She's Raising The Bar, a June 2025 Copper Creek Trip Report (Updated 7/23)

What a lovely day at Epcot! I’ve neglected much of World Showcase on my past two trips - good for you for taking your time there.

I agree with your assessment of Biergarten - I ate there in 2015 and thought it was “fine” but not a must-do. However, Boma has been excellent every time I’ve gone there so I’m not surprised that you loved your dinner. AKL is one of my favorites (I LOVE that lobby!) so it’s always a joy to visit that resort.
 
What a lovely day at Epcot! I’ve neglected much of World Showcase on my past two trips - good for you for taking your time there.
It is our favorite part of a Disney park, and it’s one area we covered well this trip.

I agree with your assessment of Biergarten - I ate there in 2015 and thought it was “fine” but not a must-do. However, Boma has been excellent every time I’ve gone there so I’m not surprised that you loved your dinner. AKL is one of my favorites (I LOVE that lobby!) so it’s always a joy to visit that resort.
Yeah, it is funny that we wound up with both buffets on the same day. We were so glad that Boma was as good as ever.

Really enjoying your report. The commentary with you both is great!😁
Thanks for joining in. We figured out with our first TR (a long time ago now) that we both like sharing our perspectives and we have a lot of fun chatting back and forth. It makes it more fun to write, and we’re glad that people enjoy reading it too.
 

I love your laid-back MK morning. It seems like there are less rope drops on this trip. :)

Again - your WL pictures are gorgeous.
Yeah we were much more likely to stay out late than get up early. It just is not worth trying to get everyone (Allie) up and out first thing.
Cruising around WL gives me something I love to do while the others catch up on a little more sleep.

We haven’t stayed at WL in a while and you both are making me want to stay there!
It really is our favorite. The calm quiet atmosphere is a nice contrast with the busy parks, yet it is so nice and close to MK. We’re glad you enjoy how we share it.
 
/
When we left off we had just finished lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We headed back out into the world and over towards the People Mover.


It was a long way over there so we hit couple of AC spots on the way. We’re more meanderers than sprinters if you catch my drift. Our first stop on the way was Sir Mickey’s so Allie could get Pixie dusted.


We don’t know what she wished for but she was happy.


It was fun to actually be there for the pixie dusting. This is something she has snuck off to do on her own in the past.

After that we stopped in at Star Traders to cool off again.


I was having an issue with my shoe rubbing my foot weird and wanted to find a solution before it got too bad and effected the rest of the trip.

Star Traders is always one of those fun stops. The kids did some pin trading as well and you got some pretty fancy new Crocs.


I did! I ended up getting Stitch crocs which my feet greatly appreciated.

Sometimes the right souvenier becomes a necessity, and it was good you didn't hurt your feet for the rest of the trip with a bad pair of socks. Stitch saved the day. We then got in line for People Mover at 1:12.


It was hot, but a fairly short line and we were on it by 1:20.

I really love this ride. It’s just long enough to rest your feet and it has great views.



From the People Mover the kids insisted we go ride Barnstormer. It is apparently a must do for them. Luckily we had a Lightning Lane because there would be no way I would wait the 20 or so minutes the line was posted at the time.

We used the walkway over by Tron to help cut down on the walk.


I think I had picked up the Lightning Lane as we got on Small World. The connecting walkway over by Tron is really nice.


It was kind of fun on Barnstormer, the CM loading people heard our kids talking about hoping that we got the front row. She arranged it so that we got the front two rows. To keep the kids from fighting over the front we let the two of them ride together, with us in the row behind them.


That's a great idea until you realize it means that we have to squeeze the two of us into one little row. We barely made it.


We squished the two of us in the one row and I told the cast member that loaded us to to watch out when we came back around to get out because we were gonna pop out like a can of biscuits.

It was a little snug, and somewhat comical. After the ride we went into Storybook Circus for some cold drinks. It was hot out and nice to stay hydrated.

Our next time appointment was Tianas on the complete other side of the park. Now, we could have just power walked over there but again, that’s not our style. We hopped on the train for a nice ride to the other side of the park.


It was great to get to take advantage of the train now that it had finally reopened. Unfortunately, when we got on the CMs were talking about a delay, and it wound up sitting at the station for about 20-25 minutes. At least we were in the shade.

