skylynx
DIS Sponsor in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2003
- Messages
- 1,280
Just back from a short but wonderful three day weekend at WDW including our long-awaited two nights in the Treehouse Villas. The trip was to celebrate my DH's birthday as well as have a mini-family reunion with my two older sisters I hardly ever get to see.
We flew in from Chicago on Thursday night and stayed in a one bedroom at VWL, as our waitlist for the extra night at the treehouse did not come through. When your fall-back plan is a night at VWL, you know things are pretty good! Got there too late to really enjoy much of it, but it was still peaceful to be there the little while we were. We're staying at VWL for five nights during spring break, so we'll have time to wallow in the wonder of it then!
Collected one sister in the morning, then she and the kids headed over to Animal Kingdom while DH and I went to the airport to get my other sister. We were able to check in to our treehouse at 1 o-clock! I'd done the advance online check-in, and was thrilled to find we got the water view I requested (treehouse #7026.) Our packet was ready with all our cards printed, along with a birthday button for DH and family reunion buttons for all, and we were en route to find our treehouse in an astonishingly short time. (I know some other DIS'ers have reported negative experiences with online check in, but for us, both at the treehouse and at VWL the night before, online check-in worked perfectly and our packets/cards were ready to go, saving us at least a couple extra well-appreciated minutes. We were tired.)
There's no one at the entrance to the treehouses, so you need to have your KTTW card. There is a video camera/audio link there I guess you can use if you forget your card that will let security open the gate remotely. We had been concerned about the availability of parking as we had two cars, but it was never a problem. Where our treehouse was located there were six or seven spots for our three treehouse cluster. That seemed to be the case througout the treehouse area, at least from what we could tell. We often saw buses in there, but I am not sure if they go to SS first or if you must transfer. We don't do the buses as a rule because we're always too reluctant to lose any Disney time traveling on someone else's schedule or standing around waiting.
We LOVED our treehouse! 7026 is actually about twelve feet from the canal where all the boats going back and forth to Port Orleans traveled. We did a lot of waving at people going by!
Our deck was just wonderful...plenty of room for the table and chairs with little lights discreetly shining downwards so you could sit out at night without it being too bright. The rooms were bigger than I thought they were going to be based on previous trip reports. We had FOUR flat screen TVs! The kitchen had a classy dark granite-ish countertops and wine glasses hanging off an overhead rack. Dark appliances, glass cooktop stove, and high quality lighting and ceiling fans added elegant accents. The high ceilings made the room feel airy. The master bath was like a spa...big tub and spotless glass doors, and cool shower and faucet fixtures that looked like antique water pumps--the same model we bought ourselves and are saving for the log home we're building in a couple of years. The big windows most all the way around opened to treetops and the canal. At night when we shut the lights off in our bedroom, we opened the curtains because we liked being able to see the woods and the late boats going by (and the view was so private no one could see in, anyway). That might not have been true in the treehouses that abut the golf course, but ours felt very secluded.
After Animal Kingdom on Friday, DH grilled out his birthday dinner, as he's always wanted to barbecue at Disney! A quick note about that...the grills aren't gas, they are charcoal, but you can buy the Match Light charcoal bags (that you don't need lighter fluid for) at the Saratoga Springs food court. When all of us sat down the first night there at the table in front of the big window eating our Disney-grilled herb and wine marinated chicken, baked beans, salad, slaw and birthday cake, watching the merrily-lit Port Orleans boats go by and happily anticipating another Disney day ahead of us, you can bet we were loving our DVC! It was worth the three hours I spent on the phone making the reservation the first day they became available! As an added bonus, DH had signed up for the "free admission on your birthday" promotion, but since we have AP's he got a $79 gift card instead (good on anything except food and drinks). There was also a surprise Mickey Mouse signed photo birthday card waiting in our treehouse that evening.
We arrived as Epcot opened Saturday, sending my 14 year old DS as the fastpass "runner" for Soarin' while we got on the standby line for Test Track. We agreed every family needs a fastpass runner. It was summer hot (90 degrees) and Food & Wine C-R-O-W-D-E-D! You know it's crowded when there's a line for the boat ride at Mexico in Epcot and the PeopleMover (TTA) in Magic Kingdom. Took a midday break back at the treehouse (heavenly) then went to Magic Kingdom at night. It was extra-mobbed since the park had been closed the night before for MNSSHP and there were two Spectromagic parades and Wishes! Still, we had a great time. Came dragging back to the treehouse just before midnight with Theme Park Feet aflame, but happy!
