Ultrafeast: Beach Club CL Trip March 2010 - New 7/6

[NessieBird]

Kevin’s verdict on the Beverly – almost as bad as Chino, basically a clear version of Chino. Chino is an Italian soda that we became obsessed with and collected many bottles of during a trip to Italy a few years ago. It is truly disgusting. Because of our obsession with Chino, Kevy said he was naturally drawn to the Italian soda in the Club Cool selections.

Chino? Like San Pellegrino Chinotto? OMG--It's my fav!
I'm always so happy when it's at a restaurant or store!
However, I do realize I'm probably in the minority... No matter: more Chinotto for me!

 

[Scott MC]

Kevin’s verdict on the Beverly – almost as bad as Chino, basically a clear version of Chino. Chino is an Italian soda that we became obsessed with and collected many bottles of during a trip to Italy a few years ago. It is truly disgusting. Because of our obsession with Chino, Kevy said he was naturally drawn to the Italian soda in the Club Cool selections.

Chino? Like San Pellegrino Chinotto? OMG--It's my fav!
I'm always so happy when it's at a restaurant or store!
However, I do realize I'm probably in the minority... No matter: more Chinotto for me!

I agree with anything and everything that NessieBird says.

 

[UncleOrville]

Oh I just LOVE World Showcase! Great pictures! I just said to DH that on our next trip, we have to take pictures of the obvious things that we always see but never think to take pics of...like the FJORDING! How funny! I've been in that store a hundred times and never even looked at the name!

I know George! Do you listen to Lou Mongello's podcast? He had an interview with George a few years ago, so I purposely looked for him on our following trip. He brought us into the theatre for the last show of the night and he was pointing out all the flags and stuff on the way up the stairs, which I've never had a CM do before. Just a great CM!

I know, the Fjording is such a great name! And a great shop!

I don't listen to Lou Mongello's podcast - what a delight that he interviewed George! I may have to see if I can dig through the archives to listen!

I love cheese!

Me too!

Love all the pictures
I have heard mixed reviews about the Kim Possible missions--most say it gets boring after a while
SS about the dinner at Tutto's
Big prices with small portions but like you say a good value if you are on the dinning plan

Exactly - Tutto is a perfect option if you're on the dining plan.

Wonderful update! I just love the pics of all the topiaries! Now I've just added another time of year that I would like to try and visit!

Thanks! Early March was great - the Flower and Garden Festival was lovely!

Great update, loving all the pictures of WS, such a wonderful place, wish we were there now

Yummy looking cupcakes, would love to stay CL one day

Thanks - wish I were back now too!

You are making this incredibly difficult!! (In a good way) David and I are booked at the Poly right now for our August trip but are teetering between Beach Club and Boardwalk also!

Sorry to contribute to making the decision more difficult! If you guys like spending a lot of time in Epcot and the World Showcase specifically, the BC and Boardwalk would really be great options. And if you like hanging out at the pool, Stormalong Bay can't be beat (although sitting at the Poly volcano pool and seeing the Cinderella's castle in the distance is pretty awesome).

I'm in

We are dying to get into the BC. It was full for this trip

You got some amazing pics!!!

Thanks! Hopefully you'll get to try the BC on an upcoming trip!

Really enjoying your trip report, and love your pictures! I think it is so nice that you are traveling with your brother and sister. Looks like you had great weather too. We were there a few weeks earlier and it was cold. It was also our first trip to BC, and we loved it!

Thanks! Glad you loved the BC too! The weather was amazing at the beginning of the trip, but it got pretty wet toward the end of the week, unfortunately.

I loved the pics of China! You definitely have an eye for photographing the unusual (the stairs, the statues)

I would love to go to WDW during this time of year - the topiaries are beautiful! A friend at work is going May 2-8th and it will be his little girls' first vist. I'm so excited for them!

Thanks! You can tell I wasn't too invested in the Kim Possible mission by the number of pictures I took in China! I think the beginning of May will be a great time to be in DW - the topiaries will still be out, should be warm but not too hot, and should be before the summer crowds arrive - hopefully they'll have a great time!

Mmmmm...those pictures of your dinner at Tutto Italia are making me so hungry. I could really go for a good pasta dish right now. The cavetelli dish you got sounds amazing.

