She Dodged a Hurricane, Skipped School, and Adopted a Porg, a September 2019 TR at Copper Creek Villas at WL (Completed 12/18)

Does that mean you throw away the old mugs, and keep only the lids?
Yes, it just got to a point where we had way too many old mugs around. We really don't use them much at home, and it became silly to have a cabinet full of them. We still kept a couple of favorites, but the rest were donated, some with lids and some without.
 
Since I am certifiably insane, I woke up just after 5 AM on Friday morning. I usually sleep fine on vacation, but at WDW I am literally often too excited to sleep. One of my favorite parts of the trips is getting up early and exploring the resort, and this was my first chance.

I really don't know how he gets up this early. I didn't even hear him get up and leave.

I went out and got some pictures of the floor in the lobby, which was drying after the refinishing work.


I even made it down to Roaring Fork before they opened the doors at 6 AM.


Once they did, I got my mug refill and continued exploring.


I watched the sunrise from Geyser Point, then caught the first Geyser of the day at 7:00.


(I may have had a bit of a fascination with the Geyser this trip. I took a lot of pictures of it, because it just adds to any WL shot if you get the timing and angles just right. I rarely did, but it didn't stop me from trying.)


We have SO MANY geyser shots this year. We won't subject you to all of them I promise.

I brought some coffee creamers back up to the room so that Jon and Melissa would have them for coffee they brewed in the room while they were getting ready.

I really like having the nice big coffee maker in the room. Several years ago I got pretty sick after using the in room coffee maker but the ones in the villas are more open and are more easily cleaned. We had coffee lots of mornings in the room.

The Joffrey's coffee they provide in the DVC rooms seems to be pretty good, and we bought more from the Mercantile after we used it up this time.
Once everyone was dressed and out of bed, we headed down with everyone to Roaring Fork for breakfast at about 9:00.


This was our first chance to get the waffles with all of the toppings, and I was definitely a fan. Our order got messed up and she put down French Toast instead of Waffles, despite us discussing the waffle toppings. They were able to fix it, but had to cancel and refund my order, then place one for the waffles. When the waffles arrived, they didn't have any toppings... We then were able to get the toppings on the side, but it was harder than it should have been. They tasted great though, and we shared two plates of waffles and a Bounty Platter with the kids.


It made for a great first morning breakfast to have Mickey waffles first thing

We left Roaring Fork and made our way down to the transportation boat dock, just as a big boat left at 9:45. Fortunately a little boat came right away, and we got right on. Marshall told the driver we were on our way to see "Tiny World" which he got a kick out of, and he asked other guests if they were riding Tiny World today.

He was so funny in his little propeller hat.


Lol, yes, that hat... He saw it and wanted it at the San Diego Zoo earlier in the year, and it was so adorable that Melissa just couldn't say no. She just loves seeing him wear it, and it is pretty darn cute.

We got to the MK dock at 9:52, and walked right in to the park and headed for small (tiny) world.


When we got into the park the Move It Shake It dance party was just starting. We see it go by on our trips but we normally don't stop to take part.


Marshall really enjoyed riding Small World.



When Allie was this age we had Disneyland passes and went quite often but we haven't had them for over a year now so everything felt pretty new for Marshall.


He was excited, since he remembered the boat ride with the tiny dolls, and was glad to get to do it again. After that we walked over to Big Thunder Mountain, which Allie had never done before. She was scared, but was brave and rode it. Marshall rode it too, not knowing what he was in for, but he had a good time.


I was surprised at how well Marshall did on it and he really enjoyed the ride. After Big Thunder the wait time was so low on Splash Mountain we decided to do that too.

We figured we'd continue since we were on a roll. Allie was again on the fence, but rode it and seemed to have fun.


Marshall REALLY enjoyed Splash Mountain and asked to ride it a couple more times during the trip.

It was fun, and we stayed fairly dry, but we had Brandy blocking for us in the front of the log. After that we were still early for our pirates fastpass and the standby line was short, so we went ahead and rode it. Once we got off, our Fastpass window was open so we rode it again.


Everyone loves Pirates and we enjoyed the back to back ride.

Riding it three times before we'd been in Florida 24 hours had to be some sort of record for us. Then it was warming up, so we walked towards Columbia Harbor House for lunch. Eating upsatairs in the AC sounded good. On the way we stopped and tried on the Disney Ray Ban sunglasses. Allie might have these as her next prescription frames...


We really like the food here and the inside AC seating is really nice. It's normally pretty quiet upstairs too. The four of us split two Trio Platters and it was the perfect amount of food for the four of us

That works well for us since I like getting to try all the different things, including basic chicken nuggets.


