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

[DaisyDuck001]

Yeah, I found the T-Rex food very average, but the special effects and decor are fun. So far I've avoided Chicken Guy, because what I'd read about it previously, matched your experience: mediocre chicken strips, lots of sauces, and not much variety of other entrees at all.

 

[Wood Nymph]

The villas pool looked really empty. There were usually more people there when we were there in August. It looks like you had a great time at the pools.

The ice cream taco is really strange looking. What are the round balls on the outer edge. They look like the salty jalapeño snacks they have in the pretzel mix at a bar.

The front desk CM in your picture is the same one who checked us in. The staff at the WL is always friendly and helpful.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Joining in! I hadn't even realized you started this yet!!!! It sounds like the trip is off to a great start!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Looks like another great day! Yak and Yeti looks amazing, we somehow have never eaten here, we always end up at Tusker House for the characters, but dying to try it. Yes, with your son you’re probably in for a few meals at TRex. My youngest son loves TRex, but it is SOOO loud and the food is mediocre. And those mini vans can be a God send, especially when traveling from resort to resort. But they are expensive

We did Tusker House our first trip, then did Yak and Yeti the next year and haven't done Tusker House again. Both are great (and very different) restaurants, but we have a hard time scheduling two TS meals at AK, and Yak and Yeti wins out for us.
We'll let Marshall have his meal pick when he gets older, and if it is T-Rex we'll go along with it. If he never learns that they serve food there though we probably wouldn't be disappointed...
I do think Minnie Vans will become a regular part of our trips, especially for resort to resort transportation.

Looks like an overall good day at AK. I finally tried Yak and Yeti on my last trip . Enjoyed it and will be back . I also tried Chicken Guy. I thought it was good not great . Would probably go back at some point but I still have several more DS places to try first .

We did like that Chicken Guy was somewhat economical by DS standards, but felt that D-Luxe or Wolfgang Puck Express are better Quick Service options, and there are so many great Table Service options too that it will probably be a while before we wind up here again.

Yeah, I found the T-Rex food very average, but the special effects and decor are fun. So far I've avoided Chicken Guy, because what I'd read about it previously, matched your experience: mediocre chicken strips, lots of sauces, and not much variety of other entrees at all.

Yeah, we were excited by the prices so we wanted to give it a shot, but overall it isn't a favorite. I would grab the loaded fries as a snack sometime if the opportunity came up, they were quite tasty.

The villas pool looked really empty. There were usually more people there when we were there in August. It looks like you had a great time at the pools.

There were times that we were the only people in the pool, but usually there were a couple of other groups, but never many people overall. The main pool was a lot busier though.

The ice cream taco is really strange looking. What are the round balls on the outer edge. They look like the salty jalapeño snacks they have in the pretzel mix at a bar.

It was a weird dessert. The filling was an edible cookie dough, so ice cream might have made it better. It was just a room temperature sugary goo. The beads were a type of sprinkle, kind of like very small malted milk balls without much flavor but they did provide some crunch to it.

The front desk CM in your picture is the same one who checked us in. The staff at the WL is always friendly and helpful.

That's neat. I love that you can recognize CMs at WL, even from year to year. He was very nice, and I wish I'd gotten a picture of the one we talked to about Galaxy's Edge, because I wound up chatting with him multiple times. They add to the experience, and do a great job.

Joining in! I hadn't even realized you started this yet!!!! It sounds like the trip is off to a great start!

Welcome! We're glad that you found us. As you can tell we've had some great days so far, but there's lots to come. On the next day we finally make it to Galaxy's Edge, and we have lots of pictures to share from there.

 

[Cloe Colton]

I think I saw Jon and Brandy shopping this night! haha I thought about saying hi but I figured they would be kinda confused about a stranger knowing them lol

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I think I saw Jon and Brandy shopping this night! haha I thought about saying hi but I figured they would be kinda confused about a stranger knowing them lol

Lol, that's funny. You could have really confused them, and then we'd have been trying to figure out who it was. I think we'd have figured it out. They really are nice though. You must have caught them while we were over on the other side exploring and checking out T-Rex.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Lol, that's funny. You could have really confused them, and then we'd have been trying to figure out who it was. I think we'd have figured it out. They really are nice though. You must have caught them while we were over on the other side exploring and checking out T-Rex.

haha I should have! That was a super hot day though lol the air felt like soup! I totally get why you took a pool break!!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I got up at 6:15 on Tuesday and then went out for my morning walk around the resort. I stopped at the front desk to apply gift cards, and chatted with the same CM as the other day about which color milk was best. Today was the day we would finally get to try them. I also took a few more pics of the lobby, and then went down to catch the 7:00 Geyser.




