VWL Lovers & Groupies thread: It all started with a Moose

[cheer4bison]

Stopher, keeping your family in our thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for the pictures. It is so wonderful to have a "happy place" to return to (even if just in our minds) on days when all is not well in our world. That, to me, is the real value of DVC.

 

[jimmytammy]

Stopher great pick us up photos!!

WD, I am dancing with you
102 days to go and it cant get here soon enough!!

 

[Dizny Dad]

Dancing with you all - December at the Lodge - Woo who!

Looking forward to the meet . . . . .

 

[jimmytammy]

Update on baby Tessa

Their is a good possibility mom and baby will be home today. Ultrasound left a good impression on DRs. and they are just wanting to monitor her feedings for awhile longer. Tammy says she hopes for some news by mid morning. Marshall got in from Korea about midnight, took 5 mins. to run home, grabbed a blanket made by a very special groupie with Tessas name on it and ran to the hospital. Natalie was worried she didnt have a blanket to bring Tessa home in that she could call her own. Tammy told her no worries, and told her of how you folks have come through, once again.

I cant express enough gratitude to you of how you folks have touched our lives over the last week. Knowing you were praying and thinking of us in our time of need, that is powerful stuff, indeed!

So with all the heavy burdens I have instilled upon you folks the last few days, I will lighten the mood and in the immortal words of that famous Marine, Gomer Pyle, I will say, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!

 

[wildernessDad]

The dancing jesters are out again to say to you that there are 111 days to go until WD steps into the "Lodge!"

Stopher great pick us up photos!!

WD, I am dancing with you
102 days to go and it cant get here soon enough!!

Dancing with you all - December at the Lodge - Woo who!

Looking forward to the meet . . . . .

I love those dancing guys! They crack me up. Perhaps I am amused too easily. (Btw, 110 days to go.)

 

[Muushka]

Stopher, you rock. Those pictures are precious, with the words that go along with them.
You and your family are still being prayed for.

A Groupie made a blanket for baby Tessa! That is too sweet. Groupies are the best.

Happy Hump day all, and a big welcome home to Baby Tessa!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

And on a personal note. My friend who lost her husband has an awesome cruise booked! Got her a suite on Solstice and she will have a week, with her daughter and their butler (the one that comes with the suite), of pampering and relaxation, which they so badly need.

That is great to hear!!! I hope they have a great time!

Hello Groupies!

Well I had a phenomenal weekend with my son, who has now been inducted into Firecrafter, which is an honor society for Scouts here in Indiana. Previously this spring he was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, which is the national honor society for Scouts. So he's had a very good year this year. I was inducted into Firecrafter last month, and from what the word on the street is, next spring will probably be a good time for me as well making it into the OA too - so good times for us all around - at least on one front, that is.

On the greater family front, however, I will say there was such a cloud hanging over the weekend though. I spoke with my wife on the phone late Friday night and she shared with me more about her dad. And then last night after we got home she shared some more.

They found some spots on his lungs, hip and back. A biopsy was performed yesterday and we are waiting for the results, but as I was suspecting the big C is apparently looming fairly large on the horizon. My BIL finally Friday evening made the doctor shoot straight with them, and yes, he told them both (BIL & FIL) that they were suspecting cancer, which is what I was suspecting myself just from the round of tests and info that BIL was sharing. My FIL broke down pretty hard from what I understand. But by Sunday's procedure, he was adjusting to it, and pretty resigned to the situation. They'll know more for certain within a day or two. The doctor put a rush on the results, and is hoping to have them back today, but said most likely it will be Tuesday.

DW was checking out airfare for the next couple of weeks to be able to at least get out there and spend some time with him. We are all heading out there in December to spend Christmas out there, but as she said last night, that might be too late. And I certainly understand. When my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer 19 years ago she was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and then transferred to an assisted living facility where she lived the rest of her days, which in her case was only 3 months, dying the day after my birthday.

