She's Sleeping on the Top Bunk: An August 2017 WL TR with a Party of 10 (Updated 10/18)

[shairpdrh]

Exactly! Getting to book at 11 months is part of the fun, and I am going to take full advantage of it by booking on Friday. It is neat that we will be neighbors by being at the lodge together at the same time.

I agree, very neat!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I hope you get your dates. You'll be a DVC expert soon.

It is a good thing you bought into DVC because the winter general public discounts for WL are only 10%. We wanted to return to WL in January but the best deal was at the BC for 25% off. We'll have to be content with visiting the WL instead.

Right now things look very good. I have become quite familiar with the online availability tool, and have been looking at how CCV has been filling up. Almost everything is full at the 7 month mark, but everything seems to be available at 11 months, which is the huge advantage of having it as our home resort. Currently the first rooms to sell out seem to be studios with tubs, but we aren't planning on going that route this time.
I have gotten quite a DVC education since the purchase. I now know all about banking, borrowing, and transferring points, and the unique rules for the different procedures. DVC does require some thought and planning in advance, but I think we are up to the task.
My parents are planning on staying at WL during the next trip as well, and had a hard time getting their reservation in Standard View. They wound up making two different reservations to cover the length of the trip, then contacted Disney and got them combined into one (which initial CMs were not able to do.) They saved almost $100 a night by getting Standard View over Courtyard, but even Courtyard View is sold out now. I think we are seeing the effects of the reduced capacity at WL.

I agree, very neat!

It is getting so close now. We book day after tomorrow. Unfortunately due to the fact we are using combined points we have to call to make the reservation, but hopefully it isn't too bad. We'll post an update here once we have it done.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I got up just after 6 AM, and excitedly went out to get some more sunrise pictures.



I sat outside of Geyser Point and got to watch the big ferry boat head across the water bridge.


I slept.

At 7AM I went over and got pictures of the first Geyser eruption of the day, and the path back to Geyser Point.



After that I worked my way over to the lobby to stop and apply gift cards to our room balance. On the way I got a picture of frogs on the window. I had seen this a few times during the week, but this wound up being one of my favorites.


I also went to start the search for Allie's custom umbrella. We figured out at dinner the night before that we didn't have it, and she had been carrying it with us earlier in the day. Looking back at pictures we figured out we had it while waiting for the van at AK, but didn't have it in the lobby at WL.

She was pretty darned upset that she had lost it. We assured her we'd find it or she could get another one but it didn't help much and she worried about it all night.

At least we knew it had her name on it... I didn't really know where to start, but since we had it narrowed down to the DVC van I started at the DVC desk. There I met Alice, who was very friendly and more than willing to do some detective work. She looked up our transportation requests from the day before, and found that Gary was our first driver. Then she called transportation to have them check his van from yesterday. They said they would get back to her. I figured that was all we could do, but she said to wait just a minute because they usually are really fast. Like she predicted, they called her back and let her know that they had the umbrella, and would have it delivered to the resort with the next van trip over. They said they would leave it at the front desk and I could pick it up any time. I thanked Alice for her willingness to help, and she explained that her daughter has one of those umbrellas too and would hate to lose it. This was a very positive DVC member experience.

I went down to pick up some breakfast stuff from Roaring Fork and before I got back to the room they had called to say the umbrella was at the front desk. I picked it up on my way back to the room. For breakfast I decided to try the pre-made Bagel Sandwich, which was very good but a little expensive at $8.

We didn't tell Allie when she woke up that he had found it, we just surprised her.

Allie was thrilled to have it back. Allie and Marshall slept in until after 9:00, and we didn't all leave the room until about 10:30.

It was nice that they were catching up on some much needed sleep.

As we left the room we texted Jon and Brandy saying that we were finally moving, and then we saw that they were right behind us. It was a nice lazy morning, and perfect timing.


We then headed down to the boat dock, where Dave, Megan, and the kids were waiting.
It was amazing that we all happened to wind up at the dock at the same time, despite not doing any planning. The boat arrived at 10:49, and left at 10:59.

We were all headed to the Magic Kingdom for the morning and Allie had fun on the boat.



Once we got to MK at 11:14, we said bye to Dave and Megan for a bit and then headed to Starbucks.


While Melissa, Jon, and Brandy were in line, the kids and I watched the glassblower and Allie tried on tiaras.



Since we had the snack credits we got a strawberry drink for Allie and Marshall to share.


Standing in line at Starbucks with Brandy and Jon was super fun. We were all so so excited about DVC. The kids loved their smoothie and really I should have gotten two because A we had the snack credits to burn and B Marshall isn't very good at sharing.

Oh well, he definitely got his share. I love this pic with him enjoying both straws.


For our first ride we made it over to Jungle Cruise, where we had a Fastpass. That made the wait super quick, but we had to toss the drinks before they were totally gone.

We just kinda distracted Marshall with the boat and got him on without a fuss.


After the Jungle Cruise Allie wanted to do the treehouse, so I went with her while the others waited. What's a few thousand stairs to get you going in the morning...



I had no desire to do that many stairs, although after two Frappiccinos in a week I should have done it 5 times.

After a preventative potty stop we headed for Pirates, where we used one of our DVC fastpasses that had been added to our account for waiting to meet with our guide. It was totally worth it. We enjoyed the ride for the second time of the trip, and got some pictures of the current configuration before it changes



We like to make a potty pit stop before getting on Pirates. Once upon a time I got peed on, poor Allie will never live that one down.

