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

We're actually leaving Saturday for our Eclipse trip! The dogs will go with us since it's going to be so "scary" for the animals. :goodvibes We have to head north so am going to spend a couple of nights in Yellowstone too. Not certain what we're getting ourselves into in finding a viewing area but we're going for the path of totality. :dancer: Bought our glasses over a month ago when they were still very reasonable and have filters for the cameras although I expect that the internet will be flooded with shots much better than I'll do. Mostly planning on just taking it in from a country road in Idaho. :laughing: Now fingers crossed for clear skies.

I have memories from grade school of doing the pinhole thing for the total eclipse in 1979 but was southern MN so not the path of totality. After that I knew I'd never bother with that route again! Sorry but I can draw that picture on a piece of paper anytime I want. :rolleyes:



People around here are getting very excited about the eclipse since St. Louis is in the path of eclipse totality. Here's a great link from NASA that let's you click on it to get the data about what you can expect in any given area.

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/interactive_map/index.html

I have to admit, I'm not all that fired up about it. But it is interesting to me that during the time of total eclipse, they're telling everyone that they can take their glasses off!

Sorry, but with only five senses I can't afford to take chances on losing one of them! :cool2:

The glasses are so dark that you wouldn't see anything with them on when the moon was fulling blocking the sun. It's apparently going to be quite dark.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the Nasa Link, I didn't realize they had a interactive map. I just wish they could have converted the times to local when you click on the map. I always worry that I will incorrectly figure out the local time.

We intend to take non stop to Newark. This is the first time we will be going to Aulani since we moved to NJ. The other times we went from Dayton OH. In 2015, we also took RCCL's cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu. Earlier this year we used an RCI exchange to spend a week on Maui during February and yes, we saw many whales. It seems like we hope to go to Hawaii every 18 months as long as our health allows! Because of the distance, we want to always do more than "just" Aulani. The RCCL cruise is a vacation in itself, 10 nights, with I think 4 stops in Hawaiian ports, so it's a chance to see other islands.

2015 was our first trans Pacific cruise, and it was rockier than either of our trans Atlantic cruises. It was not terrible, but you did feel motion.

We do the same thing Bobbi. Next year in April we are cruising from Hawaii to Vancouver on the Celebrity Solstice. We cruised Vancouver to Hawaii on the same ship in September/October 2014. It is a great way to eliminate that long flight either to or from Hawaii. And since we enjoy cruising it makes it even better. It also gives a chance to explore the other islands to decide where we might stay on our next Hawaii trip. We own at Aulani, so I expect we will always spend a week there every other year, but we also add on days in Hawaii either via a cruise or a stay on another island it the future. So far we have done more cruising, but we did spend five nights on the Big Island one trip. It was great. Found a wonderful tour company, Kailani Tours that did a fabulous job for a tour to the volcanos when we were staying on the Kona Coast. We had a car, but it was great to have someone else do all that driving and we could see so much from the Mercedes Van (holds 12 persons). And seeing a night view of the crater was very special. The red glow was amazing.

Bobbi...we are looking at possibly April/May, with a fall back of September/October. It all depends on 7 month availability both at Aulani and VGF where we plan to stay a few days on the way home. We like the September timing but since we are planning a December trip next year to WDW, we were looking to space our trips out a bit.

I would check out the Hawaii school calendar for October, because whenever there is a school vacation or a 3 day weekend, and they have a week off in October, Aulani is really crowded. Not only the local DVC owners book their staycations for the school holidays, but the locals take advantage is the discount offers the hotel portion offers for those dates. In 2014 when we were at Aulani it was packed at the pool. Boy was it crowded. Almost everyone we met were from the west coast or Hawaii all there because of a school holiday. September after Labor Day is not so crowded.
 
Speaking of the Eclipse; I hope everyone that gets caught in some kind of a traffic jam or such has prepared themselves with water, snacks and a flashlight. Since the dawning of civilization crazy things have been reported about how people act during such events. Stay vigilant and safe.

Yep! Will be prepared to the gills. Survival will be possible for at least a couple of days. :)
 


I would check out the Hawaii school calendar for October, because whenever there is a school vacation or a 3 day weekend, and they have a week off in October, Aulani is really crowded. Not only the local DVC owners book their staycations for the school holidays, but the locals take advantage is the discount offers the hotel portion offers for those dates. In 2014 when we were at Aulani it was packed at the pool. Boy was it crowded. Almost everyone we met were from the west coast or Hawaii all there because of a school holiday. September after Labor Day is not so crowded.


Denise...thanks so much for the tip. I think we are looking at an April or May stay. Hopefully that will avoid any major school vacation periods since Easter is on April 1 and we would be looking at later in the month or the next month.
 
Speaking of the Eclipse; I hope everyone that gets caught in some kind of a traffic jam or such has prepared themselves with water, snacks and a flashlight. Since the dawning of civilization crazy things have been reported about how people act during such events. Stay vigilant and safe.
We'll actually be in Charleston SC for the big event - 100% coverage...got my ISO glasses ready!!
 
