Tree House Villas..advice from those who have been?

[DisneyMama27]

110 days until we stay at THV! We are SO excited!!

We've stayed at SSR many times, so we know the resort. Anything we should know about staying in Treehouses? Are there certain THs we should request based on location? We will have a car, but don't mind walking to buses/pools/etc. How close to Lobby/Artist's Palette?

I am looking forward to being pretty spoiled, since there will only be 5 of us in the 3 rooms. We have always had a 1-BR, but as our kids have gotten older, knew that wouldn't last forever. Last summer we stayed at AKV and loved the extra bathroom and fold-out chair. Yep, no more regular 1-BRs for us.

Did any of you TH veterans use the grill? Hang out on the deck? How is the pool? (We do like quiet pools as well as the features) Will I even want to leave to go to the park?

We have extended family with us, but they are staying in an SSR 1BR, renting points from us. We plan to request a location for them that is close to us. (But not TOO close!)

I am looking forward to enjoying my morning coffee without waking up the kids, not having to fold up a couch every morning, having personal space for each of us (the girls will share a room, but they are used to that), and enjoying the natural setting!

TIA for any advice, suggestions, tips, pixie dust!

 

[BCV23]

We love the THV. We don't own at SSR but love them so much that we chatted about adding on even though we do not need more points.

The villas at the South end are closer to the walks to the Grandstand and lobby. Those at the North end are more convenient for driving out. Some villas are on the water, some face the golf course.

We intended to grill out both of our stays but ended up not doing so. our neighbors earlier this month seemed to grill out every night. My DH would joke with them about the menu for that night.

Our week in September was a bit too hot to spend much time on the deck and the first week of March was a bit too cool. We did enjoy the deck very much the little we used it.

The pictures I've seen do not do justice to the spaciousness of the kitchen and living area. There is tons of storage as well.

I timed the walk across the bridge, along the golf course and across another bridge to reach Artist Palette at 10 minutes but that included time to enjoy the sights a bit.

We don't have young children any longer so ended up not using the pool either time. It is a plain old rectangular pool but there is a very cool fountain with spitting frogs.

I hear you about not wanting to leave it....that's just how I felt.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions. There are some great reports with pictures. BirdsofPrey's comes to mind.

 

[bwvBound]

Did any of you TH veterans use the grill? Hang out on the deck? How is the pool? (We do like quiet pools as well as the features) Will I even want to leave to go to the park?

We didn't use the grill as Dec temps were too cold for us. However, the location was just dandy and would have been very easy to enjoy.

The ladies in the group did enjoy the deck in early morning (bundled up) while waiting for the guys to wake. Very lovely.

I was the only one in our group to use the pool. As it was completely empty it was ok for doing laps but far too shallow for just hanging out. (The shallowness would have really bugged me if it were crowded and I had to simply kneel in one place to "enjoy" the pool.) I did enjoy both the pool area's hot tub and the jetted tub in the unit.

Thanks to my job, I had several sessions of "alone time" in the THV unit and found it nice. I did not miss schlepping around the parks.

 

[Cee]

We absolutely loved them. It's our new favorite place. We also had five in our party(all adults) and enjoyed having all that room.

 

[Blonde Princess]

We stayed in THV 2 weeks ago. These are the things we liked and disliked.

Liked:
1. Had THV in South Section near bus stop and walkways. Although you could hear the busses in the AM it was worth it being next to bus stop.
2. Walkways to Artist Palette & Downtown Disney excellent and beautiful. Probably 5-10 minutes to Artist Palette and probably 15-20 min to West Side Downtown Disney. Used both. We like to walk so great.
3. Space in THV excellent. We were there with three couples and one baby. Plenty of space and privacy.
4. Second full bath a great plus.
5. Used the grill one night. Had a great time.
6. Deck very nice. It was cold but hung out on it one afternoon.
7. Internal Bus Loop to SSR was excellent. never waited more than 5 minutes.

