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

[Corinne]

I don’t believe the refurbishment has commenced at VWL. I thought it was happening in 2022, but I could be wrong. I also thought it was a major refurb, so I would doubt they would be completed in February.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

I don’t believe the refurbishment has commenced at VWL. I thought it was happening in 2022, but I could be wrong. I also thought it was a major refurb, so I would doubt they would be completed in February.

Yeah I wasn't sure, but then I saw those pictures floating around on Instagram and the ones posted in this thread that seemed to suggest they had started.

 

[sleepydog25]

We just booked our first VWL stay for mid February and couldn't be more excited about it! 4 nights randomly popped up last night so we jumped on the opportunity and added it onto the end of our SSR stay.

We are still waiting for our VWL resale contract to come through so have been operating within the 7 month window.

It just occurred to me though, it seems the renovations are currently on going, how long does this process normally take? I know it took forever at SSR but thats to be expected its a huge resort, I am wondering whether it'll be finished by Feb or more likely how much of it will be done by Feb!

Congrats on the snag of the rooms and the potential new contract at VWL! Corinne is correct--no actual refurb has begun there as yet to my knowledge. They may have taken a couple of rooms or so out of the inventory to renovate--a dry run so to speak--but no major inventory drop is in play at the moment. It's one of the, if not THE, most highly sought resort during the holidays, so I'm sure they'll wait until after this year's season to begin. 2022 seems to be the year of refurbs--DHHIR is also supposed to undergo one.

 

[sleepydog25]

So, we had a thing today. . .









Not bad...not bad at all...

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

So, we had a thing today. . .
View attachment 598572

View attachment 598571

View attachment 598573
View attachment 598574

View attachment 598575

Not bad...not bad at all...

OMG I'm so jealous!!!!!! Was this part of the passholders preview?

 

[Lorana]

I thought you all might appreciate that we’re staying at the “original Wilderness Lodge,” aka Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park today. If we can’t be at VWL, this is the next best thing.

 

[Corinne]

Sleepy! Tell us MORE!

Lorana, thanks for sharing, enjoy your stay!

 

[Corinne]

Happy Saturday Groupies!

Boy have the weekends been ever so precious these last few months! I am so happy to report we extended an offer and the candidate accepted, so I will soon have a direct report that will hopefully lighten my load a bit! please!

I have been following the “Now and Just Back” thread….many people are describing the parks as fairly uncrowded with many rides and attractions as walk on. People are reporting on Covid related issues as well. I am surprised with the cases steadily rising in Florida, that Disney would add buffets again, and stop the mask mandate for outdoor queues, just seems premature. I don’t want to get in trouble for posting about Covid stuff lol. In 4 weeks, we will be waking up at the BWV! I am excited, but anxious too.

Here in MA hurricane Henri is nearly upon us, so fellow MA Groupies, stay safe, and happy weekend all!

 

[Lakegirl]

Corrine so glad to hear that hopefuls enjoy work stress will be alleviate!!!

 

[suse66]

Hi Groupies!

I returned from a split stay at BWV and VWL last Sunday and was thrilled to be back at the Lodge! While Boardwalk was fine, it is too "in the centre of things" for my taste. When we arrived at the Lodge for the last 4 nights of our stay, I took a big breath in, looked around and felt "I'm home" down to the tips of my toes.

I had a studio villa, room 2503 to be precise, and it was spotless. The only thing was that the sofa bed would have been impossible for anyone to sleep on. My 21 year old son ended up sleeping on the pull down single bed under the TV and found it to be perfect. One thing to be aware of with 2503 is that it is a connecting room and we could hear everything the family in the next room said. Some of which was not very pleasant, to say the least. Hopefully they will address the noise issue in the refurb.

We loved, loved, loved staying at VWL. It is my home resort and this was my first trip "home" since purchasing DVC in November of 2019. Buy where you want to stay is the advice often given and I can tell you I would happily stay here every trip. I adore the pool, the lovely walkways, the seating areas in the lobby, the boat to MK, Geyser Point and the general ambiance. I was so sad to leave but will hopefully be back for another 4 nights in December if all is well with the world.

Happy to be part of the VWL fan club!

 

[sleepydog25]

OMG I'm so jealous!!!!!! Was this part of the passholders preview?

Sleepy! Tell us MORE!

