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

[KAT4DISNEY]

Happy Birthday Disneyfreaks!

 

[eliza61]

Not sure if this is old news but I found this website, really cool. plays Disney park music. lol right now its streaming the main street electrical parade.

http://srsounds.com/popperSR.php

lol for those of d us who won't be at the world for a while.

Happy Monday

 

[Granny]

Not sure if this is old news but I found this website, really cool. plays Disney park music. lol right now its streaming the main street electrical parade.

http://srsounds.com/popperSR.php

lol for those of d us who won't be at the world for a while.

Happy Monday

Thanks, eliza! I tuned in a got a dose of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"...made me think of DDad belting it out on the Carousel of Progress!


and

Happy Birthday Disneyfreaks!

 

[horselover]

Thanks, eliza! I tuned in a got a dose of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"...made me think of DDad belting it out on the Carousel of Progress!


and

Happy Birthday Disneyfreaks!

I got Off Kilter! I miss them.

 

[Dizny Dad]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEYFREAKS!!

Thanks, eliza! I tuned in a got a dose of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"...made me think of DDad belting it out on the Carousel of Progress! . . . . . . . . . .

Don't know about the "belting it out" part, but DiznyDi doesn't think I should turn around with a sneer on my face and say "SING" to those behind us . . .

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks Jimmy! A little unfair for people to make fun of those from the south. You're not prepared to handle the weather the way we are in the north. Makes sense to me. From my perspective it doesn't make sense for your town to spend their resources on plows ice trucks maybe. Ice is the worst. Days without power doesn't sound fun. We lost power a couple weeks ago during a storm. Almost 24 hours. We were frozen! If it had not come back on before dark we would have had to go somewhere. No way we could have spent another night in the house.

I don't know where that perfect retirement place is but it's got to be out there somewhere!

We live a couple of hours from JT, and we're up in the mountains in southwest VA. We do get four distinct seasons, more so than any other place I've lived which numbers eight and ranges from coast to coast and in between. Summers get quite warm but lack the high humidity due to our 3000' altitude except for a few days here and there. Fall is gorgeous and stays warm till mid-October. Winter usually doesn't begin in earnest until after New Year's, and if we get precip, it's usually rain or snow. Spring is pretty but the weather unpredictable until early to mid-May. As for that winter stretch, we're more likely to get snow than ice, but we do get the latter at least once. Power outages happen though infrequently due to ice, and luckily for us, we have gas inserts in our fireplaces and a gas stove. All in all, not a bad place to live. However, as JT says, the older I get the less my body likes cold. . .at all. Not a heck of a lot of resources for snow plowing here, though a bit more than off the mountain in NC. If an inch falls, schools close as they don't have chains and don't want to take a chance of a bus sliding off the numerous back roads where kids live.

In Disney news, we actually feel quite good considering we ran the half marathon yesterday. We went to bed early and slept a good 8 hours last night, though. I should mention that we ate at AP to see if they could make up for the dreary meal we had six weeks ago. They did, indeed, make up for it. Now, they knew we were coming, and they were prepared to please, so that helped no doubt. Still, we had a great server (Katy), an excellent table (by the side windows), and a very good meal. They did little things to impress us. . .which worked. lol When we first walked in, our table was designated by a huge bottle of wine (though nothing was in it). We received an amuse bouche to start, along with a glass of bubbly. Our meals were topnotch and our dessert was accompanied by two small glasses of an ice wine. All in all, it was a great experience, though it should be noted that all diners there deserve such a special meal (minus the gratis stuff). We hope it continues next time we visit.

Today was 1900 PF early with Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Winnie, and Tigger. We followed that with a visit to DHS where we used the last of our free FPs from the tour to get on RnR (front row!), then followed that with our regular FPs to TSM and ToT. We opted to head to Disney Springs instead of doing Star Tours again. We had a delightful margarita or two at Paradiso 37 along with a wonderful guacamole and chips (a steal at $10) and finished our trip there with coffee and salted caramel gelato at the gelato place. All that's left is to pack this afternoon, go to Kimono's tonight, and then over to TOWL for Wishes. Sigh, home tomorrow. . .

