She's Collecting Castles and Staying at Copper Creek, a January-February 2021 Trip Report (Completed 5/7, Updated 5/17)

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am here are all caught up!

I know it's covid and pandemic and all but there was no photopass photographer and I offered. I thoroughly sanitized after touching the phone.

This is what I hate the most about all of this right now. It's hard to just be a nice person sometimes!

We were just studying Asia together in his Atlas for school and were talking about Mt. Everest and then he pipes up that he rode it and had been to the top. I told him no, it's a real mountain in Asia, and it's really really tall, the tallest. So he tells me yeah mom I rode it, we were in Asia and I rode it to the top.

Ha! That is cute... One day he will realize the truth.

That is funny, and so Marshall. After the ride we went through the gift shop, and he found a stuffed Yeti he wanted. Allie, in a moment of being a great big sister, said he should have it. That convinced Grandpa to buy her a stuffed Yeti as well for being such a great sister, and they both got new stuffed animals.

My girls got these as well at some point. Well, I think we have Allie's version in boy and girl versions.

 

[rdkeim]

Great morning in AK! Looks like a beautiful weather day. Great picture of the lion! Love the Marshall/Mt. Everest story. So funny. I have a 4 yo grandson and it sounds like something he would say. Anxious to hear where you're dining.....

 

[storey13]

So far your Animal Kingdom day looks fantastic! Lovely photos again of the Lodge and I love the photos of Marshall with the animals, so cute. I have never done Planet Watch, looks like a good time for the kiddos. I'll have to be sure to add that to our itinerary.

 

[footballmouse]

I loved BC when we stayed there. I just wished I knew how to navigate the points as well as some people can.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I am here are all caught up!

Yay! We are working to keep up the pace of writing and editing pictures, and so far, so good.

This is what I hate the most about all of this right now. It's hard to just be a nice person sometimes!

It is tough, but it is neat when you can still be a nice person and help people out. We did feel that we missed the usual level of interaction that we had with other guests this trip, with the social distancing and all we just didn't get to chat with others as much.

Ha! That is cute... One day he will realize the truth.

Maybe... Or he will also talk about visiting Mexico and Japan in the same day...

My girls got these as well at some point. Well, I think we have Allie's version in boy and girl versions.

Aww, yeah. There's some times you just can't say no...

Great morning in AK! Looks like a beautiful weather day. Great picture of the lion! Love the Marshall/Mt. Everest story. So funny. I have a 4 yo grandson and it sounds like something he would say. Anxious to hear where you're dining.....

It was a great day. Part of our amazing luck this trip was the weather. You get what you get, but this time we got really lucky. Marshall is pretty proud of himself and talks about his park visits all the time.
Our late lunch was great, and inspired by the voyages of Imagineers around the world, but that will be in the next update.

So far your Animal Kingdom day looks fantastic! Lovely photos again of the Lodge and I love the photos of Marshall with the animals, so cute. I have never done Planet Watch, looks like a good time for the kiddos. I'll have to be sure to add that to our itinerary.

We were afraid they were going to take Planet Watch out when it closed a few years ago. It is a neat area, and we are so glad that even during COVID the kids get hands on time with the animals. It is worth the short train ride to go check it out.

I loved BC when we stayed there. I just wished I knew how to navigate the points as well as some people can.

Ahh yes. We really think the location will be great. I have accepted that it won't replace Wilderness Lode as my favorite resort, but I am looking forward to the location benefits.
We are always learning with DVC. With three contracts and two accounts to manage, there are definitely lots of nuances to deal with. Then they throw in a major curveball with restricting points borrowing to 50% or your annual points and all of a sudden there's more to learn.

 

[eliseisawkward]

What a great safari! The lion pictures are particularly good. I’ve never done the petting zoo at AK, but I could see how it would be appealing to kids who love animals.

Glad to see Marshall liked Everest. We took my nephew on it when he was 5 and he loooooved it. Probably his favorite ride in all of WDW.

 

[mansionterror]

Marshall's stated goal for the trip was to ride Everest, and based on the information we saw online and our measurement of him it looked like he was tall enough. When it came time to measure him, he was indeed tall enough and cleared for the Expedition. This was crazy because Allie rode it for the first time only last year, but that shows the differences between them.


