LAKE BUENA VISTA – If customers want it, then bring it back.
That’s the story of the Walt Disney World’s treehouse cabins, which opened in 1975, and were demolished in 2002. They were simple structures, up one story in the trees, and memorable for guests.
High in 1970s appeal, they resembled the sort of cottages that might be found a ski or beach resort; rooms upstairs and parking underneath. Today, Walt Disney World has reopened them; they are now called Treehouse Villas, and have gone upscale. The Villas are at Saratoga Springs Resort near the Downtown Disney section of Walt Disney World. They rent for $555.
The Disney Vacation Club property includes 60 of these three-bedroom villa “treehouses,” which are built on pedestals amid forested glens. In a press release last fall, Jim Lewis, president of DVC, said that they were built on the old idea.
“Our founder, Walt Disney, was well-known for having one foot in the past and one in the future. This new resort development shares that dynamic sensibility, blending modern luxury and design with the nostalgic spirit of one of the most storied resorts at the Walt Disney World Resort,” he said.
“Each project we’ve undertaken at Disney Vacation Club is unlike anything previously available in our resort portfolio, and the treehouse villas are proudly built on that tradition.” Designed in a style called “cabin casual,” the new treehouse villas each offer three bedrooms and two baths, and can accommodate up to nine guests.
WDW officials say that Imagineers were able to reduce the villas’ encroachment on the surrounding wetlands by 70 percent for each individual home site. They also were able to recycle 5,178 tons (65.22 percent) of concrete and metal materials from the old structure’s demolition.
“The treehouse villas are a really amazing place,” said Imagineer Todd Thomasson, in a release. “Being surrounded by wetlands, we went to great lengths to work within the original resort’s footprint, building only on the previously developed land and not encroaching on the wetlands.” Crews constructed all 60 vacation homes onsite, utilizing machinery to move pieces of the different villas into place like a giant 3-D puzzle.
Sonya Deese-Byrnes, general manager of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, said the treehouse villas are an exciting addition. “Seeing the treehouse villas open again is like welcoming home an old friend,” she said.
\
