Disney World Reveals Lakeshore Lodge Opening Date, Reservation Timeline, Inside Resort Rooms & Club Level
Walt Disney World shared a sneak peek at the different guest rooms types, and announced booking dates & opening date of Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, the largest new resort hotel debuting at WDW in decades. This shares a look inside the various villas, hotel-style rooms, Club Level lounge and more, plus our commentary about the new Magic Kingdom area waterfront resort opening in Summer 2027.
As basic background, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge will celebrate the beauty and magic of nature as seen through the eyes of Disney artists and storytellers. Inspired by Walt Disney’s admiration for the great outdoors, the resort’s design highlights animated stories rooted in nature, with subtle nods to classic films, from the lush forests of Bambi and the colorful winds of Pocahontas to the glacial landscapes of Brother Bear.
Located along the ‘bayou’ of Bay Lake, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge will feature floor‑to‑ceiling windows that welcome natural sunlight, allowing the outdoors to flow into the architecture, artwork, and ambiance. Guests follow a lush tree-lined driveway and arrive beneath a porte-cochere that’s inspired by a bird in flight and surrounded by cascading water features. Otherwise, there isn’t much to the architecture or design of Lakeshore Lodge.
The resort will offer 967 themed accommodations, ranging from studios to spacious multi-bedroom villas. Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge also introduces standalone one and two-bedroom Lake Houses positioned along the waterfront, similar to the Cascade Cabins at Wilderness Lodge.
And now, Disney has shared a first look on the resort’s accommodations, taking us inside the DVC villas, more traditional hotel-style rooms, waterfront A-frames, and even the Club Level lounge and presidential suite. But first, the exciting news of a debut date for Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge!
Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge opens July 1, 2027 at Walt Disney World Resort! Along with the news, Disney is pulling back the curtain and sharing a first look inside the guest rooms before reservations open in early October 2026.
Before we get going, one thing that the latest room updates do seem to confirm is that the treehouse villas that were in the original plans have been cut. This is not a surprise as construction hadn’t begun on these, but we thought maybe their locations were being used as a staging site for the A-frames.
That does not appear to be the case, which is interesting, since literally everything else–from the lazy river to the waterfront restaurant–is proceeding pursuant to the original Reflections resort plans from 2018. That’s too bad, as the treehouse villas in the original plans looked like they’d be fun, and the A-frames are far and away the coolest room types here.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the guest rooms inside Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, starting small and getting progressively larger…
Duo Studios
Duo studios will offer a colorful and cozy retreat for two inspired by the vibrant spirit of Disney Animation’s Encanto.
I love the look of these rooms, which pack a lot of design detail and thematic elements into a really small space. From the two images, it also seems like Disney iterates on these Duo Studios with each subsequent installation (the ones at Disneyland Hotel are already superior to Riviera), improving their layout and space-saving design.
The Encanto connection to Lakeshore Lodge strikes me as very tenuous and I really wish it were a different movie featured. This feels really contrived, like an IP mandate from the Chapek era that somehow survived into the current plans. Oh well, I guess. Other than that artwork, the Duo Studio looks excellent.
Duo Studios are incredibly controversial, in large part because the cash booking price is absurd and there’s a high likelihood of consumer confusion. (See Disney’s Riviera Resort Tower Studio Review: Terrible or Terrific?) With that said, we were big fans of the Duo Studios as a couple, and the room worked well for us when visiting with a newborn. I will definitely be booking this for future research trips.
Deluxe Studios
Deluxe studios will bring the woodland charm of Disney Animation’s Bambi to life with warm natural materials, original concept artwork pulled from the archives, and comfortable living spaces designed for up to four guests.
I love the wood paneling that extends above the headboard and across the ceiling, which gives the room a lot of depth and texture that it’d otherwise be missing. At the same time, the rest of the room feels a little flat, especially when contrasted with the Duo Studio.
I actually think the Duo Studio looks nicer than the regular Deluxe Studio. This strikes me as a tad too crisp and clean, although that beautiful wood panel, accent rug, and other details might be enough to make this a nicely-themed and well-appointed room.
