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

[Nanajo1]

We haven't been to LC is so long. We used to go every trip for lunch until they made it a signature restaurant & switched to an all day menu. I miss the lunch menu. I'm just not interested in spending that kind of money for lunch. If you've never been I'd say it's worth it for the soup & pretzel bread sticks alone.

I love F&W. That's when I can get my soup without all the expense of the all day menu!

 

[Granny]

On another note, I ran across a very interesting thread talking about the new chef at Artist Point, and at one point some very, very intriguing comments were made regarding the DDP and its affect on dining, in general, and Signature dining, in particular. Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/threads/artist-point-alert-new-head-chef.3422497/#post-53945529

Sleepy...thanks for posting this. I don't venture over to other DISBoards very often so I wouldn't have seen this otherwise. It is very interesting, and at least nice to know that there is some internal acknowledgement regarding the impact on food experiences due to DDP. However, I am very sure that DDP will be around as long as it financially benefits Disney.

While our recent visits to Artist Point have been more positive than others, we are happy to hear that they are upgrading their menu.

And I also was not aware that Rusty was a front desk CM at WL and FW. I'm very surprised he offers such candid opinions and information on these boards. But I'm glad he does!

 

[anmay27]

WELCOME anmay27! So nice to have you here! As others have said, near the elevators is a good request. We have stayed in 2-bedroom rooms many times and only once have had the coveted corner room. In a word, fabulous! All the extra room is wonderful! There is one small drawback in that the kitchen area is considerably smaller and, in our experience, the 2nd bedroom (studio) portion was significantly smaller than other studios we have stayed in.

Wishing Slimplaw a very Happy Birthday!

Thank you DiznyDi! I am so excited. A little over 90 days to close and get my reservation, but oh so worth it! Fighting Addontitis right now.

Happy Birthday Slimplaw!! Here's a ton of pixie dust coming your way.

 

[Kathymford]

Wow! I have been gone for a while! My last "unread thread" was on page 158. I'm sure you guessed that I jumped directly to this page. I'm a VWL groupie, but unfortunately not that doesn't include unlimited time.

Glad to be back! My next trip is in January for Marathon Weekend.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Interesting read Sleepy - I think it's been a frequent thought from some here on the boards that the DDP has done nothing for the quality of food at WDW. Little drives me more crazy than to read people posting that what they really like about it is to pre-pay for their food - even if it's not the best value. Sigh. We only did the plan twice. Once back when it was new, before we were DVC members and had a stay at WL. Free dining was the new offer and included apps and the tip! We were stuffed every day and that's saying a lot for DH. We decided to never do it again. Was finally tempted by the QS plan to get mugs. It was the last year they offered 2 snacks. As you look back over the years and know what they've removed while increasing the price it's fairly obvious that Disney has been increasing their margin.

But speaking of F&B - I just saw on the Disney Food blog that Territory lounge will operate as a coffee shop in the mornings from 7 to 11. Lattes etc. and some pastry items. Sounds great to get that at the lodge!

 

[Corinne]

Greg
Julie is right, Boddingtons is spot on for the beer, also, we like to use Nueskes Bacon and Black Diamond White Cheddar cheese. We always use the WDW recipe book for our rendering. After many attempts, these couple items really set the flavors in line with Le Cellier's version.

I've never heard of Boddingtons, DH gave me one of his IPA's to use. It was pretty good I have to say. I used the recipe from the book they sell at WDW....my son took a photo in May. I wish I had looked at the recipe on all ears because I did reheat it the next day, and while I certainly did not have the heat up high, I apparently didn't do it low and slow enough, because it was an epic fail, lol. Anyway, it was good, the first night but I definitely missed the pretzel breadsticks.

PS Greg, I think you should go to Le Cellier just to try the soup! We haven't been there in a while, but it used to be a must dine for us. Also, if you are visiting during Food & Wine, you can get the soup at the booth in Canada.

 

[Corinne]

Thanks for the link Sleepy. We are trying AP for our 30th anniversary dinner, so I am even more eager to try it!

 

[sleepydog25]

Interesting read Sleepy - I think it's been a frequent thought from some here on the boards that the DDP has done nothing for the quality of food at WDW. Little drives me more crazy than to read people posting that what they really like about it is to pre-pay for their food - even if it's not the best value. Sigh. We only did the plan twice. Once back when it was new, before we were DVC members and had a stay at WL. Free dining was the new offer and included apps and the tip! We were stuffed every day and that's saying a lot for DH. We decided to never do it again. Was finally tempted by the QS plan to get mugs. It was the last year they offered 2 snacks. As you look back over the years and know what they've removed while increasing the price it's fairly obvious that Disney has been increasing their margin.

