Beach Club club level, Day 3, part 2
We arrived at Epcot about 11:40, which was pushing it a bit for our 12 lunch at Chefs, but we still thought we were doing okay. However, the bag check lines were absolutely packed! It took us about 15 minutes just to get into the park. DH then took the kids in the stroller and jogged over to Chefs while I walked. I was in a dress and flip flops, so running wasn't an option. I arrived about 3 minutes after he did (I'm a fast walker), and we were totally fine, even though we were about 5 minutes late.
We were seated promptly, and we placed our orders. DH got the three course meal (onion soup, macaroni gratin, profiteroles), while I went with the soup and the salmon entree. We ordered DS the kids' chicken and pasta. While we were waiting for our lunch to arrive, DS and I checked out the bakery. DH and I love the bakery, the pithivier especially (it's a delicious almond filled pastry), so we wanted to pick one up to enjoy for our dessert that night. Unfortunately, they didn't have the pithivier that day. In fact, the pastry selection was very basic and limited, and I'm wondering if that is why the crowds in the bakery were non-existent--perhaps word got around that the selection wasn't great? We got a chocolate twist and an almond pocket (which the CM told me was like the pithivier but wasn't even close--more on that later) and bagged them up to enjoy later.
When we got back to the table, my soup and DS's lunch were waiting. DS was not happy. He doesn't like fried chicken tenders, and the pasta was big tubes, which he also didn't like. He ate one of the chicken tenders and two bites of the pasta, and then he said he wanted pizza. I thought that Via Napoli's pizza window was open, so I told him we'd go there after DH and I ate. My soup was good, and my salmon was tasty, too. DH's macaroni was very rich and not to my liking. It had a thick bechamel sauce, which I just don't enjoy. While we were waiting on dessert, we had a visit from Remy. Cute! DH's profiteroles (which we decided to split) were okay, but the pastry was a bit tough. Overall, the meal was fine, but I was a bit disappointed. I used to love Chefs, but it just wasn't up to par this time.
After lunch, we tried to find DS some pizza, but we found out that the pizza window had closed two days earlier. Oh well! We made a quick stop at the caramel store in Germany, where I picked up a piece of dark chocolate, sea salt caramel and a small bag of caramel corn. I had a couple of bites of the caramel over the trip, and it was good, but it was a bit too rich for me. I would have preferred a smaller amount of caramel. The caramel corn was good, too, but I really didn't understand the hype about it. Actually, I thought it wasn't good at all when I had the first bite (very chewy, not crispy), but it did seem to get better as it got stale. Maybe I'll try something different next trip.
We stopped in Italy for DH to get an afogatto, and then we headed back to the hotel. DH picked up a pizza for DS at the Marketplace while I gave DD a bottle and let her rest. After he devoured his pizza and carrot sticks, DS talked about wanting to go back to the pool, but it was overcast and a bit cool for a swim (mid 60s), so we entertained him with his new toys in the room and let him watch cartoons and have a cookie. DD rested and had some yogurt and bananas from the lounge, and then DH and I grabbed some coffee and diet cokes, and we were all ready to head back to Epcot for a little bit more fun. It was nice to take a bit of a break in the hotel, because we were all refreshed.
We rode Imagination, visited with Nemo and Friends and then took the boat ride through the Land. By then, it was about 5:30, so we went back to the hotel. We had some appetizers in the lounge (cheese and pepper pastries, crab rangoon, veggies, cheese, etc.), and then DH took the kids to the room to bathe them and get ready for bed while I went in search of DS's dinner. Here's my only rant about the BC: they have only two options for kids meals at Marketplace--pizza or a turkey sandwich. DS had already had pizza for lunch, and he won't eat cold turkey. So, I noticed that B&C had a kids' meal with grilled chicken on the menu. I walked down there and politely asked the manager if there was any way that I could order one kid's meal to go. He flatly told me "no," because, he said, B&C is full-service. He said that I needed to go to the Marketplace. When I reminded him that the Marketplace only offered turkey and pizza, he just said "oh, that's right. Sorry. Still can't do it." I was so annoyed! I went back to the Marketplace and just decided to order DS the pizza. I knew he would eat it, and I figured that pizza was better than nothing. It took forever to get the pizza, though, and by the time I got back upstairs with it, DS was asleep.
DH ate DS's pizza on the balcony, and then he polished off the birthday cakes from the night before's dinner at CG, while I pulled out the pastries from Epcot. They were not good, which was a major disappointment. I took a bite of each and then was finished. DH had a couple of bites and agreed with my assessment. Hopefully, this was just an off day for the bakery! DH went down to the lounge and brought me back a decaf cappucino and a little cup of peanut butter and chocolate mousse, which was delicious, so the night ended on a sweet note. After cleaning up, it was off to bed to get ready for our final full day.
