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

[JMcDisney]

Awe, this is awesome! It brings back such great memories. We were at the Concierge Lounge in September at the Beach Club while this one was being remodeled, so ours was a temporary set up in the Presidential Suite. It's nice to see what it looked like when they were finished remodeling it.

We also love Norway shopping, particularly the Helly Hansen stuff, and being a vegan I love to see what Laura ate! Great job you guys!

 

[UncleOrville]

Photos are back!

Yes, we are back on track!

photos are back.

Great update, love the ToT pic

Am glad that Laura got her phone back, but how weird that you get a call to come and collect it and then they don't want to give it to you

Thanks! It was very strange that guest services was weird about giving Laura's phone to us, but luckily it all worked out.

Yay the photos are back! loved the update... DHS at night is such a fun park... especially ToT!!

Can't believe that Friendship took soo long to get to the park!! We hardly use the boats when I've stayed at YC & BWV... sometimes it seemed quicker to walk there lol

Looking forward to more!

Emma xx

Thanks! DHS seems like a really far walk from the BC, but I've never done it - I think we'll have to give it a try on our next trip!

Great update! Seeing all of the food from the lounge is making me realize that I should never stay concierge. I would get so fat with all of that food just sitting there all the time.

The CL lounge does have lots of good food!

Too bad you didn't make it over to MK for Spectro!

I think if I had been in that car riding ToT with you guys, I would have thought they were ducking down because they were getting sick (if you know what I mean) It probably would have weirded me out too not knowing what they were trying to do (and I still don't know) Sounds at least you guys were having fun.

We always do something weird in our ride pics, so they just ducked down because they thought it'd be strange!

Awe, this is awesome! It brings back such great memories. We were at the Concierge Lounge in September at the Beach Club while this one was being remodeled, so ours was a temporary set up in the Presidential Suite. It's nice to see what it looked like when they were finished remodeling it.

We also love Norway shopping, particularly the Helly Hansen stuff, and being a vegan I love to see what Laura ate! Great job you guys!

Glad you enjoyed your BC CL stay too and are liking the pics! And Laura is delighted to help a fellow vegan out by sharing her meal options!

 

[UncleOrville]

Today we woke up and got ready quickly and went to the CL lounge for breakfast. As per usual, we were running later than we’d wanted to be, but we finished breakfast and were headed out to walk over to the Dolphin to pick up a car we’d rented by about ten to 9 – we’d reserved the car for 9 am. This day, we were leaving Disney eek and venturing out to Tampa for a Yankees spring training game. I’d reserved a rental car through Alamo a few days earlier (mainly because I forgot to look into it more than a few days before our trip) and got a great rate – I’d checked a couple days before I actually reserved and the price was about $30 more than what I ended up paying 2 or 3 days later.

Anyway, on our way over to the Dolphin, we saw a family of ducks swimming in Stormalong Bay – it was a mommy duck and about 6 ducklings, who were too adorable to pass.

The mom and the ducklings hopped out of the pool after a bit and walked across the path we were walking on to get to the beach, but one little duckling could not make the jump to get out of the pool – he tried and tried, but kept falling back into the pool. It was so very sad! Kevy was ready to jump in to rescue him, but finally the resourceful little duckling realized he could swim down a bit to an area where a rock went from the water up to the side of the pool, so he walked up the rock and got to the sidewalk. Hooray! He was a few minutes behind the rest of his family at this point, so he let out a little quack. His mom heard and quacked out loudly, and our smart little guy ran over to the pathway. His mom then crossed back over to get him, and together they crossed back to the beach, where the family was united in a gross little polluted area of the beach. A beautiful scene.

Assured that all was well with our duck family, we proceeded to the Dolphin. We entered the lobby and found the car rental desk, where we were given our keys and the paperwork we’d need. It was a very quick process, and we walked out to the entrance where a valet pulled our rental car up for us. The car we got was very nice and drove well – it was some sort of Chevy. The whole rental process from the Dolphin was really quick and easy, and we’ll definitely rent from there again if we need a car during future trips.

Before we set out for Tampa, we made a pit-stop at a Walmart to buy a bag of baseballs and some Sharpies, in case we had the opportunity to get any autographs, since we had completely forgotten to bring anything to sign from home. We wanted to get to Tampa as early as possible to increase our chances of being able to get autographs, so Kevy was charged with finding the baseballs, Laura with finding the Sharpies, and I ran to the ladies’ room – surprise, surprise.

