Tuesday, December 20th (continued) 
By the time the hour rolled around for us to leave for the Beach Club, we were rested and refreshed after our little afternoon siesta and ready for a full evening of fun with friends
. We had been in text contact with Kerry multiple times already that day, and were saddened to hear that Robert was still feeling under the weather and wouldn’t be joining us for dinner and the Illuminations Cruise
. We had also been in contact with Carrie (
@greenclan67 ) as she and her family were scheduled to join us for the cruise as well, but things weren’t looking so great on that end, either
: one of Carrie’s girls had also fallen ill since they arrived in Orlando. Winter travel is always particularly dicey…..germs are everywhere and it’s
so easy to pick up a cold or the flu. Each time we vacation during the Christmas season we pack a doctor’s kit of every cure we might need [to be ready for any ailment which might befall us], say a prayer, and hope for the best. When you combine being in close contact with literally thousands of people with a huge change in temperatures (for those of us that travel from a cold climate to the warm south) the chance of one of us coming down with something is huge.
We left a little early for the Beach Club since we hadn’t been there before. We knew it wasn’t too terribly far away and we had a GPS to help guide us there, but we’re the type of people that would rather be a little bit early than late for the fun. We didn’t want Kerry and David having to wait around for us, and if we happened to arrive before they did, we knew we’d have lots of things to check out to keep us busy. The commute turned out to be surprisingly simple and we made it there without having to do a single U-turn
.
Showing our ADR confirmation to the staff at the security gate, we were given the all-clear by the guard to park in the resort lot. The Beach Club made a great first impression…….with the light posts all wrapped in garland for the Christmas season, it was quite charming in the low light of the late afternoon. As we strolled down the walkway toward the lobby entrance, we remarked on how early it was getting dark……and then realized the shortest day of the year was just a couple of days away.
We texted Kerry and told her we had successfully arrived, and she texted back to confirm that she and David were officially en route via taxi
. We headed inside to poke around a little and check out the festive décor inside the large lobby while we waited for them to pull up.
The shining jewel of the Beach Club holiday décor was the stunning carousel made entirely of chocolate. It was the "sweetest" Christmas display we had ever seen!
This thing was just simply jaw-dropping. The detail on the carousel was unbelievable: I can only imagine how much time went into crafting such an amazing piece.
And the smell!
Heavenly
. Of course, I think chocolate should be a food group, so perhaps I’m a bit biased
.
The lobby also featured a small Christmas tree, but quite honestly, it paled in comparison to the carousel. I guess maybe they didn’t want a tree that overshadowed their main showpiece?
We had just enough time to poke around, ooohhhh and aaaahhhh at the carousel, and take a whole bunch of photos before we got the text that Kerry and David were just pulling up. We hurried out to greet them, and were so happy to see David’s excitement as they hopped out of the car
. He had stayed at the Beach Club several times as a youngster, as this resort had been a favourite of his grandmother’s (Kerry’s mom). She is sadly no longer healthy enough to travel with them, but it was easy to see that walking through those doors brought some happy memories back to that young man
. He quietly repeated his grandmother’s name as we made our way into the lobby. I think it was quite emotional for Kerry…..heck, as a bystander, it was quite emotional for ME
.
We meandered around the lobby for a few more minutes, allowing David and Kerry to take in the Christmas decorations as well. Eventually, we made our way outside to begin our walk over to Beaches and Cream.
The backside of the resort was just as elegant and lovely as the front entry. The poinsettia gardens were lovely and festive. The bright red flowers were such a huge contrast against the soft tones of the building. The blue, white and red combination made it feel both festive and nautical at the same time.
It was cool to see the lovely beach (in person, for the first time) that ran the length of the Beach and Yacht Club resorts. I honestly had no idea just how close some of these resorts were to each other: the Boardwalk was just a short skip across the water, and the Swan and Dolphin both looked so close it almost felt we could reach out and touch them.
Seeing the lights of the Boardwalk all coming on as darkness set in, I quietly vowed to myself that we would spend an evening there someday. It looks so charming. If I was going to ever have reason to stay onsite at Disney, I think the Poly and the Boardwalk would be my top two resort picks.
