A trip of "firsts" for us.

[quirty30]

First stay in a Treehouse, first rental car and tonight, my first attempt at a full-fledged meal (something other than a simple breakfast or sandwich lunch.) We had roasted red potato wedges with fresh garlic, basil, balsamic dressing and parmesan cheese, steamed baby green beans, and broiled filet mignon. My $10.50 bottle of Estancia Cabernet was 50 cents less than the one class of BV Napa Cabernet I had a Turf Club last night. And the filets I got at Super Target had a lot more flavor than my prime rib at Turf Club (and were much more tender.) The entire meal cost $40, including a yummy ice cream cake dessert (which we only ate half of.) My kids and I really enjoyed this dinner. Now, mind you, when you're out and about at the theme parks, who wants to go back to the villa to cook dinner? But what a pleasant surprise, regardless. We're going to be eating half our dinners in the villa this trip and spending less time at the parks. And we LOVE the Treehouse. Could have cooked the steaks on the grill, but just didn't feel like messing with charcoal for the 3 of us. No grill marks using the broiler, but they were cooked perfectly. Certainly, the villa kitchens leave something to be desired in terms of ideal equipment, but we made do.

Also, I should note, we did the vast majority of our shopping at the Super Target on Irlo Bronson in Kissimmee. I had a coupon for $5 off $75, and my usual 5% off for using my Red Card. After we got back to the villa, I realized we forgot a few things, and decided to run to Goodings - what a joke. Inflated prices and poor selection. We left and went to the Publix on Vineland. Even there, I realized that the prices were better at Super Target (but I think Publix had a better selection of products - that's where we found the ice cream cake.) For the few things I needed, Publix was fine pricewise. I was picking up a lighter for a citronella candle for the deck, and the cashier suggested I just get a free book of matches - that was really nice of her.

Back to the Treehouses, we are thrilled with our choice to stay here, It was quite a point splurge, as it's just me and my 15 year old son and 12 year old daughter. But we all love having our own bedroom. And the theming here is just lovely. Great attention to detail. Photos don't do it justice. We feel it is worth the point premium over a 2 BR at SSR, given the unique qualities. Especially love the high ceilings and tall windows. Makes it feel SO spacious. Our villa is right by the path to the grandstand, and pretty much equidistant between the pool and the boat dock, Great location. Though last night, I noticed that someone was parked in what I would call the spot for our villa. I think the people next to us were using both spaces. So last night, I left a simple note on their windshield asking if they wouldn't mind leaving the space for us today; they obliged, and it was appreciated when we returned from Super Target with about $200 worth of groceries. I kind of felt guilty leaving the note, but at the same time, I really didn't want to have to look elsewhere for somewhere to park our one vehicle.

Well, tomorrow marks our first trip to a Disney waterpark (Blizzard Beach.) So I better get to bed, or my kids will have my head on a platter for breakfast! Really looking forward to driving there over taking a bus. I think this trip is really going to spoil us!

 

[MEK]

Sounds like you are off to great start on your vacation. I stayed at the Treehouses last summer and it was wonderful. There are a few extra parking spaces not associated with a villa near the pool and the path to SSR. We parked there regularly as we had two cars for our villa.

Sounds like your meal was a great hit, too.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

 

[quirty30]

Sounds like you are off to great start on your vacation. I stayed at the Treehouses last summer and it was wonderful. There are a few extra parking spaces not associated with a villa near the pool and the path to SSR. We parked there regularly as we had two cars for our villa.

Sounds like your meal was a great hit, too.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Well tonight's dinner is not going quite as well. I was making Fettuccine Alfredo and about 2 minutes after I put the pasta in the water, the power in the Treehouse went out. And a Treehouse with no power is not as much fun as you might think. I called and was told I was the first person to report it, however, looking around outside it's pretty clear that it's affecting all the Treehouses. So now we are just sitting in waiting. I have the lid on my pasta hoping it will somehow cook eventually.

 

[quirty30]

Power outage lasted about 45 minutes. I managed to salvage dinner. But what an unexpected glitch. Anyone else ever deal with a power outage while staying at WDW?

 

[quirty30]

.

