Trip Report Everything Is Just So Peachy Keen! *COMPLETED*

It certainly was for us Georgia peaches this last week! For those who may be new here, let us introduce ourselves. We are Tuvalu and Em, a mother-daughter duo who love traveling together to Walt Disney World. We take multiple trips per year (this was our third for 2022) and for us, time spent at our resort is just as important to us as time spent in the parks. Slow-paced relaxation is vital to us!

I’m sure this laid-back vibe is what draws people to cruises: pools, bars, a variety of restaurants and activities from which to choose . I can’t do ships. But I can happily “land cruise” at WDW!

Hope you decide to follow along and learn about the surprises on our most recent voyage.

When: July 20-27, 2022
Where: Disney’s Yacht Club and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resorts

Nothing can stop us now!

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

Em and I had been at the pool only a half hour when my phone buzzed with the room ready text.

Now I’m fairly certain housekeeping did not immediately rush to our room to prepare for our arrival after we’d stopped at the Front Desk. Rooms that are ready before 11am generally were not in use the night before. I suspect that it took a little time for the system to close out our Yacht Club stay and recognize us as WL guests now. It was a little frustrating, since we would have preferred to move all our stuff into the room and be “settled” before going to the pool.

On the upside I was able to take empty room pics!

I left Em at the pool to check out our room. We were staying in a Copper Creek studio villa on the right side of the Lodge (regular WL rooms are on the left side.) The sofa is a sleeper.

A little surprising that there is only one sink. Regular WL rooms have two.

Not all studios have a walk in shower. Ours did. But it took F O R E V E R for the water to get warm.

Kitchenette, tiny table and chairs, dresser and smart TV.

The newer TVs display a picture of the resort you’re in with a few surprises: ducks swim, boats cruise by, room lights turn on and off. We like the change. There’s a thread on this forum complaining of the removal of “Must Do Disney” (and Stacy) and “lack of information about park hours.”

Our TV begs to differ.

Clicking on each box brings up more detailed info.

I like to post pics of room views. I was very pleased with ours.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

There was just one teensy issue.

We had a dormer room, which meant the only way to enjoy the view was to stand out on the balcony. We certainly couldn’t see it when seated!

Odd chair placement…..facing INTO the room!

 

[cgersic]

While the lids are cute, they are impractical. They are hard to secure on the cup and can leak, causing a dribbling mess.

We much prefer the lids on the old refillable mugs. Function > form.


They sure make it easy to spot your loungers and prevent towel slippage and blowing in the wind!

@Tuvalu I was just thinking the same thing this morning about those cups. I drink through a hard plastic straw and the old lids would allow you to turn it so the straw was tight and no leakage. These are a pain in the you know what. I was told to tell Guest Services my opinion and that maybe they would bring back the old ones "They brought back the handle cups after all of the complaints, so it never hurts to try!". I haven't heard back yet. And the towel clips were ordered for our annual sisters' trip we had in June, some Disney, some fancy drinks. It was the gift in the birthday bag that was used immediately by everyone and when people on the windy beach saw them, we got tons of questions about where to get them. My initial response was "I found mine through Tuvalu".

 

[Wicked Sisters]

As soon as we saw the Olaf towel clips on @Tuvalu report last year we found and purchased them from Amazon. Cannot wait to use them next year.

 

[Tuvalu]

Now for one of the most exciting pictures I have ever posted.

Tuvalu, why are you posting a picture of a light switch??!!

I am so glad you asked.

First let me tell you why I was excited to see this particular switch (located near the entry door) in our room.

Because it had a working LED light on the switch. Unlike the one in our Copper Creek studio last month.

Now to save y'all from scratching your head over a light switch, here is what I posted in a chit chat thread after our June stay ~

The following is a PSA for anyone considering a stay at Copper Creek Villas.

Em and I had spent a few hours at the pool. We returned to our room to discover than none of the lights worked (a real crisis since the toilet and shower were in total darkness with the door closed.) Oddly enough, the power outlets and TV worked.

