She's Raising The Bar, a June 2025 Copper Creek Trip Report (Updated 6/18)

[GrandCalifornian]

As we left off we had just landed and got our room number. This time it was 3107, which was close to the lobby, but only on the third floor. It was a new room for us though, which is always fun. Before getting to see it, we had to get off the plane and gather our bags.


It was a great spot even though you would have preferred a higher floor I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. It was a nice quiet spot with neighbors on only one side.

We hopped on the first ride of the trip with no wait! The famous fauxnorail.


There's just something so neat about arriving at MCO. We happily made our way down to baggage claim, and our bags were among the first to come out. Then it was a short walt to the rental cars. I had trouble holding two bags and my phone trying to get pictures as we walked, but I did better than Marshall.


Poor kid did a header over the carry on, I’m still not sure how that happened. He hopped right back up though and everyone got situated as we headed to the Alamo pick up spot. We highly recommend renting from Alamo, they are far and away our favorite.

After so many trips to WDW without rental cars, this was our third year in a row renting a car. We pre-book through Costco with Alamo, which means we can re-book if rates improve over the time before the trip. This time our Premium SUV was $360 for the trip. We had a choice between a GMC Yukon and a Ford Expedition, so we went with familiarity and chose the white Expedition, just a longer version of Melissa's daily driver at home.


It worked out perfectly. The AC was cold and there was plenty of room for our luggage.


Our first stop on the way to the bubble was Target. We needed water, breakfasty things, deodorant, and some coffee creamer.

As we got to the same Super Target that we went to last year (by going the route South of the airport) we saw quite a few Orange County Sheriffs there.


Our shopping trip was quick and efficient, and it turned out we bought the perfect amount of stuff to keep in the room. One case of water and some breakfast stuff was about all we needed.

After Target we headed straight towards Disney because the kids were not having dinner anywhere but Roarin’ Fork. I can’t really blame them.

We all wanted to be in the Disney bubble, so we celebrated crossing under the sign.


We followed the purple road signs to WL, where we arrived at 7:25.


I dropped Melissa and the kids off at the front then went and parked the car.


We loaded everything on a bell cart and hung out just outside the front door. We wanted to wait for you so we could all go inside together. I was standing kind of by the bushes and ended up getting bit a couple of times by a yellow fly. This is the second time I’ve gotten bit by these nasty flies. Thank goodness neither of the kids got bit but I had three big bites on my ankle to deal with the entire week.

Yuck, you can still see the bites on your ankle now. I appreciate you waiting for me though.


We all entered the greatest lobby in my world, and were able to go straight to the room. We rode the lobby elevator up one floor and then went around the corner to the fiorst room on the left. Unfortunately my phone would not unlock it, but the kids Magic Bands did work.


My phone worked though, it was a strange glitch but not one that we bothered fixing. Your magic band worked for the rest of the trip.

We dumped off the bags, put the groceries in the fridge, and ordered extra sheets, blankets, and pillows before heading down for dinner. I love using the Hey Disney device to do this, it’s the only time we used it but it works perfect for ordering the extra stuff you need without having to talk to someone on the phone.



It really works out great, and the items were there by the time we got back from dinner. We headed down to Roaring Fork for what reallyis a great traditional first meal of the trip. I agreed to split the BBQ Plate and a grilled cheese and soup with Allie so we both got to try everything. We also got our refillable mugs, which we filled literally hundreds of times throughout the trip. (Since my early morning walks are usually fueled by Diet Coke).


We used to question whether or not the kids would get value out of the refillable mugs but they definitely do now. Do you think it was hundreds though? That may be an exaggeration. You did fill it a lot. Something new, maybe?, this trip the cast member that sold us the mugs said if we want a paper cup for coffee just to ask so that we don’t taint our plastic mug with coffee. I really appreciated this, coffee tends to really seep into the plastic and stay there.

I ordered the BBQ plate as well and it was very good as per usual, and Marshall ordered one as well and he ate it all.


The grilled cheese was fairly plain, but when you paired it with that tomato basil soup it was really a great combination.


It was a great meal to kick off the trip. We then followed it up with our first shopping trip to the Mercantile.


I was excited to see the new merch. I was even more excited to see the castle Lug bag I was hoping would be available when we went.


