She's Raising The Bar, a June 2025 Copper Creek Trip Report (Updated 6/22)

[nascargirl]

What a great start to your trip report. Our family loves to eat at the Boat house for our last day evening meal. Those sliders are so good. The fries even better.

 

[kclark9830]

Joining in! Your pics of WL are stunning. As an aside, I also have a 15 year old daughter who just finished freshman year .

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Love the report! we are staying at WL for the first time in August 2 nights before our BWV. We have nothing planned but hanging at the resort. Then our park days will be attached to boardwalk with a rest day there too.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Curious about the amphicar rain ponchos. Do you have a picture that shows more of the image?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

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

It was nice and relaxing.

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

The only issue is not all the items are available for mobile order, like the Magic cookie bars and the soup can only be ordered in person.

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

Ducks are fun, and super popular with Jeeps

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

Nice!

These are my favorite - and a huge bargain.

Boathouse can be a great deal for an excellent meal.

Wow

It was kinda crazy. We had never seen the static like that in person.

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

It was the most un-Disney thing, and now they made it nice and easy again.

She looks super cute in those ears.

Aww thanks. She has so many pairs now.

What a great start to your trip report. Our family loves to eat at the Boat house for our last day evening meal. Those sliders are so good. The fries even better.

We love Boathouse and it can be an easy last minute lunch.

Joining in! Your pics of WL are stunning. As an aside, I also have a 15 year old daughter who just finished freshman year .

Thanks so much, WL is so easy to take nice pictures of.
Isn’t 15 such a fun age? Good luck to us all.

Love the report! we are staying at WL for the first time in August 2 nights before our BWV. We have nothing planned but hanging at the resort. Then our park days will be attached to boardwalk with a rest day there too.

Sounds great. While at WL the boats are so neat, even if you aren’t going to a park. After 3:30 they run the blue flag boats between WL, CR and Fort Wilderness and they are a neat way to check out the neighborhood. (And we do in the next update…)

Following

Thanks for joining in.

Curious about the amphicar rain ponchos. Do you have a picture that shows more of the image?

I looked through some pics and it appears to be a small boat the duck is in and not an amphicar. Oh well they are still cute and kept us dry.

 

[Wood Nymph]

The only issue is not all the items are available for mobile order, like the Magic cookie bars and the soup can only be ordered in person.

I will often mobile order a Magic Cookie bar when we visit Geyser Point from a different resort. It is ready for pickup by the time I walk to Roaring Fork. It is listed as a snack on the app.

 

[AliceNDinah]

I love your mic drop moment with the ornament episode--so glad it went better than your last trip I so love Disney Springs, it's awesome to see it again via your beautiful pictures!! Am excited for more report

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I will often mobile order a Magic Cookie bar when we visit Geyser Point from a different resort. It is ready for pickup by the time I walk to Roaring Fork. It is listed as a snack on the app.

We just had this debate in person. I know there were times I couldn't get a Magic Cookie Bar mobile order so I went and got one in person. Melissa pointed out that we have ordered them before though. I like your plan to order one while at Geyser Point and then go get it.

I love your mic drop moment with the ornament episode--so glad it went better than your last trip I so love Disney Springs, it's awesome to see it again via your beautiful pictures!! Am excited for more report

We love Disney Springs, and being able to ship the ornament directly like the good old days is great. We love it there and shopped a lot more this trip.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

When we left off, we were heading back to the Lodge from Disney Springs. We got to the car at 3:45, and were in the parking lot at WL by 4:02. We headed up to the room for a bit.


We had time to hang out because our next agenda item was the after hours party at Hollywood Studios, and we couldn't get in the park until 7:00. I had a mission in mind though, but first we relaxed in the room and cooled off.

Paul has been wanting to trek over to Ft. Wilderness for a while and today we were going to make that happen. He made it over last year but I haven’t been in a couple years. We knew Marshall would have fun on the playground and the strawberry shortcake at Trails End is so yummy so it made it worth the trip.

We left the room at 4:55, and despite it sprinkling we walked down to the transportation dock. We timed it perfectly to catch a selfie with the Geyser on the way to the boat.


We got on a blue flag boat at 5:03 and it went directly to Fort Wilderness. It gave me a chance to get some more pictures of the Lakeshore Lodge construction, and it surprised me how close it was to the Pioneer Hall building.



I am really excited about this new resort. It seems like it is very much our vibe and will hopefully have new restaurants and shopping to try in addition to more DVC room stay opportunities.


We did some shopping at the Settlement Trading Post and the kids checked out the pins for trading. The only thing we bought was a gift card for Allie.

