Walt Disney World Treehouse Villas to be rebuilt

Walt Disney World is currently working on plans to tear down and rebuild its Treehouse Villas community of 60 two-story housing units, according to an Orlando Sentinel report. The three-bedroom villas, which are octagonal in shape, lie in a forested area between a resort canal and the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, and have in the past served as for-rent lodging, Disney Institute guest housing, and international student-worker housing. Although Disney officials are hesitant to discuss the future of the Villas, the company recently received permission from the South Florida Water Management District to tear them down and replace them. "We are bringing them back as a popular option for our guests," said Walt Disney World spokesperson Andrea Finger. "The unique location has provided a tranquil and more secluded environment that our guests have enjoyed since the mid-'70s," she added, declining to reveal any further detail. Disney first opened the Villas in 1975; the last guests stayed there in 2002. Still, guests who remember staying in the villas have fond memories. "The thing I remember about the villas, I liked so much, is you didn't feel like you were in Florida. You didn't feel like you were in Walt Disney World. It felt like you were remote and distant from Orlando and the theme parks and the hustle and bustle," said Lou Mongello, author of the two-volume The Walt Disney World Trivia Book. "It was lush and so green. Very lush."