Our next stop was all the way across the park to Space Mountain. I had never ridden it at WDW so Paul took Allie to get her face painted while I rode with Brandy and Jon.


We only had 10 minutes to make it there from Pirates, and WDW is bigger than Disneyland, but we made it over there. The kids and I hung out in a shop to cool off for a bit, then we went out to do face paint.



While we were there, we saw Stitch was right next door.


While we waited in line for Stitch we met back up with Melissa, and she was able to profess her love for Stitch.



I just have to interject here and say how proud I am of my kid, Allison has decided to be Stitch for this Halloween and it is the cutest darned thing ever.


It is pretty darn adorable. While we were at the Disney store last week we also got Marshall a Kion lion suit, and he's pretty cute too.


Back to the trip, at this point it was getting warm and we were getting hungry. We decided to head out of the park for lunch at the Contempo Cafe. Instead of making the hot walk, we hopped on the monorail.


Yes, none of us wanted to do that walk again and besides the monorail pretty much drops you right in front of lunch.

It was a nice cool trip, and we took the elevator down to the 4th floor and walked right up to order.


We got a burger and pizza, with a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie for dessert. The burger was great, and was topped with an onion ring and BBQ sauce. It was my favorite resort QS burger.

We also got a mini cake thing that we didn't manage to get a picture of before someone took the top off and a bite out of the side.


I enjoyed the cookie so much that I went back and got another one to take with us.

It was a good cookie. Not as good as my cookies but good.

I would have to agree.

Check out what we did after lunch in the next update.

 

[Lesley Wake]

We like to make a potty pit stop before getting on Pirates. Once upon a time I got peed on, poor Allie will never live that one down.

Haha-my cousin once had an accident on Big Thunder (at DL). The next people were about to get in the car and looked down to see a puddle! We've never let him forget!

I just have to interject here and say how proud I am of my kid, Allison has decided to be Stitch for this Halloween and it is the cutest darned thing ever.

Adorable! Are you guys doing the Disneyland Halloween Party? I was there last weekend (doing the party on the 13th though) and the Haul-O-Ween decorations are so awesome!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I got up just after 6 AM, and excitedly went out to get some more sunrise pictures.

That is a gorgeous sunrise. I don't know how you manage to wake up early when you have a three hour time change.

On the way I got a picture of frogs on the window. I had seen this a few times during the week, but this wound up being one of my favorites.

The frogs remind me of the chocolate frogs in Harry Potter. They like to hang on train windows.

I also went to start the search for Allie's custom umbrella. We figured out at dinner the night before that we didn't have it, and she had been carrying it with us earlier in the day. Looking back at pictures we figured out we had it while waiting for the van at AK, but didn't have it in the lobby at WL.

I'm glad that they found it so quickly.They always seem to be really good when kids are involved.

he kids loved their smoothie and really I should have gotten two because A we had the snack credits to burn and B Marshall isn't very good at sharing.

It looks like Marshall wasn't going to let Allie have any of the drink.

We like to make a potty pit stop before getting on Pirates. Once upon a time I got peed on, poor Allie will never live that one down.

That's a wise move. I've heard of that ride breaking down and people get stranded.

While we waited in line for Stitch we met back up with Melissa, and she was able to profess her love for Stitch.

Marshall is declaring his love for Stitch, too.

It is pretty darn adorable. While we were at the Disney store last week we also got Marshall a Kion lion suit, and he's pretty cute too.

Allie will be adorable in her Stitch costume. Marshall's lion costume is cute, too.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Haha-my cousin once had an accident on Big Thunder (at DL). The next people were about to get in the car and looked down to see a puddle! We've never let him forget!

Oh nice! Yeah, Allie single handedly took a Pirates Boat out of service, and we had to drive to Target to get her and Melissa some dry clothes. Oh the memories.

Adorable! Are you guys doing the Disneyland Halloween Party? I was there last weekend (doing the party on the 13th though) and the Haul-O-Ween decorations are so awesome!

We aren't doing the Disneyland Halloween party. We actually haven't ever done it at DL or WDW. We have a little bit of a hard time justifying the extra cost when there is so much other fun stuff to do. Maybe we will when Marshall is old enough to really get into it.

That is a gorgeous sunrise. I don't know how you manage to wake up early when you have a three hour time change.

It is the strangest thing, I always seem to wake up early on the East coast. I don't know what it is, but by the end of the trip I am pretty tired and want to sleep for a few days at home. I think I am just so excited to be at WDW that I don't want to miss a minute of it.

The frogs remind me of the chocolate frogs in Harry Potter. They like to hang on train windows.

Yeah, perhaps they wound up at Disney instead of Universal by accident...

I'm glad that they found it so quickly.They always seem to be really good when kids are involved.

We thought it might be gone forever, since it was easy to misplace with everything that was going on that day. Alice was great though, and even the other DVC CM there was impressed with her determination and detective skills.

It looks like Marshall wasn't going to let Allie have any of the drink.

Sharing isn't one of his favorite words, especially when there is food involved.

That's a wise move. I've heard of that ride breaking down and people get stranded.

We got stuck on it for about 20 min a couple of years ago. Just before the finish... We've never gotten to walk off a stuck ride though. That is on my list of strange things I want to do someday.

Marshall is declaring his love for Stitch, too.

Yes, he was really into the characters this time, they didn't seem to scare him a bit.

Allie will be adorable in her Stitch costume. Marshall's lion costume is cute, too.