After the quickest Walmart trip ever, we set out for Tampa. There was no traffic, and the drive to Tampa was very easy – it was basically one highway the entire way down. Everyone was driving about 5 mph under the speed limit though, which was insane. I was able to zoom around these slow guys most of the time, so it was fine. Our only complaint about the drive was the horrendous radio station options – we could not find any contemporary pop or R&B stations. Luckily Laura had brought a mix CD that she’d made at home, so we were able to listen to that.

When we arrived in Tampa, we were surprised by how gross the area around the Yankees’ field was. When we were driving up, we saw a small practice field that was surrounded by a short little fence (maybe up to a person’s knees) – running around this little field, we saw Robbie Cano and Brett Gardner! We should have pulled over on the side of the road to meet them, but we did not.

A bit further up the road was the stadium (also very small), but not as small and ghetto as the practice field. The parking lot is across the highway from the stadium, so we parked and then walked over a small bridge.

Once we arrived, we saw Andy and Mitre and a few other guys practice pitching in a bullpen below us to our right.

To our left, and down a set of stairs, was a large practice field.

The rest of the team was practicing over there. The vets hit first, so left earliest, and standing up on the bridge, we saw Jorge, Derek Jeter, and A-Rod run from the practice field back to the main stadium area.

We went down by the practice field, but there were tons of people standing along the fence, so there was no chance we would have gotten close enough to get any autographs. We arrived at around 11 am for a 1 pm game, but now know that we would have needed to arrive quite a bit earlier to meet anyone.

The practice field area and the area on the bridge to watch the pitchers are accessible without actually entering the stadium, so no tickets needed.

 

[UncleOrville]

After a while of watching the practice, we entered the stadium. Our seats were pretty good (anything in there would be good since the stadium is so small), but of course a man was eating peanuts directly behind our seats. Laura is allergic to peanuts, so this is a huge problem. Every time we go to a game, the only person eating peanuts for miles is sitting right behind Laura. We sat in seats a few rows over from where our original seats were, but a few innings into the game, the people whose seats we were sitting in arrived. The section directly behind home plate happened to be the emptiest in the stadium, so we moved ourselves right on over, and had even better seats!

We left after about 6 or 7 innings (while the Yankees were winning – they ended up losing pretty miserably) because we wanted to get back to Orlando before after-work traffic began and because really random minor leaguers were put in the game by that time.

Unfortunately, we did not see Laura’s fav guy Phil Hughes at all. She had even brought him a gift, but we were not able to deliver it.

We had a great time at the game, and it was nice to sit and relax for a while after a couple of Disney days – I think it was the perfect time to take a break and recharge ourselves for the rest of our park days. On the drive back, we hit little traffic and, again, lots of slow drivers. We stopped and got gas (tank needed to be full when returned to the Dolphin) at the Hess station near the Epcot resorts area, and were back at the Dolphin by around 5 and simply handed the keys to the valet to return our rental car.

On our walk back to the Beach Club, we found our duck friends crossing the path from the beach back to the pool! I love me some symmetry, so was delighted to mark our return to the Beach Club in the same way we’d left.

Once we returned to the Beach Club, our first stop was obviously the CL lounge, where we dined on a first dinner of evening appetizers. We brought them back to our room and sat out on our balcony for a while.

An elephant in the room!

 

[UncleOrville]

Following first dinner, we changed out of our Yankees gear and left for second dinner at Teppan Edo. We’d never eaten here before, but I was excited to try it. We enjoyed the walk through the showcase, and were pleased that the walk to Japan from the International Gateway was a quick one.

Once we got into Teppan Edo, we were given a buzzer and stood in a very crowded waiting area. We were afraid we’d be waiting for a long time, but our buzzer went off after about five minutes. All of the tables in our room (there were four) seated nine people, so we were sat with a family of six. We really enjoyed watching the chef prepare the food and thought the food was great – really nice quality. I got chicken, Kevin got filet mignon, and Laura got a special vegetable dish. Because of Laura’s allergies, a manager came out and spoke to her and took her order. Her items were prepared in a special area in the back kitchen. She got steamed vegetables (they gave her a few more types of vegetables than we got with our meals) and rice – no noodles because of the soy allergy, which the manager felt very badly about, but Laura assured him it was fine with her.

Overall, great food, entertaining time, and good prices – we booked ourselves to go back in September after this meal, even though Liz does not like Asian food.

Following dinner, Kevy went back to our room to watch Lost, even though we begged him to stay. Laura and I went to our fav spot, the Fjording in Norway to pick up the Norwegian baseball cap we’d seen on a previous trip, that Laura had decided she needed.

