Disney’s “Swiss Family Robinson” – described by Walt Disney as “one of the greatest adventure stories of all time” – premiered Dec. 21, 1960, and on Nov. 18, 1962, a recreation of the family’s rustic island home took root as the Swiss Family Treehouse attraction at Disneyland.
Since then, three additional treehouses sprouted up on Oct. 1, 1971, at Walt Disney World; April 12, 1992, at Disneyland Paris; and July 21, 1993, at Tokyo Disneyland.
In June 1999, Disneyland’s walk-through attraction was re-imagined as Tarzan’s Treehouse, which closed in April 2022 to make way for a new Adventureland Treehouse, which will once again be inspired by “Swiss Family Robinson” when it opens later this fall.
As we anxiously await the debut of the re-re-imagined treehouse, let’s look at how Imagineers took inspiration from the original 1962 attraction as well as the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) – and since the treehouse at Walt Disney World is still themed to “Swiss Family Robinson,” we’ll take a spin around that attraction as well.
Swiss Family Treehouse
The original 1962 “C-Ticket” attraction featured various “rooms” built into the tree’s branches with furniture and items that appeared to have been salvaged by the family from their shipwreck (or that they found on the island).
Fun Facts: The 70-foot-tall and 80-foot-wide man-made tree at Disneyland is known as a Disneyodendron semperflorens grandis (large ever-blooming Disney tree). The tree in Orlando is 60 feet tall and 90 feet wide.
To create the concrete and steel structure for the massive tree, Imagineers studied a Moreton Bay Fig Tree planted in the 1800s by Anaheim horticulturist Tim Carroll.
“Every kid has had dreams of living in a treehouse,” Walt Disney said (referring to the Disneyland attraction), “and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse probably tops those dreams.”
Tarzan’s Treehouse
Since the story of “Tarzan” also featured a shipwrecked European family who built a jungle treehouse, it seemed like the perfect fit, allowing the attraction to remain more or less the same, except for a few new hands-on interactive features and details reflecting the movie’s storyline, including a “jump scare” moment with Sabor, the cheetah.
The makeover also included a suspension bridge from a new entrance inside the trunk of a neighboring tree (which was removed in April 2022).
Nevertheless, the basic premise remained the same as guests trudged up and down stairs past various rooms in the family’s home.
Reimagined Adventureland Treehouse
According to Disneyland, the Adventureland Treehouse will “[pay] tribute to the original treehouse that Walt Disney and his Imagineers built in 1962…[and] showcase wondrous new environments created amongst the branches of a giant tree on the shores of the Jungle River, where guests will once again enter by the giant waterwheel and follow the wood rope stairways up, up, up into the boughs.”
Thanks to concept artwork from Disney (and our eagle-eyed MiceChat photographers), we know the new Adventureland Treehouse will also feature rooms “assigned” to different family members.
As we explore the Swiss Family Treehouse at Walt Disney World, let’s see how the new Adventureland Treehouse matches up.
The Water Wheel
The first landmark guests encounter when they enter the Swiss Family Treehouse is a water wheel, which does not contain water in Florida, but will be a working water feature when the Adventureland Treehouse opens at Disneyland.
The Family Room
The Swiss Family Treehouse includes a “family room” featuring the ship’s wheel and an upright piano, which must have been a big headache for the small family to hoist into the tree.
Since the piano is already up there, this is the most logical spot for Mother’s Music Room in the new Adventureland Treehouse.
Jungle Lookout
The sign next to Mother and Father’s treetop bedroom in Orlando notes it offers a spot to “contemplate our small world.”
This seems to be a likely location for the astronomer’s loft in the new version, and concept art offered the first clue that the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) will be incorporated into the attraction’s new storyline (just as it was for the reimagined Jungle Cruise nearby).
The Crow’s Nest
The Swiss Family Treehouse bedroom for the family’s three boys – Fritz, Ernst, and Francis – features hammock “bunk beds” and a telescope.
This is the space occupied by the aforementioned Cheetah during the Tarzan years, but in the re-imagined treehouse, it appears to have been taken over by the family’s daughter, who is a bird watcher.
The Library
The library in Florida includes books salvaged from the family’s ship.
Father’s Art Room in the Adventureland Treehouse may have a similar feel and is expected to include sketches of the rooms above for guests who can’t (or don’t want to) climb the stairs.
The Kitchen and Dining Room
The ground-floor Swiss family Treehouse kitchen and dining room has a volcanic stone hearth, cooking utensils from the ship, and found items like a basin made from a giant clam shell.
The stone hearth in the concept artwork for Father’s Art Room suggests the kitchen may be combined with this space.
What is S.E.A.?
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) began as a tribute to the members of the Adventurers’ Club at Walt Disney World and has since expanded to include such notable Disney characters as Lord Henry Mystic of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland; Jock Lindsay, the proprietor his namesake Hangar Bar in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World; Dr. Albert Falls of Jungle Cruise fame; and Tokyo Disney’s Harrison Hightower who looks suspiciously like former Imagineer Joe Rohde.
Some also believe it’s the organization from which Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) unsuccessfully requests assistance at the beginning of the live-action “Jungle Cruise” movie.
For a full rundown of all things S.E.A., check out our comprehensive guide:
The Beginners Guide to Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A)
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Let’s Hear From You!
Are you looking forward to the newly-reimagined Adventureland Treehouse or were you sad to see Tarzan’s Treehouse go? What do you think about the S.E.A. storyline being incorporated into the attraction at Disneyland? How important is the Treehouse to the overall attraction mix in Adventureland? Let us know in the comments below.
