Disney Lakeshore Lodge opening in 2027 on former River Country site
Disney Lakeshore Lodge, a Disney Vacation Club resort, is under construction on the site of River Country, Walt Disney World’s former abandoned water park. See the latest construction progress from February 2026 with photos by @bioreconstruct.
Disney World’s new hotel: Lakeshore Lodge
A new Disney Vacation Club resort called Disney Lakeshore Lodge — themed to “the majesty of nature and its enduring influence on Disney artists,” the company says — will open in summer 2027 at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.
Lakeshore Lodge will be located along the waters of Bay Lake near Magic Kingdom and adjacent to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. This is infamously the same real estate where the River Country water park sat abandoned for years.
River Country photo courtesy of Disney
Aerial photo by @bioreconstruct
The photo below, captured in October 2025, provides a sense of place. At bottom is the future site of Disney Lakeshore Lodge. Across the water of Bay Lake is Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (left) and Disney’s Contemporary Resort. At top left, sitting upon the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon, is Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. At top right, barely visible, is the front of Magic Kingdom.
Disney previously announced (and began construction on) a nature-themed project called Reflections – A Lakeside Lodge for this same property, but paused construction in 2020.
Update (April 30, 2026) Disney shares a second rendering from the lakeside and conducts a media tour
We toured the construction site of Disney Lakeshore Lodge and got a closer look at how the long-awaited resort is taking shape along Bay Lake.
The new rendering shows a variety of lakefront villas, the pool with a waterslide and possible lazy river, and the new boat dock. This resort sits along Bay Lake between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. It is angled toward Disney’s Contemporary Resort and will have views of Magic Kingdom’s larger structures like Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain.
Courtesy of Disney
Many fans are drawing comparisons to the Copper Creek project at Wilderness Lodge as well as the modern design of Island Tower. During our construction tour, the Disney representatives emphasizeded that the design inspirations of this project are rooted in a celebration of Walt Disney’s lifelong love of nature.
As more is revealed, the project is shaping up to blend storytelling and setting in a way that feels both familiar and entirely new for this corner of Walt Disney World.
Photo by Dani Meyering
Update (April 21, 2026) Disney shares first rendering, confirms summer 2027 opening
Disney Vacation Club has now shared additional details for the upcoming Disney Lakeshore Lodge, including a new concept rendering and expanded information about the resort’s theme, accommodations, and setting. The waterfront resort is projected to open in summer 2027 at Walt Disney World Resort.
Courtesy of Disney
Located along the shores of Bay Lake, Disney says the new property will celebrate the connection between nature and imagination through classic animated films inspired by the outdoors, including “Bambi,” “Pocahontas” and “Brother Bear.” Story elements from those films will be woven into the resort’s architecture, artwork, and atmosphere.
The company also revealed the resort will include 967 accommodations, ranging from studios to multi-bedroom villas. In addition, Disney Lakeshore Lodge will feature exclusive one- and two-bedroom waterfront Lake Houses, offering added privacy and direct Bay Lake views.
Disney says guests can expect floor-to-ceiling windows, natural materials, earthy tones, and nighttime views of Magic Kingdom fireworks across the water. Additional dining, recreation, and amenities are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The history of the River Country property
The land on which Disney Lakeshore Lodge will sit is notable in the history of Walt Disney World. It was originally home to Disney’s first water park, River Country, which opened in 1976 and closed in 2001. The abandoned water park sat dormant for years.
Photo courtesy of Disney
In October 2018, Disney announced a nature-themed resort would be built somewhere along Bay Lake as a Disney Vacation Club addition. Progress from there moved quickly. The following month, the company announced the resort’s name: “Reflections – A Lakeside Lodge.” The month after that, Fort Wilderness Pavilion (home of Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, a character dinner) closed permanently in preparation for the upcoming resort’s construction.
Image courtesy of Disney
Reflections was still actively in development in March 2019 when our editor, Matt Roseboom, visited Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters. He called the plans Imagineers showed to his tour group “unlike anything you’ve ever seen — if the best parts don’t get cut.”
By August 2020, upon Walt Disney World’s re-opening following the onset of the pandemic, Disney had halted construction on Reflections and the site once again sat neglected for several years.
Now, Disney Lakeshore Lodge is under construction for a planned 2027 opening.
Construction progress
Compare the @bioreconstruct’s photos over time to track the construction progress of Disney Lakeshore Lodge.
February 2026
The photo below shows just how close the Disney Lakeshore Lodge property is to the facilities and amenities of Fort Wilderness, with Pioneer Hall (home to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue dinner show) at bottom right and the Tri-Circle-D Ranch barn at bottom left.
As details like roofing come into place, we can start to see how similar or different Lakeshore Lodge might be compared to the concept art from the canceled Reflections hotel.
In addition to the accommodations in the main towers, Lakeshore Lodge will include deluxe villas as an option for guests.
The pool area seems to include a small lazy river, harkening back to the days of River Country.
Construction is underway on a dock for Lakeshore Lodge, seemingly confirming the hotel will provide boat transportation to Magic Kingdom as the other nearby resorts do.
October 2025
Note the surrounding woods and cabins of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
In the photo below, note Pioneer Hall at Fort Wilderness at bottom.
Seen from a different angle, Pioneer Hall is in top right of the photo below. The infrastructure for Lakeshore Lodge deluxe accommodations are visible, pretty much right next to the Fort Wilderness dock.
October 2024
2019 – 2023
For several years the future site of Disney Lakeshore Lodge was an on-again/off-again construction site for a project known as Reflections – A Lakeside Lodge. By 2020, construction was paused and the site was left unattended for years (again) until construction ramped back up for Disney Lakeshore Lodge.
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