Inside Newly-Reimagined Rooms at Disney World’s Most Unique, Retirement-Ready Resort!

If you’ve ever made a Walt Disney World bucket list (and who hasn’t?!), you’ve come up with what you’d do if money were no object, from fancy suites and other luxury accommodations to lavish extras and upcharges, etc. Like everyone else, we’ve dreamed about where we’d stay if we won the lottery (step one: start playing the lotto).

For those who need a little “help” with this exercise, my daydreaming answer for years was the Yellowstone or Yosemite Suite at Wilderness Lodge in order to have access to Old Faithful Club. I love Wilderness Lodge, so this should come as no surprise. Sarah has her own preferred suites at other resorts, with Grand Floridian plus Royal Palm Club now being her clear #1.

If we were bringing along family, we’d do a DVC Grand Villa instead, which could be more economical by renting Disney Vacation Club points. Not that we’ve given this a lot of thought over the years or anything. But there’s another difficult WDW dilemma we’ve also entertained: if we could pick any resort, where would we live if we could retire inside Walt Disney World permanently?

For me, the answer is obvious: Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. They are standalone units that offer the requisite privacy, along with spaciousness and lovely views, while also offering relatively easy access to Disney Springs.

(Important note: this hypothetical concerns resorts. Golden Oak and the Residences at Four Seasons Orlando are not resorts. Also not resorts are the Swiss Family Treehouse and Cinderella Castle Suite, for those who want to get really clever and find a “home” inside Magic Kingdom.)

Some Walt Disney World fans who don’t give this very serious hypothetical the level of thought it deserves might be inclined to pick one of the monorail loop or Crescent Lake resorts, wanting to be close to Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. In my professional opinion, this is a mistake.

If you’re living at Walt Disney World for the rest of your days, you need to view the resort through a different lens. The serene setting is valuable, as is the lack of shared walls with your neighbors. Moreover, you might come to appreciate the convenience to Disney Springs as opposed to the parks over a longer time horizon.

Although we don’t spend nearly as much time there as tourists, Disney Springs was our mall as locals, and we were there a lot. The location on the side of Walt Disney World property also makes venturing off-site easier. (One of our biggest regrets about living in Central Florida was picking a community west of Walt Disney World as opposed to east.)

Unlike so many of the cookie-cutter subdivisions around Orlando, the Treehouse Villas are also incredibly unique. They truly homes with warmth and charm, as opposed to ordinary houses. They’d be perfect for indoor-outdoor living, and feel like old school Florida. I’d absolutely retire here full-time if they’d let me.

Just some important food for thought when you discuss this “what if” retirement home scenario with your family or friends. Some may say there’s no right or wrong answer here, but I’m telling you, Treehouse Villas are the only correct choice for the long-term. And they’re about to get even better, as Walt Disney World has revealed a first look inside the reimagined resort rooms and shared new details…

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort is home to some of the most unique accommodations at Walt Disney World.

Tucked away along the woodlands of the Sassagoula River, you’ll find the Treehouse Villas, three-bedroom hideaways offering space, privacy, and tranquility in an elevated, secluded setting among the trees.

The Treehouse Villas are beloved by Disney Vacation Club members and guests alike for their immersive theming and cozy, yet spacious, feel.

Over the next few months, reimagined Treehouse Villas will begin to debut at Walt Disney World with charming new enhancements. Here’s an exclusive first look inside.

Drawing inspiration from New England–style craftsmanship and the timeless artistry of the Arts and Crafts movement, the refreshed design ties the charm of the Treehouse Villas to the traditional elegance of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort.

A rich color palette and natural finishes like wood and stone help create an inviting retreat that feels connected to nature.

Each Treehouse Villa sleeps up to nine guests and features a full kitchen, in-room washer and dryer, along with living and dining areas that boast all-new finishes, furniture, and fixtures.

Private decks offer families a place to come together and create lasting memories, surrounded by the great outdoors. Inside, Disney storytelling remains at the heart of the Treehouse Villas, woven into the new design through Arts and Crafts-inspired decorative details.

From throw pillows to lampshades, organic elements like botanicals and animal motifs inspired by classic characters appear throughout the textiles, reflecting the natural beauty that surrounds the villas with a touch of Disney magic.

Astute eyes will spot more than a dozen beloved nature scenes and characters from Disney animated films and shorts.

Timeless stories like The Fox and the Hound and Sleeping Beauty are brought to life through wall murals and fine art paintings, while familiar friends from Cinderella appear carved into the furnishings and perched high above, tucked into the architecture.

The reimagined Treehouse Villas will be completed later in 2026. For now, here’s a look at more of the thoughtful details (and woodland characters) waiting inside the newly renovated Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort:

My first impression of the reimagined Treehouse Villas is very positive.

Although this is a hard goods refurbishment, Imagineering has retained the defining design features of the Treehouse Villas and their existing layout. In so doing, they’ve taken a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” approach and have kept the core craftsman style, while replacing the furniture, fixtures, and finishings.

