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

[jimmytammy]

Suse66
We are in the Blue Ridge Mountain range, roughly 1 1/2 hrs from Asheville which is located around the smokies

 

[jimmytammy]

DLI
Though not as exciting as your train trip, we are heading to Tweetsie Railroad, located in Blowing Rock, NC, today to take our nieces/nephew. Its a theme park, with a locomotive very similar to WDW's. Im not sure if they do this now, but WDW used to "secretly" send their engines to Tweetsie for repairs as they have a big repair shop for their own trains as well as outside repairs as well. The Lilly Belle came back to WDW in just the past few years after having been taken out of commission for awhile and it was known among train enthusiasts where it was located, though Tweetsie and WDW both denied it.

Its a cool, albeit, cheesy park that's been around for a long time. I believe its the oldest theme park in NC, maybe since the 50s. It fills the gaps of the trips between WDW for sure!

 

[bobbiwoz]

^ Sounds like fun!

Theres an old amusement park in PA, called Knoebels. That’s fun too, and free admission, so you can walk around and enjoy some things.

https://www.knoebels.com/

 

[Corinne]

Hi Groupies!
I have been catching up on here, and just wanted to say hello. I’m missing WDW so much right now!

 

[TCRAIG]

Any Groupies plan on attending Boo Bash? We’ve got tickets for 10/10 and I’m planning on going solo on 10/12…

 

[bobbiwoz]

Any Groupies plan on attending Boo Bash? We’ve got tickets for 10/10 and I’m planning on going solo on 10/12…

We’re going August 31. Anyone else going then?

 

[Lakegirl]

Hi Groupies!
I have been catching up on here, and just wanted to say hello. I’m missing WDW so much right now!

Corinne I was just saying the same thing to my husband as I made a cup of Earl Gray Tea from Disney and picked out my favorite Disney mug.
We are going to Boo Bash On September 14th.

 

[Granny]

Any Groupies plan on attending Boo Bash? We’ve got tickets for 10/10 and I’m planning on going solo on 10/12…

Doesn't look like we will be attending this year. Hopefully when our grandson is a little older we'll make it down there for a Boo Bash (or MNSSHP).

 

[Granny]

Hi Groupies!
I have been catching up on here, and just wanted to say hello. I’m missing WDW so much right now!

Hi Corinne! Do you have any trips planned to fill that ache of yours?

 

[jimmytammy]

Any Groupies plan on attending Boo Bash? We’ve got tickets for 10/10 and I’m planning on going solo on 10/12…

I wish we were! Our next trip hopefully will be in Feb. Nothing big going on then, maybe Festival of the Arts, which I have never been too, so that will be interesting, Im sure

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

DLI
Though not as exciting as your train trip, we are heading to Tweetsie Railroad, located in Blowing Rock, NC, today to take our nieces/nephew. Its a theme park, with a locomotive very similar to WDW's. Im not sure if they do this now, but WDW used to "secretly" send their engines to Tweetsie for repairs as they have a big repair shop for their own trains as well as outside repairs as well. The Lilly Belle came back to WDW in just the past few years after having been taken out of commission for awhile and it was known among train enthusiasts where it was located, though Tweetsie and WDW both denied it.

Its a cool, albeit, cheesy park that's been around for a long time. I believe its the oldest theme park in NC, maybe since the 50s. It fills the gaps of the trips between WDW for sure!

That sounds like fun!!! DH would like that. We are in Denver right now. On our first leg we had an 18 hour delay!

^ Sounds like fun!

Theres an old amusement park in PA, called Knoebels. That’s fun too, and free admission, so you can walk around and enjoy some things.

https://www.knoebels.com/

we love love love Knoebels!!!! We used to go there all the time.

Hi Groupies!
I have been catching up on here, and just wanted to say hello. I’m missing WDW so much right now!

 

[sleepydog25]

Hello, Groupies!
Haven't said much lately seeing as I've been working and doing chores around the house. Full on summer here. Things are hopping around Disney World, so I hope all you who are headed there/already there have a great, but safe, time.

Here, caught up to WDW in most policy items. Fully vaccinated guests no longer have to wear masks even indoors. They are still required to wear them on Disney transportation, which for us is the Beach House shuttle. Pools are operating at full capacity, though that doesn't mean the pods are gone, just more of them, and they fill up very quickly most days seeing as it's now high season. And finally, as of today, CMs who work outdoors no longer are required to wear masks IF they are fully vaccinated. I gotta say, wearing one of those in 94F, 90% humidity days as we had often the last week was tough. Doable and I did it gladly, but is surely got hot under there!

Have a great weekend, all!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I wish we were! Our next trip hopefully will be in Feb. Nothing big going on then, maybe Festival of the Arts, which I have never been too, so that will be interesting, Im sure

I really enjoy the FoA. I hope you enjoy it as well. It would be wonderful if they would bring back the Broadway Performers. Then we really would be out of Covid life!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Hey my DH doesn’t know if he wants to go to DL with me. Can my friend use his ticket instead?

 

[Corinne]

Corinne I was just saying the same thing to my husband as I made a cup of Earl Gray Tea from Disney and picked out my favorite Disney mug.
We are going to Boo Bash On September 14th.

I love my Disney mugs!

Granny - I have not yet canceled our September trip, I’m holding out hope that the implementation of my new payroll system will be pushed out further, I know that sounds awful! Pixie dust please.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I love my Disney mugs!