It felt a little crazy letting him ride because he's still little but I trust Disney and their height requirements and he was well over the minimum height. Most importantly he was excited to try it.

The app showed a 30 min wait, but the line was moving really fast, and basically it was just walking through the entire queue. Marshall did great, and was super brave despite being a little scared. Allie was secretly a little scared too.



He did fantastic on the ride though and really enjoyed it.



We were just studying Asia together in his Atlas for school and were talking about Mt. Everest and then he pipes up that he rode it and had been to the top. I told him no, it's a real mountain in Asia, and it's really really tall, the tallest. So he tells me yeah mom I rode it, we were in Asia and I rode it to the top.

That is funny, and so Marshall. After the ride we went through the gift shop, and he found a stuffed Yeti he wanted. Allie, in a moment of being a great big sister, said he should have it. That convinced Grandpa to buy her a stuffed Yeti as well for being such a great sister, and they both got new stuffed animals.


Marshall named his yeti Big Foot and Allie named hers Marshmallow.

Check back in the next update as we have a new to us upscale dining experience, and a whole bunch of other fun.

Way to go Marshall for conquering Everest!! My daughter is 9 and will be trying it out for the first time this summer. The last time we went to AK was in 2015 and she wasn't tall enough then.

 

[mekay1012]

I can’t wait to read another one of your trip reports!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I headed up to the room because this was one of our earliest days of the trip. We had planned to head towards Animal Kingdom at 8:00.

My sister and I went to Animal Kingdom, too. We caught the bus at 7:14 and headed to the safari after a brief stop at an empty Starbucks. We had to be back at the GF for our Magical Express at 11am, so we didn't have much time at AK.

This time we got a great view of the lions.

The lions were great. They were also awake and moving around when Dana and I were there earlier in January. They must like the cool weather.

While eating we debated about when to do Rafiki's planet watch, and we decided to go ahead and do it next before moving on to Asia.

I want to do the art class the next time we are there. I am terrible at drawing but like to do it anyway.

We did feel that we missed the usual level of interaction that we had with other guests this trip, with the social distancing and all we just didn't get to chat with others as much.

We felt this way, too. We love to chat with other people but it is hard when you have to stay away from each other. And then you can't tell if they are smiling at you - or annoyed.

 

[RollTideinMD]

What great updates! Pick a Pearl in Japan at Epcot is my favorite tradition while I'm there. Is it gone for good!?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

What a great safari! The lion pictures are particularly good. I’ve never done the petting zoo at AK, but I could see how it would be appealing to kids who love animals.

It is a neat place, and from the short train ride you get a view of the back stage areas where the animals are housed. There is also an animation drawing activity there which looks pretty cool, but we haven't done it yet.

Glad to see Marshall liked Everest. We took my nephew on it when he was 5 and he loooooved it. Probably his favorite ride in all of WDW.

Yeah, it was neat, and he loved it. He still loves Slinky Dog Dash, but has probably talked about Everest more this year.

Way to go Marshall for conquering Everest!! My daughter is 9 and will be trying it out for the first time this summer. The last time we went to AK was in 2015 and she wasn't tall enough then.

Sounds great, it should be a great ride for her. Let us know how she likes it.

I can’t wait to read another one of your trip reports!

Awesome, we're glad that you are here and enjoying following along.

My sister and I went to Animal Kingdom, too. We caught the bus at 7:14 and headed to the safari after a brief stop at an empty Starbucks. We had to be back at the GF for our Magical Express at 11am, so we didn't have much time at AK.
The lions were great. They were also awake and moving around when Dana and I were there earlier in January. They must like the cool weather.

Yes, it was a great morning for the lions, and a great Safari in general. It is neat that you were able to head over there for a little bit.

I want to do the art class the next time we are there. I am terrible at drawing but like to do it anyway.

We haven't taken the time to do it yet, but it does look like fun.

We felt this way, too. We love to chat with other people but it is hard when you have to stay away from each other. And then you can't tell if they are smiling at you - or annoyed.

Yeah, it just isn't the same when you can't see a welcoming smile because of the mask. Marshall doesn't hesitate though, because he's just sure that they are smiling, no matter what.