Thanks! We were excited to be able to find both of their sizes at our local Disney store. Often selection there can be hit or miss. We also got Marshall a stitch so that he can wear it as pajamas when it is cold outside. We'll have to get a picture of them both wearing Stitch costumes some time.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

After lunch at the Contempo Cafe we decided to venture over to Bay Lake Tower. We watched it being built during our honeymoon but had never gone over there.

We stepped outside onto the bridge, and then figured out why we hadn't made the walk over before. Melissa was not at all fond of the curvey bridge.



I am not a fan of heights at all, actually they make me ill. As in I don't know what I'd do on the 7th floor in the lobby of the WL. This bridge was so scary. If I would have been able to just walk and ignore the sides I probably would have been fine but the curvature made it so you were well aware of how high up you are. If we stayed at BLT (which isn't super likely) I wouldn't be using that bridge.

I actually thought the "Bridge of Terror" was a nice shortcut, and I took a picture of the view of the marina.


We then ventured downstairs to the lobby to find out more about the DVC top of the world lounge. We chatted with some nice Cast Members, including one from Corona, the town next to ours in California.


We all agreed there was a lack of quality Mexican food in Florida and that we are all spoiled out in California. I should have offered to overnight him a burrito.

He probably would have taken you up on it. We found out that he misses the same restaurant that we go to weekly at home. We also found out that the Top of The World Lounge is open starting at 6PM to DVC members who are staying onsite at any DVC Property. We decided to put a visit here on the list for our next trip.

The kids had fun playing on the chairs in the lobby while we chatted .


Since there was no way I was walking across the bridge of terror again we decided to hop on a boat to get back to the lodge.


Initially our plan had been to continue straight to Epcot, but stopping back by WL had appeal to us. We pretty much walked right on a boat, and after a quick ride we arrived at WL at 3:30.



Then we went up to the rooms to relax and take a break for a few minutes.

It was nice to pick up water bottles and cool off for a minute. The kids like crawling around on the freshly made bed.

While hanging out in the room, I took some daytime pictures of the view from our balcony. Since our room opened to the lobby and was only on the 4th floor, it didn't have a spectacular view but was nice enough. We mainly saw the trees that are between the lodge and the cast member parking lot.



We left the rooms about 4:15, walked down to the bus stop, and got on an Epcot bus at 4:25. It stopped at FW at 4:35, then arrived at Epcot at 4:50. This bus was pretty warm inside, and Marshall got tired after FW and started to cry.

The poor dude hadn't had his nap yet and he was super sleepy.

It did make us consider a Minnie Van for the trip back to the resort later in the evening. We entered the park and walked around in the art store to cool off.


I think on the walk into Epcot that night we all decided that we'd be coming back in September. We had dealt well with the crowds all week but we were done with the extra people and the heat.

I think there was like a 45 minute standby wait for Spaceship Earth, and it was definitely toasty. Marshall fell asleep as we walked towards The Land, but without being able to take the stroller inside Melissa carried him in, still asleep.


We checked in to Garden Grill at 5:18, just behind a group who wanted to seat 22 people all together. In that restaurant it would be very difficult, if not impossible. It did make our group feel nice and small.

Once again Marsh was asleep for dinner. This one disappointed me because I knew that he'd love seeing Mickey. It would be worse to wake him up though so he snoozed through dinner.


It was too bad he missed it, but the rest of us all enjoyed ourselves. The food was excellent, and Allie got into seeing all of the characters. We had the same server as last year, and he added to the entertainment as well.





The food was really good. I enjoyed the french fries and mac and cheese, as well as the sausage and pretty much everything else.

I really like the food here, it is simple and good and perfect food for the end of a long trip.

After dinner Jon and Brandy headed back for the hotel, while we started towards Mexico because Allie had wanted to ride that boat ride. On the way she asked if we could ride Spaceship Earth, so we let her pick it or the Mexico boat ride. We were fine with her choice of Spaceship Earth because we didn't have to walk as far.


Marshall was up and fussy because he was hungry so I waited in the dump area with him and fed him snacks while they rode.

Using our DVC fastpasses it was a short wait, and Allie had fun. For some reason she really likes this ride. She also enjoyed playing some of the games in the area after the ride.


After that we were done for the day, so we headed out of the park, arriving at the bus stop at 8:34.


We waited with some frustrated people who were trying to get to WL in time to see the MK fireworks.

They should have started much earlier if that was their goal. When we finally got on the bus we had a great driver who didn't completely shut off the lights. Marshall really appreciated that and we had an enjoyable ride back to the lodge.

The bus that came didn't arrive until 8:51, but we made it to WL by 9:03, another quick trip overall. We decided to stop by the mercantile and pick up some of our shopping purchases that we had delivered ot the resort. We took our time and looked around at the different WL merchandise.


And the DVC Merchandise...


Ahh yes. I really wanted to buy something special with the DVC member logo, but we resisted. Then we headed upstairs to begin the process of packing up.

I laid down with Marshall to get him to settle down and sleep while Paul started packing. I eventually fell asleep too and he ended up doing most of the packing.

It wasn't too bad and I didn't stay up very late, but I slept better knowing that we had a couple of bags packed, and the breakable stuff tucked away in carry ons.

Check back in the next update to see how we make the most of having an 8:00 PM flight home.

 

[Wood Nymph]

While hanging out in the room, I took some daytime pictures of the view from our balcony. Since our room opened to the lobby and was only on the 4th floor, it didn't have a spectacular view but was nice enough. We mainly saw the trees that are between the lodge and the cast member parking lot.

