I feel very sad as I write this last report as we are now back in Aus and our dream holiday is over. But I wanted to let everyone know how great the treehouse villas are. As before we are cash stayers, not DVC, so posting this here to help other cash stayers.
Throughout our trip we were never sure where we would be at the end, our plan had been beach club and Poly, but we just couldn’t get a room or deal that would work for us. We had done beach club before and it just didn’t suit us, we felt out of place (our favorite resort is fort wilderness cabins) and also the pool would be closed. With poly all we could afford was a lakeview studio and after two months ending our holiday in a single room wasn’t going to give us enough space.
Then everything changed, they made it so you could do your own searches for bounceback offers online, and I did this everyday. We got a fabulous deal on a treehouse villa for our last 8 days. A 3 bdr villa cost less than poly studio and not much more than a room at the beach club! So keep checking!
The one concern you will read about treehouse villas is the walking distance. But we love POR, CBR, AKL, FW all resorts that you read about that people complain about distance. We have never had a problem with distance at these resorts, and to be clear we always get the rooms far from check-in eg we always stay in Jamaica in CBR in rooms near skyliner hub. Still we were wary as we didn’t have a car.
We got assigned room 7013. It’s about middle of the THV area, and midway between the boat dock to Disney springs and the THV north bus stop which would take you to “the springs” in SSR. It was perfect for us. It was removed a bit from other villas. Had a fantastic river view. You are in the trees, much more so than at ft wilderness.
We learnt that there was only one THV bus and so it was about 20-30 minutes between buses. This never worked for us, we waited once and it took 20 minutes for bus to come and then 10 minutes on the bus to get to “the springs” in SSR. After getting groceries, We walked back it took 15 minutes and was a nice walk.
On park days, We walked to grandstand rather than wait for the THV bus. The walk is a very pleasant walk in the morning. It is also well lit at night. The walk took at most 10 minutes. grandstand was the first stop for the park buses so we always got a seat. Whereas “the springs” is the last one (so the buses were mostly full on arrival there).
In short, don’t let reports of distance put you off the villas, especially if you like walking.
I will say we thought the bus trips to the parks especially AK and MK were long from SSR, we felt even longer than the trip from AKL to MK. Maybe this was because within the resort itself there are 4 stops before it leaves the resort.
The villas are a bit dated, but like ft wilderness and Akl, they are well themed. Sure they need updating but we loved it as is. The beds were very comfortable, the laundry was so convenient. There are two bathrooms, one with spa bath. The furniture is comfortable. There are TVs in every room - we could each have our own space. We had daily housekeeping. There is a fully stocked kitchen.
It is beyond peaceful here, after all day at the parks this place is serene. Sitting on the balcony watching boats go up and down the river was relaxing.
My one wish is that you could use golf buggies here like at ft wilderness, buggies are fun. I will say I was disappointed in the SSR shop, a resort this big should have a shop as big as Poly. Noting though you are very close to Disney springs. The boat to DS is great and we had no issues getting one in the THV, most return trips we were the only people on THV leg and we felt like royalty in our own boat
For me, the THV are my new favorite (if you can get a good deal).
This is my final report for this trip, we will be back in another 4 years, sigh
Throughout our trip we were never sure where we would be at the end, our plan had been beach club and Poly, but we just couldn’t get a room or deal that would work for us. We had done beach club before and it just didn’t suit us, we felt out of place (our favorite resort is fort wilderness cabins) and also the pool would be closed. With poly all we could afford was a lakeview studio and after two months ending our holiday in a single room wasn’t going to give us enough space.
Then everything changed, they made it so you could do your own searches for bounceback offers online, and I did this everyday. We got a fabulous deal on a treehouse villa for our last 8 days. A 3 bdr villa cost less than poly studio and not much more than a room at the beach club! So keep checking!
The one concern you will read about treehouse villas is the walking distance. But we love POR, CBR, AKL, FW all resorts that you read about that people complain about distance. We have never had a problem with distance at these resorts, and to be clear we always get the rooms far from check-in eg we always stay in Jamaica in CBR in rooms near skyliner hub. Still we were wary as we didn’t have a car.
We got assigned room 7013. It’s about middle of the THV area, and midway between the boat dock to Disney springs and the THV north bus stop which would take you to “the springs” in SSR. It was perfect for us. It was removed a bit from other villas. Had a fantastic river view. You are in the trees, much more so than at ft wilderness.
We learnt that there was only one THV bus and so it was about 20-30 minutes between buses. This never worked for us, we waited once and it took 20 minutes for bus to come and then 10 minutes on the bus to get to “the springs” in SSR. After getting groceries, We walked back it took 15 minutes and was a nice walk.
On park days, We walked to grandstand rather than wait for the THV bus. The walk is a very pleasant walk in the morning. It is also well lit at night. The walk took at most 10 minutes. grandstand was the first stop for the park buses so we always got a seat. Whereas “the springs” is the last one (so the buses were mostly full on arrival there).
In short, don’t let reports of distance put you off the villas, especially if you like walking.
I will say we thought the bus trips to the parks especially AK and MK were long from SSR, we felt even longer than the trip from AKL to MK. Maybe this was because within the resort itself there are 4 stops before it leaves the resort.
The villas are a bit dated, but like ft wilderness and Akl, they are well themed. Sure they need updating but we loved it as is. The beds were very comfortable, the laundry was so convenient. There are two bathrooms, one with spa bath. The furniture is comfortable. There are TVs in every room - we could each have our own space. We had daily housekeeping. There is a fully stocked kitchen.
It is beyond peaceful here, after all day at the parks this place is serene. Sitting on the balcony watching boats go up and down the river was relaxing.
My one wish is that you could use golf buggies here like at ft wilderness, buggies are fun. I will say I was disappointed in the SSR shop, a resort this big should have a shop as big as Poly. Noting though you are very close to Disney springs. The boat to DS is great and we had no issues getting one in the THV, most return trips we were the only people on THV leg and we felt like royalty in our own boat
For me, the THV are my new favorite (if you can get a good deal).
This is my final report for this trip, we will be back in another 4 years, sigh
