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

[Dizny Dad]

Wow. So much has passed by since my last visit to the thread. Only one thing keeps me from my daily visits, and that is when I spend time at The Lodge itself! So many things to catch-up with:


· Let’s start with a big hug for DiznyDi who put up with me sleeping in and watching TV in the room when we should have been spending time at Geyser Point with Granny & Mrs. Granny.

· So many thanks to Granny for all of his work in posting great pictures! It is surprising for as much time as he spent at Geyser Point; which was wonderful, by the way. Thanks! And special thanks to Mrs.
Granny, too!

· Thanks to all that wished me a Happy Birthday! So kind!

· And of course, thanks to all that participated in the BHGMII! Great to meet Sleepy & Luv this time, and always a pleasure to see Horselover, Bobbiwoz, Twokats, Princess Kati, Mrs. Granny, and Tea Pot!
And Even Granny tore himself away from Geyser Point to join us!

· Then there is a big thanks to all at the Groupie Breakfast. It was a meeting of the “Toms”. And Granny did a great job of coordinating it all!

· Can’t miss wishing Jimmy & Tammy a Happy Anniversary!

· And Happy Birthday to all those whom I missed sending such wishes. I was tied up with Granny at Geyser Point.

· Can’t help but thank Sleepy for his outstanding reviews on how things are stacking up for all of us at the Lodge and around The World.

· So sorry we missed Wilderness Dad and family. I must have been at Geyser point with what’s his name . . .

Happy Mothers Day to all!

What a great trip it was. Back to The World in December. And tomorrow, back to the grind . . . that supports the whole Circle of Life.

 

[tea pot]

Happy Mother's Day to all the Groupie Moms and Grandmas
Hope you're having a Magical Day

We were so happy to be back at our Beloved Lodge last week
even though it was for just a day but what a Great Groupie day it was!
BHGM episode I TOWL
I was so glad to meet old and new friends face to face.
Sleepy you and Luv are just as sweet in person as you are here on the boards,
Granny so glad we finally met and Welcome Home Mrs Granny!!!
Kathy and Kati loved seeing you both again
Mr Teapot and I were treated to a double dose of our dear friends Di and Dad
We had a mini lunch meet at GP that day.
All and all I'm happy to report that even with the big changes I still feel
Our Beloved is still the magical place it always has been
so take care my Dear Kindred Spirits and stay well.

PS A long belated thank you for all the Birthday Wishes
I'm going to try to hang around a little more often,
those rocking chairs are calling

 

[Granny]

So sorry we missed Wilderness Dad and family. I must have been at Geyser point with what’s his name . . .

DDad...you're going to have people think that I partake of "The Recipe" a little too often!

I have to admit, it was nice to find out that you can get a seat at Geyser Point if you're patient and go on a non-weekend day. And of course, once we got one of those seats we tended to stay put which explains our multi-hour visits there! What can I say...a great view of Bay Lake, some nice overhead fans and our waitress Jessica who kept coming by and showed great hospitality by asking us if we wanted a drink. And bonus points for her since she didn't kick me out when I spilled my drink all over the table.

And I think I have figured out that if you want to "accidentally" bump into a Groupie during a VWL stay, GP is the place to go! What a great time we had with DDad and Di this last trip!

 

[Granny]

Granny so glad we finally met and Welcome Home Mrs Granny!!!
PS A long belated thank you for all the Birthday Wishes
I'm going to try to hang around a little more often,
those rocking chairs are calling

Tea Pot...it was wonderful finally meeting you after all these years. Hopefully our trips will overlap again in the future!

 

[Corinne]

Happy Mother's Day, I hope you all had a great day

 

[twokats]

DDad and Teapot, I agree it was great to see y'all and everyone else also. Can't wait til December!

 

[Dizny Dad]

OK - Back at the grind . . .oh, but a good feeling finding out you were missed . . .now get to work!

Granny - It was the snacks that kept us glued to our seating in GP, plus the thought of losing our table for four. It is just so easy to stay put when the snacks are rolling in.

Pandora - DiznyDi & I participated in the DVC invitation to experience Pandora on Saturday morning before we headed for the airport. They indeed went all out when it comes to the details, as you would expect. It is wonderful in the daylight, but obviously was designed as a nighttime venue; can't wait to see it at night! A few words of caution: it is a great experience if you have recently experienced the movie; if not, so much will go by you and not necessarily make sense. And without a doubt, remember to keep your feet behind and knees forward when riding your Banshee!

 

[Granny]

Granny - It was the snacks that kept us glued to our seating in GP, plus the thought of losing our table for four. It is just so easy to stay put when the snacks are rolling in.

Well, that's true...I guess you could refer to them as liquid snacks.

And for all Groupies, here's a beautiful sight...sunrise at VWL!

 

[jade1]

A few words of caution: it is a great experience if you have recently experienced the movie; if not, so much will go by you and not necessarily make sense.

Welcome back-awesome reporting, so appreciated.

I'm curious on this Pandora comment. I will see it soon, and if it's like you say-I will try to get folks to watch it first. I think they might want to it watch after visiting Pandora as well.

Will be taking my DMIL, interested to see her reaction as a "non Avatar" film goer-compared to D Alley as a "non HP" film goer for example.

She loves everything at the parks, but 12 stores of unfamiliar products that also made no sense to her-is basically DA. She still thought it was very cool.

She would not go on Gringotts and will not go on FoP, but will try the boat ride.

