What were those buildings?

[Cindy's Mom]

We were on the boat the other day from Downtown Disney to POR and on the right side of the river were these buildings/cottages that seemed to be unoccupied. Does anyone know what these were? They looked really neat?

 

[MrsTink04]

They are "TreeHouses". From what I understood, they have been there since around the time WDW opened and need some serious refurbishing, however, they are in protected wetlands and cannot be touched...cannot be torn down or refurbished. I believe they have one or two bedrooms, a master bedroom, a living area, etc. I believe the treehouses were a part of the resort that had something to do with "The Disney Institute", which has not been there in several years. I *think* they closed the treehouses when they closed The Disney Institute.

Hope that helps some...they usually told the story of the treehouses on the boat rides back and forth from DTD, but it's been a little over a month and I am not sure I remember all of the details.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Thank you. I thought they were more of a permanent residence/dorm type setting vs. resort accommodations. Too bad they are not able to refurbish, I wouldn't mind staying there.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Thank you. I thought they were more of a permanent residence/dorm type setting vs. resort accommodations. Too bad they are not able to refurbish, I wouldn't mind staying there.

alot of them took quite a hit during the hurricanes last year too. We were at POFQ during Hurricane Jeanne...and were unable to use the boat after the hurricane (it wasn't running, too much debris in the water), so we took a bus. Alot of the treehouses had some significant damage done to them.

I never realized they were under wetland protection though...

 

[Feralpeg]

The Treehouses were part of The Disney Institute. A CM told me that after they complete Saratoga Springs, they will start the rennovation of the Treehouses.

 

[Hopefully]

There seems to be a great deal of disagreement about what will happen to the Treehouses in the future. I have read here that they are on protected wetlands, and nothing can be done to them.
We stayed there in the late 70's and we loved them. I hope they come to some resolution.

 

[wdw4us2]

They've been there since the early days of WDW. They were originally called "The Lake Buena Vista Treehouse Village & Vacation Villas" long before the Disney Institute was even thought of.

According to a sales CM at Saratoga Springs, they hope to redo the interiors of the treehouses in the future and they will become part of Saratoga Springs.

 

[wdwdawg]

I believe they are where Peter Pan resides.

wdwdawg

 

[Trinity721]

Does anyone have pictures? I'm curious! Never seen them, at least as far as I can remember...

 

[Geoff_M]

If you Google the old name you should come across a photo or two.

The "tree houses" are basically a two story octagonal wood framed house with the lower level being a bit narrower than the top floor, so they have a bit of a "mushroom" appearance. They were built in the 70's... and they look like it. Many of them were rehab'ed in the 1999/2000 time frame when they were part of the Disney Institute. After that, they were moth-balled or used for housing for the college program (IIRC).

It is my understanding that they are is now considered a "wetland". As such, no new structures may be erected. Existing structures are "grandfathered" and could be remodeled, but if they are torn down nothing can replace them.

Bingo... Photo courtesy of Google:

 

[buzz5985]

I stayed in a treehouse for a couple of nights. This was back in the day of the Gold Key Plan. All meals were included in the plan, plus all recreational equipment. So we would rent Golf Carts. You plugged them into the treehouse. I remember taking them to the restaurants, and plugging them in there. What a great time we had. You had to go up one story to enter the treehouse. When you entered that was the kitchen area, and beyond that a living room. There were 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the second floor, on the first floor was another bedroom and a laundry room. Plus a deck that wrapped 1/2 way around the house.

 

[Trinity721]

Geoff, thanks for the picture! Always nice to have a visual.