We also picked up a neoprene glasses case to try out for our new sunglasses that we each got shortly before the trip. Being neoprene instead of metal we figured it would be security friendly, and it worked great. We bought the Lug bag too, and it became a star of the trip as well. It is super cute too.


Then we headed back up to the room and finished unpacking. While we were there we heard the MK fireworks, so Marshall and I went out to catch them from Geyser Point. The view of them was blocked from our room by the other wing of the hotel, but that's ok, Geyser Point was a short walk away.



The timing was great because Marshall was starting to get a little homesick, which he sometimes does early in the Disney trips, so the timing was perfect.

Yeah our guy does get homesick and really thrives in routine. Disney definitely takes him out of his routine but we are as accommodating as we can be and try to make things as familiar as we can.

This worked so great though, I went with him wherever he wanted to go, and after the fireworks the EWP boat parade started so we headed over to the transportation boat dock to watch it from there.



After the boat parade, Marshall wanted to check out the arcade so we walked up there. He LOVED it this time, and I bought a $20 card of credits that we used many times during the trip. Air hockey is a great deal, costing just 30 credits which was one of the cheapest games in the arcade and offered a lot of fun. We would be back multiple times. Then we went up to the room to get ready for bed.

While the boys were gone Allie FaceTimed her boyfriend Eli, and I unpacked and set up Marshall’s bed. We use a kid size air mattress in front of the closet for him. It fits perfect and that way the kids don’t have to share the pull out couch. At this point I think they’d kill each other if they had to share a bed. Everyone gets more sleep this way.

Marshall wanted to watch Safety Smarts before heading to bed. These short cartoons are one of the things the kids have watched every single trip.


It is a good dose of nostalgia, almost as good as the Must Do's with Stacy, which we still find ourselves looking for.

We were all in bed by 11PM, wrapping up a great arrival day.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

That's nice that they let you use a luggage cart on your own at WL. I thought those used to be available only if you get a bellhop to assist.

Have you ever tried staying in the rooms that are at the outer end of the wing, near Geyser Point? Those have more of a lake view.

Interesting concern about getting coffee stains in the mugs. I haven't been to WDW in over three years, but I've found that those resort mugs are great for coffee at home, and any coffee stains generally come off in the dishwasher. Maybe their newer mugs are a more porous material and retain stains more?

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I really enjoy your family’s trip reports and all your amazing photos. Looks like a perfect travel and arrival day. Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

 

[Isabelle12345]

Following!
I am enjoying seeing your kids grow through your trip reports!
Can’t wait to read more!

 

[rdkeim]

Good start! Long travel day but it sounds like it was pretty smooth. I really love WL so I get why it's your go-to every year. Wonderful you have something that you all enjoy and look forward to.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

That's nice that they let you use a luggage cart on your own at WL. I thought those used to be available only if you get a bellhop to assist.

We used one going home last year and arriving this year. We had to ask a bellman for on to use but they gave it to us no problem.

Have you ever tried staying in the rooms that are at the outer end of the wing, near Geyser Point? Those have more of a lake view.

The rooms at the very end of the wing closest to Geyser Point tend to be the 3 bedroom Grand Villas. We would love to stay there someday if only for a couple of nights, but it hasn’t come together yet. We also tried to get the rooms that face Bay Lake at the bend in the hallway, but they include the Alternate Studios and we didn’t get lucky enough to get one when we tried. Our favorite rooms are the “bear face” rooms that open to the lobby on the 4th and 5th floor and have balconies that face Bay Lake. We got one a couple of years ago and it was perfect, but that can’t happen every time.

Interesting concern about getting coffee stains in the mugs. I haven't been to WDW in over three years, but I've found that those resort mugs are great for coffee at home, and any coffee stains generally come off in the dishwasher. Maybe their newer mugs are a more porous material and retain stains more?

I think the cups are the same manufacturer as they always have been. The issue with retaining coffee taste comes from switching from Coffee to soda without sending them through the dishwasher in between. It worked out well to get a coffee cup the couple of times we did it this trip.

I really enjoy your family’s trip reports and all your amazing photos. Looks like a perfect travel and arrival day. Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Thanks so much. We are glad that you joined in and enjoy following along. It was a great start to a great trip.

Following!
I am enjoying seeing your kids grow through your trip reports!
Can’t wait to read more!

