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

[disneydreamer1980]

I love 50s Primetime! We’ve eaten there every trip since I was a kid. A lot of the fun here depends on your server, but it’s always awesome. We love SciFi too and also eat there each trip because we can never decide between the two of them, they are imo the best themed restaurants in Disney. I agree with the shade issue in TSL-what were they thinking when they built this land? Hello, it’s Florida! We also aren’t huge SW fans, and I was wondering what we’d think of the land so it’s nice to get your perspective. We’re 40 days (yay!!) out from our annual trip home and seeing all your pictures and reading about your trip is a great way to get my Disney fix til then. So thanks for the great report!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I love that!! They really thought of all the details.

I love the boxes/cages they put the animals in.

The CM seems so happy to hear about his new animal.

I think overall we just weren't fans

I honestly don't think I have heard anyone who actually likes it.

 

[pucknasty]

Following! We are taking an almost 3 year old next summer so it is nice to see what you are doing with your little guy! It gives me hope that ours will have a good time as well.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

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!

We're glad that you are following along. It was fun to see Galaxy's Edge, and the whole area was bigger than we expected. We are excited about going back to it in February too.
We do enjoy both of those restaurants. I'd probably recommend Teppan Edo slightly over Yak and Yeti, but Yak and Yeti is great to have nice Table Service in AK, while there are lots of options at Epcot. Also there's the menu change at Teppan Edo making it slightly harder to get the filet, but we will do whatever it takes...

I love 50s Primetime! We’ve eaten there every trip since I was a kid. A lot of the fun here depends on your server, but it’s always awesome. We love SciFi too and also eat there each trip because we can never decide between the two of them, they are imo the best themed restaurants in Disney.

I do agree that they both are great. Our problem is we don't tend to spend multiple days at HS, so we usually only pick one TS meal there. It is neat that you have such a long tradition of going to 50's Primetime. We have a similar streak with Trail's End, and it just isn't a Disney trip until we go there.

I agree with the shade issue in TSL-what were they thinking when they built this land? Hello, it’s Florida! We also aren’t huge SW fans, and I was wondering what we’d think of the land so it’s nice to get your perspective. We’re 40 days (yay!!) out from our annual trip home and seeing all your pictures and reading about your trip is a great way to get my Disney fix til then. So thanks for the great report!

I would say that you will likely find plenty to enjoy about SWGE, even if you aren't super into Star Wars. It is a big land and has lots of details to see, and fortunately more shade than Toy Story Land.
Congratulations on having your trip be so close! We are looking forward to hitting the 100 day mark for our next trip, which is always neat. We're glad that following our report helps you pass the time. Thanks for the nice comments.

I love that!! They really thought of all the details.

There were a lot of little things like that. Very cool theming, and it made it a fun place to take pictures.

I love the boxes/cages they put the animals in.

Yeah, it was a cute container for the Porg. We didn't get much use out of it though, since Allie took him out right away and played with him while we walked around.

The CM seems so happy to hear about his new animal.

There was a lot of CM interaction in Star Wars land. Even more so than in the rest of the parks, people would walk up to us and talk to the kids, and the Porg seemed to be a great conversation starter. It was a lot of fun, and they all seemed to be having fun at their jobs.

I honestly don't think I have heard anyone who actually likes it.

The only one I can think of who said they really liked it was the guy from the WL front desk, who was a fan of the blue with alcohol. Oh well, to each his own...

Following! We are taking an almost 3 year old next summer so it is nice to see what you are doing with your little guy! It gives me hope that ours will have a good time as well.

We really feel that is a magical time to take a child to Disney. They are old enough to realize that it is fun, but small enough to go with the flow. You all should have a great time. Don't worry about rushing to fit everything in, some of our favorite things have been extra things we did like shopping or exploring while the kids slept in the stroller.
Also if you're looking for reading material, check out our first trip report from when Allie made her first trip to WDW just before she turned three. We weren't sure if/when we'd be back, but it kind of started something...