Granny - I have not yet canceled our September trip, I’m holding out hope that the implementation of my new payroll system will be pushed out further, I know that sounds awful! Pixie dust please.

You got it!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hey my DH doesn’t know if he wants to go to DL with me. Can my friend use his ticket instead?

They used to be transferable while unused and would guess it still is. With the park reservation system though can you get that changed too?

 

[Granny]

Corinne...good luck with that payroll system rollout push back. If it's anything like I saw in my many years of corporate life, the IT rollouts rarely happened on schedule! _


So I knew that Magical Express was going away after this year, but I didn't realize that they've basically gutted it already. I got my confirmation for ME for my October trip and was surprised to hear:

• Disney doesn't handle the bags any more. You have to retrieve them yourself at the airport and then get them to an ME bus for storage to the resort. Then you get them curbside at the resort and handle them to your room or use bell services.
• No more airline check-in at the resorts for departures. So basically the same thing...haul the bags out to ME and then retrieve them at MCO and get in line to check them (curbside or inside).

Basically, ME has been reduced to free shuttle service. And because of the new way of doing it, I'm seeing some horror stories posted of 2+ hour waits to get on an ME bus and then the usual additional hour to get to the resort.

I'm sure this is very old news to most of you, but honestly I haven't kept up with the Disney rules well enough. I can say that based on what I currently understand about ME, we will just take a taxi or Uber from the airport.

I would be interested to know if on-site bookings for Disney resorts are being impacted by the new rules from Disney. A very watered down ME, no more Extra Magic Hours, etc. Makes me wonder if Disney is going away from their thoughts of trying to entice people on-site. As they convert more of Grand Floridian to DVC, it makes me wonder if Disney is changing their on-site resort model a bit? I understand that Covid hit them hard, but honestly if we were not DVC members I don't think we would make the upcoming trips this year. Add to that the elimination of FastPass and it just isn't the Disney World experience that we thought we would be enjoying. And yes, I know FastPass affects all WDW park guests, not just the on-site resort guests.

Don't get me wrong, there's no complaints here. Disney has the right to run its perks in the manner they wish. It is just puzzling to me that they seem to be cutting back so much on the on-site advantages.

 

[DVC Jen]

One more week and we will be on our way to Florida to see everyone's favorite mouse. I am so excited! Seems like it has been forever and not just 2 years since we have been there.

 

[sleepydog25]

Corinne...good luck with that payroll system rollout push back. If it's anything like I saw in my many years of corporate life, the IT rollouts rarely happened on schedule! _


So I knew that Magical Express was going away after this year, but I didn't realize that they've basically gutted it already. I got my confirmation for ME for my October trip and was surprised to hear:

• Disney doesn't handle the bags any more. You have to retrieve them yourself at the airport and then get them to an ME bus for storage to the resort. Then you get them curbside at the resort and handle them to your room or use bell services.
• No more airline check-in at the resorts for departures. So basically the same thing...haul the bags out to ME and then retrieve them at MCO and get in line to check them (curbside or inside).

Basically, ME has been reduced to free shuttle service. And because of the new way of doing it, I'm seeing some horror stories posted of 2+ hour waits to get on an ME bus and then the usual additional hour to get to the resort.

I'm sure this is very old news to most of you, but honestly I haven't kept up with the Disney rules well enough. I can say that based on what I currently understand about ME, we will just take a taxi or Uber from the airport.

I would be interested to know if on-site bookings for Disney resorts are being impacted by the new rules from Disney. A very watered down ME, no more Extra Magic Hours, etc. Makes me wonder if Disney is going away from their thoughts of trying to entice people on-site. As they convert more of Grand Floridian to DVC, it makes me wonder if Disney is changing their on-site resort model a bit? I understand that Covid hit them hard, but honestly if we were not DVC members I don't think we would make the upcoming trips this year. Add to that the elimination of FastPass and it just isn't the Disney World experience that we thought we would be enjoying. And yes, I know FastPass affects all WDW park guests, not just the on-site resort guests.

Don't get me wrong, there's no complaints here. Disney has the right to run its perks in the manner they wish. It is just puzzling to me that they seem to be cutting back so much on the on-site advantages.

Great points, Granny. Here's my anecdotal, 2-cents' worth on Disney future.
- Disney was having serious crowding issue pre-Covid. They built new DVC and added to parks to increase crowds and it worked too well. Raising prices precipitously didn't help.
- Thus, I don't see the park reservation system going away anytime soon, perhaps never.
- The old FP system is dead and won't return, either. Disney will monetize the system similar to what they do at DL.
- Speaking of DL, did you notice that they did away with APs altogether? My buddy, Josh, said just a few days ago that, in essence, it ain't coming back and that they have been spending the past 18 months rethinking what would work to make DL a "better experience for our valued guests." Some have surmised that a new membership program will be launched there with tiers.
- Expect to have DVC tiers at WDW at some point. I don't know exactly how it will work, but it could simply be based on the number of points you own. If you have up to 200 points, you're the basic level with a few small perks (maybe a FP a day per the number in your party?). If you own over 2K points, perhaps more FPs and certain admittances others won't get. Again, tiered.
- Whatever Disney does, I'm with Granny--they are in the middle of changing their on-site model. They either have to change the park model, which they've started with the whole park reservation system, or they have to find a way to make the many DVCers who come just to "resort relax" cough up more money...or both.

Of course, give these thoughts a year to age, and none of them will likely be correct!