Orlando Sentinel I had always heard that these couldnt be rebuilt because they were so close to the water and they wouldnt be able to be fixed up to current code. But, the last paragraph in the story says they have found a way around that problem. We stayed in a treehouse over Christmas in the late '90's. They are very neat and very quiet. Ours overlooked the river.
I saw these the last time I was there from the boat going from POR to DTD. I couldn't get any good pictures of it because we were moving fairly fast and it was at night.
I've stayed there a few times, back in the '80s - always enjoyed them. Much like Fort Wilderness, it was always like a getaway to stay there - coming back from the parks felt like going to another world, and staying there listening to the raccoons and possums pushing through the brush, and wind moving the trees, was always so comforting and quiet. I do hope they maintain the same secluded feel - not tearing down any of the trees and making them more open - the way they were hidden in the heavy trees and scrub is what made the whole atmosphere. Every time I boat to OKW or Port Orleans, I check them out - the past few years there's always been folding beach chairs on the decks, towels and bathing suits hung out to dry on the rails, and other signs of the international disney CMs living there. All they have to do is build a dock along the river so the Downtown Disney boat can stop there, and a bus stop at the clubhouse (which they might share with Saratoga or OKW's route). It'll be nice to have them back! Make it one of the value-priced DVC options like OKW or Saratoga, and give me one on the river...and I'll book it!
You can see them through the trees when you take the boat from POR or POFQ to DTD. Wow there are a lot of abrv in that sentence.
Check this link out [DISCLAIMER! These are not my photos! they belong to the Disney employee whose page is being linked): http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?M ... 5123847763 This is from a 'blog' type post from a former Disney employee who lived in the treehouse villas while working there. She's got lots of pictures, inside and outside, plus the clubhouse and grounds of the villas in their fairly current state. It gives you some idea of what they look like.
Dude! I'd nearly be willing to work for them without pay if I could live somewhere like that for a while! Only for a while, mind you, but.. what a way to live.
