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

[sleepydog25]

Hello everyone. I am new to this thread. My wife and I are DVC owners and addicts. We own at SSR and VGF. We just got waitlisted for this amazeballs resort for our Christmas stay this year! We are staying 3 nights starting 15th December! We are so super excited we cannot contain ourselves. The new refurb rooms look great I hope we get one of those. We are staying another 6 nights after this at our beloved SSR then on 24th Dec we board The Dream for a 4 night Christmas cruise. We are from the UK. We have been countless times but never at Christmas. I am so excited! The Villa's at Wilderness Lodge! Yeah! A dream come true.

As others have said, WELCOME!! You will absolutely love the Lodge during the Christmas season--there is no more beautiful resort at WDW then. It is, indeed, amazeballs as my own beloved has said before. All the rooms have been refurbished so no issues there. Be sure to take in the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at DHS. A Christmas cruise? How wonderful! Have a blast planning and congrats on your wait list coming through!

 

[Dizny Dad]

Hey, yeah - WELCOME Paula Sedley-Burke!! Always glad to have another 'round the fire! All you gotta have is a love of the Lodge to join in the fun.

And WooHoo on getting your Ressie at VWL! It is an amazing place all year long, but really wonderful at Christmas time. Don't miss taking the sleigh ride over at Fort Wilderness one evening; make reservations before you leave home! You will really enjoy it!

 

[Lakegirl]

I am presently using this as my Desktop at work . . . Just thought I would share it. I took it during F&G this year from the restroom doorway beside the lockers; got a few "'excuse me"s in the process.

Beautiful!

 

[Corinne]

Happy (belated) Birthday Kathy!!!!

Sorry I'm late, hope it was great!

 

[Corinne]

Happy Saturday Groupies, and to Paula! This is the best group!

Ottawagreg- thanks for the report, looking forward to any further updates and photos!

Jimmy and Tammy- England!!! How wonderful!!!! Have a great trip,cannot wait to hear all about it!!!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

As others have said, WELCOME!! You will absolutely love the Lodge during the Christmas season--there is no more beautiful resort at WDW then. It is, indeed, amazeballs as my own beloved has said before. All the rooms have been refurbished so no issues there. Be sure to take in the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at DHS. A Christmas cruise? How wonderful! Have a blast planning and congrats on your wait list coming through!

Thank you so much for your warm welcome! How nice of you. We will check out the lights thank you. I hope there is a bus to DHS? I guess there must be. The boat goes to MK doesn't it?

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Hey, yeah - WELCOME Paula Sedley-Burke!! Always glad to have another 'round the fire! All you gotta have is a love of the Lodge to join in the fun.

And WooHoo on getting your Ressie at VWL! It is an amazing place all year long, but really wonderful at Christmas time. Don't miss taking the sleigh ride over at Fort Wilderness one evening; make reservations before you leave home! You will really enjoy it!

Wow thank you so much. Oh a sleigh ride really? I will investigate this. I am disabled so I will see if it is accessible for me. Thank you so much it is so warming to be part of such a friendly thread.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

to our little VWL oasis here on the DIS Boards! Your trip sounds like a wonderful combination of WDW and cruising. And a Christmas at sea...I'll be that will be a very memorable and magical experience for you and your wife.

I have to admit, I haven't heard of the word "amazeballs" but it sounds pretty cool!

Thank you so much for your warm welcome. We can't wait to stay. What a lovely bunch of folks! Worth the waitlist alone!

 

[Granny]

I hope there is a bus to DHS? I guess there must be. The boat goes to MK doesn't it?

There is a boat that goes to MK. There is also a bus that goes to MK. All other destinations at WDW are a bus trip from Wilderness Lodge including Epcot, DHS, DAK, Downtown Disney and the water parks.

 

[momtwoboys]

speaking of transportation on our next trip we are focusing on MK and then a day at Epcot split with a walk over to DHS. On the epcot day is it easier to boat over to CR and take the monorail over to TTC and then the epcot monorail? Or the bus that will probably hit up other deluxe resorts before heading out?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Happy (belated) Birthday Kathy!!!!

Sorry I'm late, hope it was great!

Thanks Corinne!

speaking of transportation on our next trip we are focusing on MK and then a day at Epcot split with a walk over to DHS. On the epcot day is it easier to boat over to CR and take the monorail over to TTC and then the epcot monorail? Or the bus that will probably hit up other deluxe resorts before heading out?

If you want a travel experience including boat and monorail then that's one way to go but it will not be as fast as the bus. The Epcot bus stops at FW. Excluding any initial wait for the bus it takes 15 to 20 minutes. If you did the boat, monorail and then monorail you'd have the travel time plus 3 waits for the transportation and I'd guess at best it would be 30 minutes or more.

 

[momtwoboys]

ok thanks we will stick with the Bus for that day. boat to the MK and I guess bus also on our waterpark day. The day we do epcot we will walk to dhs for a bit. First time for WLV for us but not a newbie to WDW or onsite stays either.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Not sure if I have shared this or not, we are leaving for England July 22. Ts brother and family are stationed at Lackenheath(sp.) AFB. Capt. D and I will be there for 2 weeks, T, 2 mos. We are going to London, Bath, Cliffs of Dover and a few other things sprinkled in between. Never been there so really looking 4wd to it.

