And When Did You Last See Your Father? - Day 4 (Beaches and Cream, HALLOWEEN!)

[Guest]

We are a family of three - me (April), DH (R.C.) and DS (Poot - who turned 10 on this holiday!). We visited Orlando and Sanibel Island, travelling from Gatwick on BA.

DH has his own business and could only join us for part of the holiday (hence the title of this trippie!). He’s not really a theme park sort of chap, but he enjoys it down on the Gulf Coast.


For our week on Sanibel we were joined by my DM (Judybat) and her husband (Hans).




Trippie Index Here

Day 3 (T-Rex and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party) Here




Halloween! The Best Day!



This was another great day - I never imagined that we would have so much fun at Disney World without park tickets.


Because we were out so late last night, I hadn’t planned much for today. On the agenda was lunch at Beaches and Cream and then an evening enjoying the Halloween activities at French Quarter.


I don’t know if she’s active on the Dibb anymore, but I want to say “thank you” to conniesmummy. It was reading her trippie that made me want to stay at POFQ for Halloween. If you haven’t read her report, you should - it’s adorable:


https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho...d.php?t=661677


Having finally gone to bed last night around 2:00 AM, we slept ‘til after 8:00. Because we had an early lunch booked (11:00 AM), we just snacked on a bit of our Garden Grocer fruit before we headed out.


We grabbed a bus to Hollywood Studios and walked over to the Beach Club from there. This is the start of the path that leads to the Epcot area hotels:

You pick it up down by the DHS bus stops; it took us about twenty minutes to walk to the Beach Club.


What the path looks like nearer to the Boardwalk:

The Beach Club:

Beaches and Cream is at the “back” of the hotel, near the (fabulous) Stormalong Bay pool.

I’ve stayed at the Beach Club twice - it is totally my favourite Disney hotel (amazing pool+best location=perfect holiday). But the last two times we’ve been to Florida, the difference in price between the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge/Saratoga Springs more than paid for a week at Portofino. Sigh…


We got to Beaches and Cream around the same time as three other families.

The restaurant was just opening - and so completely empty - yet they passed out pagers and made us all sit outside while our pagers went off one by one.

Maybe this chap was in the back:

It was...strange, but around 11:10 we were finally let in and seated at a two-top table. I always forget how small B&C is until I am there…

Our waitress was a bit brisk, but not unfriendly - and she didn’t bat an eye when I said that we wanted to share a main so that we could have ice cream.

The menu:

We ordered a patty melt (I LOVE patty melts - you just can’t get a good one in England - even when I’ve tried to make them at home they’re never as good as they are in America). I also ordered a pop and Poot had his usual - tap water.


While we waited for our patty melt, I asked Poot if he wanted to go pick out some music on the jukebox - it’s stuffed with great songs from the 50s and 60s - and it’s free! - but he said no.


WHY Oh WHY did I marry a cultured man?

Sure, it’s great that he takes Poot to the Proms, but I dreamed of:

When my DH and I were first married we would go once a month or so to a classical recital or concert up in London - and finally I had to tell him that while he was being transported by Mahler, I was looking around the hall and picking out the person most likely to be a serial killer…


DH was VERY happy when Poot was finally old enough to go to the symphony - and so was I!


But I digress...


I don’t think the “main” portions at Beaches and Cream are as big as they are at most Disney restaurants - you can see that in the picture:

The Beaches Patty Melt: Angus beef burger with sauteed onions, swiss, garlic-peppercorn dressing on rye bread ($16).


Kudos to the brisk waitress, who divided the dish in the kitchen and brought it out on two separate plates (we each got our own pickle!).


We gobbled that patty melt up - it was DELISH, and our first real meal since lunch at T-Rex the previous afternoon. Soon it was time to decide on our dessert…


I really wanted the No Way Jose (this is a chocolate and peanut butter sundae - served with HOT peanut butter sauce), but Poot didn’t fancy it, so instead we ordered the Fudge Mudslide.


This was a big deal for our little family, as Poot had some pretty serious sensory issues when he was small, and wasn’t able to eat ice cream until he was about eight. This would be his first ever sundae.


So even though it probably seems like a small thing to most people, I can’t explain how happy I was to see this face:

The Fudge Mudslide: a gooey, chewy brownie covered with hot fudge, three scoops of vanilla ice cream, oreo cookies, whipped cream, topped with a cherry ($9). We swapped the vamilla ice cream for cookies and cream - because vanilla ice cream? No.


And our waitress had obviously heard our debate about the No Way Jose, because she also brought me this:

“For your mama,” said she, to Poot. Oh, it was so nice!

Does anybody know, is this just American-style (like “Skippy”) peanut butter that’s been warmed up? ‘Cause we can buy Skippy at our nearest Tesco...


I got exactly one spoonful of that peanut butter sauce - once Poot tried it, it never reappeared on my side of the table. So next time I know we can order the No Way Jose. Woo-hoo!


