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

When Jon and Brandy decided to skip Epcot that evening, what did they do at Ft. Wilderness? Or did they go somewhere else? Wouldn't it have been easier for you to depart Epcot through the front entrance and catch a direct bus to Wilderness Lodge, avoiding the MK fireworks crowds?
 
When Jon and Brandy decided to skip Epcot that evening, what did they do at Ft. Wilderness? Or did they go somewhere else? Wouldn't it have been easier for you to depart Epcot through the front entrance and catch a direct bus to Wilderness Lodge, avoiding the MK fireworks crowds?
Jon and Brandy went back to WL and hung out at Geyser Point before going to bed early. They were asleep by the time we got back.

We considered leaving from the front of Epcot, but it would have been a long walk and we would have gotten caught in the post Illuminations rush for buses. Also Melissa’s ankle was pretty sore from the riding and walking all week, so the shorter walk was easier.
 
You had a great afternoon and evening on your rest day! A pontoon ride around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake would be absolutely delightful - as would a boat nap!

We're staying at the Poly Villas on our next trip and I'm curious how our housekeeping will work. I know the usual spiel (towel and trash on day four and full cleaning on day eight, or whatever days they are), but I'd read that the daily room checks often lead to the room checker taking the trash and switching out the towels. Mostly I'm curious if I should request a room cleaning or two while we're there or if it wouldn't be worth our money to do that. What have your recent experiences been with your DVC rooms?

You don't see too many reports that include Trail's End, but it always seems be praised and well-loved. Your dinner sounds delicious!
 


You had a great afternoon and evening on your rest day! A pontoon ride around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake would be absolutely delightful - as would a boat nap!
The pontoon boat is a neat thing that we also did on our honeymoon and many times since. It is so unconventional Disney and yet you can see the Magic Kingdom. It is a great way to take a break.

We're staying at the Poly Villas on our next trip and I'm curious how our housekeeping will work. I know the usual spiel (towel and trash on day four and full cleaning on day eight, or whatever days they are), but I'd read that the daily room checks often lead to the room checker taking the trash and switching out the towels. Mostly I'm curious if I should request a room cleaning or two while we're there or if it wouldn't be worth our money to do that. What have your recent experiences been with your DVC rooms?
We too were concerned about the lack of housekeeping with DVC villas compared to regular hotel rooms. In our experience, it really has not been an issue. The daily room checks mean they take out the trash, and if we need anything we can ask them then if we happen to be there, which only happened once during this trip. We were actually running out of the shampoo they provide in the small bottles, and asked and got a couple more of them. We never ran out of towels, but did feel better knowing we could always get them from the pool if we needed. We also threw some really wet towels in the washing machine one time after the kids got the bathroom really wet. The schedule for towels and full cleaning felt about right, and we were ready for them once they came, but didn't miss having them on the other days.

You don't see too many reports that include Trail's End, but it always seems be praised and well-loved. Your dinner sounds delicious!
It is our favorite overall restaurant on property because it always has great food, relatively low crowds, and is a good value. It is the only place we have eaten every trip.

Trails End is the best! Especially when you are staying at WL. So easy to get to. I didn't realize the Minnie Vans come back there - that's good to know.

Sounds like a great day!
We love our Trail's End! The Minnie vans currently come right to the bus stop near Trail's End. After the construction is done it may change some, but it is really nice not having to take an internal bus to the other end of the campground to get another bus to another park.
We did have a great day, and wound up doing more than we thought we might for an off day, but it was a good balance and we weren't stuck to as much of a schedule as the other days. It is also nice to have a bit of a break later in the trip.
 