We had given the kids electronic gift cards for souveniers of their choice, but we didn't have a physical card for her so we got one so she could have her money to spend without needing our approval. It also lets us not have to deal with them asking for as many things, because we can say if you want it, use your gift card. They then think about it a little more.

This really cut down on all the little purchases this year. Allie has pretty much grown out of this but Marshall will still want little stuff all the time. By telling him that he had to use his gift card for it cut that way back.

The Settlement Trading post is always a fun little store. They have unique FW items, but we didn't need anythig this time.


We then went out to the playground where Marshall enjoyed running around.


He made friends with one younger boy and they played for a bit.

He had a great time on the playground playing hide and seek. While we were supervising a carriage horse came up. He was super cute.


They had two supervisors watching the driver, who was doing a great job with the horse. It is such a neat enviroment, Fort Wilderness is its own little world. After a while at the playground we headed over to Trail's End to get some dessert. This used to be our very favorite table service restaurant, and part of every trip until it closed durng COVID. I really like how they reimagined it as a Quick serve though, with many of the same food choices.

I hadn’t been in the Trails End building since before COVID but it really felt like the transition to quick service made sense. There are great family meal options and snacks.



Today we were just doing desserts though, and we got a brownie, a trail mix cookie, a carrot cake cupcake, and the strawberry shortcake that Melissa came for. All were decent, but I will say once again that I miss the soft serve ice cream. Yes they have scooped ice cream, but it isn't the same. Also the cookie was nowhere near as good as a magic cookie bar, but I might just have been turned off by the raisins.


Allie did not like her brownie, and decided she wanted to share Marshalls cupcake which he did not want to share.

The trail mix cookie was just ok, I think it had too many ingredients.

It was still a nice visit though, and when we were done we walked through the arcade and over to the boat dock. We got to the dock at 6:31 and on a boat at 6:38. It was going straight to WL, and we got there at 6:43. I love having the blue flag boats back.


It was a fun little side quest for a snack.

We headed up to the room for a quick stop to grab our stuff before heading to Hollywood Studios. It was time to finally make our first park visit of the trip. We were in the car at 7:12, and pulled into the HS parking lot at 7:24.


We really got great parking and were able to just walk to the entrance.


I don't think we had ever parked at HS before, but it worked out great that they were backfilling the rows up near the front of the lot. I was concerend about making sure we used our party tickets for admission instead of one of our multi-day park tickets which were valid as well. Fortunately my fears were not founded, and they had a special park entrance for party people.


It worked out perfectly and we got super fancy wristbands.

We stopped into one of the shops for some AC on the way over to Backlot Express for dinner. About mid way through the shop Marshall announced he needed a bathroom so we headed over there.

We didn't know of any closer ones, so we went down the street towards Tower of Terror. After the detour we headed back towards Backlot Express in search of dinner. We got there just after 8:00 and got a table, but couldn't place a mobile order.


When I went to go order in person, I saw they had just closed.

We just barely missed it. I was a little sad to miss out on a Wookie Cookie but we did a quick pivot and realized that Docking Bay 7 would be available for the party so they should be open for us to have dinner.

That was one of the options available for mobile order, so we placed an order for there. A Ronto Wrap sounded really good anyway. As we walked over to where I thought it was, I realized that it wasn't the outside place that sells them, it was inside and a little further back, so it would be a new dining location for me.


It was fun to eat somewhere new and the Ronto Wraps were great.


They also com with Yuca fries here which I was very much not a fan of.


The fries were very different, but I really enjoyed the Ronto Wrap, even more than I remembered. It was also really nice to get to sit down and eat inside. I had tried for Sci Fi Drive in for this night but it was already fully booked when I made our ADRs. This was a very enjoyable alternative, and the whole meal was only $80.

As we ate we were watching wait times for rides and trying to make a plan and prioritize what was important. The goal was to ride as much as we could with the minimum amount of walking and waiting.

See how we did in our next update, as we get the party started.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I am really excited about this new resort. It seems like it is very much our vibe and will hopefully have new restaurants and shopping to try in addition to more DVC room stay opportunities.

I'm excited about the new DVC resort, too. I think it will be a fun place to explore. Bay Lake is lovely, and the views will be great. And maybe they will reopen the nature trail between WL and Ft W.

But a lot of people who love Fort Wilderness are very unhappy.

We then went out to the playground where Marshall enjoyed running around.

I'm glad that they still have a playground.

I hadn’t been in the Trails End building since before COVID but it really felt like the transition to quick service made sense. There are great family meal options and snacks.