We were sitting in the shade to be specific. The train delivered us perfectly on time to Tianas.


We made a quick potty stop and then hopped in line. The queue line is really cute and very themed. We were excited to see the retheme of the rest of the ride.

We didn't used to ride Splash much, but it was fun to finally get to see the Tianna's version. I was impressed with all of the theming in the ride queue.


On the ride I got pretty wet but it was a perfect day for it. We all enjoyed it.




I actually really love the retheme. I also loved Splash Mountain but this new version is so fun and very relevant and relatable to kiddos today. I love Louis throughout the ride and it just feels fun.


They did a great job. Yes, it is the "same ride" as is common with a lot of re-themes, but they made it quite a different show overall. After the ride Allie was in the mood for Beginets, so we went in search of them.


They have them at a cart right outside the entrance to Pecos Bills. We ended up only getting one order and they were messy!


We weren’t the only ones with a messy problem because there was powdered sugar everywhere around there.

We got a couple of Diet Cokes to wash the powdered sugar down.


They had fountain ones, which Allie particularly enjoyed.

After our snack stop, we were ready to shop our way out of the park. We checked out sunglasses in Adventureland, then made our way onto Main Street. We went through the Emporium and saw if there was anything we needed.


Marshall picked out a Pluto tshirt but I think that’s all we found.

We headed across the street and found a super cute pair of earrings for our dog sitter. They are mickey ears with paw prints in the middle.


They were super cute, and we also checked out watches and bags and everything else neat over there. We saw a bunch of lug bags but we didn't buy anything but the earrings.



Then we made our way down that side of the street to the art store / dump shop for the mickey meet and greet.

They did have the carousel painting that I fell in love with at Disney Springs. I hadn’t completely convinced myself that we needed it yet though so we didn’t buy it there.


It was fun to look around the store, and we considered buying our nephew an embroidered ear hat, but the line was long enough that we decided to wait. We left the park at 4:39 and headed to the dock where a small boat was already waiting.


It was very nice to not have to wait on the dock, we hopped right on a very full boat.

I sat along the side with the kids and Melissa shared one of the rows further back.



I made some new friends and had a little vacation by myself.

It got us there quickly though, and we were up in our room by 4:58. This gave us the chance for the ever-popular break at the room before our dinner adventures. CHeck those out in the next update.

 
Our first stop on the way was Sir Mickey’s so Allie could get Pixie dusted.
That's cute. I can see why Allie liked it. :)
After that we stopped in at Star Traders to cool off again.
This is one of our favorite places to go, too. We usually don't buy anything but it is fun to look.
I really love this ride. It’s just long enough to rest your feet and it has great views.
This is one of our favorites, too. I like riding backwards every once in a while. :)
We used the walkway over by Tron to help cut down on the walk.
I forgot all about this shortcut.
We squished the two of us in the one row and I told the cast member that loaded us to to watch out when we came back around to get out because we were gonna pop out like a can of biscuits.
I rode this once and I could barely fit my long legs in the car.
Our next time appointment was Tianas on the complete other side of the park. Now, we could have just power walked over there but again, that’s not our style. We hopped on the train for a nice ride to the other side of the park.
That's a fun way to get to Tiana's.
We didn't used to ride Splash much, but it was fun to finally get to see the Tianna's version. I was impressed with all of the theming in the ride queue.
We didn't like Splash because of the annoying songs. Tiana's is better but I think they need to add more animatronics to the ride. Some of the scenes are rather sparse.
 
That's cute. I can see why Allie liked it. :)
The pixie dust has been Allie’s way of celebrating independence for years, and it reminds us of here BBB visits not too long ago.

This is one of our favorite places to go, too. We usually don't buy anything but it is fun to look.
It is neat how each gift shop is unique, and some are consistently good like Star Traders.

This is one of our favorites, too. I like riding backwards every once in a while. :)
I often wind up riding backwards, probably because I don’t mind it.

I forgot all about this shortcut.
We used to watch the Tron construction from Barnstormer for years, and now it is open to walk through.

I rode this once and I could barely fit my long legs in the car.
It was a little snug for the two of us.

That's a fun way to get to Tiana's.
It was hot out and it saves us a bunch of walking.