I pushed the "maintenance" button on the room phone and explained the situation to the person who answered. "We'll send someone over," was the reply.

Fortunately it wasn't too long before there was a knock on our door. A maintenance CM stood in the hall with a CM in training. "What's going on?" he asked.

"None of our lights work," I said.

"Did you check the master switch?" (He shook his head knowingly at the trainee.)

"What master switch?"

He stepped towards me and pointed to a light switch behind me, nearest the room door.

For the record the switch looked EXACTLY like every other light switch in our room, with the exception of the teeny tiny printing over the switch on the right.

(**Note that the LED light above is off, when it should be on.**)

"Press it," he said. I did and the lights came on.

"Reedy Creek made us install the master switch when these rooms were refurbished. Copper Creek Villas are the only resort that have them," he said. "Guests get so mad when they find their lights off."

YA THINK ???!!!!!

It wasn't til after he left that my mind flooded with questions.
1. Why isn't there a notification IN THE ROOM about the master switch?
2. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me about the master switch? (It would have saved time for us and eliminated the need for a service call.)
3. Who turned the master switch off?

Well I quickly figured out the answer to #3. It wasn't Em nor me, although it would have been easy to accidentally hit the switch on our way out of the room. Our trash had been emptied, which meant someone had been in the room for a "room check."

Each subsequent day we'd return to find that dang switch off!

Well Tuvalu wasn't going to be fooled this trip! I knew exactly what to do now if we discovered all our lights off.

Especially since the switch was more noticeable with a working LED light!

But the very strong floral scent which seemed to be being pumped into our room would turn out to be a different challenge.....

 

[93boomer]

Now for one of the most exciting pictures I have ever posted.

View attachment 663957

Tuvalu, why are you posting a picture of a light switch??!!

I am so glad you asked.

First let me tell you why I was excited to see this particular switch (located near the entry door) in our room.

Because it had a working LED light on the switch. Unlike the one in our Copper Creek studio last month.

Now to save y'all from scratching your head over a light switch, here is what I posted in a chit chat thread after our June stay ~

The following is a PSA for anyone considering a stay at Copper Creek Villas.

Em and I had spent a few hours at the pool. We returned to our room to discover than none of the lights worked (a real crisis since the toilet and shower were in total darkness with the door closed.) Oddly enough, the power outlets and TV worked.

I pushed the "maintenance" button on the room phone and explained the situation to the person who answered. "We'll send someone over," was the reply.

Fortunately it wasn't too long before there was a knock on our door. A maintenance CM stood in the hall with a CM in training. "What's going on?" he asked.

"None of our lights work," I said.

"Did you check the master switch?" (He shook his head knowingly at the trainee.)

"What master switch?"

He stepped towards me and pointed to a light switch behind me, nearest the room door.

For the record the switch looked EXACTLY like every other light switch in our room, with the exception of the teeny tiny printing over the switch on the right.

(**Note that the LED light above is off, when it should be on.**)

"Press it," he said. I did and the lights came on.

"Reedy Creek made us install the master switch when these rooms were refurbished. Copper Creek Villas are the only resort that have them," he said. "Guests get so mad when they find their lights off."

YA THINK ???!!!!!

It wasn't til after he left that my mind flooded with questions.
1. Why isn't there a notification IN THE ROOM about the master switch?
2. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me about the master switch? (It would have saved time for us and eliminated the need for a service call.)
3. Who turned the master switch off?

Well I quickly figured out the answer to #3. It wasn't Em nor me, although it would have been easy to accidentally hit the switch on our way out of the room. Our trash had been emptied, which meant someone had been in the room for a "room check."

Each subsequent day we'd return to find that dang switch off!

Well Tuvalu wasn't going to be fooled this trip! I knew exactly what to do now if we discovered all our lights off.

Especially since the switch was more noticeable with a working LED light!

