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

[suse66]

We arrived just before 2:00, and found the restaurant to not be crowded at all. It was the quietest we have ever seen there. Our ADR was for a later time because the earlier times were all booked up, but they must not have been operating at anywhere near full capacity.

I love Via Napoli. The Carofci pizza with arugula has my heart forever.

We were disappointed that the lasagna was no longer on the menu, but we found workarounds. We got a big pizza for me, Brandy and Grandpa, then a personal one for Melissa and Jon. Both had Italian sausage and pepperoni, but Melissa added artichoke hearts which changed the flavor. We also got tortellini, which had pancetta in it and was great too.

Sounds delish! I love artichokes on pizza.

The Skyliner is really growing on me. It's a fun transportation option and is getting less scary. I rode with Jon and Brandy with Allie and we decided that we should cancel our Whispering Canyon reservation for the next night to allow for more flexibility.

I adored the Skyliner on my short but sweet Christmas trip in 2019. What a fabulous way to get around.

That would leave us in Epcot without any deadlines the next day, which would prove to be relaxing. But back to this day, we arrived at Riviera at 4:30 and took the quick walking tour. We saw the mosaics, then found an elevator to get up to the lobby. We basically just walked right through, with our goal being to get to the bus stop and head for Disney Springs. I did stop at the gift shop, and found a nice DVC polo shirt that I saw last year but they didn't have my size. I wound up running back up there from the bus stop to get it.

I prefer a few days with no dinner ADRs to give more flexibility. I like a late lunch and then more of a snacky dinner although I do have some must do dinners as well.

When she emerged, she was smiling and informed us that they did have the painting, and it was on hold for us at Bay View Gifts until the end of the following day, so we didn't have to rush over there that night. The level of above and beyond service was just great, and the subject of an e-mail we wrote to Disney Guest Services when we got home. Thank you Pam!

That is outstanding customer service. Wow!

That was super odd. We pulled in to WL at 9:56, and I made a run for Roaring Fork to get last minute mug refills. I ran at a full sprint down the ramp, and got there just as they were shutting the door. Josh let me in for a couple of Cokes, and told me the story of his trip out for Cookies the night before to Disney Springs, when he wound up at Gideon’s with just a few minutes to go. He felt sorry for me, and I returned to the room with a pair of Diet Cokes for our evening wind down.

Glad you made it down on time to get some drinks and enjoy a nice wind down to your day.

 

[rdkeim]

Another great Disney day! How great you were able to score the painting that you wanted. Awesome customer service! We made the mistake of going to DS this past Sat. afternoon. It was PACKED! I ended up making a return to WOD, getting a sandwich at Earl OS and getting the heck out. For us the Skyliner was very crowded in the morning but great getting back to Pop later in the day. Nice having a car to ourselves - wonder how long that will last? Looking forward to hearing about your next Disney day - hope it warms up for you.

 

[Paulaparm]

I think we are going to have to try Homecomin' on the next trip. Looks great!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

It's really cool they had such fantastic customer service with the castle picture you wanted. Will you post a summary of your Collected Castles at the end?

Also, I'm an adult, but I looked into those nuiMOs and they look fun.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We ate at Via Napoli in October and it felt like it was at 50% capacity.

Yeah, I think being there at 2:00 it was just a really quiet time, but there didn't used to be quiet times there. It worked well for our party of 8 though.

I would think that lasagna would be a standard item. That's what DH usually orders. I like the spinach ravioli.

Yeah, and it used to be sooooo good. Hopefully it will be back soon.

The skyliner is a fun ride.

We all enjoyed it this time, even Melissa.

That was a good way to get to Disney Springs from Epcot.

We thought so. We had to connect through some resort, and it was more fun than just taking a bus directly from Beach Club and it let everyone try the Skyliner with some sense of purpose.

I love the earrings.

Thanks, so does Melissa!

I bet Marshall was disappointed. But it does look too cold for it.

We were ready to bundle up and go for it, but fortunately the weather would be warming up.

That was really nice of her. First the wallet in the window and then the painting. The CMs have been good to you.