I really like their hushpuppies.

As we finished eating Brandy got a call from a Florida number asking for me, and it was Disney calling to confirm the Fireworks cruise for the following night. I'm not sure how our names and contact info got mingled, but it worked out.

Since Marshall didn't want to ride Haunted Mansion again, but the kids did want to do the treehouse, I offered to take them over there while Jon, Brandy, and Melissa rode Haunted Mansion.



I enjoyed a break from the kiddos for a moment and the ride even stopped while we were in a dark spot so I closed my eyes momentarily.
After that we went over to meet back up at the Jungle Cruise.


After the tree house we had time so we rode the Aladdin carpets which were almost a walk on.


Both kids got a kick out of that, then we waited by the spitting Tikis to meet up with the others.


We had a fairly short wait for the Jungle Cruise without fastpasses, and we had a great skipper. They're all funny, but this guy really got into it.



He was born for that role, so funny.

By this point we had accomplished everything we wanted to, and it was getting pretty warm, so we headed out of the park via the air condtioned shops on Main Street. We got to the boat dock at 1:57, completing a very productive morning at MK.

There were several times during the trip that we walked through the long shops on Main Street to exit the park instead of walking straight down the street because it was just so warm.

It was pretty warm waiting for the boat too, and Marshall insisted on chasing the ducks. A boat came at 2:15, and we got to WL nice and quick.


Check back for more on the rest of our first day in the next update.
 
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I’ve read (and loved) all of your trip reports, but have never commented. You have a lovely family. I just can’t believe how empty the park looks in your pictures! I guess the hurricane had something to do with that. We’re DVC too but somehow have never stayed at WL yet, but it is so beautiful. We’re at Poly for our upcoming trip and can’t wait to visit WL and finally try the Snow White dinner at Artist Point! Looking forward to the rest of your report!
 
I’ve read (and loved) all of your trip reports, but have never commented. You have a lovely family. I just can’t believe how empty the park looks in your pictures! I guess the hurricane had something to do with that. We’re DVC too but somehow have never stayed at WL yet, but it is so beautiful. We’re at Poly for our upcoming trip and can’t wait to visit WL and finally try the Snow White dinner at Artist Point! Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Welcome! We’re glad that you joined in, and even more glad that you enjoy reading about our adventures.
We loved the low crowd levels early in the trip. It picked up later, but we took advantage of it while it lasted.
It is neat that you will get to visit WL and Artist Point next time. We have an ADR for it in February and are really looking forward to it. We spent some time hanging out at the Poly this time and really enjoyed it.
We’re just getting started with this report so there’s lots more fun to come. Thanks again!
 
One of my favorite parts of the trips is getting up early and exploring the resort, and this was my first chance.
I bet that this is one of the things you look forward to the most. I doubt that any other WDW resort would give you such great photos. And there isn't anyone in the picture at that time of day. :)
I went out and got some pictures of the floor in the lobby, which was drying after the refinishing work.
You got really lucky with the timings for the floor refurbishment. You'll probably never see it like this again.
I watched the sunrise from Geyser Point, then caught the first Geyser of the day at 7:00.
The geyser woke us up every morning at 7am, since our room was really close to it. I love looking at the sunrise and you need a few clouds to make it interesting. A cloudless sky is boring. ::yes::
I really like having the nice big coffee maker in the room.
The big coffee pot in the villas was my favorite part of having a full kitchen. I hate those little coffee makers in the regular resort rooms, although something is better than not having one at all.
This was our first chance to get the waffles with all of the toppings, and I was definitely a fan.
Were these an adequate replacement for the strawberry waffles that you used to love? It looked like Roaring Forks had brought back a few favorites, like the Wilderness salad. There must have been enough complaints that they had to bring some things back again.
He was so funny in his little propeller hat.
The hat is adorable. Did he wearing it everyday? I see that he liked carrying his mug everywhere. Kids are funny about their little habits. It is rather endearing as long as it isn't inconvenient.
I was surprised at how well Marshall did on it and he really enjoyed the ride.
I rode BTMRR with my granddaughter when she was five years old. I kept thinking that she was going to fly out of the car since the bar never made it across her lap. But she had a great time flying around the seat, being flung from side to side. :)
After the tree house we had time so we rode the Aladdin carpets which were almost a walk on.
It looks like Allie took very good care of Marshall. I'm sure that you appreciated having someone like her to ride the kiddie rides with Marshall. MK must not have been very crowded that morning. We went to MK on a Friday morning during our trip and it was really empty. Part of it was the approaching hurricane but mostly I think it was because there was a Halloween party that night. We rode Buzz three times in a row and it was a walk on every time.
There were several times during the trip that we walked through the long shops on Main Street to exit the park instead of walking straight down the street because it was just so warm.
We did that, too. It was really hot and sunny during our trip. We were glad it wasn't raining but a cloudy day would have been okay. :)
 


