- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
Friday 25th August - Big Breakfast and Beach Club
The much-anticipated day had finally arrived. Today we were leaving to head to Disney for the final leg of our holiday and our first ever stay at the Beach Club Villas at Walt Disney World. This was the only WDW DVC resort we hadnt yet stayed at and we were all pretty excited.
But first, breakfast! Earlier in the year, while researching new restaurants to try this trip, I came across Kekes Breakfast Café. Both Gary and I loved the look of the menu and decided we would have to make a trip out there for breakfast.
So it was that, once up and packed, we were heading towards the Mall @ Millennia and Kekes.
Kekes It does what it says on the sign
In actual fact, Kekes doesnt just serve breakfast, they also have a pretty extensive lunch/brunch menu. But breakfast is what we had come for and breakfast is exactly what we got. There was quite a wait for a table; this place is obviously pretty popular with the locals. We didnt see a single other Brit in here (that isnt to say there werent any but they werent obvious if there were). Daniel was getting impatient and hungry but we were soon sat at a cosy booth.
Feed me Seymour
Even though wed all looked at the menu at home, we had forgotten how extensive it was. There are so many combinations; it was really hard to decide. The poor guy came back a couple of times to check on us and we were still deliberating. Finally, the choices were made.
A half order of Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Daniel was a bit disappointed that our server recommended he only get a half order but, to be honest, he struggled to eat what he had. The pancake was absolutely huge and extremely delicious. It was crispy on the outside, light and fluffy in the middle with plenty of choc chips and a lovely banana flavour.
I pondered for some time between pancakes and french toast and finally settled on
Apple Cinnamon French Toast
Oh. My. Goodness!!! This was like heaven on a plate. The french toast was perfectly cooked, not gooey like it can be when its been over-soaked in the batter. The apples were soft, sweet and cinnamon-y. What I wouldnt give for a plate of that French toast right now.
Gary was feeling particularly hungry this morning and decided to have two breakfasts, an entrée breakfast and a dessert breakfast.
For entrée, we have a rather nice (if slightly boring) scrambled egg and whole wheat toast.
Tasty but a bit dull
However, his dessert more than made up for it. May I present to you [drum roll please] .
Turtle Stuffed French Toast
Where my french toast was heaven on a plate, this was Utopia! Pecans, chocolate and caramel cream cheese stuffed inside French toast, drizzled generously with more chocolate, topped with pecans and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. Sheer deliciousness.
Needless to say, we all struggled to finish and knew that we would not need to eat for a very long time.
We paid the check (a very reasonable $40 inc tip) and rolled ourselves, groaning, to the car. We knew that we couldnt check in to the Beach Club until 4pm so had decided to do some shopping. First we stopped at Walmart to buy some bread, chips, Pepsi Max and other essentials for the next few days. We also got some Pop Tarts and Sour Skittles to bring home for Sian, and some Pay Day bars for friends. We had been asked to bring back some Nestle Crunch bars for another friend but couldnt find any.
By now, it was almost 1.30pm so we thought we would try our luck at checking in early to the resort. Gary dropped me off outside the Beach Club and I went on in to reception to check in. I was helped by a young CM, from India, who was on the International College Programme. He was very nice and chatty, insisted on giving me pins for our Anniversary (which had been the week before) and an extra pin for Daniel. He asked if I had any special requests for room location or view. I said that we hadnt made any requests but if there was a room available with a nice view, I would appreciate it. He made a quick call and put the phone down smiling. He explained that there was a room available with a wonderful view but it wasnt quite ready yet. I told him that was fine, that we would head off and do some shopping and come back later, after 4. He said that he felt sure the view would be worth the wait for the room and I thanked him and went back to the car to tell Gary about the wonderful room we had been given.
We couldnt decide what to do to kill a couple of hours so decided to head for Downtown Disney, where we wandered around the shops but didnt buy very much. Daniel really wanted the WDW Monorail set but realised it would cost all of his spending money so couldnt quite bring himself to buy it.
Unbelievably, Daniel and I were both feeling a little peckish (maybe because wed only had one breakfast each this morning) so we popped in to Earl of Sandwich. We shared an Earls Club (no sauce) and a fruit cup.
Healthy food
Tweedledee, Tweedledum and TweedleDaniel
It was almost 4pm by now and we had dinner reservations (yes, more food) at House of Blues at 6pm so decided to head back to Beach Club so we could shower and change. We had decided we would get the bus back tonight so Gary could have a couple of drinks for a change, without having to worry about driving.
