With the announcement of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Comprehensive Plan 2045, there’s been much buzz about what it can mean for a fifth gate at Walt Disney World. While the plan does open the door for a possible fifth theme park after 2035 as well as the addition of two minor theme parks, the plan also encompasses future land use for other facilities, such as hotels and resorts. With the plan acting as a framework for development and expansion within Disney World, what does this mean for DVC? Let’s dive into the plan to see what kinds of development may be in store for the future.
How Many Hotel Rooms Can Be Built?
The Comprehensive Plan allows for a maximum of 7,748 new keys (rooms) to be built over the next 10 years. To put that figure into perspective, there are 1,260 rooms at Saratoga Springs plus the 60 Treehouse Villas for a total of 1,320 rooms. Building 7,748 new rooms would be like adding 5 resorts the size of Saratoga Springs.
The plan mentions that there are “1,240 hotel rooms currently under construction with 250 approved for construction but currently on hold.” Some of these rooms include those at Lakeshore Lodge, though the 250 rooms on hold are part of the Flamingo Crossings Resort Area, not Disney-owned-and-operated hotel rooms.
That maximum number of new keys is actually 30% lower than the number of hotel rooms that previous plans permitted to be built. However, the plan still expects that demand for hotel rooms will remain strong as theme park attendance continues to grow.
Where Can These New Rooms Potentially Be Built?
A look at Figure 3-9 of existing trip generators and attractors shows areas with existing hotels/resorts as well areas of potential hotels/resorts. Just west of the Grand Floridian and near where Floridian Place and Floridian Way diverge appears to be an area marked as a potential hotel/resort. Could this lead to another Magic Kingdom resort?
References to Lakeshore Lodge
Speaking of Magic Kingdom resorts, we still don’t have much concrete information on Lakeshore Lodge since most of what we have is merely based on the previous plans for Reflections. However, the Comprehensive Plan does confirm that “Infrastructure is in place for construction of a new resort on the former River Country water park site,” and “currently approved construction plans include 974 rooms.”
How Likely Is It That More than 7,000 Rooms Will Be Built By 2045?
It’s important to keep in mind that although this Comprehensive Plan 2045 lays the foundation for future theme park, resort, and infrastructure development, it doesn’t mean that Disney has any concrete plans; it simply provides guidance on future land use. In fact, the plan mentions that “it is unlikely that all of the development allowed for in Table 2-1 [showing maximum development permitted] will occur, and it is very likely a portion of the development will consist of redevelopment and infill.” The plan points to recent projects at the Polynesian (Polynesian Island Tower), Wilderness Lodge (Copper Creek), Coronado Springs (Gran Destino Tower), and Caribbean Beach (Riviera) as examples of partial redevelopment to better meet growing guest needs instead of new development.
Without any actual plans in place, it’s impossible to say for sure what’s to come for Disney resorts in the next 20 years beyond Lakeshore Lodge, but it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be plenty of new DVC accommodations to come, especially considering that the first group of DVC contracts would have expired before 2045.
Rich
June 27, 2025Sitting here patiently waiting for the next Epcot resort to be announced.