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

[twokats]

Wishing all the groupies a Happy Memorial Day. Very rainy here in TX. Will be all week, we have had a bit of rain lately and hopefully by Thursday we will have a break. We are slowly coming back to life here in our area. Our county has been very light in virus cases in comparison to Dallas or even Rockwall counties around us. Last I looked we were at 65 with just a few deaths.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary tomorrow. No big plans, maybe someday we can do another Disney anniversary cruise. We will be in WDW and a Dream cruise the end of October and the first week of November. It will be interesting to see how things are in the fall. Kati is counting the days. Her work at Texas Lions Camp was cancelled for this summer because of the virus. This would have been her 15th year of being a counselor for them. So now she is counting down til next summer.

As said I hope all groupies have a good summer and stay well!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Thank you Granny and Sleepydog! I have been seeing some of the changes by following the Dis or Allears but seeing all you guys wrote geez there is so much. Can't wait to see all the changes at the Lodge. Wow. I don't think I'll recognize it. I'll have to try to remember all I need to do as far as the magic bands, reservations and all of that stuff. Been so long I don't remember everything. I used to feel like I was kind of an expert now I feel like a newbie. LOL

 

[bluecastle]

Thank you Granny and Sleepydog! I have been seeing some of the changes by following the Dis or Allears but seeing all you guys wrote geez there is so much. Can't wait to see all the changes at the Lodge. Wow. I don't think I'll recognize it. I'll have to try to remember all I need to do as far as the magic bands, reservations and all of that stuff. Been so long I don't remember everything. I used to feel like I was kind of an expert now I feel like a newbie. LOL

Happy Planning!
Another big change is the way you buy tickets. They are dated and there are very specific rules about them. I found this thread helpful:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/tickets-how-to-upgrade.3570721/unread
There have also been changes in the FastPass system and I found mesaboy2's thread very helpful.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/unread

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Thank you Bluecastle!!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Happy Anniversary twokats!

 

[twinklebug]

Happy Anniversary Kathy! (@twokats)

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Happy Anniversary Twokats!!!!

 

[Granny]

Kathy...hope you had a special day!​

 

[TCRAIG]

Happy Anniversary to all us May couples!

 

[twinklebug]

Happy Anniversary to all us May couples!

Happy Anniversary TCraig!

 

[twokats]

Thank y'all.
And right back at you TCraig!

 

[Granny]

So, now that it looks like Disney will be opening two parks (MK & AK) on July 11 and the other two on July 15, does that impact anyone's trip plans?

Interesting that Disney will wait a full month until after Sea World opens, and more than a month after Universal. I'm thinking they will let the other theme park competitors stub their toes and learn from their mistakes.

 

[sleepydog25]

So, now that it looks like Disney will be opening two parks (MK & AK) on July 11 and the other two on July 15, does that impact anyone's trip plans?

Interesting that Disney will wait a full month until after Sea World opens, and more than a month after Universal. I'm thinking they will let the other theme park competitors stub their toes and learn from their mistakes.

Yet, still no information on VB and HHI resorts. We're due to head to HHI in a little over two weeks, and we're fine with renting VRBO. . .but we need to know one way or the other. We don't want to wait another week while all our VRBOs are gobbled up.

 

[TCRAIG]

And nothing about any resort opening dates

 

[bobbiwoz]

June Anniversary couples, we are next!!

 

[Starwind]

And nothing about any resort opening dates

They do, at the top of the WDW website they state:

QUOTE


Walt Disney World Resort Temporary Closures and Important InformationWalt Disney World Resort Temporary Closures and Important Information
• Pending approval from government officials, the phased reopening plans we submitted calls for Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney Resort hotels to open beginning July 11 for Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom followed by EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on July 15.
• Additionally, Disney Vacation Club properties at Walt Disney World and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen to Members and Guests on June 22. Disney Vacation Club properties in Vero Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, will open on June 15. Disney Springs has begun a phased reopening. Upon reopening, theme parks, Disney Resort Hotels, restaurants and other offerings may be modified, limited in capacity and subject to availability or closure.


END QUOTE

 

[sleepydog25]

Here's a link to the official DisneyParks blog: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-theme-parks-resort-hotels-and-disney-stores/

It says the same as what Starwind posted above.

