Any information on the Treehouses

[MamaJen]

I hope you guys can help me ! My mother-in-law, husband, and other family members of his side stayed at this Dinsey property hotel many years ago. It was called the Treehouses (not quite sure of exact name) and they LOVED staying there. I guess it was like a villa, it accomdated 8 people and had an beds upstairs and beds downstairs (that all I know). For some reason they closed the hotel down and were supposed to re-open it at some point. Anyway, they found out from a CM last year, that they were going to re-open the hotel in the summer of 2008. I just want to know if anyone can verify this information, it would be greatly appreciated. They want to plan another big family trip next year and stay at that hotel.

 

[goofy4tink]

Sorry, but that will never happen. They closed down the treehouse villas to the public because they are not up to code for handicap access. So, Disney is housing it's international CMs there. If you take the boat to, and from, POR to DTD, you will see they are still in use, but more than a bit rundown.
I wish they would bring them back also, but I just don't see it happening. It would be far too expensive to get them to where they need to be legally. And they can't rip them down and rebuild because of the eccosystem (at least that's my understanding).

 

[MamaJen]

That is so sad. As I said before my husbands family absoultely loved that hotel and were excited to hear that they might be opening it back up. I was hoping to go, since I have never been and they told me all about it. I guess I'll have to report that the hotel might never be open again Thanks Goofy4Tink for the info.

Can you recomend a hotel that might be similar in all ways to the Treehouse villas? Meaning pricing, ppl in rooms, etc. Thanks a lot!

 

[disneyfan55]

I always wanted to stay in the Treehouses. I was wondering what happened to them. We stayed in 1 bedroom villas with a kitchen and wet bar in 1982 and they were near the treehouses from what I remember. The reason we didn't stay in the treehouses was they cost about twice what we paid and were for a greater number of occupants. At least they are being put to use.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

Another vote to figure out some way to bring back the treehouse villas! We stayed in Disney Villas in 1994, but we were in the townhouse type. Even these were pretty cool -- King bedroom loft upstairs, murphy bed downstairs (my boys loved that!), full kitchen and huge great room. The only thing missing was the washer/dryer. Around the the same time, one of my work friends stayed in the three-bedroom villa with her whole family and her sister's family. I remember seeing the pictures...Looked so nice!

 

[disneyfan55]

Another vote to figure out some way to bring back the treehouse villas! We stayed in Disney Villas in 1994, but we were in the townhouse type. Even these were pretty cool -- King bedroom loft upstairs, murphy bed downstairs (my boys loved that!), full kitchen and huge great room. The only thing missing was the washer/dryer. Around the the same time, one of my work friends stayed in the three-bedroom villa with her whole family and her sister's family. I remember seeing the pictures...Looked so nice!

They had the washer/dryers at least in the complex. None of the Disney resorts had them except the Golf Resort (then, now it's Shades of Green). This thread is really going back a long time ago!!

 

[Stitches12]

I am curious - we rented OKW last week and took the boat between OKW and DTD (passed through a canal and also by SSR). There were some "houses" that seemed to be up off the ground in the trees. Are these the tree house villas ? I've always been curious about what these buildings were.

If it is, they look pretty run down and it doesn't appear that there's any lights in them at all at night.

Thanks,

 

[hmillerbarilla]

Interesting... are there any pictures of these anywhere???

 

[MamaJen]

I am curious - we rented OKW last week and took the boat between OKW and DTD (passed through a canal and also by SSR). There were some "houses" that seemed to be up off the ground in the trees. Are these the tree house villas ? I've always been curious about what these buildings were.

If it is, they look pretty run down and it doesn't appear that there's any lights in them at all at night.

Thanks,

Yes, I do believe those are the Treehouse villas, because my husband pointed them out to me a couple of years ago and they seemed unoccupied to me.

Please, don't forget my question about other villas that might be just as nice!!

 

[hmillerbarilla]

I don't know the specifics about what the treehouses were like, but going with the whole "tree house/wilderness" idea, how about the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge?

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry, but that will never happen. They closed down the treehouse villas to the public because they are not up to code for handicap access. So, Disney is housing it's international CMs there. If you take the boat to, and from, POR to DTD, you will see they are still in use, but more than a bit rundown.
I wish they would bring them back also, but I just don't see it happening. It would be far too expensive to get them to where they need to be legally. And they can't rip them down and rebuild because of the eccosystem (at least that's my understanding).

