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

[Corinne]

I am too!!! We are in Middleton, about 30 mins north of Boston!

I work in Danvers (Middleton line)!

 

[sleepydog25]

I just read an ugly rumor by The Rusty Scupper, and he's usually accurate. It's on the restaurant forum, but in short and if true, Artist Point will become a character meal for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. IF true, I will not be a happy man. . .at all.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Headed to Yosemite yesterday on my birthday trip. Kind of nice view off the patio this morning!!!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I just read an ugly rumor by The Rusty Scupper, and he's usually accurate. It's on the restaurant forum, but in short and if true, Artist Point will become a character meal for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. IF true, I will not be a happy man. . .at all.

Unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me Sleepy. Add some characters, mediocrize the food and up the price. Voila! Disney profits rise!

 

[sleepydog25]

Unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me Sleepy. Add some characters, mediocrize the food and up the price. Voila! Disney profits rise!

Exactly! Nice pic above, though!

 

[Dizny Dad]

I just read an ugly rumor by The Rusty Scupper, and he's usually accurate. It's on the restaurant forum, but in short and if true, Artist Point will become a character meal for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. IF true, I will not be a happy man. . .at all.

Move the Characters to Whispering Canyon for Dinner. PLEASE!

 

[twinklebug]

I just read an ugly rumor by The Rusty Scupper, and he's usually accurate. It's on the restaurant forum, but in short and if true, Artist Point will become a character meal for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. IF true, I will not be a happy man. . .at all.

I agree that AP has a romance to the location that character interaction would stomp on. What if they model it like 'Ohanas and did this for breakfast, but turn it back to it's charming location for dinner?

Disney's intention in making any change here would be two fold. In addition to bringing in more bucks, I believe they are trying to head off a problem that has already started and will only increase as we head into the opening of SW Land, and then 2021. They have too many on-site guests for the popular dining locations to handle with more to come with all the building going on. Presently, it seems like we need to be online within 48 hours of our 6 month out window opening to acquire a reasonable reservation at any of the popular locations. AP has not been all that difficult to grab a reservation for even one day prior up to now and they see this. I'm sure it is flagged for changes, but what sort has been unknown.

October 2021 and for the 12 months following will be a huge celebration for the MK's 50th. Even the Orlando airport is making changes to add more gates expecting the uptick in guests. Disney Springs has added a slew of eateries at all levels, but still it is so far removed from the parks that most folk do not venture over. I'm sure Disney will be adding better entertainment to the area to draw crowds over.

To ramble on... It is sad to see WL inching away from being a rustic, hidden location and changing into suburbs for the MK. We saw it coming when they announced the cabins and ripped out the woods. If the rumored DVC is being built just next door, then I think we can assume that foot traffic along WL's paths, in the lobby, on the docks etc will all increase. I'm curious what they're planning on doing with Trails End over in the fort as it too screams "changes can be made here".

 

[sleepydog25]

I agree that AP has a romance to the location that character interaction would stomp on. What if they model it like 'Ohanas and did this for breakfast, but turn it back to it's charming location for dinner?

Disney's intention in making any change here would be two fold. In addition to bringing in more bucks, I believe they are trying to head off a problem that has already started and will only increase as we head into the opening of SW Land, and then 2021. They have too many on-site guests for the popular dining locations to handle with more to come with all the building going on. Presently, it seems like we need to be online within 48 hours of our 6 month out window opening to acquire a reasonable reservation at any of the popular locations. AP has not been all that difficult to grab a reservation for even one day prior up to now and they see this. I'm sure it is flagged for changes, but what sort has been unknown.

October 2021 and for the 12 months following will be a huge celebration for the MK's 50th. Even the Orlando airport is making changes to add more gates expecting the uptick in guests. Disney Springs has added a slew of eateries at all levels, but still it is so far removed from the parks that most folk do not venture over. I'm sure Disney will be adding better entertainment to the area to draw crowds over.

