VWL Groupies & Lovers Thread (Special Collectors Edition 2.5) updated 2 February 2025

[Dizny Dad]

Tea Pot - glad to see you poking your head in while awash in all the Grand parenting activities! Looking forward to seeing you and Mr. Tea Pot again in The World.

 

[tea pot]

Thanks Dad, as always we would love that.
We will be in the world in Jan for 4 nights 1/3-1/7
staying at BLT because our beloved Lodge was filled .
We were hoping to get in a short visit before the construction
was going at full speed.
Right now it looks like this may be the only trip planned for 2016
Granny will be babysitting starting mid Feb.
Kathy (the other grandma) and I will be job sharing for the first year.
but the kids are all ready talking about the baby's first trip to Disney
Granny will be coaching his/her first words... "Can You Say Mickey"




.

 

[eliza61]

Hello Groupies Remember me
I've been gone way too long.
But I can't tell you how full my heart is to see you all still here
keeping the Home/Lodge fires burning.

I'm happy to report that thanks be to God we are all well
and busy as ever. Our latest family news is that
the Big Guy and I will be grandparents for the first time
in just a few weeks.... again we are blessed.

I was just reading back a few pages and boy do I miss you guys
shout out to Di and Dad, Granny, Horselover, Twokats, Sleepy Dog ,eliza,
Kat4Disney ,Wilderness Dad(I'm sure I'm forgetting someone so sorry)
JT so sorry to hear about your loss as others have said they do leave their
paw prints on our heart but glad you had such a great trip to our happy place
Corinne prayers and pixie dust coming your way hope you heal real fast
Groupies love the picture updates and trivia
I always learn something new on this thread I had no clue who Ye haw Bob was
or that the totem poles had names.

take care everybody

Mazel Tov!! a new groupie about to be born.

 

[theww228]

Went into DHS last night with my father in law while my wife and mother in law unpacked luggage and groceries. We rode ToT 3 times and RnR and Star yours once. We stopped by to see the Osborne lights and they look great as always. Epcot this morning, but we didn't make it to world showcase. Soarin', crush, TT, and Living with the land. Headed back to the lodge to make lunch and rest. Going into MK tonight for Wishes and MSEP.

No real removal of anything at the pool. Some small trees cut down and one of the light poles has been taken down. I took some pics but not sure how to post, it says they are too large to upload. No construction sound at all today.

 

[theww228]

Great night for MSEP, it was not too crowded and all three kids had front row seats in frontierland. They all were smiling ear to ear.

Also rode PP, Jingle Cruise, Carpets, Country Bears and finished the night out with Wishes FP. It was pretty chaotic in the FP area and there were no CM's helping organize/direct folks. Once celebrate the magic started a bunch of people started standing up and the people sitting down were getting all ticked off. I don't know the protocol is, but I think it is like a sporting event, "sit as long as you can, but when people start standing up you better follow suit if you want to see." I do think that sitting is a little unfeasible since the people in the hub are standing up, so even if all FP people sit, there wil still be a lot of people in the way. Oh well.

One more Capt. and Coke and it will be bed time. Only 5 hours until the alarm goes off.

 

[jimmytammy]

theww228
Sounds like you folks are having a great time and covering a lot of ground. Love reading your reports!

 

[Dizny Dad]

Went into DHS last night with my father in law while my wife and mother in law unpacked luggage and groceries. . . . . . . . . .

Wow . . . .

 

[eliza61]

Wow . . . .

LOL. and he lived to tell about it...

 

[eliza61]

Ok, I've got the wilderness lodge music on a continuous loop today groupies. ****grrrr****

Finally got around to painting my bedroom and bathroom (or should I say having it painted). bedroom color looks fine, very true to the swatch. The bathroom looks hideous. it was supposed to BUTTERCREAM!! a soft, pastel yellow.

Damn thing looks like Dr. Seuss's threw up a bunch of "skeetches with stars". lol, mom and dads remember those books?? and every time I look in the mirror I swear I'm jaundiced.

off to home depot....


stayinmyhappyplace, stayinmyhappyplace.