We even got the same boat we had been on for the fireworks cruise. Jon figured out how to connect his phone to the stereo so we even had music to listen to.
Does the pontoon boat travel as fast as the little boats? We need to take a boat ride some day. It looks so very enjoyable.
I topped it off with cobbler and soft serve, which has become a tradition.
My tradition is soft serve with a brownie or something with chocolate. I also like the strawberry shortcake.
We finished dinner at 6:15 and then let the kids go play at the playground. It is funny how even at Disney they love a simple playground.
This is a great playground and Disney should build one at every resort. Kids need to unwind and the playground is a great way to do it.
It was actually really neat. As campers ourselves I really enjoyed seeing the sites.
We had friends who had a big motor home parked at one of these sites. It was interesting to see how the grounds are laid out and how people maneuver their huge motor homes into the spaces.
We then made our way through the hotel towards Epcot. Those are some long hallways, but we made it to the door on the corner closest to Epcot.
You know about the secret exit to Epcot and the long hallways that are a great way to cool off while walking through the resort. I can see the BC in your future. :)
There was plenty of seating and we sat kind of in the middle. I don’t wanna sound like an old lady but it was too loud where we sat and it was uncomfortable. Allie really had a problem with it.
We have moved seats to try and get away from the loud music. We have also sat outside the pavilion. There are a lot of things that are too loud at Disney and kids are affected the most from it.
It left after we got on, and got to WL at 9:51. When we got to the resort there were all kinds of Sheriffs and Fire vehicles out front. In true Disney fashion they kept most of whatever was happening out of view, and we never heard what the issue was, but it had to be significant to get that kind of response.
Maybe someone in a villa fell asleep while cooking a pizza and it set off an alarm. :)
 


All caught up now! We are just back from WDW and rented one of those little Sea Raycer boats and loved it. We discussed renting one of the pontoon boats next time- are they easy to drive?
 
This new article on the DIS reminded me of your fondness for this type of place: https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...ranch-barn-at-disneys-fort-wilderness-resort/
That's neat. We are so glad that the new facility will be open to guests like the old one was. We are happy with the new pony ride location, and the barn will be in the same general area. It means we have to take buses to get there instead of just walking from the marina or Trail's End, but it will be worth it.

Does the pontoon boat travel as fast as the little boats? We need to take a boat ride some day. It looks so very enjoyable.
The pontoon boat probably isn't as fast as the little boats, and feels slower because it is so much bigger. It does fine though, and is super easy to drive. Not going too fast helps emphasize the relaxation.

My tradition is soft serve with a brownie or something with chocolate. I also like the strawberry shortcake.
Mmm yes, so many good options. I'll put soft serve with anything...

This is a great playground and Disney should build one at every resort. Kids need to unwind and the playground is a great way to do it.
Yes! We miss the playground at WL, it is funny how kids enjoy simple playground equipment even when they are surrounded by theme parks.

We had friends who had a big motor home parked at one of these sites. It was interesting to see how the grounds are laid out and how people maneuver their huge motor homes into the spaces.
My first trip to WDW was in Fort Wilderness in a motorhome with my parents when I was six. It is a great campground, and I love visiting it but I don't see us taking an RV there when it would be more economical for us to stay in a hotel.

You know about the secret exit to Epcot and the long hallways that are a great way to cool off while walking through the resort. I can see the BC in your future. :)
Yes, it is definitely our preferred Epcot area resort, now we just have to decide when we are willing to stay somewhere besides WL for at least part of a trip.

We have moved seats to try and get away from the loud music. We have also sat outside the pavilion. There are a lot of things that are too loud at Disney and kids are affected the most from it.
Yeah, I'm surprised how often loud noise is an issue, but I guess they have a large crowd that they want to be able to hear well, and some people enjoy it.

Maybe someone in a villa fell asleep while cooking a pizza and it set off an alarm. :)
Our theories involve some sort of altercation that would get so many police involved. Maybe a wild bar fight at Geyser Point...

All caught up now! We are just back from WDW and rented one of those little Sea Raycer boats and loved it. We discussed renting one of the pontoon boats next time- are they easy to drive?
That's great, I hope you had a wonderful trip. The little boats are fun and fairly cheap for a couple of people. The pontoon boats are just as easy to drive, and a lot more people can go if you want for no extra per-person cost. They are big and slow, but nice and relaxing to drive. Sounds like a good option for you to try next trip.
 