It’s interesting to me that these don’t feature the same layout with the kitchenette as the Island Tower at the Poly’s rooms. I thought that worked really well and was a good use of space. I wonder if other guests disagreed with that assessment or what.
One & Two-Bedroom Villas
Larger families can spread out in a one- or two-bedroom villa, sleeping up to five and nine guests, respectively. Also rooted in the storytelling of Bambi, these spacious accommodations will feature soft earth tones, subtle forest motifs, and artwork reflecting the film’s natural landscapes.
With full kitchens, washers and dryers, private patios, and spacious living and dining areas, these villas will provide plenty of space to relax and recharge after a day at the Walt Disney World theme parks.
It’s difficult to get a good read on these rooms based on the first look images shared by Disney Vacation Club, but they also strike me as feeling slightly flat. I will say that the view “overlooking” the Contemporary is certainly impressive!
I don’t want to overanalyze these based on only two images, and don’t doubt that the rooms will be well-received by DVC members. Disney has been doing a great job with the new and reimagined rooms at the villas for the last 5 years. There’s no reason to believe that’ll change with Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge.
Three-Bedroom Grand Villas
Designed with multigenerational families in mind, three-bedroom grand villas will celebrate the artistry of Disney Animation’s Fantasia.
Each grand villa will sleep up to 12 guests and feature multiple bathrooms, a full kitchen, a private patio with breathtaking Bay Lake views, and plenty of gathering spaces to celebrate any occasion.
These look nice, just like pretty much every Grand Villa. They’re not something most guests will ever book, so further commentary feels superfluous.
A-Frame Waterfront Lake Houses
New and exclusive to Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, one- and two-bedroom Lake Houses will offer an up-close connection to nature with plenty of space to relax and unwind along the shores of Bay Lake. These unique freestanding retreats will feature dramatic A-frame architecture, expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, and beautiful waterfront views.
Sleeping up to five or eight guests, respectively, Lake Houses will feature a private porch overlooking the water, a full kitchen, and a washer and dryer. Throughout the interior, artwork will celebrate Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Brother Bear, with nods to the film’s Alaskan setting and themes of nature and discovery. Inside the primary bedroom, a striking Northern Lights-inspired lighting feature will cast a peaceful glow as night falls.
These look incredible. Absolutely incredible. I am a complete sucker for A-frame architecture (we’d live in a house like this if I had my way), and the interior here is mostly to my tastes. I do wish the design were a bit less ‘clean’ and had more texture (a la the Cascade Cabins), but I don’t want to draw premature conclusions. I love the Brother Bear inspired art, especially that Northern Lights headboard. Wow.
Now let’s circle back to the hotel-style rooms at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge…
Resort Studios
In addition to deluxe studios and villas, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge will offer resort studios that sleep up to four guests and resort studio king rooms that sleep up to 2 guests.
Drawing inspiration from the natural beauty of Disney Animation’s Pocahontas, these accommodations will feature earthy colors and artistic touches from the archives that bring the film’s sweeping landscapes to life.
As we previously predicted in Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is Not a Mixed-Use Resort Hotel, But That Doesn’t Really Matter, an entire wing of this property is likely going to be Resort Studios (a la Big Pine Key at the Grand Floridian), which are basically glorified hotel rooms with a microwave added.
Walt Disney World hasn’t indicated how many Resort Studios there will be or what they’ll offer, but we expect these hotel rooms to be the majority of the inventory at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, and bookable with cash for decades to come. But more on that in a minute…
Artist’s Nest Club Level
Guests staying in select club level resort rooms will enjoy access to The Artist’s Nest, a concierge lounge perched above the treetops, offering personalized service, complimentary refreshments, and exclusive views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.
Further underscoring the practical reality that Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge was originally intended to be mixed-use and will continue to be bookable with cash is the presence of a Club Level and the Artist’s Nest concierge lounge. This makes it only the second DVC resort at Walt Disney World to offer this, after Kilimanjaro Club at Animal Kingdom Lodge. (That was created under very different circumstances.)
It’ll be interesting to see the point charts for the Artist’s Nest Club Level. Our expectation is that the premium for booking this category is…off the charts!
