DVC Treehouse Villas

[spiceycat]

Firsthand, I'd say distance. While it is .4 - .8 miles from THV to SSR's resort center, it is 1 - 1.4 miles to OKW's resort center.

where are you getting your miles.

OKW is right next door to THV - have seem them often enough.

there are several closer to building 11-14 than HH is to building 55.

 

[BroganMc]

where are you getting your miles.

Google pedometer. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1627367

I'm measuring the existing walking paths, not as the crow flies. Same goes for my SSR measurements (though I am using the Grandstand path I discovered and not the Golf Club/OKW route).

OKW is right next door to THV - have seem them often enough.

there are several closer to building 11-14 than HH is to building 55.

How exactly is that possible? The THV are on another peninsula from OKW. The canal to POR separates OKW from them. You'd have to see across the fairway, through the woods, then across the canal to see the ones closest.

At SSR you can see them across the fairway bordering the newest Grandstand buildings.

 

[TisBit]

where are you getting your miles.

OKW is right next door to THV - have seem them often enough.

there are several closer to building 11-14 than HH is to building 55.

I know that the mileage off of SSR was from Google earth ped meter (i believe that is right).....not sure if they got the same for OKW.

Also, keep in mind this is furthers THV from SSR resort center...not just closest buildings together, etc.

One of the major things with it being joined to SSR is that it is technically already part of SSR in the POS's etc. Realisticly Disney can do whatever they want, but it would probably be more costly and problematic to remove it from SSR and add it to OKW....plus SSR is still selling, so if they huried the construction they would just keep adding units to SSR inventory.

 

[tjkraz]

Here's an overhead:

As the crow files, the two resort check-in desks are about equal distance from the treehouses--OKW looks like it may be just a tad further but not by much.

Of greater concern is the big forested buffer area between OKW and the treehouses, not to mention the river. That river runs to Port Orleans and handles the DTD shuttle boats. It would take a lot more than a footbridge to span the river such that the boats could still pass underneath.

From SSR's "The Grandstand" you can actually see the treehouses now.

While "never say never" is the best rule of thumb when it comes to Disney, adding the Treehouses to OKW would be comparable to tearing down the Contemporary's South Wing and rebuilding it as "DVC Polynesian."

 

[spiceycat]

How exactly is that possible? The THV are on another peninsula from OKW. The canal to POR separates OKW from them. You'd have to see across the fairway, through the woods, then across the canal to see the ones closest.

At SSR you can see them across the fairway bordering the newest Grandstand buildings.

when going to DTD from OKW - they are right there - the next thing down from OKW.

and on walks to DTD you definitely pass these things going to DTD.

big sign don't enter!!!

before the close of THV - the maps of paths to walk along - the THV were included in the one at OKW got. Another I should have safety and didn't.

 

[BroganMc]

Of greater concern is the big forested buffer area between OKW and the treehouses, not to mention the river. That river runs to Port Orleans and handles the DTD shuttle boats. It would take a lot more than a footbridge to span the river such that the boats could still pass underneath.

Exactly. They'd have to cut across a fairway for one thing. That's not something they've shown an inclination for in building SSR. The entrance road to Grandstand seems a bit out there being an offshoot road from the entrance. But then you see that's because four fairways wrap around Grandstand. The footpath to Grandstand could be a lot more direct too but it shares the existing golf cart route. They were careful not to disrupt the course while building in egress areas.

Putting up a walkway from OKW to THV as the crow flies sounds like the suggested pathway from AKV to AK. Great idea but impractical.

 

[BroganMc]

when going to DTD from OKW - they are right there - the next thing down from OKW.

and on walks to DTD you definitely pass these things going to DTD.

Yes, and that's the route I measured and bridge I crossed in my pedometer map. From the Hospitality House it is 1 mile to the first THV across that bridge.

I was measuring from the resort centers for both resorts. Nearest villa for each is:

SSR: .10 mile
OKW: .42 mile

 

[SuziQZee]

I started reading this thread about 3 hours ago! I've been on every related thread and site since then, trying to gain as much info as possible. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! Every time my family has passed by the THV by boat, we all try to check them out as much as we can. They almost seem like forbidden territory. My family has said that it would be so great to be able to stay there and explore, now it seems that we may just be able to someday.

Thank you to all of you who have put so much researched info on here!! Yea!!!

 

[TisBit]

The whole point is that the ALREADY part of SSR...Disney can change that if they want, but not sure how difficult that will be.