It’s crazy how much they have grown. I have been going back through fixing pictures on older reports where the links got broken (I’m working on 2021 and newer now) and it is crazy to see how much they have grown up at Disney.

Good start! Long travel day but it sounds like it was pretty smooth. I really love WL so I get why it's your go-to every year. Wonderful you have something that you all enjoy and look forward to.

We got the essentials done and we’re well set up for a great trip. We do love these trips and sharing them too.

 

[Stasieki]

So excited you guys started! Is Allie doing a Vlog for this one? I enjoy seeing her Vlogs as she is the same age as my Ellie so it's fun to see the similarities in them. I have never stayed at WL but man every trip report of yours makes me want to take the leap. Our life now consists of only Disney trips for cheer comps so we stay at All Stars. I need a trip not during a cheer competition so we can stay at WL.

 

[Wood Nymph]

It was a great spot even though you would have preferred a higher floor I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. It was a nice quiet spot with neighbors on only one side.

I'm not a big fan of the courtyard view rooms. But at least you had a quiet room. And it was close to the lobby.

We dumped off the bags, put the groceries in the fridge, and ordered extra sheets, blankets, and pillows before heading down for dinner. I love using the Hey Disney device to do this, it’s the only time we used it but it works perfect for ordering the extra stuff you need without having to talk to someone on the phone.

I haven't used Hey Disney yet. I usually unplug it and put it away. I need to try it next time, since I usually order extra stuff when we arrive.

We bought the Lug bag too, and it became a star of the trip as well. It is super cute too.

That bag is really cute.

Then we headed back up to the room and finished unpacking. While we were there we heard the MK fireworks, so Marshall and I went out to catch them from Geyser Point. The view of them was blocked from our room by the other wing of the hotel, but that's ok, Geyser Point was a short walk away.

Do they still play the fireworks music in the courtyard? They did that when we stayed there in Feb 2024.

This worked so great though, I went with him wherever he wanted to go, and after the fireworks the EWP boat parade started so we headed over to the transportation boat dock to watch it from there.

I think you had a great spot to view the EWP. I didn't know they had chairs there.

You had a really long travel day. I am always amazed that you can get up so early to take pictures.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Oh, during trips I used to rinse the resort mug out with water in between coffee and soda (once in a while using dish soap or regular liquid soap), and that worked OK, but it was nice of them to offer you separate coffee cups.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[KPeterso]

Good to know about the coffee cups. A couple years ago, I tossed our mugs in the dishwasher since we were in a 1 bedroom. That messes up the sensor thing on the cups. Honestly never thought about it. They ended up replacing the mugs for me (although if they hadn't, it was fine - it was my mistake). So I actually ended up with 4 mugs and since the coffee did not have the sensor thing, that one was used for coffee and the others for soda. But knowing I can ask for a coffee cup to keep the taste out of the mug is even better.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

So excited you guys started! Is Allie doing a Vlog for this one? I enjoy seeing her Vlogs as she is the same age as my Ellie so it's fun to see the similarities in them. I have never stayed at WL but man every trip report of yours makes me want to take the leap. Our life now consists of only Disney trips for cheer comps so we stay at All Stars. I need a trip not during a cheer competition so we can stay at WL.

Allie recorded some content, but didn't do a daily Vlog this year after not having the time to edit last year's. She may post something though just for fun.
We love WL, but any WDW resort is nice. Disney for cheer competitions has to be a little different, but still more fun than competitions elsewhere.

I'm not a big fan of the courtyard view rooms. But at least you had a quiet room. And it was close to the lobby.

On the Copper Creek side we prefer the Inner Courtyard side like this room had because of the possibility of seeing the lake, this one just wasn't quite high enough. Getting to see the stream coming out of the lobby and the trees there was nice and pretty, and quieter than the main pool.

I haven't used Hey Disney yet. I usually unplug it and put it away. I need to try it next time, since I usually order extra stuff when we arrive.

We have only used it for the initial extra bedding requests, but it works so great. It is quick and easy and beats having to talk to a person for that task.

That bag is really cute.

It is. The castle is neat and it is a really nice size for traveling light in the parks.

Do they still play the fireworks music in the courtyard? They did that when we stayed there in Feb 2024.

Yes they do, and at the boat dock and at Geyser Point. It is easy to tell the fireworks are going on.