But speaking of F&B - I just saw on the Disney Food blog that Territory lounge will operate as a coffee shop in the mornings from 7 to 11. Lattes etc. and some pastry items. Sounds great to get that at the lodge!

Luv has done the plan several times since it first debuted, including the Deluxe version with me a couple of times, the last being a few years back. She echoes what you say that over the years the plan has changed to benefit Disney. When it first appeared, she says it was a good deal; now, not so much. When we did the Deluxe, it was just too much food, and the price has risen steeply to boot. We've done the math, and we save a lot of money by eating responsibly. As the old adage goes, nothing is free, and that absolutely goes for the dining plan. There's no doubting the evidence that menus have been dumbed down, trimmed, and become more homogenized as the margins have to be maximized. As a result, we now spend less on food, so our trips cost less!

Speaking of Territory Lounge, here's a link to the news: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015/...unge-coffee-shop-at-disneys-wilderness-lodge/
We'll be checking it out in just a couple of days and let you know how it is!

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks for the link Sleepy. We are trying AP for our 30th anniversary dinner, so I am even more eager to try it!

We'll be dining there on the 4th, so we'll give you a quick review once we return from our cruise. One more sleep before we start heading south. . .

 

[jimmytammy]

Happy Anniversary Audipolo & Icecoldpenguin!!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

Happy Birthday wfc4life!!!!
Special reason I use blue for Will, my buddy is a Duke fan

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks for the article sleepy on AP and DDP. We have never tried the DDP as it never really made dollars and sense for us personally. I still find many foods at WDW to be appealing, but some things have lost their luster. So I pick and choose knowing this.

And liking the idea of TL adding coffee and pastries in the AM, much needed IMO.

 

[horselover]

Speaking of Territory Lounge, here's a link to the news: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015/...unge-coffee-shop-at-disneys-wilderness-lodge/
We'll be checking it out in just a couple of days and let you know how it is!

Finally a change I like! This will be a great morning addition.

 

[Lakegirl]

So over the top excited!!!! I just found our first night of our trip in August available in a studio so I scooped it!!! I was excited to be going and now am over the moon that my first stay as a DVC member will be at "home". I have been stalking the sight trying to change from OKW to VWL and there hadn't even been one of our six nights available. The fact that it's our first night is incredible for a bunch of reasons!!!

 

[ottawagreg]

Not Corrine but I've made the soup several times. The key to this soup is low & slow! You really want to render down the bacon slowly. You want that bad for you but oh so delicious fat from the bacon to turn into liquid gold. I turn it up briefly once it reaches that stage to crisp up the bacon a little. Don't leave it unattended! Stir constantly. I use Boddingtons Ale. I'd also suggest adjusting the tobasco to taste. Not exatly the same as the "real" version but it's pretty close. It's never the same without the pretzel bread sticks Le Cellier serves with it. I've tried the ready to bake pretzels but it's not the same. Here's the recipe from Allears http://allears.net/din/recipes/rec-chsoup.htm.

Thank you Julie for the link and advice, I showed it to Viki. She said she would make it for me. I am going to to link and print the resume. Jimmy agreed on the Boddingtons Ale, so I will venture over to my old liquor store and see if they have. I may wander down the scotch whiskey aisle for old times sake, and look at the single malts. If they don't have the Boddingtons, I probably go with Old Milwaukee!

Corrine, I agree that I probably should go there and and have supper. We have have started to shy away from the real big ticket menus ($$$ symbols in dining pages), and go with more modest restaurants. This summer we ate at Artist Points, as we always do, and for three of us with no alcohol it was over $200 with tip. I was feeling a little violated at that point. I am a bit of a grill master myself (just sayin...) and we seldom get steak while in the World. We have Midwest corn fed steers processed locally near us so we are spoiled in that regard. However, I have long felt like I would like to try Le Cellier because I do enjoy a good steak more than anything else. Maybe we should try the candle light processional dinner package this Christmas trip.

Another question, how do others compare Le Cellier to the Yachtsman Steakhouse? We thought that was WAY over priced. Portions were very small.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For everyone going to Artist Point don't forget the 10% off with your DVC card!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thank you Julie for the link and advice, I showed it to Viki. She said she would make it for me. I am going to to link and print the resume. Jimmy agreed on the Boddingtons Ale, so I will venture over to my old liquor store and see if they have. I may wander down the scotch whiskey aisle for old times sake, and look at the single malts. If they don't have the Boddingtons, I probably go with Old Milwaukee!

