Sleepy, we will be there over Christmas too. 12/22 thru 12/31. I am a slacker when it comes to logging on page 1 for B-days/anniversary and trips. We should meet up and hold a tool box meeting with the crews. Maybe we can fast track this project. Last year was our first Christmas trip. Osborne was a jaw dropper. We should have spent more time there, but it was our attitude that we will be back next year..... Another lesson on why one should always appreciate every season in life. One never knows if he will pass this way again.
BTW. Poly is looking better for next summer time. Anyone have a few points they can spare for a fellow groupie?
We will be in FL on 31 July, perhaps, but not over to the World until the day after if the plan works out. It's still fluid. However, I do like your idea of fast-tracking the construction. You are so right about appreciating things when you have them.
Granny, no ire headed your way at all, and yes, I agree the rumor was around. Still, it was only rumor and as KAT mentioned, each year the Osborne Lights kept going up. We had formulated a plan to take a longer trip than normal to see the again, perhaps next year. But, making the announcement three months out when almost no rooms are available is just craptastic timing on Disney's part. I had no clue their 20-year contract was up this year, and I'm just as certain they did know the big plans for DHS were afoot well over a year ago, likely longer. I've determined that Disney plays the major announcement news cards close to the vest, flipping them over just weeks or months before the event in question in order to take a lot of heat in a short period and be done with it. What the bean counters, and some I'd call Can'tImagineers, fail to realize is that such actions cause far more wear and tear to their image than letting Disney fans wallow in their "grief" of lost attractions for a year or so. In fair disclosure, I'm more emotionally impacted by OL news because it's the site of one of the most meaningful moments in my relationship with
luv. She first showed me the beauty of the OL when she convinced me to visit the World at Christmas for the first time. We were an official couple for the first time just prior to that trip, too. That second when we rounded the corner, hand-in-hand, and I saw the magnificence of the Lights are forever emblazoned in my mind. It was a thrilling, romantic, jaw-dropping capsule of time that we've relived a couple of times since. . .and it will be no more. Their timing of dropping the Spectacle shows it was just a business decision to them which, in turn, exposes them as more into making money come through than making dreams come true.
Sorry to blather on so long. It's just that this decision comes hard on the heels of the news regarding our second home, the Lodge. Based on the latest build at Poly, I'm not optimistic that what
luv and I hold most dear about VWL--serenity, peacefulness, tranquility, and intimacy--will exist once they're done. . .years from now. It, too, holds a special place in our combined heart. We first met on the beach, that very beach which will largely--if not completely--disappear if the plans are true. The nature trail where we shared our first kiss? Likely paved over. The unfettered shoreline? Full of cabins. Okay, so I'm reluctant to change, I'll admit. However, sometimes bigger isn't better; it's just bigger. The larger issue may be that I feel left behind, that the places of my earliest memories of the World have gone away, relegated to a dusty attic like an old, forgotten toy. Sentimentality is being replaced by a pragmatism that bows to the almighty shareholders. I'll get over myself; I'll likely continue to visit and make new memories, in fact. But, I'll also see more behind the facade and sadly sigh and shrug at slow unwinding of the Disney magic. Okay, I'll hop off my soapbox now.
Finally, and most importantly,
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CORRINE!
DHS especially needed that route IMO.
Nice to see you (and your adorable Corgi's) around again!
HAPPY ANIVERSARY! 