 

[twinklebug]

LOL. and he lived to tell about it...

Shh, his trip is not over yet.

 

[twinklebug]

Ok, I've got the wilderness lodge music on a continuous loop today groupies. ****grrrr****

Finally got around to painting my bedroom and bathroom (or should I say having it painted). bedroom color looks fine, very true to the swatch. The bathroom looks hideous. it was supposed to BUTTERCREAM!! a soft, pastel yellow.

Damn thing looks like Dr. Seuss's threw up a bunch of "skeetches with stars". lol, mom and dads remember those books?? and every time I look in the mirror I swear I'm jaundiced.

off to home depot....

Eliza, I feel for you. Whites/creams/yellows are very difficult colors to get just right. My painter has come in to patch up some walls, and while at it I've asked him if it would be possible to get a nice white on the walls instead of the sour yellow that is throughout my home. He acted hurt and was very adamant that the color on the walls is "Antique White" (Uh, no, it's a very bad yellow.) I can't wait to buy a home in FL and paint the place up properly.

 

[twinklebug]

The last week around here was a rough one. My son is learning the ins and outs of owning his first (used) car. My daughter's friend has had a rough bit transitioning to a life without her mom (she passed from cancer in 2014) and tried to commit suicide and now my daughter feels guilty (sigh) and I found out my dad had Melanoma on his scalp (the doctors think they go it all. He now has a 3" diameter open hole in his skin up there while it heals.) Scary, scary stuff.

Hoping everything smooths out from this point on - but a HUGE reminder to all of us: Wear a hat and sunscreen in Florida. I don't want to hear how 'sun proof' anyone is. The sun doesn't care.

 

[eliza61]

The last week around here was a rough one. My son is learning the ins and outs of owning his first (used) car. My daughter's friend has had a rough bit transitioning to a life without her mom (she passed from cancer in 2014) and tried to commit suicide and now my daughter feels guilty (sigh) and I found out my dad had Melanoma on his scalp (the doctors think they go it all. He now has a 3" diameter open hole in his skin up there while it heals.) Scary, scary stuff.

Hoping everything smooths out from this point on - but a HUGE reminder to all of us: Wear a hat and sunscreen in Florida. I don't want to hear how 'sun proof' anyone is. The sun doesn't care.

Oh twinklebug, big hugs to you and your daughter.

I'm going to latch onto your comment. I don't know what it is with Black folks, **sighs*** for some reason we think that our dark skin some how gives up super powers. Anyhoo, this August I'm done at the world with 18 of my nearest and not so dearest relatives, sun is beaming down on us. I forgot my hat and in a moment of pure stupidity listen to my cousin who says, "don't worry about it, you're darker than me and I never burn". Yeah right by the end of the day I looked like an over done piece of bacon and in serious pain across my shoulders.

So you all have my permission to harass your African american friends to wear sunscreen until they do it.

there is a reason why one should not mess with mother nature, she always wins. sun is not to be messed with.

give pop a big ole hug for me.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Ok, I've got the wilderness lodge music on a continuous loop today groupies. ****grrrr****

Finally got around to painting my bedroom and bathroom (or should I say having it painted). bedroom color looks fine, very true to the swatch. The bathroom looks hideous. it was supposed to BUTTERCREAM!! a soft, pastel yellow.

Damn thing looks like Dr. Seuss's threw up a bunch of "skeetches with stars". lol, mom and dads remember those books?? and every time I look in the mirror I swear I'm jaundiced.

off to home depot....


stayinmyhappyplace, stayinmyhappyplace.

Good luck Eliza! 2 years ago I decided to paint an accent wall in the bedroom. Dark bluish/grey - how tough could that be? 2 colors later and I have a lovely limey/yellow color I love.

So 2/3rds of my house became "Dove White". The other 1/3rd is colors I've used in 2 houses.....actually 3 for a darker yellow.....and know I like. Sooooo annoying when the chips don't match the actual color on the wall.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I see our dues will rise $.19 or 3.16% next year from $6.02 to $6.21. Not the smallest increase on the list, but not the highest either! My projection was for a 3.2% increase, so my spreadsheets will remain fairly accurate. It's the 2017 dues and going forward that I'm not so sure about. I guess we'll have to see how the whole "expansion" thing plays out!

