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

[jimmytammy]

Happy Birthday rusafee1183!!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks for all the continued well wishes folks! Today is the big day!! We have had a great time so far, eaten at some really great(Disney caliber)restaurants. Met up with my cousin and his DW last night. He was a park ranger at the local battlefields for at least 30 years and retired 2 years ago. He takes me to some places the gen. public tends to miss at the 4 major battlefields.

Dad, I would have laughed, we tend to have the same sense of humor, I think. CMs need to loosen up, dont you think

Granny, we have walked the downtown streets where the 1st phase of the battle of Fredericksburg took place, and I have been paying special attention to the brick homes/buildings and I have spotted many holes in the brick, mostly near the windows. The confederates sharpshooters were in the houses and around the corners of buildings shooting at the union army as they were trying to build pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahanock River. Once the Union got a foothold on the other side, you can see the buildings on higher ground have bullet holes where buildings face each other as fighting took place in town on the 1st day. Actually found a bullet still lodged in a hole at the downtown visitor center. And a little building that now houses a beauty shop, I counted at least 25 holes in just on side, all beside 2 windows.

 

[Roccosmom]

Thanks everyone for all the info. I'm just catching up on the thread as we are planning a visit in Jan 2017. I wonder how much more construction will be going on at that point? I may look into (gasp!) a different resort.

 

[Dean Marino]

View attachment 167884 View attachment 167885

These photos were taken on Thursday May 5. Obvious work being done on the villas. Balcony chairs were scattered on the ground beneath.

That poor contractor ......

Sandy and I got to TALK to the foreman, about April 24th..... at the time, he was worried - and running his crew on overtime. His comment? "i'm supposed to be OUTTA here by May 2nd ".
Now - roofs can be ugly.... one never knows what is UNDER that thing until it's torn off.... someone doing a BAD job would not care. A PRO would take whatever time is needed to do it right .

Worth mentioning.... not just the roof on the south wing. They were working on ANY weather penetration - right down to the door seals around the rear exits of Sturdy Branches, and the Main rear entrance, as well as selected siding areas.

 

[jimmytammy]

I know I can share with my fellow groupies...you will understand.
Just outside our room at The Kenmore Inn, there is a Kuerig coffee maker. So I step out just now for our 2nd cup of the AM and this is the 1st time all week that I have seen anyone in the hallway. What made it all the more strange for these 2 different people, here I am, a grown man, standing in my Mickey Mouse pajamas. Boy, talk about some funny looks, and smirky smiles I got! I am in touch with my adulthood, but I much prefer being in touch with my inner child instead

 

[twinklebug]

I know I can share with my fellow groupies...you will understand.
Just outside our room at The Kenmore Inn, there is a Kuerig coffee maker. So I step out just now for our 2nd cup of the AM and this is the 1st time all week that I have seen anyone in the hallway. What made it all the more strange for these 2 different people, here I am, a grown man, standing in my Mickey Mouse pajamas. Boy, talk about some funny looks, and smirky smiles I got! I am in touch with my adulthood, but I much prefer being in touch with my inner child instead

Kindred spirit here. Let them gawk and whisper.
I would have started to hum the Mickey Mouse March, given a smile and strong "Good morning!"

 

[Kathymford]

One of my funny traditions before going on a Disney World trip is buying new Disney PJs at Disneyland. LOL. Not sure why, but it's fun.

 

[Granny]

One of my funny traditions before going on a Disney World trip is buying new Disney PJs at Disneyland. LOL. Not sure why, but it's fun.

Sounds good! A little obsessed is ok...right?

 

[Corinne]

Good Saturday Morning Groupies, hope you are all well. It's a beautiful day here in MA, after a beautiful (albeit long work) week. I am so missing the World these days, we should be smack dab in the middle if our annual May trip. Hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Good Saturday Morning Groupies, hope you are all well. It's a beautiful day here in MA, after a beautiful (albeit long work) week. I am so missing the World these days, we should be smack dab in the middle if our annual May trip. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Us too. Star Wars Weekend.

 

[twinklebug]

Us too. Star Wars Weekend.