The Norway/ Mexico area was very crowded with people waiting for Illuminations, so we were happy to continue on through after we’d picked up Laura’s hat. We stopped in the area between Canada and England to watch Illuminations. We hung back in that big empty area just past the Off Kilter stage, and it was great – a pretty straight-ahead view of the events transpiring in the water, low crowds, and close to the International Gateway so we could easily exit. Unfortunately some fireworks debris did land all around us, but only one bit was still aflame, and a passerby stepped on it to extinguish it. We walked toward the exit as the show was ending and beat the crowd.

First stop upon our return? The CL lounge for dessert, of course!

Then we got ready for bed while Kevy finished watching Lost, and were all asleep again very early. Another successful day!

Up next: we finally see the castle!

 

[disneybarbie]

Wow what a lovely day.. Teppan Edo is one of my faves now... I've been there on my last three trips!!

Emma xx

ps - I think the walk to DHS from Crescent Lake is about a mile.. takes 20 mins usually... not sure if it's an 'English thing', but my parents always got us to walk it.. so I've carried on the tradition! although last July it was soo hot in WDW that we did get the Friendships a few times! x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Great update! But you left disney? For shame!

Love the duck story...I'm all about the full circle, too! Glad you got to see them when you got back.

I'm kind of with Kevy on that one. I wouldn't miss Illuminations for almost anything...LOST would do it though!

 

[RachelNinja]

Hi again! Finally back from my vacation, so I can catch up on all the installments you posted while I was away.

One of these days, I will get my meal at Le Cellier! There was an opening when we were there around 3pm-ish, but we had just eaten lunch and really weren't hungry at all. We passed it because I didn't want to have my first taste of Le Cellier on a full stomach. I was afraid it would ruin the experience. Now, of course, I'm thinking otherwise!

I liked your explanation of the Sum of All Thrills. That's not something I'd go on due to motion sickness at times and claustrophobia, but I really liked that you wrote a lot about it! I think the CM watching the faces is to make sure that the people are okay. I read elsewhere that there's the emergency button, and I was just thinking, "Watch I make a really simple ride and wait for so long and then have to press the emergency button to end it!"

I tried looking for the Nsync photo wall, but in the morning, my mom said that I could look for it later at night. Of course, at night my dad was ready to leave, so I never had the chance. Next trip!

Loved the duck family narration!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

The mom and the ducklings hopped out of the pool after a bit and walked across the path we were walking on to get to the beach, but one little duckling could not make the jump to get out of the pool – he tried and tried, but kept falling back into the pool. It was so very sad! Kevy was ready to jump in to rescue him, but finally the resourceful little duckling realized he could swim down a bit to an area where a rock went from the water up to the side of the pool, so he walked up the rock and got to the sidewalk. Hooray! He was a few minutes behind the rest of his family at this point, so he let out a little quack. His mom heard and quacked out loudly, and our smart little guy ran over to the pathway. His mom then crossed back over to get him, and together they crossed back to the beach, where the family was united in a gross little polluted area of the beach. A beautiful scene.

Oh my goodness! This story made me so sad, and then so happy. No joke, I probably would have been in tears watching the little duckling struggle to get out of the pool all while his family was leaving him behind! I'm with your brother...I probably would have dove in to save the little guy. When he was smart enough to figure out a different way to get out, I was so proud of the little guy. And then the fact that the mama duck came back to get him...seriously the sweetest thing ever. I'm terrified of most birds, but for some reason ducks have a special place in my heart. Especially fuzzy little ducklings.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

BTW, you are not the only one who takes pictures of duckies! This was taken in AK last summer!

Also, one time we saw a duck with her babies crossing a side street. One little guy was having trouble getting up the curb and I kid you not, I stopped my car because I was so afraid the people behind me wouldn't see them and hit them. I stayed there until that little guy made it!! DH was about to get out of the car to help but by the time he reached them, he got up there!

 

[UncleOrville]

Wow what a lovely day.. Teppan Edo is one of my faves now... I've been there on my last three trips!!

Emma xx

ps - I think the walk to DHS from Crescent Lake is about a mile.. takes 20 mins usually... not sure if it's an 'English thing', but my parents always got us to walk it.. so I've carried on the tradition! although last July it was soo hot in WDW that we did get the Friendships a few times! x

We loved Teppan Edo - looking forward to going back! 20 minutes isn't bad to walk to DHS from the Beach Club. I'll definitely try it next time! I certainly hate waiting for transportation enough to take a 20 minute walk!

