Disney has shared a new batch of concept art for Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort that’s being built near the Magic Kingdom. The art offers an updated look at the resort’s lobby and some of the dining spaces. Does this new concept art increase our excitement for the hotel? The answer is complicated.
Up first is the lobby concept art (pictured above) that takes inspiration from Pocahontas. Hundreds of colorful blown glass leaves will hang from the lobby’s ceiling as a tribute to the song “Colors of the Wind.” The art also shows a fiberoptic river running along the floor. Will something be just around the riverbend? Leaked concept art for Lakeshore Lodge’s lobby depicted a large Pocahontas statue, but it appears that’s no longer the plan.
Disney also provided some details on the materials used in the lobby.
Natural materials will be incorporated throughout the lobby design, with custom tapestries inspired by the film’s landscapes and thoughtfully crafted furnishings with accents of river-recovered cypress wood.
Disney Parks Blog
Next, Disney showed off some of the resort’s dining spaces. We’ll start with Moonglade, the table-service restaurant that sits right along the water.
Moonglade has floor-to-ceiling windows and a menu that Disney says has “thoughtfully prepared dishes featuring seasonal and locally sourced ingredients.” The views of Bay Lake could be pretty special during golden hour.
Then there’s the quick-service spot called Bay Lake Provisions.
Disney describes the quick-service restaurant as an “all-day, quick-service marketplace that will offer specialty coffees and fresh fare in an inviting open-kitchen atmosphere.”
Last but not least, there’s Paint Out Point Bar & Grill.
Overall, the new concept art provides our best look at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge to date. We think there are some positives and negatives. For starters, we love that Pocahontas is getting some representation! Pocahontas is one of our favorites, so it’s great to see some theming connected to that movie.
We also appreciate that Lakeshore Lodge looks like it’ll have lots of color. We’ve been pretty vocal about how we’re not fans of the minimalist and bland theming in Disney’s recent hotel projects, so this is at least more in the right direction.
While we like the new concept art, we have our qualms. We think there’s a very big difference between theming and decoration. We think of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge when we think of outstanding resort theming. It makes you feel like you’re in a different place. Decoration is more in line with what we’ve seen from Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge so far. We’d prefer to see new Disney resorts take inspiration from Wilderness Lodge rather than from Disney’s Riviera Resort, for example.
What do you think of what we’ve seen from Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge so far?