Hidden Willow Presidential Suite
For those looking for an elevated getaway, the Hidden Willow Presidential Suite will offer elegant accommodations with peaceful views of Bay Lake by day and spectacular views of Magic Kingdom fireworks by night.
Sleeping up to six guests, this spacious suite will feature two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a washer and dryer, plus access to The Artist’s Nest Club Level.
Hidden Willow Presidential Suite also looks nice; somewhat similar to the penthouses at the Island Tower. Can’t imagine that we or most people reading this will ever stay here, but it’s always nice to have material to add to our bucket lists or how we’d spend our lottery winnings at Walt Disney World. (Step one: start playing the lotto in the first place!)
How to Book Your Stay at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge
- October 6, 2026: Disney Vacation Club members can make early rental reservations by contacting Member Services at (800) 800-9800.
- October 7, 2026: Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can make early rental reservations by contacting (407) 934-7639.
- October 8, 2026: All guests can make reservations online or by calling (407) 934-7639.
Note that these are for bookings with cash, meaning that members will pay the regular rack rate for the rooms, which will undoubtedly be astronomical. Disney Vacation Club members will be able to make points-based reservations at a later date. We’re marking our calendars for that, not this.
In an email sent out to DVC members, Disney also teased this: “Eligible Members, stay tuned for more details about an exclusive Member “First Wave” Experience at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge!” Color me intrigued!
Stay tuned as we continue to share more details about Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge ahead of its official opening on July 1, 2027 at Walt Disney World Resort!
Our Commentary
The two most recent looks inside Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge have made more me impressed with the property. That was especially true of the common areas, and I love some of the woodwork in these rooms.
At the same time, I never had any doubts that the rooms would be great. That’s the one way DVC hasn’t really missed in years. If anything, there’s a bit more dead space and less texture in some of these rooms than expected. They might skew a bit too clean and modern.
Of course, a lot comes down to execution, and admittedly, these are still early images. In looking back at what was originally released for the Island Tower versus the finished rooms, I actually prefer the end result better than the concept art or renderings. Unlike idealized attraction art, hotel rooms tend to play better in person.
If the attention to detail is there, the inside of Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge should be a winner. Not that I’m surprised. For all of our complaints about the Island Tower’s hideous exterior, Imagineers nailed the inside of the hotel. Like that, Lakeshore Lodge is ugly on the outside–but hopefully detailed and well-appointed inside!
All in all, we like what we’ve seen so far of the inside of Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge. This is a big change from The Wetlands, which did not exactly garner a favorable first impression from us. We’re still hoping that was just the concept art that underwhelmed, because the animating idea is a fun and whimsical one–so that also could be good!
Is Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge Actually a Mixed-Use Resort?
Disney really needs the interior and restaurants to be fantastic, because this will be one of the big (figurative) selling points for Lakeshore Lodge. Now that we know this massive 967 room property is not a mixed use resort, Disney Vacation Club is going to have its work cut out in (literally) selling points for it.
As I’ve said before, I view this as a distinction without a difference. Disney Lakeshore Lodge will be the second-largest DVC property at Walt Disney World, just behind Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort which has 888 vacation homes, plus the 60 Treehouse Villas.
It cannot be overstated how massive of a resort complex Disney Lakeshore Lodge is. This 10-story, 967 room resort will be Walt Disney World’s biggest since Art of Animation or Animal Kingdom Lodge. Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is slightly smaller than the Grand Floridian once including the DVC wing, and larger than the Poly, Contemporary, or Wilderness Lodge.
Lakeshore Lodge’s massive size is precisely why this question of mixed-use hotel vs. dedicated exclusively to DVC is a distinction without a difference. It will be a de facto mixed-use hotel for years and years (and years!!!) to come.
Here’s some perspective. Disney finally declared the final 20 vacation homes at Disney’s Riviera Resort into the DVC room inventory with the Orange County Comptroller (also per DVCNews). More than seven years after the first declaration was made on February 15, 2019, Disney has now declared all 341 Riviera vacation homes for the DVC inventory. At the current pace, Riviera should sell out by Summer 2027. That’s 8 years for roughly one-third the rooms.