In the morning, we sat on our deck talking, drinking coffee and eating croissants when two river otters started playing in the water just off the deck. How lucky was that? We didn't want to leave, but like all Disney trips, you have to go home just a little bit hungry for your next one.
We had just a couple small issues with the treehouse...for one, the icemaker in the freezer didn't work and there is NO ice machine anywhere at the treehouses. You'd have to drive all the way out and over to one of the buildings at SS to get ice. We also had to call for a technician to confirm the A/C was working right because when we checked in we had the A/C on for two hours and it was still 80 degrees in there and didn't drop at all. The technician confirmed it takes quite a while to cool down the treehouse because of the high ceilings (plus ours did not get afternoon shade). He showed me how to bypass the sensor so we didn't wake up roasting in the middle of the night. After that, it worked perfectly. He also said he'd fixed the ice maker, but by the next morning, it still didn't work. When I called to report it, mousekeeping sent someone over with a bag of ice (and a corkscrew, which was supposed to be one of the utensils included, but wasn't.) So the few small glitches we had were rectified by mousekeeping (we had to wait a couple hours for the ice and corkscrew). No big deal.
Our only regret was that we were there too short a time, as we wanted to do parks together but also really wanted to just enjoy being at the treehouse. Didn't get to use the pool, though it is in a nice, lush location. We will definitely do the treehouses again. We've had some sadness in our family lately, so the chance to be together with my sisters, watch my kids get to re-bond with them (my middle sister and son became roller coaster pals, riding Expedition Everest three times. In a row!) and being able to forget about troubles for a little while was cathartic Disney magic at its best.
I was so excited when I first learned the treehouses were coming back, because when my mom and dad were alive we used to stay all the time at Dixie Landings (now Port Orleans Riverside) and ride the boats to DTD past the original treehouses, and my sisters and I would always marvel at them and say how cool it would have been to be able to stay there. Thanks to DVC, we got to fulfill a 30 year old wish!
Here are some pictures!
Our treehouse!
The deck.
Our dining table view.
Boat going by our window.
DH grilling out.
We flew in from Chicago on Thursday night and stayed in a one bedroom at VWL, as our waitlist for the extra night at the treehouse did not come through. When your fall-back plan is a night at VWL, you know things are pretty good! Got there too late to really enjoy much of it, but it was still peaceful to be there the little while we were. We're staying at VWL for five nights during spring break, so we'll have time to wallow in the wonder of it then!
Collected one sister in the morning, then she and the kids headed over to Animal Kingdom while DH and I went to the airport to get my other sister. We were able to check in to our treehouse at 1 o-clock! I'd done the advance online check-in, and was thrilled to find we got the water view I requested (treehouse #7026.) Our packet was ready with all our cards printed, along with a birthday button for DH and family reunion buttons for all, and we were en route to find our treehouse in an astonishingly short time. (I know some other DIS'ers have reported negative experiences with online check in, but for us, both at the treehouse and at VWL the night before, online check-in worked perfectly and our packets/cards were ready to go, saving us at least a couple extra well-appreciated minutes. We were tired.)
There's no one at the entrance to the treehouses, so you need to have your KTTW card. There is a video camera/audio link there I guess you can use if you forget your card that will let security open the gate remotely. We had been concerned about the availability of parking as we had two cars, but it was never a problem. Where our treehouse was located there were six or seven spots for our three treehouse cluster. That seemed to be the case througout the treehouse area, at least from what we could tell. We often saw buses in there, but I am not sure if they go to SS first or if you must transfer. We don't do the buses as a rule because we're always too reluctant to lose any Disney time traveling on someone else's schedule or standing around waiting.
We LOVED our treehouse! 7026 is actually about twelve feet from the canal where all the boats going back and forth to Port Orleans traveled. We did a lot of waving at people going by!