 

[quirty30]

So yesterday we got up early and drove over to the Polynesian for a 7:50 breakfast at Kona (one of our faves.) It was good, as always. Then I drove over to the ticket and transportation center (we thought about parking and walking over to the Poly before breakfast, but still needed to put on sunscreen before heading over to the Magic Kingdom. But we were up about as early as we ever wake up on vacation - not a minute to spare.) By the time we parked, took the tram and then the ferry, it was about 10AM.

Made our way up Main Street and headed for Tomorrowland. We figured the crowds would be headed for the new Fantasyland, but we decided to save it for later as we had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest. We managed to go on a lot of rides despite the crowds and heat. Had lunch at Columbia Harbor House and shared a Nutella waffle sandwich at Sleepy Hollow (first time & it was amazing!) After lunch we explored Frontierland and Adventureland. Ended up with an unexpected visit to the Enchanted Tiki Room after the Jungle Cruise was halted due to inclement weather. To make it up to my kids, I got them Dole Whips.

Then we headed back over to Fantasyland for IASW, Philharmagic & the new Little Mermaid ride. Tried to check in for dinner about a half an hour early but they wouldn't let me. And there were lots of people waiting for cancellations. This was around 6:50 - shortly thereafter they told everyone there was nothing else available. We came back around 7:05 and were finally able to check in. We were seated shortly after our 7:20 reservation - right in the Grand Ballroom. Very pretty atmosphere & very nice and cool. The food was not spectacular but the flavors were good. It reminded me a lot of the food on the Fantasy. Decent but kind of lukewarm - like banquet food. But it was pretty much what I expected. Much like Cinderella's Castle, one of those things you need to do at least once. The theming was absolutely wonderful.

Once dinner was over, we made a beeline for the front of the park & hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary. We decided to escape the crowds and watch Wishes from the Top of the World. After such a long day at the park, It was a really enjoyable way to end the day. There ended up being a pretty sizable crowd in the lounge itself & Michael was a great waiter/bartender. (He seemed to be doing both.)

We managed to leave just a little bit before Wishes ended, hoping we could catch the monorail before it got too crowded. Fortunately we did. Managed to catch the first tram as well and escaped the parking lot with ease. I don't think it took much more than 10 minutes to get back to the Treehouse. I must admit I am astounded how close everything is. After using only Disney transportation for over 10 trips, having my own car has really changed my perspective of things. I think I could get really used to having a car on future trips.

Thought I would mention, yesterday was our 4th day of an 8 night stay, and much to my surprise, we did get our scheduled full cleaning while we were gone at the Magic Kingdom all day. I can't tell you how nice it was to come back to a clean Villa, complete with fresh sheets and towels. I'll probably be booking more eight night stays just to take advantage of that!

We were so worn out from our long day at the Magic Kingdom yesterday, that today we pretty much relaxed around the Treehouse. I cooked a full fledged breakfast of bacon, eggs hash browns and toast. We swam over at the Treehouse pool for several hours. Made a chicken Caesar salad for lunch and then we took a boat ride over to Downtown Disney for a little while. Dinner was pork chops, macaroni and cheese & broccoli. I can't believe I cooked 3 meals on a vacation day! Obviously I'm not attempting anything all that difficult, but I've been pretty pleased with the results all the same.

I'm off to bed shortly as tomorrow we are heading to Epcot for the day. Dinner reservations at the Via Napoli. No cooking at all for me tomorrow.

P.S. Monday we toured the Grand Floridian villa models over at the Welcome Center. Much to my surprise, the tub was plenty big for my 5' 10" Pooh-sized body. After having only seen pictures I wasn't sure it would be. The guide probably thought I was nuts for asking to try it out. It just so happens I am now in a position to afford an add-in without financing, but my kids are so in love with this Treehouse, I may just look for resale SSR points instead.

 

[quirty30]

Relatively "normal" day at Epcot for us yesterday. Decided to test our KTTW cards to see if they would generate extra FP's (in addition to our 10 day NE tickets.) They did - so we got FP's for Soarin' and Test Track. Turned out to be a very good thing as the standby lines for both were pretty long for most of the rest of the day (we rode each early after getting our FP's for later in the day.) In between, we hit almost all the minor attractions in Future World (except for Mission Space and Journey into Imagination.) Had lunch at Sunshine Seasons (loved, loved, loved my beet and goat cheese salad!)