On a different note, only 10 more sleeps until I see the lodge again.......

 

[Kathymford]

I see our dues will rise $.19 or 3.16% next year from $6.02 to $6.21. Not the smallest increase on the list, but not the highest either! My projection was for a 3.2% increase, so my spreadsheets will remain fairly accurate. It's the 2017 dues and going forward that I'm not so sure about. I guess we'll have to see how the whole "expansion" thing plays out!

On a different note, only 10 more sleeps until I see the lodge again.......

Are they posted already?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Kathy, most are posted on the DVC website and there is also a more thorough discussion here http://www.disboards.com/threads/2016-annual-dues-notices-released.3462353/#post-54712829

 

[jimmytammy]

twinklebug, prayers your way for life's circumstances to turn around too the positive

 

[theww228]

LOL. and he lived to tell about it...

The funny thing is my wife suggested it! She doesn't feel relaxed until everything is unpacked and in the proper place. I think she feels I deserve it after all of the hours I have spent planning. It takes a long time to develop a schedule for 11 nights broken out into 10 minute increments. They always joke with me and ask why I don't break it down to 5 minute increments.... probably because they don't read my current schedules... Or even understand the color coding. I kind of wonder why I even print them out.

We went into MK today and rode Astro, met Alice and the mad hatter, rode barnstormer, dumbo, 7D, Belle (I was the night, my daughter was Maurice and my son shared a picture frame with a little girl and they kept poking each other), PP, and met Cindy and rapunzel. On the way out "the descendants"? were performing for the Christmas Day parade. Not sure who they are or what they sing.

We went back to the lodge and had lunch in the room. I took my 5 year old son down to the new kids area and he loved it. He got all teary eyed when it was time to go. We went into AK for a few hours and rode Dinosaur (my kids hated it, too loud and scary), triceratops spin, met Pocahontas, and played in the boneyard. The kids loved the BY, but I was freakin out because it is impossible to keep track of them with all of the slides and passage ways. My father in law any myself felt like we were playing whack a mole trying to keep track of them.

We came back and had a snack and some drinks (wine for the others and makers mark for me).

They were pumping the pool empty today so there was some noise from the pump, but we couldn't hear it from our room. There were some guys digging around the fence outside of our room with shovels, not sure what they were doing but I didn't spend anytime trying to determine. There is a John Deere excavator parked by the pool. I imagine that is what they are using to cut the trees down.

Heading into DHS in the morning, time for bed.

 

[Dizny Dad]

The funny thing is my wife suggested it! . . . . . . .

DiznyDi tells me she doesn't need anything for Christmas . . . . that doesn't mean I should go with that plan.

. . . . . . . . It takes a long time to develop a schedule for 11 nights broken out into 10 minute increments. They always joke with me and ask why I don't break it down to 5 minute increments.... probably because they don't read my current schedules... Or even understand the color coding. I kind of wonder why I even print them out. . . . . . . . . . . .

I have made spreadsheets for every trip the family has made to The World since 1992. It is not broken down into minutes, but six segments of the day; not color coded, but BOLDS and ITALICS are frequently used; reservation #s, FPs, and various opportunities that we may not plan to see but are offered may also be shown. It has always been something that DiznyDi and I work on in the evenings at home that allows us to discuss what we want to do, or need to do; who we may meet up with; where we want to eat, what FPs we may want.
This last October, while standing in HS, I looked at DiznyDi with a look of disbelief; I had not print out the schedule! I did not have our life for the next eight days in paper form! What will I ever do? How could I walk much further into HS? Suddenly it was like someone had put an additional 25 lbs. of stuff into my backpack.

Yeah, I lived. And found out that The World is still great without the paperwork. But I vowed to never leave it behind again.

(Luckily DiznyDi had most on her iPhone in the Disnay App. . . . . still not as much fun as unfolding the paper.)