Treehouse Villa's

[Disney Shib]

Good Morning Fellow Disney friends...
I've been waiting to see what the AP discounts are for January but until then I figured I'd do some other research. My family and I (5 adults) mom, dad, brother and my fiance are hoping to head down to disney 01/22/2014-01/28/2014. All of our birthdays are 2 weeks apart and we wanted to celebrate them with a Disney vacation. Has anyone had any experience staying at the Treehouse villas? We like having a kitchen and want to all be together as opposed to renting two seperate rooms. Any advice or suggestions?

 

[Master Yoda]

The treehouses themselves are incredible, but they do come with a few cons. Parking is incredibly limited and transportation can be a bit of a pain. The pool is also nothing more square concrete hole in ground.

As far as price goes I would look at renting DVC points (Treehouses are no apart of Saratoga Springs) and you will probably save a good deal over paying cash straight from Disney.

 

[Disney Shib]

The treehouses themselves are incredible, but they do come with a few cons. Parking is incredibly limited and transportation can be a bit of a pain. The pool is also nothing more square concrete hole in ground.

As far as price goes I would look at renting DVC points (Treehouses are no apart of Saratoga Springs) and you will probably save a good deal over paying cash straight from Disney.

Thanks! What about the villa's at Old Key West?

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks! What about the villa's at Old Key West?

They have never really blown my skirt up. The transportation and the pool will be a little better than the Threehouses, but the rooms are a step down IMHO.

If transportation is an issue you might look at the Beach Club and Boardwalk or Bay Lake Towers. BC and BW are walking distance to Epcot at DHS and BLT is walking distance from MK with monorail access to Epcot.

 

[Disney Shib]

They have never really blown my skirt up. The transportation and the pool will be a little better than the Threehouses, but the rooms are a step down IMHO.

If transportation is an issue you might look at the Beach Club and Boardwalk or Bay Lake Towers. BC and BW are walking distance to Epcot at DHS and BLT is walking distance from MK with monorail access to Epcot.

You've been so helpful! Thank you. Normally we are moderate or value room bookers so this is a first for us.

 

[Jamie J]

Thanks! What about the villa's at Old Key West?

Old Key West is a great resort. I own at Bay Lake Tower, but prefer staying at OKW. It's very relaxing and the rooms are very large.

It's huge, so if you do book here, request a room near the hospitality house to be close to the pool, food, and transportation.

 

[Disney Shib]

Old Key West is a great resort. I own at Bay Lake Tower, but prefer staying at OKW. It's very relaxing and the rooms are very large.

It's huge, so if you do book here, request a room near the hospitality house to be close to the pool, food, and transportation.

Old Key West looks great. I think we might be leaning more towards that way. We are five adults so we aren't so concerned with the "disney" theming but more so having a kitchen and room to make a few cocktails when we return from the parks you know. Thanks so much for the tip! I will definitley request that.

 

[Disney Shib]

I took a look at availability on the DVC member website.

A SSR treehouse villa is available for the 4 nights in question (Jan. 24 - 27). It's 164 points. If you go through one of the well-known brokers such as David's DVC rentals, they charge $14/point. That works out to $2296 or $574/night. Alternatively, a 2-bedroom at OKW is available for 130 points or $455/night.

If that's too much, then consider using eBay to search for Wyndham Bonnet Creek (WBC) listings. With a little bit of negotiating, it's usually possible to get a 2-bedroom suite for about $100/night. WBC is located next to Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) and is essentially on property. Even with a car rental, you easily could save over $1000 on a 4-night trip.

WBC is not as nice as SSR or OKW but, as already mentioned, the savings are tremendous.

If you go the DVC rental route, don't wait. Unlike cash-only rooms, DVC rooms tend to fill up. Just be aware that if you rent points, you mostly likely will be subject to a very restrictive cancellation policy. A cash-only treehouse villa directly from Disney for your nights currently is $798/night. What you save in money you sacrifice in cancellation flexibility.

My future brother in law always goes through Dave's DVC. He swears by it. I am just afraid of using the points because i've heard horror stories about people arriving and there being no reservation for them. I am an AP holder as well and normally there is a pretty good resort discount in January so we are waiting for that to be released at the end of the month. I believe last year it was like 35% on deluxe resorts. So that would make Treehouse about $520 a night and OKW about $455 directly through Disney. Thanks so much for the tips! I will definitely have to look into both the options.

 

[Master Yoda]

My future brother in law always goes through Dave's DVC. He swears by it. I am just afraid of using the points because i've heard horror stories about people arriving and there being no reservation for them. I am an AP holder as well and normally there is a pretty good resort discount in January so we are waiting for that to be released at the end of the month. I believe last year it was like 35% on deluxe resorts. So that would make Treehouse about $520 a night and OKW about $455 directly through Disney. Thanks so much for the tips! I will definitely have to look into both the options.

While I have never personally used then, Dave's is pretty rock solid, from what I have heard. It can get dicey when you go through an individual DVC owner that you don't know from Adam. All it takes is them entering in your travel dates of 9/11-9/18 as 10/11-10/18 and you can run into problems.

 

[Disney Shib]

While I have never personally used then, Dave's is pretty rock solid, from what I have heard. It can get dicey when you go through an individual DVC owner that you don't know from Adam. All it takes is them entering in your travel dates of 9/11-9/18 as 10/11-10/18 and you can run into problems.

It definitely seems worth checking out. Do you know how it works? Do they just put the reservation in your name for you? I'm sorry for the 500 questions. As I mentioned before we normally are strickly value and moderate bookers lol. We rented houses off-site in the past and enjoyed it but would like to use disney transportation and skip the rental cars this time.

 

[Master Yoda]

It definitely seems worth checking out. Do you know how it works? Do they just put the reservation in your name for you? I'm sorry for the 500 questions. As I mentioned before we normally are strickly value and moderate bookers lol. We rented houses off-site in the past and enjoyed it but would like to use disney transportation and skip the rental cars this time.

Pretty much. The DVC owner has to make the reservation for you in your name. As I understand it, Dave mediates that process.

I have friends who are DVC members that have given me rooms before and the check in process at the resort is exactly the same as if you did the reservation yourself.

 

[Disney Shib]

Pretty much. The DVC owner has to make the reservation for you in your name. As I understand it, Dave mediates that process.

I have friends who are DVC members that have given me rooms before and the check in process at the resort is exactly the same as if you did the reservation yourself.

Awesome to know! Thank you so much.

 

[brifraz]

We are DVC members, home resort is OKW. We have stayed at almost all the DVC and definitely still love OKW. Assuming you are looking at a 1BR, you get the full kitchen and a lot of space (compared to other 1 BR).

Our first stay at DVC was from renting points from a member privately. It went very smoothly, although I have heard of people having issues before.

We also find that although the pool is not all that exciting, it is very relaxing and not always packed. We also like the calm and quiet of the Gurgling Suitcase bar right next to the pool - great place for a few adult moments each visit.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[TAMarie]

I'm also a DVC member and have stayed at most of the villas. OKW sounds great for 5 adults. The rooms are large, and hubby and I had a nice glass of wine overlooking the pond and golf course before heading out for the evening. You will LOVE the space and amenities vs a value or mod! If you want to be close to the restaurant/pool/lobby then book a room near hospitality house. In January you might not use their cute pool much, but the hottub and sauna (inside the lighthouse) are great in cool weather. Because rooms near hospitality house go quickly, you may want to book something now, then have your travel agent apply the AP discount that may be announced in a few weeks. You won't have to make a new reservation to do that and can always cancel without penalty, so it's like a hedging a bet.