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

[KAT4DISNEY]

Others seem to find the time to post while in The World, but I find it difficult to do any computer activity while on vacation. My apologies and I thank Granny for filling in for us with a few posts while absorbing The Lodge atmosphere.

Yes, as DiznyDi stated, we had a wonderful time in The World. And we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Granny, Mrs. Granny, Corinne & Mr. Corinne! This trip, just as Granny stated, we had less park time and more resort time. I spent my Birthday at the pool, which is not a norm for DiznyDi & I. But we were joined for a time by Granny, so it was a great time had by all. DiznyDi arranged for a Birthday Cake at the TOTWL, so after the fireworks, we all enjoyed a sweet treat!

We will surely miss everyone in December. It will be the first time in many years that we will not enjoy The Lodge at Christmas time. But we have a full family trip planned for November. All of our children and spouses will be there. We are really excited and look forward to the event in a Grand Villa.

Thanks for the Birthday greetings.

A belated Happy Birthday Rich!

 

[Granny]

That's such a bummer for you guys and tough to get fixed if they aren't assuming it's something with their processes. There's been lots of discussions popping up relating to the new hold authorizations being used by them. I wonder if the problems are all related in some way to that? And if their system fails to get that those $100 authorizations charging is going to be revoked. Even if they got the initial authorization they have to get it again if the charges go over $100 and they may have some flaw in that process. I've actually never run into a company doing so many authorizations and it's always seems like it's something just waiting to go wrong.

I've gotten so I hardly ever charge to the MB anymore - just carry the gift card and use it at the POS.

Yes I agree that Disney is shooting themselves in the foot. We could easily live with no charging privileges on our band, and that would hurt Disney’s information gathering more than us. But we do like lumping our expenses onto the room bill to get a better overview of our cost of vacationing at WDW.

I also agree that it is tied to the new ongoing hold authorizations. Something in their system seems to see payments on the account to be mistaken for checking out.

 

[Granny]

So it is, sadly enough, check-out day for us. Mrs Granny and I are settled into some comfortable chairs in the main lobby as we have about an hour until the Magical Express comes to start our trip back to reality.

The lobby continues to be one of our favorite places anywhere to sit and relax and people watch. We haven’t stayed here at a non-Christmas season time for a couple of years, so it is great to hear the usual music of the Lodge again.

Can’t wait to visit our beloved Lodge again in a few months.

 

[jimmytammy]

We are going to be at SSR for 3 nights pre cruise in Oct and with no park tickets, probably spend a bit more time at DS. We really like Morimoto Asia a lot but it seems they may not be open during our time there. So wondering what other eats around DS the groupies like and what is your favorite foods at said places?

 

[twinklebug]

Quite right, Di. We both got charging privileges dropped after making a mid- trip payment against our accounts. In my case, I had a gift card I wanted to use up so I paid some of my room charges with it. As happened to Di, the front desk kept saying that my bank had rejected the transaction and nullified the card. I obligingly called my credit card bank and they confirmed that all was good. After over an hour at the front desk and escalating the issue to the manager on duty, charging privileges were restored. No big deal except bot Di and I ran into the same “it must be your fault” attitude. They just couldn’t admit that it was a problem with their system.

I've noticed over the years that the front desks AND member services both have a very difficult time with accepting responsibility for their own system's faults when it is something they've not encountered before. I understand it is human nature to reject anything that does not fit the standard, but they really should train those who work with guests and owners to put on their thinking caps and say "We'll look into this." before jumping to conclusions.

I still think Disney's cast members are among the best trained employees anywhere, and truly the magic would not exist without them. However, I'm still feeling a very bad burn from WL's front desk 10 years ago that cost me both financially and through humiliation. They're fortunate that they have such a beautiful resort that wipes away negative memories as as I stop to admire it.

 

[Corinne]

We are going to be at SSR for 3 nights pre cruise in Oct and with no park tickets, probably spend a bit more time at DS. We really like Morimoto Asia a lot but it seems they may not be open during our time there. So wondering what other eats around DS the groupies like and what is your favorite foods at said places?

The Boathouse is one of our “go to” places. We have always found the service, the food (and beverages) to be of really good quality. We really enjoy sitting outdoors, the atmosphere is so great. A few menu items we have enjoyed are the Filet Mignon sliders, jumbo lump crab cakes, Gibson’s “sandwich king” burger. Their steaks are all great too, of course since they are affiliated with Gibson’s Restaurant Group, and are known for that. They do not accept Tables in Wonderland, but do accept DVC and AP.

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks Corinne! Boathouse and Homecomin are both on our radar so these will be 2 new tries

 

[DiznyDi]

Ddad and I don’t do sit-down restaurants like we used to. The older we’ve gotten it seems the less we eat. I like to get the 3 sides for $15. from The Polite Pig. We’ve enjoyed our Boathouse experience too. I pretty much stick to an appetizer and or salad. D-luxe burger is pretty good and big enough to share. If you order ahead from your phone you can skip the line wait. Sandwiches, soup and salads at Earl of Sandwich is another favorite. Love their tomato soup! Bread pudding is pretty good too.

 

[mvndvm]

Question about the $6 per delivery item from Bell Services:

If you order from a grocery delivery service, is there a $6 charge for EACH bag that Bell Services stores/delivers to your room?

 

[twinklebug]

Question about the $6 per delivery item from Bell Services:

If you order from a grocery delivery service, is there a $6 charge for EACH bag that Bell Services stores/delivers to your room?

It's a $6 fee for each run the bellhop makes to your room with your grocery deliveries (not per bag). So, say you have a delivery from Nestle Waters, one from Amazon Prime Now, and one from Amazon Whole Foods (they're run separately), but you choose to have them all brought up to your room together, that is only one $6 fee.

