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

I know there's a few other Groupies headed down later in April so wanted to share the FYI I got from Tourinplans that hours have been extended at MK - at least during the week of the 16th. From several 9pm closings to 10pm. I haven't verified but it should have changed EMH from 11 to midnight close.

Of course MK hasn't had a lot of 9pm closings in April in years and years so I took that worth a grain of salt to begin with. That particular thing of starting with short hours that they've started doing in the past couple of years is just beyond frustrating for me.
Thank you so much for letting us know. I really appreciate it!!
 


I know there's a few other Groupies headed down later in April so wanted to share the FYI I got from Tourinplans that hours have been extended at MK - at least during the week of the 16th. From several 9pm closings to 10pm. I haven't verified but it should have changed EMH from 11 to midnight close.

Of course MK hasn't had a lot of 9pm closings in April in years and years so I took that worth a grain of salt to begin with. That particular thing of starting with short hours that they've started doing in the past couple of years is just beyond frustrating for me.

Thanks for the heads up! AK hours have been updated (extended) now, too!
 
Weird how sometimes I don't get notifications that there have been a few posts on the Groupies thread. . .like nearly two pages' worth! Good to see the Groupies still in fun mode despite the occasional bad room location and friends' health issues.

P.S. The parking fees won't affect us, but there's no doubt it's a pure money grab. Not to be a debbie downer, but it's yet one more sign that the magic--at least for us--is draining slowly. Though others disagree, the next step will be some sort of "resort fee," then perhaps a charge for using DME. It just doesn't end. As I've been telling Luv for a few years now, Disney keeps using the same justification: "industry standard." Once upon a time, Disney SET the standard. Now, they're okay with merely being the standard. Sorry. Rant over.

Be well all!
 


Jen
Sadly until it was too late did I realize you were so close by our room in Dec. I would have knocked on your door had I known. One of these days alas we shall meet
Granny
We love this room with a view. As I sit here at 11am writing this the sun is just starting to peek into our balcony and this is perfect. We love drinking our coffee and computing at WDW on the balconies and this one is great for it! The sun sets to our right over GF, the sun rises to our left over towards Orlando in the east and I have a birds eye view of the wonderful flags flying briskly this morning at our beloved home from the 14th floor at BLT!
 
Heading out to Epcot in a while, going to celebrate St Pattys Day in style with a meal at Rose N Crown. I didn't bring green to wear but did find out its also St Gertrudes Day(thank you AnnieT for that FB info). She is the Patron Saint of Cats and Gardens. Awesome!! Flower and Garden Festivl is going on and if I wear black, those pesky cat hairs that refuse to come of in the wash on my black shirts will come in handy today. Now to convince Tammy not to try to lint roll my shirt:joker:
:D:crazy:
 
Heading out to Epcot in a while, going to celebrate St Pattys Day in style with a meal at Rose N Crown. I didn't bring green to wear but did find out its also St Gertrudes Day(thank you AnnieT for that FB info). She is the Patron Saint of Cats and Gardens. Awesome!! Flower and Garden Festivl is going on and if I wear black, those pesky cat hairs that refuse to come of in the wash on my black shirts will come in handy today. Now to convince Tammy not to try to lint roll my shirt:joker:
:D:crazy:
We celebrated at Green Valley Grill, JT! I had a duck burger and Chris had Bolognese. We'll do a more traditional meal tomorrow: shepherd's pie. Chris makes a mean one.

In other news, I emailed 4-5 of the top execs for Disney yesterday afternoon about the unfortunate parking fees. Got a live person call back this afternoon. He was most interested in two things that I'd mentioned in my email. First, that as a DVC member I found the issue important enough to complain about despite the fact I don't have to pay to park. More importantly, he kept circling back to another thing I said. . .that I could no longer recommend Disney to others. That seemed to be a big deal to him. He went on to say the usual "this email will definitely be read by Iger, et.al." and "this is the kind of information they want to read and hear." I know things won't change, but I did find it particularly notable that my DVC ownership and non-recommendation comments seemed important. Just fuel for thought.

Have a great weekend, Groupies! :flower2::drinking1
 
Go get em SleepyDog!! You need a new name since you are going after the big dogs now. Lets see, Sly Dog and Sleepy Dog don't work in this mix, h:scratchinmmm, how about Rough Dog, or maybe Top Dog. Thats it, Top Dog!! As a stock holder I vote Patrick as my choice for the Top Dog(Big Cheese is already taken)of the Disney Co. He has some great ideas on how to get the ship righted that the bean counters have caused to sink.

All in favor, say aye, all opposed(hands down people, hands down:goodvibes), any abstentions. OK, its unanimous, Patrick(formerly known as SleepyDog, AKA SlyDog, AKA a lot of other names that can't be repeated here for fear of being booted off the DIS:D)shall from this day forward until he gets the boot like Eisner and Iger(Roy E. Disney would be so proud if he were here:stir:)be known as Top Dog until further notice!

Hopefully Luv will read this as we are going to depend A LOT on her to keep him grounded.

1st act I believe should be getting the nature trail back to its original glory, tear down the Catastrophe Canyon pool, reinsert old pool back in, with bubbles of course. Beyond that I have all the confidence in the world(I really hope Chris reads this)in our new Top Dog:dog:
 
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We celebrated at Green Valley Grill, JT! I had a duck burger and Chris had Bolognese. We'll do a more traditional meal tomorrow: shepherd's pie. Chris makes a mean one.