Denise...thanks so much for the tip. I think we are looking at an April or May stay. Hopefully that will avoid any major school vacation periods since Easter is on April 1 and we would be looking at later in the month or the next month.

April and May are great times to go! But one thing to note about that time frame is that Hawaii in general (not just Aulani) gets very busy during Japan's Golden Week. So I'd go with later in April or earlier in May, but not the exact week crossing the 2 months.
 


April and May are great times to go! But one thing to note about that time frame is that Hawaii in general (not just Aulani) gets very busy during Japan's Golden Week. So I'd go with later in April or earlier in May, but not the exact week crossing the 2 months.

Kungaloosh...thanks so much for that tip. Next year April 29 is on a Sunday for a week ending on Saturday May 5. So I'll try to avoid that week completely! I appreciate you taking the time to post that.
 
We're taking our entire middle school out (three grades). Our science teachers have been talking about it since school started Tuesday. We sent an opt-out letter home to parents (so far, we've had a half dozen kids whose parents do NOT want them to watch the eclipse). On Monday, all classes will go out ahead of the prime viewing time to the football stands where our longest-serving science teacher will explain the process and what to expect. At that time, each student will get a pair of ISO-approved glasses, donated courtesy of our Virginia State Parks, and then wait for the eclipse. Since it's late in school day here, we've already sent out a notice to parents that the school day will end 45 minutes later than usual. We're all set. :thumbsup2
We are doing pretty much the same. Found out today that we had an additional 500 pairs of glasses donated to the school. I know that all our 6th-12th graders will be outside on the football field or bleachers for the viewing. Emails have been sent to parents, and some can choose to opt out if they don't want their kids to view it. My overpriced glasses from Amazon arrived today, so I'm good to go.
I cross a fairly long bridge on my way to work everyday across Mobile Bay. For the last few days the emergency signs are flashing a reminder message that your headlights need to be on during the eclipse. I guess I didn't realize it will be quite that dark. We have about a 30% chance of rain Monday so I'm hoping it won't mess up our viewing.
Granny, thanks for the link it's really neat!
Anybody been at Aulani during Christmas? If/when we go, we will more than likely be there over Christmas. I've looked at some vow renewal packages in the area as well. Our Anniversary is a week before Christmas. I really want to do the vow renewal on our 25th anniversary, but I may be giving semester exams at school, so the Anniversary may have to wait! :teeth: That's the teacher life and schedule though!
 
Hi groupies! We are excited about the eclipse too. I won't be heading to see 100% totality as we will have just over 95% here. Luckily I ordered some glasses two weeks ago and got them on Wednesday. They are completely out of stock around here now.

I noticed that there was not a Christmas tree exchange at the lodge last year. Has anyone done it in the past? Our trip is at the beginning of December and I was thinking a tree in the room might be fun for our 2 year old. Curious why the lodge didn't have a coordinator last year.
 
We are also looking forward to the eclipse, but it will only be about 60 coverage here, which apparently means you will barely notice the overall light dimming [no headlights needed]. Safe eclipse glasses are very hard to find, so we are just going to watch on TV. We'll be at work anyway.

SW
 
Hi groupies! We are excited about the eclipse too. I won't be heading to see 100% totality as we will have just over 95% here. Luckily I ordered some glasses two weeks ago and got them on Wednesday. They are completely out of stock around here now.

I noticed that there was not a Christmas tree exchange at the lodge last year. Has anyone done it in the past? Our trip is at the beginning of December and I was thinking a tree in the room might be fun for our 2 year old. Curious why the lodge didn't have a coordinator last year.

Likely just didn't have a volunteer to provide a tree and get things set up.

Several years ago we participated. It was nice and I really appreciated the work that went into it but was a one and done for us. Took too much time to get the tree, set it up, eventually take it down and get it back to Bell services. The parks and resorts are so nicely decorated that now we just bring a string of lights and some garland to spruce up the room and am very happy with that and it's much easier.
 
Anybody else making plans for your area?
We are not allowed to watch it! Only the 4th and 5th grade students at our school are allowed outside. We have to close our blinds and not allow students to leave our room. We are also delaying our dismissal by an hour, so besides not seeing the eclipse, we get shafted with staying at least an extra hour at school that day. Do I sound bitter? Well, it's bc I am!

On another note, we are still waiting on the estoppel from Disney. We received word that they waived ROFR on 7/25 so I'm hoping it is soon.
 
Hi groupies! We are excited about the eclipse too. I won't be heading to see 100% totality as we will have just over 95% here. Luckily I ordered some glasses two weeks ago and got them on Wednesday. They are completely out of stock around here now.

I noticed that there was not a Christmas tree exchange at the lodge last year. Has anyone done it in the past? Our trip is at the beginning of December and I was thinking a tree in the room might be fun for our 2 year old. Curious why the lodge didn't have a coordinator last year.


In the past, I had donated a VWL Christmas tree, but we were in the process of trying to get house organized to sell. It was crazy on our end. We had participated since 2004, sharing a tree or donating. We would alternate between going to VWL amdvBWV. We have now moved, and I do not think our small trees made it to NJ. We have asked to participate in BWV's tree this year.


