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Leaked River Country DVC Plans


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As a related aside... I'm going to venture a guess that this thread is going to generate a lot of first time visitors to Fort Fiends so...   WELCOME!   If you haven't already created a user name/login

Maybe they'll conduct a training burn on Jacob's Cabin after the bat house is finished?

Suddenly I am seeing a new tour offered by Disney World.

Is that supposed to be Bay Lake in the foreground? If so, the imagineers have placed a freeloader in the lake. It looks like he is just wading leisurely in the almost crystal clear water near the beach. If they ever released this video to the public, that would be false advertising at its finest.

 

I just went back and re-watched the video to be sure.  Yes, that's supposed to be Bay Lake.  I didn't notice the man splashing in the lake, but there he is.  Maybe he's getting ready to swim across to Discovery Island.

 

TCD

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Good find on that video, TCD!

 

I'll admit I was surprised by the rendering, though. Based on the drawings I thought it looked pretty nice. Obtrusive, but nice.

 

But am I the only one that thinks the 3D rendering is kind of...ugly? Seems like they're trying to be WAY too modern for the theme and setting.

 

Increasingly happy that the plan was scrapped, for now.

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  • 1 year later...

Please tell me this is not true or has been relocated at least a little further down the road.  My son will be devastated if they get rid of the pony rides and horse stables, he asks to go every time we are at FW.   :'(

 

Hey! Welcome!

 

One thing that was part of the plan from the beginning was to relocate the horse barns up to the Outpost area of the Fort.  The plans showed a big horse barn, and an area where they could offer pony rides.

 

So, the horses and ponies were just going to move to the other side of the Fort.

 

I don't know how old your son is, but it's likely he'll be too old to ride the ponies before any of this stuff ever happens.

 

TCD

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Hey! Welcome!

 

One thing that was part of the plan from the beginning was to relocate the horse barns up to the Outpost area of the Fort.  The plans showed a big horse barn, and an area where they could offer pony rides.

 

So, the horses and ponies were just going to move to the other side of the Fort.

 

I don't know how old your son is, but it's likely he'll be too old to ride the ponies before any of this stuff ever happens.

 

TCD

Thank you, I have followed some of the posts on here for a while but when I saw talk about this kind of major change I had to reply.  I have stayed at FW at least 6-7 times in the last 3 years and are gearing up for another trip this December.  We absolutely love the campgrounds for the amenities, peace & quiet, and of course easy access to Magic Kingdom.  I understand progress is the name of the game for Disney but there is so much other land that is available I hope they consider moving the complex further down to a more midway point between FW and WL.

My son just turned 5 and we have stayed at FW every year since he turned 2 plus a couple extra vacations.  Glad to hear it wont be in the near future if this plan does resurface but I truly hope its location is reconsidered and the historic locations around the campgrounds remain in tact.

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Thank you, I have followed some of the posts on here for a while but when I saw talk about this kind of major change I had to reply.  I have stayed at FW at least 6-7 times in the last 3 years and are gearing up for another trip this December.  We absolutely love the campgrounds for the amenities, peace & quiet, and of course easy access to Magic Kingdom.  I understand progress is the name of the game for Disney but there is so much other land that is available I hope they consider moving the complex further down to a more midway point between FW and WL.

My son just turned 5 and we have stayed at FW every year since he turned 2 plus a couple extra vacations.  Glad to hear it wont be in the near future if this plan does resurface but I truly hope its location is reconsidered and the historic locations around the campgrounds remain in tact.

 

You are one of us.

 

I think most Fort Fiends would agree with everything you said.

 

It's hard to believe that they seriously considered turning the area of the barn and open field next to Pioneer Hall into a gigantic parking lot for this resort.

 

Nothing is sacred to those currently in charge.

 

Except for money, that is.

 

Sadly, I don't think this concept is dead. Just hibernating.

 

TCD

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Hopefully if it does come back to life it will be in the form of the Wilderness junction I found some information on instead of the DVC villas.  It was at least further down the street and offered more things for the FW campers in the form of shops and restaurants.  I guess only time will tell but hopefully we will not see the DVC in our wilderness backyard anytime soon.

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Hopefully if it does come back to life it will be in the form of the Wilderness junction I found some information on instead of the DVC villas.  It was at least further down the street and offered more things for the FW campers in the form of shops and restaurants.  I guess only time will tell but hopefully we will not see the DVC in our wilderness backyard anytime soon.

 

I think that the ability to piggyback on the Fort's amenities is too attractive of a proposition for the planners of this project to give up.

 

If they moved further to the west, they'd lose all of the ambience and features of the Settlement area.  They want to incorporate all of that into the DVC.  Plus, I'm sure they wouldn't mind Fort campers spending money in the new bars and restaurants in the DVC- they want to make that easy to do.

 

TCD

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Nothing is sacred to those currently in charge.

 

Except for money, that is.

 

TCD

 

I just got done reading Disney War http://www.amazon.com/DisneyWar-James-B-Stewart/dp/0743267095

 

You are correct.  From court testimony during the Eisner years all that mattered was the money.

 

 

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I just got done reading Disney War http://www.amazon.com/DisneyWar-James-B-Stewart/dp/0743267095

 

You are correct.  From court testimony during the Eisner years all that mattered was the money.