There was another couple there, and they got the whole thing on video despite getting wet from it. It showed dedication...
Then I went and watched the sunrise from the transportation boat dock.


Melissa texted me at 7:30 and I went back up to the room.

We didn't have anything to rush to, so we took our time getting ready and just snacked in the room for breakfast.

We aren't rope drop people and after watching wait times during the beginning of the week we decided that we didn't need to get to the park first thing.

They had the Extra extra magic hours where HS opened at 6 AM, but the ride wait times in Galaxy's Edge were higher in the first two hours than later in the day, so we chose to sleep in (or at least get up and take pictures...)

We left the room at 9:12, then saw them doing more flooring work in the lobby.



We got to the bus stop at 9:20, and the sign said 9:31 for an HS bus. While we waited Jon got pics of a new bus that came for MK. We never got to ride one, but they look nice.

Allie and Jon walked over to check it out.



It almost would have been worth hopping on it to get to ride it, but we had a new land to explore. The bus arrived at 9:27, then got to CR at 9:36 before arriving at HS at 9:50. It was our first time having the extra stop on the way to a park in the morning, but was probably because we were so late relative to the park opening.

We got to see the new bus drop off and pick up area, it was nice we didn't have that long hot walk to the front of the park.

It was way closer than last year, and we got to peek over the fence at the new Skyliner station.


We got separated at the security check because I had to go to the stroller line, but it went way faster and I had to wait about five minutes for them. They had a particularly thorough bag check.


The security guard was very very thorough, not that I'm complaining because I appreciate the safety aspect but she had me open EVERY SINGLE thing in the backpack including my mini wallet which is the size of a credit card. It was the only time all trip I had to open it.

Once we were well cleared, we followed the crowd toward Galaxy's Edge. They were allowing you to enter from either end, but we started with the end opposite Toy Story land anyway. It kind of reminded me of the entrance to Cars Land from the food area at CA Adventure.



The land is immediately immersive and I was super impressed with the little details.



We walked by the entrance to Rise of the Resistance, this side of the land was pretty empty because it was hot and there wasn't much shade and there wasn't much over there to do. Once that ride opens though I expect it to get more crowded.


We made a quick potty stop, and were impressed at how the unique theming even continued in there. This is what they mean by immersive theming.


I can't believe you took a picture of the restroom. Next we had an important mission to locate a Porg.

Allie had decided she wanted one as her souvenir for the trip and had been talking about it for months. Watching the DFB videos helped seal the deal.


She picked out her Porg and was led through the adoption process by one of the residents of Bantu. We also found a snorty pig for Marshall.




We later found out it's a puffer pig but Marshall calls it a Snorty pig. It was the most hilarious thing the noise it makes.

We then got a snack, picking up some popcorn and a couple of previously TSA disapproved Diet Cokes.


The kids decided they were STARVING and needed food right now. We were excited to have Diet Coke out of a spherical plastic bottle. It was just Diet Coke, nothing super special. Or explosive...


With something to snack on we figured it was a good time to wait for Smugglers Run. It was showing a 50 minute wait, which didn’t seem bad.


The queue for the ride was really elaborate with lots to see especially once you're inside. Marsh was getting concerned because the line was so immersive.


It was great that it was all shaded or inside, and made the wait not feel bad at all. Marshall was genuinely concerned that we were getting on a space ship, but we convinced him that it would be ok.


Because there was 6 of us we got our own Space Ship or whatever it's supposed to be called.


We got to pick our roles, and Allie and Brandy were pilots while Marshall and I were engineers.


That put Marshall in the back which was fine for him. He looked so little in the seat.

The ride was fun and not too intense for any of us. Our pilots crashed a few times, but we had fun. I was able to get some pictures, and a few of them weren’t blurry.




After the ride we made our way through the exit hallways and out to take some more pictures.

The ride exit is so long. It felt like we could have been lost in the building. We might have if the exit signs weren't in English. Also there must be a ton of elevators in this building, we walked by several of them.