That's the same view we have gotten when we've had a lobby view room, except both times we were at the end closest to the parking lot. I like it because it is quiet there.

Once again Marsh was asleep for dinner. This one disappointed me because I knew that he'd love seeing Mickey. It would be worse to wake him up though so he snoozed through dinner.

He looks hot, even when he is asleep. At least he didn't know that he missed Mickey.

Allie got into seeing all of the characters.

Allie is having a great time.

We also found out that the Top of The World Lounge is open starting at 6PM to DVC members who are staying onsite at any DVC Property. We decided to put a visit here on the list for our next trip.

I've heard that it is a great place to view the fireworks.

 

[Stasieki]

Where is that art store at Epcot? I have been blessed with September trips the last three years and now going Presidents weekend for DDs gymnastics comp. I know those crowds are pretty fierce!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

That's the same view we have gotten when we've had a lobby view room, except both times we were at the end closest to the parking lot. I like it because it is quiet there.

Yes, we love the lobby rooms. The view was better from the balconies down the hall, but having the great view out the door makes up for it for me.

He looks hot, even when he is asleep. At least he didn't know that he missed Mickey.

He always has a sweaty head. I think he gets it from Melissa's side of the family. He sweats like his Grandpa...

Allie is having a great time.

She really had a lot of fun, and it didn't bother her that Marshall was asleep.

I've heard that it is a great place to view the fireworks.

SO have we, but we've also heard that due to the limited capacity you have to arrive early and spend a while there when it is busy to secure your spot for fireworks. We definitely will check it out, but probably won't spend all night there to catch the fireworks.

Where is that art store at Epcot? I have been blessed with September trips the last three years and now going Presidents weekend for DDs gymnastics comp. I know those crowds are pretty fierce!

The Art of Disney Store is on the right as you are walking in, just past Spaceship Earth. It is part of the same building that innoventions was, but is closer to the park entrance.


We were spoiled with September trips for years, and August wasn't terrible, but it is nicer to have less people there. We also missed getting to be there for Food and Wine. We haven't ever done a holiday weekend, but it has to still be worth it, as long as you can plan ahead.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Before we get into the next update on the trip report, this week we made our reservations for our return visit to WDW.

We are crazy crazy excited about our next trip. When we got home and started figuring out how points work, learned the intricacies of banking and borrowing and transferring we figured out that we needed to spend our extra points from our 2017 use year so we didn't loose them. This meant we needed to do something more than a studio for the next trip.

By purchasing when we did, we got all the points for 2017, but had already taken our 2017 trip. We then could bank those points for 2017, but we had to use those points or loose them, and we also had our regular 2018 points, so we had the chance to splurge a bit. We really liked the 2 bedroom units, and figured that we could all share one.

This was exciting enough but on a recent river trip we were heading home (which is like a 5 hour drive and where we do a lot of Disney planning) I was looking at the points chart and comparing the different options again.
I was talking to Paul about how disappointed I was that I never got to see inside a cabin and that I might do the DVC tour again the next year just to see one. Then I looked closer at the points.....

Since we were splitting a room anyway, maybe we could do a split stay at Copper Creek and spend a night or two in a cabin...

I got out a gas receipt and started running numbers, at first I was thinking just one night would be ok, then I kept crunching and figured out that we could do up to 4 nights of the trip in a cabin without having to borrow points.

When we got home we shared this idea with Jon and Brandy, and they were very quickly on board. The only debate was how many nights to do in the cabin, and how much we should have it affect our schedule. (Because I seriously wonder if we are going to want to leave the cabin just to go to a park...)

We settled on 3 nights so that we feel like we get to really experience it but it shouldn't split the trip up too much.

We are going to spend most of our first full day in the cabin at the resort, and will have dinner at Trail's End. It should let us get to really experience it. Also my parents got their reservation for a Standard View WL room, so they will be there as well, although I think Grandma Nancy might move in to the cabin's hot tub for the last three days.

Now that we had a plan, all that was left was waiting until the 11 month mark to execute it. We did the necessary point transfers into our account so that I could deal with all the reservations stuff, and this week I got it all done. We were able to get reservations for a 2 bedroom villa at Copper Creek for September 6-12, 2018, followed by a Copper Creek Cabin for September 12-15th!


Our "bounce back" is booked

Now we return you to our regularly scheduled trip report...

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I got up at 6:45, then went down to Roaring Fork for morning mug refills. I took the camera with me to get a few last pictures before we packed the SLR in our carry-ons that we left with Bell Services, so unfortunately we'd be limited to cell phone pictures for the rest of the day. Once I got back to the room, Melissa got up and helped finish packing.




It's always hard to pack up after a good trip but this one didn't seem as hard as in the past. I guess DVC really helped with the end of the trip blues..

Yes it did. I really expected to be super depressed at the end of this trip, but that was before we knew that we'd be back next year and for many to come.

We schlepped the big suitcases and the double stroller down to airline check in.



By taking our checked bags and our carry-ons down separately we didn't have to call for a bellman. It also gave us a chance to go back up to the room one last time to say bye to it.


We had planned on having breakfast at Whispering Canyon, but we got a text from Jon saying that they were not feeling well and were planning on just heading to Disney Springs.

The poor guys caught the cold I had at the begining of the trip At least they didn't have to suffer too much while on vacation.

To save money, since we had QS credits, we decided to grab a quick breakfast at the Contempo Cafe. After leaving our carry-ons with Bell Services, we headed to the boat dock.


As we got on a Blue Flag Boat, I got some pics of the 10:00 Geyser.



