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

[jimmytammy]

Guess everyone has been very busy!!!

We are having crazy weather here in TX. Lots of rain and some nice weather, but heading back to the colder side of things. We are so soggy it is ridiculous.

Hey Kathy!!
Yes, its soggy here too. Its been the wettest winter I remember around these parts. A few weeks back, the sun peeked out for a few hours. A friend texted me and said, "the sun is out, but it has a mildew ring around it"

 

[Dizny Dad]

We've had a great winter in my neck of the woods. Wet, yes. Lots of snow, but always just a couple of inches at a time , then it would melt away. Only once did we get a snow so deep we could not get out of our drive without help. I would call that a mild winter, to say the least. And now it looks like Spring is peaking out, with temps in the 40s and some 50s. Time to get back out onto the property and clean up the damages from a November ice storm. Lots of branches down, along with a tree or two. Dang.

 

[sleepydog25]

Wet just about everywhere it seems. As December came to an end, we'd had 60-65% more precipitation than the average year. That trend has continued with lots of rain, snow, and a fair amount of ice since. Spring, true late spring weather, would be greatly appreciated right about now. We missed snow by a day coming back from our trip to the World. . .and I have my first girls varsity tennis match tomorrow. . .outside. To be fair, it's supposed to be cloudy, but dry, and 55F.

In other news, there was another family from my rural area at Disney the same time we were. Didn't run across them while here, but they enjoyed themselves, even the cooler temps we had for a couple of days. Beats 25F and snow any day. . .

 

[Lakegirl]

We have had a very mild winter in the northeast/Mass in regards to snow. So much so that it was disappointing. We only had one real storm and it was mostly overnight. It’s been plenty cold though.

 

[rkstocke5609]

Our record February snowfall is morphing into lots of ice dam damage (not for me, I own a snow rake) and now we are expecting highs in the 40’s the next two days along with 2-3 inches of rain! And, with the storm drains in the streets covered by mountains of snow and ice we are under flood watch / warning depending on where you are. And I had to officially abandon my hopes of escaping to Florida.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Our record February snowfall is morphing into lots of ice dam damage (not for me, I own a snow rake) and now we are expecting highs in the 40’s the next two days along with 2-3 inches of rain! And, with the storm drains in the streets covered by mountains of snow and ice we are under flood watch / warning depending on where you are. And I had to officially abandon my hopes of escaping to Florida.

And I'm supposed to fly back on Thursday. Wasn't really planning on boating around.

 

[jenhelgren]

I hope this is the appropriate place to ask--are all the 1 bedroom units at Boulder Ridge the same or are there different floor plans that allow more space than others? We usually have a studio or 1 bedroom and always just request pool view. I was talking to friends who usually have a 2 bedroom unit and they said the rooms by the elevator shaft are actually larger floorplans. BRV is my hubby's favorite resort but it is crowded for us in a 1 bed now that my kids prefer not to share a bed and we bring an air mattress! Having a room with a larger floor plan would be a huge plus for me!

 

[rkstocke5609]

I hope this is the appropriate place to ask--are all the 1 bedroom units at Boulder Ridge the same or are there different floor plans that allow more space than others? We usually have a studio or 1 bedroom and always just request pool view. I was talking to friends who usually have a 2 bedroom unit and they said the rooms by the elevator shaft are actually larger floorplans. BRV is my hubby's favorite resort but it is crowded for us in a 1 bed now that my kids prefer not to share a bed and we bring an air mattress! Having a room with a larger floor plan would be a huge plus for me!

You are correct that there is some variation in the size/configuration near the elevators, but you would need some luck to get one..tap on page 1 and scroll down for the floor plan map..

 

[Granny]

I hope this is the appropriate place to ask--are all the 1 bedroom units at Boulder Ridge the same or are there different floor plans that allow more space than others? We usually have a studio or 1 bedroom and always just request pool view. I was talking to friends who usually have a 2 bedroom unit and they said the rooms by the elevator shaft are actually larger floorplans. BRV is my hubby's favorite resort but it is crowded for us in a 1 bed now that my kids prefer not to share a bed and we bring an air mattress! Having a room with a larger floor plan would be a huge plus for me!

You are correct that there is some variation in the size/configuration near the elevators, but you would need some luck to get one..tap on page 1 and scroll down for the floor plan map..

As Ron indicated, there are some rooms where the "living room" area is significantly larger (at the expense of the kitchen area). But almost all of those are dedicated 2BR units. There are a couple of 1BR lock-offs with this configuration on the top floor. It is fine to request them, but since there are only a couple of them you don't have great odds of landing one. Just didn't want to set your hopes too high on getting one. Good luck!

 

[sleepydog25]

I hope this is the appropriate place to ask--are all the 1 bedroom units at Boulder Ridge the same or are there different floor plans that allow more space than others? We usually have a studio or 1 bedroom and always just request pool view. I was talking to friends who usually have a 2 bedroom unit and they said the rooms by the elevator shaft are actually larger floorplans. BRV is my hubby's favorite resort but it is crowded for us in a 1 bed now that my kids prefer not to share a bed and we bring an air mattress! Having a room with a larger floor plan would be a huge plus for me!

First, , jenhelgren! We're always happy to see new faces on the Groupies thread! Second, I echo what Granny and Ron said. There are larger floor plans for a handful of 1BRs just off the elevators; however, it's luck of the draw in getting one. My wife and I had one of them about three years ago, and it was marvelous! As mentioned, you sacrifice slightly for the kitchen but the dining and living areas are larger. We vacationed in the middle of rehearsals for a play I was in, and that extra space allowed me the ability to mimic my blocking from the show. Some people like to request particular room numbers, but our fear with that is if that particular room isn't available, they might stick us anywhere. We prefer to have a general guideline set up: high floor and lake view, for example. Best of luck, and again, welcome!

