Warning - Treehouse Villas

[Sammie]

If you have more than one vehicle to park, they ask that you park it over by the Grandstand and take the bus back to the THV.

Just another example as I said in an earlier thread about DVC adding on units to exsiting resorts without providing the necessary infrastructure for those additional guests.

Another 500-600 guests at the Springs and Grandstands bus stops and the pool and now the parking; is going to make an impact.

 

[DisneyDreamers2007]

Me too! Oh, and I feel like "Jason" is out in the woods waiting to attack.

Oh my!

 

[PinkTink63]

Hello,

I just wanted to provide everyone with a few warnings about the THV. While the rooms are beautiful, they have a few things that you should be prepared with if staying.

The first and biggest is that there are no locks on any of the doors to the bedrooms or the bathrooms. Please make sure people know to not open a closed door or they may be surprised.

I live in a house that was built in 1910 and there are no locks throughout the entire house except for the exterior doors! It has never been a problem! If the door is shut, it means that someone is probably in there. In that case, a simple knock will do!

 

[disneynutz]

I had the opportunity to stay in one and the AC shut off every time I ran outside to the car to get something. It did seem to run at night, so maybe it detects your body heat?

The locks on doors didn't bother me, if a door is closed, don't open it!

Now the toaster right under the paper towel dispenser? That set off a huge safety issue for me!

As for the mosquitoes, you have to understand, we got about 2 feet of rain in the past two weeks, its just something that you are gonna have to deal with till Disney gets it under control.

Some AC systems also have a door sensor. If the door is opened, the system shuts off. That in combination with the motion sensors is the reason the AC shut off when you left the villa.

 

[disneynutz]

I noticed a PP spoke of having a son in a wheelchair. I was wondering how wheelchairs get into the treehouse villas. Is there a ramp - or a lift of some kind?

Several villas share a ramp that allows easy HC access.

 

[Beth]

As far as the parking situation..... If you've got two couples with two cars - can the 2nd car come in long enough to unload, then move back to the overflow lot?

.....I'm assuming/hoping the answer is "yes."

 

[KirstenB]

Nope.

According to Jim Lewis, it is an "enhancement to the ownership experience in response to owner feedback."

The purpose is actually to incorporate a "unique and exciting wildfire experience" into your stay...which is entirely consistent with the woodland theme of THV.

 

[murcor]

Nope.

According to Jim Lewis, it is an "enhancement to the ownership experience in response to owner feedback."

The purpose is actually to incorporate a "unique and exciting wildfire experience" into your stay...which is entirely consistent with the woodland theme of THV.

 

[murcor]

We never bring or rent a car, so for me the 1 vehicle per treehouse is not an issue

BUT

I do think that for a unit that can accomodate 9 people there should be an allowance for 2 vehicles (two families etc)


I mean overall the 2nd vehicle will make up for all of us who dont have one

 

[JimMIA]

In response to those bothered by "critters," I've said since the start that THV would probably not appeal to two types of vacationers -- those without cars, and people who really don't like being somewhat out in the wild because THV is in a heavily-wooded area.

Cars and Parking:
The cars/bus issue may not be as obvious at it first seemed. It may be that parking is more of a problem than bussing, and if so, I may have to reverse my earlier thinking about that aspect.

Disney can improve the busses, but we all KNOW how guests are going to respond to a one-car limit -- they're going to ignore it. And Disney will not enforce anything, so the burden will be borne by the guests who try to follow the rules.

I'd be willing to bet that DVC can't add more parking places because parking lot runoff affects the wetlands THV sits on. My guess is the final solution will be parking on the grass.

Critters:
Currently, there are probably a lot fewer critters around THV than there will be in a few months. Construction always disrupts animal habitat and they move away. Once things settle down, they will probably move back.

Realistically, the kinds of critters you are likely to see at THV are racoons, possums, rabbits, river otter, and deer. There will be a lot of smaller stuff, and slithering stuff, but you are not likely to encounter any of those except lizards and frogs. There will also be assorted bugs and bug-like creatures -- goes with the territory.

Most people will not really care much about the varied wildlife around THV. They'll enjoy deer, rabbits, otters, and racoons and they'll be grossed out by possums and palmetto bugs.

But there are a lot of folks who are sincerely phobic about creepy-crawlies. Those folks are honestly just looking for trouble if they stay at THV. It's just the wrong kind of resort for those folks.

 

[tjkraz]

Another 500-600 guests at the Springs and Grandstands bus stops...

SSR plus the Treehouses is still far smaller than the likes of Jambo + Kidani, Caribbean Beach, any of the Value resorts and probably some of the combined loops like BWV/BWI/Dolphin/Swan. So I guess I don't get the big deal here.

...and the pool...

In terms of total resort swimming accommodations, SSR went from 4 pools and 828 Two Bedroom equivalent units to 5 pools and 888 units. That seems like positive growth to me.

The feature pool may be a little undersized for the resort but I doubt the THVs will have a disastrous impact. The resort has only grown by 7%. Proportionately we're talking about the pool crowd going from...say...150 guests to 160 guests (7% increase) on a given afternoon.

...and now the parking; is going to make an impact.

Due to the wetlands restrictions, it's my understanding that Disney was prohibited from paving any additional parking spaces. They had to make due with what was already in place. You could argue that asking guests to park additional vehicles in The Grandstand area is an inconvenience, but I hope most of us would agree it's not a deal-breaker.