We finally made it out, and then took some more pictures of the impressive area.



Our next mission was to find the blue and green milk, but we'll cover that in the next update...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

My son was lucky enough to have a CM preview of SWGE over the summer before it opened to the public and he fell in love with it. I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty cool too, although I'm not a big SW fan. Blue or Green????

 

[Isabelle12345]

Yout pictures from SWGE are amazing! They are the best I have seen in many posts / blogs! Makes me want to explore the land when we go next time!

 

[Eeyore daily]

Great photos! Flying the Millennium Falcon looks like a lot of fun. I don't blame Allie for wanting a Porg, it looks pretty cute!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

My son was lucky enough to have a CM preview of SWGE over the summer before it opened to the public and he fell in love with it. I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty cool too, although I'm not a big SW fan. Blue or Green????

Despite our ages, we aren't big Star Wars fans either, so we weren't sure what we'd think of SWGE. We had heard from lots of different people who liked it whether they were into Star Wars or not, and we definitely liked it as well. We had so many pictures that we didn't get to the milk yet, but it was a split verdict...

Your pictures from SWGE are amazing! They are the best I have seen in many posts / blogs! Makes me want to explore the land when we go next time!

Aww, thank you so much. We really enjoy taking and sharing our pictures, and are glad to hear that you enjoy them.
It is definitely worth your time to check out SWGE, and it is also great that it doesn't tend to be super busy. That may change as the second ride is added, but overall it is a great area and a nice addition to the parks.

Great photos! Flying the Millennium Falcon looks like a lot of fun. I don't blame Allie for wanting a Porg, it looks pretty cute!

The Millenium Falcon ride was nice, and perfect for us. It wasn't too scary or jarring, and we could all do it together. We are glad the wait was enjoyable with the nice queue.
The Porg is adorable, and is kind of a puppet so you can make it flap its wings and open its mouth. She looked forward to getting it, and had a ball carrying it around in the parks and interacting with cast members with it.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

You had a great evening in Disney Springs! I'd love to try a Minnie Van but worry they won't be easily available if I plan on calling one. We'll see!

I've heard similar reviews about the chicken place on other reports. I think that's an easy one to skip by as there are so many food options in Disney Springs.

Your pictures of SWGE, especially the attraction, are GREAT! I look forward to seeing what you thought of the rest of the land!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

You had a great evening in Disney Springs! I'd love to try a Minnie Van but worry they won't be easily available if I plan on calling one. We'll see!

I've heard similar reviews about the chicken place on other reports. I think that's an easy one to skip by as there are so many food options in Disney Springs.

Your pictures of SWGE, especially the attraction, are GREAT! I look forward to seeing what you thought of the rest of the land!

We really like spending time in Disney Springs, and this trip we finally felt like we were not rushed there. It was nice having a couple of nights there fairly early in the trip.
We had heard good things about Chicken Guy, and while it wasn't bad, we weren't as impressed as we thought we would be. It does just have so much competition there that it is tough.
Thanks, we really enjoyed SWGE. The area felt bigger than we expected, and despite not being super Star Wars fans we appreciated the immersion of it. It was well done, and a nice addition to the park. We spent more time there, as you'll see in the next update.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

When we left off we had just completed our flight and were back in Bantu searching for colored milk. We saw the door for Oga's Cantina, but knew that was not our destination.


We were headed for the milk stand.


The idea of these two drinks being called milk slightly grosses me out honestly.


I agree, and I had no desire to try them until I read more about what they actually were, and then heard they were distinctly different, so that meant we had to try both. We got one of each without alcohol, and Jon and Brandy got one of each with.

I think I preferred the green although I don't think I much cared for either.

I thought they both weren't bad, but the blue was really sweet. The green had a more unique less sweet flavor, and was easier to drink more of.

Allie (and the Porg) preferred the blue, while Marshall will drink anything.



Paul and I had a couple drinks of each and then let the kids finish them off.

Jon liked the green more than the blue, but was not a fan of the combination of Milk and Tequila. Brandy probably preferred the blue, but wasn't asking for more of either.


I think overall we just weren't fans

We then checked out the Droid Depot. We didn’t have a reservation for it but it looked like a neat thing.



Marshall got really excited about it and wanted to check it out. I don't know if he knew exactly what was going on but it was his kinda place.

