What are those tree-houses all about?

Chernabog · Post by **Chernabog** » May Wed 28, 2008 3:31 pm

What were they used for? What happened to them? Etc.....

Who knows the history of them and the future for them?

kristen · Post by **kristen** » May Wed 28, 2008 4:54 pm

They were just regular accommodation that you could rent. They were part of the village resort with the bungalows, townhomes, and fairway villas. This whole resort took up the space which is now occupied by Saratoga Springs. The village resort became part of the Disney Institute when it opened, but after it closed, Saratoga Springs took over.

The treehouses were most recently used as accommodation for international program students.

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » May Wed 28, 2008 9:50 pm

Yeah, they haven't been used by guests for about two decades, and now they've torn them down and are rebuilding them as villas for guests, I believe. For a couple of years up until this Dec, they housed the ICPs

keneka · Post by **keneka** » May Thu 29, 2008 3:19 am

I don't know what Disney are doing with these, my family always stay at port orleans riverside and every time we pass the Treehouse Villas along the waterways to downtown we can see that they are falling apart more and more, they have been unused for years since the institute closed down, although I've read everywhere that they are still used for the international program, they seem in too bad a state to be used. Disney seem to have the same idea about Discovery Island just to let it become derelict beyond use?

DisBeamer · Post by **DisBeamer** » May Thu 29, 2008 4:36 am

We had a thread about this and Disney's future plans for them a little while back, here. I for one am looking forward to them making a comeback.

I actually saw people in them in December (int'l program students) when we went by on the boat to DTD. Some of them had holiday decorations up too. The furnishings on the inside looked oooooooold (it was at night, and they had lights on so you could see in). Especially the appliances. Pretty sure the stove I saw was older than I am.

kristen · Post by **kristen** » May Thu 29, 2008 2:42 pm

Lion Sleeps Tonight wrote:Yeah, they haven't been used by guests for about two decades, and now they've torn them down and are rebuilding them as villas for guests, I believe. For a couple of years up until this Dec, they housed the ICPs

Yeah, they're tearing them all down now and are going to rebuild them. Apparently, the new treehouses will be one story, instead of the current two story structures. I guess that eliminates the cool spiral staircase.

I'm so sad to see them go.

Sleeping Beauty 5 · Post by **Sleeping Beauty 5** » May Thu 29, 2008 8:36 pm

It's sad that they are tearing the ICP Treehouses down but on the bright side you will actually be able to stay in the new ones. We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside on two occasions and when you're on the boat going to DD they always tell you about them and how they're not used for guests because they don't follow the handicapped law. I'm just wondering about transportation options...will it only be accessible by bus or will they also add a boat ramp?

metsofny · Post by **metsofny** » Jun Tue 10, 2008 10:51 pm

I stayed there once when I was a little kid. you could rent them like a hotel room. they say that they became rooms for disney employeed exchange workers. now I hear that they are abandoned. much like the old River Country. which can be seen on some websites that take pictures from space.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Jun Wed 11, 2008 12:11 pm

Maelstrom wrote:Apparently, the new treehouses will be one story, instead of the current two story structures. I guess that eliminates the cool spiral staircase. I'm so sad to see them go.

Thanks to the ADA. It was either make them one story or put an elevator in, some/all of them. I'm sad to see them good also.

The reason they haven't been maintained, is that if do much of anything to them they have to bring them up to ADA standards. Because maintenance beyond some $ amount per year is considered "improvement" which means it has to come up to code.

johno

ps. in general I like the ADA (I'm not just a general ADA basher.) But I wish it wasn't such a pain to get "reasonable" exceptions to it. Although it comes down to what I think is reasonable someone else might think isn't, it's hard to code.

Brian845 · Post by **Brian845** » Aug Fri 15, 2008 2:01 pm

Maelstrom wrote:
Lion Sleeps Tonight wrote:Yeah, they haven't been used by guests for about two decades, and now they've torn them down and are rebuilding them as villas for guests, I believe. For a couple of years up until this Dec, they housed the ICPs
Yeah, they're tearing them all down now and are going to rebuild them. Apparently, the new treehouses will be one story, instead of the current two story structures. I guess that eliminates the cool spiral staircase. I'm so sad to see them go.

There will be one habitable story, but it will still be elevated. The bottom level won't have living space like the earlier design...Something to do with the 100 year flood plain. There's some pictures of the proposed designs here:

http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/showt ... hp?t=13006

From what I've read, they might be sold through DVC as part of Saratoga Springs.

It's nice to see that the design will be relatively similar. I remember these from the 80s when we stayed at the "Vacation Villas", although we never stayed in the THV themselves.

Esmeralda · Post by **Esmeralda** » Aug Mon 18, 2008 7:18 am

Thanks for the updates! Hopefully they'll return to operation soon and maybe even have some openings for those of us who haven't heard that best kept secret.

SimonTemplar · Post by **SimonTemplar** » Aug Mon 18, 2008 12:53 pm

Sleeping Beauty 5 wrote: I'm just wondering about transportation options...will it only be accessible by bus or will they also add a boat ramp?

Back when the Tree House Villas were in their "heyday", the boating options to and from DTD were not what they are now. So, my assumption would be that a boat ramp/docking area would be a natural addition.