They really were. We had some of the best service ever this trip. At the art store it was all her though, we didn't even request anything other than ask if they still had it. She took it from there...

The outfits are adorable. We saw a big display of the outfits in a shop in HS. I can see why Allie likes her NuiMos. It is fun to dress them up.

Yeah, they really are fun and cute.

That looks good. It is really nice to have a nice 2 br villa to sit and relax in after a busy day.

Yes, we love having the common area in the living room to share between everyone, and to meet at when we all get up.

I love Via Napoli. The Carofci pizza with arugula has my heart forever.
Sounds delish! I love artichokes on pizza.

I can see why they don't put them on this particular pizza by default, but they really weren't bad.

I adored the Skyliner on my short but sweet Christmas trip in 2019. What a fabulous way to get around.

It is fun and surprisingly efficient.

I prefer a few days with no dinner ADRs to give more flexibility. I like a late lunch and then more of a snacky dinner although I do have some must do dinners as well.

Yeah, we liked having ADRs every day to guarantee a place to sit down, but skipping this one worked out well so we didn't have to schedule the whole day to make it back to the resort for it.

That is outstanding customer service. Wow!

It really was, and we didn't do anything to ask for it.

Glad you made it down on time to get some drinks and enjoy a nice wind down to your day.

It was close, but we made it, and enjoyed the results.

Another great Disney day! How great you were able to score the painting that you wanted. Awesome customer service! We made the mistake of going to DS this past Sat. afternoon. It was PACKED! I ended up making a return to WOD, getting a sandwich at Earl OS and getting the heck out. For us the Skyliner was very crowded in the morning but great getting back to Pop later in the day. Nice having a car to ourselves - wonder how long that will last? Looking forward to hearing about your next Disney day - hope it warms up for you.

It was a great day. We were shocked at the difference in Disney Springs crowds between weekdays and weekends, and that's when it was all fairly empty. I'm sure it is way crazier now.
We had another couple of great days to come. The next day was supposed to be our down day, but with park pass we couldn't leave a day totally unscheduled, so we made it our second AK day after some other fun, but we'll cover that next.

It's really cool they had such fantastic customer service with the castle picture you wanted. Will you post a summary of your Collected Castles at the end?

Also, I'm an adult, but I looked into those nuiMOs and they look fun.

We will list the castles, but we aren't done collecting them yet. It is funny how that became a theme this time, but it definitely worked. We will also post pictures of our updated Disney art wall in our living room at home. It is filling in very nicely, and we love getting to see them every day.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

On Thursday morning, I got up at 6:20 and went out to take some pictures.


Marshall got up at 7:15, so I went back to pick him up.

I went back to bed.

This was the most chilly morning of the trip, and it was foggy too. It made for some interesting pictures of the steam coming off of the pools, and the fog on Bay Lake.


You could barely see the transportation boat dock from Geyser Point.


It was so cold, that there was frost on the pool chairs. Marshall really got a kick out of drawing in it.



It was colder here in Florida than home in California at this point.


Since it was too cold to hang out outside, we went to the Carolwood Pacific room and sat and hung out for a bit and I uploaded pictures. Marshall discovered the most awesome hiding spot in the barrel end table.


He wanted it to be his secret and swore Paul to secrecy.

Ahh, yes, I didn't say a word... Then we ordered breakfast from Roaring Fork. We decided to try something different and get the bagel sandwiches. I loved mine, it was the best Disney breakfast item I've had, and the best breakfast sandwich. The eggs were uniquely fluffy, and the combination was just great.


It really was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I've had. So yummy.

Since this was our off day, we didn't have an agenda to rush to, but I did want to go find out about that painting at the Contemporary, so Grandpa, Marshall and I went on a mission. We left the room at 9:40 and headed for the boat dock. We just missed a small boat, but a big one arrived at 10:00.


We sat in the back near some people who insisted on removing their masks, which wasn't great, but it was a quick enough trip. We also got to see a couple of cool maintenance boats, so of course I took pictures.