Back at the Beach Club, I went back to the front desk to check that the room was definitely ready. The CM I spoke to apologised but said unfortunately the room was still being cleaned. She suggested that we wait in the lobby and said it shouldnt be too long and she would come and find me to let me know when it was ready. At 4.30, she still hadnt come over so I went back to the front desk to check again. Apparently, the room still wasnt ready but she couldnt understand why that would be, so made a call to housekeeping, who said they would send somebody to check. She did offer to give us another room and I was tempted but the CM earlier had said we had such a great room that I didnt want to give that up. We had already been given the room number when I checked in so I offered to go and check myself but was told that wouldnt be necessary. After another 20 minutes of waiting, I was getting a bit annoyed so went back up to the front desk once more. At this point, a manager had also approached Gary to ask if there was a problem (presumably, three people just hanging around in the lobby with a bunch of luggage must look a bit suspicious). Gary explained and she said she would get it sorted straight away. She came over to speak to the CM behind the desk and, within minutes, I was told the room was ready and we could head on up. It was now 5.10pm. We dragged our luggage through the lobby, down the corridor and out towards the Beach Club Villas. Up the elevator and along the loooooooooooong hallway. The room we had been allocated was at the very end of the hallway, on the right. We finally arrived outside the room, tried the key and nothing. The key would not unlock the door. We tried all three keys and none of them worked. This was the point at which Id had enough. I marched right back to the front desk and spied the same Manager who had spoken to Gary earlier. I explained the problem and, its fair to say, also vented a little of my frustration. I wasnt rude and nor did I shout but I was (understandably, I think) a little bit fed up. It was almost 5.30, we had dinner reservations at 6 that we were clearly not going to make now, we had been waiting for almost 90 minutes for our room to be ready and now couldnt actually get in. The manager, to her credit, immediately spoke to the young CM I had been speaking to before, reset all the keys and told me that she would also accompany us up to the room with a master key. The manager offered us some compensation for the inconvenience and offered to get us a taxi to Downtown Disney for our dinner reservation.
As we were walking back to the room, the young CM was chatting away and said that, once we were in the room, if we didnt like it, there was another room available which they could let us have. I was a bit concerned at this point as to what could be wrong with the room but didnt think anything of it. I thought maybe they were just trying to be super helpful to make up for the problems wed had so far. We finally arrived back at the room, tried the key and this time it worked. Hurrah! We thanked the CM and she left, repeating her offer about changing rooms if we wished. After dragging all the luggage in, Gary strode across the room, saying Lets see if this view is worth all the fuss then. He pulled back the curtain and there it was. A road below to the left, trees directly in front of us and not much else. To top it all off, it was bloody raining! To say I was disappointed is a complete understatement. We discussed it briefly and decided that we would call and see where the other room was that they had available, thinking it might at least be nearer the elevators, since the view from this room clearly was not as promised. The young CM said that we should call in at the front desk when we came back from dinner and they would have a new set of keys available for us, for the new room. Now, dont get me wrong, had this been the original room we had been allocated and we hadnt had the promise of a great view, great location and all the hassles with actually getting in to the room, we would have put up and shut up but we all agreed that we would rather have a different room and start again, as such.
So, with that decided, we quickly freshened up and headed out for dinner.
We decided to just catch the bus, rather than worry about getting a cab. This was probably a mistake, in hindsight, since the buses to Downtown Disney dont stop at West Side, which was where we needed to be, and it was still raining. We were already running late as well. Eventually, we arrived at House of Blues, slightly bedraggled and very late.
House of Blues
Luckily, it was still early and they had no problem seating us, despite our tardiness, and we were led to a table in the back with a view of the water across the restaurant (which would have been lovely if it hadnt been such a miserable evening).
Not much of a view
Our server was clearly very intuitive and asked if he could get us some drinks. Five minutes later, all was right with the world when he placed one of these in front of me.
Cosmopolitan, sweet Cosmopolitan
Gary also got his beer.
Beer, wonderful Beer
It took us a while to decide what we wanted to eat, partly because none of us were particularly hungry (except Daniel, who always is) and partly because there was so much to choose from. We decided to skip appetisers and head straight for the good stuff. I had more or less decided on the fried chicken but was wavering over whether to have the steak. Gary and I decided we would order the steak and the chicken and split. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to put up with overcooked steak (Gary likes his medium-well) but it was a small sacrifice. Daniel ordered the pepperoni pizza.