He's being transferred today or tomorrow from the hospital he's in now, to another hospital that has a specialized oncology unit with more long-term type of accomodations. I'm not exactly sure what they mean by this, but ok. If it's like my grandmother's situation, then why not just say assisted living? But then I wasn't the one on the phone asking the questions so perhaps my DW just didn't know or my BIL just didn't know. I don't know.

So dear friends - once more, please just continue to pray for comfort all around. I do believe that he can be healed, but that's not my decision. He's lived a long full life, and perhaps his time is drawing near, perhaps not and his situation is being used for some other purposes by our creator. We don't always see how the pieces are brought together until after the fact, so we wait and watch and see. I need to get my DW on a plane soon to be able to spend some important quality time at her dad's side. Hopefully I can do that very soon. Next stop - Southwest's site to check out some fares myself. More later...

First of all congratulations on your sons recognition. That is awesome.
So sorry to hear about your FIL. I will keep him and your family in my prayers.

Life is a very interesting play. My dad died last May. Perfectly healthy except for some arthritis. We spoke the night of his death and I was teasing him. I was supposed to catch a flight out to Paris the following Sunday and he wanted to drive me to the airport. I jokingly told him the thought of an 85year old man behind the wheel at 9:00 pm from JFK to Manhattan was enough to cause me to cancel my trip. My brother said he went downstairs, had a Jack daniels on the rocks, watched the Yankees on TV and then quietly died in his sleep. so who knows? All I do know for sure was that he was a great dad, raised 2 daughters and 2 sons as a widower, served his country honorable during a time when his country would not even allow him to drink out of a fountain or attend a movie except on "Colored" nights yet still defended and believe in his home to the day he died.

So maybe we're not meant to understand, maybe we're just meant to participate.

As always, winging my prayers your way.

You write so lovingly about your dad. It makes me wish I could have met him. I'm glad you were able to have such a great relationship with him. I think he was pretty lucky too to have such a great daughter!

Update on baby Tessa

Their is a good possibility mom and baby will be home today. Ultrasound left a good impression on DRs. and they are just wanting to monitor her feedings for awhile longer. Tammy says she hopes for some news by mid morning. Marshall got in from Korea about midnight, took 5 mins. to run home, grabbed a blanket made by a very special groupie with Tessas name on it and ran to the hospital. Natalie was worried she didnt have a blanket to bring Tessa home in that she could call her own. Tammy told her no worries, and told her of how you folks have come through, once again.

I cant express enough gratitude to you of how you folks have touched our lives over the last week. Knowing you were praying and thinking of us in our time of need, that is powerful stuff, indeed!

So with all the heavy burdens I have instilled upon you folks the last few days, I will lighten the mood and in the immortal words of that famous Marine, Gomer Pyle, I will say, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!

Glad things are looking up and that Tessa's dad was able to get home! Thank you for keeping us up to date.

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . . . Groupies are the best . . . . . .

They are! And even better face to face.

If you can, make the meets at the Lodge (or Epcot O/L Wine Event, too). DW and I have had a wonderful time in meeting many of you and putting a face on those we interact with most days. Put aside your fears of meeting people from the "Internet".

Groupies are the best - really!

 

[eliza61]

They are! And even better face to face.

If you can, make the meets at the Lodge (or Epcot O/L Wine Event, too). DW and I have had a wonderful time in meeting many of you and putting a face on those we interact with most days. Put aside your fears of meeting people from the "Internet".

Groupies are the best - really!

That's my New Years resolution for 2011!! Get to a December meet.

I'm off to play in Canada, today. Heading out to Niagara Falls. This is our first time so should be fun.

Be safe and well Friends.

 

[jimmytammy]

They are! And even better face to face.

If you can, make the meets at the Lodge (or Epcot O/L Wine Event, too). DW and I have had a wonderful time in meeting many of you and putting a face on those we interact with most days. Put aside your fears of meeting people from the "Internet".

Groupies are the best - really!