We couldn’t finish the sundae. Even hungry, and having shared our main - we couldn’t finish it. I think it would have been the perfect size if R.C. had been with us, though.


The bill was around $30 - I tipped the waitress 20% plus whatever change rounded up to the next dollar. She wasn’t overly friendly by any means, but she was very efficient and really paid attention to our desires. Thumbs up.


One thing about our visit to Beaches and Cream was a bit funny. By the time we finished our patty melt, there were about six families in the restaurant, and for EVERY group but ours, there had been this:

And sirens, too.


I thought we were going to see the “Kitchen Sink” - but nope!


EVERY SINGLE TIME, it was to say, “Every day’s a celebration here at Walt Disney World - but today is EXTRA special for Bill and Mary - it’s their 25th Wedding Anniversary!”. Cue clapping from all the other guests. I think there were two anniversaries, two birthdays and a family reunion in the restaurant.


But no one clapped for us…

As to the value of Beaches and Cream...well, our lunch cost $37. And that was for one shared main, a sundae, one soda and the tip. That's a lot of money - a family of four could EASILY drop $100 for lunch. And despite having two courses, we were in and out of the place in less than an hour. So be aware...


When we headed out of B&C Poot noticed a giant bowl of Peanut Butter Snickers at the hostess stand - and despite having just eaten half a pound of ice cream - ate one of those as well!

Everywhere at Disney seemed to have a little bowl of Halloween candy out today. SO MUCH CANDY…


Poot had a little wander around the Beach/Yacht Club looking for pins; I trailed along in his wake. Eventually we made our way down to the Beach Club bus stop. While we waited we saw this little guy - Poot was sure he was an “anhinga”.

I mentioned this in my first trippie, but I think when you have a son it can be a bit less fun to “costume” them (for lack of a better word) for holidays. But when I found a ladies’ Snoopy as Dracula t-shirt at Asda last year for £2, I knew I could work it into a t-shirt for Poot to wear today.

Happy Halloween, Snoopy!



A note on Disney hotel bus stops:


We stayed at Pop Century once, and I really liked how they had the cattle stalls up at the bus stops, so that first to get there is first to board.

Obviously Disney doesn’t feel these are necessary at the moderate and deluxe-level hotels, but we saw a few arguments this year, especially with the Disney Springs buses. SO many people trying to get on at once!

I don’t really care about getting a seat, and Poot usually stands - but if I am first to get to the bus stop, I do expect to be able to get ON the bus…


By the time we got to Disney Springs, I think we were feeling the effects of our late night. As we walked past the bus stop for POFQ, a bus pulled right up - we hopped on and were fast asleep in our room within thirty minutes.

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Feeling MUCH better after a bit of sleep, I costumed us again (this time with a little makeup for Poot and curly cat’s whiskers for me) and we headed over to the main courtyard to enjoy the Halloween festivities.


UNFORTUNATELY, we had slept through Poot’s age group in the costume contest - but they let him in with the teenagers.

He didn’t win anything - all the prizes went to girls. He enjoyed it, though - he and the other boys were all very good sports. I think Disney is the only place I could talk him into something like this!


After the contest, all the kids were given ENORMOUS cupcakes, which was a nice treat.

The French Quarter recreation staff did a great job with the Halloween events. There was MORE trick-or-treating - as well as games, dance contests, trivia contests, etc…and all of it was free.

You could also get beignets and popcorn - and make tie-dyed t-shirts (this you had to pay for).


They also had two New Orleans characters there ALL evening for meet and greets. Poot got to meet Tiana AND Louis (from "The Princess and the Frog"). I’ve never seen Louis out before. He was ADORABLE.

And this Tiana was so good. I made Poot’s autograph book, and she spent so much time with him going through it, totally in character/dialect.


“Oh, look! You have a picture of my HUZZ-bun in he-ya. Doesn’ he look han-som’? "

Some of the face characters’ accents are...less than authentic (Merida, I’m looking at you!) -

- but Tiana was ACE!


By the time we met Louis, it was time to head over to the big “lawn” and get a spot for the evening’s cinematic entertainment.


On the way, though - we saw:

It was the chap with the amazing Prince costume from last night, he was also staying at POFQ.

Because I am an IDIOT, I didn’t bring the bug spray. We did grab a couple of pool towels (staff had rolled a massive tub of towels out for people who wanted to sit on the grass) and spread those out in front of the big inflatable screen.


Spoiler alert - tomorrow my legs will look something like this:

It was a triple feature tonight at French Quarter. First up was “Toy Story of Terror”, then was “Ichabod and Mr. Toad” and, finally, “Hocus Pocus”.


We hadn’t seen the Toy Story short, and Poot had never seen "Ichabod and Mr Toad", though we love Toad ‘round ours, since we all love “The Wind in the Willows” - and “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” is my all-time favourite dark ride (wish it was still at WDW…).

