Wisconsin/Minnesota DVC Owners

[IrishEye]

Greetings Duluth Saw those crazies on the news surfing on Lake Superior in below zero weather. Guess we would prefer Vero Beach to surfing Superior in January.

 

[Mom B]

Greetings Duluth Saw those crazies on the news surfing on Lake Superior in below zero weather. Guess we would prefer Vero Beach to surfing Superior in January.

Agreed! Yes, some of "us" do go to extremes up here. Not my thing for sure. Our grandson did do the Polar Plunge into Lake Superior in the winter a couple of times, but it was a fund raiser...and he's young and a little crazy. Another thing about Florida in January...living in Duluth for over 40 years now, it's impossible to find what my husband considers a GOOD fine dining restaurant up here. Much better options in WDW!

 

[MonaMN]

I am at my limit of winter… so ready to get out of here for spring break in a couple weeks, even if it looks like it will be extremely busy. But ugh… so done with snow and cold!

 

[vicarrieous]

I am at my limit of winter… so ready to get out of here for spring break in a couple weeks, even if it looks like it will be extremely busy. But ugh… so done with snow and cold!

I don't blame you. We went in January and it was good to get out of here, even though WDW was busy and it was still chilly there.

 

[IrishEye]

we are joining the get away on spring break crowd. will do 3 days at Boardwalk and then 4 night cruise, another due cold snap this week then just one additional week and then a full week away from the cold.

 

[elgerber]

No Orlando for me till July (yeah hot hot hot) but we did go to Phoenix last week where it was 80. This roller coaster of weather is just getting old.

 

[MonaMN]

Finally… heading to WDW tomorrow! Looks to be busy and a weather roller coaster (39 degree low temp), but it is still not here! Woo!

 

[elgerber]

Finally… heading to WDW tomorrow! Looks to be busy and a weather roller coaster (39 degree low temp), but it is still not here! Woo!

Considering I had -3 this morning with the next two mornings colder, sounds perfect to me!

 

[Doingitagain]

If you are parking at the Minneapolis airport terminal 1 in the next few weeks, it is very full. It has actually closed at times. I recommend pre-booking your parking…you save a couple dollars a day, your are guaranteed access even if closed, and you can cancel the day before (confirm 12 or 24 hours, I have seen both).

 

[Doingitagain]

I spent my morning volunteering in an information booth at the MSP airport and have a few notes to pass along.
1. Make sure you know which terminal you are going to. People generically say "airport" to Uber/Lyft and get dropped off at Terminal 1. There is a free light rail between the terminals, but most people don't leave time for that extra step. Here is a guide: Airlines | MSP Airport
2. Monitor parking. During Spring Break in particular, it can be crowded. Terminal 1 has even closed parking at times. You can prebook parking and get a discount on the rate and a guaranteed spot (even if parking is closed, you just scan the QR code). You can cancel prebooked parking with 12 hours or more notice. Link: Book your parking (mspairport.com)
3. If you are flying somewhere and plan to utilize the rapid test where you pay $$$ and get results in an hour, watch the hours. They currently don't open until noon on Saturdays and Sundays and many international flights leave before that.
4. Everyone 3 and older still needs to wear a mask in the terminal and on the plane.

 

[MonaMN]

And always be prepared for MCO to be a train wreck. Such a madhouse there!

 

[MonaMN]

It’s been quiet here… how are all the MN/WI folks doing?

We had a great time in March - first trip as DVCers at Copper Creek with good friends. It was busier than I would have liked but we had so much fun!

Next up: HOTHS cruise in late September on the Wish - we are super excited!

After that, we head to California - we were able to get VGC for spring break at Disneyland.

How is everyone else doing? Any highlights?

 

[vicarrieous]

It’s been quiet here… how are all the MN/WI folks doing?

We had a great time in March - first trip as DVCers at Copper Creek with good friends. It was busier than I would have liked but we had so much fun!

Next up: HOTHS cruise in late September on the Wish - we are super excited!

After that, we head to California - we were able to get VGC for spring break at Disneyland.

How is everyone else doing? Any highlights?

We were in WDW in Jan and had a nice time although struggled with the wet/cold weather and crowds. Thankfully we had 10 days which gave us time to take things slowly and relax.

July we headed out to Cali and lucked out getting 5 days at the Grand Cal in a studio and we spent 3 days in La Jolla. It was a lovely time. Congrats getting VGC! - It is so convenient and while its not our favorite resort, the location is hard to beat. Make sure to stop at the DVC office for your free gift.

We are working on our next WDW trip at Beach Club in January for 8 days. Two of my sisters and their husbands decided to come too. This will be our first trip down to WDW with extended family which should be fun.

My only complaint is flights. Prices are HIGH and they cut almost all the flights out of our local airport to connect in MSP which means we will probably end up driving the 2.5 hours to MSP to flight direct out of there. I loathe the drive in the winter, but it looks like we will be doing it again.

