with new storytelling from Disney’s Imagineers.
Part of that involves some name changes on the DVC side. What’s currently known as the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge will become the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. According to DVC, this indicates the more rustic community identity that Imagineers can bring to life in a new way, including a new name for the upgraded pool – Hidden Springs Pool.
The new development will be called Copper Creek Villas & Cabins. It’s currently under construction (you get a great view from the express monorail to the Magic Kingdom) or Google maps.
Wilderness Lodge itself, is in the middle of a major makeover sending some much needed love and attention to a resort that was beginning to show some wear around the edges. Room upgrades were finished last year. When complete Wilderness Lodge should once again be one of my favorite places to stay at Walt Disney World, not to mention, the best value for a deluxe resort on property.
Like the rest of Walt Disney World the addition of cabins at Wilderness Lodge DVC and the Bungalows at Polynesian offers a new level of luxury for guests, and the price tag to go with it. What do you think of the plans for this DVC expansion?
I’m just worried how the expansion might impact the wilderness theme. I’m reserving judgement until it is completed.
I love this! Wilderness lodge is our home DVC property (aka where we’re deeded) but we haven’t stayed there in years, mostly because other villa locations were newer and had better upgrades. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
I don’t like the idea of “bungalows” or “cabins” as DVC Villas, mainly because there are so few of them and they cost so many points per night that the majority of DVC members will never be able to use them. They might look great, but if people are never able to book them, they’re useless to 99.9% of members.
I’d much rather see an expansion that builds a new wing of regular Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. Maybe a wing that resembles a grand lodge at the Grand Canyon or some other national park.
Each time they build something “new” the price tag goes way up..out of reach of most middle class families. So that instead of visiting every year…it would now have to be every 2-3 or more? Disney is not being smart as far as I am concerned. If we could afford to come every year….they got more $$$$ from us in terms of dining, park tickets and souvenirs than if we have to come less often.
Keep in mind that the DVC is not aimed at “most middle class families.” This is vacation property — most middle class families don’t have a second vacation home. Disney raises prices to keep up with demand and the with market value of the real estate. It’s also not about saving money; it’s about always wanting to stay in the best rooms you can get.
You have to think about your DVC purchase as another mortgage, rather than the cost of hotel rooms. We actually refinanced our house and folded the cost of the DVC points into our mortgage when we bought in years ago, making it fairly painless. We still have to pay the yearly maintenance fees and property taxes on top of that. It’s a luxury to have a DVC membership.
If you want to come every year, it’s actually cheaper to do that by staying at a value resort — the cost for a week at a value resort once a year is significantly less than the equivalent cost of DVC points plus yearly maintenance fees. DVC is for those wanting to stay in the highest-end properties on a regular basis. If you’re staying at the Grand Floridian or the Contemporary every year, then DVC will eventually save you money, but it takes years to get there.
Remember that there are less expensive all star resorts as well as the art of animation resort and moderate resorts. Most of the Disney Vacation Club resorts price tags are for DVC members that can use points. I do agree though that Disney should open a less expensive villas resort priced around the moderate resort mark like the cabins at Fort wilderness lodge right now. They offer a home feel with a kitchen and one bedroom for a ok price. But what about Canadiens and other tourists with a bad exchange rate. They need less expensive hotels to stay at that are clean unlike the all star resorts and lower end moderate resorts and the answer is the higher end resorts but they are to $$$$$. This is a problem that has to be solved. As well as the really high price dining plans that should be costimizable to fit the need of the person.
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