 

[pmaurer74]

I miss my "home". I have not stayed there since December 2014. I strayed over to AKV and POFQ last year and will be at BWV in June.. sighhh no "home" until December. Seeing the pix though makes me sad. I am very hopeful it will be beautiful when done. I just hope the ugliness will most be gone by December... wishful thinking I know and highly unlikely. I feel a little bad I am bringing 14 family members most have never been to Disney. I hope they have a good time anyway.

 

[rkstocke5609]

Wow - a lot of great ideas!

AP out to the beach; RF moves to AP; Saloon in the ol' RF spot. I like it. Not so sure Disney will go for the Shootin' gallery part. Very politically incorrect now days . . .

True, but sometimes being contrarian can create a heck of a lot of demand -- I could see lot's of interest but your point is well taken...we don't even see wooden rubberband guns anymore unless I'm in Old Town Scottsdale. I'm surprised they haven't removed the shooting gallery in MK yet....

 

[sleepydog25]

I miss my "home". I have not stayed there since December 2014. I strayed over to AKV and POFQ last year and will be at BWV in June.. sighhh no "home" until December. Seeing the pix though makes me sad. I am very hopeful it will be beautiful when done. I just hope the ugliness will most be gone by December... wishful thinking I know and highly unlikely. I feel a little bad I am bringing 14 family members most have never been to Disney. I hope they have a good time anyway.

I'm afraid it is wishful thinking because construction isn't due to be finished before late 2017. Perhaps they'll have some parts done such as the new Hidden Springs pool, but the south wing makeover to DVC rooms and the cabins won't be done in the next 9+ months. However, I think your 14 family members will still love it. The music, the smells, the flickering lanterns, the lobby, and the decorations won't disappoint, I'm sure. By the way, I've taken to calling the new Lodge DVC build WVC or Wilderness Villas & Cabins. I'll be curious to see how far off I am.

 

[Granny]

By the way, I've taken to calling the new Lodge DVC build WVC or Wilderness Villas & Cabins. I'll be curious to see how far off I am.

Sleepy...I think your resort name is a good one, but may be confusing with the Ft Wilderness cabins just down the road. I think they definitely have to have the word "Lodge" in there since people already get confused between FW and WL. I don't think they will call it VWL II but that makes good shorthand. Officially, I think they may call it Disney's Wilderness Lodge Villas & Cabins. That would be an exact mirror of the Polynesian DVC title, and pretty much what you have guessed. WLVC would be my guess for the new acronym. Whatever they do it will surely be confusing with two DVC resorts at the same hotel.

 

[eliza61]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEYFREAKS!!






Don't know about the "belting it out" part, but DiznyDi doesn't think I should turn around with a sneer on my face and say "SING" to those behind us . . .

lol, and what's the problem with that???

 

[sleepydog25]

Sleepy...I think your resort name is a good one, but may be confusing with the Ft Wilderness cabins just down the road. I think they definitely have to have the word "Lodge" in there since people already get confused between FW and WL. I don't think they will call it VWL II but that makes good shorthand. Officially, I think they may call it Disney's Wilderness Lodge Villas & Cabins. That would be an exact mirror of the Polynesian DVC title, and pretty much what you have guessed. WLVC would be my guess for the new acronym. Whatever they do it will surely be confusing with two DVC resorts at the same hotel.

i thought of the WLVC but found it too unwieldy, thus shortened it to WVC. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Got home today after a wonderful trip to the World. We spent far more time relaxing than charging through the parks and truly enjoyed ourselves. While the construction is omnipresent, the Lodge and Villas still felt like an old, dear friend who welcomed us into his home. i'm glad we chose to stay there.

 

[Granny]

i thought of the WLVC but found it too unwieldy, thus shortened it to WVC. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Got home today after a wonderful trip to the World. We spent far more time relaxing than charging through the parks and truly enjoyed ourselves. While the construction is omnipresent, the Lodge and Villas still felt like an old, dear friend who welcomed us into his home. i'm glad we chose to stay there.

Glad you had a nice trip. We are into the relaxing thing too. And in the scheme of things, construction nuisances are pretty much a problem that so many people would love to have the opportunity to endure. And it sounds like you and Luv were able to enjoy WL/VWL and its many aspects.

 

[DiznyDi]

Wishing Disneyfreaks a very Happy Birthday!

 

[DiznyDi]

Thanks sleepy for your report of AP. DDad and I haven't been in several years due to your same (prior) experiences. We may have to try again when we're back to the Lodge for our December trip. Sounds like you had a great trip!

