Quick Weekend Trip; Quick Report

[Red Randal]

Hey guys, just got back from a quick weekend run to the Beach Club to refuel after a crazy year of school and busy season of work for Dad. I figured I would write up a nice rambling review since all of the thoughts are still fresh in my mind.

My parents and I (me? I'm never sure) left Friday morning for Philadelphia International only to arrive and discover that our plane was downgraded and we were bumped from the flight. I'll leave the US Air rant for later ( ) but when it was all said and done we debated accepting free tickets on a future flight in exchange for just changing our booking from the 2pm flight to the 7pm only to end up deciding to chance it in standby and get awarded the final three (first class!!) seats on the plane. Lucky for us, not so lucky for about 22 others.

Anyway, we made it to Disney tired and kind of annoyed (but placated a bit by extra room and a few bags of US Airways pretzels that I enjoy for whatever reason,) checked into the Beach Club and went up to the room to rest. Let me say that the Beach Club grounds are very nice and authentic (it was very much like the Dunes Manor in Ocean City, MD where I stayed last summer.) I did find it to be too spread out and the hallways to be "maze-like" but overall thought it was nice for a weekend stay. I would never want to be a DVC member there unless I could be guaranteed a ground level room close to the marketplace. I did enjoy the close proximity to Epcot and the great views of the Boardwalk area. The room, itself, was very nice but somewhat small for a deluxe room. It seemed like much of the space was taken up by the "hall" and ridiculously large sink area compared to the very small bathroom and cramped bed space. The balcony was extremely large (moreso when you consider that some people only get a place to walk out onto) though it only looked at the roof beneath us. (In all fairness, we didn't pay for any kind of views.)

That night we wandered over to the Boardwalk for pizza and ice cream before calling it a day. Friday we started off the day at Epcot for Soarin' (I love it, the parents found it a little too intense,) the Seas with Nemo (fun time, Mom loved it,) O Canada (parents never saw it, oddly,) and then a few attempts at lunch. Teppanaki, Tempura Kiku, and Le Cellier struck out thanks to refurbishments that I was unaware of (my own fault) before we settled on quick service Japaneese and a pagoda that I never knew existed. I tried a combination of teriaki chicken, some kind of beef with onions, tempura shrimp and vegetables, and white rice. It was very good. Then it was back to Stormalong Bay for some relaxation around noon followed by a trip to the MK at 3 for ice cream on Main Street, Laugh Floor Comedy Club, the TTA, and Small World. Laugh Floor was really very well done and I'd love to go again and again. We missed the final sailing of the Liberty Bell (much to Mom's chagrin, especially since it was closed last time too) and discovered that, for whatever reason, Columbia Harbor House had closed at 5. Disney elected to leave the doors open and place signs inside. I saw literally dozens of people walking in and then walking out. I have no idea why there was no sign on the door. Despite being seasonal, El Pirata y el Perico was open however. No idea why. Anyway, it looked like rain to we decided to head back to the BC for dinner at Cape May instead. It was a pretty decent buffet. I've seen bigger but the quality was very good. Awesome New England clam chowder, clams, mussels, Caesar salad, ribs, and even some mac and cheese snuck off the children's buffet.

Saturday I did the Keys to the Kingdom (awesome awesome time, can't wait to make a full post on it) while Mom and Dad enjoyed the pool, salon, spa, Yachtsman Steakhouse buffet, and Beaches and Cream lunch back at the hotel (as much as we go to Disney, amazingly their favorite part is consistently the hotel.) After the tour I hit up Pirates and CoP before heading over to Epcot for SSE and Rio Del Tiempo. I thought the refurb was very good, the line was long (relatively) which means it's getting some much needed traffic flow, though I did miss the bizarre "small world skeleton" thing. Then I met up with Mom and Dad at the bar (after managing to make it from the International Gateway to my room to take a shower get dressed for dinner and walk down to meet them in 18 minutes.) After a few drinks we headed over for our PS at the Yachtsman Steakhouse where I had one of the greatest steaks I've ever had (the oak fired ribeye) with some creamed spinach and way too many onion sourdough rolls. A quick Boardwalk stroll to burn off half a roll was enough to have me ready to pass out (not before blowing $100 in the gift shop) which I promptly did.

This morning it was an early wakeup and trip back to the airport. It was a quick weekend but a fun one. I can't wait to stretch out that AP for another one in a few months. Hope you all enjoyed reading. Feel free to leave any Beach Club thoughts, Laugh Floor love, or US Air hate here.

Quick Edit: I forgot to add one thing: the Yacht Club Galley was also closed this weekend and replaced for breakfast and lunch by a buffet at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. I notice this is not on Info Central. The restaurant was still closed as of late last night, so you might want to check with the hotel before making any plans to go there and mods, if it is closed much longer (which I don't think it will be, it was getting a new paint job yesterday and the inside seemed more or less intact,) you might want to add it to IC. Thanks for reading, folks!

[mrsgaribaldi]

Sorry about your flight. Sounds like you had a great time I'm dying to do that Keys to the Kingdom tour. I can't wait to read your report about it. Thanks for sharing

PS: I love your avatar

[Bethanymouse]

It sounds like you had a really great weekend. And to think, while I was doing yard work you were enjoying Main Street USA! Thanks so much for the report. I am glad you had a good time!

[pogo]

This sounded like a perfect weekend.

We also loved the Laugh Floor Comedy Club. I heard it was off to a rough start, but I think they worked the bugs out and we really enjoyed this attraction.

Thanks for sharing your weekend with us.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[BriarRose0708]

I really enjoyed reading your report and share in the dislike of US Air (and in my case, the Philly airport which is a whole other story). Thanks for sharing your weekend!

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Hey you can't get too mad at USAIR, with the free tickets and your AP sounds like another trip in the making..:

[faline]

What a fun weekend you had! Although it was short, you managed to cram in quite a lot!

[SBETigg]

What a fabulous weekend! Thanks for the report.

Sidenote:
My parents and I - correct. You used it as a subject, therefore the I. If it was the object, it would be "my parents and me". When in question, just remove the "my parents" and think how you would say it. In this case, "I left Friday morning..." I hope that helps for future reference (not that it matters in a casual forum).

[Christine]

What a wonderful weekend! I enjoyed reading your thorough reports! Can't wait to hear about your tour!

[BelleCiavo]

Your post made me hungry Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
Karen

[Bethis26fan]

thanks for sharing.

[Red Randal]

Hey you can't get too mad at USAIR, with the free tickets and your AP sounds like another trip in the making..:

But unfortunately I didn't get the free tickets because I got on my original flight. I did get an upgrade to first class but I'm sure US Air would have avoided that if at all possible.

[ChipnDaleGal]

Now that is how to spend the weekend!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful short trip. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[January-2007]

Thanks for the trip report! We'll be at the Beach Club at the end of the week, glad you had a good time.

[sleepingbooty]

Sounds like a "first class" trip all the way - thanks for sharing!