I second that!!

I was the same way at our first DIS meet, but I found out quickly that many folks felt the same as us, and in the end, we are all just people, but with one common love, Disney. For us groupies, we have 3 things in common, Disney, DVC and groupies!!

 

[Muushka]

They are! And even better face to face.

If you can, make the meets at the Lodge (or Epcot O/L Wine Event, too). DW and I have had a wonderful time in meeting many of you and putting a face on those we interact with most days. Put aside your fears of meeting people from the "Internet".

Groupies are the best - really!

Not a O/L owner, but I have met John. He is a nice guy.
Hmmmm, I think I might make the meet at the lodge.

That's my New Years resolution for 2011!! Get to a December meet.

I'm off to play in Canada, today. Heading out to Niagara Falls. This is our first time so should be fun.

Be safe and well Friends.

Yay!! Eliza in Dec!!! Let us know when you are going, we need to meet!!!

I love Niagara Falls. I keep trying to get Mr Muush there, but so far no-go.
Have a wonderful time!

 

[stopher1]

Hello friends. So I have just a quick update on my FIL. After more tests, the biopsy that they did over the weekend ended up being done improperly so it had to be redone. SO... we are now waiting for the results once more.

Yesterday the docs did a Kyphoplasty (a procedure where they go in and inject medical cement to restore or repair the damaged vertebrae). From what my wife tells me from her conversation last night with her dad, his pain went from about a 9.5 to about a 5. From the conversation with her brother, he said the one vertebrae hadn't just been fractured, but shattered. They showed BIL the pictures, and it was pretty much gone. As he said, "the two squashed marshmallow shapes on either side were normal, the one in the middle looked more like a pile of dust". It wasn't just fractured, it had shattered.

They did get FIL up on his feet last night with a walker for some preliminary PT. He took 2 steps and then had to sit down again. They praised him for those steps, but to my brother in law verbalized some concern. They were going to be trying again today. That's all I know for now. At this point, though it can still change, DW is looking to fly out early next week to spend time with him.

 

[horselover]

Hello groupies I'm back! You have been a very chatty group while I've been gone.

Stopher - prayers going up for your FIL & your DW's family.

JT - so glad to hear you SIL & the baby are doing well. That's wonderful news.

So we had a good trip. We had mixed feelings about AKV Kidani. It has a lot of positives but definitely some negatives. On the plus side the rooms are gorgeous. Disney did everything right there. For details on a scale of 1-10 Kidani definitely gets a 10. The tile, carvings in the furniture, the sheers with Lion King characters on them, just perfect. Loved the extra bathroom for the boys & oh that master bathroom! I wanted to pick it up & move it to my house. We had a standard view so not much to note there. We had a view of the parking lot & the shuffleboard court area. I can't get over the size of the balconies there. They're huge! The room was spotless & was ready when we arrived at 11:30. We only used the bus once to Epcot. We waited less than 10 min. & it was waiting for us when we left Epcot so no complaints there.

On the negative side those hallways are ridiculous. So much worse than BWV IMHO. The pool is way too small for the size of the resort & it's in the parking lot basically. No counter service. A huge negative. They should have at the very least a grill at the pool like they do at BCV. Very limited options at the pool area. Bell services was not the best on transfer day. We called down, no answer & then were put on hold for a bit. I told DH to hang up & try again. Same thing. He was on hold for 10 min. with no answer. I finally called the front desk (even though I knew I wouldn't actually get the front desk). They put me on hold too! The CM came back & said she'd take care of it. Waited, waited, waited & we were trying to make rope drop at MK. No one came. After 45 min. I sent DH down to get the cart himself. When he got down there the CM said he was just on his way up. We waited another 15 min. after that for him to show up. I've never experienced that kind of wait for bell services before & it was on a Mon. It's not like it was a busy Sat. or Sun. Once they finally picked everything up the transfer over to SSR went fine.