Great update!

Thanks! My pasta was so good - I'd love to have it again!

Loving your trip reports! I have traveled to the World with my sister and it's always a blast.

What brand are your sunglasses? Gucci? I've been looking for some squarish ones and I like yours.

Thanks! My sunglasses are Calvin Klein - I got them about a year ago, but at Century 21, so they may have originated a few seasons before then!

Kevin’s verdict on the Beverly – almost as bad as Chino, basically a clear version of Chino. Chino is an Italian soda that we became obsessed with and collected many bottles of during a trip to Italy a few years ago. It is truly disgusting. Because of our obsession with Chino, Kevy said he was naturally drawn to the Italian soda in the Club Cool selections.

Chino? Like San Pellegrino Chinotto? OMG--It's my fav!
I'm always so happy when it's at a restaurant or store!
However, I do realize I'm probably in the minority... No matter: more Chinotto for me!

The soda in Italy was actually called Chino - it looks like Coke, but tastes like Nyquil mixed with gasoline. I don't think it was short for Chinotto, but maybe? But if that is indeed the soda you like, you will probably love the Beverly in Club Cool!

I agree with anything and everything that NessieBird says.

Good - sounds reasonable to me!

 

[cocoabean1]

I've been to Disney maybe 25 times and I always try to look for new things every time I go- A few years ago, I began to notice that I was missing things- because I've been there so many times that I didn't notice things- "been there done that" was kind of my motto-
I didn't realize how much things had changed at Disney because I wasn't looking at things- I was just worried about getting on the next ride-
January I watched in awe at the fountains in Epcot set to music- I've been missing this by saying "yea, its only the fountains with music" and I would walk right past them

 

[joleen76]

I have stayed at both BC and YC. We love them. I do like the YC for a more adult trip better. DH & I stay at the YC for our honeymoon and were upgraded to a Lagoon view on the CL. It was awesome! Probably our most magical trip to date. Could have been it was our honeymoon too!

 

[UncleOrville]

I've been to Disney maybe 25 times and I always try to look for new things every time I go- A few years ago, I began to notice that I was missing things- because I've been there so many times that I didn't notice things- "been there done that" was kind of my motto-
I didn't realize how much things had changed at Disney because I wasn't looking at things- I was just worried about getting on the next ride-
January I watched in awe at the fountains in Epcot set to music- I've been missing this by saying "yea, its only the fountains with music" and I would walk right past them

I love slowing down and getting to notice things we've passed hundreds of times - watching the fountain at Epcot sounds great! We did it a lot this trip, and I'm hoping to keep it up for future trips!

I have stayed at both BC and YC. We love them. I do like the YC for a more adult trip better. DH & I stay at the YC for our honeymoon and were upgraded to a Lagoon view on the CL. It was awesome! Probably our most magical trip to date. Could have been it was our honeymoon too!

Sounds like an excellent upgrade!

 

[UncleOrville]

This morning I awoke way, way too early because it was 180 days before our September 2010 trip was to begin, and we all know what that means – ADRs! I brought my little mini laptop with me, and plugged in the Ethernet cord (found in a little bag hanging in the closet of our room), and for $10 charged to our room, we were good to go for 24 hours from the time of plug-in. I had woken up at about 6:20 am and was done a bit before 7. I got really insane ADRs since I had only really wanted to get ‘Ohana and Le Cellier to ensure we’d be able to eat there at some point, and had no idea what else I wanted to get. I’ve since canceled the crazy ADRs I got, and we now have some that we think we’ll actually want to keep in September (but we shall see)!

Anyway, once I was done with my early morning business (which I completed in the pitch-black room, aside from the glow of my laptop), I started to get ready and then woke up Kevin and Laura, who cried and cried. But only for a bit. Laura spent quite a while enjoying pictures of Zac Efron at the Oscars from the night before – she was loving that we’d had to buy the internet for a day, particularly this day. She says she has no idea how we made it out the door anywhere near on time this morning, since she was just looking at Efron pics for hours.