There was a massive cart of popcorn next to the towels. It was pre-bagged Star Wars-themed “Pop Secret” kettle corn.

It wasn’t too bad, and I thought it was really a nice touch to offer free popcorn with the movies.

In between Toy Story and Ichabod the recreation staff got the fire going. There was a marshmallow roast that lasted (I think) until right before Hocus Pocus started. What fun for the kids! - this was free as well.


Poot decided he didn’t want to watch Hocus Pocus for the second time (third time, if you count the show last night) in a week, so we strolled back to our room, and settled in to watch "Monday Night Football". My beloved Vikings were playing Chicago.

They were DREADFUL, and the game was full of more cringe-worthy Clinton/Trump commercials, but I was so happy, I didn’t even care.


We munched a few carrots from our Garden Grocer order, took off our makeup and settled in for the night.


And so to bed.

Day 5 (Shopping at the Premium Outlets, Disney Springs and Blaze Pizza) Here

[Goldia]

Oh poor you your leg looks really painful I had really bad bites in my feet years ago when we went to Rhodes as I didn't do the bug spray all the way down. My feet swelled up and I couldn't wear shoes! Hope you were alright as there is a lot of walking at disney!

[mick]

Another lovely eveningdon't like the look of those bites😱

Joan

[waiting4disney]

Sounds like a really fun day without going to the parks.

[Guest]

That sounds a perfect day! Does POFQ / POR offer the evening movies and marshmallow toasting all the time or was it just a halloween special? We have an adr for beaches and cream, the ice cream looked amazing!

[Floridaagogo]

Your snotty waiter pic ... Is that the one from ferris bueller aka are you the sausage king of Chicago ?

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Oh poor you your leg looks really painful I had really bad bites in my feet years ago when we went to Rhodes as I didn't do the bug spray all the way down. My feet swelled up and I couldn't wear shoes! Hope you were alright as there is a lot of walking at disney!

See more...

No shoes! You poor thing!

I think some of us are just irresistible to bugs - sweet blood, or something. I was alright - it just looked like I had fleas...

Thanks for following along.

Originally Posted by mick

Another lovely eveningdon't like the look of those bites😱

Joan

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It was a great day - I felt so foolish for forgetting the bug spray - it was RIGHT on the chest of drawers in our room (in a BRIGHT ORANGE bottle!).

Thanks for commenting.

Originally Posted by waiting4disney

Sounds like a really fun day without going to the parks.

See more...

I couldn't believe how much there was to do without ever putting foot in a park. It was such a relaxing time.

Thanks for reading!

Originally Posted by vixabelle

That sounds a perfect day! Does POFQ / POR offer the evening movies and marshmallow toasting all the time or was it just a halloween special? We have an adr for beaches and cream, the ice cream looked amazing!

See more...

I'm not sure about the marshmallows - I know when we stayed at the Beach Club they did it every night with the outdoor movie. Hopefully a PO expert will be along to help...

It was good ice cream at B&C - but I've been told the ice cream over at Ample Hills Creamery (at the Boardwalk) is ever better (as it's made on the premises). Better try both to be sure...

Thanks so much for commenting.

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

Your snotty waiter pic ... Is that the one from ferris bueller aka are you the sausage king of Chicago ?

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YES! I wondered if anybody else out there loves a bit of BUELLER? BUELLER?



So glad you posted!

[2littleboys]

What a fabulous day, its great to see you can have so much fun without going to a park! Looking forward to the rest.

[mommy4]

It sounds like you had a really fun, relaxed Halloween. It is nice to hear about the free things you can do around WDW. Wasn't that Vikings game horrible? A promising start of the season turned out so badly and to top it off the Packers won their play-off game...I need to go cry now .

[Guest]

Originally Posted by 2littleboys

What a fabulous day, its great to see you can have so much fun without going to a park! Looking forward to the rest.

See more...

Thanks so much - I was REALLY impressed at everything POFQ put on for Halloween. Is this consistent across the Disney hotels? Does anybody know?

Originally Posted by mommy4

It sounds like you had a really fun, relaxed Halloween. It is nice to hear about the free things you can do around WDW. Wasn't that Vikings game horrible? A promising start of the season turned out so badly and to top it off the Packers won their play-off game...I need to go cry now .

See more...

We had such a great time - Poot's getting to the age where he'll soon be "past" trick-or-treating and things like that - so it was wonderful for him to have the opportunity to try so many fun American things that he could never do in our little village.

And the Vikes...what a rollercoaster this season...Teddy gets hurt, but then we come out so strong...AP gets hurt...but then we start 5-0...and then the wheels just...came off.

Draft some offensive linemen, please!

I am pulling for the Steelers at this point - just can't cheer for Tom Brady - whenever I see him I am seized with the urge to punch him in his smug face. That's rational, right...?