To ramble on... It is sad to see WL inching away from being a rustic, hidden location and changing into suburbs for the MK. We saw it coming when they announced the cabins and ripped out the woods. If the rumored DVC is being built just next door, then I think we can assume that foot traffic along WL's paths, in the lobby, on the docks etc will all increase. I'm curious what they're planning on doing with Trails End over in the fort as it too screams "changes can be made here".

As Groupies know, I've never been one to shrink away from addressing what I feel are poor decisions regarding my beloved Lodge. Luv will say I'm jumping the gun, but I've already fired off a shot across the bow to the WL manager and others about this rumor. I hope with all my might this rumor isn't true; however, something other than a minor revamp for a character breakfast is going on at Artist Point come late October, and the alarm bells in my head are clanging away. In short, a deluxe resort needs a Signature restaurant, and a character meal does not a Signature make. Stay tuned, I guess.

 

[Dean Marino]

Regarding above? Homed at BRV....

From end of OCT 2018 to ?. AP is dead. No SIG at the WL....
CABS to the GF, or Contemporary, are about $10/leg. Here, one may find SIGS.

 

[rkstocke5609]

Regarding the coming changes at AP — full disclosure, I’ve only eaten there once and it was a really good meal. The thing I remember most about the experience is that there were only 2 other tables being served at the time. I remember thinking the place was nice but nothing blew me away regarding the atmosphere save the outside area overlooking the pool area, a nice private balcony type area and if memory serves we moved out there for desert. The thing is, if you’re going to have a signature restaurant that isn’t 80% full at a minimum then from a business perspective they need to make a change. I’ve always preferred California Grill at Contemporary. I’m willing to give something new a chance, and I hope it will live up to Groupie standards. I am sad for those that have fond memories of AP, but hopefully whatever it is replaced with will offer opportunities for new memories. Part of the problem with AP was that Wilderness not being on the monorail means that probably only 2% of reservations were from people NOT staying at Wilderness. Meanwhile, signature restaurants at GF, Poly, & Contemporary are nearly at full capacity all the time...

 

[DVC Jen]

I just read an ugly rumor by The Rusty Scupper, and he's usually accurate. It's on the restaurant forum, but in short and if true, Artist Point will become a character meal for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. IF true, I will not be a happy man. . .at all.

I agree with you. Breakfast and even lunch I could deal with, but not dinner. I like having. More upscale feel to dinner

 

[jimmytammy]

AP changes are just another nail in the coffin for most of us WL/VWL fans. Ron, I do see your point about AP not reaching its full potential, and maybe tweaking it some would be best, but without giving up its character, what it originally was intended to be. Character breakfast, I had no issue with, close for lunch, reopen for a classy dinner. Thats my thinking. But all character meals all day, nope!

 

[sleepydog25]

AP changes are just another nail in the coffin for most of us WL/VWL fans. Ron, I do see your point about AP not reaching its full potential, and maybe tweaking it some would be best, but without giving up its character, what it originally was intended to be. Character breakfast, I had no issue with, close for lunch, reopen for a classy dinner. That's my thinking. But all character meals all day, nope!

Agree. I do understand the nature of business, and if you aren't filling enough seats, I get it. However, there are ways to change the perception of a restaurant to increase business vice making a wholesale change. I, too, am perfectly fine with a character meal at breakfast, and if absolutely necessary, at lunch. Doing a character meal for dinner will do three things:
1) Lessen the quality of the food - There isn't a single character meal out there where the food can be considered of Signature quality, especially if it's a buffet and must be mostly tailored to a child's palate.
2) Knock WL from the ranks of the deluxe resorts - You can't be a deluxe resort and not have a Signature restaurant. You can CALL yourself a deluxe all you want, but without a topnotch dining experience, you just aren't.
3) Devalue DVC - This idea is a bit more tenuous, so I'm mostly speaking from my own POV. However, look at it from this vantage: there are two DVC resorts in one location and there would be no place to have a superb dining experience on property. One could argue that neither does the Poly, but they sit on the monorail so can get to a few easily--heck, you can even walk to the GF.