How fun! And Tammy - 2 months there!!! Can't wait to hear about it. I've been to London once, just after graduating from college when we visited 6 or 7 countries in 4 weeks. I've been back to a couple of those countries since then but not England.

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks Corinne!



If you want a travel experience including boat and monorail then that's one way to go but it will not be as fast as the bus. The Epcot bus stops at FW. Excluding any initial wait for the bus it takes 15 to 20 minutes. If you did the boat, monorail and then monorail you'd have the travel time plus 3 waits for the transportation and I'd guess at best it would be 30 minutes or more.

Wholeheartedly agree. Bus service is usually fairly good at VWL/WL.

On a side note, Luv and I saw JURASSIC WORLD today and thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, it was easily the second best in the JURASSIC series, topped only by the original. Chris Pratt was perfect, and should they ever decide to resurrect the Indiana Jones movies, he would be a great replacement as Indy. JW was exciting, fast-paced, and quite funny, actually. Thumbs up!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

There is a boat that goes to MK. There is also a bus that goes to MK. All other destinations at WDW are a bus trip from Wilderness Lodge including Epcot, DHS, DAK, Downtown Disney and the water parks.

Thank you very helpful to know.

 

[jimmytammy]

Paula, I wanted to add while in wdw around Christmas be sure to see the Candlelight Processional.

 

[jimmytammy]

KAT, that is cool about you being in England. I have only been out of USA once before to Argentina and Brazil, oh yeah, and Castaway Cay I can't wait! We have been watching Downton Abbey lately so just gets me juiced up about the whole thing.

Sleepy, looking 4wd to seeing the new movie. And I agree, Chris Pratt would make a good Indy. Anything to revive Indy Jones works for me

 

[sleepydog25]

KAT, that is cool about you being in England. I have only been out of USA once before to Argentina and Brazil, oh yeah, and Castaway Cay I can't wait! We have been watching Downton Abbey lately so just gets me juiced up about the whole thing.

Sleepy, looking 4wd to seeing the new movie. And I agree, Chris Pratt would make a good Indy. Anything to revive Indy Jones works for me

Guess we weren't the only ones to see JW as it's setting all kinds of records for an opening. We saw the 3D IMAX version. The previews that were in 3D were amazing, especially THE WALK, but the movie itself didn't need the 3D effect. I do recommend IMAX though as the sound and feel were superb.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Paula, I wanted to add while in wdw around Christmas be sure to see the Candlelight Processional.

Yes that is a great tip! I hope they release the exact dates and times soon!

 

[horselover]

Good morning groupies. Mid trip report, this is hump day for us. Construction is definitely going on in main lodge. South wing closest to hidden springs. I have been greeting workers on way in as I am leaving for golf. Jack hammer noise dominates the pool scene. We took some pics but one guy stood in doorway to block our view. One day at end of shift they disconnected the compressed air hose. It blasted for approx 20 seconds. Very loud. The entire pool stopped and peered over in their direction. Talk about killing the magic. Oh boy.

We have exact same room as the Christmas trip. Wife n daughter both think the trees are "thinner" than December. I am certain of it. We are taking pics of that, to compare from last trip, but I am pretty sure that several have been felled.

I may wander down the wrong hallway and see how far I get. On my phone typing this so I will sign off for now.

Thanks for the sleuthing Greg. I'm getting worried what it will be like come Dec.

Love the pics Dad Makes me wish I were there right now!

Happy Weekend folks! Though we work most weekends, except Sunday, its still good to wind down and be on my own time. Been under a lot of work related stress lately, but who isnt? I guess if I didnt have work, stress would come from the opposite side

Not sure if I have shared this or not, we are leaving for England July 22. Ts brother and family are stationed at Lackenheath(sp.) AFB. Capt. D and I will be there for 2 weeks, T, 2 mos. We are going to London, Bath, Cliffs of Dover and a few other things sprinkled in between. Never been there so really looking 4wd to it.

Hope the work stress eases up soon Jimmy.

Have a wonderful trip to England! I won't be far behind you. I leave for Germany on 7/26. England is on our agenda for next Summer. Looking forward to your reviews & pictures of course! You know how much the groupies love pictures.

Hello everyone. I am new to this thread. My wife and I are DVC owners and addicts. We own at SSR and VGF. We just got waitlisted for this amazeballs resort for our Christmas stay this year! We are staying 3 nights starting 15th December! We are so super excited we cannot contain ourselves. The new refurb rooms look great I hope we get one of those. We are staying another 6 nights after this at our beloved SSR then on 24th Dec we board The Dream for a 4 night Christmas cruise. We are from the UK. We have been countless times but never at Christmas. I am so excited! The Villa's at Wilderness Lodge! Yeah! A dream come true.

Welcome to the groupies Paula!

Wholeheartedly agree. Bus service is usually fairly good at VWL/WL.

On a side note, Luv and I saw JURASSIC WORLD today and thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, it was easily the second best in the JURASSIC series, topped only by the original. Chris Pratt was perfect, and should they ever decide to resurrect the Indiana Jones movies, he would be a great replacement as Indy. JW was exciting, fast-paced, and quite funny, actually. Thumbs up!

Thanks for the review. I was actually considering seeing this one & your review seals the deal. The last 2 were pretty bad.

Happy belated birthday Kathy! Sorry I missed the actual day.