What great updates! Pick a Pearl in Japan at Epcot is my favorite tradition while I'm there. Is it gone for good!?

Thanks, we have been enjoying writing this one, since it was a great trip after lots of concerns during the pandemic.

We were surprised to see the pearls gone. They were missing from the booth outside and the counter in the Mitsukoshi store. The counter is still there in the store, it just isn't being used right now. Hopefully they will bring it back soon. Currently is is just an empty part of the store.

 

[TeresaNJ]

We interrupt this TR to share that we have our reservations for next year!

The first part at least...

Yes, with the COVID imposed borrowing restrictions, combined with our March use year and the fact we like to travel in January, we figured out we had a bit of a challenge in planning for the 2022 trip. We didn't have access to enough points for the stay that we all decided we wanted to do.

Not being quitters, we looked at several options to get the points we needed.

During the trip we found a set of points available for transfer, and attempted to purchase them.

They were for Beach Club, and we began imagining a split stay for next year.

That had been the plan for this year as well, but we had our reservations in place before the borrowing restrictions came into play, and we chose not to mess with it. Next year though, we have to do something different, and Beach Club seemed to be just the thing.


Unfortunately, the point transfer deal never came through. The company we used was great about it, and gave us a full refund, but we now had our hearts set on Beach Club for specific dates.

We had a couple of options to do this, one of which was booking a room on Cash through DIsney, which was a few months salary so not a great option.

Another option was a traditional point rental. I went to our favorite DVC rental website where we usually just go for the virtual tours (David's), and put in a request.
Yesterday, the request was fulfilled and we have a Disney confirmation number.

So it is official that we are going back.

We will be at Beach Club January 20-24, 2022, and we hope to book the Copper Creek portion of our trip this upcoming week. We are all thrilled that it is coming together to get to have this much fun again, with a few new twists this time.

Stay tuned for that PTR once we finish this Trip report, as we are continually looking forward to getting back to WDW whenever we can.

Just 333 days to go, and this time we will be in WDW for my birthday! Now let's get back to reliving the awesome trip that we had this year.

Congratulations! I love the BCV, too! That was the second contract we purchased, way back in 2002, after purchasing what was then the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in 2001. We utilized the heck out of both those contracts until 2014 when my DH convinced me to sell them so we could purchase a home with enough land that he could have his "hobby" farm. By 2017 I was regretting that decision more and more, as we were either renting someone else's DVC points, or staying at mods, which I have no problem with, POFQ is one of my all time favorite resorts, but it was impossible to take the kids and grandkids without our DVC. I had no choice but to buy a resale. I got a really awesome deal on an AKV contract, actually too good to be true. We were def pixie dusted, but still, we went from owning 550 points between the two contracts, down to 270 with the AKV one. Still not enough points, and now with this darn borrowing restriction in place, it's messed up family trip plans for this year, and it looks like for next year as well.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Congratulations! I love the BCV, too! That was the second contract we purchased, way back in 2002, after purchasing what was then the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in 2001. We utilized the heck out of both those contracts until 2014 when my DH convinced me to sell them so we could purchase a home with enough land that he could have his "hobby" farm. By 2017 I was regretting that decision more and more, as we were either renting someone else's DVC points, or staying at mods, which I have no problem with, POFQ is one of my all time favorite resorts, but it was impossible to take the kids and grandkids without our DVC. I had no choice but to buy a resale. I got a really awesome deal on an AKV contract, actually too good to be true. We were def pixie dusted, but still, we went from owning 550 points between the two contracts, down to 270 with the AKV one. Still not enough points, and now with this darn borrowing restriction in place, it's messed up family trip plans for this year, and it looks like for next year as well.

Sounds like you appreciate the two sides of WDW that WL and BCV offer as well. We booked the first portion of our WL part of the stay yesterday, and will book the rest of it on Saturday to assemble a 9 night split stay, with 4 nights at Beach Club and 5 at our beloved Copper Creek.

We also loved Port Orleans, and understand when life gets in the way of Disney, although we do try to avoid that happening. Congratulations on getting back into DVC with your AKL contract. We do love it there, and will likely do a lodge split stay in the future.