I got up on Friday at about 5:40 and left the room just before 6. I was greeted by this dreaded item on our door.


Determined to make the most out of our last full day, I headed down and took some more pictures. I started in the lobby


I then headed to the BRV lobby. On the way I saw that they had fixed one of the cowbells that had been knocked off earlier in the trip.



I never made it over to Boulder Ridge this trip. It's somewhere I enjoy walking through. I think we should get Marshall over there in February to see the train stuff.

Then I made my down to Roaring Fork where I sat outside and posted some pics to the DIS. Later I caught the 7:00 Geyser from behind the salon.



Then I made my way back up to the room and woke Melissa up at 7:15. Since Jon and Brandy were headed to the tour we started on making breakfast so they could eat before they headed to MK. Also Brandy was up and on the computer early because this was the day the new iPhones were available to order.


We used our little waffle makers to make waffles.


And we had Bacon to go with them. It was a nice breakfast.


Brandy got the phones ordered just after 8:00, and they left the room by about 8:40. We just hung out and let Allie sleep. I went down to Roaring Fork for mug refills about 9:00 and it was crowded. Allie started stirring when I got back at 9:10. Marshall played with his new toy buses and his airplanes, imitating the Orlando airport.


It was nice to let her sleep in and just chill a bit on our last full day. Normally we try and jam pack this day full but we already had another trip booked and it just felt like we had checked off all of our boxes already.

After watching the 10:00 Geyser from the balcony, we headed down and made it to the boats at 10:18.


We were headed to Fort Wilderness because the kids wanted some more time to play at the playground there. The boat arrived at 10:25 and we got to Fort Wilderness at 10:35.


While the kids played I walked over and checked out the settlement gift shop. There was lots of cute Fort Wilderness stuff, but nothing we had to have.


It was nice for them to chill and play, there really is a need for kids to run off steam and play, even Allie who is 10 now needs a break like this.

We had been talking about what the heck to do for lunch and we wanted to try something new so I was able to grab a last minute ADR for Skipper Canteen.

With our ADR set for noon, we headed to the boat dock at 10:55. We got on a big boat direct to MK at 11:02, and arrived at MK at 11:14. We sat up front and it was a nice trip.


When we got to MK it was fairly busy, but we took advantage of the Passholder entrance and walked right in.


We had also been able to grab a Fastpass for Pirates, and since we were in the window we headed over there.

It was another ride on Pirates for the trip but we love the ride so it was a win.


Afterward we had a few minutes to kill so the kids enjoyed playing around in the dump shop.


Then we went over to Skipper Canteen and checked in right at noon. The kids enjoyed waiting in the AC and had some free water.


It was another pretty warm day and we were already ready to cool off.

Soon we were seated and the hostess played along with the script, pointing out some "key highlights of the restaurant". There was one there, and one over there, and she pointed at others...


It was pretty funny and Allie got into it. Both Paul and I ordered salads and they were really good. Our waitress was sweet but her accent was so thick a lot of the play on words stuff she was trying to do just didn't work. It was kind of unfortunate. The food was great though.

Yes, this is one case where Disney casting missed the mark. She was nice, and tried to play along, but she didn't get the jokes either as she said them. We also had trouble ordering our dessert, we wanted the sorbet cake, and pointed to it on the menu but got kids cups of sorbet from the kids menu. It was all great food though.


She was a great waitress and would probably do wonderfully in a different restaurant.

Overall we enjoyed the restaurant, and it was nice to eat somewhere different, but it won't be on our must repeat list anytime soon.

Check back for details on the rest of our day in the next update.
 
I've yet to visit Skipper's Canteen. It opened just before my last trip but I already had a list of must-do restaurants so I didn't give it a try. It's too bad your server didn't match the restaurant, but it's nice you got to try it. At least your lunch was good!
 