We loved the old Trail's End, too. We always ate there when staying at the WL.

don't think we had ever parked at HS before, but it worked out great that they were backfilling the rows up near the front of the lot. I was concerend about making sure we used our party tickets for admission instead of one of our multi-day park tickets which were valid as well. Fortunately my fears were not founded, and they had a special park entrance for party people.

I would think that there is always a fear that you would be placed far back in the parking lot if you arrived later in the day.

We made the mistake of going to HS after dinner on a party day. I didn't do my homework. The entry was mobbed.

When I went to go order in person, I saw they had just closed.

We just barely missed it. I was a little sad to miss out on a Wookie Cookie but we did a quick pivot and realized that Docking Bay 7 would be available for the party so they should be open for us to have dinner.

The Backlot Express is one of our "go to" places to eat. At least you had an air-conditioned alternative.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Look at Allie's fun face in your geyser photo, lol! Also love the dessert detour: I'm a big strawberry shortcake fan, now I want one, ha ha. What would each of you say is your favorite "Disney Dessert"? (Can be from anywhere in the World)

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I'm excited about the new DVC resort, too. I think it will be a fun place to explore. Bay Lake is lovely, and the views will be great. And maybe they will reopen the nature trail between WL and Ft W.

But a lot of people who love Fort Wilderness are very unhappy.

Yeah, change is hard, especially when there is such significant development in a beautiful rural area. I bet there was concern when WL was being planned and built, and it all turned out ok. I do think having Lakeside Lodge done will greatly increase the chance of the nature trail reopening. It would be a nice way to tie the lodges together with a beautiful nature path, and it should fit the themes quite well. My fingers are crossed.

I'm glad that they still have a playground.

We were so glad to see that they moved and upgraded the playground rather than removing it like so many others. It fits the vibe of Fort Wilderness and hopefully it will stay that way.

We loved the old Trail's End, too. We always ate there when staying at the WL.

I am coming to the conclusion that the find is not all that different now. You can still go over there and have a very similar meal, although it won't be all you can eat, it still has the great food and atmosphere. We have yet to test this theory completely, but it sounds good to me. Someone needs to try it out and compare to the glorious Trail's End prior to Covid.

I would think that there is always a fear that you would be placed far back in the parking lot if you arrived later in the day.

We made the mistake of going to HS after dinner on a party day. I didn't do my homework. The entry was mobbed.

Yeah, we got lucky with our arrival time and the fact they had started re-filling the front rows. We have never done a party before, but have seen the similar crowds as people come in and get ready for them.

The Backlot Express is one of our "go to" places to eat. At least you had an air-conditioned alternative.

Melissa and Allie ate there during their Surprise trip in 2021, but the rest of us have never been there. It looked nice, but we definitely needed a place that was serving food since we were all hungry.

Look at Allie's fun face in your geyser photo, lol!

This is exactly why I was looking to bribe Allie to smile for pictures. I came up with a plan though, I just had to compete for it, but that is yet to come.

Also love the dessert detour: I'm a big strawberry shortcake fan, now I want one, ha ha. What would each of you say is your favorite "Disney Dessert"? (Can be from anywhere in the World)

Great question, and it led to some interesting discussion today. Over the years there have been some wonderful desserts, but it gets a little tougher when we limit it to desserts that are currently available. Melissa and I both jumped to Yak and Yeti, where she loves the Mango Pie and I enjoy the Cream Cheese Wontons. Allie on the other hand immediately went with the Tiramisu Creme Brûlée from Topolino's (which, spoiler alert, we would have in a few days). Marshall thought about it a bit and chose the chocolate cake from Topolino's, so it was a meal that made an impression. The infamous Magic Cookie Bar from WL is a true favorite as well, and is a true classic. If we consider desserts from the past, there used to be some awesome cupcakes at Sunshine Seasons and Gaspirilla's Grill at the Grand Floridian, but we just didn't see them this time. Finally, I have to mention the lost soft serve that used to be at WL, Trail's End, and the Contemporary. It was simple and delightful, and as of this trip it is gone from all three locations. Ahh nostalgia.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Awwww, thanks for answering the all-important dessert question Sounds like alot of good choices! I remember a previous trip report where you all were going crazy for a certain cupcake from WL and it inspired me to try it, so much that we made a special trip to the resort for it. I think it was an orange cupcake, or something to that effect. Have you ever tried the almond cheesecake at Narcoosee's? That's on my list too....ok, I'm hungry again! Can't wait for more report!!!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Awwww, thanks for answering the all-important dessert question Sounds like alot of good choices! I remember a previous trip report where you all were going crazy for a certain cupcake from WL and it inspired me to try it, so much that we made a special trip to the resort for it. I think it was an orange cupcake, or something to that effect. Have you ever tried the almond cheesecake at Narcoosee's? That's on my list too....ok, I'm hungry again! Can't wait for more report!!!

