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

[tea pot]

Good Morning Groupies

Just dropped by to say HI Lots of family stuff going on... all good
I need to read back

But just wanted to say
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Inkmahm

 

[Muushka]

We were in a studio where I took the sofa picture. Room 1550.

Dang...might be worth staying in a studio to not have to look at that horrible couch in the 1 BR
(GRANNY )

 

[horselover]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY INKHAM!!!!


You couldn't be spending it in a better place. Hope you have a great day!

 

[twokats]

Hello to all!!

Happy Birthday Inkmahm. Hope you have a fantastic day!

We did the Backstage Magic Tour back in 2004. It was great! Our tourguide was a lady (don't remember her name). She was fantastic, plus her son was Peter Pan and he waved at all of us during the parade since his mom was with us!!

At the time of our tour, lunch was at the italian restaurant in Disney studio. Can't remember the name right now. It was good, but not my DH's favorite. He can live without pasta.

It was a long day, but so informative. Getting to see behind the scenes and how it all works to create the magic was awesome. We got to also see where they store the Christmas decorations for all the parks and lodges, plus the florist the tunnels, and Inkmahm is right the workings for the American show at Epcot was amazing in how it works.

The year we did the tour it was one of our major expenditures, but to us it was so worth it. Our daughter had just turned 17 so she was just old enough to go on it. She was mesmerized the whole time. The special pin they gave us at the end was great.

I think it is well worth it if you ever get the chance to do it.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Weather has been good here in Texas. We finally got some much needed rain last week.
It is just a little over 2 months til my trip. If I wasn't so tired I would be really excited. Hope to get a little rest before we go!

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Well BWVDreamin - we had 4 of us in the studio including DH, and DS14 twins and me. They don't do well sharing a bed so we brought our air bed. It worked ok for us--was just more crowded than before. Pre-DVC we always stayed in a Ft. Wilderness cabin. Since buying DVC, we have stayed at OKW in a 1BR for the 4 of us or 2BR for the 6 of us and OKW rooms are huge. Other than staying in the lodge just DH & me this was our first WL trip.

I'll post what I have of the studio. I didn't take many in the room. We had stayed the first night at Ft. Wilderness and DH checked us out and into VWL while the boys & I were at MK. So I didn't get pictures before the room got messy. So I took some on our last day after we mostly had moved out.

The room does include a little refrigerator, microwave, small sink, full size coffee pot, toaster, some plastic silverware and paper goods, some real drinking glasses and mugs, and I may be forgetting some other stuff. Not a great picture but this gives you the idea.

We did not request a location--never have with DVC and have always been happy with where we have been put. We were pretty far down a hallway on the first floor--the hallway that is the first to the left when you come in the back door to the villas. This was our patio and view from it.

looking left when standing on the patio

looking straight ahead

looking right

our patio

In addition to the patio, the thing that made the room workable for us is my DH claimed this as his room:

He spent most of his time that we were at the resort down there. Had to do a lot of work and that was a peaceful place to do it. He used the room when he needed internet and the rest of the time that room became "his" space. My 14 yr. old twin boys are competitive, opposite, and don't always get along. Usually the serious one is annoyed with the silly one. It is so much fun to annoy someone who gets upset so easily. I would think any one of my 4 kids would be fine in a studio with DH & me.

Here is a link to a studio floorplan and some info. Our room was flipped with the bathroom/beds on the left wall and the wet bar/tv etc on the right as you walk in.
http://dvcnews.com/index.php?Itemid=136&id=150&option=com_content&task=view

Hope this helps you. Wish I had more pics of the room for you.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Well BWVDreamin - we had 4 of us in the studio including DH, and DS14 twins and me. They don't do well sharing a bed so we brought our air bed. It worked ok for us--was just more crowded than before. Pre-DVC we always stayed in a Ft. Wilderness cabin. Since buying DVC, we have stayed at OKW in a 1BR for the 4 of us or 2BR for the 6 of us and OKW rooms are huge. Other than staying in the lodge just DH & me this was our first WL trip.

I'll post what I have of the studio. I didn't take many in the room. We had stayed the first night at Ft. Wilderness and DH checked us out and into VWL while the boys & I were at MK. So I didn't get pictures before the room got messy. So I took some on our last day after we mostly had moved out.

The room does include a little refrigerator, microwave, small sink, full size coffee pot, toaster, some plastic silverware and paper goods, some real drinking glasses and mugs, and I may be forgetting some other stuff. Not a great picture but this gives you the idea.

We did not request a location--never have with DVC and have always been happy with where we have been put. We were pretty far down a hallway on the first floor--the hallway that is the first to the left when you come in the back door to the villas. This was our patio and view from it.

looking left when standing on the patio

looking straight ahead

looking right

our patio

In addition to the patio, the thing that made the room workable for us is my DH claimed this as his room:

He spent most of his time that we were at the resort down there. Had to do a lot of work and that was a peaceful place to do it. He used the room when he needed internet and the rest of the time that room became "his" space. My 14 yr. old twin boys are competitive, opposite, and don't always get along. Usually the serious one is annoyed with the silly one. It is so much fun to annoy someone who gets upset so easily. I would think any one of my 4 kids would be fine in a studio with DH & me.