We didn't like Splash because of the annoying songs. Tiana's is better but I think they need to add more animatronics to the ride. Some of the scenes are rather sparse.
I think lots of people had their own expectations and hopes for it, but overall it is a good ride and a nice update to the park.
 
As we walked into the room after our morning at MK, we saw that the camera we had ordered from Amazon the day before had been delivered directly to our room. It had a note on it saying there would be a $6 package delivery charge, but to have it there waiting for us in the room was totally worth it.


That was very cool and definitely an option for that weird stuff you forget to pack or drop in the river in Mexico.


Allie wasted no time and got it all ready to use for the evening. We just hung out in the room and relaxed for a bit. I considered swimming, but Marshall wasn't even asking for it. We just watched some TV and changed our shoes and socks for the evening.

It was some really nice down time. I’m pretty sure Marshall played with his monorail for a bit, and I’m almost certain I did a load of laundry.

We left the room at 6:15 and went down towards the car. We did some more pin trading in the lobby.


We then left the parking lot at 6:21, and got to Riviera at 6:36.



The car worked out great here too. Getting to Riviera would be a trek without the car. We had a little bit of time before dinner so we checked out the gift shop and the kids took a look at the pin board.


Allie wanted pictures with the mosaics in the wind tunnel.


Is it just the time that we find ourselves at Riviera or is it always windy through there?

It is oriented so that the breeze seems to come right through. Allie loved getting shots in front of the mosiacs, which is funny because with her low res camera they had to be hard to make out, but she was happy.


By the time she was done, it was time to head upstairs. Our dinner reservation was at Topolino at 7:05.


The hostess at the desk was from the college I graduated from and was an Animal Science major so we chatted about the college as she walked us to our table.


It is fun with the college program participants to meet people from your school, but this was even cooler to meet someone from the same major. She took us to a nice table right in the middle, and introduced us to our waitress who was just great. She took a group picture of us right at the begining, which was neat.


Allie knew that she wanted escargot, so we ordered it as an appetizer.


It was different from when we ordered it last time, now it comes with a little puff pastry on top rather than before where they served it in the shell. It was pretty tasty but honestly I feel like it was better when it came in the shell.

Allie enjoyed it though, and I even tried it and though it was pretty good. Nice and buttery. I don't get as excited about them as Allie does, but it was enjoyable. For my entree, I went with the filet mignon which I rembered was quite good before.


Allie and I couldn’t decide so we did halvsies with the filet and scallops.


Marshall ordered rigatoni with red sauce and mac and cheese. The Mac and cheese was just the rigatoni with cheese sauce. He said he preferred the red sauce to the cheese sauce.



The bread service now only comes with one olive oil, I was a little sad as my favorite oil from our previous visit is the one that was gone.


The bread was still good, and the atmosphere of the restautrant was great. Soon the meals showed up, and I knew I had chosen wisely. The steak was cooked beautifully, and was excellent.

It was easily the best steak I’ve had in a very long time. The scallops were also delicious but didn’t stand up against the steak for me. It was next level.

It was quite possibly the best steak I've had, and was part of an excellent meal overall. I love the preparation of the filet at Teppan Edo, but this was an actual steak and was great.

We all wanted dessert and no one wanted to share. Allie ordered the crème brûlée,


Marshall ordered the chocolate cake,


and both Paul and I ordered the cheesecake.


All of the desserts were quite fancy and seemed special. Marshall's cake was pretty chocolatey, which he enjoyed. Allie loves a creme brulee, and this one was a tirimisu creme brulee which she particularly enjoyed. The cheesecake had a lemon flavor with blueberries and a white chocolate crust with a wine reduction sauce. That's a lot of flavors besides cheesecake but they all went together very well.

Our waitress was also just fantastic, she timed our meal perfectly so that when we were done there were only 15 minutes to fireworks.


She did a great job. She checked early in the meal if we planned to hang out for fireworks, and paced everything just perfectly once we said we were in no hurry. We had just enough time to go outside after our meal and get a great spot for the fireworks before the last minute rush.


The weather was great and we watched the Epcot fireworks.



Now you can see fireworks from here and they do pipe in the music but the experience isn’t equivalent to Cali Grill by any means. It was fun though.


