Originally, we had planned to have an earlyish lunch at Teppan Edo today. (Had to be earlyish since our “dinner” was in fact to be a late lunch at Le Cellier
).
After sleeping in and spending a leisurely morning at Stormalong Bay (the beautiful Yacht and Beach club pool), however, we didn’t feel like packing up and rushing off to Epcot, so we cancelled Teppan Edo.
It is a bit of a pity, really, as this was already the second time we cancelled Teppan Edo for some reason – we had done the same on our last trip, so we still haven’t had a chance to try it out. We will definitely make reservations there on our next WDW trip, whenever that may turn out to be, and then we will make an effort
not to cancel again!
Anyway, today we went for the stress-free alternative, and that was just wandering over to Beaches and Cream from the pool, and going back for a little after-dinner sleep by the pool afterwards. Unusually laid back for a Disney holiday, I know. Our last trip had been so hectic that we had decided to definitely take it slower this trip, and make time for a bit of serious lazing around
.
This meant we only had a few dozen steps to walk to lunch, and we didn’t even need a reservation so we could just wander over spontaneously as soon as we started feeling peckish.
(This is a bit of a mixed blessing, of course: Beaches and Cream does not accept reservations at all, which means you can't really plan this ahead and may encounter really long waits if you're unlucky.)
They did not have any free tables, but we were sat straightaway at the counter where we proceeded to take strange pictures of ourselves.
The place's whole décor is meant to evoke a classic 1950s American diner. Or so I am told, anyway – I was neither in the USA nor even born in the 1950s
. Everything is bright and shining, in happy colours, and you can't help but feel good in this setting.
(Slightly blurry, sorry!)
The menu, sporting the same colours as the rest of the décor …
… and me, miraculously also sporting the same colours as the rest of the décor
...
... admiring my glorious strawberry smoothie. This was so yummy and irresistible that I ended up wandering over from the pool to get another one of these twice more during this trip
.
Ever-greedily, we ordered more than just smoothies:
Yummy, juicy cheeseburgers – a single one for me and a double one for DH. (Because I have so much more self-control than him. Not. Well, only ever this once.
)
They came with a choice of either french fries or fruit, and however much I love my fries, I was still vaguely aware of the fact that our next lunch-aka-dinner was only a few short hours away at Le Cellier. And thus we settled for the fruit – a nice light option!
Lots of bowls and glasses for the ice cream portions …
The most famous (or is it infamous?) ice cream dish that Beaches and Cream offers is the Kitchen Sink, a gigantic portion of dozens of scoops of ice cream with a gallon of cream and topped with every sauce and topping available within a 2-mile radius. Or something like that.
Let me tell you, though, that the thing is huge – and we were witnesses as a familiy of four (Mum, Dad and two pre-teen kids) ordered it
.
(I could kick myself for not taking a picture of that, but I was not quick enough in grabbing my camera and then I felt uncomfortable openly taking pictures of strangers.
Anyway, the lights went out and a flash light came on, the waiters launched into some spiel about the ingredients (“a can of cream – A WHOLE CAN!”), they carried the Kitchen Sink over to those people's table, and then you could see Mum in a shocked daze trying to comprehend what she had just ordered (and probably haunted by visions of having to deal with her hyper-sugar-crazed offspring for the remainder of the day).
Needless to say, they did not come close to finishing even half of it.
Not the kitchen sink.
(But rather a sad story really: This cute little guy was created, put down on the counter directly opposite us, and then proceeded to slowly melt into oblivion.
When he was almost gone, a server noticed him, chucked him, made a new one and served that to a customer.
)
All in all, we loved this place. Friendly, happy, colourful ambience, convenient location right next to the swimming pool (which is only open to Yacht and Beach Club guests, alas), gloriously yummy smoothies and great no-frills food (at affordable prices, even).
The only thing that was less-than-perfect was the air-conditioning: The place was as cold as the inside of a freezer (or the inside of the Sci-Fi Dine-In, where I almost froze my toes off the year before), so should you contemplate coming here straight from the pool wearing your not-yet-totally dry swimsuit underneath your clothes like I did, beware!!
Coming up next: Another lunch – this time at Le Cellier!
.
when we don't have an upcoming trip, but needed a bit of Disney food cheering up as my friend is off there in the morning, and i am just sooo envious, and there you were 