But the very strong floral scent which seemed to be being pumped into our room would turn out to be a different challenge.....

 

[Billy6]

Now for one of the most exciting pictures I have ever posted.

View attachment 663957

Tuvalu, why are you posting a picture of a light switch??!!

I am so glad you asked.

First let me tell you why I was excited to see this particular switch (located near the entry door) in our room.

Because it had a working LED light on the switch. Unlike the one in our Copper Creek studio last month.

Now to save y'all from scratching your head over a light switch, here is what I posted in a chit chat thread after our June stay ~

The following is a PSA for anyone considering a stay at Copper Creek Villas.

Em and I had spent a few hours at the pool. We returned to our room to discover than none of the lights worked (a real crisis since the toilet and shower were in total darkness with the door closed.) Oddly enough, the power outlets and TV worked.

I pushed the "maintenance" button on the room phone and explained the situation to the person who answered. "We'll send someone over," was the reply.

Fortunately it wasn't too long before there was a knock on our door. A maintenance CM stood in the hall with a CM in training. "What's going on?" he asked.

"None of our lights work," I said.

"Did you check the master switch?" (He shook his head knowingly at the trainee.)

"What master switch?"

He stepped towards me and pointed to a light switch behind me, nearest the room door.

For the record the switch looked EXACTLY like every other light switch in our room, with the exception of the teeny tiny printing over the switch on the right.

(**Note that the LED light above is off, when it should be on.**)

"Press it," he said. I did and the lights came on.

"Reedy Creek made us install the master switch when these rooms were refurbished. Copper Creek Villas are the only resort that have them," he said. "Guests get so mad when they find their lights off."

YA THINK ???!!!!!

It wasn't til after he left that my mind flooded with questions.
1. Why isn't there a notification IN THE ROOM about the master switch?
2. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me about the master switch? (It would have saved time for us and eliminated the need for a service call.)
3. Who turned the master switch off?

Well I quickly figured out the answer to #3. It wasn't Em nor me, although it would have been easy to accidentally hit the switch on our way out of the room. Our trash had been emptied, which meant someone had been in the room for a "room check."

Each subsequent day we'd return to find that dang switch off!

Well Tuvalu wasn't going to be fooled this trip! I knew exactly what to do now if we discovered all our lights off.

Especially since the switch was more noticeable with a working LED light!

But the very strong floral scent which seemed to be being pumped into our room would turn out to be a different challenge.....

Guilty of this flub...

 

[cgersic]

Speaking of those pesky cups.....

 

[fractal]

Now for one of the most exciting pictures I have ever posted.

View attachment 663957

Tuvalu, why are you posting a picture of a light switch??!!

I am so glad you asked.

First let me tell you why I was excited to see this particular switch (located near the entry door) in our room.

Because it had a working LED light on the switch. Unlike the one in our Copper Creek studio last month.

Now to save y'all from scratching your head over a light switch, here is what I posted in a chit chat thread after our June stay ~

The following is a PSA for anyone considering a stay at Copper Creek Villas.

Em and I had spent a few hours at the pool. We returned to our room to discover than none of the lights worked (a real crisis since the toilet and shower were in total darkness with the door closed.) Oddly enough, the power outlets and TV worked.

I pushed the "maintenance" button on the room phone and explained the situation to the person who answered. "We'll send someone over," was the reply.

Fortunately it wasn't too long before there was a knock on our door. A maintenance CM stood in the hall with a CM in training. "What's going on?" he asked.

"None of our lights work," I said.

"Did you check the master switch?" (He shook his head knowingly at the trainee.)

"What master switch?"

He stepped towards me and pointed to a light switch behind me, nearest the room door.

For the record the switch looked EXACTLY like every other light switch in our room, with the exception of the teeny tiny printing over the switch on the right.

(**Note that the LED light above is off, when it should be on.**)

"Press it," he said. I did and the lights came on.

"Reedy Creek made us install the master switch when these rooms were refurbished. Copper Creek Villas are the only resort that have them," he said. "Guests get so mad when they find their lights off."