Yeah, you can see the circle of world showcase and catch the show, but the other Riviera tower is reight there in front of it all. It still was an enjoyable experience and well worth the time.


Overall it was an excellent meal, and we all agreed it was the best meal of the trip, which probably earned it a spot for next year.

We all still talk about this dinner, I highly recommend. I also may finally buy the olive oil that was missing from our bread service, it’s been sitting in my Amazon saved for later list since the last time we ate here in 2020.

On our way out from Riviera, I decided I needed to stop back by the gift shop and buy myself a souvenir. We had seen a Mickey RSVLTS shirt on the way in, and I almost bought it then to have a nicer shirt for Topolino's but on the way out I decided I had to have it.


It turned out to be a really nice shirt, but a bit of an expensive souvenir because I have gotten three more since I got home.

The shirts are great prints and they should be nice and cool for our summer trips. After we were done at Topolino we headed over to Target at Flamingo Crossings to pick up some socks to fix my sneaker issue.


The only socks I bought were too low for my sneakers so I ordered some taller ones for drive up pick up. It was so convenient.


If my kids didn’t like shopping at Target so much I’d probably be in favor of drive up pick up between the airport and the hotel on the way in.

It was a quick trip out of the bubble but an effective one, and soon enough we were back in the bubble headed for Wilderness Lodge.


We got back to the hotel about 10:15 which let us close down the Mercantile on the way in.

Melissa bought some pins for trading, and traded one for a pin that Allie had just left on the board in the lobby.


After the Mercantile we all stopped by the arcade which Marshall was super excited about.



I did not realize the arcade had massage chairs. I treated myself to a little massage while everyone else played.


It was a fun visit, and after we played (or relaxed) we went up to the room and got there at 10:58. We got ready for bed and were in bed by 11:20.

What a great day this was, I mean we didn’t have a bad day on the trip but this was a favorite for sure.

It feels like we say that for each one, but that means we planned a good trip. Up next is our "off day" which was still packed with non-park fun. Check it out in the next update.

 
For the pin trading on the way out of WL, it looks like there was no person to trade with. Have they automated some of the pin trading?

Next to the mac and cheese, is that container full of extra cheese sauce, or was that something else?

The garnish next to the creme brulee is an interesting shape. Is that supposed to represent something?
 
It had a note on it saying there would be a $6 package delivery charge, but to have it there waiting for us in the room was totally worth it.
That was definitely worth the service charge. :)
I considered swimming, but Marshall wasn't even asking for it. We just watched some TV and changed our shoes and socks for the evening
It is a lot of work to go swimming. The water can be too warm to be refreshing in the summer. We were at WL in August and the pool water was bathtub temp - too warm.
The car worked out great here too. Getting to Riviera would be a trek without the car.
The HS bus and then the Skyliner would be one way to go for those without a car. We found that HS is a convenient park to go to when trying to get to a resort. But a car is best. :)
The hostess at the desk was from the college I graduated from and was an Animal Science major so we chatted about the college as she walked us to our table.
That is quite a coincidence. I like to see where the CM's went to college. So far, the Illinois colleges have not been one of the common ones.
The weather was great and we watched the Epcot fireworks.
That is an excellent viewpoint for Epcot fireworks. But looking over the bright lights of the resort would be a little annoying.
Overall it was an excellent meal, and we all agreed it was the best meal of the trip, which probably earned it a spot for next year.
Your food looked gorgeous. I am impressed with the presentation. :)
I did not realize the arcade had massage chairs. I treated myself to a little massage while everyone else played.
There used to be a massage chair in the WL lobby, right across from the Mercantile. This one looks fancier. :)
 
For the pin trading on the way out of WL, it looks like there was no person to trade with. Have they automated some of the pin trading?
There were a lot of pin boards that were basically unattended, or at least where you don’t have to ask a CM to see them. Usually there was a CM nearby, but it was nice to have the hoard out on the counter to take a look at.

Next to the mac and cheese, is that container full of extra cheese sauce, or was that something else?
It was a cute little bowl of mashed potatoes with the kids pasta meal. Marshall enjoyed it.

The garnish next to the creme brulee is an interesting shape. Is that supposed to represent something?
All of the deserts had very fancy presentations. Maybe a little too fancy since we didn’t recognize it as anything.