Even though handicapped access gets brought up every time someone asks about the Treehouses, that's not why they were closed.

If they had to make any handicapped accessible, it would be a very small number. And, there are a lot of 'loopholes' in the ADA law - for example, there is no requirement to upgrade if it's not 'technically feasible.
There is a formula for the number of units in a hotel/resort that need to be accessible. I think there were between 50 and 75 Treehouses. By the formula, that would mean only 3-4 need to be accessible - and only one would have to be fully accessible with a roll in shower. The others would be required to have tubs with grab bars and a raised seat toilet. The main problem would be getting from ground level to the main level on the second floor, but there are ways to make them accessible without a lot of cost; including things like putting in a lift to go up to the outdoor porch level.
They may also be exempt because of being only 2 stories and each building being a self contained villa. Even in new construction, buildings 2 stories and under are exempt from needing elevators.

One of the big reasons I heard for them closing is the difficulty they had with cleaning. Housekeeping had to travel (and cart equipment/supplies) between all those individual treehouses. That is not a very efficient way to run a resort.

So, there are probably many reasons why they closed, but handicapped accessibility would not have been the reason.

I am curious - we rented OKW last week and took the boat between OKW and DTD (passed through a canal and also by SSR). There were some "houses" that seemed to be up off the ground in the trees. Are these the tree house villas ? I've always been curious about what these buildings were.

If it is, they look pretty run down and it doesn't appear that there's any lights in them at all at night.

Thanks,

Those are the treehouses.

 

[Elmo888]

Yes, I do believe those are the Treehouse villas, because my husband pointed them out to me a couple of years ago and they seemed unoccupied to me.

Please, don't forget my question about other villas that might be just as nice!!

If you are looking for something secluded and quaint like that, you might want to look into Fort Wilderness Cabins. They only sleep 6 (one bedroom with a full bed and bunk beds and a murphy bed in the living area), but they give a similar feel. And the price isn't way out there.

ASMusic Family Suites hold 6, and they aren't too pricey, either.

Other than that, you are probably looking at a 2 bedroom in the DVC resorts, such as OKW, SSR, BCV, VWL, etc. These can be pricey, but you can rent points from owners to bring the cost down (there is some risk).

Check allears.net for pics and more info...

http://www.allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm#home

Enjoy!

 

[SueM in MN]

If you are looking for something secluded and quaint like that, you might want to look into Fort Wilderness Cabins. They only sleep 6 (one bedroom with a full bed and bunk beds and a murphy bed in the living area), but they give a similar feel. And the price isn't way out there.

ASMusic Family Suites hold 6, and they aren't too pricey, either.

Other than that, you are probably looking at a 2 bedroom in the DVC resorts, such as OKW, SSR, BCV, VWL, etc. These can be pricey, but you can rent points from owners to bring the cost down (there is some risk).

Check allears.net for pics and more info...

http://www.allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm#home

Enjoy!

Another place to find pictures and more information is right here on the DIS site:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/resortmain1.htm

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

You can also see the treehouse villas if you exit OKW, and turn right, going the back way to DTD. There is an entrance with a guard house on the right. (But they won't let you in.)

 

[klmall]

Here's a pic I took in '01 from the boat from POFQ to DTD:

 

[SGMCO]

Yes, We passed by the Treehouses on our way to DTD from POR.
Now the Exchange College Students from other countries stay there
during the work stay at WDW.

They look like they would be a lot of fun to stay in.
I heard that they have 3 bedrooms, and one of the bedrooms
has all of the furniture hanging from ropes,
that is what our boat captain told us.
He also told us about the treehouses not being up to code for
different reasons which I can't remember them.

 

[mikevm]

I remember staying in the treehouse villas when I was about 14 years old....that was about 1980ish.....my third trip to disney...a golf cart came with the place and you could plug it in anywhere you went to re-charge it....great place....try the ASm family suites for value and sleeps six..I'm staying there in a month..good luck

 

[JeffreyY]

There are great videos of the tree houses on youtube. Just type in disney treehouse villa. It looks like the exchange students made them.

 

[MCourtney]

Yep! I was lucky enough to stay both there and in the townhouse type ones as a kid.... absolutely fabulous! I wish they would have kept them open....