We both vaguely remember the good cupcake from Roaring Fork, but I couldn't pinpoint it in the past reports. My guess is that it was after 2021, because I haven't noticed it in re-doing them yet. It does seem to both of us that they used to have a lot more fancy cupcakes, but they are a little more mundane right now. Marshall enjoyed the s'mores cupcake at WL this trip, but he is more of a chocolate fan than the rest of us.
We have never been to Narcoosee's, so that's still on the future wish list. We are definitely cheesecake fans so it sounds good. We're hungry for some good Disney desserts now too. We had desserts at Ikea tonight and they were not nearly as good as Disney.
Speaking of some more report, we share our night of partying at HS next, right now.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

When we left off, we had just finished our meal right at 9:00 as the park closed. We figured the line for Rise would get better as the park cleared out, so we walked over to Midway mania since it showed a shorter wait. Also Allie was wanting to challenge me to a bet once again. She decided that if she won I would buy her earrings from Boathouse, and if I won she had to smile and pose nicely for photos for the rest of the trip.


This is the first time we’ve waited in the regular queue line for this ride. The room that goes over the ride track was very claustrophobic for me, did it bother you?

I didn't think it was too bad, but I was just kind of amazed at the long time in line after park close. It wound up only being about 20 minutes, but there were a lot of people in there, and many of them were not there for the party.

I rode with Marshall which was fun, he normally rides with you and we discussed different strategies for the game. His accuracy was better than anyone else’s.

I got concerned when Allie doubled my score in the first room and took an early lead. Over time I made up the gap though, and secured better trip pictures with a 129,300 to 114,200 victory.


I came in second with a score of 117,400 but unfortunately I hadn’t bet Allie anything.


After Midway Mania it was time for Slinky Dog. We were thirsty though so we grabbed free drinks on the way. The wait here wasn’t long at all and since the sun was down it was also not overly hot.


It was cool how they just lined up the different flavors of 20 ounce drink bottles on the carts for you to walk up and grab.


Everyone loves "free" stuff at Disney. Our line wait for Slinky Dog was under 15 minutes, and Marshall was super excited for it, saying it was his very favorite ride.

It is a super cute roller coaster and riding it at night with all of the lights made it extra fun.


I realized we had never been in Toy Story Land after dark.

With that must do checked off we headed back over to Rise of the Resistance.

We had a very short wait for Rise which was very nice.


I was excited to ride this again and excited for Marshall to ride it since he has been watching the Star Wars movies and is more familiar with the stories and the characters.

It was only my second time ever riding it. We got in line at 10:11 and were being transported towards the Storm Troopers by 10:20.


As we typed this we noticed it is kinda hard to note when the "ride" starts.



Marshall really enjoyed it and said it’s one of his favorites.

As we passed Muppets Courtyard we gave it a final nod. It would be disappearing in a couple of days, and we knew this would be our last glimpse of it. We would have probably ridden MuppetVision 3D if it was open, but it was not part of the party.


We did our time with MuppetVision when Allie was little at California Adventure. Did you know they turned that into Mickey’s Philharmagic?

I had heard that. We have not done that since the change.

We were on a roll and wanted to fit in as much as we could so after Rise we were headed over to Rockin Rollercoaster. As we went by in front of Sci Fi on the way there we saw the wait time board that it was down temporarily. Marshall’s feet and legs were getting a little tired and Allie wanted some pictures in front of Sci Fi so we took a break for a minute.



Allison had gotten a basic digital camera for her birthday, and was super excited to take selfies with it. I guess old looking (and relatively low quality) photos are "in" right now and this one gave just the look she was looking for. It drove me nuts to shoot with, since the phone takes way better pictures, but she really wanted the digital camera "look".

We decided to ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway while we waited to see if Rockin Rollercoaster would re open. We walked right in with no wait for the pre show.


Then, after the pre show the ride itself was a walk on. It was crazy.

I've never seen it that empty, so we really got some benefit from the party. It is a fun ride and we all enjoyed it.

Our delay worked because when we got off the ride Rockin was back open.

The wait was only about 25 minutes. Marshall was a little nervous to ride this which was understandable, it’s a big rollercoaster.