The borrowing restrictions really do put a kink in plans. We didn't want to delay our trip until we had the points, so the rental worked nicely for us. I really liked the idea of doing a point transfer more, since then I would have control of the points in my account, but we were not able to find the BCV points we needed from a cooperative owner. It is also a real limitaiton that you can only transfer points in or out once per use year, but that would have been fine for us. It does limit the available point options though, because sellers can only do one transaction to transfer points so they want you to take all of them that they are interested in getting rid of.

It is extra crazy right now with people not being able to take trips they had planned on, but hopefully everything calms down in the next year or so.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

After we rode Everest, Grandma and Grandpa headed back to the resort, since they weren't planning on joining in for the late lunch. We grabbed some popcorn refills to help hold us over, and sat and relaxed until about 1:00.


Then we made our way back to the entrance area and the big gift shops.


We shopped a bit and found lots of things, and different crocs.

The Riverside Depot had lots of different Crocs, but not the ones like Marshall's. We did find me a Disney Dad T-Shirt, and Jon bought Allie her second Nuimo, the Donald one to go with her Daisy, which set the stage for a lot of fun for the rest of the trip.


Jon is the sweetest guy on the planet.

Then we went across the street to check out the Island Mercantile, and there we found the illusive Crocs, and they even had the size we needed for Marshall.


We were all relieved that we wouldn't need to face the eventuality that the Crocs might not be available and Marshall would need to choose a new style of footwear.


When we say he doesn't wear any other shoes we mean it, they are still the only shoes he'll wear and I have stopped even trying to buy him anything else.

We made our way towards Pandora, and stopped at an open bench just before Tiffin's. From there I did our checkin at 1:30, and were called a few minutes later.


We were all really excited to eat here, we are huge Joe Rhode fans and the restaurant is basically a shrine to him and his team that designed the park.



We were seated in the main gallery on the right, and were immediately impressed with the calm quiet atmosphere.


The restaurant is beautiful and has a ton of pictures and artifacts about the creation of Animal Kingdom.

It had been a bit of a tough ADR to get, hence the late lunch and party of 6, so we were glad to see that it wasn't at all crowded.

It was a great meal at a nice leisurely pace. It was a nice welcome contrast to the general business of being in a park. I got a steak that was delicious and prepared quite fancily with small portions but great quality.



We also ordered the short rib and switched half way through so we would get to try both dishes.

I loved both, they were fantastic.

I loved every bite here, and while it still didn't beat Teppan Edo, it was a nice steak with nice unique sides, and everything tasted excellent.

Allie ordered the butter chicken off the adult menu which she also really enjoyed. It came with purple cauliflower which she thought was super fancy.

Marshall's kids meal came with a brownie that looked so great when it arrived that we ordered two more for the adults to share.



It was the best "brownie" I've ever had. It was a very tiny brownie base with a cookies and cream something on top. So so yummy.

It was kind of a cookies and cream mouse layer, and might have been the best dessert of the trip.

We finished up our meal and left the restaurant at 3:30, so it was a full two hour meal. This made it a very relaxing break in our park day which was perfect for us this day, but could be an issue for people looking to maximize use of their park time.

It really felt relaxing for us though after a busy morning. Our main goal this trip was to relax and soak up vacation so it was really perfect.

Keeping with that goal, none of us felt the need to ride anything else, even though Flights of Passage was down to a 25 minute wait. We meandered towards the park exit, stopping to see the anteater on the way out. She must eat a lot of ants.

She's a big girl.

We then walked out and got to the bus stop at 3:46. A bus came at 3:52, and the nice driver said he'd wait a few minutes to see if anyone else came, but we left at 3:56 with just us on board. This was one of many times where we had our own private bus this trip.


It was pretty crazy how many times we were the only people on the bus.


We arrived back at WL at 4:09

Since it was a pretty day and relatively warm we decided that we should probably take the kids swimming because the weather was only supposed to get colder the rest of the week. Normally I only swim if it's really hot but alas I decided to sacrifice for the kids.

It was something they had really been looking forward to, and this seemed like the best opportunity for it.

After I pulled out the kids swimsuits I went to grab mine and I realized I had forgotten to pack it.

Since I had mine, because Melissa made sure I packed it, I offered to take them to the pool myself.

