During peak times can you imagine what the effect of that many extra guests will have on Artist Pallette and the main pool.
The impact shouldn't be too dramatic.
SSR went from 828 two bedroom equivalents to 888. That's a 7% growth.
All things being equal, the increase in crowds at the main pool, and lines at AP or the front desk should be minimal.
The treehouses are adding a fifth pool to the resort so, viewed as a whole that amenity has grown relative to the number of rooms added. And while the front desk didn't grow, I don't think I have ever seen it fully staffed (I believe there are 14 or 15 positions.) That suggests the front desk was built with excess capacity to begin with and they can add staffing when necessary. Same with buses--if there are overcrowding issues it can be corrected by increasing the frequency of service.
Artist's Palette does seem to be a sore spot with some people but often times I wonder if it isn't a case of looks being deceiving. Back in February I was at AP for about 2 hours one morning. I even waited in line to purchase food twice myself. And while the line appeared long and the setup was a bit confusing, it didn't take more than 15 minutes to complete the purchase each time.
For peak breakfast hours I consider that to be acceptable. And I wouldn't expect Disney to spend thousands of dollars to operate a second restaurant just so people can be in-and-out in 5 minutes during peak hours. If that's the net result during peak hours, the staff would spend most of the day (non-peak) standing around with little to do. Even with Disney's deep pockets they do have a vested interest in eliminating waste--particularly in this "green" conscious age (wasted time, food products, utilities, etc.)