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

[Granny]

Our "Clan of 12" will be back for our annual Thanksgiving Week at VWL again this year.

GG...that sounds like a fun tradition! Have you done this several times? Do you spend Thanksgiving Day at WDW? If so, do you have a traditional place that you go for the family Thanksgiving meal?

We've been twice during Christmas week, and enjoyed our turkey and trimmings Christmas Day meal at Liberty Tree Tavern restaurant. But I haven't heard many people talking about spending Thanksgivings at WDW as a tradition so I'd love to hear about how you celebrate.

 

[GGGT]

GG...that sounds like a fun tradition! Have you done this several times? Do you spend Thanksgiving Day at WDW? If so, do you have a traditional place that you go for the family Thanksgiving meal?

We've been twice during Christmas week, and enjoyed our turkey and trimmings Christmas Day meal at Liberty Tree Tavern restaurant. But I haven't heard many people talking about spending Thanksgivings at WDW as a tradition so I'd love to hear about how you celebrate.

Thanks Tom,
Yes, every week for Thanksgiving we're at VWL. (Sat to Sat) We usually are at the MK for breakfast at Crystal Palace, followed by late lunch/dinner at Liberty Tree or Whispering Canyon. Love this tradition. We're fortunate to visit often, so we can go "park easy" usually during this time.

 

[bobbiwoz]

DH and I are celebrating his 75 onboard the Dream. November 15-18. It just seemed fitting, as our first DCL Cruise was for his 60th birthday.

The 60th was paired with a stay at VWL, and the folks at Whispering Canyon fashioned a suitable birthday crown out of a coffee pot filter.but my iPad pictures do not go back that far, so everyone has to picture it for themselves!

We booked this too late to get VWL afterwards, but we have SSR and that’s fine!

 

[sleepydog25]

Our "Clan of 12" will be back for our annual Thanksgiving Week at VWL again this year.

Welcome back! Haven't been there during Thanksgiving, but a couple of times the week after. This year is a few days prior to our Christmas cruise on the Dream.

 

[Crabby_Dan]

Our "Clan of 12" will be back for our annual Thanksgiving Week at VWL again this year.

Wow! My family loved going at Thanksgiving. ( 2010-2015) For a couple of years it was great. Didn’t really get crowded until Wed evening. I have some great pictures of the Cinderella’s Castle on Thanksgiving morning. It was fairly deserted.

The last 3 times, it got progressively more crowded every year, until it got to be too much for us. In 2017 we went the week after Thanksgiving and the cast members remarked to us several times how crazy it had been the previous week.

I’m glad it works for you. At one point I thought it would be a tradition for us.

 

[GGGT]

Wow! My family loved going at Thanksgiving. ( 2010-2015) For a couple of years it was great. Didn’t really get crowded until Wed evening. I have some great pictures of the Cinderella’s Castle on Thanksgiving morning. It was fairly deserted.

The last 3 times, it got progressively more crowded every year, until it got to be too much for us. In 2017 we went the week after Thanksgiving and the cast members remarked to us several times how crazy it had been the previous week.

I’m glad it works for you. At one point I thought it would be a tradition for us.

You're right, it has gotten more crowded the past few years. (As we've all discussed, there's really no "off season" for DVC now.) Because we also go to the POLY every July 4th Week with the entire Family, VGF each December with just me and my wife, and throw in at least two more trips annually, the need to "Crush the Parks" is not there.

 

[Questforthemouse]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

Thanks in advance for your time...

 

[Questforthemouse]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

Thanks in advance for your time...

Just found the DVC booking prediction thread so my first question has been answered.

 

[Granny]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

Quest...glad you dropped by....

And we don't mind a little buttering up, especially from someone who appreciates the theme and atmosphere of Wilderness Lodge and the villas!

I can take a poke at your questions...