Then we got to CR at 10:07 and went upstairs where we got two breakfasts to share.


We were excited that they listed waffles with strawberries on their menu, however it wasn't anything like the old Roaring Fork strawberry waffles.



We survived though and breakfast was good. Marshall made friends with a mickey waffle and carried it around for hours before he finally finished eating it.

After breakfast we walked around the shops one more time, then headed up to the monorail. We got there just as one left, and a nice CM said the next one would be there in 45 minutes. He then smiled and said " Oh, I meant 4 to 5 minutes" The Green monorail arrived (my favorite) so it was worth the wait.


It was pretty funny. Our next stop was the Magic Kingdom. We were hoping to get to see Mickey one last time before we headed home.

We got on the monorail at 11:05, and arrived at MK at 11:22. Not a super fast trip, but it was part of the fun. Just inside the park, we ran into Dave and Megan and the boys. We chatted outside for a bit before going our separate ways.


We didn't have fastpasses for Mickey, but we had our DVC ones loaded to our MDE accounts. We went inside and asked if they worked there, but upon scanning our bands found out that they did not, and the standby line was over an hour.

Mickey would just have to wait until next trip. We headed off to ride the...

Peoplemover!, but not before another potty stop just in case.



After the peoplemover, we headed to Main Street to do some more shopping. We had a necklace that Allie had bought at Downtown Disney earlier in the trip where the pendant had fallen off. It was still in the package and we had the receipt, so I hoped to exchange it if they had another one.

Luckily we saved the receipt so it was no big deal. I'm not really good at saving receipts but from now on I think its a good idea at least until the end of the trip.

They didn't have the same necklace, but Allie had already picked out a different ring so we got a refund. Then Marshall decided he needed a Donald and Goofy, and since he hadn't gotten much else during the trip we decided he needed them, despite them adding two to our already too high count of plush toys.


He loved on them, we weren't going to leave the store without them.

With that done, we decided to head out of the park, concluding our park time for this trip. On the way out Allie stopped to get a picture with the Roy Disney and Minnie statue.


We have been reading the Kingdom Keepers books and she recognized the statue from the books and was excited to see it.

We left the park at 12:52, but we still had plenty of time for resort hopping before our MDE pickup. We had a plan for some cupcakes to go with our lunch, so we hopped on a boat bound for the Grand Floridian.


Check back for our monorail loop resort hopping adventures in the next update.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Now that we had a plan, all that was left was waiting until the 11 month mark to execute it. We did the necessary point transfers into our account so that I could deal with all the reservations stuff, and this week I got it all done. We were able to get reservations for a 2 bedroom villa at Copper Creek for September 6-12, 2018, followed by a Copper Creek Cabin for September 12-15th!

I've been waiting to hear your plans for next year. It is amazing that you were able to get a cabin. That is great! You will have a great time there. The 2 br villa will be nice, too. We like to cook breakfast when we are in a villa.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Marshall made friends with a mickey waffle and carried it around for hours before he finally finished eating it.

That is so cute.

I noticed that Melissa switched around her purple and green MagicBands, That combination looks really good. I had done that with my pink and green bands, but I wasn't that crazy about how it looked, so I covered them with vinyl band covers. My husband switched up his grey and orange bands, with the orange center in the grey band and the grey center in the orange band. That combination looks really good.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I've been waiting to hear your plans for next year. It is amazing that you were able to get a cabin. That is great! You will have a great time there. The 2 br villa will be nice, too. We like to cook breakfast when we are in a villa.

Thanks. We are really excited, and glad that we have Copper Creek as our home resort so that we could book at 11 months. Getting to spend a few nights in the cabin will be fun. We were thinking it would be nice to use that big kitchen for a nice breakfast.

That is so cute.

I noticed that Melissa switched around her purple and green MagicBands, That combination looks really good. I had done that with my pink and green bands, but I wasn't that crazy about how it looked, so I covered them with vinyl band covers. My husband switched up his grey and orange bands, with the orange center in the grey band and the grey center in the orange band. That combination looks really good.

Marshall does like to hang onto bits of food and take them with him. It is cute as long as the food isn’t too messy.

This was our first trip with the new style Magic Bands, but Marshall got one, so Melissa switched with him to build the green and purple one. It turned out cute, and the reverse version is cute too, although Marshall never wore it. They are fun, and switching them around makes them even more unique.

 

[mrsap]

On the phone as we arrived at Animal Kingdom, Adarsh (our DVC Guide) said that they could arrange transportation from AK back to WL. Since Brandy was pretty intent on making a DVC purchase, we figured it would be worth his time. We also gave him our information so we could have real numbers to discuss for loans and interest rates.

He told us that a Van would pick us up outside of AK at 4:45, and would get us to WL by 5:00. We figured that alone would be something to see, and we had an opening in our schedule, so why not.

In the mean time though, we had FastPasses for the Navi River Journey at Pandora.


We journeyed over to Pandora and pretty much walked right on the boat.


The ride was your typical Disney boat ride but the visuals were breathtaking. The colors were spectacular.



Unlike Flights of Passage, Allie really liked this ride. She decided to call it her home.

After cruising the Navi river it was my turn to try out Flights of Passage using our baby swap pass. I rode with Jon and Brandy while Paul hung out with the kids in the dump shop.

I REALLY enjoyed the ride it was spectacular. The visual effects and all are mind blowing.

