MiceShots: Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse an Instant Classic!

Prepare to climb into the leafy heights of the latest version of Disneyland’s Adventureland treehouse – a nostalgic gem that’s both new and comfortingly familiar. Thanks to our snap-happy crew at MiceChat, we’ve snagged an eclectic mix of photos that’ll knock your socks off. And for a blast from the past… Yesterland comes to the rescue with a stash of vintage snapshots from the first two versions of the attraction, Swiss Family Treehouse (1962-1999) and Tarzan’s Treehouse (1999-2021).

We’ve got a bit of a surprise— some of our newest shots were taken on good old 35mm film. Talk about grainy glory! These gems, especially when pitted against the old-school Swiss Family photos, add an irresistible dash of authentic, filmic fuzziness. And let’s be honest, there’s something about the Adventureland Treehouse that just screams ‘better in film’. So, lace up for a photo journey that’s as charmingly old-school as it is fresh.

Welcome to the Adventureland Treehouse

Let’s begin our tour at the crossroads of Adventureland, Frontierland, and New Orleans Square— a busy corner with lots of people coming and going. Now, adding to the kinetic energy of the area is the towering Adventureland Treehouse and its intricate water delivery system. 

This beautifully animated waterwheel and pulley system is reminiscent of the original Swiss Family Treehouse, which used it to provide fresh water to all the rooms. 

The Swiss Family Treehouse also originally had a ticket booth entrance! That’s where the sail is in these photos.

Tarzan’s Treehouse, in comparison, was completely static, with no waterwheel. 

Additionally, compared to the Swiss Family Treehouse, the Adventureland Treehouse has even upped the story value of the water trickling throughout the rooms. These are magical waters, which not only provide plumbing but also power to operate all the mechanical gizmos throughout the treehouse. This raises a question: since the water comes from the jungle river, does that make the Jungle Cruise magic? 

Keep an eye out in the photos below for the extensive commitment to the magical water power, as the bamboo pipes snake all around each room and into wheels, crankshafts, and more that operate the family’s gadgets. 

The waterwheel system was created by none other than the venerable team at Garner Holt Productions, who are renowned for creating incredible animatronics and big theme park sets like this. 

Approaching the entrance, you’re greeted by this hand-carved Adventureland Treehouse marquee. It’s quite the statement upfront about what kind of experience this will be— handmade traditional Imagineering rooted in Walt Disney’s prestigious standards. 

Woodcarver Raymond Kinman was quite enthused with how the marquee came out:

https://www.facebook.com/RaymondKinman/posts/pfbid0Z1ie3czMq2nfNor7XGhisA7uUaX1JTmbq651TMvfmXvxa69ZjraqZY8GW8CAnvdRl?__cft__[0]=AZUgxNJSKNX-bvlCYFq-G5v9iYppWYLEW9sdTzEV7_xaEF13rVuNAhJxI4hPeLOXdS9CcWorO8vXuLegZfH9IdfxZznHu5h7d8o_ej1Ks8ag0TE0nNeGW2ebU-XOVnTEmscxMqFF40qAOt7UzmpCxEIx5GYLVMF-0UdTJHFoBQAJ8KvCAn75mWvZP0KnpFc3Az0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Like the Swiss Family Treehouse it draws inspiration from, the journey begins with a sign explaining who lives here and why. But the new inhabitants aren’t named like their Swiss Family counterparts and instead are only referred to by their familial ties: Father, Mother, Daughter, and the Twins. 

Still, it’s not unlike the original Swiss Family Treehouse.

Tarzan’s Treehouse, in comparison, eschewed much upfront story and instead led you up a set of stairs in a tree trunk located in the middle of the Adventureland walkway, and then across a suspended bridge. The tree stump and bridge was removed for the Adventureland Treehouse.

In fact, because of the bridge, Tarzan’s Treehouse’s layout was actually backward to the Swiss Family and Adventureland Treehouse layouts. More on that soon. 

Before even entering the first room of the Adventureland Treehouse, visual storytelling begins hitting all at once. 

That includes what we believe to be the first of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) references in the attraction. The Big Thunder Mountain lantern at the base of the tree is emblazoned with a Jungle Navigation Company logo (the operator of the nearby Jungle Cruise attraction). Both the Jungle Navigation Company and Big Thunder Mining Company (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) are linked to S.E.A.