 

[pucknasty]

We really feel that is a magical time to take a child to Disney. They are old enough to realize that it is fun, but small enough to go with the flow. You all should have a great time. Don't worry about rushing to fit everything in, some of our favorite things have been extra things we did like shopping or exploring while the kids slept in the stroller.
Also if you're looking for reading material, check out our first trip report from when Allie made her first trip to WDW just before she turned three. We weren't sure if/when we'd be back, but it kind of started something...

I'll have to check it out!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We got to the bus stop at 2:54. We particularly enjoyed the nice new covers and the fact that the WL bus is right up front.


A bus came at 3:04, then did a driver change and left at 3:08. We arrived back at WL at 3:20.

We went up to the room and sat and cooled off for a bit and discussed what to do for the rest of the evening.

While sitting in the room we discussed our dinner options. We had thought about venturing out to Animal Kingdom, but instead decided that we would stay at the resort and eat at Geyser Point. That meant there was time to swim first.

It was warm and the kids really enjoy swimming so we headed down to the pool.


We got to the pool about 4:20. We had a very similar evening of swimming like we did the night before, it just was a great way for the kids to play and everyone to cool off.


It's a perfect way to wear out the kiddos.

We wound up swimming for almost two hours and visited both pools before heading back up to the room.

We all showered and changed for dinner, then headed out about 7:00. It was a nice evening, and had cooled off some so the temperature was perfect to dine outside at Geyser Point.


I had a conversation with Marshall about behaving at dinner and not giving us any reason to call the paramedics this time.

He was pretty wild though and was running all around our nice table in the corner. I was getting up to go get him when he ran into the back of Melissa's chair.


His mouth was instantly bleeding. Once I confirmed all of his teeth were ok I figured out that he had a cut inside his mouth and outside his mouth. It looked like he punched his tooth right through under his lip. Luckily it was tiny and stopped bleeding after just a minute so I didn't feel the need to get anyone else involved.

I went and got him some wet paper towels from the restroom, and he settled down fairly well.



For dinner, I ordered the Bison Cheeseburger, which I enjoyed.


I got the Bison Burger as well, it was really good and I really like their fries.


Overall it was a nice meal, and I'm glad that we were able to fit it in this time. It was a little expensive, especially considering that we brought our mugs and were getting our own drinks. Allie was able to convince us to order her dessert, and made a last minute switch to get another campfire Brownie. It was small but good.


The food is good here but I agree there are lots of other options elsewhere for food. Jon and Brandy really enjoy the bar and visit most nights. Paul and I don't drink however so we can't weigh in on that.


It was nice to get to sit there and experience it though, and having unlimited Diet Coke within a short walking distance is nice.

Oh for sure. We gotta figure out how to break the Marshall curse.

Jon and Brandy got comfortable hanging out there, and decided to just stay at the bar rather than join us for the rest of the evening. We had big plans though, wanting to go shop the monorail loop.

We got to the boat dock at 8:23, and the first Blue Flag boat to arrive was headed to Fort Wilderness, but we went ahead and hopped on since it was a nice night for a boat ride.


On that boat ride we had Captain Marty, who sang Disney songs over the PA system. It was pretty impressive, and Allie was amazed. We noticed he had a blue name tag, so he's been recognized for going above and beyond.

It felt like we were in the middle of a Disney Broadway

We wound up at the CR at 8:38 and went upstairs to check out the shops.

We decided to travel without our backpack so security checks would go faster and easier during our travels.

We were looking for a particular DVC carry on suitcase that we had seen pictures of online. We tried all three gift shops at the CR and didn't see it, but a nice CM (Michael) at the news and gift shop in the corner looked it up for us and said that he didn't want to send us in search of it because inventory was very low, but that we would have our best chance at the Poly.

Lucky for us that was our next stop. We filled up our mugs at Contempo Cafe and headed to the Poly.


I grabbed a picture of the dessert case, but we didn't find anything we needed just yet.


We went upstairs and hopped on the monorail.


At the TTC some college program girls (from Louisiana and Iowa) got on and discussed college agriculture programs with Melissa.

LSU was on my short list of colleges that I wanted to go to so it was fun to chat.

We hopped off at the Poly and went downstairs to see what we could find.