We went to the CL lounge sometime around 8:15 am, and were pleased to see that oatmeal (with optional toppings raisins, brown sugar, dried cranberries, and almonds) and fresh fruit were available. The food area wasn’t very crowded at this time, but there were no empty tables – what to do? I pondered as I collected my food, and once I was finished, I found Kevy seated at the baby counter, reading the Wall Street Journal (available for free in the CL lounge). I laughed and laughed at this sight and he said, “what? I found us these seats.” And so I sat and we all ate. Kevy’s legs did not quite fit, but overall we found the seating to be pretty grand.

Laura and I dined on oatmeal and fruit, and Kevy had a few random things, including mini bagels, which he said were quite good.

We finished our breakfasts and headed down to the boat dock a bit later than we had planned to, but that’s always the case with us. We saw a boat headed toward MGM pulling away just as we were getting to the dock, so we walked quickly/ ran over to the Swan/ Dolphin to try to catch it. When we could choose to go over the hill bridge or go on a flat path, we chose the flat path. Turned out, we chose wrong – the flat path that looked like it went straight to the boat dock zig-zagged in and out many times, so it was much longer than we had anticipated – and we missed the boat. We had to wait about 15 minutes before the next MGM-bound Friendship arrived at the Fish.

We ended up getting to MGM at about 9:05, so not too bad.

We immediately headed back to Toy Story Mania and grabbed FPs before hopping in the standby queue. The wait for us to get on was about 15 minutes. The first ride on TSM is always a bit rough, but I rode with Kevy, the former video game fiend, and actually beat him! Starting out to be a good morning for me!

After TSM, we went to the Tower/ Rockin Rollercoaster area, and rode the Rollercoaster with no wait. Unfortunately, the Tower had an outrageously long wait, so we had to refuse to ride standby. We waited around that area for a few more minutes to allow us to get FPs again, and then grabbed FPs for the Tower.

 

[UncleOrville]

Up next was an animation class. We went in through the art shop, where a CM who saw us explained that there was now a line in the main animation queue area that would allow us to skip the film to get into the animation building (when I explained that we were trying to get to the animation class). We were afraid he’d make us exit and go out to the queue, but he said we could just keep that in mind for the future. Nice! An animation class was letting in just a few minutes after we’d arrived, and we were happy to go in and draw Donald. We drew a beak-closed Donald, which is a bit strange, but all of our drawings turned out pretty nice. I love the animation class, and would definitely recommend it!


Next we stood in a pretty long queue to meet the Up characters. Kevin refused to get into the pic with us (even though we explained that his name buddy, Kevin the girl bird, would be in the pic ), which we hated! But, it all worked out since for some reason the Photopass photographer and the character minder paid us no attention – at least we had Kevy to take a pic for us! Notice that I am holding Dug’s hand. Weird.


After our Up meet and greet, we used our Fast Passes to ride TSM.


Then we walked through the streets of America (for some unexplained reason) and back to the Tower to ride with our FPs.

As we were making our way out of the park after our Tower ride, Laura tried to find her cell phone, and found that it had gone missing! We deduced that it had probably fallen out of the top section of her bag during a turn on TSM, and went into guest services at the front of the park to ask about a lost and found. We were told that even if the phone was lost on TSM and turned in to CMs there that the CMs would not be allowed to give it to us – it was procedure to turn it in to guest services. So we did not bother trying to locate the phone at TSM. We were also told that all lost items are brought at the end of the day to a central lost and found located near the TTC, and that if Laura’s cell phone were found and turned in, we’d be able to pick it up there the next day. This sounded complicated, so we asked if we’d be allowed to get it at the MGM lost and found if it were returned before the end of the day. The very nice CM there told us to check back before we were leaving, but we explained that we’d be leaving the park then and asked if we could call there later that evening to check for the phone. She gave us the phone number for guest services at MGM, and we were on our way, hoping that we’d be able to return there later to retrieve the phone.

After exiting the park, we waited a few minutes for a Friendship to pick us up, but it was a nice wait – it was warm, there was a nice breeze, and few ducks swimming around to look at, and some art critiquing to accomplish.