Humor me while I hop on my complaint train for a moment for a quick ride around the park. We have never seen SWW and my youngest son is one of the biggest fans out there. (Had this been the 1980s you could count me in that group too.) For years I told my son when he graduated from HS I'd take him to SWW. Last spring he graduated, and in step I booked our trip for this May. Of course Disney then promptly cancelled SWW after announcing that they had a whole new land planned for it... to be opened who-knows-when. To quote Bill the Cat: ACK!

They forced my hand: I had to make the trip special, so we're off to Universal for a few days to be followed up by a relaxing trip to Disney, with a few unexpected bonuses there being F&G being extended into the end of May & AK will be open late! Will meet up with my sister and her boys again.

I think Disney will have to offer some substantial discounts to folk both in the ways of lodging and tickets to up attendance while MGM is under re-imagineering. My plan is to stay away for a few years, let my points build back up and then experience some of the new. I think 2018 sounds good for Toy Story Land and the new Muppet plaza areas. Disney Springs and Pandora should be done by then too.

---------------------

In other news... and I've held onto this one for a few weeks too long...

My eldest son is engaged to be married!!! In that they're from the Carolinas (NC and SC) and my other two and I are stuck in MA, we have only had the chance to meet his fiance once at Disney last December. However, I can say for certain they're an amazing match. She's a beautiful lady inside and out & I adore her. Wedding plans have not been made yet, they're looking at fall of 2017. It depends on a number of things.

 

[Corinne]

Humor me while I hop on my complaint train for a moment for a quick ride around the park. We have never seen SWW and my son is one of the biggest fans out there. (Had this been the 1980s you could count me in that group too.) For years I told my son when he graduated from HS I'd take him to SWW. Last spring he graduated, in step, I booked our trip for this May, and of course Disney then promptly cancelled SWW after announcing that they had a whole new land planned for it... to be opened who-knows-when. To quote Bill the Cat: ACK!

They forced my hand: I had to make the trip special, so we're off to Universal for a few days to be followed up by a relaxing trip to Disney, with a few unexpected bonuses there being F&G being extended into the end of May & AK will be open late! Will meet up with my sister and her boys again.

I think Disney will have to offer some substantial discounts to folk both in the ways of lodging and tickets to up attendance while MGM is under re-imagineering. My plan is to stay away for a few years, let my points build back up and then experience some of the new. I think 2018 sounds good for Toy Story Land and the new Muppet plaza areas. Disney Springs should be done by then too.

In other news... and I've held onto this one for a few weeks too long...

My eldest son is engaged to be married!!! In that they're from the Carolinas (NC and SC) and my other two and I are stuck in MA, we have only had the chance to meet his fiance once at Disney last December. However, I can say for certain they're an amazing match. She's a beautiful lady inside and out & I adore her. Wedding plans have not been made yet, they're looking at fall of 2017. It depends on a number of things.

First off, sorry about the cancellation of SWW! Secondly, congrats on the engagement! Wonderful news!

 

[DiznyDi]

Yay! Twinkle! Such fun you will have planning the big event! Many congratulations to you and to your son!

We've never been to SWW or to Universal for that matter. Let us know how you like it. A bonus meet with family is always a good thing!

 

[wildernessDad]

Well, we are back from our week-long stay at AKV Jambo. We were given Club access, which has temporarily moved to the 4th floor of the Kudu Trail. We pretty much stuck to our plan and saved a lot of dough eating the Club offerings for breakfast and dinner. However, I caught a cold yesterday and am nursing that. It was brutally hot, thus very tough to push the wheelchair around. Also, a bolt came loose on the wheelchair which I need to fix. Wonderful. Maybe we'll have to select a different month rather than go in May. We'll see.

 

[jimmytammy]

twinklebug, Congratulations!! We live in NC, what part of the Carolinas is your DS and soon to be DDIL located?

And as for SWW, we too had a trip planned this May for our DSIL 1st trip. He is a big SW fan so it was perfect...just home from deployment, 1st trip to WDW, stay at BWV so he could be there early at HS for the festivities...not!! So DD says lets cancel, go in Dec. instead(her fav time to be in WDW). We will just have to pack in all that HS has now with SW, though there already exists a lot of extra presence of SW stuff with the fireworks, Launch Bay, etc.

WildernessDad, hope you feel better soon. There is a lot of tough stuff floating in the air these days. Lots of water, flush that bad boy out!!