Jon and Brandy said it was much better not being totally stuffed like we were earlier. In the dump shop, we had to decide what to do about adopting a pet Banshee. The "must have" toy there is this Banshee puppet thing that sits on your shoulder and you can make the head and wings move.


While they did have them in stock despite selling huge numbers of them, they were $60 each and they didn't even offer the AP discount. I talked about it with Allie, and while she wanted one she realized that it was a lot of money. Instead we decided on a souvenier rock, a smaller toy Banshee, and a Pandora T-Shirt.


She named her banshee Shy and carried it with her for the rest of the trip.

Then we decided to try the unique Pandora slushy. While colorful, a little bit went a long way and even with three of us drinking it I don't think we finished it.


No it was really really sweet. Allie liked it though.

We then checked out the stores by the entrance to the park on our way back to the front of the park to meet our blue van. It was hot out (imagine that at Animal Kingdom) so we got an ice cold Coke that we shared.


Our driver showed up right on time and was super nice. We all piled in the van and headed back to Wilderness Lodge.


The van arrived at 4:37, and we arrived back at WL at 4:48. That is record time!

On the drive he talked about how he owned DVC and his only regret was that he didn't buy it sooner.

The driver escorted us to the DVC desk, as he is required to do to make sure people don't just use the vans for easy transportation. We were pretty eager to be there though. We sat and waited for Adarsh until 5:00. While we waited I helped the Cast Member answer some of Brandy's questions about Wilderness Lodge and the recessed balconies. The guy was inpressed, and asked me if I was already a member.


At 5:00 a nice lady led us back to the 2nd floor rooms that they are using as sales offices. We walked through the upper courtyard which was a nice little shortcut. It was Melissa's first time seeing inside a room on the Copper Creek side.


We talked to Adarsh and he answered some of the questions Brandy had. I asked about being able to see a room so Adarsh walked Paul, the kids, and I over and showed us the two bedroom lockoff they use for tours.


It is an impressive room. I really liked the tub area and the kitchen. The big table and living area are really nice as well.

I could totally see sharing the two bedroom with Jon and Brandy at some point on a future trip in order to get the in suite washer and dryer and extra space.

The studio was nice, and very much like a regular WL room, but having the extra space of a 1 bedroom or sharing a 2 bedroom definitely had appeal. Brandy and Jon were signing paperwork while we took our tour.

Yeah I guess we missed that part, they got so excited about it they signed a contract. While they were finishing up paperwork we crunched numbers with Adarsh, figured out what financing would look like and consoled Allison as she chose this moment in time to have a melt down.


She was quite concerned about the lack of bunk beds, and was generally worried about change and commitment. She definitely doesn't jump into things.

She really doesn't like change and I don't think understood exactly what was going on. Plus she was tired and hungry and all those other things that lead to the perfect storm of a melt down. She finally calmed down a bit when Adarsh offered her goldfish. Marshall eventually fell asleep too.


After some talking with our eyes and in general deciding how much we like coming to Disneyworld, and how much we LOVE Wilderness Lodge we decided to take the plunge.

The clincher for us was being able to buy at Copper Creek. We both love it, and while having lots of other options is nice, we fully expect to make most of our trips home to Wilderness Lodge.

We were able to get enough points for a nine day trip in a studio during the lowest cost season, which includes September. We thought we might have to wait to sign the closing papers until the next day, but Adarsh and his QA person made an efficient team and they were able to get the paperwork done in just 15 minutes.


This is the look I get when I've spent way too much money but I'm too excited to care. With our bouncebacks for the next 50 years booked we decided we'd head back over to Animal Kingdom to get dinner and catch the Rivers of Light.

We dropped our fancy new bag off at the room, then took advantage of the Blue van one more time to get a ride back to Animal Kingdom.


This time the driver was a retired police chief, who made sure that the kids both had their car seats, despite having to reinstall them both.


I appreciated the attention he paid to making sure the kiddos were safe.

He was also really a nice guy, and a long time DVC member, which was nice to get to talk to at that point in our purchase. We left WL at 7:14 and got to AK at 7:30.

We were all pretty hungry when we got back to AK so we headed to one of the best quick service locations on property (in our humble opinion)
Flame Tree!

We had worked up an appetite buying future vacations, and ribs and BBQ beans were just the thing we needed. We got a nice table down by the water.



Marshall was still snoozing in the stroller during dinner, it was kind of a theme for him on the trip. We had Fast passes to view ROL but our view from Flame Tree was pretty good and we would have had to move Marsh from the stroller so we just decided to watch from the seating area.


The food was delicious as usual. I forgot to ask for large drinks though. Paul wasn't particularly happy with me. Note if you are on the dining plan it doesn't cost anymore for the drink upsize.

Aww, it wasn't that big of a deal, and we were thinking about DVC. It would likely mean we wouldn't be back with free dining again though...

As soon as it got dark some of Mickey’s cousins came out to visit.


They were some fairly large rats.

I guess with Animal Kingdom open at night they haven’t yet figured out nocturnal pest control.

It turned out to be a decent place to watch the show.


We haven't seen it from the bleachers so we really don't know what we were missing out on. It was nice to not have to deal with the crowds or waking the sleeping baby.

After the show we hightailed it over to ride Kilamanjaro Safaris at night before heading to check out Pandora.

It felt like we were swimming upstream heading for Africa as people were heading out after Rivers of Light. We were able to walk right on Kilamanjaro Safaris, which we had been looking forward to trying at night.

We had to wake up Marshall to ride but he didn't seem to mind.


It was kinda cool to see all the critters out at night. Most of the animals in the savanah area were laying down but we got to see the rhino moving around quite a bit.