Here is a link to a studio floorplan and some info. Our room was flipped with the bathroom/beds on the left wall and the wet bar/tv etc on the right as you walk in.
http://dvcnews.com/index.php?Itemid=136&id=150&option=com_content&task=view

Hope this helps you. Wish I had more pics of the room for you.

Great pics! Seems very private.....was it? I think I may request this room...did you hear much noise from the unit above? Also, was it close to the elevators? Thanks Dory!

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

We never heard any noise from next door or above. It was not close to an elevator. If you come down the walkway from the lodge, enter the villas, go through the lobby and just before you exit the back door to go to the quiet pool our hallway was the one to the right and we were pretty far down that hall on the right. I guess we were on the side that further down has the dumpster view, but I didn't see or hear them. I think it is the rooms ending in 60 that have the dreaded dumpster view. We had the view you see pictured and it was very private at least the times we were outside we saw nobody. The opposite side of the hall from us would be the lake/quiet pool view. That would not be as private I guess. I have also heard if you request a specific room number and it is not available you may get something totally opposite. Maybe someone with more experience with room requests can make a suggestion. We were happy with it, but don't have anything else there to compare it to.

I found some better pictures on another site of our studio. Looks exactly how our room looked before my boys messed it up.

http://*********************/wdwphotos/dvc/vwl_studio.htm

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Don't ever ask me for directions. I had to edit my previous post to get left/right straight. Good grief! No wonder I get lost so much. I can't remember what I'm looking for half the time and I don't know right from left!

 

[tea pot]

HAPPY BELATED ST PATTY'S DAY GROUPIES It 's a legal holiday here in Boston...
Dory I LOve LOve LOve your pics and so glad you had a Magical time...

A beautiful day weatherwise! And we loved the Behind the Scenes Magic Tour. We took a bus to the various locations and then did some walking. Fernando was our guide- he's been with Disney since 1983 and knows quite a bit about it first hand. He told us all about the building of Epcot and the American building in particular. We got to see the mechanics behind the American show- amazing. There's no real floor to the stage, just a log of stuff that moves back and forth, up and down.

We also saw the main employee building where they get their cleaned uniforms and have lockers. There are rows and rows of uniforms. Also they test the carpet there because 5,000 people a day walk on it. If it holds up for the employees then it can get used on stage.

At Hollywood studios we went behind the scenes at Twilight Tower of Terror. They are adding more safety items to it including sensors in the seats so the your butt is back against the back rest, not forward in the seat so the seatbelt is too loose.

We also saw where costumes are designed and made, including costunes for the new MK parade. Very cool.

Lunch was at Whispering Canyon so we were also told some of the details of the WL construction.


At the MK we saw central shop which is a building 3 football fields long. They work on all of the various ride cars, etc. and make the anemitronics (sp?) . There was a section of carpenters doing a lot of wood working, too. Very interesting.

We went to the laundry facility and THAT was cool to see, too! Everything is so automated,they track each garment electronically. They all have bar codes so the computer knows where they are all the time.

The utilidors (the tunnel) is interesting to see, too. We saw it before on Keys to the Kingdom but it is always amazing.

The tour ended with us seeing the new parade at the MK, then busing it back to Epcot. I highly recommend the tour for all Disney Lovers. It made me want to BE a castmember.

I took this tour some years ago. I agree and was ready to sign up and still feel that way..
We saw most of the same things but ate a Mamma Melrose at DS and saw behind the scenes of Star Wars. Did you know that each car is on a platform and is moved up and down by 3 legs and that each car is watched on live video? CMs watch for fainting etc. as a safety measure. So smile the next time your on the ride... you are being watched. We also had a tour of one of the large buildings that holds all the Christmas decorations. WOW Unbelievable. Our guide also told us about the "Christmas groupies" that book their vacation on the days before the hotels are decorated and stay up all night for several nights watching the decorations go up around the world.. I think I would love to do that some day.

Take Care Groupies and Think Spring

 

[Inkmahm]

Inkmahm, that tour sounds like it would be a lot of fun. 2 questions: do you have to have admission to do it and how much does it cost? Thanks!

Is that sofa in the studios? Fingers crossed that it is in the 1 BR!

Oh, and..............

Happy Birthday Inkmahm!!!!

Thanks! You don't need admission for the tour and I think it was about $170 each after discount (15 or 20%, I don't remember which.) Fairly expensive but worth doing.

 

[Inkmahm]

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! I had a GREAT birthday!

We drove to the MK this morning for EMH but they only had two monorails running and only on the resort track, no express. It took until 8 am,the park opening, to actually get there! More than half an hour. Lucky there was no one in line at all at will call so I got my $75 gift card and my birthday button in no time. I got a tshirt at the Haunted Mansion and I have my eye on a couple new computer accessories I saw in the shops. A wireless mouse shaped like Mickey's hand and a Mickey mouse flash drive. Both are cute and will not surprise people I work with if I get them.