Great update! But you left disney? For shame!

Love the duck story...I'm all about the full circle, too! Glad you got to see them when you got back.

I'm kind of with Kevy on that one. I wouldn't miss Illuminations for almost anything...LOST would do it though!

It felt so weird leaving Disney - at least it was for the Yankees!

Hi again! Finally back from my vacation, so I can catch up on all the installments you posted while I was away.

One of these days, I will get my meal at Le Cellier! There was an opening when we were there around 3pm-ish, but we had just eaten lunch and really weren't hungry at all. We passed it because I didn't want to have my first taste of Le Cellier on a full stomach. I was afraid it would ruin the experience. Now, of course, I'm thinking otherwise!

I liked your explanation of the Sum of All Thrills. That's not something I'd go on due to motion sickness at times and claustrophobia, but I really liked that you wrote a lot about it! I think the CM watching the faces is to make sure that the people are okay. I read elsewhere that there's the emergency button, and I was just thinking, "Watch I make a really simple ride and wait for so long and then have to press the emergency button to end it!"

I tried looking for the Nsync photo wall, but in the morning, my mom said that I could look for it later at night. Of course, at night my dad was ready to leave, so I never had the chance. Next trip!

Loved the duck family narration!

Hope you had a great time on your trip! I think it was probably the right decision to skip Le Cellier when you were completely full - you'll enjoy it all the more next time!

Too bad you couldn't check out the Nsync photos - isn't that always the way, though? Some things you save for later and never get the chance to do them, and then others you end up doing tons of times per trip.

Oh my goodness! This story made me so sad, and then so happy. No joke, I probably would have been in tears watching the little duckling struggle to get out of the pool all while his family was leaving him behind! I'm with your brother...I probably would have dove in to save the little guy. When he was smart enough to figure out a different way to get out, I was so proud of the little guy. And then the fact that the mama duck came back to get him...seriously the sweetest thing ever. I'm terrified of most birds, but for some reason ducks have a special place in my heart. Especially fuzzy little ducklings.

We just couldn't tear ourselves away from those ducks! We were rushing to get to the Dolphin for our rental car, but we stopped for ages just to watch the whole story unfold! Laura and I told Kevin he might have to jump the little rope fence to save the baby duck, and he seriously would have! And I'm the same, also not a bird fan in general, but ducks are just so darn cute.

BTW, you are not the only one who takes pictures of duckies! This was taken in AK last summer!

Also, one time we saw a duck with her babies crossing a side street. One little guy was having trouble getting up the curb and I kid you not, I stopped my car because I was so afraid the people behind me wouldn't see them and hit them. I stayed there until that little guy made it!! DH was about to get out of the car to help but by the time he reached them, he got up there!

That picture is SO cute! I totally would have stopped my car too to block the ducks - and I love that guys also love baby ducks and are willing to save them!

 

[JMcDisney]

You guys are awesome for looking out for the ducks! Really sweet story!

That view you had is just insane - it looks like it would be so cool and entertaining no matter what time of day.

 

[Stefy]

Great update

Those duckies are so cute and I love how you saw them first and last thing that day, like they were greeting you when you came back

Looks like you had a great day off site

I am glad you loved Teppan, its so much fun right and the food is awesome too

So there is a walkway from Beach Club to DHS? Whereabouts is it and how long does it take? Me and DF are planning on eating dinner at Beaches and Cream one night and then heading back on over to DHS to catch Fantasmic.

 

[RachelNinja]

Last night I had a dream that my younger brother and I were hiding out in our car in front of our house because we were in danger. I didn't mind, however, shining a flashlight out into the street to show my bro that there was a mama duck and her ducklings crossing the street and purposely going down the storm drain. I just thought it was funny because I woke up and it took a few seconds to realize why I was dreaming about ducks!

 

[UncleOrville]

You guys are awesome for looking out for the ducks! Really sweet story!

That view you had is just insane - it looks like it would be so cool and entertaining no matter what time of day.

We did love those ducks! And our view was amazing - we just want to request that exact room for our next trip!

Great update

Those duckies are so cute and I love how you saw them first and last thing that day, like they were greeting you when you came back

Looks like you had a great day off site

I am glad you loved Teppan, its so much fun right and the food is awesome too

So there is a walkway from Beach Club to DHS? Whereabouts is it and how long does it take? Me and DF are planning on eating dinner at Beaches and Cream one night and then heading back on over to DHS to catch Fantasmic.

