Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge

Discovery Island is an 11.5-acre (4.7 ha) island in Bay Lake, Florida. It is located on the property of Walt Disney World in the city of Bay Lake. Between 1974 and 1999, it was an attraction open to guests, who could observe its many species of animals. Disney originally named it Treasure Island, and later renamed it Discovery Island. It currently sits abandoned, but can be seen by any watercraft in Bay Lake. Discovery Island is now the name of one of the lands in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Bay Lake is a natural lake about 1 mile (1,600 meters) across and with a depth of 35 feet (11 m), located in Orange County, Florida, United States, in the north end of the Walt Disney World property, in the Disney-controlled city of Bay Lake, Florida, and immediately to the east of the Magic Kingdom. It is roughly triangular in shape and is under the jurisdiction of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The lake connects with the Disney-made Seven Seas Lagoon via a water bridge on the west side.

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is a themed camping resort located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area at the Walt Disney World Resort in the U.S. state of Florida. It officially opened on November 19, 1971. The resort is situated adjacent to Bay Lake, near Disney's Wilderness Lodge. It also formerly contained Disney's River Country, a water park which closed on November 2, 2001.

Disney's Wilderness Lodge is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Opened on May 28, 1994, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. Disney's Wilderness Lodge is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area on Bay Lake. The resort is located near Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. A similarly themed resort, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, is located at the Disneyland Resort in California.

Disney's Contemporary Resort, originally to be named Tempo Bay Hotel and previously the Contemporary Resort Hotel, is a resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. Opened on October 1, 1971, the hotel is one of two original properties located at the complex alongside Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and is currently listed as a deluxe-priced resort. It is adjacent to the Magic Kingdom theme park, and is identified by its A-frame main building.

Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, commonly known as Bay Lake Tower, is a Disney Vacation Club resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort that opened in 2009. It is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area, adjacent to Disney's Contemporary Resort, Bay Lake, and Magic Kingdom. While the tower is designated as a standalone Disney Vacation Club resort hotel, it is considered an addition to Disney's Contemporary Resort, as they both share the same theme. It occupies the land formerly occupied by the North Garden Wing, a building that was adjacent to the main tower and mirrored the still-standing South Garden Wing.

Disney's Persian Resort was a themed hotel planned for Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, the project was cancelled, along with Disney's Venetian Resort and Disney's Asian Resort. Forms from 1978 showed that the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi offered to fund the project's construction and operation but after the Iranian Revolution the project was permanently shelved. The resort was to be located on the shores of Bay Lake, not the Seven Seas Lagoon like the rest of the resorts. The early drawings would have had a monorail spur going to it and through Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom.

Disney's Venetian Resort was to be a Disney-owned resort at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, that originally would have begun operation on October 1, 1971. It was going to be themed after Venice, Italy, located on Seven Seas Lagoon. Due to the 1973 Oil Embargo, the resort, along with Disney's Asian Resort and Disney's Persian Resort, were never built. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Michael Eisner saw how well Disney's Grand Floridian Resort was doing and wanted an even better resort. The idea for the Venetian was scrapped in favor of Disney's Mediterranean Resort, which was also not built.The resort would have been located between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Disney's Contemporary Resort near the water bridge. It was planned to be a 500-room resort. The resort would include canals, with gondolas providing transport.Plans for a Venetian-themed resort on the site were revisited in 1999. The project, named Disney's Grande Venezia Resort, was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in conjunction with architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, the same firm that helped design the Grand Floridian. Like the Mediterranean Resort, the hotel was to rival the Grand Floridian to be the most luxurious of all the resorts. Concept blueprints called for intricately-designed buildings with terra cotta roofs, canals with functioning gondolas, lighted fountains, a masquerade-themed pool, a conference center, and a wedding chapel.

Disney's Mediterranean Resort was a proposed Disney Deluxe resort to be located at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that originally would have begun operation in the late 1990s. It was going to be themed after a small Greek island and be located on Seven Seas Lagoon. Land was cleared for the building, but due to very swampy and poor ground samples, the resort was never able to be built. The resort was to be a 5 star resort rivaling Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, also on the lagoon. The resort would have been located between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Disney's Contemporary Resort near the aqueduct. It was originally intended that an earlier un-built resort, Disney's Venetian Resort, would have opened on the same site in 1974. On April 28, 2010, it was discovered that a portion of the land where the Mediterranean Resort was to have been constructed was cleared once again. The land was cleared for the purpose of improving lines of sight for the Walt Disney World Monorail System.

Space Mountain is an outer space-themed, indoor roller coaster in Tomorrowland located at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The dark ride, which opened on January 15, 1975, is the original version of the iconic attraction that has since been replicated at other Disney theme park locations worldwide, with the exception of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Space Mountain is one of the first computer operated roller coasters and is also the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida. Walt Disney originally conceived the idea of a space-themed roller coaster for Disneyland following the success of Matterhorn Bobsleds in 1959. However, due to technological and spatial limitations, the concept was further developed and eventually became a part of Walt Disney World. RCA helped fund construction and sponsored the ride from 1975 to 1993. FedEx assumed sponsorship from 1994 to 2004. Space Mountain has undergone a number of changes since its opening, including new ride trains in 1989 and 2009, as well as incremental upgrades to incorporate modern roller coaster technology. It has also seen a number of cosmetic renovations to its entry, queue, and post-show elements, many of which were necessitated by changes in its corporate sponsorship over the years.

Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior façade that is a landmark for the respective park. The original Space Mountain coaster opened in 1975 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. There are two tracks within this attraction, Alpha and Omega, which passengers can choose from. Other versions of the attraction were built at all other Disney parks except for Shanghai Disneyland Park.

The Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) is an intermodal monorail, ferry, and bus transportation hub on the Walt Disney World Resort. The station serves both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot spurs of the Walt Disney World Monorail System, as well as conventional bus and taxis in the Greater Orlando Region.