As we went around the corner, we saw the suitcase we were looking for. They just had one, but we knew it was what we wanted.


I also found a DVC Spirit Jersey. I love the black one I got last year and wore it a ton over the winter. I had never seen this one before and it had to come home with me too.


We asked about having the suitcase shipped back to our resort, but they don't do that from resorts like they do in the parks, so we had to carry it with us. So much for our lack of a bag check.

It was a fun and successful shopping trip. Afterwards we went around the corner to Captain Cook's for more refills and to check the dessert selections.


We opted to just get mug refills here and head off to the Grand Floridian.

We hopped on the monorail and the security guards there were fine with our large bag.


Then we got to the Grand Floridian about 9:55.


We hopped off the monorail and checked out M Mouse Mercantile, where we found a Disney Uno game and a Cars book for Marshall, who was now fast asleep in the stroller.

We closed down the store then headed to Gasparillas for dessert and to fill our mugs.


We took a fairly direct route there walking by the Grand Floridian Cafe. We've never eaten here, but I could see doing it some time.

At Gasparilla's we found more refills and an oreo cookie cupcake that we shared while we watched the fireworks.



I had no idea that the courtyard there was set up to look directly at the Castle, but it was a neat unique spot to watch them from.




It was a neat spot to watch fireworks. It was a party night so they were the special Halloween ones. It was neat to hear the audio, I hadn't seen the new ones yet.

Afterward we filled our mugs one more time and then headed to the monorail. We knew we'd be hitting the post-fireworks crowd at MK, but we were ready to get back.


We saw a bride walking through the hotel courtyard as we left. We always seem to see weddings at the Grand Floridian, and they make us smile.


It is fun to see newlyweds.

At the monorail station we had a thorough bag check by a security guard who insisted on unzipping the lining out of the new suitcase we had purchased, and argued that the pouch attached to our stroller had to come off so he could check it. It stayed attached to the stroller and was open for inspections all trip.

Poor Paul had to deal with the luggage on that bag check.

At MK we hopped off the monorail and went to the boats. It was crowded but a big boat came at 11:09, and it was a combined red and green flag boat going to WL and FW.

The poor people in front of us were in the wrong line and missed 2 boats to the Poly before they figured it out.

Our boat was quite full, and we got separated to find seats and room for the stroller, but it was a quick ride and we made it back to WL at 11:25. We made our way straight up to the room and quickly fell asleep.

It was a super late night, probably the latest of the trip. We had yet another amazing day at Disney.

 

[Eeyore daily]

It sounds like you guys had a relaxing afternoon and night! I like the new suitcase.

 

[Cloe Colton]

We had the same singing CM on one of our boat rides from Fort Wilderness over to the Contemporary. He was amazing! Definitely made our night! He mentioned to our boat that he had applied to be a Dapper Dan but they told him he was too old.

also love the picture of the newlyweds, she looks like Cinderella!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We all showered and changed for dinner, then headed out about 7:00. It was a nice evening, and had cooled off some so the temperature was perfect to dine outside at Geyser Point.

Primo Seats!!!

I had a conversation with Marshall about behaving at dinner and not giving us any reason to call the paramedics this time.

He was pretty wild though and

Oye! Once we were eating at Tony's in MK and Gwen was leaning on her chair, pushing it back and literally as i was saying to stop doing that you will fall over. She tipped herself over and fell straight back! Thankfully, our waitress was at the table next to us and kind of braced her fall! Oye! Kids! It happens!

I don't know why but I love this pic.

The food is good here but I agree there are lots of other options elsewhere for food. Jon and Brandy really enjoy the bar and visit most nights. Paul and I don't drink however so we can't weigh in on that.

You need to try 3 Bridges over at Coronado. We loved it! And has the same feel as GP.

Mr. Prickly Pants!!!!

We saw a bride walking through the hotel courtyard as we left. We always seem to see weddings at the Grand Floridian, and they make us smile.

Love!

 

[Wood Nymph]

A bus came at 3:04, then did a driver change and left at 3:08. We arrived back at WL at 3:20.

It looks like you had pretty good bus karma on this trip.