There’s new flooring, appliances, and thematic (and literal) window-dressing, but the Treehouse Villas are not wholly unrecognizable to anyone who has stayed here before. There’s a lot more character art, but it’s tastefully integrated and isn’t a substitute for actual themed design. I’m personally very pleased to see the rare Fox and the Hound representation (one of my favorite underrated movies).

Here’s a look at the before, from our last stay at the Treehouse Villas:

The new rooms look fresh and modernized, which will minimize the complaints about them being dated and too rustic, but they’re thankfully not bland, boring, or basic. Imagineering, Disney Vacation Club, and Walt Disney World did a good job of threading the needle on this one.

I’m sure some guests will still quibble with the end result (there’s no pleasing everyone, especially the nostalgics), but I view this as one of the bigger successes of this round of room reimaginings. This feels like a fair compromise between first-timers expecting “Disney” accommodations and lifelong fans.

My hope is that this is also a quasi sneak peek at the upcoming Disney Lakeshore Lodge rooms. While those will probably end up being more mainstream, the creative direction of the Treehouse Villas still bodes well for that. I’d also add that Sequoia Lodge at Disneyland Paris looks promising, and the new-look Boulder Ridge rooms are my favorite in all of Walt Disney World. If DVC and WDI are using this trio of projects as the stylistic template for Lakeshore Lodge (with Island Tower as the substantive blueprint) those rooms have the potential to be our new #1.

While they are niche and taste-specific, we’d add that the Treehouse Villas belong on every Walt Disney World fan’s bucket list as a temporary place to stay thanks to their unique nature and rich history that dates back decades.

Debuting in 1975, the Treehouse Villas were to be part of the Lake Buena Vista mixed use community (think EPCOT 2.0) that never fully came to fruition. They were later incorporated into the failed Disney Institute concept before closing to guests, and then being used for International College Program housing. In 2009, they were fully redone and rolled into Saratoga Springs Resort.

The Treehouse Villas are bona-fide “Vacation Kingdom of the World Historic Landmarks” and we were a bit relieved that Walt Disney World opted to rebuild them in the spirit of these villas’ original incarnations, save for a smaller ground-level footprint.

Despite being the obvious choice for where you should live at Walt Disney World, the Treehouse Villas are divisive among tourists as temporary accommodations. If you do a little searching, you’ll find a number of “horror stories” about negative stays at the Treehouse Villas, making them sound like the worst resort in all of Walt Disney World, instead of my future retirement home.

A lot of tourists dislike the Treehouse Villas due to transportation and their remote and isolated location, totally unlike other resorts at Walt Disney World. They are basically like the Cabins at Fort Wilderness on steroids, a similarly taste-specific property.

It’s almost imperative that you have a car if you’re staying at the Treehouse Villas. That alone is a game-changer. The water taxis that offer transportation to Disney Springs are a great option, but the internal buses to the main area of Saratoga Springs are not. (You can also walk to Saratoga Springs in about 10-15 minutes.)

Even though the Treehouse Villas are technically part of Saratoga Springs, they are better viewed as a standalone resort. The Treehouse Villas as part of Saratoga Springs would be the equivalent of the Polynesian Bungalows being considered part of the Grand Floridian (as opposed to the Poly).

In light of the above, it should be obvious that the Treehouse Villas are not for everyone. To the contrary, they’re a bad fit for most guests and we’ve heard a lot of complaints about them. But we feel a big part of that is improper expectations, and a lack of understanding about what makes the Treehouse Villas different from every other Walt Disney World resort.

We nevertheless enthusiastically endorse the Treehouse Villas to diehard fans for almost that exact same reason. They’re so unique and unlike anywhere else you can stay. All of that makes the Treehouse Villas one of our favorite accommodations at Walt Disney World.

The Treehouse Villas are absolutely perfect for a no-parks style of trip, for families who mostly want to hang out at the villa, enjoying their expensive accommodations (and one another), and maybe making the boat ride over to Disney Springs for the occasional meal. So consider that our “pitch” for these unfairly-maligned and underappreciated accommodations, which belong on your bucket list with the aforementioned caveats.

We cannot wait to do another stay at the Treehouse Villas once this reimagining is complete. I’ve been looking for an excuse to revisit the villas after our last stay, and I finally have one. Now it’s time to put together a multi-generation trip with the grandparents, which is the perfect use case for our family (well, before we retire here for good).

Like Fort Wilderness, the Treehouse Villas are perfect for visitors to Walt Disney World who want an actual vacation. They’re great for decompressing, and a serene stay spent at the resort with family or friends. They’re a poor choice for park commandos. A lot of people are also saying they’d be a great place to live out your golden years. Now that’s some real Storyliving by Disney!

If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the reimagined Treehouse Villas? Think these would be the perfect place to reside permanently at Walt Disney World? Have you stayed here in the past? Thoughts on the before and after? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!