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

Did everyone see that Flights of Wonder will have it's last show Dec 31st? I had heard some rumors it was coming to an end and am very happy we were able to catch the show again a couple weeks ago. It's the one show we tended to see most every time we were at AK.

A couple photos from over the years:

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And the comedic relief. This picture was from 2010 and up until a couple of years ago we regularly experienced this Bwaaaaannnnaaa Joe at the show. We speculated over if he had left or if we just missed his shows.
Then 2 weeks ago he was back! It was nice to see him again.

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It sounds like the new show will also be focused on birds but instead of Bwana Joe we will have Russell and Dug from UP.
 
And since I'm in my photo hosting there were a couple more pictures that were too large for me to upload directly while on our trip:

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This one is no where near as awesome as the one @horselover shared on facebook - that was great! But here is what I took.....

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What's lurking in the trees?

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Good old ToT picture:

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It doesn't look so scary from the outside!

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And a last shot of the Castle:

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Hey, we just got an email saying the Copper Creek springs pool is going to be closed during our stay. Our dates are Feb 22-26Th. Anyone know further details? I am a tad annoyed since ive been waiting 20 years for the chance to stay here.

Such a disappointment when that happens! :( Wouldn't think there is much to be done as the pool just opened.

The main pool is Copper Creek now as the name was changed from Silver Springs. The new pool is Boulder Ridge. BTW, they also renamed the falls to Copper Creek Falls.

I can't imagine that the whole resort will fit at Boulder Ridge though.
 
The main pool is Copper Creek now as the name was changed from Silver Springs. The new pool is Boulder Ridge. BTW, they also renamed the falls to Copper Creek Falls.

I can't imagine that the whole resort will fit at Boulder Ridge though.

Yeah - it's the original pool that's going to be closed. I am just wondering if it will actually be closed our whole stay. There doing some pool work across the various resorts, and a lot of them are pretty short.

I decided to call Disney and see what I could find out. It took them a good 20 minutes to track down the information.
The rehab is listed as going from February 12th to 23rd. Since we are there 22nd to 26th, at least we still get to enjoy it for a portion of our stay.
 


Another day, another Groupie meet...or actually two meets!

We started off the morning with a small gathering of myself, @DVC Jen & DH, and @Corinne & DH. A very nice gathering. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture until Corinne had already left, so we'll do with a picture of DVC Jen and her husband in front of the fireplace in the Iron Spike room.

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After the first seating had departed, in came the second seating for the meet:

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This good looking group

Standing, left to right: JimmyTammy DS, Jimmy, Granny, MiaSRN62 DS, MiaSRN62 DH, @MiaSRN62

Sitting, left to right: Tammy, Starwind's friend, @Starwind


As always, good fun was had by all. :)
Just walked in the door from our 2 week vacation (1 week Fantasy cruise and then WDW). Love the photo Granny and so glad we were all able to capture some time to catch up with each other. Merry Christmas everyone! I'm off to unpack....work in the morning....back to reality! Boy ....it sure was TOO COLD for Florida. I missed my flip flops and shorts! I had to run to Walgreens to buy a scarf!!! Hope every one is either still enjoying the World or safely back home.
 
The main pool is Copper Creek now as the name was changed from Silver Springs. The new pool is Boulder Ridge. BTW, they also renamed the falls to Copper Creek Falls.

I can't imagine that the whole resort will fit at Boulder Ridge though.

I keep getting the names mixed up. For me it seems like the pool that was redone because of Copper Creek should have been given that name and the main pool should have stayed the same. Maybe some day it will stick.
 
Did everyone see that Flights of Wonder will have it's last show Dec 31st? I had heard some rumors it was coming to an end and am very happy we were able to catch the show again a couple weeks ago. It's the one show we tended to see most every time we were at AK.