 

[UncleOrville]

We stopped quickly in the CL lounge to grab some drinks and snacks, dropped our artwork off in our room and freshened up for a few minutes, and then were out the door again to head to Epcot for lunch at Le Cellier. The only time I could get us into Le Cellier for this trip was for a late 2:30 pm lunch this day, and it turned out to be a perfect time to eat for us. Breakfast in the CL lounge, a cookie from the lounge that I had taken with me to MGM, snacks in the lounge, late lunch at Le Cellier, evening appetizers in the lounge and dessert in the lounge made up our meals this day. I thought we might have needed to get a CS dinner later that night, but the CL food ended up being perfect for us after a big lunch.

Now back to our big lunch (second lunch) – we had some time to kill until our ADR time after arriving in Epcot, so we wandered around the shops in England and the Canadian pavilion for a bit.

We were seated soon after checking in at Le Cellier. We had a great server who was very helpful with general suggestions for us and with Laura’s food allergies. The chef who came to talk to Laura was wonderful – very knowledgeable about her allergies and vegan options, and very nice. Since Laura really can’t eat anything on the menu, the chef asked her what kind of dish she’d like. She asked for any sort of pasta he had with the vegetables available in various places on the menu – mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes. He made her a really delicious pasta that she loved.

I ordered a cheddar cheese soup and the mushroom filet. I had never tried the cheddar cheese soup, but had heard great things about it, and figured now that I was not on the dining plan would be the time to try it. It was quite good, but very, very salty and had more bacon in it than I was anticipating. The pretzel bread dipped into it was great. Because it was so rich and salty, I was finished after eating about half of the soup, and passed the rest along to Kevy. He liked it a lot too, but said he was glad we’d only ordered one as he wouldn’t have been able to eat more than half.

My mushroom filet was divine, as usual.

Kevin had seen someone walking out of Le Cellier with what looked like a large sandwich wrapped in tinfoil when we were waiting to go in. Laura and I insisted that it was probably several breadsticks wrapped up, but regardless, Kevy’s heart was set on a sandwich. Though I tried to convince him to order the mushroom filet, he insisted upon a steak sandwich. He said his sandwich and the fries were very good, but a bite of my filet convinced him that we needed to return to Le Cellier later in the week.

When our server asked how we’d enjoyed our meals, we told her we were hoping to get back in later in the week. She told us that they’d had some openings early in the dinner seating that week, and suggested we check in at the podium at about 4 pm on the day we wanted to eat there.

Stuffed and happy, we made our way out of Canada.

 

[VBsHustla]

How unfair that you were given the honor of holding my hero Dug's hand!

 

[UncleOrville]

We wandered into Future World and through the butterfly garden. The butterfly area was pretty unimpressive – I think it was too cold and early in the season for there to be many butterflies out – but the Tinkerbell fairies topiaries were beautiful.

After visiting with the one butterfly who was fluttering around, we went into Innoventions East to check out what was in there. We found the Sum of All Thrills, the create-your-own rollercoaster thing. There were a few people lined up, so we queued up behind them and were let almost immediately into a briefing room. The briefing room held spots for either 6 or 8 roller coaster designs, and each roller coaster allowed up to two people. Laura and I paired off, and Kevy was left to create his own coaster. The briefing video was short and explained how physics and engineering are essential to creating roller coasters. Once the video ended, we were let into an area with computer screens and went to the number on the computer that corresponded to the numbered spot we’d been standing on in the briefing room. Each roller coaster consisted of about four or five pieces, and after choosing each piece, we set the ride’s speed to be high enough to get over that particular hill or loop. Laura and I named our rollercoaster “The Roaring Star” – the most absurd combo we could make from the names available to us (there’s one column with several verbs and a second column with several nouns to choose from). Once we’d finished creating our ride, a CM directed us to an area with two ride simulators. There are two areas with two ride simulators each. While standing there, we could see a CM watching the faces of the people in the simulators on monitors, which was a bit bizarre. We vowed to look great during our ride. Once it was our turn, we were required to remove our flip flops due to our having included an upside-down loop in our coaster. We were seated and then the monitor closed around us – I couldn’t see Laura at all – the ride completely closes around you. If you’re with a child who will be scared not being able to talk to you, hold your hand, etc. or you’re claustrophobic, this is probably not a good ride for you. I was able to see Laura’s face on a video screen in the top corner of the ride simulator screen, which was pretty cool. Our ride was pretty good, but if we do this again, we will go the maximum speed allowed for each segment and put in as many upside-down segments as possible.