I was also quite excited to finally see the much-talked-about Stormalong Bay: so many Disboard posters have raved about this pool over the years, I was very interested to see it for myself in person.
I have to admit…..while it was a nice pool area (and very sprawling), I wasn’t as knocked off my feet as I had expected. I’m not sure why
. Maybe I had just glamorized it in my head to be more than it was, based on the gushing reviews from the people who have stayed there. Maybe it’s more impressive in the full light of the Florida afternoon sun. Maybe it just lacked the lush, tropical feel that I enjoy most (it didn’t have nearly enough palms and trees and vegetation around it for my liking). Or, maybe it was just too geared to kids [perhaps my grownupness was showing
]. It looked like fun, but it wasn’t my style. I did like the lighthouse and appreciated the theming, though
.
By the time we toured the pool area, we were due to check in for our dinner reservation. Poor David was starting to get super hungry by then (his poor tummy was rumbling for a burger….or two…..or three!) and quite honestly, both Steve and I were starting to feel rather peckish as well. Our breakfast at IHOP earlier that morning felt like it was a LONG time passed by then, and we were ready for our hearty meal at this cute little diner.
Unfortunately for our hungry stomachs, we had quite a bit of a wait before they finally had a booth available that could accommodate us. Peeking into the windows, I was astounded to see just how small the restaurant is: we knew from our research here on the Disboards that Beaches and Cream was pretty little, but it was even tinier than we had envisioned
. No wonder it’s so difficult to get a reservation there!!
On the positive side, though: we had the most amazing “entertainment” as we sat at one of the small outdoor tables, waiting for our pager to buzz: with the Stormalong Bay lighthouse in the foreground against the inky black sky, we enjoyed an absolutely perfect view of the fireworks from what we were told was the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam Holiday Party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
While we sat wide-eyed watching the fireworks and marveling at superb timing, I got the text from Carrie (
@greenclan67 ) confirming that her daughter was no better and that they would have to take a pass on the Illuminations Cruise
. I felt terrible for them, because I knew Carrie was disappointed (as I undoubtably would have been in her shoes). Our original party of 9 (Kerry, Robert, David, Steve, myself, Carrie, Derek, Alyssa and Rheanne) had now shrunk to a teeny group of only 4. There would be lots of room for us to stretch out on the pontoon boat that seats 10!
Just a few minutes after the fireworks show had concluded, our pager finally buzzed to signal that our table was waiting: it was chow time!
More to come!
10 pages to catch up so I have some good summer reading coming my way. Just wanted to say everyone is so sweet on here and can't wait to catch up on your adventures Gina.
enough said
). If you can find affordable flights, I am happy to check the system to see if I can find another $350 week at MGV. And that was for our two bedroom lock-off......I am sure that one bedrooms would be even less, if you didn't mind giving up a bit of space.
) and knew I would clean up where awards were concerned. I was actually awarded the Governor General's Medal for the highest academic standing in my graduating class, among a few others. School was a tough time socially for me, for the most part (I was certainly not one of the "in" crowd) but I rocked the academics. Graduation was the day for the attention to be pulled from the pretty and popular and put squarely on me, if only for a few hours 
.
. I love the big properties, because they are so nice for long, leisurely, relaxing walks. We graduated in June, though.
. I can't imagine growing up only an hour from Disney!
), by the time dinner concluded, if I remember right 
.
) and she booked and paid for the Illuminations Cruise as a generous and incredible gift for us all to enjoy. Steve and I thought the least we could do, then, was pick up the tab for dinner…..and to show our appreciation for all of her kindness, we topped the meal off with the Chocolate Lovers Kitchen Sink 
.
. I’m not sure five hungry adults could ever manage to finish one entirely, so surely our trio of well-intentioned persons could not. I don’t think I’ve ever been closer to a sugar coma in my life. 
. I was so happy we had skipped a mid-day meal.
:
.
, and the end of this magical day, is next.
.