The food came quickly, together with another couple of drinks.
Pizza with pepperoni
(Its not Kentucky) Fried Chicken
Steak and mash
Everything was delicious even the over-cooked steak! The chicken was really tasty, with a crunchy, slightly spicy coating. Daniel really enjoyed his pizza too. We will definitely be back to House of Blues.
In Blues we Trust
Back outside, it had stopped raining and so we decided to walk off our dinner, then head to Ghirardelli for some dessert.
Look at my Bongos
Hmm, she looks familiar
Danielmation
We came across this band playing. I have no idea what they were called or who they were but they were pretty good.
The Unknown Band
A bit further along, we came across this living statue. A couple of rather unruly little kids were prancing about in front of him and kept pretending they were going to push him over. The parents seemed to think it was hilarious. Personally, I kept hoping he might accidentally swing his guitar around and thwack one of them on the head.
Strike a pose!
We arrived at Ghirardelli and placed our orders. Back in May, I read jerseytinkerbells Spring Fling food reviews and got the genius idea of ordering my favourite Ghirardelli sundae in a waffle bowl. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you
Mint Bliss Sundae in a waffle bowl (sans whipped cream)
Hot Fudge Sundae in a waffle bowl
The waffle bowls totally kicked the Ghirardelli sundaes from totally amazing to downright awesome! Pure ice-cream ecstasy.
Suitably stuffed and ready to drop, we made our way to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Beach Club, where we stopped at the front desk to get new keys and (hopefully) a better room.
This time we were allocated a room that was pretty much opposite the elevator, with a view of the quiet pool. It was a great room and one that we would have been more than happy with in the first place. All that was left to do was to bring our luggage from the old room back to the new one. The CM had said we could keep the old room until the morning but we just wanted to move in and get settled so we brought all of our stuff down and unpacked.
Finally home!
We were completely worn out and still stuffed so made up Daniels sofa bed, then all climbed into our bed and watched television for a while before settling down, ready for an early start tomorrow.
The much-anticipated day had finally arrived. Today we were leaving to head to Disney for the final leg of our holiday and our first ever stay at the Beach Club Villas at Walt Disney World. This was the only WDW DVC resort we hadnt yet stayed at and we were all pretty excited.
But first, breakfast! Earlier in the year, while researching new restaurants to try this trip, I came across Kekes Breakfast Café. Both Gary and I loved the look of the menu and decided we would have to make a trip out there for breakfast.
So it was that, once up and packed, we were heading towards the Mall @ Millennia and Kekes.
Kekes It does what it says on the sign
In actual fact, Kekes doesnt just serve breakfast, they also have a pretty extensive lunch/brunch menu. But breakfast is what we had come for and breakfast is exactly what we got. There was quite a wait for a table; this place is obviously pretty popular with the locals. We didnt see a single other Brit in here (that isnt to say there werent any but they werent obvious if there were). Daniel was getting impatient and hungry but we were soon sat at a cosy booth.
Feed me Seymour
Even though wed all looked at the menu at home, we had forgotten how extensive it was. There are so many combinations; it was really hard to decide. The poor guy came back a couple of times to check on us and we were still deliberating. Finally, the choices were made.
A half order of Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Daniel was a bit disappointed that our server recommended he only get a half order but, to be honest, he struggled to eat what he had. The pancake was absolutely huge and extremely delicious. It was crispy on the outside, light and fluffy in the middle with plenty of choc chips and a lovely banana flavour.
I pondered for some time between pancakes and french toast and finally settled on
Apple Cinnamon French Toast
Oh. My. Goodness!!! This was like heaven on a plate. The french toast was perfectly cooked, not gooey like it can be when its been over-soaked in the batter. The apples were soft, sweet and cinnamon-y. What I wouldnt give for a plate of that French toast right now.
Gary was feeling particularly hungry this morning and decided to have two breakfasts, an entrée breakfast and a dessert breakfast.
For entrée, we have a rather nice (if slightly boring) scrambled egg and whole wheat toast.
Tasty but a bit dull
However, his dessert more than made up for it. May I present to you [drum roll please] .
Turtle Stuffed French Toast
Where my french toast was heaven on a plate, this was Utopia! Pecans, chocolate and caramel cream cheese stuffed inside French toast, drizzled generously with more chocolate, topped with pecans and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. Sheer deliciousness.
