VWL Groupies...yes, we love the Lodge, a lot!!

[eliza61]

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY GROUPIE DADS

YOU GUYS ROCK!!

 

[eliza61]

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY GROUPIE DADS

YOU GUYS ROCK!!

 

[Corinne]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY rfassett!!

Happy Father's Day Groupies Dads!!

 

[horselover]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RFASSETT!!!




HAPPY FATHER'S DAY GROUPIE DADS!!!

I have a few times---the Dolphin only. Julie--we're FB friends....you can pop over to my photo album from Dec 2012 during our WDW trip. We stayed at the Dolphin on a "Santa" rate. It was like $120/night. But, like Kathy mentioned....the "fees" get ya. There is a resort fee (includes internet, newspaper and bottled water etc) and there is a parking fee. It was considerable---maybe had to add like $20/night or so ??? Kathy do you remember. I'd have to go back and find my bill from Dec. But the beds are SO comfortable. I will admit, for the money (regarding the rack rates), I feel the rooms are a bit dated---especially bathroom ? It was clean for sure I feel the Dolphin needs some updating though. LOCATION is awesome. We walked to Epcot from there and to the Boardwalk shopping/dining.

Thanks Maria. I'll check out the pictures. The resort fee listed on my confirmation says $17.00 which is not included in my rate it says. They charged my credit card a 1 night deposit (refundable) but the amount they charged only included the room rate + tax. When do they charge the resort fee? At check out? I'm going to have to find out what the parking fee is. I still think it's likely a better deal to pay then use my points I'd have to borrow but I better double check again.

 

[twinklebug]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY rfassett!

 

[bagsmom]

Well Hello there to one and all!

We are back! Happy Birthday to the birthday folks and happy father's day to all the wonderful Dads out there!

I am completely, thoroughly depressed! Post Disney Letdown Syndrome....

But we had a wonderful time. The lodge villas are sooooo gorgeous, cozy, welcoming, peaceful.... Where else could 4 people -- two adults, one very tall and large teenager, and one baby-giraffe of a ten year old live together for a week in a studio with no fussing or stress???? There's a lot of Disney magic in that place, for sure!

Here are a few highlights:

We stayed in the garden wing of the Contemporary for the first night. That was very fun and the room was SUPER nice! The boys immediately took turns pushing each other the length of the room in the rolling office chair. I guess we didn't need to spend all that money on tickets for rides?

That evening, we went to the dessert party in Tomorrowland! It was VERY nice! Although I think I would rather have had a centered view of the fireworks behind the castle, it was incredibly thrilling to have Tinkerbell go RIGHT over my head. I was standing right below the zipline. That was just too cool!

My older son did some of the thrill rides this time -- Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest.... Younger son got to do some first time stuff as well -- Big Thunder and Splash Mountains!

We did the Photopass Plus -- for me, I'd say it was worth the money. We have about 40 pictures of the four of us together! Also all the photos taken on the rides. I'm a big memory-keeper, so I'm so happy to have those pictures.

We had dinner at the Rose and Crown, right next to the water, for Illuminations. We had such a front row seat, we got ashes on us. Can't get much better seats than that!

It was very fun watching our boys do the Phineas and Ferb Agent P. scavenger hunt in World Showcase. Now that my older son is a teenager, he is more stand-offish with his little brother, so it was a real treat to see them with their heads together, bent over the F.O.N.E., getting the clues!

Festival of the Lion King was absolutely wonderful! Goosebump City for me! Loved it!

Hoop Dee Doo! Even better than I remembered as a kid. Totally cheesy, and totally fun! It was our anniversary, so we got to stand up and dance!!!!!

Fantasmic. WOW! Wow! Just Wooooowwwwwwwww!

Fun little moments..... younger son finding the Gene Kelly umbrella from Singin' in The Rain at Hollywood Studios... that was a neat little discovery! Getting to talk to so many nice folks on the buses and in the lines.


OK -- my real world chores await. You would not believe the mountain of laundry that I have to plow through. Our grass is like a jungle out there, too.

My husband said this was his last Disney trip in the summer.... I'm thinking that maybe next time, we can try to do what I call the crazy-person trip. Drive down 7 hours for a long weekend over the winter break and just stay at Pop. It would be fun to see what it's like in the slow time!

Thanks to one and all for the great advice and trip planning help. Your lodge is a beautiful and special place!

 

[blossomz]

happy fathers day dads

 

[MiaSRN62]

horselover says: Thanks Maria. I'll check out the pictures. The resort fee listed on my confirmation says $17.00 which is not included in my rate it says. They charged my credit card a 1 night deposit (refundable) but the amount they charged only included the room rate + tax. When do they charge the resort fee? At check out? I'm going to have to find out what the parking fee is. I still think it's likely a better deal to pay then use my points I'd have to borrow but I better double check again.