As you may have guessed, we were able to get on the new Ratatouille ride in Epcot yesterday. It was part of a cast member preview, so we made the 5+ hour drive (one way) and spent one night (SSR). We rode it twice, back-to-back, though we could have ridden it as many times as we wanted as it wasn't crowded with CMs when we went 2 p.m. Imagine it not being crowded given it was 94F and heat index around 104-106.

Anyway, the ride is quite entertaining, albeit it short--I think a tad under two minutes. If you've watched video of the ride in Disneyland Paris, then you know what it's like. It's a cross between the new Mickey/Minnie train ride and ROTR. As such, it's better than the train, not quite as good as ROTR (which is not in my top 5 or rides at the World). I wouldn't wait a couple of hours--heck, I wouldn't wait more than 30-40 minutes tops. But, that's true of any ride for me. The 3D is just average, and I found the sound a bit muddled. However, the attention to detail in other aspects (such as the part of the ride where you're in the pantry), are a hoot. It's located to the far right side of the France pavilion as you come in from the international gateway.

As for SSR, we had requested Congress Park and got a room in the building closest to DS--Bldg 11. Great ground floor, newly refurbished studio. No complaints about it. Close to a quiet pool, and man did that hot tub feel good, as did the actual pool itself. It was our third time at SSR, and we really like the location vis-a-vis DS, as well as it's easy to get to or leave when coming and going from WDW--no long drives down numerous roads to finally get to, say, Poly.

We ate at Wine Bar George (excellent) and did take out from Kona (mediocre). WBG had excellent service at our lunch, and the burrata on toasted bread with tomatoes and olive oil was topnotch. The charcuterie board was also very good. Superb wine selection. We've eaten there twice now and enjoyed it both times--and you can sit outside! We've enjoyed Kona's Asian wings and potstickers before, and the sushi there has been very well made. None of the above were very good. The wings needed a better sauce; the pot stickers were fine but bland; and the sushi wasn't as expected--just bland and no attention to detail as in the past. Further, the mobile order app on MDE allowed us to order food there with no issues, unlike a few other places where it tells you, "you can only order here if you're staying here." Yet, when we got to the gate, the security guard made us turn around because he said we weren't staying there! We told him the app let us, and he didn't care: "I'm aware that sometimes the app is wrong, but you can't stay." He suggested we park all the way over at the TTC and walk in. I swallowed my ire, and we found another way...if I told you, I'd have to make you disappear just like spies do all the time. All in all, it was a good, albeit, very fast trip. Back to the house now.

 

[jimmytammy]

Hey Folks
Its been awhile since I have posted here, lurked as time allows. Work way busier than I prefer, but its all good. Helps foot the bill for those much needed getaways

Yesterday was a tough one as we had to put down our 18 yr old kitty who had lived with us indoors since her young kitten days. Her sibling, Sneezy, passed away in 2016 and we just knew Bailey would grieve herself away. But she bounced back and lived a very old age as cats go. She was no doubt a part of our family, to the point of being one of our kids. She had started having seizures a couple years ago, but they never seemed to bother her once they passed, but the last 1 1/2 weeks, she had really began to decline, but times we would see her bounce back to her old self. Our entire family, including Tammy and our 2 adult kids were there in her final moments. We are very sad, but know she is in a far better place and we shall see her again. She is probably running with her sister and other siblings right now, pain free. I share all this as I know many of you understand and have been through it all before yourselves. I know I won't get ridiculed or laughed at to share here.

 

[Corinne]

Oh Jimmy, so sorry for your loss, hugs to you all at this tough time.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

I thought you all might appreciate that we’re staying at the “original Wilderness Lodge,” aka Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park today. If we can’t be at VWL, this is the next best thing.

View attachment 598596

View attachment 598597

View attachment 598598

I'm so jealous!!! We love it there!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Hey Folks
Its been awhile since I have posted here, lurked as time allows. Work way busier than I prefer, but its all good. Helps foot the bill for those much needed getaways

Yesterday was a tough one as we had to put down our 18 yr old kitty who had lived with us indoors since her young kitten days. Her sibling, Sneezy, passed away in 2016 and we just knew Bailey would grieve herself away. But she bounced back and lived a very old age as cats go. She was no doubt a part of our family, to the point of being one of our kids. She had started having seizures a couple years ago, but they never seemed to bother her once they passed, but the last 1 1/2 weeks, she had really began to decline, but times we would see her bounce back to her old self. Our entire family, including Tammy and our 2 adult kids were there in her final moments. We are very sad, but know she is in a far better place and we shall see her again. She is probably running with her sister and other siblings right now, pain free. I share all this as I know many of you understand and have been through it all before yourselves. I know I won't get ridiculed or laughed at to share here.