I agree, May is a tough month in WDW. We tend to plan our meals and our park time around the heat. Seems hotter to me there in May than it used to be our 1st trips that month now. I remember our 1st tough exp. of heat there in May...was standing, not moving, just waiting for a show at HS, and my back was drenched. Casey and I on our more recent May trip stood waiting for SW parade, just to see Emperor Palpatine(he is the original bad guy after all, I needed to boo someone for starting it all)and we intentionally went in clothes from day before knowing we were going to be wet from head to toe. And we were right! Standing in blazing sun, humidity and packed into crowds of people makes for a very sauna like atmosphere

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Humor me while I hop on my complaint train for a moment for a quick ride around the park. We have never seen SWW and my youngest son is one of the biggest fans out there. (Had this been the 1980s you could count me in that group too.) For years I told my son when he graduated from HS I'd take him to SWW. Last spring he graduated, and in step I booked our trip for this May. Of course Disney then promptly cancelled SWW after announcing that they had a whole new land planned for it... to be opened who-knows-when. To quote Bill the Cat: ACK!

They forced my hand: I had to make the trip special, so we're off to Universal for a few days to be followed up by a relaxing trip to Disney, with a few unexpected bonuses there being F&G being extended into the end of May & AK will be open late! Will meet up with my sister and her boys again.

I think Disney will have to offer some substantial discounts to folk both in the ways of lodging and tickets to up attendance while MGM is under re-imagineering. My plan is to stay away for a few years, let my points build back up and then experience some of the new. I think 2018 sounds good for Toy Story Land and the new Muppet plaza areas. Disney Springs should be done by then too.

---------------------

In other news... and I've held onto this one for a few weeks too long...

My eldest son is engaged to be married!!! In that they're from the Carolinas (NC and SC) and my other two and I are stuck in MA, we have only had the chance to meet his fiance once at Disney last December. However, I can say for certain they're an amazing match. She's a beautiful lady inside and out & I adore her. Wedding plans have not been made yet, they're looking at fall of 2017. It depends on a number of things.

Congrats on your sons engagement Twinklebug! How exciting!!
And so sad to hear about the SWW trip you had been planning for your other son. My first SWW was back in 2000 or so and in recent years we had made it to another 4-5 as May is often a time we go. The additions at DHS in no way are comparable to what the weekends held IMO and while I can understand the issues due to the construction it's still just very sad. But adding Universal is a fun exchange and catching F&G.

Something that might be fun - James Arnold Taylor who hosted SWW put out this video in honor of what should have been starting this weekend:

 

[twinklebug]

Thank you for the congrats everyone!

JT, My son is in Greenville, SC. He's one of those kids who went away for school and in doing so his blood turned purple and orange, and he fell in love with the rolling foot hills of the area. I don't blame him, that area up and through N. Carolina is gorgeous. His fiance's family I believe is from the Charlotte, NC area. She was in Greenville for school & just graduated! Although I barely know her, I'm very proud of her just the same. She and my son are out in Baton Rouge this weekend looking for a home in a good area for the next 4 years while his fiance works on her residency in the local hospital there. He described the area as "flat", LOL. They're young, there's no better time to travel than now. The wedding plans involve coming back to Greenville to be near her family, thank goodness. I wish I had tips for them on where to go, so if anyone knows good places to live near the hospital out there please send a message!

Kathy, Although I'm still steaming a little over the missing SWW, it turned out for the better by booking that Universal trip. Everyone is very excited. We've been there twice before, but both times were day trips with my parents as guides (they provided the tickets), and so all we experienced were shows and show rides.

Our trip isn't until next week which should give me just enough time to pack, I will do my best to get over to The Lodge to hopefully get a glimpse of the elusive Bison, Mickey and Geese migrating home. Even if they're not there it'll be worth it, as it's still one of the most spectacular places to be.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Remembering:

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . . . . . here I am, a grown man, standing in my Mickey Mouse pajamas. Boy, talk about some funny looks, and smirky smiles I got! I am in touch with my adulthood, but I much prefer being in touch with my inner child instead

Not inner child; but realistic adult. If the world was more like WDW, think of the possibilities. I wonder more about the people that wear their AK-47 shirts to the Parks more than I do about adults in Mickey Jammies in the hallways.

KAT4DISNEY - Thanks for the memories. Such a perfect place to be only a memory.

 

[sleepydog25]

Nice pics, KAT. Sigh.