 

[Corinne]

Our waitlist came through for our first night at BLT in May! We are so excited to stay there!

 

[Granny]

Our waitlist came through for our first night at BLT in May! We are so excited to stay there!

That's great, Corinne! What kind of view category are you booking? We like BLT a lot...just so darn convenient! Do you have more waitlist to go? Or does that complete your reservation?

 

[sleepydog25]

Our waitlist came through for our first night at BLT in May! We are so excited to stay there!

Congratulations! I made the change already as I just popped in here during my lunch break to see your post. We really like BLT. The decor isn't to everyone's liking, and I do get that; however, for us the whole idea behind CR and BLT is that it's supposed to be cleaner lines and a bit more geometric than the softer contours of VWL and the Lodge. Certainly, the convenience to MK, the monorail, TOWL, and good restaurants is a bonus, as well. We seriously considered purchasing a smaller, direct contract there (hard to find small contracts resale) a couple of years ago when we took a tour of the Aulani and Copper Creek rooms at SSR (they were giving away $100 gift card). We had been tossing around the idea until the agent said he could probably find us a contract size we wanted (50 pts). He disappeared for about 10 minutes, then came back and said there was a reclaimed contract with 128 points (odd number) and that we could have any part or all of said contract starting at our 50 points. In the end, we decided it was a "no" due to wanting to work on paying off other items in our lives like cars. I'm sure you'll enjoy it there!

 

[Corinne]

Congratulations! I made the change already as I just popped in here during my lunch break to see your post. We really like BLT. The decor isn't to everyone's liking, and I do get that; however, for us the whole idea behind CR and BLT is that it's supposed to be cleaner lines and a bit more geometric than the softer contours of VWL and the Lodge. Certainly, the convenience to MK, the monorail, TOWL, and good restaurants is a bonus, as well. We seriously considered purchasing a smaller, direct contract there (hard to find small contracts resale) a couple of years ago when we took a tour of the Aulani and Copper Creek rooms at SSR (they were giving away $100 gift card). We had been tossing around the idea until the agent said he could probably find us a contract size we wanted (50 pts). He disappeared for about 10 minutes, then came back and said there was a reclaimed contract with 128 points (odd number) and that we could have any part or all of said contract starting at our 50 points. In the end, we decided it was a "no" due to wanting to work on paying off other items in our lives like cars. I'm sure you'll enjoy it there!

Thanks Sleepy! I PM’d you as well....funny because I almost asked in my post! I’m not wildly fond of the decor at BLT either, we toured when they were first completed. We love TOWL and can see ourselves there nearly every evening! We’re really excited about walking over to MK and monorail access. This is a pretty big deal for Dana to be excited, since he really prefers the Epcot area.

 

[jenhelgren]

As Ron indicated, there are some rooms where the "living room" area is significantly larger (at the expense of the kitchen area). But almost all of those are dedicated 2BR units. There are a couple of 1BR lock-offs with this configuration on the top floor. It is fine to request them, but since there are only a couple of them you don't have great odds of landing one. Just didn't want to set your hopes too high on getting one. Good luck!

Thanks-that is exactly what I was looking for! I knew there were not a lot of 1 bed units and our request would need some pixie dust, but its at least worth a try! Would "top floor, lake view, near elevator" be my best request to get lucky enough to stay in one of the larger living room units?

 

[Granny]

Thanks-that is exactly what I was looking for! I knew there were not a lot of 1 bed units and our request would need some pixie dust, but its at least worth a try! Would "top floor, lake view, near elevator" be my best request to get lucky enough to stay in one of the larger living room units?

If you want a lake view, there is exactly one 1BR unit that meets your requirement....unit 5519 is a lock-off 1BR with the larger living room area. You can see it on the room map on page 1, 5th floor. There is another one on the other side of the building too (not a lake view).

As @sleepydog25 indicated, you can request this one villa. But it would take quite a bit of luck to have someone checking out of that villa the morning that you check in. And if they can't fulfill that request, you could end up anywhere.

I completely understand the two siblings not wanting to sleep together. We brought an air mattress for several years for our regular 1BR villa at VWL (BRV). There is room for it, though it is pretty tight. I think we had one daughter sleep on the couch (without folding it out) and the other on the air mattress on the floor.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I used to request lakeview every time. Sigh.

 

[twinklebug]

I used to request lakeview every time. Sigh.

Did you also ask for a higher floor? I think those are more popular than the low ones. Any time I asked for higher floor I was put on the end (cowbell serenade) or in one instance I was granted that large 1br unit on the bus side. That's when I decided that I do not like being up high.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Did you also ask for a higher floor? I think those are more popular than the low ones. Any time I asked for higher floor I was put on the end (cowbell serenade) or in one instance I was granted that large 1br unit on the bus side. That's when I decided that I do not like being up high.

Yes, lakeside or else pool view and high floor. Back then getting a ground floor wouldn't have accomplished seeing the water although I guess it might now? While I don't mind a patio I do prefer a balcony. Still that request once got me bus side ground floor. Maybe MS added a "not" before lakeside and high floor.

 

[twinklebug]

Maybe MS added a "not" before lakeside and high floor.

I think you're right about that.

I always loved having the ground floor patio units on the pool side when I had young kids. They were old enough to run to/from the pool and I could leave the patio door unlocked for them to come and go easily. Also had lots of mother nature's guests in the way of chipmunks, rabbits, deer, snakes, and one time even a black widow graced us with her presence. The only thing I did not care for was the native lawnmower creature.