Disliked:
1. You have to take 2 busses to get to a park. THV bus very fast, but waited at SSR for a long time each morning.
2. Second Bathroom fixtures were horrible. Although pleasing to look at, the rain shower had no water pressure. The mix of hot/cold water in shower horrible. The faucet had the same problem. The biggest problem was that when you flushed the toilets in either bathroom the floors in both bathrooms popped up and down. Over time this will become a problem.
3. Bunk beds are uncomfortable at best. Only kids can sleep in them.
Hope this helps have fun.

 

[BCV23]

Blonde Princess, it sounds like we were in the same general area of THV the same week. Howdy, neighbor.

With regard to the shower in the second bathroom, we had the same villa in Sept and then Feb into March. In Sept the showerhead was fine. By our stay two weeks ago, the water was coming out in thin and irregular streams. The faucet for the shower was also loose and we too had difficulty controlling the hot/cold stream. We called about the first two issues and they were fixed. Didn't realize the water would be that hard to regulate and it wasn't that big of a deal so didn't call back about that. Anyway, I suspect the showerhead just needed to be cleaned. I do think the faucet is going to be a problem for them.

How were the bunkbeds uncomfortable? Our son slept on the lower one both trips and was happy as a clam. However, he can't talk so now I'm worried that there was a problem with the mattress that he couldn't express. Or do you just mean the cramped nature of a bunk bed setup?

 

[Blonde Princess]

The bunk bed are engineered for kids. They are shorter and more narrow than your average twin. My husband and I took this room to avoid sleeping in the living room. My husband placed the top mattress on the floor and I slept in the bottom bunk. I'm quite short. However, the mattresses were not comfortable. They were thin and collapsed quite far when sleeping on them. Also, the cover on them was very noisy. It crunched as you turned from side to side.

The bottom bunk was a little clausterphobic but not awful. You have to lie down to see the TV screen. Having said that, I am not complaining. The beds are designed for kids. However, I do not believe my 12 year old would fit in the bottom bunk. Even he would be too tall.

I wouldn't recommend the mattresses for an adult, but they were not sooo bad that we had to move into the living room.

 

[tidefan]

2. Second Bathroom fixtures were horrible. Although pleasing to look at, the rain shower had no water pressure. The mix of hot/cold water in shower horrible. The faucet had the same problem. The biggest problem was that when you flushed the toilets in either bathroom the floors in both bathrooms popped up and down. Over time this will become a problem.

We're here now, and we've not noticed anything about the floor popping up and down at all. Also, we've had no issue with the water fixures either. We love the rain shower showerhead...

 

[BCV23]

Blonde Princess, than you for the answer. I'm a bit concerned about the mattress now although he did seem very happy. Yours is the first complaint I've seen. I know the bed spread wasn't an issue for him because he used it every night on both trips. I tried folding it at the end of the bed turndown style the first few nights but he wanted to use it and did. If we are ever lucky enough to stay there again, I'll make sure he knows the living room couch is another alternative for him. I'm sure that is comfortable.

tidefan, we had no issues with the floor popping either. Those fixtures are lovely, aren't they? Have you noticed the doorplates? Enjoy your stay!

 

[skylynx]

We grilled out at our Treehouse, and it was wonderful. There are grilling tools provided in your Treehouse kitchen. It is a charcoal grill, so you'll need to provide the coal. They sell the Matchlight kind (where you don't need lighter fluid) at the SSR food court.

One thing that was big for us is that there's no common ice machine for the Treehouses...each unit's refrigerator has an icemaker in the freezer. Ours didn't work the first day, and when it was repaired, the output wasn't enough to keep up with all the hot, thirsty people in our Treehouse. You can get ice at SSR and carry it over or maybe buy a bag. If you don't use a lot of ice in beverages you'll probably be ok with just the icemaker.

We always have a car at Disney...our time is too short there to wait for buses and be driven by their schedules. So can't comment on the length of time spent on public transport.

Our showers/fixtures all worked great. Kids slept in the bunkbeds and they are so happy to be at Disney they don't complain about anything, although I do agree an adult might feel a bit claustrophobic in them.