Corrine, I agree that I probably should go there and and have supper. We have have started to shy away from the real big ticket menus ($$$ symbols in dining pages), and go with more modest restaurants. This summer we ate at Artist Points, as we always do, and for three of us with no alcohol it was over $200 with tip. I was feeling a little violated at that point. I am a bit of a grill master myself (just sayin...) and we seldom get steak while in the World. We have Midwest corn fed steers processed locally near us so we are spoiled in that regard. However, I have long felt like I would like to try Le Cellier because I do enjoy a good steak more than anything else. Maybe we should try the candle light processional dinner package this Christmas trip.

Another question, how do others compare Le Cellier to the Yachtsman Steakhouse? We thought that was WAY over priced. Portions were very small.

Le Cellier no longer participates in the candlelight processional package. We haven't eaten at Yachtsman so can't compare but I was thinking about trying it on our next trip. My mother used to love the hamburger at Le Cellier. . I've liked the steaks although they have always pushed the limit of saltiness for me. DH did not feel his steak was very good the last time we are there which has been at least a couple of years - back before they went deluxe.

 

[pmaurer74]

We are thinking of purchasing a WLV DVC, I know about the proposed expansions and that there is some uncertainty about what happens to the current owners. My DH asked a good question though.... can they reallocate the points required for the rooms? I told him no that they can change the points for certain times of the year like Christmas and Easter but then they have to take points away from other weeks to balance it out. Do you think this will remain true with the DVC expansion? It seems like they may be able to create room categories like concierge or lake view now.

Another question. Is it fairly easy to get a 1 bedroom at the 11 month point? WL is our favorite resort by far and we go in December a lot the week before Christmas. I have heard other people complain about not being able to get their home resort even at 11 months, is this true with WLV?

 

[Granny]

We are thinking of purchasing a WLV DVC, I know about the proposed expansions and that there is some uncertainty about what happens to the current owners. My DH asked a good question though.... can they reallocate the points required for the rooms?

Yes, they can do that.

I told him no that they can change the points for certain times of the year like Christmas and Easter but then they have to take points away from other weeks to balance it out.

Actually, they can reallocate points for an entire resort between rooms, days of the week, times of the year. They just need to end up with the same total amount of points for the resort as they declared to be sold. So, for instance, they could raise the Studio point schedule and reduce the 1BR schedule since the Villas now officially sleep 5+ and the 1BR only sleeps 4+. Not saying they are going to do that but they can do that if they want to in order to balance demand and occupancy of all villas.

Do you think this will remain true with the DVC expansion? It seems like they may be able to create room categories like concierge or lake view now.

That's the million dollar question. If they expand DVC at WL, we don't know if it will be a "new" DVC resort with a separate end date, etc. Or will they fold it into the current villas and have everyone extend their contracts (willingly or unwillingly)? It's hard to imagine that Disney will build significantly at WL as we have heard and then try to sell 27 year contracts at $150 per point. But if they don't combine the "New VWL" with the "Old VWL" as one resort, then the new building and points cannot be spread between the two entities. I think that is a real risk as it could impact the points per night at VWL for select villa types for select times of the year.

Another question. Is it fairly easy to get a 1 bedroom at the 11 month point? WL is our favorite resort by far and we go in December a lot the week before Christmas. I have heard other people complain about not being able to get their home resort even at 11 months, is this true with WLV?

I will say that December is a very tough time to reserve VWL (it is such a small resort and perfectly themed for Christmas), but we have gone three times in December and never had a problem booking a villa (2BR villas to be exact). I would say that it shouldn't be a problem as long as you make the reservation as early as possible on the first day you can. I won't get into "walking" a reservation strategy.

Good luck in your decision. A year ago none of these question marks were around and we all would have said "Don't think, just jump in"!

I still think it's a great place and home resort is pretty much reqired to book there in December. Still, we'd be less than honest if we said we know exactly how the expansion will work out.

If they are truly going to break ground this Fall for the bungalows, by that time there should be a pretty good idea of what they are doing and how it will work. Unless they do the BLT thing and deny that anything is going on as the construction raged on!

 

[Corinne]

We'll be dining there on the 4th, so we'll give you a quick review once we return from our cruise. One more sleep before we start heading south. . .

Thanks sleepy! Safe travels!!!!