I think you had a great spot to view the EWP. I didn't know they had chairs there.

Yeah, out at the end of the transportation dock there are a few chairs, and it is a beautiful quiet spot.

You had a really long travel day. I am always amazed that you can get up so early to take pictures.

It is part of the fun. I just get so excited, and I'm used to getting up early for work so I wind up doing it on vacation as well.

Oh, during trips I used to rinse the resort mug out with water in between coffee and soda (once in a while using dish soap or regular liquid soap), and that worked OK, but it was nice of them to offer you separate coffee cups.

Yeah, it made it a little easier, and when we headed to a park Melissa could take her coffee without having to bring her resort mug.

Welcome, we hope you enjoy it all.

Good to know about the coffee cups. A couple years ago, I tossed our mugs in the dishwasher since we were in a 1 bedroom. That messes up the sensor thing on the cups. Honestly never thought about it. They ended up replacing the mugs for me (although if they hadn't, it was fine - it was my mistake). So I actually ended up with 4 mugs and since the coffee did not have the sensor thing, that one was used for coffee and the others for soda. But knowing I can ask for a coffee cup to keep the taste out of the mug is even better.

Ahh yeah. One thing to note that we didn't mention yet is that the mug readers were turned back on this year at Roaring Fork, so the chip in the mugs had to be working in order to get a mug fill. It was a nice option to be able to get a coffee cup, and both times I did it the cashier was super nice. They did appreciate me having the mug with me to show them (instead of just asking for a free coffee cup) but in typical Disney fashion they were really nice about it. Thanks also to the first CM who pointed it out to us when we bought the mugs, because otherwise I never would have thought to ask.

 

[SonnyEclipsesSpaceAngel]

Marshall wanted to watch Safety Smarts before heading to bed. These short cartoons are one of the things the kids have watched every single trip.


It is a good dose of nostalgia, almost as good as the Must Do's with Stacy, which we still find ourselves looking for.

We were all in bed by 11PM, wrapping up a great arrival day.

I always enjoyed watching Must Do Disney with Stacey! Definitely a nostalgia I will never forget Now I enjoy watching Safety Smart with Timon and Pumba when I stay at a Disney Resort even the Mickey cartoons are the cutest. But I will always miss Must Do Disney! Call me crazy but I sometimes enjoy falling asleep to the music on the main screen. A few of my favorites are Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Contemporary, Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge <3 I can't wait to read more about your amazing trip!! BTW Wilderness Lodge is one of my many favorite Resorts to stay at. Looking forward to my husband and I's staycation at the new cabins at Fort Wilderness next month for my birthday.

 

[Flounder0715]

Just found your trip report and am really enjoying it (I may have gone back and read last year's). I have a daughter the exact same age as Allie and the similarities are completely bonkers. Teenage girls are no joke. I also have an 18-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son but those early to mid-teen years sure are the most fun

We leave for our 5th trip as a family this Saturday and appreciate the June 2025 preview.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I always enjoyed watching Must Do Disney with Stacey! Definitely a nostalgia I will never forget Now I enjoy watching Safety Smart with Timon and Pumba when I stay at a Disney Resort even the Mickey cartoons are the cutest. But I will always miss Must Do Disney! Call me crazy but I sometimes enjoy falling asleep to the music on the main screen. A few of my favorites are Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Contemporary, Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge <3 I can't wait to read more about your amazing trip!! BTW Wilderness Lodge is one of my many favorite Resorts to stay at. Looking forward to my husband and I's staycation at the new cabins at Fort Wilderness next month for my birthday.

Stacy will always be the best! I absolutely love leaving the resort intro screen on and listening to the music, although at WL the picture they have has the castle in the wrong spot, somewhere over the Boulder Ridge side.

WDW has some great resorts and something for everyone. We love the quiet rural feel of resorts like OKW and WL, abut monorail resorts are great too, and we loved Beach Club when we started there since we could walk into Epcot.

Congrats on your upcoming stay at Fort Wilderness. It’s a true resort in itself, and we visited there on the first day of our trip, which will be coming up soon.