With nearly triple the room count, it could be reasonably assumed that Disney Lakeshore Lodge will take three times as long to sell out. Potentially longer once you acknowledge the reality that resorts typically sell faster once they first open active sales, and gradually slow over time. Of course, Riviera Resort did have to contend with COVID in there, but that was short-lived. It also benefitted from stimulus money and soaring consumer spending.
Accordingly, it could take 20 years or longer for Disney Lakeshore Lodge to sell out. If I were a betting man, I’d put that number at over 25 years, just based on the likelihood of slowing sales at some point plus a recession or two in the mix.
The presence of a Club Level Lounge, Resort Studios, and a Presidential Suite should underscore the reality that Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is a mixed-use resort, even if they won’t call it one for technical or legal reasons. But since it is a DVC resort, it follows that all of those offerings will be bookable via DVC points and not just cash.
My guess is that Walt Disney World will “discourage” members from using points on Club Level and the Presidential Suite by making the point charts really unfavorable. Club Level has become incredibly popular, and they’ll want higher-margin cash guests booking those rooms. There’s no way it’s like Animal Kingdom Lodge where Kilimanjaro Club is a fantastic use of points. The Artist’s Nest Club Level will also assuredly be a terrible use of points. But we shall see!
Ultimately, we remain cautiously optimistic about Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge. As a reminder, we never wanted this built in the first place, and were pleased when it was seemingly abandoned. However, we also have a “what’s done is done” outlook on this project.
That’s to say that Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge is being built, whether Walt Disney World fans want it or not, so we might as well hope for the absolute best. It will bring me no joy whatsoever if the end product is underwhelming. I don’t want to say “I told you this should’ve never been built.” I very much want my reaction to be “turns out I’m glad they paved over the wilderness for this!”
As I’ve said before, we’re looking forward to staying at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge when it opens on July 1, 2027. While I have lingering reservations about this project and its proximity to Fort Wilderness, everything else WDW and DVC have revealed in the last couple of months has been optimism-inducing. I’m really looking forward to Lakeshore Lodge at this point, and had become increasingly optimistic about the project prior to this.
Part of that is my unabashed love of lodges, and the ‘wilderness region’ of Walt Disney World. Another part is how I’ve ended up feeling about other dubiously-designed resorts that have opened since 2018. There’s the aforementioned Riviera Resort for one, which has grown on me a ton. We also have ended up loving Gran Destino Tower. Hideous as it is from the outside, we’ve enjoyed Island Tower far more than expected.
Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge looks much more ambitious, fully-featured, and better looking than any of those. If this has a healthier budget for placemaking and a lush environment around the outside, that alone will make it a massive upgrade over the Island Tower.
It’s a shame that Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge towers over the Settlement, as opposed to being centered between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, but it should still be an asset to this resort ‘region,’ as well as the DVC portfolio and Walt Disney World as a whole. Failing all else, we’re looking forward to finally being able to walk between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness again!
If you’re considering joining DVC and want more guidance, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. That guide covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
Your Thoughts
Will you be booking a stay for opening night on July 1, 2026 at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge? Booking a cash rate, or holding out for the points chart to be released? Thoughts on the DVC villas, hotel-style guest rooms, A-frame cabins, Club Level lounge, or Presidential Suite at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
These are really lovely! Hope they have walkthrough models at the preview center we can see during our stay in December.
Did they say if the 1BR villas will have 2 full baths like kidani, poly tower, and BLT? To me 2 baths for 5 adults is a real selling point
I think it does. There appears to be a shower through that door we see behind the dining table. Overall these seem similar to the Poly Tower.
Transportation options? Bus and boat?
From external photos, it looks like some rooms will not have balconies. Can you confirm that yet?
Yes, larger than the Contemporary by like 17 rooms, LOL.
WRT pools, will this have any of the small auxiliary pools. Beach Club has two of those and Yacht Club has one, in addition to Storm Along Bay.
There’s one quiet pool.