A couple photos from over the years:

p403811160-4.jpg


p863463750-4.jpg


p789083627-4.jpg


And the comedic relief. This picture was from 2010 and up until a couple of years ago we regularly experienced this Bwaaaaannnnaaa Joe at the show. We speculated over if he had left or if we just missed his shows.
Then 2 weeks ago he was back! It was nice to see him again.

p703670246-4.jpg


p734138011-4.jpg


It sounds like the new show will also be focused on birds but instead of Bwana Joe we will have Russell and Dug from UP.

Totally Bummed about this. We love that show!
 


The main pool is Copper Creek now as the name was changed from Silver Springs. The new pool is Boulder Ridge. BTW, they also renamed the falls to Copper Creek Falls.

I can't imagine that the whole resort will fit at Boulder Ridge though.

The footprint for the new pool (Boulder Ridge) is pretty close to the same size as the main pool (Copper Creek). And I'm thinking that in February, it will be plenty of room for anyone who wants to swim. We have seen only one or two people in the pool at a time during these past four days since the temperature dipped into the 60's during the day.

I don't think shutting down one of the pools will cause much of a crowding issue. The only issue is that there is no slide at the BR pool, but again I can't see it being much fun to get in and out of the pool a lot during February.
 
Got home last night around 6:30 and had a nice,:D uneventful drive the kind I like! Now back to work and get ready for March at BLT.
 
I don't think shutting down one of the pools will cause much of a crowding issue. The only issue is that there is no slide at the BR pool, but again I can't see it being much fun to get in and out of the pool a lot during February.

We were in Florida during that period in 2017 as well. Several days were in the low eighties. I remember sweating so much and thinking how much I would hate living there if it's THAT hot in February. (I don't like the heat.) It got cool at night, but several very warm days - so I think it will depend, but it could be pretty warm.
 
We were in Florida during that period in 2017 as well. Several days were in the low eighties. I remember sweating so much and thinking how much I would hate living there if it's THAT hot in February. (I don't like the heat.) It got cool at night, but several very warm days - so I think it will depend, but it could be pretty warm.

Good point. I guess I'm looking at what is going on this week, and it has been quite cool while we've been here. But yes, you could run into a run of warmer days like you did. I think it is pretty hit or miss. Best wishes to you and your family for a great vacation here in a couple of months! :)
 
We were in Florida during that period in 2017 as well. Several days were in the low eighties. I remember sweating so much and thinking how much I would hate living there if it's THAT hot in February. (I don't like the heat.) It got cool at night, but several very warm days - so I think it will depend, but it could be pretty warm.

We've also had some warm day during February stays. And some COLD ones too!
 
Did any groupies get over to AK yesterday or maybe going today to see the Tiger cubs that just got out on the Maharajah Jungle Trek? Love those baby animals! I'm sure they'll be quite big by the time we're back in April.
 
Returned home at a lovely 1:45 am last night to a freezing 22 degree weather. (Several flight delays. What a long day!) My trunk was frozen shut! LOL.
Was wonderful seeing the holiday decor and soaking up the resort atmosphere. Loved meeting up with my first groupie couple at TOTWL.

Although my family and I were staying in Kidani this trip I did make 2 visits to the lodge. Okay, I have to admit that VWL feels more like my home than Kidani does, as much as I love it there. :D Anyone want to swap contracts? Nah, didn't' think I'd get any takers.

The DVC Moonlight Magic night in EPCOT was excellent. It had the vibe of the old Extra Magic Hours, with smaller number of people and everyone seemed to be happy! This is an important point to note as I will detail out further below. I personally only walked from the showcase into future world, attempted unsuccessfully to swim upstream to grab a cup of warm-me-up coffee from the electric umbrella, then resigned to walking into Sunshine seasons which is laid out perfectly for such things. My kids rode Soarin' and TT. I warmed my heart up with a touch of imagination and a pin from the night. Finished it out watching Goofy, Daisy and Pluto dance and ham it up at the Dance party by the fountain while camped out under the warmth of a portable heater by my side.

Now a touch of criticism: I do wish I had stuck to only visiting the resorts this trip.