Kitchen and Art Studio

The first two rooms are Father’s Kitchen and Art Studio. The patriarch of the family is quite talented, with skills in cooking, painting, drawing, carpentry, and engineering. 

Many books are scattered around the Adventureland Treehouse, which are great visual notations of what kinds of people inhabit it. 

The family’s pet ostrich is a reference to both the Swiss Family Robinson and Tarzan— In Swiss Family Robinson, Ernst races an ostrich named Clementine with his family and Jane is the name of Tarzan’s love interest. 

Jane has quite a lot of character, she’s a star in her own right!

The Art Studio is littered with drawings of inventions. Some are on display— a lathe turning a table leg and a pottery wheel spinning a vase. 

The blueprints on the walls depict Father’s inventions that can be found as you climb up into the treehouse like Mother’s automated organ, Daughter’s telescope, and the Twins’ animal habitats. 

Father has painted several detailed canvases of the different rooms above, serving as a preview of what’s to come, but also an opportunity to see the rooms should you not venture up the stairs. 

He’s also painted a quite amorous portrait of Jane. 

The ground floor takes direct inspiration from the layout of the original Swiss Family Treehouse, which began with a kitchen and a library. 

Tarzan’s Treehouse’s ground floor was the base camp of Jane Porter, Clayton, and Professor Archimedes. 

The base camp was home to many interactive elements, taking direct inspiration from Tarzan’s iconic Trashin’ the Camp scene. 

It also included the Swiss Family Treehouse’s earworm, the Swisskapolka, which played in the base camp’s gramophone. 

It’s finally time to clamber high into the treetops of the Disneyodendron Semperflorens Grandis! 

That’s the fictional scientific name for the tree the Adventureland Treehouse is built in. As you round the first bend to climb the stairs, there’s a plaque emblazoned with the tree’s species. 

Up we go. 

Mother’s Music Room

The first room is Mother’s room, which is dominated by a massive automated instrument set. The attached instruments all play specialized synced renditions of the classic Swisskapolka with the pipe organ. The earworm of a song was originally written for the Swiss Family Treehouse but now lives on with the beautifully rearranged new version.

Words cannot express the fine level of detail put into the marvelous organ. The way everything moves rhythmically to the tune of the Swisskapolka is nothing short of magic. 

In fact, the whole treehouse is tied to the Swisskapolka. Everything that moves is rhythmically timed to the beat. All the music throughout the treetops are arrangements of Swisskapolka— even the slower dreamy track in Daughter’s room. Tying everything to one theme is a classic approach to audio design that harkens back to the way beloved attractions like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean were developed. 

Have a listen:

The Swisskapolka actually has lyrics… 

In addition to a returning classic tune, Mother’s room has even more references to the older versions of the attraction. On the shelves is the Johann David Wyss novel, Swiss Family Robinson. 

On a stand is Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel, Tarzan of the Apes. 

Past the orchestrion, Mother has a nice spot to rest and look out over Frontierland and the Rivers of America. The center window has been de-frosted so you can see out to Adventureland below. 

Above the reading nook is Mother’s loft, an easy-to-miss detail. 

When this was the Swiss Family Treehouse, Mother’s room was the Living Room, complete with its own organ playing the original rendition of Swisskapolka. (The new version is larger and more elaborate.)

When Tarzan was the owner, he and Jane hung out in this spot where Jane was teaching Tarzan how to draw. 

Daughter’s Astronomy Room

Continuing on, Daughter’s room is mystical, dreamy, and rather avant-garde. Beyond the fascinating celestial mobile and astrolabe, Daughter’s room is packed with curious details. 

Here we find more Society of Explorers and Adventurers references in the form of logos, letters, and books in Daughter’s room. It seems she has sought the help of the S.E.A. for her astronomy research and hopes to become a member one day. 

Most guests will just see books and not know that this is a very interesting bit of backstory. 

The peculiar letter on Daughter’s desk is written by Aya Kouame-Beaucil, an astronomer and member of the S.E.A. If you read it closely, it mentions a new lens for Daughter’s telescope being sent to Dr. Kon Chunosuke’s office (the Japanese entomologist being run up a tree by a rhino on the Jungle Cruise), and that Alberta Falls (the owner of the Jungle Navigation Company) will take care of it. 