That was definitely worth the service charge. :)
Having the package in the room was so neat.

It is a lot of work to go swimming. The water can be too warm to be refreshing in the summer. We were at WL in August and the pool water was bathtub temp - too warm.
Usually the kids, especially Marshall, are always asking to swim. This time even he preferred waiting in the room.

The HS bus and then the Skyliner would be one way to go for those without a car. We found that HS is a convenient park to go to when trying to get to a resort. But a car is best. :)
Yeah the Skyliner is fun and makes it easier to get from resort to resort, but not having to worry about multiple modes of transit was nice and simple. Being able to leave the room so close to meal times at other resorts was just strange to us.

That is quite a coincidence. I like to see where the CM's went to college. So far, the Illinois colleges have not been one of the common ones.
Yeah it was fun that we both met people from our colleges this time. The college kids keep getting younger though.

That is an excellent viewpoint for Epcot fireworks. But looking over the bright lights of the resort would be a little annoying.
It was a neat view, but not as clear as MK from the CR, but with the distance the resort is from the park it makes sense.

Your food looked gorgeous. I am impressed with the presentation. :)
It felt fancy, and tasted great. It was a very enjoyable meal and even the kids thought it was the best of the trip.

There used to be a massage chair in the WL lobby, right across from the Mercantile. This one looks fancier. :)
I think they moved the chairs from the lobby to the arcade, but they were quite nice. Melissa did use them at the original location as well in the past.
 
Looked like a perfect day! Never eaten at Topolinos, but your food looked really good, we may have to try it. Columbia Harbor House is awesome though. We love sitting upstairs by the window and looking at Haunted Mansion and people watching while we eat. It’s almost always nearly empty up there.

Your kids riding barnstormer together was cute. We have a 9 yo boy and a 14 yo girl who constantly fight and refuse to sit together on rides lol. Your kids seem to get along well.

Those little cameras are popular with kids nowadays, it’s funny how they have pretty decent cameras on their phones but they’d rather use a lower quality camera. It’s nice you were able to replace her camera so fast and it’s nice it was waiting in the room for you. My son almost lost his shoulder banshee in the water on the Navi river cruise on our last trip, but luckily it wedged between the boat and the loading area and we were able to grab it before it hit the water. I imagine that happens a lot, people losing things in the water on the rides.
 
Looked like a perfect day! Never eaten at Topolinos, but your food looked really good, we may have to try it. Columbia Harbor House is awesome though. We love sitting upstairs by the window and looking at Haunted Mansion and people watching while we eat. It’s almost always nearly empty up there.
It was a good food day. We had done Topolino's once before shortly after it opened, but it surpassed our expectations this time, especially for the kids. They both want to go back again next time.

Your kids riding barnstormer together was cute. We have a 9 yo boy and a 14 yo girl who constantly fight and refuse to sit together on rides lol. Your kids seem to get along well.
It was a rare moment of togetherness. In general they do fight a lot. We blame it on the age difference, which I guess you know well. Melissa has 10 years between her and her little sister and they always got along well. If they were closer in age maybe it would be better, but they do see arguing with each other as a sport.

Those little cameras are popular with kids nowadays, it’s funny how they have pretty decent cameras on their phones but they’d rather use a lower quality camera. It’s nice you were able to replace her camera so fast and it’s nice it was waiting in the room for you. My son almost lost his shoulder banshee in the water on the Navi river cruise on our last trip, but luckily it wedged between the boat and the loading area and we were able to grab it before it hit the water. I imagine that happens a lot, people losing things in the water on the rides.
Yeah, it's funny what is trendy. We finally have better cameras than that on our phones, but kids want the vintage look. It kinda makes me feel old... Allie says the low quality helps hide imperfections, but I'm skeptical.
 
Such great pictures!! I love the two of you in front of the Castle. And that beautiful shot of Allie on the Peoplemover!!!! I've said it before: you have the cutest kids :) Your Topolino's food looked great too, particularly Marshall's rigatoni! I'm a sucker for Italian food, ha. Great day was had by all, can't wait for the next installment! Happy Friday!!!!!!!!
 