I made corned beef & cabbage - it was exceptional, leftovers scheduled for today...

In other news, I emailed 4-5 of the top execs for Disney yesterday afternoon about the unfortunate parking fees. Got a live person call back this afternoon. He was most interested in two things that I'd mentioned in my email. First, that as a DVC member I found the issue important enough to complain about despite the fact I don't have to pay to park. More importantly, he kept circling back to another thing I said. . .that I could no longer recommend Disney to others. That seemed to be a big deal to him. He went on to say the usual "this email will definitely be read by Iger, et.al." and "this is the kind of information they want to read and hear." I know things won't change, but I did find it particularly notable that my DVC ownership and non-recommendation comments seemed important. Just fuel for thought.

Have a great weekend, Groupies! :flower2::drinking1

Really interesting that you got a quick call back. My dad is thinking about coming up from Fort Myers for a day during our trip. When I heard about this I called Disney and asked if he would be charged for parking at the lodge if he was my guest for the day. The answer was “No” but only because my reservation was made prior to the changes. Then I said to the MEE (Magical Experience Expert) — now wait a minute, if I am staying on DVC points but I never bring a car which I wouldn’t have to pay for anyways, why can’t I have a guest come visit me to show off The Lodge free of a parking fee? I mean my space isn’t being used by me! She said she didn’t have an answer for that, and I said well you ought to bring this question to the next MEE meeting because it’s going to come up again. I suspect this parking fee situation has something to do with the Contemporary / BLT parking issues that I’ve heard about...
 
. . . I suspect this parking fee situation has something to do with the Contemporary / BLT parking issues that I’ve heard about...

I wonder if there really is a parking problem at the Contemporary and BLT, because I noticed that four rows of parking on the far left from inside the building in the BLT lot are taken up with construction vehicles and materials. It seems to me it was like that last December too. I kept think Walt is rolling over in his grave as that eyesore was really "backstage" stuff and not part of the "show".

I wish I had taken a photo of that side of the parking lot.
 
Had corned beef and cabbage yesterday at RnC and it was very good, lean, the way I like it! Epcot was packed and RnC was no exception. The Pub was wide open with a huge line to get in. Lots o' Green everywhere!

Today we are headed to Epcot to meet up with AnnieT and her DH Alan, catch a few FPs, eat at Via Napoli for dinner. Us and Jill(Cheer4Bison)are going to catch up later this afternoon for a mini meet. Been awhile since we have seen each other. She is very busy on her 2nd round as a Disney Moms panelist so its like tracking down a celebrity:-)
 
Go get em SleepyDog!! You need a new name since you are going after the big dogs now. Lets see, Sly Dog and Sleepy Dog don't work in this mix, h:scratchinmmm, how about Rough Dog, or maybe Top Dog. Thats it, Top Dog!! As a stock holder I vote Patrick as my choice for the Top Dog(Big Cheese is already taken)of the Disney Co. He has some great ideas on how to get the ship righted that the bean counters have caused to sink.

All in favor, say aye, all opposed(hands down people, hands down:goodvibes), any abstentions. OK, its unanimous, Patrick(formerly known as SleepyDog, AKA SlyDog, AKA a lot of other names that can't be repeated here for fear of being booted off the DIS:D)shall from this day forward until he gets the boot like Eisner and Iger(Roy E. Disney would be so proud if he were here:stir:)be known as Top Dog until further notice!

Hopefully Luv will read this as we are going to depend A LOT on her to keep him grounded.

1st act I believe should be getting the nature trail back to its original glory, tear down the Catastrophe Canyon pool, reinsert old pool back in, with bubbles of course. Beyond that I have all the confidence in the world(I really hope Chris reads this)in our new Top Dog:dog:
YES! Every one of those things! Hey, and check out my new signature line. . .pirate:

The way too enjoy a cup o joe with our home looming in the background View attachment 309640
Love that view and the old-timey mug (have some of those, too)! What again is that view called? I know you said but I'm too lazy to scroll back that far. :rolleyes1

I made corned beef & cabbage - it was exceptional, leftovers scheduled for today...



Really interesting that you got a quick call back. My dad is thinking about coming up from Fort Myers for a day during our trip. When I heard about this I called Disney and asked if he would be charged for parking at the lodge if he was my guest for the day. The answer was “No” but only because my reservation was made prior to the changes. Then I said to the MEE (Magical Experience Expert) — now wait a minute, if I am staying on DVC points but I never bring a car which I wouldn’t have to pay for anyways, why can’t I have a guest come visit me to show off The Lodge free of a parking fee? I mean my space isn’t being used by me! She said she didn’t have an answer for that, and I said well you ought to bring this question to the next MEE meeting because it’s going to come up again. I suspect this parking fee situation has something to do with the Contemporary / BLT parking issues that I’ve heard about...
I don't think the new fees have a thing to do with parking limitations at BLT/CR (or anywhere else) since they are still allowing day parking for visits such as dining. The fees being charged are for overnight parking. If they truly wanted to reduce the extraneous parking at various resorts with issues such as BLT, CR, and BCV, there are ways to address that without charging people to park overnight each night of their stay. Heck, charge a one-time fee of $25 for an entire stay, and they could pay for the extra security needed to enforce a 2 or 3-hour parking limit if there to dine. By charging the fee, they may reduce by small percentage the number of vehicles being driven to Disney (mostly rental cars), but the primary purpose is easy money, I'm convinced.
 

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