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Sep 28, 2023

PHOTOS: Water Wheel and Crow's Nest Installed at Adventureland Treehouse in Disneyland

The water wheel and crow’s nest have been installed on the Adventureland

The water wheel and crow's nest have been installed on the Adventureland Treehouse under construction in Disneyland Park.

Since our last construction update, scaffolding has been adjusted, but we can still see past it at the center of the new attraction.

The water wheel has been installed at the entrance, right behind the construction walls. It's still covered in plastic.

The original Swiss Family Treehouse also had a water wheel at the entrance, but it was removed when it was turned into Tarzan's Treehouse in 1999.

The new treehouse is inspired by "Swiss Family Robinson" and the original 1962 attraction, but not exactly the same. It will focus on a different original family.

Several crew members were on site during our recent visit. Taped on a platform behind the crew members was a caution sign.

The treehouse looks like it is made out of pieces of a ship, complete with a bowsprit sticking out from one of the highest huts.

We saw crew members moving a plank of wood.

The new crow's nest is poking above scaffolding next to that hut's thatched roof.

It's also still covered in plastic, secured with blue tape.

Through the tree branches, we can see another hut, with a red tarp hanging from it. It looks like more plastic was wrapped around materials where a crew member was standing.

Read more about the Adventureland Treehouse below.

Back in November 2022, it was announced that Tarzan's Treehouse would be transformed into a new Swiss Family-Inspired Adventureland Treehouse in Disneyland Park. It would have its own story, partially inspired by "Swiss Family Robinson".

Before it was Tarzan's Treehouse, the attraction was Swiss Family Treehouse, based on the 1960 film "Swiss Family Robinson." It opened on November 18, 1962, at Disneyland Park and was an opening day attraction at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris. It remains the Swiss Family Treehouse at Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland.

Swiss Family Treehouse closed at Disneyland Park in 1999 and reopened as Tarzan's Treehouse (pictured above) later that year. After another 22 years of operation, it suddenly closed in September 2021. Disney eventually announced in April 2022 that it would be re-themed.

Instead of being inspired by a different IP (it was rumored it could be "Encanto"-themed), the new treehouse will have an original story about a family living in the treehouse on Jungle River. It will look more like the original 1962 Swiss Family Treehouse, including a water wheel at the entrance, but the family is different, hence the name Adventureland Treehouse.

Each member of the family will have their own themed room, featuring found objects and natural resources that they have repurposed for home use, not unlike previous iterations of the treehouse. Above is concept art for the mother's music den. The young son will have a nature room and the teenage daughter will have an astronomer's loft.

To make the attraction more accessible for guests unable to climb stairs, or who just don't want to go up high, the bottom floor will be expanded to include a kitchen, dining room, and the father's art studio displaying hand-drawn sketches and paintings of each of the rooms.

It was also rumored that the attraction would become S.E.A.-themed. While it may not be an entirely S.E.A. attraction, there is a Society of Explorers and Adventurers banner in the concept art.

The full title of the new attraction is Adventureland Treehouse Inspired by Walt Disney's Swiss Family Robinson. The Adventureland Treehouse is set to be completed this year but an opening timeframe has not been announced.

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Shannen has been a Disney Parks fan and lover of dogs since childhood, despite Pluto's attempt to eat Shannen's Minnie Mouse doll the first time they met. They've made up now. You can email Shannen at [email protected]

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