Just found your trip report and am really enjoying it (I may have gone back and read last year's). I have a daughter the exact same age as Allie and the similarities are completely bonkers. Teenage girls are no joke. I also have an 18-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son but those early to mid-teen years sure are the most fun

I not-so secretly enjoy reading the old reports too. I am getting the picture links all working again on the old ones, so that will be nice. Ahh teenage girls… Sometimes I truly am left scratching my head. It’s all good though.

We leave for our 5th trip as a family this Saturday and appreciate the June 2025 preview.

Congratulations! You should have a great time. Where are you going to stay? We were worried about weather going into this one, but it worked out to be really nice. Rain keeps it cooler, but dry days are nice too. With enough breaks in the cold AC it’s all good.

 

[Flounder0715]

Congratulations! You should have a great time. Where are you going to stay? We were worried about weather going into this one, but it worked out to be really nice. Rain keeps it cooler, but dry days are nice too. With enough breaks in the cold AC it’s all good.

We're staying at the Boardwalk. We really love the Crescent Lake area with easy access to 2 parks. Wilderness Lodge is on our bucket list though. We've eaten at Whispering Canyon a couple of times and really like the theming there. Planning to hit Geyser Point to try the Bison burger prior to EEH at MK during our upcoming trip.

We've gone in August twice and this will be our second June trip so we've experienced the summer heat in Florida. Planning on plenty of AC and few mid-afternoon breaks at the hotel.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Here for all the fun! Am already loving the pictures too. Cheers to a great arrival day, and can't wait for more!!!!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We're staying at the Boardwalk. We really love the Crescent Lake area with easy access to 2 parks. Wilderness Lodge is on our bucket list though. We've eaten at Whispering Canyon a couple of times and really like the theming there. Planning to hit Geyser Point to try the Bison burger prior to EEH at MK during our upcoming trip.

We've gone in August twice and this will be our second June trip so we've experienced the summer heat in Florida. Planning on plenty of AC and few mid-afternoon breaks at the hotel.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

We really enjoyed staying at Beach Club in the past. You can't beat walking into Epcot. Visiting WL is fun too, and your plan to stop by sounds great. We feel the June heat definitely isn't any worse than August, but for us has been a little bit dryer than our Sept and August trips.

Here for all the fun! Am already loving the pictures too. Cheers to a great arrival day, and can't wait for more!!!!

Thanks for joining in, and you don't have to wait much longer for some more pictures as we're kicking off our first full day right now.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I got up at 5:30 and took a shower. Then left the room about 5:45 to get Lobby pics and catch the sunrise. I could (and do) take pictures of that lobby over and over again.




We have more pictures of the Wilderness Lodge Lobby than we do of the kids.

Maybe true... Down by Geyser Point the lakeshore lodge construction was very visible. It was a cloudy morning, so the sunrise wasn’t great but I got some other pics, including the 7:00 Geyser.




I hung out and watched boats till after 7:20 and then went back to the room. Everyone was still sleeping so I went down to Roaring Fork for another coke and to sit and take trip notes.

I headed back towards the room at 8. Got there as Marshall had just woken up but everyone else was sleeping.
The two of us went out walking and took pictures, got mug refills, and went to the Arcade.



He really liked the air hockey. We went down to the Geyser for the 9:00 one, then woke Melissa up about 9:15 since we were ready for some breakfast.

It was really nice to sleep in on our arrival day. I don’t remember ever sleeping in this late on our first day. It was a nice slow start to the trip and I took note for future trips.

We had never had a first morning without park plans before, and it really did work well. Everyone who wanted to could sleep in, and I got to enjoy the resort.

Eventually we wanted food so we Mobile Ordered from Roarin Fork. We got two orders of Mickey Waffles with Bacon and a Totcho bowl to share.



We got sausage too, in my opinion Disney quick serve breakfast sausage is far superior to their bacon. Breakfast was delicious. I threw our first load of laundry in the washing machine, how we already had almost a full load I do not know.

It is neat to be able to wash and re-wear our airport clothes instead of hanging on to them all trip. With the in room laundry it's so easy.

Once we were all fed and dressed we headed out towards Disney Springs. We had a lunch reservation at Boat House but had some time to kill so we did some shopping.

This is also our favorite reason for a rental car, we can get to Disney Springs and back quickly and easily any time of day. On the way to the car Marshall put a duck on a green Jeep in the parking lot, since it was just like ours at home.


Having a car is really nice for Disney Springs.

