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

[Flossbolna]

Do we have to rename the thread??? Are we going to be the BRV (hey, at least we are not named after a sandwich!) and CCV Groupies? Or do we not let those newcomers in???

To be honest, I think the name is so complicated that most people won't use it anyway. I think someone else said that they will be VWL1 and VWL2 and I think that will indeed be the name that people are going to use. Or even VWL-BR and VWL-CC, like with Kidani and Jambo.

And I don't like what other people have been saying about rocks and such! I don't want a rocky wilderness, I much prefer a green wilderness, please!

 

[rkstocke5609]

Blah. Boulder Ridge sounds like 5 housing developments I've driven by in MN. Boulders be damned!

 

[Granny]

The Resort’s new name – Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – gives that rustic community a more distinctive identity and allows Walt Disney Imagineers to bring the community’s story to life in new ways, including through the re-imagined (and soon to be renamed) Hidden Springs Pool area.

I do understand the re-naming rationale to distinguish the two DVC resorts at WL. And I agree with Flossy that the new acronyms will be VWL-BR and VWL-CC. But to us Groupies, it will always be just VWL. Kind of like the original OKW owners still call their resort DVC.

The name change doesn't excite me much and I hope that they don't think that this new name gives them permission to avoid planting trees again.

But the part that really scares me in this quote is "allows Walt Disney Imagineers to bring the community's story to life in new ways". I hope they don't mess with the decor of the VWL lobby or other common areas just to tell a stupid story about rocks.

 

[Granny]

Do we have to rename the thread??? Are we going to be the BRV (hey, at least we are not named after a sandwich!) and CCV Groupies? Or do we not let those newcomers in???

As always, we will let the newcomers visit. But if they start raving about their new home resort that ruined ours, we may politely ask them to move along to somewhere else.

 

[twinklebug]

Okay, I missed that. Why does VWL need a new story? It an old artisan's lodge. No actual trophies here, unless you count Walt's train cars

 

[Flossbolna]

As always, we will let the newcomers visit. But if they start raving about their new home resort that ruined ours, we may politely ask them to move along to somewhere else.

Part of my question was tongue in cheek (tried to indicate that by using many ???), but I am really wondering what kind of dynamic these two groups will develop. Part of DVC ownership is often a pride of one's home, and the VWL groupies definitely are very strong on this. A lot of this can be shared, like the love for the lobby, the geyser, the pool. But then there are two different owner groups at the same resort. What if the dues for the new resort will be lower (they certainly will be lower per point as the association will have more points per room if it follows the current model) and then on the other hand the new owners might be miffed that a VWLBR studio is so much less points than theirs. It will be interesting to watch...

 

[horselover]

Boy, reading over yesterdays comments - we sure are a passionate bunch!

Do we have any Groupies currently in the World to give us an update?

We're here. We'll take a ride over this weekend & report back.

Undercover Moose is on the case!

 

[Granny]

Part of my question was tongue in cheek (tried to indicate that by using many ???), but I am really wondering what kind of dynamic these two groups will develop. Part of DVC ownership is often a pride of one's home, and the VWL groupies definitely are very strong on this. A lot of this can be shared, like the love for the lobby, the geyser, the pool. But then there are two different owner groups at the same resort. What if the dues for the new resort will be lower (they certainly will be lower per point as the association will have more points per room if it follows the current model) and then on the other hand the new owners might be miffed that a VWLBR studio is so much less points than theirs. It will be interesting to watch...

Flossy...yes, I understood the tongue in cheek and my response was trying to be the same. But I do think there will be a separate dynamic just as there is already one for WL and VWL. I can see new owners at VWL-CC being completely ecstatic over everything at the entire property as their excitement from a new purchase mirrors ours when we bought 15 years ago. And I can even see a little snobbery regarding their beautiful cabins and (possibly) superior 1BR and 2BR villas.

I think all of us Groupies are happy to welcome new neighbors, but are very unhappy to see the potential changes to the resort that we loved so much for its tranquility and the setting in the woods. Right now I am feeling about the same that I was when they first announced the new project, and I've lost any good feeling momentum I might have been building up these past few months.

I kept telling myself that the new overall WL property will be awesome and that Disney will plant a bunch of trees and we'll all be okay with the new development. But this name change is about the worst possible one they could choose as nothing about it says trees.

I think the only worse name (slightly) that they could have chosen would have been Barren Desert Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

 

[Granny]

Okay, I missed that. Why does VWL need a new story?