It was a nice evening, and had cooled off some so the temperature was perfect to dine outside at Geyser Point.
.....
The food is good here but I agree there are lots of other options elsewhere for food.

We like Geyser Point because it is just such a nice place to sit and relax. The view is great and the food isn't too bad. We haven't been back to Territory Lounge since they opened GP.

Oh for sure. We gotta figure out how to break the Marshall curse.

At least it wasn't too serious, like it was last year.

I had no idea that the courtyard there was set up to look directly at the Castle, but it was a neat unique spot to watch them from.

We have watched fireworks from there several times, including the special 4th of July fireworks. It is a really good view.

We saw a bride walking through the hotel courtyard as we left. We always seem to see weddings at the Grand Floridian, and they make us smile.

I've seen the bride's in the lobby and riding in the carriage to the Wedding Chapel, but not walking the resort like that. Do you think they were headed back to their room after the wedding reception was over?

The poor people in front of us were in the wrong line and missed 2 boats to the Poly before they figured it out.

The new boat setup surprised us when we were there in August. I didn't know they were putting the Poly/GF boat at that dock.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I've not seen many reviews of Geyser Point - I've never thought about being able to eat dinner there! I'm still a bit sad about them changing Artist Point to a character meal (although my willingness to go back anyway is increasing), but it's nice to know about another option.

We noticed he had a blue name tag, so he's been recognized for going above and beyond.

I didn't know about this! I'll have to look for blue nametags in the future!

You had a great night enjoying the monorail loop. I watched Wishes from that same spot when I stayed at the Grand Floridian - it was great!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I had a conversation with Marshall about behaving at dinner and not giving us any reason to call the paramedics this time.

I totally remember this happening. Poor guy had a bit of bad luck there again...
Great day at SWGE and successful shopping trip!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

It sounds like you guys had a relaxing afternoon and night! I like the new suitcase.

Thanks, we liked it from the pictures (actually we thought it was two different bags, and liked them both, so finding out it had both designs was great.) It will be a regular companion on our trips now.

We had the same singing CM on one of our boat rides from Fort Wilderness over to the Contemporary. He was amazing! Definitely made our night! He mentioned to our boat that he had applied to be a Dapper Dan but they told him he was too old.

Yeah, he was great. It is neat to see a CM who truly loves their job, and is great at it.

also love the picture of the newlyweds, she looks like Cinderella!

She did! We have a special appreciation for Disney Weddings.

Oye! Once we were eating at Tony's in MK and Gwen was leaning on her chair, pushing it back and literally as i was saying to stop doing that you will fall over. She tipped herself over and fell straight back! Thankfully, our waitress was at the table next to us and kind of braced her fall! Oye! Kids! It happens!

Yeah, that stuff just happens. It was just so ironic that we had the discussion with Marshall to be extra careful and then he ran around and into the chair. Sometimes they just don't listen.

I don't know why but I love this pic.

It is kind of cute. Some lessons are hard...

You need to try 3 Bridges over at Coronado. We loved it! And has the same feel as GP.

It is on our list. Next trip with the Skyliners running (hopefully) it should be a lot easier for us to make it over there.

It looks like you had pretty good bus karma on this trip.

We did do very well. Other than the one hot bus from AK we did very well. It kind of scares us that maybe we used up too much good transportation karma this time, but oh well, it was nice for this trip.

We like Geyser Point because it is just such a nice place to sit and relax. The view is great and the food isn't too bad. We haven't been back to Territory Lounge since they opened GP.

It is such a beautiful location, and we really enjoy the food. I think I liked it better when it was more clearly like a Quick service, but I understand that they needed to do something to manage seating. It was a nice meal, and the only real neagitive for us was the cost.

At least it wasn't too serious, like it was last year.

Yes, no firetrucks or paramedics!

We have watched fireworks from there several times, including the special 4th of July fireworks. It is a really good view.

Yeah, until this trip we had only been there during the day, but it was a nice spot for the fireworks. The cupcake was great too, as they often are there.

I've seen the brides in the lobby and riding in the carriage to the Wedding Chapel, but not walking the resort like that. Do you think they were headed back to their room after the wedding reception was over?