You need to embrace those DVC and Disney fans that stay in grand villas. We stay every year in a grand villa and were quite disappointed when the island tower did not offer that option. I am excited to book here on points next year
Does either this new dvc or BLT have any rooms that view the lake and no buildings at all or is every view now showing a hotel on the other side of the lake?
Based solely on the renderings, this feels like a less bougie Conrad@Evermore to me. By that I mean there’s enough to do that I could see spending several days of my stay without leaving the resort. Of course that depends on the quality of the onsite restaurants!
Since we camp in our motorhome at Fort Wilderness a few times a year – happy to see some new dining options! We love the dining at WL so this is a plus in that category.
And we’ve been going to FW since 1987 (tent camped then). So the new lodge and its affect on us personally is minimal in my opinion. I don’t hang out up front much and see nothing of the resort in my little neck of the woods at my site. After this long I’ve seen a lot of changes and choose to roll with than complain ♀️
I really wanted to add on here. But the lack of a fifth sleeper studio is a deal breaker with 3 kids. The amazing Riviera studios with the split bath was the reason we joined DVC and it makes me sad that the new resorts (Poly Tower, Disneyland and now this) are abandoning the awesome Riviera layout. I also predict the point cost for the bland 1 bedrooms is going to be astronomically high, and I can’t even imagine the A frame point cost. Especially since this is likely to be hard to get at 7 months so I can’t just combine points from my other contracts and would have to get something like 400 points here to stay a week instead of the 150 I had planned to add on. I am so bummed out right now.
I second this comment. Seems intentional to move 5 guests into a 1BR as it doesn’t seem like it affects square footage by just adding the pull down sleeper under the TV. I imagine Disney has data that suggests most families staying in a deluxe studio are 3-4 people and so it benefits them to have the extra drawer space. That said, we’re another family of 5 and make a lot of our stay decisions based on which resorts have the sleeper option.
If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might say that the lack of a 5th sleeper was a purposeful move to keep the average guest per room count down so as to not overburden the amenities.
Putting even more tinfoil onto my hat: it was to push people towards the (otherwise unpopular) Cabins at Fort Wilderness.
I like this theming about as much as I could like minimalist theming. It’s still minimalist, but at least there are some elements that look like they could be beautiful. And to be fair I think the most maximalist theming has always been in the lobbies, not the rooms. So maybe they surprise with that, who knows?
The pool and lazy river appear incredibly small. I was hoping for a sprawling pool like Beach/Yacht Club. Doesn’t this resort have many more rooms than other hotels…will the pool(s) at Lakeshore Lodge be large enough to accommodate or will it be super crowded?
Yacht & Beach Club (combined, plus the DVC villas) is much larger than Lakeshore Lodge. I don’t think this pool is significantly smaller than Stormalong Bay, but I too have questions about whether it’s sufficiently large to accommodate the guest load here comfortably.
It’s funny how different people’s tastes are: I think the deluxe studios look the nicest from these images, whereas I think that northern lights headboard looks super ugly!
I’m sorry. These rooms look like they are from the Brady Bunch house. Yuck. Are we sure it wasn’t Mike Brady that designed these?
I like the rooms in a “nice but nothing amazing” kinda way, but I do agree that if the 70s are any guide, one has to be super careful with that pea green color. I grew up in the early 80s and still remember the shag pea green carpet in my bedroom, left over from its 70s origins, lol. Pea green and orange are supposedly in right now (or at least being pushed in home wares,) but history says they do not tend to become classics. I think the orangey colors will work ok here because they’re paired with leaves, and as a country we have what borders on an obsessive mania for all things autumn. The green is nature related, but I could still see it aging faster.
I am never as critical as those who question simple artwork – it all looks good in my mind. but i do wonder about the future. seems obvious to me that the chunk between wilderness and lakeshore is destined to be another development – just a matter of time. but also, the wilderness area now going around the other end of the bay lake seems to have lots of room for more development. and that would shore up all the properties if a monorail or sky lift were developed to circle the lake and serve several current and possibly new developments. certainly not immediately foreseeable, but let’s dream long term. Disney has more budget, and we are talking potentially many years down the road. Disney has kept developing now more than ever, so why not?