I am so sorry for your loss. I would never laugh or ridicule someone for grieving a pet that they loved. I have been there too many times myself. It is so difficult. My heart goes out to your family.

 

[Lakegirl]

Jimmy my thoughts are with you and your family during this very difficult time.

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks to all for understanding

With all the world issues at hand, this is small potatoes, but it sure is tough to deal with the emotions all the same. Keeping busy helps, but Sunday being a slow down day doesn't help. Heck, me and Tammy spent 5 hours doing our Sunday paperwork for our business, and it occurs to us, Bailey would have been right there beside us or in our laps or prancing across our computers making sure we understood she was still the Queen of our home and she needed attn. So then the tears start flowing again. Time will help as it can heal the broken heart, or at least mend it.

This group of groupies as we refer to ourselves, y'all are a special bunch! I feel so fortunate that God placed me with you folks, to be able to share our love obviously of The Lodge, Disney and many other things. But beyond that, you folks are ones I can reach out to for bigger things, prayer, kind words and thoughts and not be thought of any differently. You get me, and that matters, even in my quirky ways, you get me

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Thanks to all for understanding

With all the world issues at hand, this is small potatoes, but it sure is tough to deal with the emotions all the same. Keeping busy helps, but Sunday being a slow down day doesn't help. Heck, me and Tammy spent 5 hours doing our Sunday paperwork for our business, and it occurs to us, Bailey would have been right there beside us or in our laps or prancing across our computers making sure we understood she was still the Queen of our home and she needed attn. So then the tears start flowing again. Time will help as it can heal the broken heart, or at least mend it.

This group of groupies as we refer to ourselves, y'all are a special bunch! I feel so fortunate that God placed me with you folks, to be able to share our love obviously of The Lodge, Disney and many other things. But beyond that, you folks are ones I can reach out to for bigger things, prayer, kind words and thoughts and not be thought of any differently. You get me, and that matters, even in my quirky ways, you get me

I'm so sorry. I know how difficult it is. Especially the firsts without your babies. I hope you can find some comfort knowing that you gave her a great life in a loving home and that she loved you very much. You are so right about this group. You and the rest of the groupies have been there a number of times for me when my DH and I have gone through tough times and I really appreciate it. So nice to know that in the midst of going through something tough that we have this safe place to go to where we all care about and support each other. Gosh I have been a member 14 years and may not always be on here but even when I'm AWOL for a bit I still think about all of you and care about everyone. There is no where else anywhere that is like this and I'm so grateful to be a groupie!!!!!

 

[suse66]

With all the world issues at hand, this is small potatoes, but it sure is tough to deal with the emotions all the same. Keeping busy helps, but Sunday being a slow down day doesn't help. Heck, me and Tammy spent 5 hours doing our Sunday paperwork for our business, and it occurs to us, Bailey would have been right there beside us or in our laps or prancing across our computers making sure we understood she was still the Queen of our home and she needed attn. So then the tears start flowing again. Time will help as it can heal the broken heart, or at least mend it.

I am so sorry for your loss. We lost our beautiful boy, Murphy, on July 13th. He was the sweetest, most loyal cat and the best friend to us. We miss him terribly. I can empathize so much with how you are feeling with the loss of your Bailey.

 

[momtwoboys]

Thanks to all for understanding

With all the world issues at hand, this is small potatoes, but it sure is tough to deal with the emotions all the same. Keeping busy helps, but Sunday being a slow down day doesn't help. Heck, me and Tammy spent 5 hours doing our Sunday paperwork for our business, and it occurs to us, Bailey would have been right there beside us or in our laps or prancing across our computers making sure we understood she was still the Queen of our home and she needed attn. So then the tears start flowing again. Time will help as it can heal the broken heart, or at least mend it.

This group of groupies as we refer to ourselves, y'all are a special bunch! I feel so fortunate that God placed me with you folks, to be able to share our love obviously of The Lodge, Disney and many other things. But beyond that, you folks are ones I can reach out to for bigger things, prayer, kind words and thoughts and not be thought of any differently. You get me, and that matters, even in my quirky ways, you get me

so so so sorry for your loss. We understand the heartache. We lost our sweet Toy Fox Terrier Lily on July 5th. I hate how empty the house feels. I hope you can feel better as the days pass and keep the sweet memories close.