That package (or one that looks suspiciously like it) is indeed being stored at the Jungle Navigation Company; it can be found in the Jungle Cruise queue. The Hightower Industries logo is emblazoned on it, a reference to the original storyline of the Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySea.

Aya’s name is also now hanging in the Tropical Hideaway (an eatery located behind the Enchanted Tiki Room)— her paddle is embellished with a telescope. 

We’re not sure how well a telescope will work in the water, but perhaps it’s just a convenient way to carry it. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have a photo of the bedroom that was here for the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. But here’s what it looked like when Tarzan lived here. Baby Tarzan and his adoptive ape mother, Kala, were checking out this magical mirror. 

Heading up to the very top of the Adventureland Treehouse, signs of the Twins and their love of animals begin appearing. While this is just a fire extinguisher enclosure, it’s cleverly themed with little painted fire ants!

The fire ants and the Friendly Bug Motel are easy to miss as they’re below and above most people’s line of sight.

The Twins Room

The boys’ room is overrun by nature. Filled with birdhouses, wild animals, and even a frog terrarium, the boys’ room is brimming with whimsy and movement. 

Remember when we told you that everything is timed to the Swisskapolka? Even Rascal the monkey swings back and forth to the beat of the tune. 

The frog terrarium has a jumping frog that’s difficult to photograph! Blink and you’ll miss it!

There are also a few that swim past the underwater viewport underneath. 

Check out some of the charming animatronics in this video:

As you climb up and down the tree, there are plenty of the Twins’ other little critters crawling around the family’s home. 

 

All of the inhabitants of the treehouse seem to love their books. The boys, though, have self-authored the books on their shelves— books about plants, animals, and building a treehouse. Some even have cute illustrations on the spine. 

As we begin our descent, a lovely banner of an owl has a phrase sewn into it: “The birds are above, the fish are below, and we are betwixt and between.” Of course, this is a reference to the treehouse and the family— they’re neither above nor below, but betwixt and between. In fact, there’s a theory that Betwixt and Between are nicknames for the Twins. Interesting idea. 

In the Swiss Family Robinson days, the room was called the Crows Nest, shared by three boys. 

Conversely, when Tarzan ruled the roost, the leopard Sabor startled guests with an unexpected roar. This was the very first scene guests saw upon crossing the Tarzan Treehouse bridge.

The last little vignette before hitting the bottom of the stairs and heading out into the wilds of Adventureland is this little music nook. 

Sitting on the chair is a book titled “A Direct Guide to Treehouse Living,” authored by Kenneth Cooper Annakin… the director of 1960’s Swiss Family Robinson. 

And thus ends our brief tour of the Adventureland Treehouse. This is an absolute jewel of a Disney attraction. As we’ve said before, the attraction feels like a love letter to Walt Disney and early Imagineering. 

We hope you enjoyed the film photos. They really give a unique perspective that matches the old-school design and details. Back when film was the only way to shoot photos, Imagineering and Disneyland were known for having that extra touch, that extra thought put into every nook and cranny. It reminds us of the story how Walt Disney told his Imagineers to use real leather straps on the Frontierland Stagecoaches— the guests will notice the difference. And we certainly hope they will notice the difference here at the Adventureland Treehouse. 

More About The Adventureland Treehouse

For more photos, video & information about Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse, please visit our opening day coverage, which includes a beautiful video walk-through of the stunning attraction: 

NOW OPEN: Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse – Photos, Video & Info!

And a fantastic history of the attraction from Disney Parks around the world…

Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse: The Return of a Classic!

Disney Parks Ticket & Travel Offers!

Let’s Hear From You

Let’s hear from you. What do you think of the new Adventureland Treehouse? Which version is your favorite? Do you have a favorite room? Let us know in the comments below. 

Our sincerest thanks to Werner Weiss of Yesterland for his assistance with today’s feature. For more about the original Swiss Family Robinson and Tarzan versions of the Treehouse, please visit these great Yesterland articles: 

• Swiss Family Treehouse (1962-1999) 
• Tarzan’s Treehouse (1999-2021)