My guess is (esp at night) she will be blown away at Pandora, esp since she loved the TOL shows and ROL. Will see.

 

[jade1]

DDad...you're going to have people think that I partake of "The Recipe" a little too often!

I have to admit, it was nice to find out that you can get a seat at Geyser Point if you're patient and go on a non-weekend day. And of course, once we got one of those seats we tended to stay put which explains our multi-hour visits there! What can I say...a great view of Bay Lake, some nice overhead fans and our waitress Jessica who kept coming by and showed great hospitality by asking us if we wanted a drink. And bonus points for her since she didn't kick me out when I spilled my drink all over the table.

And I think I have figured out that if you want to "accidentally" bump into a Groupie during a VWL stay, GP is the place to go! What a great time we had with DDad and Di this last trip! View attachment 237235

Crazy good reporting this week, thanks again.

Love GP.

 

[jade1]

Well, that's true...I guess you could refer to them as liquid snacks.

And for all Groupies, here's a beautiful sight...sunrise at VWL!



View attachment 237362

See I like the water view (and sunrise) better than the pines (I can get that on the opposite side) even if there are cabins below.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Pandora - DiznyDi & I participated in the DVC invitation to experience Pandora on Saturday morning before we headed for the airport. They indeed went all out when it comes to the details, as you would expect. It is wonderful in the daylight, but obviously was designed as a nighttime venue; can't wait to see it at night! A few words of caution: it is a great experience if you have recently experienced the movie; if not, so much will go by you and not necessarily make sense. And without a doubt, remember to keep your feet behind and knees forward when riding your Banshee!

Nice DDad! How great you were able to take advantage of the preview! And thanks for all the other updates!

I had seen pictures of the Banshee ride "vehicle" - looked kind of like riding a Ninja motorcycle? But I have to know - what happens if you don't get your feet behind and your knees forward?!

Well, that's true...I guess you could refer to them as liquid snacks.

And for all Groupies, here's a beautiful sight...sunrise at VWL!



View attachment 237362

Lovely photo Granny - thanks for sharing!!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

I have been waitlisted for a while now for a 2 bed at Wilderness for night of May 28th (night before Labor Day). I have the 26, 27 and 29th. Send me some Pixie Dust!!! If it doesn't come through, we have 2 nights at Hard Rock, 2 nights at Wilderness, and 2 nights at Saratoga for 8 of us. I have to pack really light!! I've done a split stay before, but never a triple stay in six nights! I LOVE VWL!! I really wish the new pool would be open by then.

1st off Welcome to the groupies cvraclark!!!!
And rather than send you Pixie Dust(its good stuff for sure)we tend too like Moose Dust instead. It seems to work better in these matters

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . . . . . I had seen pictures of the Banshee ride "vehicle" - looked kind of like riding a Ninja motorcycle? But I have to know - what happens if you don't get your feet behind and your knees forward?. . . . . .

Both a back restraint and back-of-the-leg restraints that flip out and forward to lock you in place. I found that there is no real space for your feet ahead of your knees, so if you sit in it like a chair, the back leg restraints will not come full forward. Keep those knees bent and feet behind, as if your feet are resting on "Pegs" behind you. Yes, like riding a Ninja Motorcycle.

 

[DiznyDi]

Good Morning Groupies!
I'm trying to get back into 'the swing of things'. What a really great time we had in the world! It was H-O-T. Which explains a lot why we spent so much time at GP. The Groupie meets were a heck of a lot of fun! So very happy that we were able to renew acquaintance with old friends and meet some new ones too! Granny did a fabulous time co-ordinating the meets and keeping everyone up to date with his daily posts. Thanks Granny!

Kathy, Rich's comment about keeping your knees forward: you do indeed 'ride' this like a ninja motorcycle. If you have your feet forward, you're not forward enough on the seat for the seat back to lock into place. In addition to the seat back, there are also leg braces that must lock. This is quite the experience! We were given a fastpass as we entered the park and arrived at our appointed time. Even with a FP, we were 1 hour from start to finish. The queue for this experience is impressive! The DVC 'sneak peak' was from 9-11 AM. It kept us hopping to get out of our room, check-in for our flight and grab the bus to AK - but we did it and I'm, really glad we did.

Back to the 'real' world......
Enjoy your Tuesday!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Sounds like an interesting experience D DI and Dad! Thanks for filling me in! Also sounds like it may have more resets for restraint than Soarin does!

 

[aoconnor]

Nabbed a one bedroom at Copper Creek for the weekend of December 16th! Didn't think it would be available that time of year with so few of the villas declared.

Definitely disappointed with the theming, but it will be fun to try something new and be in the main lodge with all the decorations up.

 

[Corinne]

Hi Groupies,

I'm taking a break and daydreaming

We are heading to Sarasota on Saturday, and driving to the world for a quick 2 day jaunt! I'm so excited to see the F & G we missed it last year!
Hoping we can manage a mini groupie meet and visit with Jimmy & Tammy at the AKL!!

Have a good Tuesday!

 

[tea pot]

Hello Groupies

Question for Dizny Di and Dad
How did you like the ride itself?
I'm wondering if I could handle it I love Soarin
but sadly can't do Star Wars anymore

Belated Birthday Wishes Dad
and Belated Anniversary Wishes to JimmyTammy

Corinne Hope you have a Magical trip

 

[sleepydog25]

Home, aoconnor (congrats on the CCVC room) and cvrapclark (lots of moose dust for your waitlist)!! We're glad you dropped by and hope you'll keep doing so in the future.