When we got to MK, we walked right through the entrance area and headed for the walkway to the Contemporary.



When we got there there was a huge crowd of people waiting for the AK bus, like four or five buses worth. This concerned us because that was our plan for later in the day.

I just hung out in the room, let Allie sleep in and did some laundry. I also had a little work to do but nothing major.

We made it up to Bay View Gifts at 10:31, and talked to the CM at the front desk and soon she brought out our package.


We asked to have it shipped home, and paid for the painting and like $25 to ship it home, which was a great deal. I did make sure it was the right title, but didn't open up the box.


So fast forward to this thing arriving to our house about 10 days or so after we got home and we open it up and it's number 72. This number has a lot of signifigance to the two of us and we were just floored that it happened to be that number in the edition. I guess it was meant to be.

Yeah, that was spooky. We joked about checking to try to get number 72 for the other castle, but were glad to get whatever we could. The same thing for this one, we were just so glad to have one, I didn't care what number it was, but it is the one we would have picked.

Since we had done enough walking on the way there, we went to the monorail at 10:40.


We hopped on a train, got to the TTC at 10:47, and back to MK at 10:55.


We than walked down the ramp to the boats, and a FW boat was there but ours came in at 11:04. This time Marshall got to ride up front, and I got some nice pics of the North side cabins as we got to WL.


We found that we were the only passengers on the whole boat, since it wasn't a very popular time to leave MK.

When Paul got back to the room I was working on rinsing out the kids tie dye shirts so I didn't have to deal with them when we got home.


We made it up to the room at 11:27, which was quite a long time for what would have been a short trip on a Blue Flag boat, but we were successful. They were ready to go by then, so we headed straight down to the buses. On the way, we saw they uncovered Mickey.


Melissa suggested just going straight to AK, but I had somewhere closer I wanted to see first, so we waited for a Fort Wilderness bus that came at 11:46.

Brandy and Jon decided to hang out in the room a little longer and then just meet us over at Animal Kingdom later.

The bus took the direct route by the South cabins and over to Fort Wilderness. This saved a long trip, and we got off the bus at 11:52 at the settlement depot, then walked to the new horse barns.



They are beautiful.

The barns are something out of a dream. They are spectacular. We were a little afraid that with the new barn that they would become more cast members only and closed to the public but that is for sure not the case.




They are a bright new shiny version of the old barns, and there's a new pony ride trail too. The baby was so cute, although it was hard to see him over the big barn gates.




Pony babies are well little bitty and they built the stalls for the big draft horses. Little Patches was born on the day we arrived in Florida so he was still so new.

After looking at the barn and big horses for a bit, Marshall decided it was his turn to ride and we got him a pony ride. He was just the right size, still not too tall or heavy to do it, but sadly it might be the last time.




It was a lot of fun to lead him around on Vader who was a very good lazy pony.


Last time I led him because Melissa was getting ready for her trail ride, so it was neat she got to do it this time.

I don't know where they find these wonderful ponies, the only ponies that I've known in real life were kinda rotten.

Apparently they breed them...

On our way around the pony track we got to see the other new baby pony, this guy was older than Patches by a month or so and was featured in a blog that I read before the trip. He was kicking up a storm and squealing at us and just being full of himself.


Grandma, Grandpa, Allie and I looked on and took more pictures of the horses.



Check out the rest of our afternoon in the next update, where we enjoy a little more of Fort Wilderness before heading in to a park..

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

He wanted it to be his secret and swore Paul to secrecy.

Don't mind the photographic evedience of the secret spot, of course....

 

[shairpdrh]

I am enjoying this report so much! I have just turned the corner from trip reports making me a bit sad to making me excited for our next trip.

We would have been at CCV this week and while I am sad we couldn't go (for both pandemic and work reasons), this is making me very excited about our next trip in Sept. We won't have to deal with any frost, but the lodge will be just as beautiful!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Don't mind the photographic evedience of the secret spot, of course....

He is fine with sharing a picture with the door closed though....


It was a pretty cute hiding spot, and he can't wait to go back.

