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

I never participated in a tree exchange, but I brought a small tree from home when we stayed over Christmas one year. It was tiny, but did the job nicely. I think if I were staying over Christmas again I'd bring it along, but since we're there mid-December this year colored Christmas lights draped over the furniture will do fine. Adding some soft glow ones to my packing/shopping list and a few 3M hooks that will come off clean might come in handy too since the last time we tried this the lights had a mind of their own on where they wanted to be placed.
 
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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.

I would be bitter too! The extra hour is just a bonus I'm sure! I'm sorry! I think if we wouldn't have provided the opportunity to watch it, we would have had a lot of kids not come to school tomorrow. Mobile County public schools are not viewing it either. Huntsville, AL schools also are not viewing it which I think is crazy since NASA has a place there.

Granny, we have never participated in the tree exchange, but I had to look twice at your pic because we did have a corner room for Christmas one year and we had a tree in that exact same spot. I have a picture that looks so similar to that. It was an awesome case of moose dust to end up with that room for Christmas!
 
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!
I understand the safety factor with the students but basically bc I teach first grade, I have to miss it. And we are 98.5% totality here, so it will definitely be worth seeing. Oh well.
 
I would be bitter too! The extra hour is just a bonus I'm sure! I'm sorry! I think if we wouldn't have provided the opportunity to watch it, we would have had a lot of kids not come to school tomorrow. Mobile County public schools are not viewing it either. Huntsville, AL schools also are not viewing it which I think is crazy since NASA has a place there.

Granny, we have never participated in the tree exchange, but I had to look twice at your pic because we did have a corner room for Christmas one year and we had a tree in that exact same spot. I have a picture that looks so similar to that. It was an awesome case of moose dust to end up with that room for Christmas!
I'm sure several will be absent or get checked out in my district. They should've just made it a holiday and closed the schools. I mean if even 1/3 of my students are out, I'm not teaching anything new.
 


Hi twoolle! :wave2:

Using the NASA map from my previous post, I clicked on

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! :)

Thank you so much, very helpful! I think we should be fine at practice, most of the kids live in town or can take the back roads, although DH is self employed in forestry and is taking the day off as a maintenance day so he doesn't have to deal with the traffic.
 


We are in Dallas, soon to board to Philadelphia. We'll see how dark it gets on our journey!
 
Okay, Mrs. Granny and I just came back in from spending several minutes on our back patio. It was pretty cool watching the whole area getting darker and the colors of everything becoming so vibrant. At the time of total eclipse we looked at the sun and I will admit it was pretty cool to see (this was during the period of "no glasses required"). I tried to take a photo on my phone but it just came out as a white blob even though to the naked eye it was clearly the full eclipse. It pretty much looked like this:

total-solar-eclipse.jpg


And only another 8 years to wait for another one! :cool2:


I do have to admit, after all the build up for the eclipse I kind of was reminded of this scene from Family Vacation.

 
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LOL Granny.

IMG_3269.jpg

We only had a crescent eclipse here in the Houston area. We did pin holes in a box and used a colander to reflect on paper. But the shadows from the tree leaves gave us the best view of the eclipse. It still seems weird that the leave shapes turned into crescents.
 
It was bright and sunny all morning in Ohio and about 10 minutes before the totality it got cloudy and started to rain and then it cleared back up after the moon moved on. It is bright and sunny again. Imagine that, 30 minutes of clouds and rain all day and it happened at the absolute worst time! Oh well, at least we didn't travel anywhere to see it.
 
LOL Granny.

View attachment 263640

We only had a crescent eclipse here in the Houston area. We did pin holes in a box and used a colander to reflect on paper. But the shadows from the tree leaves gave us the best view of the eclipse. It still seems weird that the leave shapes turned into crescents.


Very cool, Denise. I would never have thought to use tree leaf shadows to view the eclipse! Nice! :)
 
Capt.D and myself were at work, had the glasses, stepped out around 1:53, saw it just beginning, stepped back out 10 mins later and clouds were covering it for the remainder of time. We saw it briefly maybe 5% coverage. Only clouds all day here too!

Granny, thats a spot on scene of it all. We have a tendency to make a mountain out of a mole hill sometimes, and the build up is more exciting than the actual thing we are waiting to see.
 
We only had a brief period of dusk, but it was noticeable. We were flying, Dallas to Philadelphia.

Denise, that's an interesting picture, I like it.
 
Hey y'all. DH and I are staying at VWL for the first time this January. I'm very excited. We have a studio at Boulder Ridge but are waitlisted for Copper Creek. I need to learn about the differences and about the lodge as a whole. Guess I have some reading to do!
 