After leaving the room at 10:30 we were parked and through security by 10:58. Our first stop was Kendra Scott, and we saw the latest iteration of Ever After, which is less of a jewelery store now but had a bunch of merchandise, including the Figment lug bag.



Ooo I almost bought the Figment bag too but really couldn’t justify another bag in the same style. They did have the water bottle holder version but I didn’t see a use for that one for me. They also had plush from Disney Parks around the world including this Lucifer. Allie cuddled him for a minute because it’s a cat she’s not allergic to.

Aww, yeah, that's a side note from real life, we discovered shortly before the trip that Alllie is alergic to cats, of course shortly after finding a stray kitten. Fortunately the cat has a nice home with Melissa's Aunt now and is living her best life.

It was pretty sad, Allie has wanted a cat forever and then we finally cave and let her keep one and her face swells up.

We continued on towards the Vera store and Allie checked out dresses across the covered walkway from there. We made our way towards the Pandora store because I wanted to get Melissa a Stitch necklace that had sold out online as soon as it came out. We had never been there before, but once we knew it was next to Sprinkles we found it.

Vera always has cute things but surprisingly I didn’t buy anything there this trip. Not that I wasn’t tempted but I didn’t find anything I had to have.

With the release of the new Lilo and Stitch movie this summer Stitch is everywhere and I love it. Pandora released a necklace, earrings, a ring, and a couple different charms. I’ve never bought anything from Pandora but really fell in love with the Stitch necklace.


I sent it to Paul and told him to add it to my wishlist as soon as it came out.


I figured it would be a nice little anniversary present, but I could not get one before the trip. I took the gamble that we would be able to find her something at Disney, and here it was.

We had a super sweet salesperson and the whole experience at Pandora was really nice. We ended up buying Stitch, he’s so so cute, even though the chain he comes on is much too short for my preference. We had him put on a new chain after we got home.

After Pandora Marshall wanted to look at something more fun so we headed towards the Lego store.


There was a small line to get in but Marshall and I waited while Allie and Melissa went to World of Disney. That was probably dangerous though since we were unsupervised in the Lego store. We decided that we needed the large racing minifigure, and a box of brick parts, and a couple of small F1 cars. I resisted the Corvette but I wanted one of those too.


It was kind of a divide and conquer situation. Allie and l really thought the new merchandise this year was great. We also noticed they moved some stuff around in the store but we found everything we were looking for and then some. We each found a tshirt we wanted and I got a Stitch wallet and Allie got ears.



That was Allie's first set of new ears for the trip, and spoiler alert there would be more to follow. After Marshall did the track outside the Lego store for a bit it was time to go to lunch. We made the short walk over to Boathouse and my mouth was watering.


We all love Boathouse, there’s not anything bad to say about it. Having lunch was nice because as we checked in they were ready to seat us. Normally we wait up to a half hour to be seated here even with a reservation so that was a nice surprise.

We were taken right back to a table with a water view, and we had a very attentive server. We ordered the pimento cheese and salsa appetizer and Allie again got Oysters Rocafellar.



The chips on this day were a little stale but ok, Allie loved her oysters.

The key part is we got the pimento cheese to add to our entree, since we both ordered the filet mignon sliders. We also got a side of fries to share. Allie had the veggie pasta while Marshall had a kids meal with Mac and Cheese.


The sliders were DIVINE as per usual.


I think next time we’ll skip the chips and order a side of pimento cheese when our sliders come, and then get the side of fries because those were really good.

This is all subject to change based on our whim at the time though.


Yeah, I used to love the Gibson award winning burger here, but since it went away the sliders have become my go to. I may try another burger at some point, but those sliders are excellent. We had a great meal here as always, and it is hard to believe the restaurant is now 10 years old.

It really is. We declined dessert, we were so so full.

While we were eating the weather shifted and it was raining pretty hard outside.


This had been in the forecast and we saw the storers gearing up for it. We had not fully prepared for it though, since we didn't carry any ponchos with us that day. While we checked out the gift shop we saw that they have cute duck amphicar ponchos, so Marhall and I each got one of those but the girls didn't want one. Allie wanted a T-shirt, but we didn't get that yet.