Major complaint about AKV is no quiet pool. We get that the savannah takes up a lot of room, but what we have discovered about our family is we are quiet pool people. We don't need all the bells & whistles & crowds of the main feature pool. But I have to hand it to DH. He has proved himself to be a true groupie! While we were having dinner at the Poly DS10 & I were trying to figure out when we could go to the Lodge for a visit. DH said we should just go there & use the quiet pool. So that's what we did on Sat. afternoon. It was so nice. We had lunch at the Roarin' Fork & hung out in our "secret" spot in the main lobby. It was great.

Moved to SSR on Mon. Lots of problems with the room there. I really wanted to like that resort but I really didn't. The rugs were dingy, dead bugs in the hallways, broken drawer on the TV armoire, the mattress really needed to be replaced (higher in the middle than the sides), drawer in the master bathroom was so dirty I didn't even want to put my things in it & the pull out couch wasn't made up. I get the no housekeeping thing & I'm fine with that, but I don't want to make my own bed when I'm on vacation. If there's 4 people in the room they should know you'll be using the pullout & that bed should be ready to use. Then to top it off when we headed out on Tue. for the day I threw in a load of towels & whites so we'd have clean ones when we got back. Got back & they were still wet. Ran it again & still wet. The dryer didn't work! So now we have wet towels & no way to take showers. Back down to the lobby for the 2nd time with complaints. They assure me they'll send more towels & get maintenance there. I had another load of laundry I wanted to get done before we left on Wed. They did come with the towels, but we waited 2 hrs. & maintenance never showed up. We left the dryer open so we'd know if they'd come while we were gone for the night at MK. When we got back the pullout had been made up. Not sure why since I had obviously had to make it up myself the night before. The dryer door was closed but we don't know if the maid did that or if maintenance finally came. It was 11:30 by the time we got back & I wasn't about to do laundry then. So not the best experience at SSR. It's last on my list of DVCs at this point. I wouldn't stay there again unless I had no other option.

The summer nightastic fireworks were awesome! Got to see parts of the Electric parade but not all of it. It was really good. Hopefully DS12 & I will be able to catch the whole thing when we go in Oct. It was really hot but manageable if you drank lots of water & got inside a lot. The crowds were pretty big but as long as you got there early & used FPs it was ok.

We ended our trip yesterday with a leisurely breakfast at our favorite restaurant Kona Cafe & then hung out in the lobby of the Lodge until we had to go to the airport around 12:30. Not a bad way to end the trip.

Eliza & anyone else that's interested we did eat lunch at Via Napoli. It's very nice on the inside, open kitchen with brick ovens. There's a little explanation on the menu of how they bring in the well water from Naples to make the pizza. Having been to Italy & eaten many pizzas over there I can tell you that it is very authentic. Nice thin crust & mozzarella is made in house & was so fresh & delicious. The only negative is DS10 could not get gluten free pizza there. The only option they could offer him was GF pasta. He was very annoyed & swore to never go back! I felt bad for him because the rest of us were eating pizza & that's what he really wanted. DS12 & I will go back on our own when we're there in Oct. I would definitely give it a thumbs up!

So DH & I have decided from now on we don't want to stay anywhere else but the Lodge & BCV. Definitely 1 & 2 in our book. I hope my waitlist comes through for a few nights in Oct.

I'll post a couple pics later. Nothing you haven't seen before but any Lodge pic is a good pic!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

They are! And even better face to face.

If you can, make the meets at the Lodge (or Epcot O/L Wine Event, too). DW and I have had a wonderful time in meeting many of you and putting a face on those we interact with most days. Put aside your fears of meeting people from the "Internet".

Groupies are the best - really!

I agree! I really enjoyed being able to meet up with Stopher in June and I hope to be able to meet other groupies in the future!