The hippos also seemed to be enjoying the cooler temperatures at night.


The female lion was still snoozing just like it was the middle of the day though.


It was a nice experience, and it is always fun to see different things on the safaris. After that, we headed over to Pandora to check it out at night.

Allie was really excited about seeing the glowing ground.



It was pretty spectacular at night. There were quite a few other people too but we actually found a quiet corner and the kids (and Jon) ran around playing for a bit.



We left Pandora about 10:45, and a bus pulled up as we walked up to the bus stop at 11:00. We left for WL at 11:05 after a driver change, and arrived back at 11:23.


On the way to the room we went down to Roaring Fork for some late night mug refills.



Marshall had fun on the walk back to the room and really wanted cookies out of the vending machine.

Back at the room, we stayed up for a bit and talked about DVC while Marshall and Melissa took a bath. Allie was done with it all and went straight to bed.

It had been a crazy exciting day. If you told me when we started the trip that we would be leaving DVC members I would have told you that you were drinkin something.

It was the ultimate cure for being worried about the trip winding down. We immediately started our planning for next year and many to come.

We had a great day, but still had more time left on this trip. Check out what we did to start our last full day in the next update.

Loved reading along and looking at your pictures!!! Welcome home, again, neighbor!!! Your face and shirt after the purchase are the best!!!!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Again I am way behind but came over to read the DVC part. I need to go back and catch up when I get a chance though.

We had Fast passes to view ROL but our view from Flame Tree was pretty good and we would have had to move Marsh from the stroller so we just decided to watch from the seating area.

We haven't seen it from the bleachers so we really don't know what we were missing out on. It was nice to not have to deal with the crowds or waking the sleeping baby.

You made the right decision. The seating for ROL is AWFUL, in my opinion. Rows are way too close together to be comfortable. It honestly ruined the show for me.

Allie was really excited about seeing the glowing ground.

We missed this last trip because the boys vetoed our second AK night for another night at the MK. Honestly, I didn't complain and we can see it soon enough.

It had been a crazy exciting day. If you told me when we started the trip that we would be leaving DVC members I would have told you that you were drinkin something.

CONGRATS! So glad you guys made the plunge! Of course, we did not purchase direct or while we were on our trip but I was given the go ahead while we were there, to start looking at resale, and I had no idea that would happen either.

 

[ArielSRL]

On the way in we got to see Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, they are probably my favorite two muppets. We'd never seen their muppet labs show and it was a lot of fun to see.

My DH loves the Muppets and we got lucky enough to happen upon the show on one of our Epcot days.

Then Allie went outside and had a ball playing in the jumping water fountains. I remember these from when I was six years old, and while they aren't a top destination thing now she still had a ball, and managed to get soaked.

I need to make time for this in the future.

Because the boys were taking so long on the ride I was teasing Paul about buying a new Suburban and having it delivered. I don't think he took me seriously.

Nice...lol.

As I recall though, dessert turned her mood around very quickly. Melissa and Jon had tiramisu, Brandy had Canoli, and thanks to our great waiter both Allie and I were able to get the cheesecake from the adult dessert menu.
I honestly think it was the best cheesecake I have ever had.

Yum, you are making me hungry for sweets.

Allie was struggling the entire trip finding things that appealed to her on the kids menu. Her tastes can be more sophisticated then most kids.

That's tough. My kids are like less sophisticated than most kids! They ate peanut butter the whole trip! LOL

Then we walked through Mouse Gear on our way out, leaving the park at 10:35. We got to the bus stop at 10:42 as a full bus was leaving. Another bus arrived at 10:56 which we made it on. It was full but not terrible. We left at 10:57 and got back to WL at 11:06, which was very good for a trip home from Epcot.

I would agree as our midday trip back from Epcot was one of our worst (and one of the ones that led to us driving everywhere but MK the rest of the trip).

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Loved reading along and looking at your pictures!!! Welcome home, again, neighbor!!! Your face and shirt after the purchase are the best!!!!!

Thanks, we're glad you stopped by. We're looking forward to hanging out on the Copper Creek forum as we get ready for next year's trip.

Again I am way behind but came over to read the DVC part. I need to go back and catch up when I get a chance though.

No problem, take your time. I'm sorry we gave away the best part, but we're pretty excited about buying into DVC. We've learned a lot about it and are super excited now that we have our trip booked for next year.

You made the right decision. The seating for ROL is AWFUL, in my opinion. Rows are way too close together to be comfortable. It honestly ruined the show for me.

Ahh, that's good to hear. We were afraid we missed the good parts by sitting on the back side, but it was nice not being crammed in there, and leaving Marshall asleep was very nice. I guess it just isn't that great of a show. Oh well, no biggie, there are plenty of other things to do at night.

We missed this last trip because the boys vetoed our second AK night for another night at the MK. Honestly, I didn't complain and we can see it soon enough.

Yeah, hopefully it will calm down a bit. It is cool, but not worth squeezing in with thousands of other people for.

CONGRATS! So glad you guys made the plunge! Of course, we did not purchase direct or while we were on our trip but I was given the go ahead while we were there, to start looking at resale, and I had no idea that would happen either.

Very cool! We did some quick research on resale options, but Copper Creek sold it for us. If we ever decide to add points though we will look more closely at resale. It is so great to be part of it all, and to know that you can stay at WL every year. We sure can't wait.

My DH loves the Muppets and we got lucky enough to happen upon the show on one of our Epcot days.