 

[Granny]

One additional note from our trip...the love bugs were quite annoying! This was our first real encounter with them though we have vacationed often in late April and early May. It seems it is hit or miss on their "busy season", and they were definitely out in full force. Several times they were covering seats and other outdoor locations and they were swarming quite a bit, and it was especially noticeable at Geyser Point. That didn't stop us from spending several hours at GP this trip, of course.

I guess we just need to schedule trips and take our chances. At least now I have a better understanding of how pervasive the love bugs can be during a trip to WDW!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

One additional note from our trip...the love bugs were quite annoying! This was our first real encounter with them though we have vacationed often in late April and early May. It seems it is hit or miss on their "busy season", and they were definitely out in full force. Several times they were covering seats and other outdoor locations and they were swarming quite a bit, and it was especially noticeable at Geyser Point. That didn't stop us from spending several hours at GP this trip, of course.

I guess we just need to schedule trips and take our chances. At least now I have a better understanding of how pervasive the love bugs can be during a trip to WDW!

In all our April/May trips there's only been one time we're ran into them in any great quantity too.

 

[twinklebug]

In all our April/May trips there's only been one time we're ran into them in any great quantity too.

I thought I had read that the love bugs come around twice a year, once again in the fall?

 

[jerseygal]

I thought I had read that the love bugs come around twice a year, once again in the fall?

I asked the same question on another forum. I was told May and September. Going to be there in September, first time ever. Good to know; hoping that they are not bad. Read a great tip on Love Bugs on car windshields. Bring some laundry dryer sheets, we them, and clean off the windshield.

 

[twinklebug]

I asked the same question on another forum. I was told May and September. Going to be there in September, first time ever. Good to know; hoping that they are not bad. Read a great tip on Love Bugs on car windshields. Bring some laundry dryer sheets, we them, and clean off the windshield.

Thanks! Who would have guessed that love bugs want to do laundry and if you offer them wet drier sheets they'll vacate the windshield. (I kid of course, thanks for the info!)

 

[Granny]

I asked the same question on another forum. I was told May and September. Going to be there in September, first time ever. Good to know; hoping that they are not bad. Read a great tip on Love Bugs on car windshields. Bring some laundry dryer sheets, we them, and clean off the windshield.

What you definitely do NOT want to do is to turn on your windshield wipers, thinking you will shoo them away. No amount of wiper fluid will get the squashed love bug gook off of your windshield. You'll have to hand wash them off. I heard that tip from a few different people.

I like the dryer sheet tip...I should pack some to carry around and wipe down chairs, tables, etc.

 

[jimmytammy]

Casey played this earlier today for me and I wanted to share. Spoof on Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup about Disney mugs. For those who remember the controversy revolving around mugs and their many uses, you may get a kick out of this, not so much the video but the words to the song

 

[Corinne]

We have visited nearly every May and September for years, and actually thought they had been spraying for them because they have been basically non-existent the last few years. On our first day I was shocked to see the SWARMS! I asked the CM we were chatting with if they had discontinued spraying to be more environmentally conscious. He told us they never treated for them, he claimed the winter weather had something to do with it. Some of the vehicles were covered! Apparently if they’re not cleaned off their eggs leave an acidic residue and can take the finish off of the vehicles.

 

[Granny]

Casey played this earlier today for me and I wanted to share. Spoof on Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup about Disney mugs. For those who remember the controversy revolving around mugs and their many uses, you may get a kick out of this, not so much the video but the words to the song

Jimmy...this video is too funny! And yes, you have stirred the pot introducing the topic of Refillable Mugs to our placid little thread here!

 

[sleepydog25]

The bus is direct to MK and not shared with any resort. We used it a couple of times this trip and found it to be very efficient if someone wants a quicker trip to MK.

Most often that is the case, but due to scheduling vagaries, on occasion the bus will head to FW then to MK. That happened to me on our last trip back in March. It wasn't much of a detour, to be sure, but still worth noting that on occasion--perhaps a maintenance issue--it can happen.

We are going to be at SSR for 3 nights pre cruise in Oct and with no park tickets, probably spend a bit more time at DS. We really like Morimoto Asia a lot but it seems they may not be open during our time there. So wondering what other eats around DS the groupies like and what is your favorite foods at said places?

We enjoy DS dining every bit as much--perhaps more--than eating other places around the World. Like others have noted recently, we spend less and less time in the parks anymore as they've gotten too crowded to enjoy more than 2-3 hours at a time (it could be I'm just getting old and cranky). Thus, some of our favorite options of where and what to eat at DS outside of Morimoto (which I hadn't heard was closing). We're light eaters, generally, so our selection reflect that.

Boathouse: Nice ambiance, and if it's pleasant outside, a great place to dine al fresco. The wedge salad is huge, cold, crisp, has homemade bleu cheese dressing with big chunks of said cheese, smoky bacon, and ripe tomatoes. I find their beef carpaccio to be among the best I've had anywhere. It comes with bread crisps, capers, onions, and very fresh olive oil. Solid wine selection and good drink offerings. We were able to sit in the boat in the main dining area once at lunch, and that was a blast.
Enzo's Hideaway: It was the surprise of our visit in March. Cool, speakeasy vibe with expertly prepared pastas, arancini, and a very herbaceous olive oil they pour in which you can dip your bread which is delivered to your table soon after you sit. Their wine list is quite decent--didn't really gander at the drink list. Service was topnotch, and the quality of the food was, too.
Il Gelato: For a quick treat of sweets after a meal, especially Boathouse since it's right next door, it's hard to beat this place.
Don't do: Paddlefish. We've been twice, and while there are a couple of good dishes, in particular the lobster corn dogs, the quality of the food varies widely. Service both times was below par--you won't feel as though this is a Signature but you'll pay as though it were (and it is).