Walt Disney World has filed a new construction permit for Wilderness Lodge, suggesting a lengthy and large-scale project taking place at the #1 resort. This post shares relevant dates, details, and our speculation about what this work could possibly entail given both its duration and what’s happening around WDW.
Let’s start with the basics of the construction permit, which lists the nature of the project as “general construction.” That’s common of these permits, and it tells us absolutely nothing about the Wilderness Lodge project. They could be doing a soft goods room refurbishment or retheming the lobby to Brother Bear and “general construction” would apply.
Next, the permit is assigned to Adena Corporation, which is a regular collaborator with Walt Disney World. Adena Corporation’s core team has former Imagineers who have decades of experience on global projects. They’ve worked on everything from TRON Lightcycle Run in Magic Kingdom to TRON Lightcycle Power Run in Shanghai Disneyland (a little light-cycle humor), and just about everything in between and beyond that. Most recently, they helmed the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster refurbishment.
Additionally, the permit has been extended until December 25, 2026. The default 1-year timeline is never noteworthy, but shorter or longer ones always are, as they’re extended or reduced purposefully. Meaning that there’s a reason for doing so. In this case, that’s because the work is expected to take longer than one year. Obviously, that suggests a project that’s larger in scope and scale.
Finally, the permit is via Walt Disney World’s Facility Asset Management (FAM) group rather than Walt Disney Imagineering. This typically suggests that’s maintenance of an existing facility rather than a wholesale construction project. Resort refurbishments–even more ambitious ones like that of the Grand Floridian–go through FAM.
On the other hand, if they were building new waterfront cabins or adding a tower to the periphery of Wilderness Lodge, that would probably have an Imagineering permit. A new build also probably would’ve triggered a water management permit before this one, so it’s probably (hopefully) safe to rule that out.
As for what this permit is for, my hope is that this is simply the Copper Creek room refurbishment project that’s discussed in our Disney Vacation Club Resort Refurbishment Timeline. This was already announced at the condo association meeting late last year, and simply given a 2025 timeline.
These are relatively new rooms, so this is necessarily a soft goods refurbishment based solely on timing. However, it’s also worth pointing out that Grand Floridian and Polynesian Villas (the existing ones, not the new/upcoming ones) received soft goods refurbishments in the last few years that were more ambitious (in my estimation) than the standard variety.
Copper Creek opened just before the wave of Inova pull-down beds, so it’ll almost certainly get that–just like what happened with the Grand Floridian and Poly rooms. Hopefully, Disney also corrects some of the questionable design choices, which made it a bit of a thematic hodgepodge. Copper Creek had flashes of excellence before, and if this brings it on par with Boulder Ridge, it’ll be a huge win.
There’s a decent possibility the permit is for this work. That it was simply filed early and, since Disney doesn’t know quite how long the project will take, they erred on the side of caution in filing a permit that runs through Christmas 2026. Process of elimination kind of leads us to this being the most logical conclusion.
It’s definitely not a refurbishment to Boulder Ridge, as those rooms were just reimagined over the last couple years and–as we’ve mentioned repeatedly–the Boulder Ridge Villas are our new #1 rooms in all of Walt Disney World.
It’s also almost certainly not the regular ole resort rooms. In case you missed it (there was a lot going on), that side of Wilderness Lodge was redone during the phased reopening back in 2021. While I don’t completely love them, the new hotel rooms at Wilderness Lodge do a pretty good job striking the right balance between themed design and modern luxury. Regardless of quality, there’s no reason to revisit them.
I guess it’s possible that Disney has decided to convert more of the Wilderness Lodge hotel inventory into Disney Vacation Club, but I’m highly skeptical of that. The timing just doesn’t make sense. The hotel rooms are still “new” by Walt Disney World standards, and there’s already a ton of DVC inventory available for purchase or coming online. I’d be surprised if they muddied the waters of their marketing efforts even further by adding to that pool. Then again, I’ve been surprised by DVC’s aggressiveness in the last couple of years, so who knows.
Another theoretical possibility is a pool refurbishment. We’ve been seeing this more and more with Walt Disney World pools, but not anything of this duration. But it’s possible a pressing issue was discovered with the feature pool and it’s in need of urgent work–and they don’t know how long it’ll last, so they went with an expiration date way into the future. I don’t know enough about pools (or the history of work on Wilderness Lodge pools) to assess the plausibility of this.