It doesn't. Unless they want the new story to reflect the fact that there won't be many trees around. I guess they need a backstory to explain why there are so few trees in the wilderness.

 

[sleepydog25]

Right now I am feeling about the same that I was when they first announced the new project, and I've lost any good feeling momentum I might have been building up these past few months.

Exactly my sentiments. I didn't take the new build announcement well in the beginning, but after having stayed there in February and giving myself time to reflect that not all change is bad, I had a mild change of heart: "Perhaps the new sections and landscaping won't be so bad." Hmm. This change may be in name only, but it makes me very leery. As for me and mine, it will always be VWL (either 1 or BR). They'll have to pry VWL from my cold, dead hands. I'll be yelling, "Take me back to the original VWL!"

 

[rkstocke5609]

Flossy...yes, I understood the tongue in cheek and my response was trying to be the same. But I do think there will be a separate dynamic just as there is already one for WL and VWL. I can see new owners at VWL-CC being completely ecstatic over everything at the entire property as their excitement from a new purchase mirrors ours when we bought 15 years ago. And I can even see a little snobbery regarding their beautiful cabins and (possibly) superior 1BR and 2BR villas.

I think all of us Groupies are happy to welcome new neighbors, but are very unhappy to see the potential changes to the resort that we loved so much for its tranquility and the setting in the woods. Right now I am feeling about the same that I was when they first announced the new project, and I've lost any good feeling momentum I might have been building up these past few months.

I kept telling myself that the new overall WL property will be awesome and that Disney will plant a bunch of trees and we'll all be okay with the new development. But this name change is about the worst possible one they could choose as nothing about it says trees.

I think the only worse name (slightly) that they could have chosen would have been Barren Desert Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

Rattlesnake Retreat?
Timberline Lodge(from the Shining)?

 

[Granny]

Rattlesnake Retreat?
Timberline Lodge(from the Shining)?

I would have really liked Timberline Villas as a name....

...the name invokes a feeling of lots of trees
...the road it is located on is called Timberline Road
...some people think the hallway looks like The Shining hallway already!

 

[sleepydog25]

Truth in advertising names. . . . .
1) Lone Pine Lodge
2) Sandy Trails Villas
3) Missing Springs Suites
4) Beachless Cabins and Villas

 

[Kathymford]

I was starting to get a little excited about the new villas. I love seeing new offerings and new things to explore. But the name change of the original villas just doesn't sit right with me. I kind of get why they had to do it, but meh. I am ok with some change, but this one I don't like one bit mister! I'm sure I will be fine and I will still love it. But they need to hurry and show some artist renderings to get me excited again.

In other news, I'm not even sure when we will even be coming back. We have postponed our Dark Side trip to 2018 (BOOOOO), and while I don't think it's impossible that we come back before then, it's just a big, fat boo. Well, at least I've got our first reservation at VGC for the Disneyland Half coming up in September.

 

[Granny]

Okay, I threw out my conspiracy theory on the other thread, so I might as well repeat it here.

The theory goes something like this: Disney wants to make the current VWL as undesirable as possible to undermine the resale market for VWL while they are trying to sell the new CC Villas & Cabins. So far, it appears that they are almost going out of their way to achieve that goal.

 

[Dizny Dad]

I, too, am looking forward to Welcoming Home the Lodge Enthusiasts involved in the new Wilderness Lodge DVC Resort. But I can hear us now; "So, are you a Groupie1 or Groupie2?" We will always want to differentiate who's who. I will work hard not to think there is a difference, but I am probably kidding myself. I am weak . . .

Jimmy - Love it when you go Biblical!

And for those interested, this is how I see it when I pull out the magical Moose Call at the front desk when I am stuck in a South Wing Room . . .

 

[cindy_k]

You can be the Originals!
Just sit in the rocking chairs and tell tales of "I remember when..."

 

[sleepydog25]

Okay, I threw out my conspiracy theory on the other thread, so I might as well repeat it here.

The theory goes something like this: Disney wants to make the current VWL as undesirable as possible to undermine the resale market for VWL while they are trying to sell the new CC Villas & Cabins. So far, it appears that they are almost going out of their way to achieve that goal.

Hmmm, intriguing theory. It may very well have started with the muddled and mediocre refurbishment a couple of years ago. Then the topiaries disappeared. Dr Watson, you may have stumbled upon something here. . .

 

[wildernessDad]

Boulder Ridge Villas
https://local.yahoo.com/info-169135404-boulder-ridge-villas-ramona

 

[twinklebug]

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet."- B.S. (Billy, aka William Shakespeare)