All of this said, it's important to note that perhaps this rumor doesn't reflect the entirety of what will happen. At this point, it's still unconfirmed via official sources, so I will cling to my hope that the powers that be don't make some rash decisions that will further compromise the quality of the experience at the Lodge.

 

[ErinC]

I will confess that I have never eaten at AP, but we don’t do a lot of signature dining in general. With 3 children over the years, nothing looked extremely appealing for the price. We’ve splurged in the past and done Shula’s and other type places, but never even tried AP. With that said, I don’t like the idea of them trying to “calm” whispering canyon, but then decide to turn AP into a zoo. Really makes no sense to me.

Decided to book one night in July to check out Toy Storyland and put our Premium APs to use and go the water park one day too. I wanted a Boardwalk studio for the night to have that easy accessibility to the studios. I knew it was available last week, but wasn’t available 3 days ago when I went to book it. Not gonna lie, i think I’ve checked online probably 15 times a day since Monday. I waitlisted for garden view and boardwalk view. When I checked around 10 this morning it was available. Of course my waitlist was still sitting there. I booked it myself and canceled both waitlists. So happy to get exactly what I wanted. I wanted the studio so we didn’t have to schlep the blow up mattress for one night. This way everyone has a bed(sort of) and we can walk to the park at a ridiculously early hour to ride the new stuff. Have I mentioned that between Aulani, BRV in February for the princess half, and now this mini trip, that I’m almost out of our 2019 points!

 

[TCRAIG]

So excited - and nervous! I received the Toy Story Special Event email where AP holders are invited to a “PostView” with dates in Sept...and of course - no detail over WHICH dates in Sept...and just odd days here and there at DVC...but just now WLV popped up for Sept 1-7 and I grabbed it - begging/borrowing/OTU points to pay for it...now - I just need one of the events to be scheduled that week and hope I can get online and reserve 2 spots...

 

[ErinC]

So excited - and nervous! I received the Toy Story Special Event email where AP holders are invited to a “PostView” with dates in Sept...and of course - no detail over WHICH dates in Sept...and just odd days here and there at DVC...but just now WLV popped up for Sept 1-7 and I grabbed it - begging/borrowing/OTU points to pay for it...now - I just need one of the events to be scheduled that week and hope I can get online and reserve 2 spots...

What did the email say? My daughter asked me if I got the email, since she is living close by, she wants to go. Where can I find the info?

 

[TCRAIG]

It said - PASSHOLDERS, OPEN NOW FOR EXCITING NEWS...promo is called Passholder Play Time. The email was supposedly sent to Gold and Premium Annual Passholders. There’s more info on the AP website.

 

[ErinC]

It said - PASSHOLDERS, OPEN NOW FOR EXCITING NEWS...promo is called Passholder Play Time. The email was supposedly sent to Gold and Premium Annual Passholders. There’s more info on the AP website.

Thanks TCRAIG, I found it in my email!

 

[TCRAIG]

Thanks TCRAIG, I found it in my email!

Hope I picked the right week and hope to see some Groupies there!!

 

[DiznyDi]

Boy, Lots going on this week!

Congratulations sleepy on DDaughters graduation and LUV's new job! Exciting times these are.

You must really be feeling the adrenaline flowing Jen! Only a few more days...

I hadn't read/heard anything about the 'proposed' changes at Artists Point. So sad, if true. DDad and I haven't eaten there in several years. It was always our last evening meal before heading home, unfortunately we had several bad experiences back to back and just haven't had the desire to return.

Nice photo Kathy! Looks very peaceful. Enjoy your trip!

And now I must go look for the pass holder email... (Thanks Tricia)

Have a great day Groupies!