Live VWL Report

[WolfpackFan]

Good morning everyone from VWL!! We're on our second day of our trip and having a great time. We checked in on Sunday and our 2BR is on the 3rd floor facing the back. Unit is in great shape and we've had no problems at all. I just got back from my early morning walkabout (I just love doing that every morning). Yesterday we (meaning DW, DS33 and DD29) went to AK in morning and then I left the group while they went to Conservation Station (not one of my favorite activities). I went on to Epcot to check out the Rose and Crown . I then headed over to MK for my first Dole Whip. Met back up with family back at VWL and we then went to Studios for dinner at 50's Prime Time (our first and probably last time - a little too over the top for our tastes). We then went to Osborne Lights and everyone was just blown away. DD had no idea how great they were. Today is Epcot day. We have CP lunch at restaurant in China (never can remember name). Then the 5:30 CP. Then I think we might head back over to see Osborne Lights again. In the meantime, if I can get this group moving (which isn't very easy at times ), I hope to get over to Epcot to get Soarin fastpasses, before they get too late.

PS - I've been surprised. The crowds yesterday at all four parks were not that big. I bet it picks up today though. Yesterday was cool and then downright cold last night. Today is supposed to be warmer.

 

[Laneychris]

Have a great trip

 

[Perdie]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[mcrabeck]

Have a great trip! Wish I was there!!

 

[alldiz]

Have a great trip.....and enjoy my favorite place during my favorite season
WLV.....just screams Christmas
Kerri

 

[ccigliano]

Sounds wonderful. I just back from our late November/early December trip and I think the Osborne lights are the best we've seen yet. Although I do miss walking along the backlot with each residential house decorated differently. Glad your having fun and that its warming up - it was bitterly cold in NY yesterday, single digits when I went to work. Hope you enjoyed your CP - we certainly did, John O'Hurley was the narrator and he did a great job. Looking forward to your next update.

 

[EllaM]

Have a great time! Since I've been redocating my Family Room in a homey woodsy feeling I've been thinking fondly of VWL. Enjoy it.

 

[DVC Mike]

Enjoy VWL! It's such a great place to stay, especially at this time of year.

 

[Pamjr]

Excellent review and I'm happy to hear you are having a great time.

My family is going to VWL on Jan 16 and are staying in a 2br. After you get back you'll have to share room number so we can find out where the good rooms are. I remember staying there before and we were a long way from the elevator. Although I will say it was our very first time ever staying inside WDW so they could have put me IN the dumpster and I would have still been singing "it's a small world"

We go back every year and I'm still excited like a kid. We were actually there for Thanksgiving and didn't go to the parks. We slept late, shopped, ate excellent meals, and took it easy. This time..MAGIC KINGDOM here I come.

Hope the weather holds out for you.
Pam

 

[WolfpackFan]

Wednesday morning update. Well the crowds are now officially here. We went to MK last night and it was wall to wall people. After Wishes, we had complete deadlock around the castle. Oh well, I guess that goes with the season. Mostly we did Epcot yesterday, with a night visit to MK for ice cream and Wishes.

We started off the day at Epcot getting FP's for Soarin. We then had the strangest thing happen to us. I've never seen this before. DW, DS and myself went on Ellen (DD wanted to walk around WS taking pictures). Well Ellen was very crowded. They loaded the cars and the ride was about to start but then they stopped it and said someone had gotten out of one of the cars and had activated the intrusion alert and they would have to evacuate everyone from the ride and it would have to be recycled which could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. It was rather an ugly scene with some folks bitterly complaining just because one idiot decided to break the rules. So we didn't get to ride Ellen. I had never seen this happen before, but having ridden the ride so many times it really didn't bother us and it did make for an interesting story.

We then walked around WS some and then went over to Beach Club and BW to check out the decorations. It was then time for our CP lunch at the Chinese restaurant (terrible on names, sorry). It was an excellent lunch. It was then back over to Soarin for our FP ride. After that we lined up for our 5:00 CP show. Steven Curtis Chapman was the narrator and the show was outstanding. DD could not believe how great it was. If CP doesn't get you into the Christmas mood, nothing will. I had a great conversation with the fellow sitting next to me. He was from the UK and it was great talking to him and his family.

After the show, DS headed back home because he had had enough of the crowds (and children, he is not very child tolerant - tomorrows lunch at Whispering Canyon is going to be very interesting ). DD, DW and myself took a leisurely stroll out of Epcot and took the monorail to MK. We rode People Mover and HM and finished the evening watching Christmas Wishes.

One thing I'd like to note - it may just be me examining every little thing that happens or it could just be my imagination but it seems to me that Disney is really cutting back on CM visibility. For example, you go into a CS restaurant and there will be a huge line to get served but fewer servers than I've seen before. IMO you see this all over the parks and resorts. We had to wait a long time checking in on Sunday, because they only had 3 stations open checking people in. Getting out of MK last night was chaos. Usually you have CM's everywhere directing people but around the castle there were none to be found. At one point, it was almost borderline dangerous.

Well, if I can get this crew moving we're heading over to Polynesian for breakfast and then to look at decorations at GF. Hope to then head back to Studios. I told family that if there is anything they absolutely have to do to do it by end of day as we have no idea how bad it will be at the parks tomorrow. Especially since we won't get there (hopefully Epcot) until afternoon.

Have a nice day.

 

[disneynutz]

Reduced Cast Members is Disney's way of saving money. Last month we were at BWV and the CM's were being moved from resort to resort to respond to "the needs of the business". They also told us that they were told to expect some lay-offs after the holidays.