His feet were also sore and he wanted to to skip the posted 30 minute wait in line, but we talked him into it and it wasn't that bad. As for the ride itself, he sait it was an improved version of Space Mountain in his assessment.

He liked it.



It was interesting that he compared it to space mountain as opposed to Incredicoaster (I almost called it California Screamin)

Yeah that's another one he enjoyed, and is very similar despite being outside. I was glad that he had fun, and we got to ride it one last time with the Aerosmith theme in place. Our next stop was picking up Mickey Bars to make the party official. We had our choice of the traditional chocolate covered vanilla, the Sandwich, or a fruity popsicle that Marshall went with.




Allison also picked up a box of popcorn. It was funny to see the people that seemed like they were trying to pay for the party tickets in the amount of ice cream and popcorn they were eating.

Yes, that was so true. The popcorn was pre-boxed, and really not all that great. People had a box in each hand, and smiles on their faces.

After our snacks we headed out of the park stopping for more pictures for Allie on her little pink camera.

I took some with the phone too because I just couldn't handle it.


We decided to go ahead and ride the parking tram on the way out and it dropped us off nearly perfect for the row we were parked in.

We then took a few more pictures as we walked out the main street. It was 12:10 when we left the park, and we got to the car at 12:18.




The drive back to the lodge was super quick and since Marshall was almost asleep Paul dropped us off right up at the door before he went to park the car. Marsh almost passed out on the couch in the lobby.


I had the car parked by 12:34, then we walked up to the room and we were all in bed by 1AM. The party did excatly what we hoped it would, giving us a chance to do all of our favorites at HS without long hot waits.

It worked out perfectly and I’d totally do it again.

We were lucky that it fit our schedule, but it was a definite success. Stay tuned for our next update, where we start the day in our favorite park.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Great update! I love the photo of the four of you in the Rockin Roller coaster! And those Mickey bars---num. Looks like a blast all the way around!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I got concerned when Allie doubled my score in the first room and took an early lead. Over time I made up the gap though, and secured better trip pictures with a 129,300 to 114,200 victory.

I usually start out ahead of my husband because I know a little about what targets to hit to get extra points. He gets frustrated because he has no idea how I do it - and I won't tell him. But he usually catches up to me by the time we get to the rings. I am not good at those.

It was cool how they just lined up the different flavors of 20 ounce drink bottles on the carts for you to walk up and grab.

That is really nice the way you can just grab what you want without waiting.

I realized we had never been in Toy Story Land after dark.

Both Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge look beautiful at night.

I've never seen it that empty, so we really got some benefit from the party. It is a fun ride and we all enjoyed it.

I can't believe how empty HS looks.

Allison also picked up a box of popcorn. It was funny to see the people that seemed like they were trying to pay for the party tickets in the amount of ice cream and popcorn they were eating.

I could see that happening.

The party did excatly what we hoped it would, giving us a chance to do all of our favorites at HS without long hot waits.

It worked out perfectly and I’d totally do it again.

I think your HS party plan worked out great. You got the best rides done without long waits.

 

[Stasieki]

Great update! The after hours looked perfect. Did anyone want to go on TOT or did it just get too late?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Great update! I love the photo of the four of you in the Rockin Roller coaster! And those Mickey bars---num. Looks like a blast all the way around!

We actually purchased the photo pass picture to get that one. We didn’t have PhotoPass for this trip, and the party admission does not give you free access to the pictures like MultiPass does, but we liked it enough to buy a print, which was the cheapest way to get a copy of it.

I usually start out ahead of my husband because I know a little about what targets to hit to get extra points. He gets frustrated because he has no idea how I do it - and I won't tell him. But he usually catches up to me by the time we get to the rings. I am not good at those.

I usually get tired and start to slack off, but the pressure was on, I had quite a deficit to make up.

That is really nice the way you can just grab what you want without waiting.

It feels pretty neat. Even though we only had a couple of Cokes getting to walk up and grab them was just cool.

Both Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge look beautiful at night.

I can't believe how empty HS looks.

That was our hope for the party, and it worked perfectly. It was cool and relatively quiet so we got to do everything we wanted.

I could see that happening.

People were crazy with the popcorn boxes. It wasn’t fresh and hot so it wasn’t that appealing to me, but it was freeeeee!

I think your HS party plan worked out great. You got the best rides done without long waits.

It was great and we would totally do it again if the dates work out.

Great update! The after hours looked perfect. Did anyone want to go on TOT or did it just get too late?

Nobody wanted to go on ToT but we totally could have. It was like a 10-15 minute wait but we just sat and had the ice cream instead.