After we first wrote about the permits filed that outlined the sweeping changes coming to Fort Wilderness, we decided to head out to the tranquil resort to check in on the latest progress. Of course, if you missed some of our earlier posts, it’s worth noting again that River Country is not only behind construction walls now, but also completely demolished. Demolishing River Country was one of the first steps in the construction of the new DVC property, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. As a reminder, here’s a look at the plans filed by Disney. In the plans below, the green building is Pioneer Hall.

Upon arriving to The Settlement earlier this morning, we noticed that the structure that use to house Mickey’s Backyard BBQ has been demolished. If you look closely in the background, you can see some of the dirt build up for filling in and grading the River Country site.

Mickey’s Backyard BBQ

Beyond that, the rest of The Settlement is preparing for a larger construction presence in the coming weeks. We took a walk around to take in the sunrise and document the area prior to more demolition.

Tri-Circle-D Ranch

One of the areas marked for demolition is the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. The ponies will be relocated to the stables at the front of the Fort Wilderness property as new stables are built for them in an area nearby.

A look from here looks like a peaceful morning…

…but if we turn to the left of the sign, we can see a large area of construction is quickly closing in on Tri-Circle-D Ranch. This construction will eventually lead to the demolition of the Tri-Circle-D Ranch to support a parking lot for Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge.

As of right now, the horses are still in the stables here. They should be relocated shortly.

Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall falls outside of the construction zone for Reflections, but that doesn’t mean that the surrounding area won’t be touched. In the photo below, the upcoming bungalows would be positioned along the beach seen at the end of this path, but more on that in a bit.

Walking around we found plenty of survey markers as well as marks along most of the posts that lined the pathway. We might see these cut in the coming days or weeks.

Clementine’s Beach

The beachfront known as Clementine’s Beach will become the future home of DVC bungalows, according to the permit we found earlier this week.

Finally, if you’d like to enjoy Mickey’s Backyard BBQ one last time, our friends at Mousesteps recorded the finale of the show before it closed at the end of last year.