Dinner was at 7 at Via Napoli -worked out perfect with our FP's for Test Track that we hit close to the end of our time period at 5:45. Then we headed for the World Showcase. We had arancini and mozzarella caprese for appetizers, half pepperoni/half spicy sausage pizza for dinner, and zeppole for dessert. Aqua Frescas for the kids to drink and red sangria for me. Everything was as good as I remembered - it's definitely our favorite meal at Epcot! After dinner we rode Maelstrom and then looked for someplace close to Future World to watch Illuminations. We ended up front of that building just behind Mexico leading towards Test Track - I don't know what it's called, but we stood at the railing by the pond in front of the restrooms. I was astounded at how good the view was - very close to the fireworks and you could see the "floating world" as well. And afterwards it was an easy escape to the exit. We were back at our Treehouse just after 9:30PM.

After another all day theme park visit, we were too wiped out for Typhoon Lagoon today. Instead, we slept in and I cooked a big breakfast. We spent most of the afternoon at the Treehouse Pool. It rained intermittently but never really poured. Despite the rain, it was as crowded as I've ever seen it. There were probably about 20 people there when we left around 3:30PM.

This evening we had tickets for the 9PM La Nouba show. I promised DD I would polish her fingernails and it took me longer than expected. We didn't get out the door til almost 7 and made a mad dash for the boat dock. Several people we heading out the path as we turned onto and I thought for sure we would miss the boat they just exited. Sure enough, it was pulling away as we ran onto the dock. Tom, the captain saw us and actually came back to get us. I thought it was just the kindest gesture ever and thanked him several times. I don't think we'd have had time for dinner if we would have had to wait for the next boat. We ended up with plenty of time to have a relaxing dinner at WPE at the west side of DtD. Not as elaborate a menu as the Marketplace location, but I was happy I didn't have to walk all that way in a dress and heels! Dinner was good, and we made it over to La Nouba in plenty of time!

This was our second time to see Cirque du Soleil here in Orlando. I splurged on front row seats, hoping it would improve the overall experience (last time we got the DVC discounted tickets and sat near the back of the theater.) It was amazing sitting up close. The 2 clowns at the beginning of the show nearly dropped the yellow box right on my head as they walked to the stage! But seeing all the other acts up close was mesmerizing (although my neck is a little sore from looking up.) If you've never seen the show, I definitely recommend it, even if you get the discounted DVC tickets in section 2. The theatre was only about 2/3 full, so I think they will continue to offer that perk.

Tomorrow is our last full day, and we are off to Typhoon Lagoon in the AM. Which means I need to get to bed!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Enjoying your trip report. I think you description of BOG being like banquet food is spot on. Exactly how we felt too.

 

[Podgieree]

Thanks for the great report. The Treehouses have intrigued me over the years and now I think I have to put them on my list for a future trip.

 

[noahsmom]

We are thinking of booking a treehouse villa for our 2015 trip with my niece and her family. Question for you, does the 3rd bedroom (the one with bunk beds) have enough floor space for an air mattress? My DS, now 6'2" and still growing, is getting too long for the pull out chair and we thought an air mattress might be a good alternative.

 

[nono]

We are thinking of booking a treehouse villa for our 2015 trip with my niece and her family. Question for you, does the 3rd bedroom (the one with bunk beds) have enough floor space for an air mattress? My DS, now 6'2" and still growing, is getting too long for the pull out chair and we thought an air mattress might be a good alternative.

Yes. Though for the record, our 6' nephew was in the top bunk. Our smallest was on the air mattress. (We didn't bother with anyone sleeping in the living room).

 

[noahsmom]

It would be nice to have him in a bedroom so the living room is open. What size air mattress did you use?

 

[catherines_mama]

Sounds like a dream of a vacation! I love all the cooking you are doing. Very jealous!

 

[nono]

It would be nice to have him in a bedroom so the living room is open. What size air mattress did you use?

I am not sure of its exact measurements. It's not kiddy-sized, but it seems a couple inches shorter than full-length. Definitely full-width. HTH

 

[Alice Sr.]

Thanks for posting, loved hearing your perspective on the Tree House and the rest of your experiences.