We used fast passes and even though MK was crowded, we did everything we wanted to today including Buzz three times and Thunder Mountain twice. Disney had everything open and all available cars running on each ride as far as I could tell. The park was supposed to close at 10 pm but they extended it to 11 pm and added a second SpectroMagic parade. I really liked the parade, very colorful. And I'm not normally a parade fan.

Dinner at California Grill was a surprise because the new chef is changing things there. It's the old chef from Jiko so you'd think he'd leave the flatbread appetizers alone but that would not be true. There is only sushi on the menu, no flatbreads to start with. I registered my complaint and the waitress said she thought they'd be coming back to the menu. I guess I am not the only one to complain. Both our dinners were good. No free birthday dessert this time but that's okay, I figure Disney gave me $75 already so I'm not complaining.

The weather is still great-warm and sunny. We had a mid-afternoon Dole pineapple float to cool down and rest a bit. That's one of my favorite MK treats.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

[We saw most of the same things but ate a Mamma Melrose at DS and saw behind the scenes of Star Wars. Did you know that each car is on a platform and is moved up and down by 3 legs and that each car is watched on live video? CMs watch for fainting etc. as a safety measure. So smile the next time your on the ride... you are being watched.

They must get a kick out of me - most of the time I ride this I sit with my eyes closed! Virtual rides and I don't always get along - give me a roller coaster anyday!

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks for the kind words from Ranger Stan, and thanks for mentioning us to him. I cant wait to see him in about 40 days!!

 

[blossomz]

Happy Birtday Inkmahm! Sounds like a great trip so far...If you see Ranger Stan tell him Blossom says hello too! We will be down in about 94 days!

 

[blossomz]

OK guys..I have a question and need groupie advice...

As you know, I am booked for our first cruise in June. Have any of you booked a cruise on points and if you have...did you purchase the trip insurance. It covers the points @ $5 each. They want $165.11. I was really thinking of doing it in case something were to happen to my mom who is in a nursing home, but they said that would be considered a preexisting condition. So now I am not sure it is worth it. What advice do you have guys?

 

[claire_ont]

Lately I have been wrestling with my husband as to whether or not we should pick up some VWL points as an add-on. We currently own at AKV and we love it there, but I am absolutely obsessed with the thought of spending Christmas at VWL. I have been trying to convince him to do a small add-on so we could bank and borrow and spend every third year there.
Here is where we currently stand. We both love the themeing at AKV, and I know VWL had the same architect and is also heavily themed. We love the peace and quiet of AKV, and VWL seems to also offer this. We like the idea of having more outdoor activities besides visiting the pool - a plus for VWL over AKV. We also like the less sprawling resorts and being in one building appeals to us. We do not like resorts that look like hotels.
Here are my issues:
1. We have never even visited VWL.
2. We tend to make one trip per school year, within 12 months of each other to maximize our annual passes - a March, December rotation seems to work well for us to fit in school vacations. Last trip Dec 2008, next trip March 2010 As well coming from Canada we like to get away from the snow. I have my heart set on VWL for Christmas 2010. I know the 11 month booking window will be critical for this so a visit March 2010 will be too late. I hate the thought of paying cash for a ressie or renting points, when I could be putting that money towards buying points.
3. I have this whole Disney Chip and Dale Christmas cartoon running through my head (yah, I know there will be no chipmunks running through the lobby...). Am I delusional or is Christmas at VWL really something special? We did enjoy AKV last Christmas just for comparison for those of you who have seen both.
As there seems to be a fairly large contingent on these boards that own at both AKV and VWL am I crazy to buy there without seeing anything other than pictures? If I love AKV, what will I also like about VWL?

 

[blossomz]

Well...we tend to be a bit fanatical when it comes to our Lodge! I am one of the people that own at both places and absolutely love them. VWL has a very special place in my heart and it truly feels like home when we stay there! I, for one, do not think you are crazy..but I am somebody who is never satisfied with the number of points I own! So I guess my advice is ...GO FOR IT!

 

[tea pot]

claire ont No you're not crazy..
We did this last August. We added on enought points for DH and I to spend about 5 nights in a studio every year or to bank our points and be able to get a 1 BR every other year... We can even bank and borrow our points to be able to book a 2 BR so that the whole family can stay.... If you Love Christmas and you Love Disney World ....It's the best place to be in December...... Last December we had the most most magical moment at the Lodge. It was after MVMCP... We took the boat back late after the second parade (which is a major perk when the mobs of people are waiting for the buses) We picked up a couple cups of cocoa and sat in the lobby in front of the beautiful tree, the fire was going and the lobby was empty and It was just a perfect moment..... We acctually stayed about a 1/2 an hour.. Just The Best
So if you can, I say DO IT..... you will not regret it...

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

What a wonderful Christmas WL magical moment tea pot.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[tea pot]

Good Evening Groupies

I'm so excited about our upcoming trip home on May 1st. and even though we will be staying at the BCV We plan on spending some time at our Beloved Lodge and hope to meet Ranger Stan. What day and time would be best to try to see him ? I think I remember something about a VWL tour. When do they offer this tour and is Ranger Stan the guide ?

Thanks for your help..

Thanks Dory