It could also be the water features in and around Wilderness Lodge even if it’s not the pool proper. There’s the babbling brook that starts in the lobby, continues outdoors and becomes a waterfall. There are also the geysers between the pool and lake that have been problematic for years. (This was another big project back in 2021, so I’d hope they don’t need to fixed already again.)
Or, who knows. The permit does expire on December 25, 2026. Maybe they’re already undertaking elaborate preparations to make that the best Christmas ever at Wilderness Lodge, with the return of Humphrey’s Gingerbread Cabin and a light display that would make us forget all about the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights. I somehow doubt that…especially because it wouldn’t trigger a construction permit…but I can dream!
My fear is that it’s a large scale reimagining of the resort as a whole or the lobby. I’m skeptical of this being the case given that Walt Disney World has bigger “fish to fry” on that front. And if anything, it sure seems like Disney has pulled back from its grand lobby overhaul projects (they still haven’t redone the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, or BoardWalk lobbies–despite starting projects at all three).
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m biased. I’m apprehensive about any changes to Wilderness Lodge, based on a mixture of past refurbishments and expansions to and around the resort. My opinion of the Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge proposal is far from positive and I hate how the resort has lost trees and widened walkways over the years.
The only real exception to this is the room redesigns. Boulder Ridge got a lot better with its recent redo, and I think Copper Creek is much likely to get better than it is to get worse. Even the above-referenced new hotel rooms turned out about as well as could’ve been expected. (I think they’re far from perfect, but better than they could’ve been.)
I also haven’t been wild about some of the smaller-scale changes to Wilderness Lodge that probably go unnoticed by most guests, which as the carpeting in the hallways of the DVC wing in the main building (and elsewhere). That looks like it’s trying too hard to be modern…and failing at it. The old carpet was so much more beautiful and on-theme.
I’m not trying to be nitpicky–there have been other positive changes to Wilderness Lodge over the years. The Cascade Cabins are fantastic, and a thoughtful addition to the shoreline. Geyser Point Bar & Grill is a simple but fantastic addition offering some of the best open-air atmosphere, views, and food in the Magic Kingdom area. Heck, I even love Story Book Dining at Artist Point and recognize that, as much as we loved it, the former Signature Restaurant wasn’t particularly popular.
Nevertheless, I approach any other changes at Wilderness Lodge–especially to its core design–with a tremendous amount of skepticism and a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” attitude. I’m not one of those people who thinks modern Imagineering is incapable of the creative output of the 1990s teams. But I do very much think they are given parameters and denied resources for resorts on par with those that opened in the 1990s. So same result, different reason.
I’m particularly “protective” of Wilderness Lodge. If this were a permit for Old Key West or Saratoga Springs, I’d probably ignore it–only providing a passing update in our construction timeline tracker. But again, Wilderness Lodge is my personal #1 resort at Walt Disney World. It’s also our favorite spot during the Christmas season. When it comes to reimaginings/construction at Wilderness Lodge, this means more scrutiny–not less. The stakes are higher here.
Wilderness Lodge is the pinnacle of Imagineering at Walt Disney World and has been since the resort opened. Thematically, the only resort that even comes close is Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is basically a sister resort to Wilderness Lodge from an architecture and design perspective. Changes at Wilderness Lodge over the years have almost all been compromises, attempting to make the property appeal to those who don’t like the U.S. National Park lodge style and should, frankly, simply stay elsewhere.
Wilderness Lodge is, by virtue of its core concept, a niche property that cannot possibly appeal to everyone. Just like an actual U.S. National Park lodge. Some people don’t like nature or rustic style, and subduing those qualities can only do so much to appease those guests. Meanwhile, it alienates those who love outdoorsy accommodations. Trying to satisfy everyone is a recipe for disaster that makes things dull and unappealing to anyone. I hope Walt Disney World recognizes this and the permit is simply for the Copper Creek room refurbishment and not trying to fundamentally alter the core character of Wilderness Lodge. They aren’t going to make it any better–only worse.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on the construction permit for Wilderness Lodge that runs through December 2026? Think it’s probably the soft goods refurbishment at Copper Creek, or something bigger? What do you think of the architecture and design of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment that Disney shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