Hey Julie...self parking is high---$15/day on top of that $17. I only went with it because I got such a great room rate ($120/night for king bed and theme park view). So actually paid closer to $150/night. Still a great rate for the Dolphin They charged me at check out.

 

[MiaSRN62]

HAPPY FATHER's DAY TO OUR GROUPIE DADS !!!​

 

[DisneyFreaks]

If it's the area above ground level (which is technically the second floor of the main lodge), then it's fourth floor, and yes, they do lots of weddings there. . .including ours on 5 July. It's called the Sunrise Terrace, and it is gorgeous up there.

What an absolutely gorgeous place for a wedding! Congratulations sleepydog25!!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY RFASSETT!!

And bagsmom I know what you mean by the post Disney blues. I get them after every trip. So glad to hear you had an awesome time. Welcome back.

 

[jimmytammy]

DreamerWDW
Love the list and sums a lot of our feelings up about a favorite place of ours!

Bagsmom
So glad yall had a great trip! And really glad you enjoyed the Lodge

And a big ol Happy Fathers Day to all the great Dads here on the groupies!!!!

 

[sleepydog25]

Well Hello there to one and all!

We are back! Happy Birthday to the birthday folks and happy father's day to all the wonderful Dads out there!

I am completely, thoroughly depressed! Post Disney Letdown Syndrome....

But we had a wonderful time. The lodge villas are sooooo gorgeous, cozy, welcoming, peaceful.... Where else could 4 people -- two adults, one very tall and large teenager, and one baby-giraffe of a ten year old live together for a week in a studio with no fussing or stress???? There's a lot of Disney magic in that place, for sure!

Here are a few highlights:

We stayed in the garden wing of the Contemporary for the first night. That was very fun and the room was SUPER nice! The boys immediately took turns pushing each other the length of the room in the rolling office chair. I guess we didn't need to spend all that money on tickets for rides?

That evening, we went to the dessert party in Tomorrowland! It was VERY nice! Although I think I would rather have had a centered view of the fireworks behind the castle, it was incredibly thrilling to have Tinkerbell go RIGHT over my head. I was standing right below the zipline. That was just too cool!

My older son did some of the thrill rides this time -- Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest.... Younger son got to do some first time stuff as well -- Big Thunder and Splash Mountains!

We did the Photopass Plus -- for me, I'd say it was worth the money. We have about 40 pictures of the four of us together! Also all the photos taken on the rides. I'm a big memory-keeper, so I'm so happy to have those pictures.

We had dinner at the Rose and Crown, right next to the water, for Illuminations. We had such a front row seat, we got ashes on us. Can't get much better seats than that!

It was very fun watching our boys do the Phineas and Ferb Agent P. scavenger hunt in World Showcase. Now that my older son is a teenager, he is more stand-offish with his little brother, so it was a real treat to see them with their heads together, bent over the F.O.N.E., getting the clues!

Festival of the Lion King was absolutely wonderful! Goosebump City for me! Loved it!

Hoop Dee Doo! Even better than I remembered as a kid. Totally cheesy, and totally fun! It was our anniversary, so we got to stand up and dance!!!!!

Fantasmic. WOW! Wow! Just Wooooowwwwwwwww!

Fun little moments..... younger son finding the Gene Kelly umbrella from Singin' in The Rain at Hollywood Studios... that was a neat little discovery! Getting to talk to so many nice folks on the buses and in the lines.


OK -- my real world chores await. You would not believe the mountain of laundry that I have to plow through. Our grass is like a jungle out there, too.

My husband said this was his last Disney trip in the summer.... I'm thinking that maybe next time, we can try to do what I call the crazy-person trip. Drive down 7 hours for a long weekend over the winter break and just stay at Pop. It would be fun to see what it's like in the slow time!

Thanks to one and all for the great advice and trip planning help. Your lodge is a beautiful and special place!

There is no such thing as "your" Lodge. It is bagsmom's and family's Lodge, as well. Just because you have finished your trip. . .just because you don't own at VWL. . .just because you may do a quick weekend trip at Pop. . .none of these matter in terms of being a Groupie. You are one of us.

Of course that means--WE WANT PICS! Luv and I are thrilled you had a great time and enjoyed the Villas and the Lodge. There is something special about the place. Further, it sounds as though you, hubby, and the kids had an amazingly fun time. All that planning you did was worth it, huh? As some Aussies I know would say, "good on you!" You should break down (in between loads of laundry) and do a TR. You have a built-in audience!