Such great pictures!! I love the two of you in front of the Castle. And that beautiful shot of Allie on the Peoplemover!!!! I've said it before: you have the cutest kids :) Your Topolino's food looked great too, particularly Marshall's rigatoni! I'm a sucker for Italian food, ha. Great day was had by all, can't wait for the next installment! Happy Friday!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much. We do take some nice pictures, at least some of the time. It's easy to thake good pictures when we're having so much fun. The Toppling dinner was really nice, and it just felt special and looked really good and fancy. It was a great day, and fortunately we have the start of the next one ready to post right now...
 
On Saturday I got up about 6:10 and went straight down to Geyser Point to catch the sunrise.




I stopped by Roaring Fork and watched them work on the ice machine, which was somewhat entertaining. They thought they had it, but it would up being something else and they had to put it together and still have it not working.


As a mechanic, I could relate to that for sure.

I then walked around and took some more resort pics until going back to the room at 7:45 and watched the 8:00 Geyser from the balcony.





Then I woke up Melissa and the kids. Marshall and I went down for mug refills at about 8:30.

We call this our off day but it really just means we took time off from the parks. We definitely had a packed schedule.

Yeah, first we had a 10:00 ADR for brunch at Homecomin, which is always a favorite. Everyone got up pretty easily, and we made it out of the room by 9:00 and to the parking garage by 9:22.



I set off the detector so I had to get wanded and my bag searched on the way into Disney Springs.


It was the only time this happened all trip though so that wasn’t too bad. We had a little time to kill on the way over to Homecomin and I hadn’t gotten coffee yet so Allie and I got Starbucks.


We figured out it was probably the umbrella that did it, but at least you were prepared for rain or sunshine. Allie was super excited about Starbucks, as usual. After picking up the drinks, we walked through an almost empty Disney Springs, except for Gideon's, which had a decent line forming.


We still haven’t tried Gideon’s, I wish you could mobile order or something. The thought of waiting in line just isn’t appealing.

I like getting up early, but I don't see myself waiting in that line. We went over towards Homecomin, and checked in early at 9:38 and were seated right away.


The restaurant wasn't super crowded, which was nice.


We forgot to order the bacon pecan donuts but we didn’t exactly go hungry. I ordered French toast.


This time I did the ultimate breakfast sandwich, and it was really good.


Allie went with steak and eggs


while Marshall went with eggs and bacon. It was all really good, and we shared quite a bit enjoyed it all.

The kids decided to play a guessing game with the fruit trying to guess whether they were eating cantaloupe or honeydew with their eyes closed. I came out on top as Champion.

We all had quite a bit of fun with this, and niether kid could identify canteloupe vs honeydew consistently, while Melissa got it right every time.

It’s a texture thing.

Ahh, the secret is out. We finished our meal pretty quickly by about 10:15 but hung out waiting for the check until 10:35.
First we stopped by Boathouse, where we got Allie her earrings.


Marshall got a squishy octopus, and Melissa got a chicken dish towel which is on our oven right now.



It’s very cute, and we do have chickens so it fits.

Then we went shopping at World of Disney while Allie stopped by Uniqlo.


We then made our way over to the CoOp, where they had a Citizen watch event. They had a huge selection and were offering free engraving, but they didn't have anything I needed.


I got a new pair of jammies and they are so cute and soft and comfy. They are my new favorites.

They are very cute. Next we worked our way towards the car, but first Marshall wanted to play with the cars outside of the Lego store and ALlie wanted to go over to Disney Style, so again we chose to divide and conquor.



It was warming up but I braved the furnace to walk with Allie over to Disney Style. I’m not sure it was worth it. We didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without.


Marshall had a lot of fun building cars, then we went and met the girls in the shade in front of Sugar Boo. We did have a cooler walk than they did.




We then walked to the car, but stopped at the restrooms at the bottom of the stairs to the lime garage. This gave me the opportunity to check out the elevators there. They have two separate 2 stop traction cars with glass hall and car doors, just to make the run up to the second level of the garage. That's Disney fancy in the elevator world.



This was the second time I caught him checking out the doors of these elevators.

After the impromptu elevator inspection, we rode it up to the parking lot and got in the car, headed for more adventure outside the bubble.


Check out the details of our shopping trip in the next update.

 

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