Disney gave Lakeshore Lodge a hard opening date and released the first look at its 967 guest rooms, themed to Bambi, Pocahontas, Encanto, Fantasia, and Brother Bear. Bookings open in October. The resort sits on the grounds of Disney’s abandoned first water park.
Disney’s next Walt Disney World resort finally has a date on the calendar.
Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge opens July 1, 2027, the company confirmed Thursday, upgrading its previous “summer 2027” window. Disney also released the first look inside the resort’s 967 rooms ahead of reservations opening in early October.
The resort sits on the south shore of Bay Lake, between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness.
When bookings open
Three dates, staggered by audience:
October 6 for Disney Vacation Club members, through Member Services at 800-800-9800
October 7 for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, at 407-934-7639
October 8 for everyone, online or at 407-934-7639
Every room type is themed to a different Disney film
Disney assigned each accommodation tier its own animated feature, and the pairings are more specific than usual.
Duo studios, built for two guests, draw on Encanto.
Deluxe studios sleeping up to four, along with one- and two-bedroom villas sleeping five and nine, take their cues from Bambi, with original concept artwork pulled from the Disney archives.
Three-bedroom grand villas sleep up to 12 and celebrate Fantasia, aimed at multigenerational families with multiple bathrooms and a private patio facing Bay Lake.
Resort studios and resort studio king rooms are inspired by Pocahontas.
The Hidden Willow Presidential Suite sleeps six across two bedrooms with a full kitchen and washer and dryer.
The Lake Houses feature A-Frame styling
New and exclusive to this resort, the Lake Houses are freestanding one- and two-bedroom retreats on the waterfront, sleeping five and eight guests.
They feature dramatic A-frame architecture, floor-to-ceiling windows, private porches over the water, full kitchens, and laundry.
The interiors celebrate Brother Bear, leaning into the film’s Alaskan setting. Inside the primary bedroom, a Northern Lights-inspired lighting feature casts a glow after dark.
Guests in select club-level rooms get The Artist’s Nest, a concierge lounge Disney describes as perched above the treetops, with views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.
What used to be here
Disney’s earlier update mentioned a plaque honoring “a beloved historic attraction that once stood on this very spot.” That attraction was River Country.
Disney’s first water park opened on June 20, 1976, themed as an old-fashioned swimming hole, drawing water from Bay Lake itself. It closed on November 2, 2001, and Disney confirmed in January 2005 that it would not reopen.
River Country then sat abandoned for roughly 17 years, slowly reclaimed by the Florida landscape, becoming one of the most photographed and mythologized abandoned spaces in American theme park history.
Lakeshore Lodge is being built on that ground.
This resort was announced eight years ago under a different name
The project has a longer history than the July date suggests.
Disney announced it in October 2018 as Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, targeting a 2022 opening as the 16th Disney Vacation Club property. Fort Wilderness Pavilion, home of Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, closed permanently to clear the way.
Construction paused in 2020. Disney quietly removed the resort from its D23 Expo materials that August, and the project sat dormant.
It resurfaced in November 2024 under the Lakeshore Lodge name, with construction resuming. It will now open as Disney’s 19th DVC resort, five years later than originally planned.
One thing that didn’t survive the redo
Reflections was going to include a table-service restaurant themed to The Princess and the Frog, announced at D23 2019, with a bayou concept built around the idea that Bay Lake could stand in for Louisiana.
That restaurant is not part of Lakeshore Lodge. Tiana got a ride at Magic Kingdom instead.
The A-frame cabins from the original plans did survive, resurfacing as the Lake Houses.
The rest of the resort
Disney has released details in stages since April.
Dining runs to three locations: Moonglade, a lakefront table-service restaurant; Bay Lake Provisions, an all-day quick-service marketplace; and Paint Out Point Bar & Grill near the pool. Dandelion Terrace serves as an evening lounge with a two-story gallery of archival Fantasia artwork and fireworks views.
The lobby features a fiberoptic river running across the floor and a blown-glass Colors of the Wind sculpture with hundreds of suspended glass leaves.
Outside, The Wetlands recreation area includes the Lakeshore Lagoon zero-entry pool with a spiral slide, the Daydream River lazy river, the Heron Shores climbing area, Otter Springs splash zone, and Cypress Point, a quieter pool positioned for fireworks viewing.
Nine years after Disney first pitched a nature resort for this stretch of Bay Lake, there’s a date, a room list, and a phone number.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (August 27, 2026), the July 1, 2027 opening date, the guest room reveal, the room types and film theming, the Lake House details, the booking dates, and the earlier dining and recreation announcements
Attractions Magazine (August 2026), the River Country site history and the Reflections construction pause
Disney Tourist Blog (June 2026), the Reflections-to-Lakeshore transition and the DVC resort numbering
Wikipedia (retrieved August 27, 2026), River Country’s June 20, 1976 opening, November 2, 2001 closure, and the January 2005 permanent closure confirmation
DVC Resale Market (February 2026), the original Reflections plans including the Princess and the Frog restaurant and A-frame cabins