VWL Groupies & Lovers Thread (Special Collectors Edition 2.0) updated 21 June 2023

[Corinne]

Lakegirl we have been flying JetBlue exclusively for years, but something has been offwith their fares the last few months! I usually stalk fares, but this has become a second job! Geez!

 

[Lakegirl]

Lakegirl we have been flying JetBlue exclusively for years, but something has been offwith their fares the last few months! I usually stalk fares, but this has become a second job! Geez!

Yes, not glad your having an issue but glad it’s not just me. So upsetting. I have a friend who is going to Bahamas in June and normally only books JetBlue as well but they had to book Delta this time as well.
166 days is my countdown. So excited!!! We are supposed to get a storm tonite. Thinking the kids will not have school tomorrow. We have been very lucky here in MA almost no snow this year.

 

[Corinne]

Lol lakegirl...I agree we have been lucky with the lack of snow this winter, but I’m still done with it!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It's a rainy Sunday morning here. As I was coming back in from taking our dog out I stopped and listened carefully. Floating out from the living room TV - Wilderness Lodge music! Ah - wish I was actually there.

(The movie Shane was just starting)

 

[sleepydog25]

Kinda, sorta live at VB. Weather has been lovely: 80s and mostly sunny. Have had some good food, met with friends, scouted the area. Pics will follow, but as usual with Disney (maddeningly so) the wi-fi here is lousy. CMs great. Room excellent. Wi-fi abysmal. We live in the rural mountains of southwest VA and have wa-a-a-y better wi-fi. We get 25m and could get even higher except that’s plenty fast for our needs. Disney should be embarrassed by their lack of quality connections and their overall IT. But, we aren’t at work at least!

 

[jimmytammy]

In for the night at Brunswick, GA. It's our go-to stop along I-95. Normally, we make the drive in about 6.5 to 7 hours, but today it took nearly an extra hour due to rain and traffic. Charlotte is a nightmare--it's never been fun to drive through there but today was extremely onerous, as were a couple of sections of I-77 and I-26 before and after Columbia, SC. Loads of stalled cars and/or accidents. Anyway, from here, Disney is about 3.5 hours, so it's a great place to stop, not only due to distance but also amenities, namely Starbucks a block down the street from our hotel. The trip to VB in the morning will be a little longer, but not by a lot, and we're hoping for better conditions. We'll check in periodically. Have a great weekend, Groupies!

After many miles logged on the road to FL and back(and a few air trips)we have finally decided to resolve to flying from now on. I love having our vehicle on property, love being able to go to the grocery/drug store when need arises, but the things you mention above are steering(no pun intended)us way from driving anymore. I can't see near as good as I could all those years before, especially at night, even worse when it rains. Our last trip down, the rain was so heavy that I seriously could not see the hood on our van. Our last few trips home have been especially harrowing, we have faced tornadoes in SC, rain on dark single lane road where the lines dissapear with the fellow behind us insisting on using using his brights, snow that was turning to ice quickly, a transfer about jackknifing in front of us avoiding a sports car who cut him off, and a camper who ran me off into the grass. Im done! I think the good Lord may be telling me its time to hit the air and stop taking chances. Im listening! Serious enough that as much as I despise flying, we got the TSA security pass to speed things up and makes life at the airport a bit less stressful

 

[Dizny Dad]

I have often said that when I retire, I see no need to fly anymore (unless DiznyDi needs her Aulani fix!) as I can drive everywhere I have left to go; as I've about had it with the "Terminal" experience. But reading both Sleepy and Jimmy's posts . . .Jeese Louise the road trip to WDW sounds like the wild west!