We had a Treehouse right at the water's edge, and had the delight of leaving the bedroom drapes open at night after we shut the lights off to enjoy the forest canopy and the lights of the boats going back and forth to DTD. Hard to not love them...having your own house on stilts at Disney!

Here's a picture of DH grilling on his birthday and couple other pix. We LOVE the Treehouses!

 

[LIFERBABE]

We stayed 12 nights over Christmas break and had a wonderful time!!

We put the 3 boys in the bunk room with an air mattress at the foot of the bed and they loved having their own little space! Just slid the aerobed under the bottom bunk during the day (deflated)

Loved the layout and spaciousness. Liked the split master from the other 2 rooms.

No complaints, loved the fixtures, details, and theming. Only AKL is done better imo. No issues with floors, water, etc. Service was prompt even though it is detached.

Loved the boat dock and drivers.

Kitchen was roomy, lots of storage. My tip is maximize the space over the fridge for storage and use the bbq tongs to reach!

Have had zero luck rebooking the THV. They go fast!

 

[tidefan]

One thing that was big for us is that there's no common ice machine for the Treehouses...each unit's refrigerator has an icemaker in the freezer. Ours didn't work the first day, and when it was repaired, the output wasn't enough to keep up with all the hot, thirsty people in our Treehouse. You can get ice at SSR and carry it over or maybe buy a bag. If you don't use a lot of ice in beverages you'll probably be ok with just the icemaker.

Good point about the icemakers. We went to the North Bus Stop on our first day here looking for it. Luckily, ours in the unit works fine, but it was a bit of a need on the first day here...

 

[BCV23]

Liferbabe, good point about service being prompt despite the isolation. That was our experience, too.

So true about the boats and drivers. I loved taking the boat to DTD for lunch or dinner.

Our son who slept on the lower bunk is an adult. He seemed to love it.

I thought the icemaker was great. Ours was switched off when we arrived three weeks ago today but you just need to move the little arm over to the on position. We always had plenty of ice but were a smaller group.

 

[alboq]

We are stay in the Treehouses in May In regards to locations, I'd like a villa close to the bus area, flying no car, but also a water view. The pic of the water view is beautiful. Is this possible to request? Or all the ones closer to bus area of the golf course? Thanks

 

[skylynx]

I requested the water view with Member Services by phone. I just did online checkin for our upcoming VWL stay beginning Saturday, and I only had the option to click radio button requests during online checkin...lower floor or close to transportation. There was no text box where I could type in a special villa or location request. So if you want a water view, probably best to call and add the request that way. We fly, too, but always have a rental car, so the fact that our water view Treehouse was further walking distance from anything was not an issue. One thing I will comment, is that after a long fun but manic day at the crowded parks, everyone in our travel group was absolutely content to trade the convenience of shorter walks to the bus/SSR for the relative isolation and calm of the Treehouses buried in the woods or water's edge.

The Treehouses are a unique breed of DVC property, I think, and I am loving my SSR home resort status more now that the Treehouses are an option.

 

[goofydad99]

You will be spoiled with 5 people in this room! Enjoy the extra space. We didn't grill but it was a comfortable place to stay. I have a few pictures around here somewhere.

 

[Paticake]

Skylynx, the view from your dining room looked like our THV, 7025. We looooooved it!

 

[holidaygirl]

We have booked the THV for next year, we will have 4 adults, 3 teenagers, and two tweens. Do you think we are going to be stumbling over each other? Only other options are OKW and AKV..... any suggestions?

 

[tidefan]

We have booked the THV for next year, we will have 4 adults, 3 teenagers, and two tweens. Do you think we are going to be stumbling over each other? Only other options are OKW and AKV..... any suggestions?

Not really. The THV are bigger than you think due to the layout of the units. My only concern might be the sharing of the bathrooms...

 

[holidaygirl]

Yes the bathroom thing could be a problem, only two sinks and two toilets might be a little sparce..... That would be the only plus that AKV would have over the THV, in my mind anyway.