We were due to check in on 14 June, but since I couldn't even get through to Member Services (nothing but a fast busy signal which, of course, means they're swamped), and since they're not currently offering the chat option, AND since no one at HHI is answering phones or emails, we opted to modify our reservation. We now arrive on 15 June and check out on the original date. We may opt to do a 2-day VRBO on either end of that trip just to extend our stay. So, for now, it seems we'll be staying at HHI on the first night they are officially open after shutting down for the virus. We'll be fairly certain the rooms will be clean.

 

[TCRAIG]

Thank you all!

 

[Starwind]

Thought I would check in with the Groupies.

Two weeks ago here we had snow and set a cold record for May. This week we are setting multiple new high records for May. Today it is hotter than Orlando (both actual and after humidex) !! Our high with the humidex today will be 40 C / 104 F. I kid you not.

Oh ! And last week we also set a record for lowest humidity ever recorded in this city since they started keeping records in 1952 -- some weird weather mass basically made us like a desert with 11-12 % humidity [let me tell you - it was glorious !! I could only wish that all of summer would feel like that; perfect temp perfect humidity]. That has changed as we were slammed up to summer humidity this week and are getting heat index warnings all week as a result. We installed our new replacement dehumidifier yesterday . Mother Nature is clearly on vacation somewhere else.

We are all doing well.

We are continuing to plan our DCL Alaska cruise for next summer, optimistic that it will happen but realistic that in the end we may have to cancel if there isn't a vaccine yet. But we are planning as if it is going forward. We actually have two dates booked and haven't yet decided which we will keep -- we booked one initially and then decided to use the rest of the place holders from our B2B2B to book a second date later in the season hedging it would have a better chance of being a go. Now for several other reasons we are thinking the later one may be better anyway (eg get to do Breakfast With the Bears in Vancouver pre-cruise ). So still deciding... If anyone had thoughts on DCL Alaska cruising May vs August I'd be interested in hearing them !

Hope the rest of the Groupies are doing well and that Mother Nature is doing her job a little bit better with you !!

SW

 

[sleepydog25]

Thought I would check in with the Groupies.

Two weeks ago here we had snow and set a cold record for May. This week we are setting multiple new high records for May. Today it is hotter than Orlando (both actual and after humidex) !! Our high with the humidex today will be 40 C / 104 F. I kid you not.

Oh ! And last week we also set a record for lowest humidity ever recorded in this city since they started keeping records in 1952 -- some weird weather mass basically made us like a desert with 11-12 % humidity [let me tell you - it was glorious !! I could only wish that all of summer would feel like that; perfect temp perfect humidity]. That has changed as we were slammed up to summer humidity this week and are getting heat index warnings all week as a result. We installed our new replacement dehumidifier yesterday . Mother Nature is clearly on vacation somewhere else.

We are all doing well.

We are continuing to plan our DCL Alaska cruise for next summer, optimistic that it will happen but realistic that in the end we may have to cancel if there isn't a vaccine yet. But we are planning as if it is going forward. We actually have two dates booked and haven't yet decided which we will keep -- we booked one initially and then decided to use the rest of the place holders from our B2B2B to book a second date later in the season hedging it would have a better chance of being a go. Now for several other reasons we are thinking the later one may be better anyway (eg get to do Breakfast With the Bears in Vancouver pre-cruise ). So still deciding... If anyone had thoughts on DCL Alaska cruising May vs August I'd be interested in hearing them !

Hope the rest of the Groupies are doing well and that Mother Nature is doing her job a little bit better with you !!

SW

So, you sent us the crappy weather. We had 6"+ rain a few days ago, and now the remnants of the latest tropical depression that popped up over SC is hitting us tonight through tomorrow with another 2" or more. Some places near us had over 11" during the last rain event. We are also sitting 10-15 degrees cooler than normal over the last several weeks with an exception day here and there.

As for DCL, I lived in Alaska for four years, and obviously while weather patterns for any given time are unpredictable, I will say that as a general rule, weather in Alaska is slightly better in August than in May. In May, the last vestiges of "sprinter" (my term for winter and spring combined) are going away, while in August, there are generally more warmer, nicer days left to come. Plus, in May, all the flowers, shrubs, etc. aren't yet in full bloom, and AK in the summer can shock you with how much color there is with various flora. That will still be around in August. Just my 2 cents' worth.