 

[ErinC]

Sleepy, glad to see you and Luv made it to VB. We checked into BWV yesterday. We are in a 1 bed standard facing the entry area. Views are not super important to me. I'd rather save points. Went spent some time a MK yesterday, and Epcot this morning. DH ended up not being able to come with us for most of the trip. Work is killing him right now. DD 22 just left to head back to St. Augustine a few minutes ago. So that just leaves me and Dd15 turning 16 on Wednesday all by ourselves until Thursday night when DD 19 and DH can get here. DD 15 is not feeling that great. Pretty sure it's just sinus yuck. I'm trying to convince her to let me take her to urgent care and get her a steroid shot, but she's not interested. She's my kid that isn't a huge Disney fan, so the next few days should be really fun! I'm sure it's every 16 year olds dream to spend their birthday with just their mother! BTW is 80 degrees here at the world today. I know the high Wednesday is in the 60's, but for now it's pretty warm.

 

[twokats]

Glad you are having good temps today. Right now even the 60's sound good. We were in the 20's this morning and I think are supposed to be back there for a while tomorrow and just get up into the 40's. Northeast Texas is not used to that kind of weather at this time of year. I really admire those of you that have been thru these temps as a normal. I am not handling this winter very well. Just glad the wet stuff seems to happen in the high 30's and above.

 

[rkstocke5609]

I'm discovering that if you want to fly to MN in the next couple of weeks there's very cheap fares on SWA. Must be to encourage everyone to go see their record Feb snowfall.

Well, all I can say is yuck! It has been horrible up here! And, to top it off I can’t get a flight out of here for anything REASONABLE. It is likely that we will have our first Spring Break in MN in forever. I had hoped to fly down and get a few days to use my AP’s before they expire and then drive over to Fort Myers and visit my dad but the numbers get higher everytime it snows more and stays cold. Dad even offered to pay to fly us down but I won’t even let him pay those outrageous figures! Ah well, supply & demand.....everybody wants the H*** out.

 

[rkstocke5609]

After many miles logged on the road to FL and back(and a few air trips)we have finally decided to resolve to flying from now on. I love having our vehicle on property, love being able to go to the grocery/drug store when need arises, but the things you mention above are steering(no pun intended)us way from driving anymore. I can't see near as good as I could all those years before, especially at night, even worse when it rains. Our last trip down, the rain was so heavy that I seriously could not see the hood on our van. Our last few trips home have been especially harrowing, we have faced tornadoes in SC, rain on dark single lane road where the lines dissapear with the fellow behind us insisting on using using his brights, snow that was turning to ice quickly, a transfer about jackknifing in front of us avoiding a sports car who cut him off, and a camper who ran me off into the grass. Im done! I think the good Lord may be telling me its time to hit the air and stop taking chances. Im listening! Serious enough that as much as I despise flying, we got the TSA security pass to speed things up and makes life at the airport a bit less stressful

Don’t worry, soon enough we’ll all be taking the train I’m sure...

 

[bobbiwoz]

Don’t worry, soon enough we’ll all be taking the train I’m sure...

We have given this serious thought.

 

[rkstocke5609]

And, the cutest darn thing I’ve seen in quite a while.....(saw one running down an apartment building hallway, had to share)...

https://goo.gl/images/Fcpg7w

 

[bobbiwoz]

And, the cutest darn thing I’ve seen in quite a while.....(saw one running down an apartment building hallway, had to share)...

https://goo.gl/images/Fcpg7w

You are right, that’s cute.

 

[Dizny Dad]

Don’t worry, soon enough we’ll all be taking the train I’m sure...

Easy now . . . .