The kids were so disappointed at the though that I wouldn't be swimming, it was so sweet.

I didn't wanna miss out on swimming, Marshall is finally swimming on his own and we had been looking forward to this for a year. I decided to run down to the mercantile and see if they had something that would work. They only had one style of womens suit but it was in my size. It ended up fitting perfectly and being really comfortable.

While she ran down to the Mercantile, I took some pictures from the balcony.


We got down to the pool right at 5:00 and saw the geyser. It was cool, but fine in the water. The temp showed 75, but there was a bit of a wind chill, especially when we got out.

It was pretty darned cold for me to swim but we could strategically place ourselves in front of the jets which were pumping heated water into the pool.

That really helped, and the kids got to do the slide a few times and we explored the whole pool before we got out to dry off at 5:35. It was a short pool visit, and I didn't bring the camera to get any pictures of it, but the kids really enjoyed it and nobody froze to death.

It was close but we survived.

We went up to the room to get ready for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa were headed to Disney Springs to meet up with one of my cousins who lives in Florida. Jon and Brandy decided to hang out at the resort, but we left the room at 6:19/ We got to the bus stop at 6:23 and it didn't show a time for the bus, so we must have just missed it. One came at 6:38, and it went straight to Disney Springs, arriving at 6:54.


Dinner was at DLuxe. I was disappointed they didn't have my favorite Blue Cheese Burger on the menu. I settled for just a regular burger and we shared some fries.


We were able to mobile order it from the bus, which worked slick since Grandma and Grandpa were already there. I got a Bacon Cheeseburger and it was quite good.

We also got to meet up with my cousin, which was fun. She is my Mom's sister's daughter, and lives less than an hour from the parks. It reminds me of us and Disneyland.


Marshall had fallen asleep on the bus, so he was asleep for dinner and the shopping that followed.

After dinner was done, shortly after 8:00, we walked around with Grandma and Grandpa a little bit, and stopped at the Sprinkles ATM for cupcakes. We figured they would make a nice breakfast the next morning.


After we had cupcakes, we crossed the bridge towards the Christmas store. We walked in the art store first, and Allie and Melissa found another unique castle painting. They even had an original of it for $18,000, which made the Rogerson original we had seen at Epcot seem like a good deal. Still it was a cool castle.


I really really liked this print and the more I thought about it the more I liked it.

It seemed cool, but I figured even a $400 framed print was outside the budget, and they didn't have it on paper.

We then made our traditional trip to the Christmas store to pick out our customized ornament for the trip.


After last year's ornament debacle we opted to just have it shipped home which turned out awesome and relieved some packing stress.

The ornament turned out just perfectly, and arrived home less than a week after we did.


After finishing up at the Christmas Shoppe we stopped at the bathrooms outside the old Wolfgang Puck Express. It was sad to see it all closed up after so many good meals there. It was somewhere that we all enjoyed.


Yeah, I can't help but think it was partially a victim of the lack of dining plans.

We popped in the Spice and Tea Exchange for some gifts to bring home to my friend who is tea obsessed.


Then we made our way out and got to the bus stop at 9:27. A bus came at 9:36, loaded the ECV and left at 9:42.


We had another bus to ourselves. The bus driver chatted about his increased workload post COVID, since he now has to coordinate seating.

Marshall woke up on the bus and asked when dinner was going to be.

We got to WL at 9:55, and up to the room at 10:06. Since both restaurants and the Mercantile were closed, our food options were severely limited. I did miss having Roaring Fork stay open that extra hour.

We used to bring more food with us or order something grocery wise but this trip I just didn't. We broke into the plane snacks though and we were able to throw together a dinner of crackers, nuts, and beef jerky.


With his snacky dinner and a good long nap behind him, Marshall was ready to stay up, but by 11 we were ready for bed. We convinced him to go to sleep, and we were done with another great day.

Stay tuned for our next day full of fun at Hollywood Studios!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Did Grandma and Grandpa do anything while the rest of you rode Everest? If not, I'm curious why they waited until you finished Everest before they left the park. Did Jon and Brandy have dinner at Geyser Point that evening?

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Then we went across the street to check out the Island Mercantile, and there we found the illusive Crocs, and they even had the size we needed for Marshall.