 

 

 

Great book. And I fully agree that this project isn't dead, just hibernating. Just to put it in perspective, they have tried to build in the other expansion pads around Bay Lake in the past, but my understanding is that the pad between the TTC and the contemporary is unusable due to bad subsurface conditions, leaving the pad behind the contemporary between it and the drydock area as the only expansion option in that area. It would make sense, then, that Disney would try to connect Wilderness Lodge with the Fort to leverage the existing amenities and draw the existing fort customers (and freeloaders) to any new bars/restaurants/amenities at the new development. I'd have to bet that it would be more like the Boardwalk Inn, where a portion is DVC and a portion is available to the general public to stay in.

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22344350374_7a39106691_b.jpg

 

I tried to show (ala TCD) what I was referring to. Pad 'A' is unbuildable at the current time, and my understanding is that Pad 'B' is also undesirable because of access and its proximity to MK backstage areas, the canal and 'the bunker' where all the fireworks are kept. Purportedly this is one of the reasons that there is no jogging trail along that portion of the lake, but I've not been over that way to check and I'm certainly no jogger. I'm sure Disney would LOVE to develop these two areas as they're on the monorail. Pad 'C', north of the contemporary, is also close to backstage areas but has both MK and lake views. My understanding on that site is that the BLT was a pleasant surprise in that the views were acceptable to warrant examining development of the northern area.

 

This leaves the WL (Pad 'E') and FW (Pad 'D') developments/expansions as a viable option, especially if they are able to redevelop Discovery Island (or at least clean it up a bit) and expand the settlement area. Disney could really create a cool boardwalk area or trail connecting the three locations.

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22344350374_7a39106691_b.jpg

 

I tried to show (ala TCD) what I was referring to. Pad 'A' is unbuildable at the current time, and my understanding is that Pad 'B' is also undesirable because of access and its proximity to MK backstage areas, the canal and 'the bunker' where all the fireworks are kept. Purportedly this is one of the reasons that there is no jogging trail along that portion of the lake, but I've not been over that way to check and I'm certainly no jogger. I'm sure Disney would LOVE to develop these two areas as they're on the monorail. Pad 'C', north of the contemporary, is also close to backstage areas but has both MK and lake views. My understanding on that site is that the BLT was a pleasant surprise in that the views were acceptable to warrant examining development of the northern area.

 

This leaves the WL (Pad 'E') and FW (Pad 'D') developments/expansions as a viable option, especially if they are able to redevelop Discovery Island (or at least clean it up a bit) and expand the settlement area. Disney could really create a cool boardwalk area or trail connecting the three locations.

 

I think your "Pad C" is where the Persian Resort was originally to have been built.  Wouldn't that be a fun addition to Disney World in this day and age?  They could have a "Breakfast With The Ayatollah" character meal, and a waterslide themed after a nuclear centrifuge.  But whatever you do....NO CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!  

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I fully bought into the idea that this resort was going to happen. I perused the hundred plus pages of plans and thought, "who goes through this much work without real intent"? But, I am leaning away from that conviction. The main reason being, Disney doesn't attach DVCs to anything but Deluxe resorts. If they were to start doing "moderate" DVCs, would they really start at Fort Wilderness? They don't know what to do with the Fort as it is, much less how to "plus it" to sell DVC memberships. And what would the point buy-in be? I just don't think this would be a big enough money maker for it to really be at the forefront of their minds. 

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That was my point - I think this would be a Deluxe resort like the Boardwalk, with a DVC component. The original Wilderness Junction was going to be just that - a boardwalk-type resort with a western theme (of course that was going to have the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show also). There would have to be some type of retail or entertainment component to really draw people from outside though, if they were going for that. GF has a ton of restaurants and a character meal, but I didn't see those types of amenities on these plans. I'll have to go back and look.

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Wasn't Saratoga Springs built as a DVC resort?

 

Good point.

 

And, what about the original DVC resort, Old Key West?

 

These two, along with Vero Beach and Hilton Head are all examples of DVC properties not attached to a Deluxe Resort.

 

The leaked plans show DVC room layouts.  So, they definitely did contemplate this resort being a big, freestanding DVC resort.

 

TCD

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  • 1 month later...

According to Jim Hill's latest podcast, he speculates that construction on the demolition of river country and the beginning of site work for the dvc will begin as soon as the work on the wilderness lodge cabins are completed. Disney will have contractors there already and will just roll from one to the other.

He also postulated that the ttc will be relocated to allow for a resort to be constructed on the monorail and bay lake on the other side of the ferry dock where the existing ttc and lost&found are located, extending into 'pad 'a'' as discussed above.

Take it how you will.

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Wow, those are some wild predictions.  I don't think there's any way that they will be able to start on the River Country DVC as soon as they're done at Wilderness Lodge- they would need to move the horse barn and the dining pavilion first, and those permits have expired.  It is possible that the River Country DVC will be resurrected, but I don't see that happening in 2016.

 

And moving the TTC?  That is real crazy talk.  The idea makes sense on many levels, but the cost would be astronomical, and I don't think the demand for more deluxe resort rooms is there.

 

I saw a comment on WDWMAGIC suggesting that Jim Hill is pumping out crazy stuff to get people distracted from his recent problems.  I don't know what that refers to.  Was Jim Hill in trouble for something?

 

TCD

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...Take it how you will.

 

Jim Hill

:rofl

 

Yep - that's pretty much how I take it too!  LOL

 

He's entertaining at least, I'll give him that.  I wonder if anyone has tracked how many of his "inside scoops" have actually come to fruition?

 

I saw a comment on WDWMAGIC suggesting that Jim Hill is pumping out crazy stuff to get people distracted from his recent problems.  I don't know what that refers to.  Was Jim Hill in trouble for something?

 

TCD

 

Ooh.. now THERE is a juicy rumor!   hahaha

 

 

(I miss the smileys!)

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