Hey y'all. DH and I are staying at VWL for the first time this January. I'm very excited. We have a studio at Boulder Ridge but are waitlisted for Copper Creek. I need to learn about the differences and about the lodge as a whole. Guess I have some reading to do!
Welcome, MapleGirl! Lots of great things to say about VWL (aka BRV), Copper Creek, and the Lodge as a whole. Here are a few things off the top of my head, though it's far from a complete list.
Copper Creek
This is DVC's newest resort, and it's a combo of both the new suites in the main Lodge (which include the entirety of the south wing, or the area over the check-in desk extending down that side to the end nearest the lake) and the 26 cabins that now exist along the lake's shore. The main differences in the rooms are a) they're newer, b) the floor plan (the CC rooms are a little more shotgun style), and c) CC has 3BR grand villas which VWL does not. As these rooms exist in the main Lodge, that means a little closer access to the lobby, the main pool, the restaurants, and the boat dock. As with everyone at the Wilderness Lodge, you'll have access to both pools, the old main pool (renamed Copper Creek, too) and the new Boulder Ridge pool. In fact, in terms of amenities, there is no difference between staying at Copper Creek or at VWL. Your views there would be overlooking the main pool or partial lake views and the new pool on the other side, unless you're in a room near the front desk.

VWL
Our home away from home. The rooms are a bit more spacious, at least they seem to be, and they sleep 5 whereas the new Copper Creek rooms do not. Being that the rooms in the VWL building are a bit farther away from the main Lodge, that means to get to a restaurant (outside of Geyser Point), you have a bit farther to walk. Still, it's not a long walk; we're talking an extra couple of minutes or so at best. The bus stop sits between the two buildings, so it's equidistant. The new BRV pool is actually closer. Your views there will be either lake on the east side or trees on the more western side. I particularly enjoy the walk between the two buildings along the timbered walkway with the lanterns flickering and crickets chirping. I think a room there will be slightly less hectic since it won't involve having to go into the main lobby to access your room.

For either resort, the Lodge is a marvelous place. There is plenty of grandeur and beauty; the music is quite majestic; the architecture is inspiring. Even the new cabins are lovely, even if they did displace a lot of trees thus removing some of the wilderness feel. If you follow the cement path that leads to the cabins on the south side (parallel to the VWL building), you'll finally reach a sandy nature trail, at least what's left of it. Or you can take the paved bike path to Ft Wilderness--about a mile one way. Bike and boat rentals are available, or you can just walk. We always walk when we go to FW to eat at Trail's End, and we usually see wildlife along the way. There is something in the air at WL that surpasses our experience at any other resort. I think you will feel that way, as well, after your stay there.

Again, welcome, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Here's a link to the main WL resort which might also help you: https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...villas-and-cabins-information-thread.3372315/
 
Sleepy...great job with listing the descriptions and differences between VWL and CCV. :thumbsup2

Maple (we tend to shorten names around here)...welcome to the thread. I agree with everything Sleepy said in his post. CCV is more of the "hotel experience", pretty much the same as someone staying at Wilderness Lodge in the main building. That puts you close to many amenities and the boat dock. VWL (BRV) is a separate building and a little more feeling of seclusion which many of us really enjoy. Either way, you will enjoy your stay, we're sure.

Feel free to ask questions. We can talk about any of the amenities and transportation options. For example, there is both a bus and a boat that will take you to MK. And there is another boat or two that just circles Bay Lake to take you to The Contemporary or Fort Wilderness. Enjoy your trip planning! :)
 
[snip] Granny, thats a spot on scene of it all. We have a tendency to make a mountain out of a mole hill sometimes, [snip].

Kind of like us Groupies getting bent out of shape when we found out they were changing our VWL experience. I think we all know that it's not the end of the world, but I know I fretted about it. Now I think it will be okay, especially in a few years when the trees grow.

But of course, you're right. Clouds and rain on an eclipse day are just part of nature's roll of the dice. I'm not surprised that you are able to keep it in perspective.
 
Sleepy...great job with listing the descriptions and differences between VWL and CCV. :thumbsup2

Maple (we tend to shorten names around here)...welcome to the thread. I agree with everything Sleepy said in his post. CCV is more of the "hotel experience", pretty much the same as someone staying at Wilderness Lodge in the main building. That puts you close to many amenities and the boat dock. VWL (BRV) is a separate building and a little more feeling of seclusion which many of us really enjoy. Either way, you will enjoy your stay, we're sure.

Feel free to ask questions. We can talk about any of the amenities and transportation options. For example, there is both a bus and a boat that will take you to MK. And there is another boat or two that just circles Bay Lake to take you to The Contemporary or Fort Wilderness. Enjoy your trip planning! :)
Thanks, Granny, though as soon as I posted that I read over on the main Lodge thread that it appears rooms directly above the registration desk on the 4th floor aren't open. A poster said one of those rooms is now a Copper Creek only laundry area and the rooms beside it are Cast Members Only. The rooms in that location on the 5th-7th floors appear to be in use, says the same person.

Mostly, Maple (Granny is correct about shortening names), we love to share info and, well, our love of the Lodge with others. Have a great trip!
 
Maple - welcome to the thread! You will love the atmosphere at The Lodge when staying in its comforting arms. But I must admit, as an old VWL owner, I had to take pause when I read that you were waitlisted for Copper Creek. It is just something that I never thought of doing. No matter. . . . . Enjoy! :wave2:
 

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