Parts of Disney Lakeshore Lodge are now nine stories tall as construction continues on the new Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge Construction
Crews have been constructing exterior and interior walls of the hotel, then layering weather-proof sheathing over the steel frames. Over some of the sheathing is a yellow air and water barrier.
Construction work was kicking up a lot of dust in this area between a U-shaped section of the hotel. It wasn’t clear what work was causing the dust.
A series of half-completed walls and columns on the top of the building are the beginnings of the next floor.
Work has begun on the eighth story at this end of the building. Construction permits indicate the building will be 10 stories when completed.
The openings in the walls are for windows and sliding glass doors. The windows that don’t overlook balconies have temporary beams across them to protect crew members. The balconies have temporary wooden railings.
There are several cranes on the construction site, transporting materials and equipment. One crane sits on a Floatmaster barge in the water. Yellow barriers in the water keep stray equipment and debris from floating too far out into the lagoon.
Most of the building is still exposed to the elements. It will still be several months before it’s completely enclosed.
We saw crew members working on this block of future rooms. The first floor has a full wall with a small opening.
There is black paneling over some of the yellow barrier. The black paneling is visible on the first few floors in this area, followed by a floor with white sheathing, and then three floors with no walls.
As we reported in May, an interesting A-shaped frame was installed on the beach near Disney Lakeshore Lodge. A second has been moved to the beach next to the first.
We still don’t know what exactly these triangle-shaped structures are for. They could be some kind of cabana or cabin.
The newly installed framework doesn’t yet have a horizontal pole across the top of its five vertical triangular frames.
There is more surface-level infrastructure in place across the beach for these A-frames.
More of the white sheathing on this end of the building was covered with the yellow air and water barrier. The very end of the building is currently seven stories tall, while the next section back is eight stories.
At the building’s tallest points, construction has begun on a ninth floor.
We saw crew members working on top of the building.
We also saw a crane moving a wall into place.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge replaces Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, which was announced in 2018. Disney demolished their former water park, River Country, to make space for the new DVC resort, but construction was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney resurrected the project as Lakeshore Lodge, which is set to open in 2027.
The new resort will be “inspired by the majesty of nature and its enduring influence on Disney artists.” Disney did not release concept art for Lakeshore Lodge, but it may be similar to Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, which was to have nature theming. It is rumored to get a lazy river, splash pad, and water slides at its feature pool.
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