Those who have built memories at Fort Wilderness over our lives are wistful for the good old days. We miss the train, the peacocks, the build-your-own pizza, affordability, and River Country. Like we’re entitled to nothing ever changing.

And then comes Disney’s Lakeside Lodge – resurrected from the dead and back to stay.

So it comes with narry a surprise that the fast and furious construction of the Lakeside Lodge is met with skepticism and and snarls by old-timers.

But it’s Thanksgiving Weekend. It’s time to pour out the sour gravy and look at the bright side. That’s kinda what 2025 has to be about anyway.

For starters – the photo above is not the WDW original concept art. It’s an AI version, albeit a strange one. I wanted lots of flowing water and to feel like I was walking into a Mary Blair painting. My needs are simple.

So here we go with our gratitude list.

The trail will reopen.

This alone is reason for an extra bottle of moonshine. That trail between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness was reason enough alone to love the campground. Obviously, it’s gonna have to reopen. Nature theme does not equal bus transportation.

The trail is basically already there. There’s just a bunch of cranes and such in the way.

Recall the trail is about a mile between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. The new Lakeside Resort will be right behind Pioneer Hall on the Fort end of things.

The renamed resort will no longer sound like a drug and alcohol rehab center.

I imagine that whoever came up with Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge is gone with the wind by now. I mean if you gotta go to rehab, then more power to you. And if you need six AA meetings a day – well, that’s arguably a better use of time than a DVC presentation.

For most of us anyway, we’re not going to Disney to hang out at a place named Reflections.

The pool has the opportunity to give a serious nod to River Country.

I haven’t heard this anywhere except on people’s wish lists. And since half the country was bad this year, we probably won’t get it.

But man, oh man, what if this hotel/DVC/Marriott-looking hybrid had the best pool at Disney World? One that had more than a passing nod to River Country – the best waterpark in the history of the world?

Bring on the Slippery Slide Falls, the Barrel Bridge, and the Whoop ‘N Holler, and I’m in. Oh yeah, go ahead and name the bar Cypress Point.

So here’s what AI gave me after a few attempts at this.  Oddly, it refused to get rid of the mountains in the background, but it kept Discovery Island.

Here’s another attempt, but now we’ve got some free-range horses just to keep with a little pioneering theme. But at least every room has a balcony. Because in AI we can.

Maybe we can eat something different.

Okay, so the bad thing about three nature/western themed resorts is that most people can only eat so much brisket. Hopefully, those menu-planning folks will keep this in mind.

But with no more full-service restaurants at Fort Wilderness, now there will be a walkable option.  But what kind of cuisine would work with this natural palace?

Well, let’s eliminate California cuisine as it’s a boat ride away at the Contemporary. High-quality Tex-Mex is one easy answer. And of course, the New Orleans cuisine theme has been floating around as well.

But Ozempic.

We need some small-bite options. Just stop with the all-you-can-eat fixed price.

Let’s think retro Tex-Mex merged with tapas merged with loads of flavor. Or maybe take inspiration from the incredible Gunshow in Atlanta and have some “pioneering chefs” crank out what they refer to as “redneck dim sum.” This means the menu changes all the time, and you pick and choose among what various top chefs offer you.

Flavors, simplicity, and variety.

construction will finally end

Yep, that construction has been going on around the Fort since late 2018. First, it was the demolition of Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, followed by the barn rebuild. Once the remnants of River Country were demolished, the pandemic put the Lakeside Lodge construction on a 4-year standstill.

Meanwhile, the cabins at Fort Wilderness were removed and the modern ones built. Get this – they aren’t modular and built off-site. Construction crews are building these from the ground up.

iF YOU’RE dvc, THIS COULD BE YOUR HAPPY PLACE

While DVC may not be the best investment of your money, it seems to create extra magic for those traveling to WDW frequently. So if you’re in “the club,” Lakeside gives you some brand new options. And the DVC cabins at Fort Wilderness are still being constructed.

It will have all of the Bay Lake transportation benefits that come with Wilderness Lodge, but surely at a lower price point. You’ll practically be part of Fort Wilderness (within a stone’s throw of the barn), but will get the high-falutin’ comforts.

But I do wonder if the Fort Settlement area will get crowded in a weird way. We shall see. I honestly can’t wait for it to open in 2027.  I just hope that the person in the room telling everyone to be practical and cut the imaginative details goes away.