Needless to say, we all struggled to finish and knew that we would not need to eat for a very long time.
We paid the check (a very reasonable $40 inc tip) and rolled ourselves, groaning, to the car. We knew that we couldnt check in to the Beach Club until 4pm so had decided to do some shopping. First we stopped at Walmart to buy some bread, chips, Pepsi Max and other essentials for the next few days. We also got some Pop Tarts and Sour Skittles to bring home for Sian, and some Pay Day bars for friends. We had been asked to bring back some Nestle Crunch bars for another friend but couldnt find any.
By now, it was almost 1.30pm so we thought we would try our luck at checking in early to the resort. Gary dropped me off outside the Beach Club and I went on in to reception to check in. I was helped by a young CM, from India, who was on the International College Programme. He was very nice and chatty, insisted on giving me pins for our Anniversary (which had been the week before) and an extra pin for Daniel. He asked if I had any special requests for room location or view. I said that we hadnt made any requests but if there was a room available with a nice view, I would appreciate it. He made a quick call and put the phone down smiling. He explained that there was a room available with a wonderful view but it wasnt quite ready yet. I told him that was fine, that we would head off and do some shopping and come back later, after 4. He said that he felt sure the view would be worth the wait for the room and I thanked him and went back to the car to tell Gary about the wonderful room we had been given.
We couldnt decide what to do to kill a couple of hours so decided to head for Downtown Disney, where we wandered around the shops but didnt buy very much. Daniel really wanted the WDW Monorail set but realised it would cost all of his spending money so couldnt quite bring himself to buy it.
Unbelievably, Daniel and I were both feeling a little peckish (maybe because wed only had one breakfast each this morning) so we popped in to Earl of Sandwich. We shared an Earls Club (no sauce) and a fruit cup.
Healthy food
Tweedledee, Tweedledum and TweedleDaniel
It was almost 4pm by now and we had dinner reservations (yes, more food) at House of Blues at 6pm so decided to head back to Beach Club so we could shower and change. We had decided we would get the bus back tonight so Gary could have a couple of drinks for a change, without having to worry about driving.
Back at the Beach Club, I went back to the front desk to check that the room was definitely ready. The CM I spoke to apologised but said unfortunately the room was still being cleaned. She suggested that we wait in the lobby and said it shouldnt be too long and she would come and find me to let me know when it was ready. At 4.30, she still hadnt come over so I went back to the front desk to check again. Apparently, the room still wasnt ready but she couldnt understand why that would be, so made a call to housekeeping, who said they would send somebody to check. She did offer to give us another room and I was tempted but the CM earlier had said we had such a great room that I didnt want to give that up. We had already been given the room number when I checked in so I offered to go and check myself but was told that wouldnt be necessary. After another 20 minutes of waiting, I was getting a bit annoyed so went back up to the front desk once more. At this point, a manager had also approached Gary to ask if there was a problem (presumably, three people just hanging around in the lobby with a bunch of luggage must look a bit suspicious). Gary explained and she said she would get it sorted straight away. She came over to speak to the CM behind the desk and, within minutes, I was told the room was ready and we could head on up. It was now 5.10pm. We dragged our luggage through the lobby, down the corridor and out towards the Beach Club Villas. Up the elevator and along the loooooooooooong hallway. The room we had been allocated was at the very end of the hallway, on the right. We finally arrived outside the room, tried the key and nothing. The key would not unlock the door. We tried all three keys and none of them worked. This was the point at which Id had enough. I marched right back to the front desk and spied the same Manager who had spoken to Gary earlier. I explained the problem and, its fair to say, also vented a little of my frustration. I wasnt rude and nor did I shout but I was (understandably, I think) a little bit fed up. It was almost 5.30, we had dinner reservations at 6 that we were clearly not going to make now, we had been waiting for almost 90 minutes for our room to be ready and now couldnt actually get in. The manager, to her credit, immediately spoke to the young CM I had been speaking to before, reset all the keys and told me that she would also accompany us up to the room with a master key. The manager offered us some compensation for the inconvenience and offered to get us a taxi to Downtown Disney for our dinner reservation.