BOooooooooooooOOOOOO
Yes, unfortunately the trip was winding down. It's funny how you know it is coming but seeing it is still a disappointment.

It looks like you had a really nice morning.

We haven't been too interested in Skipper's Canteen's menu. Were the salads good?
The food was really quite good. The steak salads had quite a bit of meat, and it was good. It made for a nice lunch. For the cost though, we probably would have preferred something more like Liberty Tree, but it was nice to try.
It was fun to play at the kids pace for the morning. and it led to a nice afternoon too.

I've yet to visit Skipper's Canteen. It opened just before my last trip but I already had a list of must-do restaurants so I didn't give it a try. It's too bad your server didn't match the restaurant, but it's nice you got to try it. At least your lunch was good!
We looked at it when it first opened, and have considered it a few times but it always got bumped for something we knew was good. It was great for this, especially since we could get a same day ADR, but it still isn't one we would get super excited about in advance. We are glad we got to try it though, and wouldn't hesitate to go back we just know we don't have to bump something else for it.
 
It's always a sad day to see the return paperwork on the door.

We've always enjoyed our meals at Skipper Canteen. Nice that you were able to score a reservation that day.
Yeah, no matter how much you know it is coming it is a bummer to know that you have to go home. The best part of DVC for us is knowing that we will get to go back, and in this case before too long.

We hadn't heard much froom people who had eaten at Skipper Canteen, but are super glad that we were able to get in and finally try it.
 
After lunch we...

Made a run across the park to our fastpass for Tomorrowland speedway.


Marshall and I got a green and white car, and he really enjoyed the ride.


Allie and I shared a car, she steered while I pushed on the pedal.

Then we went and rode the teacups for the first time of the trip, and all four of us fit in one teacup. This won't happen for long.


No, it was a tight squeeze, I imagine next trip we'll choose two cups.

Next up we checked another thing off the kids wishlists and they both got their faces painted.





Paul and I both took bets on how long Marshall's facepaint would last.

To cool off after that we went in the Space Mountain dump shop, where Marshall got a space vehicle car set, and I found a "Mountain Man" hat. We also picked up a couple of Cokes to enjoy on the Peoplemover.

We also got some snacks at the dump shop because the kiddos were hungry.

The Peoplemover ride was good, and as always a nice break.


Allie got mad that the people behind us had their phone lights on for the whole dark section, but there's nothing we could do about that.


The lights were super annoying, I'm not sure if they thought they were being clever or if they had a kid that didnt like the dark but it wasn't pleasant.

After the Peoplemover I decided I wanted some more dessert, so we finally had the chance to get the Brownie Sundae on main street. It was a pretty good deal at $7.99, even without any discounts.

We all shared one sundae and it was the perfect treat on a hot day.


Jon texted us at 2:50 and said they were done with the tour and were on their way back to the resort. We finished our sundae and headed for the boat, getting to the boat dock at 3;30. On the way to WL Marshall made friends with some college program girls, and even wound up inviting them to our room. That kid is gonna be trouble...


I do wonder when we will actually find college program girls in our room.


The girls loved him, but we went up to our room without them at 3:55. We cooled off and reloaded the water bottles in the stroller. We chatted about the Keys to the Kingdom tour, and heard that they really enjoyed it. They got to see a lot of behind the scenes stuff, but were not allowed to take any pictures.

They both were pretty overwhelmed with all of the info that they gave them. It sounded like a great tour with lots of fun info and insight into how Disneyworld works. I'd like to take it someday when the kids are older.

We didn't have much time to sit and relax though, since we had a fairly early dinner ADR at Shula's. We left the room at 4:10, and scheduled a Minnie Van from the lobby which arrived at 4:17.


Then we made it to the Swan and Dolphin at 4:30. That would have been way longer with any other mode of transportation.


It was the perfect use of a Minnie Van. We had some time before our ADR so we checked out the hotel a bit before checking in. We'd never been over there before so it was neat to finally see places we've heard people talk about.


