Reopening on November 10th is the Adventureland Treehouse, which used to be the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (1962-1999) & Tarzan (1999-2021). The original was inspired by the Swiss Family Robinson movie (1960), based on the 1812 novel, where a father, mother, and three sons escape the reign of Napoleon upon Switzerland, and escape to New Guinea. However, they were shipwrecked on a deserted island and constructed a treehouse for shelter, inspiring the original 1962 attraction at Disneyland two years after the movie’s premier with signature Swisskapolka tune.
It was a walk-through attraction, where guests can get a realistic glimpse into the treehouse in the movie of everyone’s room. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act was not enacted until 1991, so guests who could not navigate stairs were not able to fully experience the attraction in its full glory.
Another three treehouses were opened: at Magic Kingdom on opening day on October 1, 1971; Disneyland Paris on April 12, 1992; and on July 21, 1993 Tokyo Disneyland.
In 1999, to bring a modern movie in Disneyland’s Adventureland, Imagineers refurbished the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, to be Tarzan Treehouse, inspired by the Tarzan’s treehouse parents built before their passing in the movie when he was an infant. However, in 2021, it was closed for two years, and refurbished into the “Adventureland Treehouse, Inspired by the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse”.
In the Adventureland Treehouse, the story is changed a bit to have a sister & two brothers instead of just three brothers, and they were not shipwrecked on a deserted island, but reside in Adventureland by choice. This is also connected with the Society of Explorers & Adventurers as the daughter has a note from them in her room. Each family member has a hobby that they are pursuing while living at the treehouse, the father is for art, the mother is for music, the sons are for biology, and the daughter is for astronomy. The mother & kids rooms are upstairs, while the kitchen and the father’s art space is on the ground level. Like its predecessors, there isn’t any way for the attraction to be ADA compliant at all for guests who can’t climb up the stairs. The father’s art space has renderings of the rooms to give the guests who can’t go up the stairs, to at least get a glimpse of the rooms.
How was it like there? The queue formed on the Pirates of the Caribbean overpass and hooks around the former queue for the left queue for Pirates. Then a Cast Member lets your group in. Going up the first set of stairs or up the ADA complaint ramp to the ground level, featuring dancing kitchen appliances to Swisskapolka that is played throughout the attrition, see Jane the Ostrich, a woodworking lathe to make wooden furniture for the treehouse, and the fathers art studio with the rendering of the other family members rooms & Jane.
Going up the first set of stairs is the mother’s musical room, in which all the instruments are automated to play the Swisskapolka. Next is the daughter’s astronomy room where she observes the stars with their telescope and even has a letter from the Society of Explorers & Adventurers, a secret society in the Adventureland & Disney Parks lore. Then is the two son’s room which has plants & animals swinging to the music. The guest in front of me was taking too many pictures, so I had to go around him. Going down the stairs, another guest was taking pictures of a burlap with an owl painting and inscribed with a quote. At the next stair landing, there was a music record listening area overlooking the ground level. Then you can see in front of you the covader system that moves water to the upper level, this and all electronic devices are powered by the water wheel as well. Then we get back to the ground level and exit the attraction.
This is a great reimagining of the attraction to nod to the past Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and modern S.E.A. lore as well, giving life to the attraction.
AntSol Travel 