I am enjoying this report so much! I have just turned the corner from trip reports making me a bit sad to making me excited for our next trip.

We would have been at CCV this week and while I am sad we couldn't go (for both pandemic and work reasons), this is making me very excited about our next trip in Sept. We won't have to deal with any frost, but the lodge will be just as beautiful!

Congratulations on turning the corner back towards trip excitement. I totally understand that sometimes you just don't want to hear about the fun others are having at Disney, but eventually you have that spark of excitement and hope for a future trip that makes it exciting again. We are glad you are enjoying this one now.

We love WL in September, and Allie prefers it to going in the winter. It is a great resort any time of year, and not having frost is a nice benefit...

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Your pictures are fantastic, and I really love the morning ones, especially the foggy ones from your latest update.

Also, I've never gone to see the horses at WDW, and it looks like a really cool place to visit. I might have to check it out on my next trip!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Your pictures are fantastic, and I really love the morning ones, especially the foggy ones from your latest update.

Also, I've never gone to see the horses at WDW, and it looks like a really cool place to visit. I might have to check it out on my next trip!

Thanks, we are glad that you are enjoying the pics. The fog was something different, for sure. Here's a few more pictures that didn't make the cut to keep the image count under 35 for the original post:





It is just such a fun place to take pictures!

We really like Fort Wilderness, and visiting the barns there is a fun thing that we are glad got even better. Usually it is just a short boat ride from WL, but even now you can still hop on a boat over there from MK. It is a great way to spend a little time for a break from the parks.

 

[livbeatles]

My brother and I did a trail ride in late 2019, and got to meet Vader while we were waiting for our ride time. He was MUCH chubbier then, and the CM told us that he had been overfed by his previous owners (he was a rescue of sorts) and they were working hard on his diet. We saw him at the new barn this year during our trip in late 2020, and noticed he had slimmed down

 

[DaisyDuck001]

In your updates from March 15 and March 19, I don't see any photos, although I do see vertical spaces as if photos were intended to be there. I do see photos in all your other updates, so I wonder what happened that I can't see those?

Is the amphicar discount from dining at The Boathouse better than the amphicar discount for passholders or DVC members?

Had you thought about taking the bus from Disney Springs to The Contemporary that night to pick up your painting? Or were you all too tired? I guess it just fit better with your plans for the next day.

 

[eliseisawkward]

Omg those stables are wonderful! I’m making a note to visit them on a “rest day” my next trip.

And I love a well behaved pony. I used to work at a horse farm and we had an ex-“circus” pony rescue (it was not a family friendly circus....) that was the nicest, most laid back pony I have ever met. We referred to him as bomb proof because nothing scared him and he was perfect in every way. I imagine all the Disney ponies could be called bomb proof.

Oh and the morning mist pictures are delightfully spooky in the most magical way!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

My brother and I did a trail ride in late 2019, and got to meet Vader while we were waiting for our ride time. He was MUCH chubbier then, and the CM told us that he had been overfed by his previous owners (he was a rescue of sorts) and they were working hard on his diet. We saw him at the new barn this year during our trip in late 2020, and noticed he had slimmed down

That is so neat! We love hearing about other unique experiences at WDW, especiallywhen people get to know the same animals. They did make a comment about Vader liking his lunch, and he's far from skinny, but it is great that he is making progress. What a great life for a pony.

In your updates from March 15 and March 19, I don't see any photos, although I do see vertical spaces as if photos were intended to be there. I do see photos in all your other updates, so I wonder what happened that I can't see those?

That is so strange. I'll post a couple from the same day here to see if you can see them. I don't think there is anything different about that day's pictures, but we'll see if we can figure it out.
Here's the first one:

And here's a later one:

Is the amphicar discount from dining at The Boathouse better than the amphicar discount for passholders or DVC members?

We didn't see a current AP or DVC Amphicar discount, but the dining discount was $25 off which beat the 15% we had seen advertised for APs before.

Had you thought about taking the bus from Disney Springs to The Contemporary that night to pick up your painting? Or were you all too tired? I guess it just fit better with your plans for the next day.