I bet that this is one of the things you look forward to the most. I doubt that any other WDW resort would give you such great photos. And there isn't anyone in the picture at that time of day. :)
You got really lucky with the timings for the floor refurbishment. You'll probably never see it like this again.
It really is one of my favorite parts of the trips. I love wondering around there first thing in the morning. I particularly enjoy getting the photos without anybody in them, and will wait to get them just right.
The floor was a surprise when we first walked in the lobby, that's for sure. It was really neat to see the process, and to see it without any rugs or furniture.

The geyser woke us up every morning at 7am, since our room was really close to it. I love looking at the sunrise and you need a few clouds to make it interesting. A cloudless sky is boring. ::yes::
It is neat how every sunrise is a little different. The clouds do add a lot. I was downstairs for the first Geyser most every day, but got to where I tried taking the pictures from different locations.

The big coffee pot in the villas was my favorite part of having a full kitchen. I hate those little coffee makers in the regular resort rooms, although something is better than not having one at all.
I don't think we got coffee from Roaring Fork once this trip. I did pick up creamer and condiments down there, but the coffee they had was always from the room.

Were these an adequate replacement for the strawberry waffles that you used to love? It looked like Roaring Forks had brought back a few favorites, like the Wilderness salad. There must have been enough complaints that they had to bring some things back again.
The waffles are every bit as good as the old ones, and you get all the toppings by default instead of having to choose between the chocolate, banana, or strawberry. I prefer them with the toppings already applied, but getting them on the side would work well for a more picky eater.

The hat is adorable. Did he wearing it everyday? I see that he liked carrying his mug everywhere. Kids are funny about their little habits. It is rather endearing as long as it isn't inconvenient.
He wears the hat quite a bit. You never know if he's gonna be in a hat mood or not on a given day, but if he is that is a really cute one.

I rode BTMRR with my granddaughter when she was five years old. I kept thinking that she was going to fly out of the car since the bar never made it across her lap. But she had a great time flying around the seat, being flung from side to side. :)
Yeah, Allie had never ridden it, and was still pretty scared about it this trip, but Marshall wasn't too worried. ABout halfway through he realized he wasn't too sure, but said he loved it by the end.

It looks like Allie took very good care of Marshall. I'm sure that you appreciated having someone like her to ride the kiddie rides with Marshall. MK must not have been very crowded that morning. We went to MK on a Friday morning during our trip and it was really empty. Part of it was the approaching hurricane but mostly I think it was because there was a Halloween party that night. We rode Buzz three times in a row and it was a walk on every time.
Allie really is a good big sister. They sure can fight, but she does enjoy taking care of him. They didn't ride much on their own, but she enjoyed telling him what rides were going to be like.
I think you are on to something with the idea that having a Halloween party decreases crowds earlier in the day, since people without party tickets are elsewhere and the party people show up later. This quiet morning was on a party night, and we saw the same thing on the next party day.

We did that, too. It was really hot and sunny during our trip. We were glad it wasn't raining but a cloudy day would have been okay. :)
It is a win-win, cold air, a nice break, and a chance to shop. We love it. It's funny how we missed having more weather, but it's all good.

Joining in!
Thanks, we're glad you found us!

Love you guy's reports! I can't believe how non-toddler Marshall looks now! Wow what a year makes!

Can't wait for more updates!

Lynn
Aww, thank you! He is growing up fast, and looks more like a little boy every day. We're glad that you're here for this one, and we should have more updates soon.

Looks like a great first morning. What are your February dates? We will be there 2/6-2/11 for a cheer competition
Our February trip will be 2/6 through 2/14, so we'll be there the same time. We are really looking forward to the different weather.

Sounds like an awesome morning in MK!
Yes, it was a great start to the day, and the trip. We felt that we really got a lot out of our days where we started at MK this time.
 
Nice way to start your day wandering around an empty resort. We haven't stayed there in a while but WL is still my favorite resort. POFQ is a close second. You had a productive morning in MK! So nice to accomplish the things you wanted to do and be able to return to the resort for a break mid afternoon. Columbia HH is my favorite counter service - love the upstairs! Hope the rest of your day goes well!
 
Following along! Sounds like a great start to your trip!
It really was a great way to start out. We don't always do MK first, but it was perfect with the low crowds this time.