We'll be at Saratoga Springs for our next visit and plan to spend time at Disney Springs. We've not stayed at SSR in several years. I'm really looking forward to the trip. It will be nice to experience some of the new restaurants at Disney Springs and just enjoy the atmosphere.

Enjoy your day, groupies!

 

[wildernessDad]

We're heading to Disney's Old Key West Resort today. My wife is dragging me to a conference. No parks this time. Didn't even mention it as a vacation, but it will be fun to soak up the atmosphere.

 

[Granny]

We're heading to Disney's Old Key West Resort today. My wife is dragging me to a conference. No parks this time. Didn't even mention it as a vacation, but it will be fun to soak up the atmosphere.

WDad...having someone drag you to a conference and staying at OKW doesn't sound all too bad. Even without the parks, I'm sure you'll have a nice relaxing time. Have a great trip!

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks sleepy for your report of AP. DDad and I haven't been in several years due to your same (prior) experiences. We may have to try again when we're back to the Lodge for our December trip. Sounds like you had a great trip!

We'll be at Saratoga Springs for our next visit and plan to spend time at Disney Springs. We've not stayed at SSR in several years. I'm really looking forward to the trip. It will be nice to experience some of the new restaurants at Disney Springs and just enjoy the atmosphere.

Enjoy your day, groupies!

Depending on your culinary preferences, here are a few we enjoyed the last couple of trips:
The Boathouse: A bit pricey (but what isn't at Disney?), but overall good food and service; nice ambiance. I'd recommend the beef carpaccio--excellent!
Paradiso 37: We only had their guacamole and margaritas, but I can recommend both, especially the guac. Not as good as mine, but still very good and a sizable portion with chips that would make a good light lunch for two as it did for us. The margaritas aren't particularly special, but they were tasty enough. Other items we saw coming out looked good, too.
Morimoto Asia: Our second time here, and we'll steer away from the sushi. It's passable, but it's not as fresh and good as we can get nearby in Winston-Salem or Charlotte. However, their kung pao chicken is very good, and the best dish I had all trip (perhaps in the past few years) was the buri-bop. It's fragrant rice and vegetables in a large clay bowl that's been heated to cooking temperature. On top of the steaming rice and vegetables is an egg yolk and raw slices of yellowtail tuna. The server places the slice of fish on the interior walls of the bowl where they quickly sizzle and cook--don't overcook them! In the minute or so it takes to cook the fish, the server mixes the egg yolk into rice and veggies, then places the cooked fish on top of the mixture. It has some lovely Asian spices, herbs, and flavors, and the fish is buttery and delicious. This is a stunningly simple dish that is one of the best things on any menu at the World.
The Ganachery: Great chocolates (though I'd skip the papaya and mango, just meh) but expensive at about $2.25 per small segment.
Gelato place: Without looking up the name, I can't remember it (Viviola il Gelato?). Superb. Go for a small as it's very rich.

 

[Granny]

Patrick...great restaurant reviews and tips! I didn't know that we would try Morimoto Asia on this or future trips, but the buri-bop sounds like a great dining experience! We like Paradiso 37 and have eaten there a few times. So all the construction walls at Disney Springs are gone? Looking forward to spending some time in the area. Thanks!

 

[sleepydog25]

Patrick...great restaurant reviews and tips! I didn't know that we would try Morimoto Asia on this or future trips, but the buri-bop sounds like a great dining experience! We like Paradiso 37 and have eaten there a few times. So all the construction walls at Disney Springs are gone? Looking forward to spending some time in the area. Thanks!

Nope, still lots of construction walls at DS , but progress appears to have been made. Still no STK, and they need sidewalk signs to make sure you can find the entrance to a few places (such as Morimoto's), but overall we've enjoyed DS the past couple of trips to the World. More shops are opening all the time. They're also moving forward with the new bus stop area which will be in front of DS instead of behind it. We parked in the (currently only) parking garage (Orange, I think), and you can see over the new bus stop area with many of the "stop" poles and awnings. Beyond it, the other parking garage, I assume, is gracing the skyline and under construction. It's a lengthy process, but we're pleased with the advances being made and think that it will be a great spot to dine, shop, and just enjoy the vibe. When we were there one evening last week, there were no less than five musical acts playing along the walkways. Very cool!