As we were walking back to the room, the young CM was chatting away and said that, once we were in the room, if we didnt like it, there was another room available which they could let us have. I was a bit concerned at this point as to what could be wrong with the room but didnt think anything of it. I thought maybe they were just trying to be super helpful to make up for the problems wed had so far. We finally arrived back at the room, tried the key and this time it worked. Hurrah! We thanked the CM and she left, repeating her offer about changing rooms if we wished. After dragging all the luggage in, Gary strode across the room, saying Lets see if this view is worth all the fuss then. He pulled back the curtain and there it was. A road below to the left, trees directly in front of us and not much else. To top it all off, it was bloody raining! To say I was disappointed is a complete understatement. We discussed it briefly and decided that we would call and see where the other room was that they had available, thinking it might at least be nearer the elevators, since the view from this room clearly was not as promised. The young CM said that we should call in at the front desk when we came back from dinner and they would have a new set of keys available for us, for the new room. Now, dont get me wrong, had this been the original room we had been allocated and we hadnt had the promise of a great view, great location and all the hassles with actually getting in to the room, we would have put up and shut up but we all agreed that we would rather have a different room and start again, as such.
So, with that decided, we quickly freshened up and headed out for dinner.
We decided to just catch the bus, rather than worry about getting a cab. This was probably a mistake, in hindsight, since the buses to Downtown Disney dont stop at West Side, which was where we needed to be, and it was still raining. We were already running late as well. Eventually, we arrived at House of Blues, slightly bedraggled and very late.
House of Blues
Luckily, it was still early and they had no problem seating us, despite our tardiness, and we were led to a table in the back with a view of the water across the restaurant (which would have been lovely if it hadnt been such a miserable evening).
Not much of a view
Our server was clearly very intuitive and asked if he could get us some drinks. Five minutes later, all was right with the world when he placed one of these in front of me.
Cosmopolitan, sweet Cosmopolitan
Gary also got his beer.
Beer, wonderful Beer
It took us a while to decide what we wanted to eat, partly because none of us were particularly hungry (except Daniel, who always is) and partly because there was so much to choose from. We decided to skip appetisers and head straight for the good stuff. I had more or less decided on the fried chicken but was wavering over whether to have the steak. Gary and I decided we would order the steak and the chicken and split. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to put up with overcooked steak (Gary likes his medium-well) but it was a small sacrifice. Daniel ordered the pepperoni pizza.
The food came quickly, together with another couple of drinks.
Pizza with pepperoni
(Its not Kentucky) Fried Chicken
Steak and mash
Everything was delicious even the over-cooked steak! The chicken was really tasty, with a crunchy, slightly spicy coating. Daniel really enjoyed his pizza too. We will definitely be back to House of Blues.
In Blues we Trust
Back outside, it had stopped raining and so we decided to walk off our dinner, then head to Ghirardelli for some dessert.
Look at my Bongos
Hmm, she looks familiar
Danielmation
We came across this band playing. I have no idea what they were called or who they were but they were pretty good.
The Unknown Band
A bit further along, we came across this living statue. A couple of rather unruly little kids were prancing about in front of him and kept pretending they were going to push him over. The parents seemed to think it was hilarious. Personally, I kept hoping he might accidentally swing his guitar around and thwack one of them on the head.
Strike a pose!
We arrived at Ghirardelli and placed our orders. Back in May, I read jerseytinkerbells Spring Fling food reviews and got the genius idea of ordering my favourite Ghirardelli sundae in a waffle bowl. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you
Mint Bliss Sundae in a waffle bowl (sans whipped cream)
Hot Fudge Sundae in a waffle bowl
The waffle bowls totally kicked the Ghirardelli sundaes from totally amazing to downright awesome! Pure ice-cream ecstasy.
Suitably stuffed and ready to drop, we made our way to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Beach Club, where we stopped at the front desk to get new keys and (hopefully) a better room.
This time we were allocated a room that was pretty much opposite the elevator, with a view of the quiet pool. It was a great room and one that we would have been more than happy with in the first place. All that was left to do was to bring our luggage from the old room back to the new one. The CM had said we could keep the old room until the morning but we just wanted to move in and get settled so we brought all of our stuff down and unpacked.
Finally home!
We were completely worn out and still stuffed so made up Daniels sofa bed, then all climbed into our bed and watched television for a while before settling down, ready for an early start tomorrow.
I would like to hire you to choose all our eateries while we are in UK this spring... Can we pay in meals and martinis? 
and a little bit 
Definitely makes me want to do a similar trip...and also take DD to US and IOA when she's older...oh....and taller!!!