So we made a mental note that we wanted to do this in February. We had to get going through because it was time for our lunch ADR.

Lunch was at a new place for us, 50's Prime Time. Allie had been asking to go here and finally today was the day. She really seemed to be looking forward to getting in trouble for having elbows on the table or not eating veggies.


After we checked in we had to wait just a couple of minutes to be seated.


We were about 10 minutes late for our ADR but it wasn't a big deal, and we were seated in a room with Christian as our waiter. It was cute how he led the interaction between us and the other tables in his room, and everybody seemed to be having a good time.


He was a great waiter and had a great sense of humor. Marshall played along and had him laughing so hard sometimes he came out of character.

It was pretty funny, he actually sat in the booth next to Marshall and was laughing so hard. (The picture is blurry because we all were laughing so hard.)


The food was really quite good too. I had the meatloaf and enjoyed it.


I had the pot roast and it was good as well. Just really good comfort food here.

We shared an ice cream brownie for dessert and I enjoyed it too. Overall it was a fun meal, and not too terribly expensive by Disney standards. Our waiter definitely wasn't the stereotypical Waitres here, but he made it fun and had plenty of jokes about drinking his calories.


We left full and happy. After lunch Brandy and Jon decided to head back to the room. Jon wasn't feeling fantastic.

He blamed it on the Tequila and milk combo. We still had Slinky Dog fastpasses coming up, so we headed back into Galaxy's Edge to check it out a bit more.



We went inside the antiquities store that we had skipped earlier. With the solid automatic doors it isn't super inviting from the outside, and you might walk by and not even realize that there is something there.


It was really really crowded but there was lots to see. The shop is incredibly well themed and you might actually feel like you are somewhere other than a themepark in Florida.

Marshall liked checking out the "space ship dune buggy" that they were working on outside. This is another area where the theming is incredible.



Then we headed off to Toy Story land and arrived five minutes before our 2:20 Fastpass.



Since we were early we hung out on the bridge in what little shade was available. I'm not ususally a complainer but this land has serious heat and shade issues. Much like Dino land at Animal Kingdom.


It was pretty hot. Marshall was glad to see that he was tall enough to ride it this year, after just missing it last time.


He did great on the ride, and Allie was OK with it, which was an improvement over last year when she said she didn't want to ride it again.


He really enjoyed it and says it was his favorite ride at Disney.


I'm glad it lived up to his high expectations, because he would talk about wanting to ride that every time it showed up in a DFB video.

After slinky dog we were done with the park. It was hot and we were tired so we meandered out of the park through the shops.

We saw that you could buy a pre-assembled droid for $99, and Marshall wanted one but we were able to convince him to move on.



With that we headed out of the park shortly before 3 PM.

Read about the rest of our day in our next update.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I appreciate the safety aspect but she had me open EVERY SINGLE thing in the backpack including my mini wallet which is the size of a credit card.

I can't imagine what they think you might be hiding in something that small. I hate getting behind a super-conscientious bag checker like that.

We made a quick potty stop, and were impressed at how the unique theming even continued in there. This is what they mean by immersive theming.

I wish we had checked out the bathrooms. It will be on our "must-do" list next time.

She picked out her Porg and was led through the adoption process by one of the residents of Bantu. We also found a snorty pig for Marshall.

The Porgs are really cute. That is nice that they make a ceremony of it. That makes it special.
I loved the snorty pig. It is very entertaining.

The ride exit is so long. It felt like we could have been lost in the building. We might have if the exit signs weren't in English. Also there must be a ton of elevators in this building, we walked by several of them.

The exit is very confusing. I was glad that someone was ahead of us so that we could follow them out.
We were engineers on our ride, which wasn't very exciting. I think we are finished with that ride.

I stopped at the front desk to apply gift cards, and chatted with the same CM as the other day about which color milk was best.

The bartender at Geyser Point told us that the green milk was best.

I think I preferred the green although I don't think I much cared for either.

I thought they both weren't bad, but the blue was really sweet. The green had a more unique less sweet flavor, and was easier to drink more of.

Neither of them looked good to us.

Lunch was at a new place for us, 50's Prime Time. Allie had been asking to go here and finally today was the day. She really seemed to be looking forward to getting in trouble for having elbows on the table or not eating veggies.