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

You've already looked this up, but studios during the peak DVC seasons are challenging at many resorts. I can't speak directly to studios since I book 1BRs, but in general I think that if you are online and ready to hit the "book it" button right at 8:00 am Eastern Time you have a good chance. VWL is one of the smallest (fewest villas) DVC resorts so you don't want to miss that window! I think a lot of people still call MS to book reservations and they don't open until 9:00 am so the chances are that they will have a very hard time booking a studio during peak times.

Of course, you could walk the reservation but for me that's a lot of work, especially since I've never been shut out at the 11 month window. But again, I book 1BR villas so I am booking a much easier category to obtain.

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

We haven't had a car for many years now at WDW. Lots of our table service meals are in the parks so we just plan to visit that park that day with some FPs around the time of the meal.

If we are going resort-to-resort for a meal, we tend to take the leisurely route from WL to a park, then a bus from that park to the destination resort. For example, if we have an ADR at Boatwright's at Port Orleans, we might take a bus to EPCOT and then wait for the bus there to Port Orleans. Or if we have a reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe, we just boat over to MK and then take the monorail around to GF (or walk to GF when they finish the walking path!).

We are rarely in a rush mode at WDW, so the transportation transfer system works fine for us. At most, it takes us about an hour to get from WL to the other resort...generally it is much less than that. On the rare occasion that we are running late to an ADR, we use Uber or Lyft to get us there.

I don't think this is a different situation than SSR or any other resort. The difference at SSR is that you can walk to the Disney Springs bus stop and board another resort bus so you don't have two buses to get there. Sometimes you can get creative: ie. take a boat from WL to Contemporary or Fort Wilderness, or take a bus from WL to DHS and walk to the Boardwalk/Beach Club restaurants. But it isn't a lot different than staying at other DVC resorts.

Good luck with your VWL resale. It is a great resort and I'm sure you will love staying there as an owner. Let us know how your resale search progresses!

 

[Questforthemouse]

Quest...glad you dropped by....

And we don't mind a little buttering up, especially from someone who appreciates the theme and atmosphere of Wilderness Lodge and the villas!

I can take a poke at your questions...




You've already looked this up, but studios during the peak DVC seasons are challenging at many resorts. I can't speak directly to studios since I book 1BRs, but in general I think that if you are online and ready to hit the "book it" button right at 8:00 am Eastern Time you have a good chance. VWL is one of the smallest (fewest villas) DVC resorts so you don't want to miss that window! I think a lot of people still call MS to book reservations and they don't open until 9:00 am so the chances are that they will have a very hard time booking a studio during peak times.

Of course, you could walk the reservation but for me that's a lot of work, especially since I've never been shut out at the 11 month window. But again, I book 1BR villas so I am booking a much easier category to obtain.



We haven't had a car for many years now at WDW. Lots of our table service meals are in the parks so we just plan to visit that park that day with some FPs around the time of the meal.

If we are going resort-to-resort for a meal, we tend to take the leisurely route from WL to a park, then a bus from that park to the destination resort. For example, if we have an ADR at Boatwright's at Port Orleans, we might take a bus to EPCOT and then wait for the bus there to Port Orleans. Or if we have a reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe, we just boat over to MK and then take the monorail around to GF (or walk to GF when they finish the walking path!).

We are rarely in a rush mode at WDW, so the transportation transfer system works fine for us. At most, it takes us about an hour to get from WL to the other resort...generally it is much less than that. On the rare occasion that we are running late to an ADR, we use Uber or Lyft to get us there.

I don't think this is a different situation than SSR or any other resort. The difference at SSR is that you can walk to the Disney Springs bus stop and board another resort bus so you don't have two buses to get there. Sometimes you can get creative: ie. take a boat from WL to Contemporary or Fort Wilderness, or take a bus from WL to DHS and walk to the Boardwalk/Beach Club restaurants. But it isn't a lot different than staying at other DVC resorts.

Good luck with your VWL resale. It is a great resort and I'm sure you will love staying there as an owner. Let us know how your resale search progresses!