 

[sleepydog25]

We are checked in to room 7112 of the Copper Creek studios! After the last three days of mostly terrible wi-fi, I have managed to get a connection that allows me to open the DIS--first time in a day and a half. A few quick thoughts regarding Disney's VB: a) the room was generously huge and overlooks the ocean. We requested high floor, ocean view and got 4th floor looking out over the beach, so an excellent start; b) resort is very laid back, perhaps a touch too much for our tastes. I can see how someone who wants to do little else but veg on the beach would like it; c) CMs very friendly, similar to those at HHI; d) not a fan of the late opening breakfast and QS--8 a.m. We're early risers, and nothing is open. That means the only coffee available other than the weak stuff in the room for most people like us is at the spa which runs out of coffee quickly. Fortunately, we brought our own coffee and coffee maker so we could brew strong, good java; e) work out room is well-equipped; f) is the loud party pool music everywhere now?; g) VB itself is a bit too spread out for our liking, and the road numbering system is just downright strange; h) Wind and Waves is solid restaurant; i) at the risk of whacking on a deceased equine, the wi-fi at Disney VB was atrocious the entire time; j) though there were signs everywhere about no see'ums, we no saw'em nor no felt'em; and finally, k) the Mickey bars were in at least one local Publix. Not realizing we didn't have a freezer in the compact fridge (unlike here at CC), Luv bought a box. We ate a couple, but then had no place to put them. So, we walked down to the pool and found a couple with a young son and handed them the remaining Mickey bars. Hopefully, it was one of those magical moments for them.

Back to WDW news, we drove through a cold front with rain on the way here, so we went from 70-72F at VB to 53F here at the World where it's overcast and dreary. Still, we're happy to be here. We boated to MK and walked on BTMR. The outdoor rides have shorter wait times than inside ones. As a comparison to our 14-minutes from getting in line to walking off the ride at BTMR, POTC had a 65 minute wait. Yikes! We shopped a little, watched the Dapper Dans, then came back to the Lodge and sat in front of the Inglenook Fireplace at VWL. We were there maybe 10 minutes when our text came through. Our room here at CC is lovely, though smaller than at VB. Our view is pretty as it overlooks the new pool and our beloved VWL with a small view of the lake. We had wanted a room overlooking the main pool and courtyard area--wrong side as those are odd numbered. Oh, well, it's still a topnotch view. We're going to chill with some wine, cheese, and crackers before heading over to AK for our 5 p.m. reservation at Tiffin's. We'll check in later.

 

[Corinne]

Wow, Sleepy, what a difference a few days make....it was “unseasonably “ warm last week at the world. Hope it warms up a bit for you, but I’m sure you’re just thrilled to be there!

 

[sleepydog25]

Yeah, Corinne, it's just nice to be here. Although unseasonably cool, it's not unbearable. We drove over to AK but our 4:25 Dinosaur FP was useless as the ride was either down, backed up, or both. The FP line started near the entrance to the Dinosaur attraction! We said no and simply ate earlier at Tiffin's. Very good meal, though our run of mediocre servers continued--it's been one of those trips. Still, we had a charcuterie board, lamb shank, and halibut, and each was excellently prepared: simple dishes but crafted well. We went back to Dinosaur, and they let us in late with our FP as the ride had righted itself. From there, it was FP time for EE, followed by A Bug's Life, and ending with a night time stroll through Pandora and an FP for FOP. Back to the room for a relatively early night (9:15) to rest up for tomorrow. The CC room is quite nice, though something they used to clean or paint smells a lot like cat pee near the elevators. They're working on one, so it might have something to do with that; however, the smell is quite strong there and noticeable throughout the hallway, though not in the room, thankfully. I'll check in later and maybe even post some pics.

 

[Lakegirl]

Sleepydog thanks so much for your trip reports. Love hearing all of it.

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . . . . is the loud party pool music everywhere now? . . . . . . . .

That was the biggest disappointment when they built Kidani Village; we knew they had "Cruise Ship Guy" spinnin' your favorite popular tunes as loud as physics would allow and blasting encouraging words for all to get up and dance at the main pool, but hoped that the Kidani Pool would be a quiet pool - NOPE. Then we had concerns about the new BRV pool being the new home of another "Cruise Ship Guy" that the ship left without . . . .

In the old days, there was nothing better than hitting the quiet pools when few were there and most attracted to the main pools with lots of noise and activities for the little mouseketeers. Ah , , the good 'ol days . . . .