Next up was our pilgrimage to the Nsync photo wall – located in section F of the first photo wall on the right when you enter the park and are looking at the photo walls.

The topiaries in the front garden area were awesome – lots of great details and also a great scene overall. Lots of people were taking pictures with and of the topiaries, so it was hard to get shots here.

We will have to leave you for now, but not to worry, we will be back soon!

 

[UncleOrville]

How unfair that you were given the honor of holding my hero Dug's hand!

I'm sorry! At least Kevin the bird was standing right over your head!

 

[JanetMom]

Loving your pictures! The sky looks amazing in some of your boardwalk shots.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I see Kevin is wearing a JMU tshirt! Does he go to school there? I went to Radford!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Another great update...love the pics

So sorry about the cell phone. Hope it turns up!

Never knew about the NSync photos on the wall

 

[Nicole786]

I just love Le Cellier!! Next time you get the mushroom filet, ask them to butterfly it--it is soo good this way, it doesn't affect the taste, but it makes it thinner and last longer lol.

Dont you love being the designated "wake up at the crack of dawn and book dining" person? That would be me as well for any and all trips. For the August trip, at least I had my brother texting me from school going "did you get Le Cellier? Did you get Kona?"

 

[NMW]

Awesome TR subscribing

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Oh. My. Goodness.

How did I not know that the members of NSYNC have their pictures on the Epcot monument-things? That is so cool! My sister and I will definitely have to make the pilgrimage to these photos on our next trip. Maybe I'll do the Bye Bye Bye dance to properly honor the greatness that is NSYNC.

 

[UncleOrville]

Loving your pictures! The sky looks amazing in some of your boardwalk shots.

Thanks! We had some beautiful weather at the beginning of the trip!

I see Kevin is wearing a JMU tshirt! Does he go to school there? I went to Radford!

One of his best friends from home goes to JMU, so Kevin's been to visit a bunch of times and loves it there! We figured we'd have a ton of people asking if he went to JMU when we were in the parks, but only one person did. Kevin actually goes to Penn State, so we'll probably be seeing some Penn State gear at some point in this TR.

Another great update...love the pics

So sorry about the cell phone. Hope it turns up!

Never knew about the NSync photos on the wall

Thanks! Oh yeah, I forgot about the cell phone - could have used that as a cliffhanger. You can tell it doesn't end too badly! The Nsync photos are pretty great!

I just love Le Cellier!! Next time you get the mushroom filet, ask them to butterfly it--it is soo good this way, it doesn't affect the taste, but it makes it thinner and last longer lol.

Dont you love being the designated "wake up at the crack of dawn and book dining" person? That would be me as well for any and all trips. For the August trip, at least I had my brother texting me from school going "did you get Le Cellier? Did you get Kona?"

Thanks for the tip about the filet - I'll try it next time!

Being the crack of dawn ADR maker is just grand! But, I do it to myself, really - no one else would care if ADRs weren't made as early as possible and we didn't get everything I wanted, unfortunately! That's awesome that your brother was checking on your progress - it feels good to share the success!

Awesome TR subscribing

Thanks!

Oh. My. Goodness.

How did I not know that the members of NSYNC have their pictures on the Epcot monument-things? That is so cool! My sister and I will definitely have to make the pilgrimage to these photos on our next trip. Maybe I'll do the Bye Bye Bye dance to properly honor the greatness that is NSYNC.

Isn't it cool? Laura was a master Nsync stalker as a 12-year-old, so she probably found out about the pictures as they were being taken via an Nsync message board. You should do the Bye Bye Bye dance in front of the photos - they're right up in front, so the crowds entering Epcot will love it!

 

[vettegirl]

Great photos of the F&G festival. I am going to miss it by 3 days this year, but that is okay we are going to the Star Wars weekend for the first time. Great review of Le Cellier, we are eating there for the first time next month. I agree the soup is a bit much with salt and bacon, I had some at the F&W back in October. It's funny though I made my own at home from the allears.net recipe and it was devine. Looking forward to hearing more of your TR.