That is the trouble with Disney - too many good choices and not enough time. 50's Prime Time has good food. It sounds like you had a great time there. I think the CM and the attitudes of the guests can make or break it.

We went inside the antiquities store that we had skipped earlier. With the solid automatic doors it isn't super inviting from the outside, and you might walk by and not even realize that there is something there.

I didn't know that shop was there. I'm looking forward to our December trip so that we can spend time there in cooler weather. Disney needs to add more shade to SWGE and Toy Story Land.

 

[Cloe Colton]

50s Prime Time is so fun! My brother once didn't finish his greens and hid them in a napkin in our backpack and the table next to us told on him. He and the tattle tale had to stand against the wall holding up a sugar packet! lol so funny!!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I think I could take or leave the blue/green milk. I'm not against all land-themed beverages (hello, Butterbeer!), but the colored milk thing just doesn't appeal to me. It makes me feel better that your review of them was pretty mixed!

I love 50's Prime Time! I've never had crazy antics here either, but I've always enjoyed my meal. I like it much better than Sci-Fi so it usually ends up on my list. I'm glad you were finally able to try it!

I'm pretty excited to see Toy Story Land! I'll be sure to try to be there early or late in the day due to the lack of shade.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I can't imagine what they think you might be hiding in something that small. I hate getting behind a super-conscientious bag checker like that.

Yeah, we figured she had a past of detecting drugs in some foreign airport, and then she worked her way up to working at Disney.

I wish we had checked out the bathrooms. It will be on our "must-do" list next time.

They were unique, and worth a stop.

The Porgs are really cute. That is nice that they make a ceremony of it. That makes it special.
I loved the snorty pig. It is very entertaining.

It wasn't as much of a formal ceremony as it was a guy who took his job very seriously. It added to the immersion though. The snorty pig is hilarious, and can make a variety of different sounds depending on how hard you squeeze it.

The exit is very confusing. I was glad that someone was ahead of us so that we could follow them out.
We were engineers on our ride, which wasn't very exciting. I think we are finished with that ride.

I imagine we will ride it again since everyone enjoyed it, but we sure won't wait very long for it.

The bartender at Geyser Point told us that the green milk was best.

Neither of them looked good to us.

I did like that they were more for a slush drink than actual milk, but they aren't something we need to repeat.

That is the trouble with Disney - too many good choices and not enough time. 50's Prime Time has good food. It sounds like you had a great time there. I think the CM and the attitudes of the guests can make or break it.

Yes, there are lots of great options, and we are really happy with how this 50's PrimeTime experience worked out. It isn't a must do every time, but is a great option when it all comes together well.

I didn't know that shop was there. I'm looking forward to our December trip so that we can spend time there in cooler weather. Disney needs to add more shade to SWGE and Toy Story Land.

It would be really easy to miss. I'm sure that there are other details we missed and will check out next time.

50s Prime Time is so fun! My brother once didn't finish his greens and hid them in a napkin in our backpack and the table next to us told on him. He and the tattle tale had to stand against the wall holding up a sugar packet! lol so funny!!

Allie was looking forward to getting in more trouble than we did, so I bet we'll be back sometime soon.

I think I could take or leave the blue/green milk. I'm not against all land-themed beverages (hello, Butterbeer!), but the colored milk thing just doesn't appeal to me. It makes me feel better that your review of them was pretty mixed!

I am glad that they are more slushy than just milk, but I don't need to run to getting another one. They are different though, so picking a favorite is fun to do.

I love 50's Prime Time! I've never had crazy antics here either, but I've always enjoyed my meal. I like it much better than Sci-Fi so it usually ends up on my list. I'm glad you were finally able to try it!

We enjoyed Sci Fi too, and I probably prefer burgers to meatloaf, but both are nice. They do compete against each other, but I'm good with either.

I'm pretty excited to see Toy Story Land! I'll be sure to try to be there early or late in the day due to the lack of shade.

Yeah, we do enjoy Toy Story land, but there is a clear lack of shade. Slinky Dog Dash is fun, and it is neat to see the general decorations, even if the land is a bit small overall.

 

[Stasieki]

Just got caught up. I can't wait to see Galaxy Edge on our February trip. Next summer is our bigger week long family trip. I'm hoping for free dining. If so, I need to add Teppo and Yak and Yeti to the list. Haven't eaten at either of them but it seems you all get consistent great meals there!