Thanks Granny, much appreciated. Yes, DW and I after much discussion have decided to purchase enough VWL points to get a 1 bedroom if needed for those years where a studio at 11 months just isn't in the cards. Thanks for all the thoughts on dining as well.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

Thanks in advance for your time...

I know you found the charts on availability but what they don't tell is exactly what it's like booking. Assuming you're always booking at 11 months then your Dec trip would be the only one I'd question is a bit difficult but if it's not the first 2 weeks of December but rather in the second part then you also should be ok as long as your booking at 8am online at 11 months. Early November you don't want to miss 11 months either because that can hit the Wine and Dine race, Jersey week, end of Halloween season, start of Christmas season and then throw Food and wine on top of it and it's a perfect storm for booking. The VWL studios are popular for sure but still not the most difficult booking compared to studios at several other resorts.

For Table service we will do some in park dining (esp. DHS and AK) and also boat over to CR or FW as I do absolutely love Trail's End. It's off menu for lunch and buffet for breakfast and dinner. And there is Geyser Pt now at WL. Not a typical TS but has some good items. We're not unknown to make a meal of items at Territory Lounge. They still have some things that used to come out of AP.

 

[Questforthemouse]

I know you found the charts on availability but what they don't tell is exactly what it's like booking. Assuming you're always booking at 11 months then your Dec trip would be the only one I'd question is a bit difficult but if it's not the first 2 weeks of December but rather in the second part then you also should be ok as long as your booking at 8am online at 11 months. Early November you don't want to miss 11 months either because that can hit the Wine and Dine race, Jersey week, end of Halloween season, start of Christmas season and then throw Food and wine on top of it and it's a perfect storm for booking. The VWL studios are popular for sure but still not the most difficult booking compared to studios at several other resorts.

For Table service we will do some in park dining (esp. DHS and AK) and also boat over to CR or FW as I do absolutely love Trail's End. It's off menu for lunch and buffet for breakfast and dinner. And there is Geyser Pt now at WL. Not a typical TS but has some good items. We're not unknown to make a meal of items at Territory Lounge. They still have some things that used to come out of AP.

Thank you Kat4 those are good things to know.

 

[sleepydog25]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

Thanks in advance for your time...

First of all, gotta love someone who still wants to call the resort what it should be: VWL. Frankly, you don't need to butter up anyone here--we love talking about our home. Adding on to VWL is a good choice. . .as long as you know what you're getting which primarily is a shorter contract length ending in 2042. By your post, it seems you know just what you want.
1) As others have stated, right at 11 months, I don't think you'll have an issue. Luv (my wife) got a studio for Dec 20-23 on the morning of the opening of our 11-month without issue. I believe your chances will be good.
2) Dinner is a trickier issue. We've never been huge WCC fans; since the refurb, RF no longer has the quality it once did (plus, it's not a TS); AP is now a character meal, and an expensive one at that; and GP is a weird hybrid QS/TS. In short, there aren't any good TS options at WL now which stinks given it's supposed to be a deluxe resort. There is also Territory Lounge which might be the best option though, again, it's not a true TS. In the future, it appears Reflections will have a TS restaurant, possibly on the water, and it would be walkable. The boat to CR is another huge benefit, and you can have meals at The Wave or CG, and from there, walk to MK or catch the monorail to GF or Poly. I will say that as much as we love our home, we are not planning on spending our dining dollars there unless they come up with better options.

Anyway, welcome to our Groupies, and by virtue of your love of the Lodge and actually posting here, you are now a Groupie, too, along with our most recent posters GGGT and cellomom. If you wish, any time you have a trip to the World, a cruise, or frankly anywhere, I'll be glad to post it on Page 1 if you shoot me a note.

 

[10CJ]

We really enjoyed our recent stay! We had put in a request for lake view, higher floor and our room was perfect. We could see some of the higher fireworks so that was nice.

Kids loved the pool and the splash pad.