Glad you had a wonderful trip. Time to start planning the next one, no matter how far out it is!

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks, Sly! (What's a TR?) (Probably something so obvious....)

I feel like I have a vacation hangover. SOooooo tired!

I'd love to share some photos, but I am such a computer idiot! I have heard you guys talk about photobucket, but I'm not sure I'll be able to figure it out.

We had such a lovely, lovely time!!!!!!

I'm going to start saving a.s.a.p. so we can go back in a couple of years!

 

[bagsmom]

Here are a couple of funny quotes from my kids....

As we were walking through the Magic Kingdom, trying to get back to Splash Mountain, I wanted everyone to stop so I could take a picture of them in front of the topiaries. My 13 year old kept right on walking and said "No time for memories! We gotta MOVE!"

When we were eating somewhere and discussing how we were saving money by sharing some meals, we explained how theme parks have sort of a captive audience, so they can charge higher prices for food and people will pay it. My 10 year old said "Yep, I think this is one of Disney's mottos -- Bleed 'em dry!"

Oh, the things they say!

 

[jimmytammy]

There is no such thing as "your" Lodge. It is bagsmom's and family's Lodge, as well. Just because you have finished your trip. . .just because you don't own at VWL. . .just because you may do a quick weekend trip at Pop. . .none of these matter in terms of being a Groupie. You are one of us.

Of course that means--WE WANT PICS! Luv and I are thrilled you had a great time and enjoyed the Villas and the Lodge. There is something special about the place. Further, it sounds as though you, hubby, and the kids had an amazingly fun time. All that planning you did was worth it, huh? As some Aussies I know would say, "good on you!" You should break down (in between loads of laundry) and do a TR. You have a built-in audience!

Glad you had a wonderful trip. Time to start planning the next one, no matter how far out it is!

Couldnt agree more on the sleepy, the Lodge belongs to us all

TR is short for Trip Report, day by day if possible, minute by minute, even better

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks, Sly! (What's a TR?) (Probably something so obvious....)

I feel like I have a vacation hangover. SOooooo tired!

I'd love to share some photos, but I am such a computer idiot! I have heard you guys talk about photobucket, but I'm not sure I'll be able to figure it out.

We had such a lovely, lovely time!!!!!!

I'm going to start saving a.s.a.p. so we can go back in a couple of years!

I surely understand the whole "vacation hangover" business. The quotes from the kids were funny, especially the "no time for memories" one.

As for photobucket, it's quite simple. Go to their website, sign up for free, use for free. Once you have signed up, simply find where it says to Upload Pictures, then follow instructions. Usually it's as simple as browsing to find the picture files on your computer then making a couple of clicks to upload them. Once the photos are in your photobucket account (you can make separate albums for various pics, label pics, etc., if you want), you click on the photo you wish to put in your post. Once the photo is selected, to the right there will be a list of options called "Links to Share This Photo." The last of these options is IMG. Click in the box next to IMG, and it will tell you "Copied." At that point, simply come back to your post and paste it where you want. That's it! If you want to ensure it worked, just click on the "preview post" first.

Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments regarding where our wedding ceremony will occur. As the Lodge holds a lot of emotional sway for us, it just seemed fitting and natural to get married there. 18 days and counting!

 

[rfassett]

Thanks for all of the very sweet and kind birthday (and Father's Day) wishes. You folks are the best. This birthday was one of those milestone ones - not 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, 80, or 90. Dear Rebecca says I have reached old age and with it comes forgiveness for dripping coffee on my shirt or having food on my face, etc. - with friends like that, right? Anyway and alas, it was just another day in paradise! You guys rock! Thanks again! Here's wishing a day of magic for one and all.

 

[bagsmom]

rfassett -- a milestone birthday! Yay! I've told my husband that as I get older, I plan to go with ALL elastic waist pants and will thoroughly embrace seasonal, sequined sweatshirts and such! I'm actually looking forward to it!!!!! My inner grandma is itching to get out!

Trip report! Oh, be careful what you ask for! I haven't had coffee yet! But later I might attempt one.

Slydog -- why did I think that you were already married and talking about your anniversary date??? That is WAYYYYYYYYYY exciting! That will require pictures, for sure!

Photobucket.... hmmmm... sounds complicated. Maybe I can get my husband to help!

OK -- time for coffee!

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . . . . Here's wishing a day of magic for one and all.

Right back at you!!

 

[rfassett]

And BTW...
Happy Birthday rfassett!!!!
Are those Steelers colors I see

JT - that was cold!