I thought maybe they were heading to a reception, but it was pretty late so they could have been heading back to their room. His carrying a Disney backpack was cute.

The new boat setup surprised us when we were there in August. I didn't know they were putting the Poly/GF boat at that dock.

Yeah, I think it is temporary while they are working on the walkway access on the West side. They had signs that made it clear where to go, but we saw lots of people confused. We also later found that if you arrive on a boat from the Poly you have to go through security to get on a boat from WL, despite them being on the same dock. Not perfectly logical, but I do think it is temporary.

I've not seen many reviews of Geyser Point - I've never thought about being able to eat dinner there! I'm still a bit sad about them changing Artist Point to a character meal (although my willingness to go back anyway is increasing), but it's nice to know about another option.

Yes, it is a great option, and seems to be a little calmer at dinner than at lunch time. It was also cooler then which made it nice. We are goign to give Artist Point a try in February, so we will report back on how that goes.

I didn't know about this! I'll have to look for blue nametags in the future!

Yeah, I didn't know about it either until our Illuminations Fireworks cruise captain had one last year. It seems like a neat deal.

You had a great night enjoying the monorail loop. I watched Wishes from that same spot when I stayed at the Grand Floridian - it was great!

It was fun to check out all the resorts and shops. It is just as much a part of the trip as spending time in the parks for us.

I totally remember this happening. Poor guy had a bit of bad luck there again...

Aww, yeah, this wasn't nearly as bad, so maybe next time it will be totally fine...

Great day at SWGE and successful shopping trip!

Yes, it was a nice mix of the parks and relaxing downtime, a combination which we repeated quite often this trip.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

On Wednesday, I got up at 6:05 and went out to take pictures.


I saw a nice sunrise with some clouds in the background, making it a little more interesting.



I noticed that despite it being September 11th, the flag over WL had not yet been lowered to half staff.


He was kinda disturbed that they hadn't lowered the flag but I reminded him the flag person probably wasn't even awake yet.

I headed back to the room because this day were getting everybody up to head to breakfast.

We had breakfast reservations with Mickey!

And not at a buffet... The kids got up fairly easily, and we made it out of the room and down to the bus stop at 8:09.


It showed 8:11 for an Epcot bus, but it showed up early and we were on our way by 8:10.

We arrived at Epcot at 8:30, definitely the earliest ever for us at this park.

We made it through security and into the park and headed through the special entrance for people with reservations.


It wasn't very crowded to begin with, but once we got past Spaceship Earth and the reservations check it was empty. We really had the park to ourselves.

We noticed that they had already put up fencing blocking off the fountain and Club Cool that we had been at earlier in the trip.


It was as empty as I've ever seen it. The kids saw squirrels and a bunny hanging out before the hustle and bustle.



When we got to the Land we stood outside for a while and admired the emptyness, but then decided to head inside at 8:50. It was cool to see the park empty, but not as iconic as getting to see Main Street without a crowd.


We got valet parking for our stroller, as the CMs at the entrance offered to take it for us as we headed in.

We checked in for breakfast and it didn't take long until we were seated. They seated us on the top level which was kind of a bummer for the view, but the big table was nice, it felt like we had more room.


They soon brought cinnamon rolls, and they were excellent. They might have been the food highlight of this meal.


They were really good we went through two things of them.

Our food platter arrived too, and had lots of hot fresh food.


Pluto soon came by, followed by Mickey and then Chip and Dale.





The character interaction was fantastic here. We've always had great characters at Garden Grill, it was nice that it was the same at breakfast.

Some of the best character interaction involved Dale, Mickey, and the Porg. Dale wanted to keep the Porg, but Mickey said no. It's not everyday you get to experience something like this.



Later Chip offered to practice giving Marshall a haircut.


We enjoyed the meal enough that we added an ADR for February while we were sitting there, but later dropped it deciding that having it the same day as a Teppan Edo lunch would be too much.

It also turned out to be one of the more expensive meals of the trip, despite being a breakfast.

