After we first wrote about the permits filed that outlined the sweeping changes coming to Fort Wilderness, we decided to head out to the tranquil resort to check in on the latest progress. Of course, if you missed some of our earlier posts, it’s worth noting again that River Country is not only behind construction walls now, but also completely demolished. Demolishing River Country was one of the first steps in the construction of the new DVC property, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. As a reminder, here’s a look at the plans filed by Disney. In the plans below, the green building is Pioneer Hall.
Upon arriving to The Settlement earlier this morning, we noticed that the structure that use to house Mickey’s Backyard BBQ has been demolished. If you look closely in the background, you can see some of the dirt build up for filling in and grading the River Country site.
Mickey’s Backyard BBQ
Beyond that, the rest of The Settlement is preparing for a larger construction presence in the coming weeks. We took a walk around to take in the sunrise and document the area prior to more demolition.
Tri-Circle-D Ranch
One of the areas marked for demolition is the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. The ponies will be relocated to the stables at the front of the Fort Wilderness property as new stables are built for them in an area nearby.
A look from here looks like a peaceful morning…
…but if we turn to the left of the sign, we can see a large area of construction is quickly closing in on Tri-Circle-D Ranch. This construction will eventually lead to the demolition of the Tri-Circle-D Ranch to support a parking lot for Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge.
As of right now, the horses are still in the stables here. They should be relocated shortly.
Pioneer Hall
Pioneer Hall falls outside of the construction zone for Reflections, but that doesn’t mean that the surrounding area won’t be touched. In the photo below, the upcoming bungalows would be positioned along the beach seen at the end of this path, but more on that in a bit.
Walking around we found plenty of survey markers as well as marks along most of the posts that lined the pathway. We might see these cut in the coming days or weeks.
Clementine’s Beach
The beachfront known as Clementine’s Beach will become the future home of DVC bungalows, according to the permit we found earlier this week.
Finally, if you’d like to enjoy Mickey’s Backyard BBQ one last time, our friends at Mousesteps recorded the finale of the show before it closed at the end of last year.
I did not know they were bringing this new construction so far into Fort Wilderness area. At this point it really makes me sad that the rustic is being pushed out. Hopefully they are careful in how they do it so as not to disturb too much of where I have grown up and where my kids got to grow up too. I was disappointed that Wilderness lodge interfered with the straight shot of the Kingdom from the end of the bike/exercise trail when they put that up. Though Wilderness Lodge is Beautiful in itself, it took away from the campground a bit. Many Chess games I have played in the stores there, trails explored, swam in the beach for many years (I know it’s been closed for probably just as many as I’ve swam in those waters now). I just hope it will still be beautiful enough that I will one day bring my grandchildren there too and share those past memories with them.
So sad. Really disappointed with Disney. I also grew up vacationing at Fort Wilderness and I bring my kids there every year. Such a shame
Just breaks my heart that we can’t share the beauty of the wilderness with our grandchildren. Progress is just a name for throw out the old. 🙁