YEAH!!! I know what that can be like!

So Cute. I am sure my girls are going to want those if they are still around when we finally go again.

Allie ordered the butter chicken off the adult menu which she also really enjoyed. It came with purple cauliflower which she thought was super fancy.

Very adventurous of her!

After I pulled out the kids swimsuits I went to grab mine and I realized I had forgotten to pack it.

Since I had mine, because Melissa made sure I packed it, I offered to take them to the pool myself.

This happened to us one trip. My husband reminded me to pack my suit and then he promptly forgot his.

 

[eliseisawkward]

Glad you found Marshall’s crocs. It’s funny how some kids just latch onto a thing and it’s all they want.

Tiffins looks yummy. It was one my list of possibilities last trip, but we needed up not doing AK at all, so I’ve pushed it to next trip.

I also cannot remember the last time I swam in a Disney pool.... probably when I went with my high school band/choir and we swam at ASMu. I really want to make time for pool time next trip.

I just read the DLux menu and I gotta say, their plant based burger looks great. Onto my list of place to eat it goes!! Too bad Marshall slept through all of Disney Springs...

 

[Wood Nymph]

Jon bought Allie her second Nuimo, the Donald one to go with her Daisy, which set the stage for a lot of fun for the rest of the trip.

Daisy and Donald are adorable and just the right size for traveling.
Did Melissa make face masks for the kids? The fabric is really cute. I got busy and made some masks. I have a big collection of cotton fabric from my quilt-making days.

Then we went across the street to check out the Island Mercantile, and there we found the illusive Crocs, and they even had the size we needed for Marshall.

That was really lucky to find it fairly early in the trip.

Marshall's kids meal came with a brownie that looked so great when it arrived that we ordered two more for the adults to share.

That dessert looks amazing. The kid's meals sometimes have the best food.

I didn't wanna miss out on swimming, Marshall is finally swimming on his own and we had been looking forward to this for a year. I decided to run down to the mercantile and see if they had something that would work. They only had one style of womens suit but it was in my size. It ended up fitting perfectly and being really comfortable.

That was extremely lucky. It is hard to find a suit that fits and looks good when the store has a 100 suits.

That really helped, and the kids got to do the slide a few times and we explored the whole pool before we got out to dry off at 5:35. It was a short pool visit, and I didn't bring the camera to get any pictures of it, but the kids really enjoyed it and nobody froze to death.

Kids love to swim, even in the coldest weather. Sunday was a nice day and it was a good idea to take advantage of it while you could.

We then made our traditional trip to the Christmas store to pick out our customized ornament for the trip.

That ornament is very pretty. Nuimo, shoes, suit and ornament - a good shopping day.

After finishing up at the Christmas Shoppe we stopped at the bathrooms outside the old Wolfgang Puck Express. It was sad to see it all closed up after so many good meals there. It was somewhere that we all enjoyed.

I hope they open up Wolfgang Puck Express. It was our favorite place for lunch at DS.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Did Grandma and Grandpa do anything while the rest of you rode Everest? If not, I'm curious while they waited until you finished Everest before they left the park. Did Jon and Brandy have dinner at Geyser Point that evening?

Grandpa did ride Everest with us, and Grandma shopped and found some Fudge that she really enjoyed, enough that she went back and bought more later in the trip. Their lunch plan was to do Flame tree, but they weren't hungry enough yet so they headed back to the resort.
I believe Jon and Brandy did eat at Geyser point that night. They really enjoy hanging out there.

YEAH!!! I know what that can be like!

We were getting concerned, because all of the places we had bought them before didn't have them, and the places that did had very limited selection of sizes. Finding them was a relief.

So Cute. I am sure my girls are going to want those if they are still around when we finally go again.

We had heard about the Nuimo's before the trip and I dismissed them as an expensive gimmick, with even more expensive clothes and accessories, but Allie loved them and they really are cute. The complete outfits are $12.99, but they include multiple pieces of clothing and cute accessories. The price gets better with the AP or DVC discount too. She absolutely loved carrying them around and they were her favorite souvenir of the trip.
We just heard yesterday that they are coming out with Kermit and Miss Piggy ones to add to Daisy, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Stitch, and Angel (Stitch's Girlfriend). I see more of them in our future.

