Images of the upcoming Disney Vacation Club (DVC) cabins at Fort Wilderness were recently shared by Walt Disney World, and the response has been underwhelming, to say the least.
Disney parks fans have been complaining for at least the last year about the decline in the theming at the parks that was so prevalent throughout the ’90s and early 2000s. Earlier this year, the Disneyland Hotel in California announced the all-new Disneyland Villas, again a new DVC section coming to the resort. After sharing concept art and images of the hotel, reactions swung from disappointed to outraged, with many claiming that the hotel “looked like a Marriott.”

The DVC Villa coming to the Polynesian at Walt Disney World has had similar responses, with many wondering what’s happened within the Walt Disney Company to go from the highly detailed and immersive experiences to bland, boring corporate Marriotts and Best Westerns. With the latest look at the cabins coming to Fort Wilderness, it seems as though the trend continues. Images were shared to the social media platform X/Twitter, and the comments were less than pleased, to say the least.
Brooke McDonald was one journalist who shared images of the new cabins, along with the expected opening date of summer 2024. Under her post, the comments and responses varied. “Not really seeing the upgrade,” said @RopeDropLife, while @bennmatlock said “it looks like a double wide trailer.” “Nothing says camping in the wilderness like mismatched motel remnants. What a miss of a concept. It could’ve been so fun,” replied @Liisabelle.
New look at the Disney Vacation Club Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, projected to open summer 2024. #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/rnVMcl92PN
— Brooke Geiger McDonald (@BrookeGMcDonald) December 13, 2023
“Ok so now we’re just completely doing away with the theme of resorts in a themed resort? Ok,” commented @joviacdan. @alyssa_parrish joked that “it’s giving mobile classrooms.” “They look like cheap Airbnbs,” complained @AustinHull23. The new cabins are certainly drastically different compared to the rustic wooden cabins already on property and available for guests at Fort Wilderness.

It was recently alleged that Disney may have outsourced much of their recent building to a company from Las Vegas, Nevada, which would explain why recent projects seem to lack so much of the Disney character guests have come to expect. It was at the very least confirmed in Bob Gurr’s memoir that Disney outsourced their “themed manufacturing operations to Garner Holt Productions” in California starting in 2012. It’s possible that using outside companies rather than using actual Walt Disney Imagineering to build projects is what has ruined the Disney touch.

With the recent minimalist and modern-ification of new additions to the resorts, it’s possible that Disney wants to offer DVC guests a sleeker, classier option to stay at. However, most guests aren’t coming to a Disney park or resort for a “sleek” experience; they’re coming for the charm and immersion they’ve come to expect from the House of Mouse. With the Disneyland Hotel and Polynesian Villas, as well as the new Fort Wilderness cabins, being new additions to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, guests will be dealing with the “Hyatt Place” designs of these projects for years. Hopefully, Disney can get back to their beloved over-the-top designs to rekindle the heart of what the parks and resorts used to be.
What do you think of the new Fort Wilderness cabins? Are they cute and modern? Or do they resemble a Marriott a little too closely?