Speaking of which, one of the op-eds on the THV project says that THV was removed from SSR POS.....does anyone know for sure if this is true or not? If it has been removed from the boundary of SSR when they amended the Carousel Section in, that would show that it is more than likely going to be cash rooms only. I cannot find a place to view this online, but I am sure some of the experts know where it is.

 

[buzz5985]

I stayed at the THV. Way back when. LOL We were on the Gold Key Plan. We stayed at the POLY for 7 days and the treehouse was a surprise for DH, my niece and our friends. The Gold Key Plan at the time included all recreation. So that meant you showed the car and rented a boat, or a golf cart. So at the Treehouses you rented golf carts to get around. You plugged them into the villa. You drove the golf cart to the pool, you drove the golf cart accross the golf course to the club house (now DTD), for dinner you plugged the golf cart into outlets in front of the restaurant. I remember going over a bridge with the golf cart on our way to the restaurant - so that must be the bridge in the above pictures.

The old treehouse. - You walked up a set of stairs walked into the kitchen - to the right was a bedroom and bathroom, beyond that the master bedroom and bath. Straight ahead from the kitchen was the living room. In the middle was a set of circular stairs down to the other bedroom, and a laundry room. This floor was on ground level. There was a wrap around porch around half of the 2nd floor of the building.

From the new drawings - it looked like all the bedrooms are on one floor, so it looks like there will be no stairs. From what I remember the places were pretty big. And the only other places to stay at the time were POLY, CR, and the campground. They were very popular. It was a golf community.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Just subscribing. Always interesting when the TreeHouses are being discussed.

 

[cincinmouse]

Speaking of which, one of the op-eds on the THV project says that THV was removed from SSR POS.....does anyone know for sure if this is true or not? If it has been removed from the boundary of SSR when they amended the Carousel Section in, that would show that it is more than likely going to be cash rooms only.

I just bought SSR a couple of weeks ago and have the 1/2007 POS for SSR The Tree house are is still included and there are no amendments to remove it. That does not mean that they have done this since it was printed but I believe you would have to check out the Orange county Auditor web site to see if they did this.

If they made Treehouse Cash only they would not have to remove it from the SSR because they can do anything they want. Its does not make any sense to go through the expense of legally removing THV from SSR land and attaching it to OKW. I also don't believe the infrastucture is there to make it a stand alone Hotel. My guess is that if will be a mix of DVC and cash or an area for Disney excutives or special guests.

 

[TisBit]

I just bought SSR a couple of weeks ago and have the 1/2007 POS for SSR The Tree house are is still included and there are no amendments to remove it. That does not mean that they have done this since it was printed but I believe you would have to check out the Orange county Auditor web site to see if they did this.

If they made Treehouse Cash only they would not have to remove it from the SSR because they can do anything they want. Its does not make any sense to go through the expense of legally removing THV from SSR land and attaching it to OKW. I also don't believe the infrastucture is there to make it a stand alone Hotel. My guess is that if will be a mix of DVC and cash or an area for Disney excutives or special guests.

I completely agree, didn't see a reason why they would do it, but in that op-ed he made the claim, so figured I would ask. Definitely don't see it being stand alone....which is my only reasoning to think it would not be cash only.....if no major rehab to pool or clubhouse is occuring than seems to be getting joined somewhere else. I guess time will only tell....I still think we will hear about it before CRV.

 

[Florida Princess]

I'm so happy that something is being done with the THV area. I had the great pleasure of staying there 4 times back in my pre DVC days. The THVs were spacious and had 1 bedroom downstairs and the other 2 upstairs. The circular design was so unique and the views out the large windows were something else. There was a circular tub in the master bath which was rather weird---it was very small but tall. We loved staying at villas and would order room service for breakfast and eat on the upstairs porch. There were peacocks that walked around the property and would walk right up to you (I guess for a snack). We felt as if we were staying in the country rather that WDW and would actually want to leave the parks to go back to the villas. Such great memories !

 

[cincinmouse]

Orlando Sentinel Has been reading our boards!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-disneytree1908feb19,0,2123960.story

Hidden among the trees in an obscure part of Walt Disney World, one of Disney's more unusual and largely forgotten housing options is getting new life.

The giant resort intends to tear down and replace Disney's Treehouse Villas, a community of 60 two-story housing units that have been used at various times as for-rent lodging, Disney Institute guest housing, and international student-worker housing.

The three-bedroom villas -- essentially octagonal town houses on pedestals, looking a little like treehouses -- are scattered throughout a forested back road between a Disney World golf course and a canal, where they have aged, sometimes not well, for 33 years.
While a few of them are in plain view to golfers on the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course and to resort guests who take a ferry-boat ride up the canal, they are well out of sight for the vast portion of the 100,000 or more people who occupy Disney World on any given day.

