We're Baaaaack!! **The WLV's groupies & Trivia Thread chapter 3

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Well, this is it. The last minute packing is being done. Hope I don't forget anything. Looks like the weather is going to be great.:cool1: Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow. We're not leaving until afterward. I'm not going to be connected so the TR won't be until after we get back home. Hope it warms up for everyone.

Have a fabulous trip MickeyMorse.

Send some warm weather up North. I can't put on many more layers. :crazy2:
 
Well, this is it. The last minute packing is being done. Hope I don't forget anything. Looks like the weather is going to be great.:cool1: Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow. We're not leaving until afterward. I'm not going to be connected so the TR won't be until after we get back home. Hope it warms up for everyone.

Oh the excitement builds! ::yes:: Only 1 more sleep! :cheer2: Enjoy!
 
OK Groupies, I need help....
My computer recently crashed:sad: ...and no, I didn't have anything backed up. I've lost my Mickey vacation countdown for my desktop. :scared1: You know, the one with Mickey seated at his desk looking through his vacation scrapbook. The bottom had the countdown along with a desktop link to Member Services. I've written to MS only to be advised that the current widgets are the only one available. Does anyone remember this one? Are you willing to share? Or is it gone forever never to be seen again?
Hoping for some pixiedust:
Di
 
Sorry about your computer DiznyDi. Unfortunately I only have the latest version from MS.
Thanks for the trip well wishes and I will try my best to send some warmth northward.::yes::
 

Sorry Diz, I don't have it either.

Happy trails to all Groupies traveling to and fro!:goodvibes
 
I guess you've all heard about the 2010 point reallocation. What do you think about how VWL has been affected?
 
Darn Ransom I wish I had waited to do my search once again on the DVC website! I did finally find them on another website. But had I waited 1 more minute, I could have just looked at your info!

Hmmmm. Very interesting....26 points for what used to be 22. No, I am not happy at all. What in the world are they thinking?
 
silly me, I looked at GCV by mistake in case anyone saw my post before I destroyed the evidence!
 
I guess you've all heard about the 2010 point reallocation. What do you think about how VWL has been affected?

We generally stay 8 - 12 days at a time. Our May 2009 trip; 8 days in a 1 bdrm is 308 pts. The same trip in 2010 is 301 points - going down 7 points.

Our December 2009 trip to VWL; 5 nights in a studio is 80 points. The same trip in 2010 is 79 points. Again, going down 1 point.

I guess because we stay over the Friday - Saturday nights that we'll not see any drastic changes. Our biggest (points) savings had come from staying in a studio Friday/Saturday and moving into the 1 bdrm on Sunday. Maybe now it won't be worth the hassle of moving. We'll have to wait and see.
 
My one bedroom in early Dec for 6 days (incl F and Sa) goes from 178 each year to 180. Still works for us because we happen to own exactly 180 points.
It's the only one of my "standard" trips to increase in points though. Our spring trips to AKV will be 202 instead of 208 points and our fall trips to BWV will be 134 instead of 142. For the year, I'm ahead 12 points. But I don't like the incease at VWL. Seems they caught on that it is popular in December.
 
For our standard trips, it'll cost us about 1 more point for the thirteen nights.

When our trips run into Christmas day due to the way the month falls, we'll save 8 points if I recall correctly.

So, overall, it's a wash for us and not a big deal at all.
 
Well I'm back. Sorry to leave you hanging on that last trip check-in. It was a very hectic trip & I just didn't have time to get back on the computer.

Warning this is long so feel free to skip over. Once I start writing things are never brief! We had some good times & some bad times, but overall the trip was good. Definitely have learned a few lessons for things I won't do again. First being I will never connect through NYC again. I hate those airports. Nothing but delays & not a single good samaritan. :mad: Our flight from Boston was a little late so by the time we got to the gate it was too late to do pre-boarding. I wore my sling per my doctor's instructions to protect my shoulder from getting bumped & bruised. By the time we got on the plane it was jam packed. Not one single person offered to help me get my bag into the overhead bin, not even the stewardesses! So much for the kindness of strangers.

We arrived at VWL around 9:00 p.m. & here comes to the 2nd thing I wouldn't do again. No more night arrivals. By the time we got settled in the room & had our luggage delivered it was 10:00. It was a terrible waste of pts. I had requested a pool view, but got a 1st floor bus stop view. Oh well not a big deal since we have to move in the morning to WL anyway. Sunday comes & we call down to bell services (who were fantastic btw) to hold our luggage for the day. We head out to DHS for the day. Crowds were big! Lots of tour groups from Brazil & I guess extra people because of the holiday weekend. We arrive at TSM at 9:15 & wait in line 15 min. just to get fast passes. The stand-by line was already 45 min. FPs are for 12-1 so we head off to Jedi Training camp, Star Tours (terrible for the shoulder!), Indiana Jones & then lunch. Back to TSM which was lots of fun. Stopped at guest relations to upgrade my 7 day PH tix I bought from undercover tourist to APs. Shame on me for not having the prices in front of me because I was overcharged by more than $100! :mad: I knew the price he gave me for the credit didn't sound right, but I didn't have proof at the time. More on that later. We head back to WL to check-in there.

Room was ready at 2:00. I had booked a standard view, but we got an awesome upgrade. Bunk bed room with a fantastic view of the woods & VWL pool! :woohoo: The kiddos were thrilled to get the bunks again, but it was looooong walk from the elevator to the room. Surprise, surprise it was warm enough to use the pool so we headed down for a bit. Hot tub was great for the shoulder! We had a great dinner at Kona then hit the MK for a bit. We didn't even make it to the 11:00 closing. Kiddos were pooped so back to WL for us.