Yeah, Teppan Edo was great - really good food and lots of fun! To get to DHS from the Beach Club, I think you walk over the path to the Boardwalk and then just keep walking all the way around the Boardwalk (around to the back of the hotel, and you'll pass the pool). I'm not sure where it winds up though to get you to DHS (where you'll need to start off your journey walking from DHS) - maybe Emma can help?

Last night I had a dream that my younger brother and I were hiding out in our car in front of our house because we were in danger. I didn't mind, however, shining a flashlight out into the street to show my bro that there was a mama duck and her ducklings crossing the street and purposely going down the storm drain. I just thought it was funny because I woke up and it took a few seconds to realize why I was dreaming about ducks!

That is awesome!

 

[Stefy]

Yeah, Teppan Edo was great - really good food and lots of fun! To get to DHS from the Beach Club, I think you walk over the path to the Boardwalk and then just keep walking all the way around the Boardwalk (around to the back of the hotel, and you'll pass the pool). I'm not sure where it winds up though to get you to DHS (where you'll need to start off your journey walking from DHS) - maybe Emma can help?

Thanx Sounds like a long walk though, might check out the resort maps and see

 

[UncleOrville]

Thanx Sounds like a long walk though, might check out the resort maps and see

I know, it seems to me like it'd be really long, which is why I haven't attempted it. But if it's just a mile/ about 20 minutes, I'd be fine with that (as long as it's not at the end of a long park day at the end of a long week ). If we try it out on our September trip, I'll take pics of the path and report back so you'll know what it's like before your trip.

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi!

About the walk.. you're right, there's a wide pathway along the edge of the waterway that the Friendships use to get to DHS - between Boardwalk & Swan/Dolphin

It's a really pretty walk IMO - and yup takes about 20 minutes at a steady pace - I like it when you can see ToT, the back of Fantasmic and all the other DHS landmarks coming in to view!! You end up right where the buses drop off guests from other resorts

Emma xx

 

[Stefy]

I know, it seems to me like it'd be really long, which is why I haven't attempted it. But if it's just a mile/ about 20 minutes, I'd be fine with that (as long as it's not at the end of a long park day at the end of a long week ). If we try it out on our September trip, I'll take pics of the path and report back so you'll know what it's like before your trip.

Thanx 20mins is not bad I suppose, esp if you can enjoy the scenery

Happy Walking

Hi!

About the walk.. you're right, there's a wide pathway along the edge of the waterway that the Friendships use to get to DHS - between Boardwalk & Swan/Dolphin

It's a really pretty walk IMO - and yup takes about 20 minutes at a steady pace - I like it when you can see ToT, the back of Fantasmic and all the other DHS landmarks coming in to view!! You end up right where the buses drop off guests from other resorts

Emma xx

Thanx for clarifying It does sound like it will be a lovely walk

 

[UncleOrville]

And we're back! Terribly sorry for the delay!

This morning we were up and in the CL lounge early for breakfast. In what may be considered a miracle, we actually left the lounge at the time we’d intended – about 8:20. This early morning was required because we were determined to make it to the MK for rope drop. Happily, this was the first time of our trip that we’d be taking a Disney bus!

A bus came after just a few minutes, and there were no stops after we were picked up (it had stopped at the Yacht Club first) – we made good time and were at the MK by about 8:45. We discussed our plan of attack and after a short while, we were enjoying the opening show. I just love the opening show – so happy and delightful.

We were pretty far back in the crowd between the turnstiles and the ropes, so we were stuck behind quite the crowd walking up Main Street.

We kept to the right and it was past some construction on the ice cream shop and through the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace to get ourselves to Tomorrowland.

We were veering from our usual Fantasyland for Peter RD routine because we hadn’t ridden Space Mountain since its refurb, and had been hearing that it had quite long waits in the weeks leading up to our trip. We made it to Space in good time and walked briskly right through the queue and onto the ride. The video games in the queue came on right as we neared the end of the video screens – they seemed pretty cool, but to play the games, you must actually push buttons (unlike the Soarin games, where you just wave your arms and such) – I don’t even want to think about the kinds of illnesses that will be spread by pushing those buttons. The ride seemed the same to me – the glowing strips are just missing from the cars, but still seemed jerky as ever.

Once we exited, we grabbed Space FPs. We then proceeded to Fantasyland. Our destination? Neverland, of course!

After Peter, we decided to head to the Frontier to hit Splash and Thunder. Along the way, we came across Frontier Donald and Farmer Goofy, conducting a photoshoot together! We adore these bizarrely costumed guys, so we had to hop in the queue to meet them.