Our deck was just wonderful...plenty of room for the table and chairs with little lights discreetly shining downwards so you could sit out at night without it being too bright. The rooms were bigger than I thought they were going to be based on previous trip reports. We had FOUR flat screen TVs! The kitchen had a classy dark granite-ish countertops and wine glasses hanging off an overhead rack. Dark appliances, glass cooktop stove, and high quality lighting and ceiling fans added elegant accents. The high ceilings made the room feel airy. The master bath was like a spa...big tub and spotless glass doors, and cool shower and faucet fixtures that looked like antique water pumps--the same model we bought ourselves and are saving for the log home we're building in a couple of years. The big windows most all the way around opened to treetops and the canal. At night when we shut the lights off in our bedroom, we opened the curtains because we liked being able to see the woods and the late boats going by (and the view was so private no one could see in, anyway). That might not have been true in the treehouses that abut the golf course, but ours felt very secluded. After Animal Kingdom on Friday, DH grilled out his birthday dinner, as he's always wanted to barbecue at Disney! A quick note about that...the grills aren't gas, they are charcoal, but you can buy the Match Light charcoal bags (that you don't need lighter fluid for) at the Saratoga Springs food court. When all of us sat down the first night there at the table in front of the big window eating our Disney-grilled herb and wine marinated chicken, baked beans, salad, slaw and birthday cake, watching the merrily-lit Port Orleans boats go by and happily anticipating another Disney day ahead of us, you can bet we were loving our DVC! It was worth the three hours I spent on the phone making the reservation the first day they became available! As an added bonus, DH had signed up for the "free admission on your birthday" promotion, but since we have AP's he got a $79 gift card instead (good on anything except food and drinks). There was also a surprise Mickey Mouse signed photo birthday card waiting in our treehouse that evening.
We arrived as Epcot opened Saturday, sending my 14 year old DS as the fastpass "runner" for Soarin' while we got on the standby line for Test Track. We agreed every family needs a fastpass runner. It was summer hot (90 degrees) and Food & Wine C-R-O-W-D-E-D! You know it's crowded when there's a line for the boat ride at Mexico in Epcot and the PeopleMover (TTA) in Magic Kingdom. Took a midday break back at the treehouse (heavenly) then went to Magic Kingdom at night. It was extra-mobbed since the park had been closed the night before for MNSSHP and there were two Spectromagic parades and Wishes! Still, we had a great time. Came dragging back to the treehouse just before midnight with Theme Park Feet aflame, but happy!
In the morning, we sat on our deck talking, drinking coffee and eating croissants when two river otters started playing in the water just off the deck. How lucky was that? We didn't want to leave, but like all Disney trips, you have to go home just a little bit hungry for your next one.
We had just a couple small issues with the treehouse...for one, the icemaker in the freezer didn't work and there is NO ice machine anywhere at the treehouses. You'd have to drive all the way out and over to one of the buildings at SS to get ice. We also had to call for a technician to confirm the A/C was working right because when we checked in we had the A/C on for two hours and it was still 80 degrees in there and didn't drop at all. The technician confirmed it takes quite a while to cool down the treehouse because of the high ceilings (plus ours did not get afternoon shade). He showed me how to bypass the sensor so we didn't wake up roasting in the middle of the night. After that, it worked perfectly. He also said he'd fixed the ice maker, but by the next morning, it still didn't work. When I called to report it, mousekeeping sent someone over with a bag of ice (and a corkscrew, which was supposed to be one of the utensils included, but wasn't.) So the few small glitches we had were rectified by mousekeeping (we had to wait a couple hours for the ice and corkscrew). No big deal.
Our only regret was that we were there too short a time, as we wanted to do parks together but also really wanted to just enjoy being at the treehouse. Didn't get to use the pool, though it is in a nice, lush location. We will definitely do the treehouses again. We've had some sadness in our family lately, so the chance to be together with my sisters, watch my kids get to re-bond with them (my middle sister and son became roller coaster pals, riding Expedition Everest three times. In a row!) and being able to forget about troubles for a little while was cathartic Disney magic at its best.
I was so excited when I first learned the treehouses were coming back, because when my mom and dad were alive we used to stay all the time at Dixie Landings (now Port Orleans Riverside) and ride the boats to DTD past the original treehouses, and my sisters and I would always marvel at them and say how cool it would have been to be able to stay there. Thanks to DVC, we got to fulfill a 30 year old wish!
Here are some pictures!
Our treehouse!
The deck.
Our dining table view.
Boat going by our window.
DH grilling out.