 

[elgerber]

We were in WDW in Jan and had a nice time although struggled with the wet/cold weather and crowds. Thankfully we had 10 days which gave us time to take things slowly and relax.

July we headed out to Cali and lucked out getting 5 days at the Grand Cal in a studio and we spent 3 days in La Jolla. It was a lovely time. Congrats getting VGC! - It is so convenient and while its not our favorite resort, the location is hard to beat. Make sure to stop at the DVC office for your free gift.

We are working on our next WDW trip at Beach Club in January for 8 days. Two of my sisters and their husbands decided to come too. This will be our first trip down to WDW with extended family which should be fun.

My only complaint is flights. Prices are HIGH and they cut almost all the flights out of our local airport to connect in MSP which means we will probably end up driving the 2.5 hours to MSP to flight direct out of there. I loathe the drive in the winter, but it looks like we will be doing it again.

We went in Mid July, a short 5 day trip with my adult son, and tested positive on day 3. So that trip was ruined :-(
Heading back in 13 days with dh and the neighbor and praying and crossing all our toes and fingers that we get to enjoy all 7 day of this trip. That is the last thing we have planned, I have no idea when we will make it back after this.

 

[IrishEye]

It’s been quiet here… how are all the MN/WI folks doing?

We had a great time in March - first trip as DVCers at Copper Creek with good friends. It was busier than I would have liked but we had so much fun!

Next up: HOTHS cruise in late September on the Wish - we are super excited!

After that, we head to California - we were able to get VGC for spring break at Disneyland.

How is everyone else doing? Any highlights?

We were down for Spring Break to Boardwalk and as always loved every minute. Will be headed down for Christmas followed by 4 nights on the Wish. Would love to know what you thought of the Wish, there have not been a whole lot of positive posts. This will be our 20th cruise on DCL with all but 3 on either the Wonder or the Magic, we love those ships. In January we are doing a Royal Caribbean cruise with friends to Aruba and are booked on the Magic for a Panama Canal Cruise in October. Almost forgot, we are doing our annual Food and Wine this November, have not missed it in the last 10 years, yes, even during COVID.

Summer seems to be winding down pretty quickly here so these mid winter breaks will be pretty important if we have a long winter.

 

[MonaMN]

I spent my morning volunteering in an information booth at the MSP airport and have a few notes to pass along.
1. Make sure you know which terminal you are going to. People generically say "airport" to Uber/Lyft and get dropped off at Terminal 1. There is a free light rail between the terminals, but most people don't leave time for that extra step. Here is a guide: Airlines | MSP Airport
2. Monitor parking. During Spring Break in particular, it can be crowded. Terminal 1 has even closed parking at times. You can prebook parking and get a discount on the rate and a guaranteed spot (even if parking is closed, you just scan the QR code). You can cancel prebooked parking with 12 hours or more notice. Link: Book your parking (mspairport.com)
3. If you are flying somewhere and plan to utilize the rapid test where you pay $$$ and get results in an hour, watch the hours. They currently don't open until noon on Saturdays and Sundays and many international flights leave before that.
4. Everyone 3 and older still needs to wear a mask in the terminal and on the plane.

I will report back on our experience on the Wish. We are going into it with an open mind, knowing that a lot of what they are going for is designed for the first time/land and sea combo cruisers. We're looking forward to the restaurants too (especially the Marvel experience). We have only been on the Dream and Fantasy - one day we'll get to the classic ships!

 

[MonaMN]

Hi, everyone! Thought I would check in here… we did not end up on the Wish (previous post) because our sailing was cancelled due to a hurricane at the end of September.

But we are heading to California on Friday for some Hollywood and Disneyland… staying at VGC for part of the time.

Here’s hoping the snow coming later this week doesn’t mess it up!

 

[elgerber]

Since my last post, dh and I went with our neighbor in Sept. I didn't get Covid that time, but the neighbor did. Dh got it a week after we got home. (I got it again on the way home from Tampa in January).
Dd and I are going to the BWV for a short trip in May, and I hope to go back solo at the end of August.

And can winter please just stop?!?!?! I see we were whining about last winter, up the thread, but this winter is something else!

 

[ookitarepanda]

Hi, everyone! Thought I would check in here… we did not end up on the Wish (previous post) because our sailing was cancelled due to a hurricane at the end of September.

But we are heading to California on Friday for some Hollywood and Disneyland… staying at VGC for part of the time.

Here’s hoping the snow coming later this week doesn’t mess it up!

OMG! We'll also be staying at VGC Friday through Sunday! Then off to Aulani

 

[MonaMN]

OMG! We'll also be staying at VGC Friday through Sunday! Then off to Aulani

I hope you had a lovely time! We enjoyed DLR, but we definitely missed some things about WDW. But Guardians: Mission Breakout was SO fun - we did it 5 times. And seeing the characters just roaming about it so much fun.

All in all, it was good to get away... now just to wait for the snow to melt here!