That's neat. I am becoming more and more fond of the Muppets, now that I get the jokes that my parents used to get when I was little and watched them.

That's tough. My kids are like less sophisticated than most kids! They ate peanut butter the whole trip! LOL

See, everybody has their issues to deal with. At least "cooking" for them will be pretty easy.

I would agree as our midday trip back from Epcot was one of our worst (and one of the ones that led to us driving everywhere but MK the rest of the trip).

We have grown to expect extended bus travel times, and try not to get in a hurry. When it is quick, we are then pleasantly surprised.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We got on the boat at 12:54 and arrived at the Grand Floridian dock at 12:59.


We walked through the courtyard areas to Gaspirilla Grill. On the way, we saw Mickey helping out by driving a bell services cart.


At Gasparilla Grill the main reason we were there was to use snack credits on cupcakes, and we got two different ones that were great. My favorite was the lemon. We also used up our last Quick Service meals on burgers and pizza, which we enjoyed as well.


We have enjoyed Gasparilla grill every time we've eaten here.


I preferred the burger this time at Contempo Cafe, but the cupcakes more than made up for it. I am impressed at the variety between different Disney resort quick service locations. After we ate we had promised Allie that she could play in the arcade next door, since we didn't have time for this on our departure day last year. Our timing was excellent, since they were having a free games hour so all of the games were free.




She was super happy to get to play the games, we were even happier they were free. I even joined in on the fun for a round of fruit ninja.

After that we made our way around to the lobby, entering from the first floor in front. It really is an impressive lobby.


Then we took the old elevator up to the second floor where we wanted to check out M. Mouse Mercantile.


Allie's favorite Board game is the game of Life and we discovered that they have a Haunted Mansion version. There are only a couple places on property to buy it and this was one so we added one more souvenir to our carry-ons.

Melissa got really good at using the Shop Parks app to figure out what was where, and we were all excited that we would be able to pick up the Life game as a family souvenir.
After shopping there, we headed out to the monorail. Our next destination was the Poly, but riding the monorail around sounded like a better idea than walking back out to the boats to catch a more direct boat over there.
For some reason I set off the metal detector on the way through, so I got checked with the wand before we hopped on. We still made it on the first monorail though, and it worked out well because Marshall was asleep.


We got to MK at 2:35, the CR at 2:42, the TTC at 2:48, and finally the Poly at 2:52. It wasn't fast, but it was a nice cool ride.

We had a couple of missions at the Poly, we still had some snack credits to use up so we checked out the upstairs gift shop and then headed downstairs for a Citrus Swirl.



I was surprised that this was our first time visiting the Poly this trip. Sometimes it seems we are here all the time. I enjoyed the Citrus swirl though, and after that we went by Captain Cooks for mug refills.



Next year we won't be on the dining plan for our free mugs but we'll definitely be buying them. We really enjoy them and for sure will get our money out of them.

We headed back up to the monorail and got on at 3:34, stopped back at the GF at 3:37, and then got off at MK at 3:43.


We got off there and walked to the boats.


A Fort Wilderness Boat came first, but then a big boat headed to WL showed up at 3:56, left at 3:58, and we got back to WL at 4:07.


We got another glimpse of the cabins from the water as we went by.



Then we stopped by Roaring Fork one last time before heading up to the lobby to meet up with everyone else.




The kids played for a little bit and we collected our things from bell services. We condensed bags and got things ready for airport security.


It was nice to have some down time here to get all our stuff together and be ready for the bus. I was also able to make one last trip to the mercantile, where I bought a Copper Creek travel mug that is now sitting on my desk at work, and serves as a reminder that we get to go back.

We walked outside at 5:05 and our DME bus was already there waiting. We didn't all have the printed transportation notice, just our boarding passes. The Driver had to write down our information to make sure that we belonged on the bus. It surprised me that we were supposed to have two separate sets of DME papers for each family, but next time I'll be sure to have everything we get from them in a carry on.



I got one last glimpse of WL from the bus.


Our trip to the airport was pretty uneventful and the security line wasn't bad at all.

Our bus left WL at 5:12, got to the Poly at 5:17, then the GF at 5:26, then left at 5:33. It started raining as we went past Hollywood Studios, and we got to MCO at 6:15.

Our flight out was delayed a couple hours though, we have never flown out of Orlando on time yet.

Yes, as usual just as we got through security we saw our flight switch from on-time to delayed. This time it was just us, and not the whole airport as our plane was late coming in from it's prior stop. We went and got some pizza for dinner, which wasn't too bad. We got a group of seats together,and the kids played together to pass the time.



The most challenging part was keeping the toddlers occupied for that amount of time. They basically ran amuck while we waited.


We finally were able to board our plane at 9:15 Orlando time, but then they had to do some work on one of the doors. That added another 45 minutes or so, but eventually we were on our way.



This meant that we arrived back at LAX early the next morning, and since it was Monday we had to go to work that day. We negotiated our way through the terminal at LAX that was still under construction, and got to our shuttle van.




The driver got us home just after 3 AM local time.

It was an epically long day.

This contributed to our decision to fly home on a Saturday next year. No matter how late it is, at least we'll have a day to recover. That will be particularly important since Allie will have school the next day.

So that's our 2017 trip, thanks for following along! We can't wait to share our 2018 trip with you all next year.

Thanks so much for following along as we shared the fun with you and captured it to look back on in the future. Feel free to pop in with any comments or questions you may have, and we will spend the next 322 days planning for an epic homecoming to Copper Creek!