Walt Disney Village Resort

[sbkline]

I recently purchased a book at a nearby Antique Store simply titled "Walt Disney World". It's a green, hardback book with info on WDW as it existed at the time. I looked for a year, but couldn't find one. However, it is obviously from the early 80's since Epcot was EPCOT Center and it and MK are the only parks mentioned in the book. No mention of Grand Floridian...only the Contemporary, Polynesian and Ft Wilderness.

Anwyay to the topic of the thread...there is a place called "Walt Disney Resort Village" which looks (both in description and in the pictures) similar to the current Downtown Disney. So would I be correct to assume that this was basically an early incarnation of DTD? It mentions Tree House Villas, Club Lake Villas and Vacation Villas.

When I see the name "Tree House Villas", I can't help thinking of what I saw on my left as I took the boat from POR to DTD in April. Are those remnants of the Treehouse Villas?

Lastly, in one of the pictures, it shows a casino style boat along the shoreline, called the "Empress Lilley". It looks very similar to what is now Fultan's Crab House at DTD. Is it the same boat?

 

[maelstrom]

Fulton's is the Empress Lilly.

The Treehouse Villas are on the side of the Sassagoula River, yes.

The village resort was where the treehouses, townhomes, fairway villas, bungalows, and grand vista homes were located. Most of this area is now Saratoga Springs. DTD used to be called the Disney Village Marketplace and had a more earthy 1970s feel.

 

[sbkline]

Fulton's is the Empress Lilly.

The Treehouse Villas are on the side of the Sassagoula River, yes.

The village resort was where the treehouses, townhomes, fairway villas, bungalows, and grand vista homes were located. Most of this area is now Saratoga Springs. DTD used to be called the Disney Village Marketplace and had a more earthy 1970s feel.

Thanks for the answers. :wave:

Another question: looking through that book, I see the "Sassagoula River" going by the Treehouse Villas (yes, I noticed the picture after I asked the question). But this was long before the Port Orleans/Dixie Landings resorts. Yet I always thought that this was a manmade river. So first off, did Disney make this river, or was it already there? Secondly, if Disney made the river, then where did it go to before the Port Orleans resorts were there? I always thought the river was created specifically for the theming of the resort.

It's neat looking through that book and seeing how much has changed since then. It's hard to imagine WDW only consting of two parks and two resort hotels.

 

[maelstrom]

Thanks for the answers. :wave:

Another question: looking through that book, I see the "Sassagoula River" going by the Treehouse Villas (yes, I noticed the picture after I asked the question). But this was long before the Port Orleans/Dixie Landings resorts. Yet I always thought that this was a manmade river. So first off, did Disney make this river, or was it already there? Secondly, if Disney made the river, then where did it go to before the Port Orleans resorts were there? I always thought the river was created specifically for the theming of the resort.

It's neat looking through that book and seeing how much has changed since then. It's hard to imagine WDW only consting of two parks and two resort hotels.

I'm actually not sure about the Sassagoula River. It looks man-made, but who knows with Disney. I'm willing to bet that Marni knows. POFQ didn't open until 1991 and the village resort was there long before that. But they could've already had plans for the Port Orleans complex. The boardwalk was put in long before the Boardwalk resort was built (I remember riding the pink & teal tram from the Dolphin to the International Gateway along the boardwalk when there was no hotel).

 

[wolf359]

I'm not sure which year your book came out either. I have a couple, one from '82 and one from '86 but they both have blue covers. It *should* say in small print on the first couple of pages what year it was printed, though.

As for your questions, just like maelstrom said Disney Village Marketplace was the original shopping district that Downtown Disney grew up around. Many of the original buildings are still there.

All of the "Disney Village Resorts" were absorbed into the Disney Institute during it's existance, and all were bulldozed to make way for Saratoga Springs except for the Treehouse Villas.

Which are the odd little buildings along the river.

They're no longer used for guest lodging because they are not ADA compliant. I think Disney now uses them for storage and perhaps some cast lodging.

Empress Lilly was the original name for what is now Fulton's Crab House, and was named after Walt's wife, Lillian Disney. At one time the Empress Lilly was the most formal and expensive restaurant on WDW property.

I believe the name was changed in the mid 90s when Disney gave up management of the restaurant to an outside company. To my knowledge none of the restaurants at Downtown Disney are run by the Disney company any longer, having all been farmed out to outside corporations.

 

[wolf359]

I'm 99% sure the "Sassagoula River" was originally just one of the many, many canals that were dug throughout the Disney property in the late 60s as part of their efforts to protect the evironment and aid in water flow control.

 

[kurros]

wolf359: Cap'n Jacks Restaurant is still operated by Disney, but the rest of your history sounds right.

As to the river, from Black Lake past Downtown Disney up to the dry dock canal (just past Community Drive/DVC Way on the other side of the treehouses) and the fork off to Bonnet Creek past Disney's Old Key West is mostly natural, though widened (significantly for "Village Lake") and dredged at various points over the years. It was extended north of there before Disney's Port Orleans and Dixie Landings were built.

Here is a link to a topo map from 1980. If you zoom out one tick you will be looking at a (not as detailed) topo map from 1977. It's missing "Village Lake", as well as the connecting canal that goes past the treehouses.

 

[dhcalva]

Would you believe that I have one of those books? Bought at Disney in the 80s no less.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I believe that the Sassagoula was built by Disney when they built up the property, but it had a different name (or one that wasn't publicized at all) since the Sassagoula word didn't have any meaning until Port Orleans opened.