A new Notice of Commencement permit has been filed for an area near Wilderness Lodge, and it looks like Disney is preparing to expand the lakefront cabins at the resort. The permit, which was filed by Walt Disney Imagineering, lists longtime Disney contractor Balfour Beatty and “site and facility improvements” as the scope of work. The expiration date on the permit confirms that the work will be a large-scale project, foregoing the typical 1-year expiration timeframe and instead listing an expiration date of March 31, 2027.
The permit lists 19 addresses, with 18 of those addresses along W. Wilderness Way, which is essentially an access road that runs along the south side of Bay Lake, between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. The addresses are not listed in the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District public address database, and the current cabins use a Timberline Drive address, but that doesn’t necessarily outright disqualify an expansion of the lakefront cabins in the near future.
In the Google Maps photo below, we can see the main Wilderness Lodge building with the green roof on the right side of the image, with the lakefront cabins scattered along the shoreline. The expansion, if that’s what this work is, would be seen in the upper left of the image below.
What is a bit odd about this permit is that Disney hasn’t filed any corresponding permits with the State of Florida for water management work that would likely be required. Of course, that permit could be filed today or sometime soon. If/when it is filed, it will provide a lot more insight as to the scope of the work.
This isn’t the only interesting permit that has been filed at Wilderness Lodge recently. On Tuesday, we covered an interesting permit that would suggest that there is some significant (but separate) work taking place at the Wilderness Lodge main building area through the end of 2026.
It’s possible that whatever this project ends up being, it could be announced at the upcoming D23 Expo, but a lakeside cabin expansion would register little more than a golf clap in that type of environment. There have been ongoing rumors that the Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge project isn’t completely dead in the water, but the addresses listed on this recently filed permit do not align with that project site.
BlogMickey.com has reached out to Disney World for more information about the project and we will keep you updated should Disney respond.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