YA THINK ???!!!!!

It wasn't til after he left that my mind flooded with questions.
1. Why isn't there a notification IN THE ROOM about the master switch?
2. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me about the master switch? (It would have saved time for us and eliminated the need for a service call.)
3. Who turned the master switch off?

Well I quickly figured out the answer to #3. It wasn't Em nor me, although it would have been easy to accidentally hit the switch on our way out of the room. Our trash had been emptied, which meant someone had been in the room for a "room check."

Each subsequent day we'd return to find that dang switch off!

Well Tuvalu wasn't going to be fooled this trip! I knew exactly what to do now if we discovered all our lights off.

Especially since the switch was more noticeable with a working LED light!

But the very strong floral scent which seemed to be being pumped into our room would turn out to be a different challenge.....

 

[lindawdw]

The DVC pool at Copper Creek is so beautiful and relaxing so I can understand why you chose to go there for your morning versus staying at Storm-Along-Bay pool again. The last time we stayed at CC, we got the dormer room too which has a beautiful view if you're willing to stand the whole time. Thanks for the tip on the lights. Also, thank you for the history of the animal statues at Via Napoli which I will definitely be sure to check out the next time we visit there!

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

Before returning to the pool I picked up lunch from Roaring Fork. I have to commend Disney for the quality of their burgers at deluxe resort quick service restaurants. For the past few years each resort burger I’ve had has been tender and juicy with a nice beef flavor. Brioche buns are soft and fresh. The only wild card seems to be the tomato slice - and if it is poor, I pull it off. I did not have to do that today.

As Em and I enjoyed our poolside lunch, we witnessed some poor (or at least questionable) decisions being made by guests.

There was an extended family whose patriarch needed assistance to walk. He had arrived at the pool using a walker. Two family members held his arms as they gingerly walked him into the zero-depth-entry part of the pool. The three made it to knee-depth when the two let go of his arms and stepped away from him. His 50ish daughter then entered the water, insisting to take pictures of him. The photo shoot began with her POSING HIM in various ways as the poor man stood in the shallow water for minutes on end! Then she took him (holding his arm and trying to move him a bit faster than the two who had guided him into the pool) to the outdoor shower. Once he was in place, she made him pull the cord (so that he was under running water) and pose with a thumbs up!

Apparently her Instagram story was more important than the fact that her dad could fall at any moment.

Then there was a family who thought it was better on a hot afternoon to have their 6 month old nap IN THE POOL, rather than in sleep in air conditioned comfort back in their room.

I suppose the wet towel provided some protection from the Florida sun….

Most of you know that I am a rule follower. It frustrates me when others ignore them, especially when rules are posted for all to see:

No food or drink in the pool or on the wet pool deck.

I see others break this safety rule all the time. If you are in a private pool, do whatever you want. If you are in a public pool, please be considerate of others and don’t drink in or near the water.

And NEVER do this.

 

[Swissmiss]

I can’t believe the life guards allowed the sleeping baby!

 

[Tuvalu]

I can’t believe the life guards allowed the sleeping baby!

There are no lifeguards at the quiet pool.

Hence people take advantage to do what they want.

 

[MickeyCB]

6 month old nap IN THE POOL, rather than in sleep in air conditioned comfort back in their room.

What in the seven levels of hell?

The photo shoot began with her POSING HIM in various ways as the poor man stood in the shallow water for minutes on end! Then she took him (holding his arm and trying to move him a bit faster than the two who had guided him into the pool) to the outdoor shower. Once he was in place, she made him pull the cord (so that he was under running water) and pose with a thumbs up!

I wasn't an orthopedic surgeon during my career, but we still would have called this job security!

 

[amjt660]

Max

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

I know that sometimes DH and I worry(unnecessarily) that we aren’t doing all the right things for lil BES but I know we wouldn’t do a baby float nap in a pool. In the FL summer.