We took the boat to Fort Wilderness for dinner at Trails End and also took the bus to Disney Spring for dinner one evening.

 

[DVC Jen]

Good Morning VWL/BRV Lovers,

My wife and I are current owners at SSR (since 2006) and absolutely love SSR. However, we fell in love with Wilderness Lodge Villas when staying there and just love the theme and atmosphere. We have decided we are going to add-on through resale at VWL (we continue to call it VWL). We were hoping you fine folks (buttering you up) could provide some feedback for us.

1) We are studio people. Just love the studios. They fit us and our style perfectly. We spend our summers as well as weekends in the spring and fall in a 450 sq ft trailer/cottage and every now and then find it to big lol. DW is a teacher so pre-retirement (the next 10 years) we travel March Break, summer, and usually the week following Christmas (including New Years Eve/Day) when using DVC. Once we hit retirement we plan on traveling to our DVCs pre-Christmas, January, maybe early November and early spring (avoiding Easter). So, I know this has likely been asked a 1000 times but what are our chances at studios at 11 months?

2) We love going out for table service at dinner time (will continue to do this even during retirement). Whispering Canyon is one of those once per trip (at most) table services for us and now that Artist Point is a character meal it is pretty much out the window for us. In other words, we will have to head off the resort to go for table service meals. If we have our car with us then great but often we fly (even will in retirement). What do y'all do for table service when staying at VWL?

Thanks in advance for your time...

We own there and have never had a hard time getting a studio at the 11 month window. I do call right when MS opens (or the online window opens) because I am anal. Maybe I have just been super lucky.

As far as table service - we usually always have a car so we just drive to where ever we need to go. Unless of course we are already in the park where the restaurant is.

 

[Granny]

We really enjoyed our recent stay! We had put in a request for lake view, higher floor and our room was perfect. We could see some of the higher fireworks so that was nice.

Kids loved the pool and the splash pad.

We took the boat to Fort Wilderness for dinner at Trails End and also took the bus to Disney Spring for dinner one evening.

10CJ...thanks for dropping by with your impressions of your recent stay. I'm glad that the room and trip in general was a great one!

 

[Granny]

Thank you Kat4 those are good things to know.

Okay, when I read "Kat4" I immediately thought of a hurricane! Come to think of it, I don't think I want to get on @KAT4DISNEY 's bad side so KAT4 might be quite appropriate!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Okay, when I read "Kat4" I immediately thought of a hurricane! Come to think of it, I don't think I want to get on @KAT4DISNEY 's bad side so KAT4 might be quite appropriate!

Could you please speak to the VWL room assignor sometime Granny and explain what a "hurricane" I am and maybe I'll finally get one of these often mentioned lakeview room request without having to go so far as to book a cabin?! I can't seem to make enough "waves" on my own.

 

[Granny]

Could you please speak to the VWL room assignor sometime Granny and explain what a "hurricane" I am and maybe I'll finally get one of these often mentioned lakeview room request without having to go so far as to book a cabin?! I can't seem to make enough "waves" on my own.

You know, this would be funny except it just isn't right. Basically, all other things aside, you should get Lake side villas about half of the time even with random assignment. I have a hard time believing that a lake side villa is never available on your check in dates. We poke fun at it, but in reality it just shouldn't happen time after time. It's great that you let it roll off your back as a first world problem, but that still doesn't make it right.

And yes, I will post this again:

 

[sleepydog25]

You know, this would be funny except it just isn't right. Basically, all other things aside, you should get Lake side villas about half of the time even with random assignment. I have a hard time believing that a lake side villa is never available on your check in dates. We poke fun at it, but in reality it just shouldn't happen time after time. It's great that you let it roll off your back as a first world problem, but that still doesn't make it right.

And yes, I will post this again:

View attachment 433940

I'm thinking KAT just annoyed someone along the way. Still, it does appear that she'll finally shed that albatross with her upcoming cabin stay.