 

[LVSWL]

Glad to hear you are having a great time Wolfpack Fan! Enjoy the season and the weather! It was 37 in your town yesterday!

 

[WolfpackFan]

Wednesday mid-afternoon report. Well we had a great breakfast at Kona Cafe. DS had the Big Kahuna, DW had the fruit, DD had the Pineapple-Macadamia Nut pancakes and I had Tonga Toast. It was all delicious. I was amazed, we didn't have to wait at all. After eating, we road monorail on around to GF and I took some pictures. We then ended up at MK. DS's boss had asked for him to look for one of the pin and ink drawings of Mickey playing hockey (boss is a big Carolina Hurricanes fan). DS found the drawings and ordered one for his boss. Knowing DS is not a big fan of MK, we only road the People Mover and then got a quick Dole Whip before leaving. I did stop by the shop on the way out and bought me some golf balls (only to be used when putting, I'm not about to waste them in a lake or woods ).

After MK, we headed to HS. DD and I did a standby of TOT, but it was basically a direct walkon. One of the best TOT rides we've ever done. Met up with DS and DW over at Star Tours and watched Jedi Training. DS (even at 33) is still a huge Star Wars fan and really enjoyed watching the kids training.

Now we're back in our unit at VWL. DD is just about to make DS's birthday cake (he was a Christmas baby). We called Mousekeeping and sure enough we were able to get an electric mixer.

Plans for this evening is to go back to Epcot to see CP again (probably the 8:15 show). I doubt DS will go with us this trip though. Plus DW wants to go by Mousegears and look for some casserole dishes she saw somewhere else.

I'm going to try to upload some of my pictures to Google Photos. If successful, I'll post back the link.

 

[oakmanner]

Nice trip report, thanks!

Dennis-

 

[WolfpackFan]

Okay, I've uploaded all the photos I've taken so far to Google Photo. The direct link is - http://picasaweb.google.com/wolfpackfan/200812WaltDisneyWorldVWLIPhone#

I took these pictures with my iPhone and the quality is not quite as good as those taken with a regular digital camera, but they still seem to be pretty good.

One final thing - a warning for those using the oven in the kitchen. Check the oven to make sure it is empty before you turn the oven on. DD is making cupcakes for DS's birthday and she found the oven full of pots and pans as she was getting ready to put in the first batch. There was even a plastic spoon in there. It's a wonder it didn't melt. Just a heads up.

 

[Claire L]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time Great piccies as well

Claire

 

[ccigliano]

So I'm baking a cake from scratch for Christmas dinner and yes I did the same thing your daughter did but in my own oven. Preheated to 350 and then opened to find two pans in there. I hope your son's birthday cake is delicious and good luck with the crowds tomorrow. Believe it or not, we had issues with Wishes and crowds the first Saturday in December last year (2007). The crowds were so dangerous that they cancelled the second Electrical Light Parade scheduled at 10:00 so that people waiting to view the parade along Main Street would leave so that we could all get out safely. And yes, I agree. If the CP doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit - nothing will. I have the CD and I'm going to play it now.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm someone who has also started the oven, at home, without checking,

DGD is a Christmas eve baby. Happy birthday to your son. I enjoy reading your report. We've seen/heard Steven Curtis Chapman do the CP narration, and think he's one of the best. Enjoy your vacation at our favorite resort!

Bobbi

PS. Loved the picture of the dove with the icicles...didn't notice it when I was in Epcot earlier this month...will look for it for sure.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Merry Christmas from VWL!!!!! It's been a wonderful Christmas morning. But let's go back to yesterday where I left off. We headed back over to Epcot around 5:00 or so. DS wasn't wild about going because of the prospects of crowds and children, but on the other hand there was the promise of dinner and DS has never turned down any free food . Plus he did want to ride Ellen, which we had missed out on before because of the ride evacuation. So we took the bus over to Epcot and went on Ellen. Crowds were surprisingly light. We then walked around WS to Mexico where we shared two orders of nachos for supper. After that we went to Mouse Gears because DW wanted to buy some casserole dishes. She was very disappointed because she had planned on using her Disney Rewards card to pay but had left the card at home. I told her to go ahead and just charge them to the room. Considering everything else we bought this trip, those casseroles were a drop in the bucket .

DW and DS then headed back to VWL and DD and myself headed back over to see the 8:15 CP again. We knew we wouldn't get a seat, but planned on just standing. Well after a while DD started feeling bad we weren't with DW and DS on Christmas Eve so we headed on back to VWL for the rest of the evening.

Now we're just sitting around eating cinnamon rolls, drinking coffee and enjoying our presents. This was the year of the doll for DW. She collects all kinds of dolls, so I had bought her a Madame Alexander and DS and DD had gone in and got her an American Girl doll. We gave DS a new computer for Christmas and I had taken a picture of it to give him on Christmas morning. He was very happy. Myself, I was just overjoyed that we could sit here on Christmas morning in this beautiful Villa and I was just so thankful for how blessed we are.

Plan for the rest of the day - Christmas Dinner at Whispering Canyon at 12:30. I hope we can get one of the back tables in the quiet area. Then hopefully later on we're going back over to Epcot.

I have uploaded two more pictures to my picture collection. They show our little Christmas tree we bought with us.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

 

[carol1231]

Merry Christmas Wolfpack and family!! It's been great to read your report, we were supposed to be there but had to cancel at the last minute. So we are here in NC for Christmas. Your pictures are great, I look forward to reading more.....