The “why not” in both cases would be that a lot of the land is undevelopable. I assume that’s a big reason why Lakeshore Lodge is located where it is, as opposed to more centered between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. Maybe that’s not the case, and they want to keep that plot open for another resort.
I’d be shocked if a monorail or gondola is possible, though.
Lets hope for at least larger boats to handle large strollers and ECVs and dream of a train Or monorail to MK and TTC
Other than the pool areas, I am not a big fan of the look of this resort. The room drawings make me question how (assuming) the same people who did such a great job on the Boulder Ridge refurb decided the rooms should look like this. I get that a lot of people like this look, but the rooms feel a little to close to Marriott type style to me, of course other than the Disney art. I think I may change my mind on the look of the lobby once I step inside. I’ll definitely try to book a couple nights here on a future trip to explore the resort. If anyone from Disney reads this, please reopen the path from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness after Lakeshore opens. Perhaps early 2028? 🙂
Both the Boulder Ridge and Kidani Village room redos are way more to my tastes than this.
I assume it’s a matter of different target audiences? Old school fans versus new buyers. But I also think this will look better in person than renderings, just like all of the recent rooms (IMO) have.
I don’t see us ever buying into DVC (although they say never say never), but as a potential cash hotel guest I think this resort looks really nice! I will agree some of the rooms look a little too sleek in concept art, but overall the vibe of this really appeals to me. Maybe I’m “part of the problem” since I don’t care as much how the exterior looks if the interior is engaging, but this looks like a pretty good middle ground between themed and high end to me.
Honestly the biggest consideration for me with this will be “are the restaurants good” and we won’t know that until next summer. Fingers crossed though!
Restaurants are almost always at their best when a new resort opens. If you’re considering a stay here, earlier will definitely be the way to go between that and inevitable discounts!
Thank you for the post and pictures! I am pleasantly surprised.
Any predictions about the points charts for the more typical villas? Will Lakeshore be competitive with BRV/CCV points charts?
My prediction about the impact of Lakeshore on the wilderness resort region is slightly less rosy than yours. Transportation to Wilderness Lodge and FW will be worse, and the lobby of Wilderness Lodge is going to feel the crowds.
I assume Lakeshore Lodge will be competitive with Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek, but with a slight premium.
I also think you’re right about both transportation and the lobby of Wilderness Lodge–at least to some extent. That’s fairly undeniable, just by virtue of plopping down a massive hotel here that’ll connect to the other properties. For me, the tradeoff of being able to walk among the three and have access to the amenities of the trio is more than worth it. The walk is just long enough, though, that not a huge number of guests will do it (similar to Riviera/CBR).
Lake Shore Lodge’s outdoor outdoor architecture looks nice, but the indoor theming should be more rustic, as a lodge would look. Sadly, the rooms don’t look anything like a typical rustic lodge should be themed.
What I’m really curious about is when they actually will put the contracts for sale; and if/what the discount will be as an incentive to “buy early”.
I actually like the light and airy look of the rooms. Agree that the Encanto connection seems to be a bit of popular IP pandering, as there are a lot of other IP ideas that are a more direction connection, but it’s still nice. So far the only area that I am unsure about is the main pool. I had high expectations and the renderings seem to not meet my vision, as I was hoping of a more overall look that the nearby bayou restaurant has. Also personally bummed with the July 1st opening, as I was hoping for a Memorial Day Weekend kickoff. Looking forward to see how it all pans out!
It must be to do with the current popularity of Encanto because I agree that having a natural landscape dominated by the Casita Madrigal is a poor choice. If they wanted a tropical landscape they could easily have gone with the Jungle Book (especially since we’re unlikely to get an Asian-themed resort). Encanto, like Coco (and Emperor’s New Groove?), could have been kept for a future resort themed to Latin America.
The Duo Studios at Disneyland Hotel are actually Jungle Book themed (see: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-smallest-hotel-room-duo-studio/). I don’t think those would fit any better than these.
I’m also surprised by the July 1, 2027 opening. I fully expected the very beginning of summer. It’s especially interesting that the date is being set this late into summer over 10 months out. I assume that’s a fairly conservative date, but soft openings for DVC resorts are unheard of.