But the food was fantastic, and fresh and not a buffet, I really enjoyed it. And it was a character meal with Mickey!

And wayyyy more enjoyable than Chef Mickey's. We will definitely be back, whether it is for breakfast, lunch , or dinner because they were all great.

After we finished eating we went downstairs and rode Living With The Land at 9:50. We all love this ride.



Then we got to Soarin at 10:15 for our Fastpass, and Marshall didn't have his Magic Band. They let us on, and everyone enjoyed the ride.

Fortunately we later found it in the stroller outside.

Allie was scared to do the ride, but she did ok. It's funny because she used to love the original Soarin, but finds this to be a little scarier.

After Soarin, Marshall wanted to ride the boat again, so we took another trip. The line was longer this time, but still went pretty quick and we got on by 11:00.

Then, we completed our tour of the Land by checking out the chocolate room that was there for food and wine. We saw some extra super dark chocolate, which definitely is not my thing...


Check back in the next update as we continue the day at Epcot.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I agree. Garden Grill is an awesome character meal with the characters visiting multiple times!!!

 

[goodeats]

It also turned out to be one of the more expensive meals of the trip, despite being a breakfast.

Do you remember the price per person? Someone posted in another trip report that they paid $60 pp for it and I was flabbergasted! I hope (or fear) that she was mischarged.

Enjoying your report. Do you take your daughter out of school to go in September? We're in SoCal and my kids start in August. I miss the days when we started after Labor Day!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I agree. Garden Grill is an awesome character meal with the characters visiting multiple times!!!

Yes, we always seem to see them each at least twice. The food is excellent too.

Do you remember the price per person? Someone posted in another trip report that they paid $60 pp for it and I was flabbergasted! I hope (or fear) that she was mischarged.

Enjoying your report. Do you take your daughter out of school to go in September? We're in SoCal and my kids start in August. I miss the days when we started after Labor Day!

Our total with tax and tip and TIW discount was $142.36 for two adults and two kids. I think it is about $40 an adult and $25 for kids, making it a better deal than that person reported.
We did take Allie out of school for the trip. She did independent study and was able to complete most of her work during the Labor Day weekend before we went. We tried an August trip a few years ago, but then they moved up her start date so it wasn’t feasible anymore.
We’re glad that you are enjoying the report and took the time to join in.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Thank you for the Garden Grill review! I haven't been there in more than 10 years, but I'm super excited to return after seeing all the positive buzz from multiple reports. We're planning to try the breakfast as well - my cinnamon roll-loving husband should LOVE that roll! (And, seriously, so will the rest of us!)

Another big plus for this restaurant seems to be the great character interactions. I've read multiple reviews that describe how great the characters are and that they often stop by more than once (I'm not sure if GG is smaller than some other character meal spots, but I'll take it anyway!). Plus, I've found any interaction with Chip and Dale tends to be pretty awesome.

 

[DLo]

I are GG breakfast for the first time in May and will definitely be back . When we had dinner there several years ago , I was disappointed so had hesitated in booking it. So glad I gave it a chance .

 

[Wood Nymph]

I saw a nice sunrise with some clouds in the background, making it a little more interesting.

I like your picture of the stream running into the lake. It looks very tranquil.

It wasn't very crowded to begin with, but once we got past Spaceship Earth and the reservations check it was empty. We really had the park to ourselves.

We noticed that they had already put up fencing blocking off the fountain and Club Cool that we had been at earlier in the trip

We've never seen it that empty in the morning. We have been in Epcot after the park is closed and they are power washing the grounds. It is rather pretty without people.

Did they close Club Cool during your trip?

They soon brought cinnamon rolls, and they were excellent. They might have been the food highlight of this meal.

Those look good. Are they served warm?

The character interaction was fantastic here. We've always had great characters at Garden Grill, it was nice that it was the same at breakfast.
The kids are really enjoying Chip and Mickey. It is amazing how much the characters can communicate without saying a word.
Some of the best character interaction involved Dale, Mickey, and the Porg. Dale wanted to keep the Porg, but Mickey said no. It's not everyday you get to experience something like this.

It looked like it was a fun breakfast.