So we had a good trip. We had mixed feelings about AKV Kidani. It has a lot of positives but definitely some negatives. On the plus side the rooms are gorgeous. Disney did everything right there. For details on a scale of 1-10 Kidani definitely gets a 10. The tile, carvings in the furniture, the sheers with Lion King characters on them, just perfect. Loved the extra bathroom for the boys & oh that master bathroom! I wanted to pick it up & move it to my house.

Oh I know how you feel about that room! I loved it! And I too would have loved to have taken the bathroom home with me! Sorry for the problems you had espcially at SSR. I have never stayed there.
Glad you enjoyed the fireworks. My DH really regrets now that he didn't go to see them when we were there.

 

[Dizny Dad]

Horselover - so sorry your SSR experience was so disappointing. Indeed, every resort has rooms ready for refurb. Sounds like that was the case in your tale of woes. Our first stay at VWL was in a room at the end of the hall that was made from leftover space! It was the smallest room on property we have ever had; and we had four adults in the room. But the Lodge called to us and the rest is history!

We have had such great luck at SSR and do enjoy the resort, although we have noticed a few worn carpets and AC that needed a little attention. We point out the conditions at the front desk that we feel needs reported and head to the rocking chairs (both at SSR & VWL)!

 

[DaveH]

horselover I am sorry for your experience at SSR. I have found it hit and miss also. As an owner at SSR, please send an email to members satisfaction team with the details. I have had bad and wonderful experiences at SSR with the management and the rooms. I am glad you had a good trip overall.

BYW we have 98 days until we arrive at WDW and 100 days until the cruises.

 

[horselover]

horselover I am sorry for your experience at SSR. I have found it hit and miss also. As an owner at SSR, please send an email to members satisfaction team with the details. I have had bad and wonderful experiences at SSR with the management and the rooms. I am glad you had a good trip overall.

BYW we have 98 days until we arrive at WDW and 100 days until the cruises.

I sent them an email last night & asked for someone to call me to discuss it.

Yeah for your countdowns!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

That's funny! After our AKV stay and BLT visit my DH only wants to stay at BWV and VWL! (He will try a stay at BCV though).

Hello groupies I'm back! You have been a very chatty group while I've been gone.

Stopher - prayers going up for your FIL & your DW's family.

JT - so glad to hear you SIL & the baby are doing well. That's wonderful news.

So we had a good trip. We had mixed feelings about AKV Kidani. It has a lot of positives but definitely some negatives. On the plus side the rooms are gorgeous. Disney did everything right there. For details on a scale of 1-10 Kidani definitely gets a 10. The tile, carvings in the furniture, the sheers with Lion King characters on them, just perfect. Loved the extra bathroom for the boys & oh that master bathroom! I wanted to pick it up & move it to my house. We had a standard view so not much to note there. We had a view of the parking lot & the shuffleboard court area. I can't get over the size of the balconies there. They're huge! The room was spotless & was ready when we arrived at 11:30. We only used the bus once to Epcot. We waited less than 10 min. & it was waiting for us when we left Epcot so no complaints there.

On the negative side those hallways are ridiculous. So much worse than BWV IMHO. The pool is way too small for the size of the resort & it's in the parking lot basically. No counter service. A huge negative. They should have at the very least a grill at the pool like they do at BCV. Very limited options at the pool area. Bell services was not the best on transfer day. We called down, no answer & then were put on hold for a bit. I told DH to hang up & try again. Same thing. He was on hold for 10 min. with no answer. I finally called the front desk (even though I knew I wouldn't actually get the front desk). They put me on hold too! The CM came back & said she'd take care of it. Waited, waited, waited & we were trying to make rope drop at MK. No one came. After 45 min. I sent DH down to get the cart himself. When he got down there the CM said he was just on his way up. We waited another 15 min. after that for him to show up. I've never experienced that kind of wait for bell services before & it was on a Mon. It's not like it was a busy Sat. or Sun. Once they finally picked everything up the transfer over to SSR went fine.