I am saddened by the attitude and behavior of many of the Disney guests in the parks and on the buses this year. The fighting and rude words seemed to be all over. Most of it seemed to be related to long waits for over-packed buses, but I witnessed far too many issues in the parks too. Really broke my heart. I will try to figure out a way to convey my concerns to Disney without it sounding like I'm looking for anything in return. All I want is for everyone to enjoy the environment and they have to work to fix the problem areas.
 
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We have done both the delivery and also just buying from the mercantile store in the lobby. At this point, DVC members get a 20% discount on purchases at the store so we just bought our items there. There is less selection than other grocery ordering options, but we found what we needed. And the thing about grocery service deliveries is that you have to be around to accept the deliveries. So that doesn't appeal much to us.

The prices at the Mercantile are pretty much Disney prices...high but after you knock it down 20% not too bad. For instance, we bought a pint of half & half for $1.89 after discount which to me is not excessive.

Actually, both Garden Grocer and Amazon Prime Now will leave your order with Bell Services; you don't need to be there. Our GG order was delivered before we even arrived at the resort. Also, nether incurs the $5 per package charge that other types of deliveries do.

We compared prices from GG, Prime Now, Instacart (almost alwways the most expensive option), and used the VWL DVC member's grocery order sheet as a guide for the merchantile prices [pretty close, FYI, we compared once we got there].

We did a mix of GG, Prime Now, and the Merchantile. Part of the issue for us is having food allergies that mean we can only have certain brands and specialty items.

For the most part though, if you are only wanting a few things and the merchantile brands/options are suitable, the convenience factor can well outweigh any extra cost, if there is any. And as Granny noted, the DVC discount can go a long way towards any extra cost.

SW
 
This one is no where near as awesome as the one @horselover shared on facebook - that was great! But here is what I took.....

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Awww thank you Kathy! I love all your photos & this one is really good too.


Returned home at a lovely 1:45 am last night to a freezing 22 degree weather. (Several flight delays. What a long day!) My trunk was frozen shut! LOL.
Was wonderful seeing the holiday decor and soaking up the resort atmosphere. Loved meeting up with my first groupie couple at TOTWL.

Although my family and I were staying in Kidani this trip I did make 2 visits to the lodge. Okay, I have to admit that VWL feels more like my home than Kidani does, as much as I love it there. :D Anyone want to swap contracts? Nah, didn't' think I'd get any takers.

The DVC Moonlight Magic night in EPCOT was excellent. It had the vibe of the old Extra Magic Hours, with smaller number of people and everyone seemed to be happy! This is an important point to note as I will detail out further below. I personally only walked from the showcase into future world, attempted unsuccessfully to swim upstream to grab a cup of warm-me-up coffee from the electric umbrella, then resigned to walking into Sunshine seasons which is laid out perfectly for such things. My kids rode Soarin' and TT. I warmed my heart up with a touch of imagination and a pin from the night. Finished it out watching Goofy, Daisy and Pluto dance and ham it up at the Dance party by the fountain from the warmth of a portable heater overhead.

Now a touch of criticism: I do wish I had stuck to only visiting the resorts this trip.

I am saddened by the attitude and behavior of many of the Disney guests in the parks and on the buses this year. The fighting and rude words seemed to be all over. Most of it seemed to be related to long waits for over-packed buses, but I witnessed far too many issues in the parks too. Really broke my heart. I will try to figure out a way to convey my concerns to Disney without it sounding like I'm looking for anything in return. All I want is for everyone to enjoy the environment and they have to work to fix the problem areas.

Thanks for the MM review. I bailed very early. I froze to death the night before at MVMCP & I just couldn't do another night in the cold. I did step into SS & I couldn't believe the people in there! It was just free hot dogs. Not like they were giving out free money. I couldn't find my friends from the other board so I left to go watch the Patriots lose from the Crews Cup lounge. I did have a brief but awesome run in with @jimmytammy at Via Napoli though. Always great to have groupie meets. Meet up with @MiaSRN62 at TOWL Sat. night too. OMG I've never seen so many people in there! So glad she found me because my group was lucky enough to score some seats in the alcove area & I never would have seen here. Hope to see you in Feb/March @MiaSRN62! Maybe we can try for tea at GF again.