They're the kind of place, said independent Disney World author and podcaster Lou Mongello, that only "Disney geeks like us" talk about. Mongello, who lives in New Jersey has even stayed in them a couple of times, though he did so decades ago.

"The thing I remember about the villas, I liked so much, is you didn't feel like you were in Florida. You didn't feel like you were in Walt Disney World. It felt like you were remote and distant from Orlando and the theme parks and the hustle and bustle," said Mongello, author of the two-volume The Walt Disney World Trivia Book. "It was lush and so green. Very lush."

And a little bit hush-hush.

Disney officials haven't made much of the villas for years, and even now they aren't willing to discuss their plans in any detail. The company sought and received permission from the South Florida Water Management District recently to tear down the villas and replace them. Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said at least some of the new units would be available for use by resort visitors -- the first time any of the Treehouse Villas have been open to the public in several years.

She would not discuss whether the new Treehouse Villas would be rented as lodging, sold as Disney Vacation Club time shares, or both.

"We are bringing them back as a popular option for our guests," she said. "The unique location has provided a tranquil and more secluded environment that our guests have enjoyed since the mid-'70s."

Disney first opened the villas in 1975. Strung along a cul-de-sac road more than a quarter-mile long off Disney Vacation Club Way, the complex has its own pool and a small clubhouse. The villas were renovated in 1987 and then converted to housing in 1996 for the short-lived Disney Institute; at least some were sometimes made available for regular park visitors until 2002.

By then they were showing their age.

According to Ray Maxwell, district administrator for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, most or all of the Treehouse Villas had been shuttered by the time Hurricane Charley blasted through Central Florida on Aug. 13, 2004, wrecking the villas and the surrounding woods. The damage was such that there was talk that Charley might have spawned a small tornado into the area, he said.

"A lot of trees blew down, and there was a lot of damage to the units," Maxwell said. "They [Disney officials] took them out of service. Before they could do anything, the units needed to be rehabbed."

In 2005, at least some of the units were reopened as housing for international students working at Disney World, and were used as such until just a few weeks ago, Finger said.

The sign out front at the gate warns, "Cast Members Only."

Much of the complex was built in the flood plain, so Disney could not tear down the old villas and replace them with just anything. The new plan reduces the units' ground-level "footprint" from 340 square feet to 84 square feet each by eliminating the first-floor living space. Consequently, the new buildings will be even more treehouse-like, supported by sets of pilings.

The South Florida Water Management District approved the plan Feb. 4.

 

[BroganMc]

I suspect it's far too early for any spokesperson to talk about their plans. I still bet we'll be seeing a SSR add-on in a year or two.

Technically all DVCs are mixed use since DVC retains a percentage for rentals.

 

[tjkraz]

I suspect it's far too early for any spokesperson to talk about their plans.

I agree. As a publicly-traded company, they aren't going to release information of that nature whenever asked. It will be a properly-timed release.

I still bet we'll be seeing a SSR add-on in a year or two.

If it is SSR, I think an announcement could come much sooner than that.

The best argument for holding-off on an announcement at the Contemporary is that it will hurt sales elsewhere. In this case, announcing the treehouses as part of SSR would only help sales. Even if they are a couple years away from having the treehouses ready for occupancy, that wouldn't keep them from making an announcement.

 

[RLRDA]

Just read through this thread as an off-shoot of the 'Guaranteed Bookings' thread. I didn't know much about the THV and their proximity to SSR. It's all very interesting. I also chuckled at the posters who have no interest in staying at SSR but would love to stay there if the Tree Houses were to be incorporated into SSR. To SSR owners, if it happens, it will just be one more reason why it's such a great resort.

 

[jdg345]

It's a rumor only. Disney can't change them or do anything but maintenance on them because of the wetland they are in.

It seems that has all changed though based on that Sun Sunintel Article from today regarding Kingdom Tower.

EDIT: Already said ... so I'm just subscribing ...

 

[BroganMc]

Just read through this thread as an off-shoot of the 'Guaranteed Bookings' thread. I didn't know much about the THV and their proximity to SSR. It's all very interesting. I also chuckled at the posters who have no interest in staying at SSR but would love to stay there if the Tree Houses were to be incorporated into SSR. To SSR owners, if it happens, it will just be one more reason why it's such a great resort.

Yeah, I found that funny too. Just imagine what would happen if SSR Haters tried to get the THV and found we members already booked them. Would be funny to have that sort of criticism.