Major complaint about AKV is no quiet pool. We get that the savannah takes up a lot of room, but what we have discovered about our family is we are quiet pool people. We don't need all the bells & whistles & crowds of the main feature pool. But I have to hand it to DH. He has proved himself to be a true groupie! While we were having dinner at the Poly DS10 & I were trying to figure out when we could go to the Lodge for a visit. DH said we should just go there & use the quiet pool. So that's what we did on Sat. afternoon. It was so nice. We had lunch at the Roarin' Fork & hung out in our "secret" spot in the main lobby. It was great.

Moved to SSR on Mon. Lots of problems with the room there. I really wanted to like that resort but I really didn't. The rugs were dingy, dead bugs in the hallways, broken drawer on the TV armoire, the mattress really needed to be replaced (higher in the middle than the sides), drawer in the master bathroom was so dirty I didn't even want to put my things in it & the pull out couch wasn't made up. I get the no housekeeping thing & I'm fine with that, but I don't want to make my own bed when I'm on vacation. If there's 4 people in the room they should know you'll be using the pullout & that bed should be ready to use. Then to top it off when we headed out on Tue. for the day I threw in a load of towels & whites so we'd have clean ones when we got back. Got back & they were still wet. Ran it again & still wet. The dryer didn't work! So now we have wet towels & no way to take showers. Back down to the lobby for the 2nd time with complaints. They assure me they'll send more towels & get maintenance there. I had another load of laundry I wanted to get done before we left on Wed. They did come with the towels, but we waited 2 hrs. & maintenance never showed up. We left the dryer open so we'd know if they'd come while we were gone for the night at MK. When we got back the pullout had been made up. Not sure why since I had obviously had to make it up myself the night before. The dryer door was closed but we don't know if the maid did that or if maintenance finally came. It was 11:30 by the time we got back & I wasn't about to do laundry then. So not the best experience at SSR. It's last on my list of DVCs at this point. I wouldn't stay there again unless I had no other option.

The summer nightastic fireworks were awesome! Got to see parts of the Electric parade but not all of it. It was really good. Hopefully DS12 & I will be able to catch the whole thing when we go in Oct. It was really hot but manageable if you drank lots of water & got inside a lot. The crowds were pretty big but as long as you got there early & used FPs it was ok.

We ended our trip yesterday with a leisurely breakfast at our favorite restaurant Kona Cafe & then hung out in the lobby of the Lodge until we had to go to the airport around 12:30. Not a bad way to end the trip.

Eliza & anyone else that's interested we did eat lunch at Via Napoli. It's very nice on the inside, open kitchen with brick ovens. There's a little explanation on the menu of how they bring in the well water from Naples to make the pizza. Having been to Italy & eaten many pizzas over there I can tell you that it is very authentic. Nice thin crust & mozzarella is made in house & was so fresh & delicious. The only negative is DS10 could not get gluten free pizza there. The only option they could offer him was GF pasta. He was very annoyed & swore to never go back! I felt bad for him because the rest of us were eating pizza & that's what he really wanted. DS12 & I will go back on our own when we're there in Oct. I would definitely give it a thumbs up!

So DH & I have decided from now on we don't want to stay anywhere else but the Lodge & BCV. Definitely 1 & 2 in our book. I hope my waitlist comes through for a few nights in Oct.

I'll post a couple pics later. Nothing you haven't seen before but any Lodge pic is a good pic!

 

[blossomz]

Well, I'm finally returning to our beloved Lodge. My friend that is going with me in the WDW radio cruise in Feb agreed to spend a couple of days at the Loge after the cruise. She hasn't been to Disney in many years and has never been to the Lodge! So now it's a land Sea adventure! Cantbelieve they approved my leave for a whole week at school!

 

[jimmytammy]

Hey folks

Called MS yesterday to book BWV(our 2nd fav)and was able to buy one pt.for $15 to save us from borrowing. It was great because we are able use our pts to the max this way without borrowing into next year. Excited to be staying at BW again. No worries, VWL will always hold the #1 spot in our hearts, but BW has an appeal all its own.