Nice way to start your day wandering around an empty resort. We haven't stayed there in a while but WL is still my favorite resort. POFQ is a close second. You had a productive morning in MK! So nice to accomplish the things you wanted to do and be able to return to the resort for a break mid afternoon. Columbia HH is my favorite counter service - love the upstairs! Hope the rest of your day goes well!
Yeah, that is one of my favorite things at Disney. I love how WL and the Port Orleans resorts have a secluded rural feel that is so relaxing, especially at 6 in the morning...
The rest of the day was great, and we're ready to share more of it now.
 
When we left off, we were on a big boat headed for WL. It was a nice easy mid-day trip. When we got to WL we went in the end of the South wing so that we could walk in the air conditioning towards Roaring Fork. We stopped in to fill our mugs, then went up to the room, arriving there at 2:40.

We didn't have a ton of time to linger at the resort but I changed out of sweaty clothes.

This was the first of many mid-day breaks this trip. I really like getting to go take a break at the resort, no matter how short a break it is. Just getting a drink and putting on dry clothes made us way more comfortable for our planned evening at Disney Springs.

We left the room just before 3:00, and the sign at the bus stop predicted a Disney Springs bus at 3:05.


It was on time, then stopped at the CR at 3:11 and left at 3:15 before arriving at Disney Springs at 3:32.


Marshall fell asleep on Brandy's lap on the bus, and we were able to put him in his stroller asleep when we got there.


Our first stop was a cute little boutique store called Sugarboo and Company. We had forgotten Marshall's "Mr. Rabbit" at home, he sleeps with him every night. Much to our surprise they had a smaller version of Mr. Rabbit there! So we picked up a travel size version.

Then we moved on to one of Jon and Melissa's favorites, the Vera Bradley store. It surprises me how they don't have many different types of Disney bags at one time, but they can be pretty neat.

Jon wound up buying a bag, and with the time to set up the embroidery it was getting close to our 4:00 dinner ADR time. Allie had to go potty, so I took her and headed towards Boathouse with the others to follow.


At the Vera store we had a variety of errors that made checkout really slow but eventually we made it over to the Boathouse after getting slightly lost without Paul there to guide us.

We were only a couple minutes late checking in for our reservation though and they seated us right away.


We are still getting used to Disney Springs, and I wound up going the same way that they did, and we all made it to where we wanted to be. With Marshall asleep they let us park the stroller by the table, which worked out great.

We all thoroughly enjoyed dinner. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and it was amazing.


I went with my known favorite from last time, the BBQ bacon cheeseburger. I really enjoyed this burger, and feel it is one of my favorites anywhere. (And I have tried A LOT of burgers). Brandy got the Andouille Mac and Cheese and it was exceptional. It had a spicy sauce that was a lot like the sauce I love on the burger. This restaurant really impresses me for its variety, and was a great deal this time since our choices were from the lower cost end of the menu.

It was a really nice dinner.

While we were eating Brandy asked me about the Amphicar rides, and I did a little quick web research on the cost and available discounts. (I have always thought these were cool, and watching them was a highlight of our visits here last trip.)

The boys decided that they wanted to ride in the amphicar. Well Brandy insisted.

And I definitely wasn't going to argue... While Brandy offered to do two cars so that we could all go, Melissa volunteered to stay back with Marshall.

After dinner we all wandered outside and found that the four of them could ride while I stayed back with a sleeping Marshall. It worked out just fine because while I enjoy watching the cars, I'm not sure I'd get the enjoyment riding in one that they got.

The ride was super neat. There was no wait, and after signing our waivers we got right in. The car was a tight fit with three of us in the back seat, but Allie is small and we all thought it was totally worth it.


After taking some pictures the Captain fired up the car and sped down the ramp.


They actually hit the water faster than I expected, and it gets a bit of a reaction from the passengers and generates quite a splash.



After that the ride was pretty calm, just cruising around the lake by Disney Springs.


I took some pictures of them from the bridge and waved.




Then we went over by Saratoga Springs while the Captain gave us a nice narrated tour. Driving the amphicars is his retirement job, which didn't sound too bad to any of us.


The car sits fairly low in the water, and crossing wakes from the ferry boats was a bit of an event, but it was a lot of fun. We all had a ball, and the ride took just about 15 minutes since we didn't get caught up in too much traffic. It wound up being $106 total for the ride, which was well worth it for the four of us.


We got out and took a few more pictures, then continued our evening at Disney Springs.


We walked across the bridge to the art store, then to the Christmas Store where we ordered our ornament.