Very adventurous of her!

She is funny, she would much rather have something more adventurous than plain bland kids meal chicken. She also liked the butter chicken at Sanaa last time.

This happened to us one trip. My husband reminded me to pack my suit and then he promptly forgot his.

Yeah, I guess that's just how it goes. It is tough to have it all together.

Glad you found Marshall’s crocs. It’s funny how some kids just latch onto a thing and it’s all they want.

Marshall and those shoes is just insane. They are shoes to him, and anything else is just a poor substitute. He wears them every day, including in Melissa's sister's wedding, where he was a ring bearer. That's just Marshall, and they were super cute with his little suit.

Tiffins looks yummy. It was one my list of possibilities last trip, but we needed up not doing AK at all, so I’ve pushed it to next trip.

It was a great meal, with quality food that we all enjoyed. It was slower paced and a little more expensive than Yak and Yeti, our other AK favorite, but it was a great meal.

I also cannot remember the last time I swam in a Disney pool.... probably when I went with my high school band/choir and we swam at ASMu. I really want to make time for pool time next trip.

Wow, yeah, I can see how without kids you just don't wind up in the pool. We sometimes enjoyed a night swim paired with some time in the hot tub after a long park day. The pools at the resorts are really nice, pretty warm all year, and the nicest places we ever swim, so it is worth the time.

I just read the DLux menu and I gotta say, their plant based burger looks great. Onto my list of place to eat it goes!! Too bad Marshall slept through all of Disney Springs...

DLuxe still impresses us because it is the complete opposite of the stereotypical theme park burger. Disney set out to prove that they could make a great burger, and they did. Our only problem with it is there are so many other restaurants we want to do at Disney Springs that we don't always make it there.
Having Marshall sleep through Disney Springs is not a bad thing. It let us shop at a more leisurely pace, which we all enjoyed. Usually we can get food for him later at the resort, but that was a little harder this time.

Daisy and Donald are adorable and just the right size for traveling.

They really are cute, and Allie took a ton of cute photos and videos with them throughout the rest of the trip. The clothes are neat too, and interchangeable between them. She still enjoys playing with them at home, which doesn't always happen with park stuff like that.

Did Melissa make face masks for the kids? The fabric is really cute. I got busy and made 9 sets of facemasks. I have a big collection of cotton fabric from my quilt-making days and couldn't stop at just a few masks.

We brought a couple of masks that Melissa made, but in general we wore the disposable ones. She found ones on Amazon that had a variety of super cute prints, and we were able to get a new mask each day, or when one got dropped or wet or whatever...

That was really lucky to find it fairly early in the trip.

We were starting to get scared after they didn't have them at the Emporium in MK or the World of Disney at Disney Springs, or the Riverside Depot store that had a ton of other Crocs. Who knows how it winds up that way. We miss being able to search for items in the shop Disney Parks app, where it would tell you which items were in which stores, but that feature is gone now.

That dessert looks amazing. The kid's meals sometimes have the best food.

That was certainly the case this time. This kids meal dessert was all of our favorite thing there, and we'd do it again.

That was extremely lucky. It is hard to find a suit that fits and looks good when the store has a 100 suits.

AMEN! I was just hoping to find anything I could wear, no matter how bad it looked, but it turned out nice.

Kids love to swim, even in the coldest weather. Sunday was a nice day and it was a good idea to take advantage of it while you could.

Yes, it would have been even nicer in the middle of the day, but we are glad that we still got to do it.

That ornament is very pretty. Nuimo, shoes, suit and ornament - a good shopping day.

It was a fun day of shopping, including the things we saw but didn't buy, but there's more to come on that.

I hope they open up Wolfgang Puck Express. It was our favorite place for lunch at DS.

We would like to see it come back too. They haven't done any construction work or changes, so it could re-open as a restaurant fairly easily, but the Wolfgang Puck signs are all gone. We will see what they do with this space.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Just a quick note for a Saturday morning, we have the Copper Creek portion of next year’s trip booked as well now!

We are all set for the 4 nights at Beach Club and 5 nights at Copper Creek. We know having to switch resorts will break up the trip a bit, but getting to take advantage of the great location should be neat. We’ll share how it goes!