A week has passed since news of the Treehouse Villa rebuild began to break. Since then one of the most hotly debated topics is whether these reconstructed villas will be Disney Vacation Club units--more specifically, whether they will be added to Saratoga Springs Resort.
(This editorial is the second in a two-part series examining whether or not the treehouses are being rebuilt for sale as Disney Vacation Club accommodations.)
The Treehouse Villas WILL NOT be part of SSR
by David Welty
Recently DVCNews.com uncovered some interesting information involving rehab work on Disney’s Treehouse Villas. There is much speculation about the reason for this work and the future of this property. While I do not claim to know Disney’s plans for these villas, I personally do not think that they are going to be part of Disney Vacation Club, and here is why;
1. This property is too isolated. Located between Old Key West and
2. Originally listed as part of SSR in the original declaration, it has since been dropped from that document, most notably when the Grandstand Section was declared into the association. The architectural theme of the rebuilt Treehouse Villas retains it’s 1970’s modern style of architecture. There has been no attempt to change the theme to include a “Turn of the Century Upstate New York” flavor. There are no roads planned to directly connect this property to
3. The Treehouse Villas permit allows for no change to the existing and underwhelming pool area. The trend with DVC over the last 15 years has been to create more elaborate pool areas. (Just look at the new Animal Kingdom Villas or the recently remodeled Old Key West pool).
4. According to the documents recently filed with the South Florida Water District, these Villas reside in a 100 year flood plane. While rental of these units to visiting guests should pose no problem, disclosing this information to potential Owners, and convincing them to invest a substantial amount of money into this property could be a real problem.
5. Demand for family size units for rental inventory has increased over the last few years, prompting Disney to convert several Value Resort units to ‘Family Suites”. These suites are in great demand, and along with the Wilderness Lodge Cabins, are often booked up to a year in advance. It seems quite logical that these 60 units could be added quite easily to this inventory.
Disney is predictable. When Disney finds a formula that works they tend to stick with it. The formula for Disney Vacation Club involves highly themed and detailed properties with amazing feature pools. These properties posses a natural flow in both ambiance and theme. They tell a story in both the architecture and decor. The Treehouse villas, as part of