It is a very fun tradition. Tree we sent, this was 2011!



IMG_0011.JPG
 
Quiet weekend so far with good weather here in the SW Virginia mountains. Unfortunately, the yard is calling to be mowed, dishes need washing, and shirts need ironing. After my coffee, of course. . .hope all the Groupies are enjoying the last few weeks of summer wherever you may be.

In Disney-related news, I just read that a popular WDW news site is reporting that POR is experimenting with pump bottles of soap, shampoo, and conditioner in one of its buildings with the likely intent being to roll the feature out in all Values and Moderates if it proves to be successful (euphemism for "saves money"). Of course, if that does happen, will Deluxes soon follow? Just something to ponder on a sleepy Sunday morning. . .
 
We participated in the tree exchange a few yrs ago and enjoyed sharing our little WL inspired tree. As T said over time, it began to wear on us a bit as our Dec trips got shorter and we didn't enjoy it as much, esp. the tearing down and getting it back to bell services. It was just a sad reminder of having to end our trip and head home. But back in the day, when we would stay at VWL 2 weeks, we decorated to the hilt, garland, tinsel, lights and greenery on the balcony, tree in the room and festivities abound. I remember those trips fondly and MCWho and our families would exchange gifts, and spend quality time together. I think that was the beginning of our WL groupies get togethers and the rest is history.
 
@Granny ...we are also in the STL area (way out in Wright City) and we are supposed to have 8U baseball practice Monday night at 5:30. Will it be ok by then for the boys to be outside? DH is the coach and can cancel if too risky.
 
@Granny ...we are also in the STL area (way out in Wright City) and we are supposed to have 8U baseball practice Monday night at 5:30. Will it be ok by then for the boys to be outside? DH is the coach and can cancel if too risky.

Hi twoolle! :wave2:

Using the NASA map from my previous post, I clicked on Wright City and got this:

Wright City Eclipse.JPG

According to this, the eclipse will run from 11:48 am until 2:42 pm in your area. The eclipse should be completely over well before that practice. The bigger issue may be traffic since everywhere in the "swath of totality" there are evidently thousands of people driving in to get a view of the eclipse without glasses. So it might be a day to cancel most plans that require travel. I can't make the call for your DH, but that's as much info as I have. Good luck! :)
 
We participated in the tree exchange a few yrs ago and enjoyed sharing our little WL inspired tree. As T said over time, it began to wear on us a bit as our Dec trips got shorter and we didn't enjoy it as much, esp. the tearing down and getting it back to bell services. It was just a sad reminder of having to end our trip and head home. But back in the day, when we would stay at VWL 2 weeks, we decorated to the hilt, garland, tinsel, lights and greenery on the balcony, tree in the room and festivities abound. I remember those trips fondly and MCWho and our families would exchange gifts, and spend quality time together. I think that was the beginning of our WL groupies get togethers and the rest is history.

We have been in the tree exchange once, and the other time we were there for Christmas Day we brought our own tree since we drove. It definitely helped (along with other decorations) to make the villa seem very much in the Christmas spirit. Here's a picture of the shared tree...we were the last to have it that year since we were staying through Christmas Day and beyond:

VWL Shared Christmas Tree.jpg


The layout might look a little strange for VWL...yes this is one of those corner rooms by the quiet pool.

We were the beneficiaries of a very kind member who got the tree to WL to begin the sharing chain. But this was 11 years ago, and I can see how it would get tiresome (and costly) to continue to host this year after year. As hosts drop off, others have to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, it appears that no one did this in 2017.

If I were at VWL for Christmas again, I would probably ship a tree and decorations down to the villa. But for our regular early December trips, we are fine with enjoying the WDW decorations.
 
We are not allowed to watch it! Only the 4th and 5th grade students at our school are allowed outside. We have to close our blinds and not allow students to leave our room. We are also delaying our dismissal by an hour, so besides not seeing the eclipse, we get shafted with staying at least an extra hour at school that day. Do I sound bitter? Well, it's bc I am!

On another note, we are still waiting on the estoppel from Disney. We received word that they waived ROFR on 7/25 so I'm hoping it is soon.

Well that stinks & seems very unfair! The eclipse not the estoppel. Congrats on almost being at the finish line. :banana::banana:

We too participated in the tree exchange several years ago. I think we may have all shared that same tree at one point or another. I did it once then found a small tree on ebay with preset lights & little pine cones that I loved. I started shipping that down myself with mini decorations. We did that for several years but the as others said the packing up & shipping back began to be a bit of a pain. WL wouldn't ship it back so we had to take it to the conference center at CR. Thankfully we always had a car, but it was a bit of a pain to plan time to do that. I started keeping a small tree in my 2nd OL. No lights & just a couple decorations but it's something. I still do bring down our stockings & hang those on the wall with the command hooks that leave no mark when you remove them. It's something to make the room a little more festive. This year we don't arrive until 12/28 so nothing to ship or bring this trip.

For those of you friends with me on FB I just completed the NZ trip photo album if you're interested.

Enjoy the rest of the day groupie friends & don't forget do not look directly at the sun tomorrow unless you have protective eye wear!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top