They are nice resorts, and in a great location. They did lack the "Disney feel" for me though, but they were fine to visit.


Soon we walked back to Shula's and checked in.


The hostess was very polite about informing us that they did not accept magic bands for payment (which we knew) and that hats are not allowed in the dining room (which we did not).


We were slightly uncomfortable rolling in with the kids when there were people hanging around in suits. There was a convention dinner going on at the same time but we felt under-dressed and way out of place.

Yeah, we had gotten dressed up for California Grill, but basically came here straight from a day in the parks. The staff was great though, and we just went with it.

The service was fantastic. Paul and I decided to split a Tomahawk Ribeye and sides of Mac and Cheese, Broccoli and Mashed potatoes.


It was a great steak, and a serious contender for the best on property. I still like the Teppan Edo flavor, but this steak itself beat California Grill or Le Cellier for me. The mashed potatoes were the best I've ever had though.

Really the potatoes were spectacular. None of us was super impressed with the Mac and Cheese though. I was hoping for more there.

Yeah, we all agreed that it was just not good. Overall though the meal was great, and I even snuck a bite of Allie's burger and thought it was good too.


For dessert we shared a Creme Brulee, which was quite nice.


Yes! It was delicious. I love Creme Brulee and for sure don't eat it enough. Lol

Overall the meal was the most expensive of our trip, and probably the fanciest, but we definitely preferred the atmosphere of California Grill. We would come back to Shula's now that we know what to expect, but we are looking forward to trying Yachtsman next time to complete our tour of WDW steakhouses.

For sure, in order to have a complete opinion we have one more to check off the list.

After dinner, we made our way outside and walked towards Epcot. It was neat to experience how close we actually were, and to walk past Beach Club on the way.



We headed in to Epcot and first went back to France where we got Allie a dress like she got last year as an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa.


This time she chose a yellow and blue one and needed a size bigger. The kid is growing.

Jon and Brandy headed to England to check out the bar, so since we were alone now we made our way to the Tiffany concert.

LOL. I was so excited when I heard we were going to be at Disney when Tiffany was going to play I knew I had to make it to the concert.


Allie was less excited though and wanted nothing to do with Mom's weird music.


I offered to take her over to China to get a puppet, which she had decided she really wanted for her birthday.


I rocked out to some of her new songs and of course old favorites. It was a great concert.

On our way we grabbed some drinks in Germany.



We met back up with Melissa outside of the concert, and then were headed towards Figment when Marshall fell asleep.


The poor guy was just done and didn't make it to ride it one more time.

We then headed to pick up our AP coaster sets for making it to Epcot four different days during Food and Wine. Since we all had passes, we were able to get four sets.


We also got Marshall a stuffed Figment for when he woke up.

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Then we decided to shop our way through Mouse Gear one last time on our way out. I got to hold a really nice Bulova watch that I thought the lady said was $1250, but looking later it turns out it is $425. It is at the top of my list for next time (the one here in the middle).


I asked if he wanted it and was surprised when he told me no that it was way too expensive. We didn’t realize what happened until we were back in the room.

As usual we were pretty darn tired headed back to the bus for the last time. It’s always a little sad.


It was odd that this was our first time of the trip taking the WL bus from Epcot, which has been notoriously slow for us. This time we got on the bus at 9:25, but had to wait for a driver change. It left packed full at 9:42, and made it to WL at 9:53.

We had lots to pack to be ready to head home the next day so we got a start on that before bed.

I went down for a Mug refill during the fireworks at 10:15, and saw them from the 7th floor of the South wing, which was fairly obstructed by the North wing but still worth checking out.


Packing went well since we hadn’t bought too much stuff this time, and we were in bed by shortly after 11:00.


It really helped that we packed lighter this time and we plan on packing even lighter the next time.

I think we are really getting it down. It is nice to have more practice.

We’d like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll be back with our last day next week.
 
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