I gave thought to it, but late at night transportation between resorts is difficult. We would have had to go connect at MK to get back to WL, and if MK was closed potentially would have had to go back to Disney Springs, and it was too late for that. We knew we had time the next morning, and it gave us a mission.

Omg those stables are wonderful! I’m making a note to visit them on a “rest day” my next trip.

And I love a well behaved pony. I used to work at a horse farm and we had an ex-“circus” pony rescue (it was not a family friendly circus....) that was the nicest, most laid back pony I have ever met. We referred to him as bomb proof because nothing scared him and he was perfect in every way. I imagine all the Disney ponies could be called bomb proof.

Oh and the morning mist pictures are delightfully spooky in the most magical way!

We always loved visiting the barns, but now they really are beautiful. It is worth the trip over to Fort Wilderness, especially as a horse person. You gotta love a bomb proof Disney horse.

The foggy pictures were definitely something different, and fun to experience, but then again anything at WL is fun to experience...

 

[suse66]

This was the most chilly morning of the trip, and it was foggy too. It made for some interesting pictures of the steam coming off of the pools, and the fog on Bay Lake.

I love those mornings...it reminds me of our first trip in January of 2009 when all our mornings were exactly like this.

So fast forward to this thing arriving to our house about 10 days or so after we got home and we open it up and it's number 72. This number has a lot of signifigance to the two of us and we were just floored that it happened to be that number in the edition. I guess it was meant to be.

I love that, so special! ❤

The barns are something out of a dream. They are spectacular. We were a little afraid that with the new barn that they would become more cast members only and closed to the public but that is for sure not the case.

They look amazing!

 

[Wood Nymph]

It made for some interesting pictures of the steam coming off of the pools, and the fog on Bay Lake.

I love the pictures in the fog and that was a lot of frost on the pool chairs. We've stayed at the WL many times when there was frost and the plants were covered. The horses never seem to mind the cold, though.

Marshall discovered the most awesome hiding spot in the barrel end table.

It is an excellent hiding spot. I never knew that the barrel opened.

We asked to have it shipped home, and paid for the painting and like $25 to ship it home, which was a great deal. I did make sure it was the right title, but didn't open up the box.

That was well worth the price.

after we got home and we open it up and it's number 72. This number has a lot of signifigance to the two of us and we were just floored that it happened to be that number in the edition. I guess it was meant to be.

I love when things like that happen.

We made it up to the room at 11:27, which was quite a long time for what would have been a short trip on a Blue Flag boat, but we were successful.

An hour and a half is a long time, especially when the boat ride would have been five minutes long - if the boats were running. I've decided that any trip involving two forms of Disney transportation is usually too long.

The barns are something out of a dream. They are spectacular. We were a little afraid that with the new barn that they would become more cast members only and closed to the public but that is for sure not the case.

The barns are gorgeous. Now I can see a reason to hop on the FW bus next time we are at WL.

The baby was so cute, although it was hard to see him over the big barn gates.

He is adorable. Allie must have been really excited to see him.

After looking at the barn and big horses for a bit, Marshall decided it was his turn to ride and we got him a pony ride. He was just the right size, still not too tall or heavy to do it, but sadly it might be the last time.

I'm glad that they are still offering pony rides. So many things have been shut down for the pandemic.

 

[figment52]

I am loving your photos, thank you for sharing.
The foggy morning pictures are amazing!!

 

[KEK1]

Great to see pictures of the new barn, wow very nice! Did they have paddocks for turnout surrounding the barn?
Our barn is yet to be built, inspiration haha

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Thanks for the response about the pictures. I did see the two sample ones you posted, and then I went back, and the ones that previously didn't show up for me, were finally visible. I don't understand why they weren't showing up in my view before, as I'd already checked a few times. As usual, all your pictures were great and they enhance your story, so I'm glad I could see them at last.

The cardboard car kids' meal containers at the Boathouse are so cute! What a nice place for Donald and Daisy to hang out.