I quickly realized that we would be soaked if we didn’t do something so I bought an umbrella for Allie and I to share. It was pricey but it’s a really nice umbrella. As it turns out Allie is pretty bad at sharing an umbrella but since I bought it I got to hold it.


And you have a souvenier with a story.

My new umbrella will come in handy during next track season, we needed a third one for the track bag.

We braved the rain and went across Disney Springs headed for the Art store. There was quite a bit of rain and even lightning, and as we got to the Rain Forest Cafe we could see Allie's hair standing up.


Seeing Allies hair stand up was wild. The electrical energy in the air was super high. We’ve been around lightening storms before but I’ve never actually seen hair stand up like that, her hair is pretty long too.

We chose to go inside and check out the store right there for a minute before proceeding to the art store. Once we got there Melissa went straight to a new piece of art, a painting of a carousel horse. Allie had seen it when she went to Disneyland with her boyfriend earlier in the Spring, and she really liked it too. We looked for it in a smaller paper print but they didn't have it.

[
/COLOR]I really love it, it reminds me of something I would have obsessed over as a horse crazy kid when I was younger.

I like how it is Disney related without being overly obvious.

Larry Dotson had a pop up going on so lots of his prints were available too that aren’t normally there.

Allie flipped through his stuff and found the Grand Californian Lobby which we don’t have yet so we bought that and a small Dumbo print from the same artist of the carousel horses.

We always enjoy this store, and the kids did some pin trading there as well. Then we went across the way to shop for our annual Christmas ornament.


Before we ordered we asked about shipping and they’ll ship your personalized ornament home directly again! As a matter of fact we learned that the UPS store that used to be in Disney Springs is no longer a UPS Store, it’s just a Disney shipping center.


This corrected a major negative we experienced during the last trip. They made us pick up the ornament and take it to the UPS store, where we had to buy a box and pay to ship it which added up to $35 for an ornament last year, and it just wasn't magical.

This year the total for shipping… $7.95. I feel like this is a mic drop moment.

Thank You Disney for fixing this. It really improved our experience.

After we ordered our ornament we decided we were done with Disney Springs so we headed towards the car. We stopped at the Co Op for AC on the way.


We checked out the Lego Riviera model at the DVC booth, which really is cool and right up Marshall's alley.


I’m very surprised that seeing that didn’t spark a building project when he got home. Since the boys hadn’t seen World of Disney yet and we needed a last shot of AC before the last trek to the car we dipped in there for a minute.

Allie managed to find a second pair of ears and somehow talked us into buying them for her.


That was easy, because we all wanted to get her Tigger ears after her first season of high school high jump this year.

She had a spectacular first season, we talked about that a little bit in our Pre Trip Report.

Yes she did, and we are proud first time sports parents. As we headed out of Disney Springs she shared her haul, and looked pretty happy about it.


We found our car and headed back to the Lodge for more adventures.

Check out more of our first day in the next update.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We had never had a first morning without park plans before, and it really did work well. Everyone who wanted to could sleep in, and I got to enjoy the resort.

Eventually we wanted food so we Mobile Ordered from Roarin Fork. We got two orders of Mickey Waffles with Bacon and a Totcho bowl to share.

That sounds like the perfect way to spend the first morning.

We always mobile order from Roaring Fork, even if we plan to eat in. It is the most efficient way to do it.

On the way to the car Marshall put a duck on a green Jeep in the parking lot, since it was just like ours at home.

I am seeing more ducks in Jeeps now in our town. The trend is spreading.

Vera always has cute things but surprisingly I didn’t buy anything there this trip. Not that I wasn’t tempted but I didn’t find anything I had to have.

I always stop at Vera's. This time I found a purse or 50% off which I had to have.

we both ordered the filet mignon sliders.

These are my favorite - and a huge bargain.

eeing Allies hair stand up was wild. The electrical energy in the air was super high. We’ve been around lightening storms before but I’ve never actually seen hair stand up like that, her hair is pretty long too.

Wow!

Before we ordered we asked about shipping and they’ll ship your personalized ornament home directly again! As a matter of fact we learned that the UPS store that used to be in Disney Springs is no longer a UPS Store, it’s just a Disney shipping center.

Thank goodness they fixed the shipping. That was a fiasco last year.

That was easy, because we all wanted to get her Tigger ears after her first season of high school high jump this year.

She looks super cute in those ears.