Looking at overhead plans for the area, there are a few extra spaces here and there. But with spaces not being specifically assigned to each unit, the possibility exists for people to sort of block one-another from their ideal parking spot. For instance, if you have three spaces for a group of three villas, and someone staying across the road (at a villa with parking elsewhere) uses one of those three spaces, someone may be left looking elsewhere for a space.

Even if all 60 treehouses were occupied, not all guests would be driving. So even if some ignore the rules and park two vehicles, it is unlikely to be an issue the vast majority of the time. We'll be checking into a Treehouse in a few days and will have 7 people with just the one vehicle.

 

[mamaprincess]

Dag nabbit!!! I want to stay in a THV but I hate bugs and critters! I'm scared of critters, even deer! I'm going to wait it out a year and see what the reports are and then see if I think I can handle it. Chances are I'll be all jumpy and nervous in anticipation of a critter running across my foot or something.

 

[JimMIA]

Dag nabbit!!! I want to stay in a THV but I hate bugs and critters! I'm scared of critters, even deer! I'm going to wait it out a year and see what the reports are and then see if I think I can handle it. Chances are I'll be all jumpy and nervous in anticipation of a critter running across my foot or something.

Some people will laugh at you being afraid of deer, but deer injure more visitors in our National Parks every year than any other animal...except man, of course. A deer is much more likely to be a problem for you than an alligator or snake, but people fear 'gators and snakes much more.

I guess that proves we can look at all the statistics we want, these kinds of fears are not rational and it doesn't matter what the data shows. If someone is afraid of something, no pile of statistics is going to help them overcome that fear.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

The air conditioning thing is all over now. Buy a balloon and leave it bouncing around the room. The sensor will think there's a person there.

I think that when BCV opened, it had been proven that this did not work. Afterall, once the air quits blowing the first time, what makes the balloon move around?

 

[mom3sonstt]

I think that when BCV opened, it had been proven that this did not work. Afterall, once the air quits blowing the first time, what makes the balloon move around?

Aren't there ceiling fans? If you have a balloon in a room with a ceiling fan on low wouldn't that keep the balloon moving enough to "trick" the air conditioner? (never tried this trick - but will be at the Treehouses in 2 months - not looking forward to hot rooms in August!)

 

[tjkraz]

Aren't there ceiling fans? If you have a balloon in a room with a ceiling fan on low wouldn't that keep the balloon moving enough to "trick" the air conditioner? (never tried this trick - but will be at the Treehouses in 2 months - not looking forward to hot rooms in August!)

That's what I was thinking.

Someone else mentioned the balloon getting stuck in the corner of the room. I would think that's preventable by tying the string to a chair or some other piece of furniture near the center of the room. Put the fan on high and the balloon should keep flopping around the room all day.

In general we've yet to have real problems with the thermostats. Our society seems pretty supportive of any "green" initiatives unveiled by Disney and other large companies. Reducing electrical power usage by not cooling empty rooms would seem to fall under that heading. Sometimes being environmentally conscious doesn't completely jive with personal comfort.

 

[mom3sonstt]

I understand their reasoning behind having the thermostats this way - why pay to cool a room in the heat of the day when no one is in it. But here at home we have the programmable thermostats so we can have it set at different temps throughout the day - especially nice in the cold midwest winter to have the heat kick up before trudging off to take a shower in the dark winter mornings. And it's not that difficult to do - too bad they don't have programmable thermostats down there - then we could set the air to kick on again when we think we will be heading back and they would still have the benefit of it not running all day in an empty space.

 

[Doug7856]

. . . Our society seems pretty supportive of any "green" initiatives unveiled by Disney and other large companies. Reducing electrical power usage by not cooling empty rooms would seem to fall under that heading. Sometimes being environmentally conscious doesn't completely jive with personal comfort.

Well said. Also, it will have a positive impact on our member fees to not cool empty rooms.

Overall, I'm impressed with the look and feel of the resort and can't wait for out Thanksgiving stay.

 

[kid-at-heart]

In response to those bothered by "critters," I've said since the start that THV would probably not appeal to two types of vacationers -- those without cars, and people who really don't like being somewhat out in the wild because THV is in a heavily-wooded area.


Critters:
Currently, there are probably a lot fewer critters around THV than there will be in a few months. Construction always disrupts animal habitat and they move away. Once things settle down, they will probably move back.

Realistically, the kinds of critters you are likely to see at THV are racoons, possums, rabbits, river otter, and deer. There will be a lot of smaller stuff, and slithering stuff, but you are not likely to encounter any of those except lizards and frogs. There will also be assorted bugs and bug-like creatures -- goes with the territory.

Most people will not really care much about the varied wildlife around THV. They'll enjoy deer, rabbits, otters, and racoons and they'll be grossed out by possums and palmetto bugs.

But there are a lot of folks who are sincerely phobic about creepy-crawlies. Those folks are honestly just looking for trouble if they stay at THV. It's just the wrong kind of resort for those folks.

I like critters, all critters, as long as they stay outside. Do not want any Mickeys, other than this one in my villa though. Since we are folks who like to hang out in the wilderness I am sure TVC will appeal to us.

 

[jpolak]

I hate to say it but the A/C thing is just DUMB. DVC is suppose to be a deluxe hotel. Whats next pay toilets.