Here's my shot @KAT4DISNEY mentioned. As I said on FB my fireworks shots always come out crappy so this was a very pleasant surprise. Might be one of my best every Disney pics.

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And here's my brush with fame shot. I look like such a doofus! :laughing: It's a great picture though. Looks like we've been friends for years! :rotfl: I loved the Kurt Russell event. He was very nice. Talked a bit about his early Disney days. Talked a lot about his vineyard which I loved (you would have enjoyed it as much as me I think @sleepydog25). He is super passionate about wine & I love that.

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Overall the trip was good but cold & much more crowded than I was anticipating. Headed back in two weeks. :faint:
 
[QUOTE="horselover, post: 58571590, member: 178992"

And here's my brush with fame shot. I look like such a doofus! :laughing: It's a great picture though. Looks like we've been friends for years! :rotfl: I loved the Kurt Russell event. He was very nice. Talked a bit about his early Disney days. Talked a lot about his vineyard which I loved (you would have enjoyed it as much as me I think @sleepydog25). He is super passionate about wine & I love that.

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[/QUOTE] Great shot, horsey! That event would have been very cool to attend! Mix together a celebrity with some wine knowledge and expertise, and I'm there!
 
We are back home (that reality world one :sad2: ) after our 8 night stay at our VWL home. A good trip highlighted by meeting up with so many Groupies! :thumbsup2

We enjoyed Candlelight Processional our last night (as is our tradition) and Warwick Davis did a wonderful job as narrator. He was into the music, and his readings were very moving. He said at one point "This [CP] is the highlight of my professional career....and I've been in Star Wars!". He then proceeded to suggest that maybe the candles should be replaced by light sabers. He was funny, but also very moving with his narration and comments. We'd put him up towards the top of our favorite narrators ever.



Just walked in the door from our 2 week vacation (1 week Fantasy cruise and then WDW). Love the photo Granny and so glad we were all able to capture some time to catch up with each other. Merry Christmas everyone! I'm off to unpack....work in the morning....back to reality! Boy ....it sure was TOO COLD for Florida. I missed my flip flops and shorts! I had to run to Walgreens to buy a scarf!!! Hope every one is either still enjoying the World or safely back home.


Maria...it was so great seeing you again, and getting to spend a little more time together this time! It was a cold run of days at WDW, wasn't it?

Got home last night around 6:30 and had a nice,:D uneventful drive the kind I like! Now back to work and get ready for March at BLT.

Jimmy...awesome seeing you and the family again, especially your latest Disney fanatic to join the group!

Thanks for the MM review. I bailed very early. I froze to death the night before at MVMCP & I just couldn't do another night in the cold.

Julie...sorry to miss you this trip. We bailed on you and @Corinne for the Moonlight Magic too, as you know. Just kind of worn out, and way too cold. Also, doing it at EPCOT didn't do much for us since they pretty much closed down World Showcase during the party.


And here's my brush with fame shot. I look like such a doofus! :laughing: It's a great picture though. Looks like we've been friends for years! :rotfl: I loved the Kurt Russell event. He was very nice. Talked a bit about his early Disney days. Talked a lot about his vineyard which I loved (you would have enjoyed it as much as me I think @sleepydog25). He is super passionate about wine & I love that.

Great picture, and it sounds like a great time! I'll be that Kurt Russell is now proudly telling his friends about getting his picture taken with the famous horselover!


Overall the trip was good but cold & much more crowded than I was anticipating.

We agree...we were amazed by the crowds we ran into during this trip. On one day in Magic Kingdom, there was a 30+ minute wait for Haunted Mansion in the Fast Pass line which wound all the way back out into Liberty Square! I don't ever remember early December being so crowded. Standby lines were over an hour for many attractions.
 

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