We figured we'd work our way from that end of Disney Springs back toward the buses. We learned that we couldn't mention the Hurricane on the Ornament, which was fine, but messed with out initial plans.

We couldn't come up with anything clever to put on it so we just had them put 2nd DVC trip.

It is a nice red Ornament though, and we also picked up a Wilderness Lodge one as well that had the year added to it.

Marshall woke up in the ornament store and was ready for some dinner, so we started looking for something to grab for him. We wound up at Wetzels where we got him a hot dog and me a big Diet Coke.


While Paul was ordering his food I mobile ordered a drink from Starbucks. I'd been saving up my rewards so it was totally free!

After Marshall had food and we had drinks, we continued shopping. One of my favorite finds was a castle print that we saw last year and Melissa tried to find for me for Father's Day. She got it for me, and it is super cute.


When I saw they had it I had to buy it. I looked everywhere for it in June and you just can't order it.

Then we went to the Toy Store and got Marshall his big toy of the trip, and RC Lightning McQueen with changeable tires.


He absolutely loved this expensive piece of plastic junk. Lol, he played with it all trip.

It actually was a pretty good deal by Disney standards. It was only $35 with our DVC discount, and it survived well. Changing the axles is a little tricky, but I helped him with it quite a few times.

Then we went to check out the World of Disney store, which was finally entirely open for us.


We found Marshall his replacement light up Mickey Crocs.


Finally we went over to the Lego store, where Allie made some mini figures. It was loud and busy in there, but that's nothing new.


It was really loud and busy in the Lego Store.

With that we decided to call it a night and made it to the bus stop at 8:57. A bus arrived at 9:11 and left at 9:13 empty enough that everyone had a seat, which rarely seems to happen for us heading home from Disney Springs. We arrived back at WL at 9:30, making it a pretty quick trip.

It really was a great ride back from Disney Springs. We often have long waits and full buses back home.

Marshall wanted to go to the room and test drive his car, so we set it up first thing. Then he wanted the big tires on it, so I figured that out.


It didn't seem like the tire change went smoothly as I recall.

Yeah, there was a bit of a learning curve, and I didn't expect the car to survive, but with practice (and some more sleep) I got better at it, and it is still workign now.

While I worked on the RC car Allie took a shower and read in bed. She's getting so big.


She did great during the trip and we didn't even have our usual Allie meltdown on this trip.

After working with the car, I wanted a drink so I went to Geyser Point for a Diet Coke refill. I met Jon and Brandy down there, and we watched the Halloween fireworks from there before heading back up to the room.



Back at the room we got ready for bed and were asleep by 11:00, ending a great first full day.
 
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Looks like a lot of fun was had at Disney springs! My sister owns DVC at Copper Creek too because that’s where she and her husband honeymooned so I love seeing all your pictures of it!
 
What a great evening! You got to ride the amphicar and watch the Halloween fireworks. I hadn't even known they would allow more than three passengers in one amphicar. It must have been OK because one was a child. It would have been really tight with three adults in the back seat.
 
Joining in!
I am hoping to someday be able to stay at Wilderness Lodge... it looks like a fantastic resort!!!
Looking forward to hearing about your trip!
 
It was on time, then stopped at the CR at 3:11 and left at 3:15 before arriving at Disney Springs at 3:32.
That was a quick trip. You must have been relieved to have the timing work out for your ADR.
At the Vera store we had a variety of errors that made checkout really slow but eventually we made it over to the Boathouse after getting slightly lost without Paul there to guide us.
We usually get lost in Disney Springs now that it has been redesigned. But I do know the way from the bus depot to Wolfgang Puck Express. :)
The car sits fairly low in the water, and crossing wakes from the ferry boats was a bit of an event, but it was a lot of fun.
The boat looks like fun but it must have felt strange to sit so low in the water. Did you get wet?
We learned that we couldn't mention the Hurricane on the Ornament, which was fine, but messed with out initial plans.
I never would have thought that Disney would refuse to put a restriction like that on the ornament. If you had known this ahead of time would you have come up with something that they would have accepted?
It really was a great ride back from Disney Springs. We often have long waits and full buses back home.
I think you lucked out because it was a party night and no one would be going to MK via the CR bus. On any other night it would have been packed. ::yes::
While I worked on the RC car Allie took a shower and read in bed. She's getting so big.
She looks very grown up with the towel on her head - just like a teenager. I love the way the 2 bedroom villa is so homey, with a real living room and bedroom.
I met Jon and Brandy down there, and we watched the Halloween fireworks from there before heading back up to the room.
I love watching the fireworks from WL. :)
 

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