 

[lindawdw]

Society has definitely changed so much in the last ten years or so.

 

[MinnieM123]

Saturday, con’t

Before returning to the pool I picked up lunch from Roaring Fork. I have to commend Disney for the quality of their burgers at deluxe resort quick service restaurants. For the past few years each resort burger I’ve had has been tender and juicy with a nice beef flavor. Brioche buns are soft and fresh. The only wild card seems to be the tomato slice - and if it is poor, I pull it off. I did not have to do that today.

View attachment 664075

As Em and I enjoyed our poolside lunch, we witnessed some poor (or at least questionable) decisions being made by guests.

There was an extended family of Asians (not being racist here, just describing the scene) whose patriarch needed assistance to walk. He had arrived at the pool using a walker. Two family members held his arms as they gingerly walked him into the zero-depth-entry part of the pool. The three made it to knee-depth when the two let go of his arms and stepped away from him. His 50ish daughter then entered the water, insisting to take pictures of him. The photo shoot began with her POSING HIM in various ways as the poor man stood in the shallow water for minutes on end! Then she took him (holding his arm and trying to move him a bit faster than the two who had guided him into the pool) to the outdoor shower. Once he was in place, she made him pull the cord (so that he was under running water) and pose with a thumbs up!

Apparently her Instagram story was more important than the fact that her dad could fall at any moment.

Then there was a family who thought it was better on a hot afternoon to have their 6 month old nap IN THE POOL, rather than in sleep in air conditioned comfort back in their room.

View attachment 664076
I suppose the wet towel provided some protection from the Florida sun….

Most of you know that I am a rule follower. It frustrates me when others ignore them, especially when rules are posted for all to see:

No food or drink in the pool or on the wet pool deck.

I see others break this safety rule all the time. If you are in a private pool, do whatever you want. If you are in a public pool, please be considerate of others and don’t drink in or near the water.

And NEVER do this.
View attachment 664077

The baby . . .

Moving right along -- why would anyone want to bring a drink or food with them, while they're in the pool??!!! Maybe I'm just not "with the program" but when I go to a pool, all I want to do is SWIM.

 

[Tuvalu]

What in the seven levels of hell?


I wasn't an orthopedic surgeon during my career, but we still would have called this job security!

Max

I know that sometimes DH and I worry(unnecessarily) that we aren’t doing all the right things for lil BES but I know we wouldn’t do a baby float nap in a pool. In the FL summer.

Society has definitely changed so much in the last ten years or so.

The baby . . .

Moving right along -- why would anyone want to bring a drink or food with them, while they're in the pool??!!! Maybe I'm just not "with the program" but when I go to a pool, all I want to do is SWIM.

One word summary:

 

[Tuvalu]

Moving right along -- why would anyone want to bring a drink or food with them, while they're in the pool??!!! Maybe I'm just not "with the program" but when I go to a pool, all I want to do is SWIM.

People on vacation like to drink. Disney won’t let this market go “untapped” so to speak ~ which is why bar servers walk around all deluxe pools taking orders and delivering them.

This is fine if people stay on their loungers or utilize nearby tables and chairs.

Servers won’t hand libations to guests in the water but that doesn’t stop people from taking them into the pool. Servers used to gently remind guests if they saw them breaking the rules, but recently most servers have become intentionally blind to the abuse and ignore the rule violation. Probably because they don’t want a confrontation.

On the other hand if a manager happens to see something, they will correct the guest (and as often as necessary.)

 

[fractal]

The baby . . .

Moving right along -- why would anyone want to bring a drink or food with them, while they're in the pool??!!! Maybe I'm just not "with the program" but when I go to a pool, all I want to do is SWIM.

I'm at my cousin's summer house right now. It's in a beautiful gated community which includes a large community pool where drinks are allowed and served to you while in the pool. It's quite the scene - almost everyone with a drink milling around. I've swam in it a few times and have gotten a lot of nasty looks. Lol!