Mon. we pack up & check out again and this brings we to the last thing I wouldn't do again. Way to much checking in & checking out. I spent a fortune tipping bell services! I know it doesn't bother some people but it was just too much for us. Had a really nice breakfast at Kona Cafe (yes I love this place). DS8 has Celiac Disease which is part of the reason we love Disney so much. Everywhere we eat the chef comes to the table & talks to him about what he wants & likes. It a relief not having to worry about him getting gluten contamination because the kitchen doesn't understand what we're talking about. Anyway I had hoped to spend this day hanging out, but my niece hadn't been to the World since 2nd grade so she wanted to see everything. Off to AK we go. Really crowded! This park always seems to be the most crowded lately. We did the safari, a little shopping & that was about it because I had made her a spa appointment at GF for 3:00.

We check back in to VWL & are told they have a pool view 3rd floor room for us! Woo hoo or so I thought. My niece heads off to GF & the boys & I head to the room. The 1st thing I think when I open the door is wow it really smells like air freshener in here. We go in & I'm thinking I smell something, but I'm not 100% sure so I go out on the balcony & come back in. Sure enough I still smell it under all the spray smell & it's really bad when I go into the bedroom/bathroom area. It was clear someone had been extremely sick in the room & they had tried to cover it up with air freshener. Now it's probably hard to tell from the TR but I'm really not much of a complainer when it comes to travelling. I have never requested to change a room, but there's no way I can sleep in a room that smells like _____ (I'll let you fill in the blank). We go back to the desk & I tell them the situation & ask for another room. CM goes in the back for about 5 min. comes back & says the head of housekeeping will meet us at the room to try & resolve the situation. So obviously you have no other rooms available I say & he confirms that. :crazy2: I'm not a happy camper at this point.

To be continued in next post before I run out of room. Pics to come I promise!
 
Back to the room we go at which point my niece arrives back from her appt. I ask her to go in & check if she smells it too thinking maybe it's just me. It wasn't. Housekeeping arrives with another woman. I'm not sure who she was, possibly the manager. They come in look around. The manager apologizes & I hear her say to HK mgr. it smells stronger in the bedroom area. When I ask the HK mgr. if she smells it too or is it just me she says I don't smell anything I think it's just the smell of the wood. Sorry I'm not buying that. We had just been in a 1st floor room & it didn't smell like that. They say they'll clean all the carpets & clean the room again, but that's all they can do. They tell us to leave for 1 1/2 hrs. :headache: I'm not happy about it, but since it appears we have no other option off we go. When we get back it has a heavy perfume smell (not great for DS10's allergies) but does smell better. A little lingering odor in the bedroom, but we have no choice but to live with it. I was disappointed however that they never checked back in with us to see if things were ok. I would have thought they'd at least call or something. I'm cranky & the kids are tired so we stay in & my niece heads off to DTD by herself. I decide to take a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub to soothe my nerves. I start filling it add a squirt of bubble bath see that's it's not making that many bubble so I add another squirt. Ok starting to look good I get in & turn on the jets. The tub exploded with bubbles! When I laid back they enveloped my entire head & started to come up over the edge of the tub. It was hysterical. Definitely lightened the mood.

Tue. brings Epcot. Again very crowded & cold now. We had a fabulous lunch at Le Cellier. They somehow screwed up our reservation after we checked in from up top to down below inside the restaurant. We ended up waiting 40 min. for a 12:30 reservation, but once we were seated the meal was great. Got my strawberry tart from the french bakery. Hit Soarin' on the way out. I drop everyone off at VWL & head over to GF spa for my own facial. If you've never been & want to splurge it was fantastic. DS8 decided he wanted a bath in the giant tub while I was gone. He tells me "I'm not going to make the same mistake you did." Ha! :laughing: What do you think happened? The same thing only worse. My niece took a pic. of him on her camera. All you can see is his face. No hair, eyes, body, nothing. It was very comical. Tue. night brings packing to head home. Just as we were starting to relax & be settled. I took my strawberry tart down to the VWL lobby fireplace on the last night & just chilled for a bit. Very nice.

Wed. was freezing cold! We had all day to spend since our flight wasn't until 7:00 p.m. Packed the car & decided we'd take the bus to MK. Major problems with bus service to MK. We took it back on Sun. night & waited a long time for one. Wed. morning we waited 25 min. for it & it never came. 2-3 buses came for every other destination while we were waiting. Lots of angry peeps at the bus stop. We finally gave up & decided to just freeze on the boat. Jumped on the 1st one we saw to the Contemporary. Don't you know just as we were pulling away the MK enclosed direct boat pulled up. Sigh. Then we had to take the monorail all the way around. We wasted over an hour getting to MK. Went to guest relations to get my AP ticket problem fixed. The CM I got this time was very helpful & apologetic. I admitted the other CM screwed up & refunded me the difference. He gave us 2 priority admittance passes for the rides of our choice, but we only used one. The crowds were finally gone now that we were leaving.

We made a mad dash to the airport because we lingered too long. Got lost returning the car, took the wrong tram to the gates. Got to the gate 20 min. before our scheduled departure.

So ends our 1st trip home to VWL. Some aspects were a little disappointing, but I still love the Lodge. I didn't come home rested though. I'm already thinking about how to plan a trip to AKV in June. No parks next time just pool, Typhoon Lagoon & rest.

Thanks for reading my saga. Pics in the next post!
 
View from our balcony
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I have a few more, but just realized they didn't upload to photobucket. More to come later.
 
This is my first post to the VWL Groupies thread. I just wanted to say hi to all of you. We just purchased an add on contract there. We have never been but from the pictures it just looks beautiful and to hear everyone chat about it makes me want to go now!! We can't wait to plan our first trip.
 
Hey!! Welcome home! Make sure you get yourself a signature moosie!! We love new groupies 'round here! ::yes::
 
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