The Brits at the Beach Club RE-VISITED! THREAD 2 COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures Cheryl

[Cinderbrella]

Another great update to your TR, Cheryl. We have yet to catch OFL, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them in November!!

[chezp]

Monday 23 December - part one: a quick, but expensive, shopping trip!

The day started with another quick breakfast at Riptide and by now, we were becoming more and more convinced that they’d put their prices up for Christmas. When we first arrived, two chocolate chip muffins were $3.88 and by the second week of our vacation, they were suddenly costing $4.88. It was not the only example of that which we were to see during our vacation…

After breakfast, we set out to the Florida Mall and were pleasantly surprised at how quickly we managed to get there. In 2000, there were roadworks everywhere on the route out there and it took us well over a hour to get there, which was very frustrating. This time, it was a lot better!

Mark wanted to buy some tops at the Florida Mall, but the only store of any use to us there was the Disney Store. I think it’s probably because we’re not really into designer goods, we just wanted some good quality clothes at good, cheap prices. But in the Disney Store, we managed to get two tops and eight beanies for our niece’s Christmas 2003 present and all for just $80! Even better, we were also able to get our DVC discount! And yes, you did read that right – we hadn’t even made it to Christmas 2002 by this point and we were already shopping for Christmas presents a year ahead. Then again, when the Christmas beanies are so cheap and they’re American ones that she couldn’t get at home, what would you do?

Next we stopped off at the Belz factory outlet. I know other people have made similar comments, but I didn’t realise how big it was. I stupidly thought it was one mall and didn’t realise that you had to know which mall you wanted when going there!

Once we found the mall we wanted, Mark raided Timberland and got five tops (including a nice yellow one which makes him look like Pooh bear when he wears it!) for $127. At least we’re now a bit more even in terms of the amount of tops we’ve each bought!

Lunch was at Burger King near Belz. We’d promised ourselves that we wouldn’t eat at McDonald’s this vacation (and indeed we kept to that promise!) as we’d had some bad experiences with them before, but BK was very nice and a lot tastier than at home.

As soon as we got back to the Beach Club, we went down to Stormalong Bay and I did the waterslide again. I was proud of myself for that! It was a lot busier there, but there was still space to sit and sunbathe and feel as if you were on your own. It is just such a beautiful place to sit and relax and it’s one of the reasons that I love the Beach Club so much.

We had a booking for the 6 p.m. show of Cirque de Soleil, so we made sure to leave Stormalong Bay early enough so that we could go back to our room, shower and change and not be rushing to get to Downtown Disney. I’d read on the boards that we shouldn’t miss the pre-show and I wanted to take back a photo album I’d bought earlier in the trip, so I wanted to make sure that we were there well before the start time of the show.

By the time we got there at around 4.00, the afternoon sun was beautiful and I took the opportunity to grab some photos as we walked from the West Side over to the Marketplace and back again:








We went to sort out the photo album first of all. I had gone to put some photos into the album earlier in the day and it had creased and now wouldn’t open and close properly. I was glad that had happened while we were still at Disney and not once we got home! They changed it without even seeing the receipt. Now there aren’t many shops where they’ll do that for you!

Next: our first ever time at Cirque de Soleil and an Italian experience at Palio and “what did you say that rope’s there for?”

[lauren-roxy]

Another wonderful update Cheryl!! I really want to visit the outlet malls this time when we visit in July!! Your pictures of Downtown Disney are really good!! Can't wait for more!!

[Joy J]

Great update! I'm looking forward to reading what you think about Cirque du Soleil.

Joy

[Tara O'Hara]

What a fabulous update Cheryl!!

[chezp]

Monday 23 December – part two: our first ever time at Cirque de Soleil and an Italian experience at Palio

We got to Cirque de Soleil at around 5.15 and had superb seats, right at the base of the second tier, meaning a lot of action taking place right in front of our eyes. I think my eyes nearly popped out of my head when the show started with the performers walking around the walkway right in front of us – some of them were looking directly at us as they passed us. You couldn’t be any closer to them if you tried and it certainly made me feel like I was part of the show.

I’d booked these seats in July, which might explain why they were so good. I was impressed! Our view was certainly unobstructed, well except for all the people who kept coming in late. Now something needs to be done about that, as it spoils the enjoyment of the show for others. In the London theatres, if you’re late, you simply aren’t admitted to your seats until the interval. I know Cirque de Soleil doesn’t have an interval, but I’d like to see them adopting a similar policy as well.

For anyone who hasn’t seen La Nouba, there’s a simple message - go and see it! It was fantastic and I couldn’t believe it when it ended. Surely 90 minutes couldn’t have gone by that fast? Mark was very skeptical about it beforehand, as he didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t really explain (neither of us could explain very well now what it is to anyone who hasn’t seen it, it really defies explanation, you just have to experience it for yourself). Anyway, he came out raving about the show, which was a relief for me. I was so worried he wouldn’t like it!

There were so many parts of the show which we loved - the Chinese girls, the trapeze artists, the trampolinists and those in the ribbons, who soared high above us. It was intense, but the whole experience sucked us in completely. We’ll definitely be going back to see it the next time we’re at Disney, especially as there’s absolutely no way that you can take in everything that happens during the show on your first viewing of it.

We were surprised by how many youngsters there were at the show. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under the age of say, six, as it is intense at times, it’s 90 minutes in one go without an interval and it really is aimed at adults. I’m not sure most young children would really appreciate it, but everyone else certainly would.

Our only disappointment with Cirque de Soleil was their shop. We couldn’t believe that they didn’t have videos for the European market. All of Europe uses a different system to America, something which a lot of organisations, including Cirque de Soleil and Disney, don’t seem to realise. A great shame as we would’ve bought a fair few items. (Fortunately since then, Cirque du Soleil have started to produce videos and DVD’s for the European market that we can either buy in shops over here or online, so we’ve been able to get quite a good collection together!)

Dinner was booked at Palio at the Swan at 8.30 p.m. and it was perfect timing, allowing us just enough time to get back to the Beach Club, park and then walk over to the Swan, arriving with about ten minutes to spare. What a great meal we had, with excellent service.

We only decided to go there, as we got 20% off from our DVC membership and I’m glad we had the discount, as it certainly wasn’t cheap. I had pasta with lobster and garlic, which was wonderful, but very rich, meaning I never really had any hope of finishing it. Mark had the chicken in red wine sauce and we shared an appetiser of risotto with roasted peppers and asparagus - every mouthful of that was heavenly and I couldn’t fault it at all – although I would say there was a little too much for an appetizer, which again didn’t help when I got to the main course. This is another restaurant we must go back to.

Palio Me Mark
Starter 10 8
Main course 8.5 9
Atmosphere 8 8
Service 10 9
Value for money 8.5 8

Average: 8.70



Next: “what did you say that rope’s there for?”

[Tara O'Hara]

What a wonderful description of Cirque du Soleil, Cheryl!! I can't wait to see it again in December!! Your dinner sounds wonderful as well!

[lauren-roxy]

Another wonderful update Cheryl!! I really am going to have to try Palios, I have only heard good things about it!! Can't wait for more!!

[Cinderbrella]

Excellent update, Cheryl!

[DawnDenise]

Awesome updte Cheryl!! Your descriptions of Cirque are incredible!! More please !!

[Joy J]

Well Cheryl, you've done it! After reading your wonderful account of Cirque, I think I'm going to book it for my mom and I for our trip in November. I also think Palio might be worth a try since you enjoyed it so much. It's one of the few places we haven't eaten at yet so now it's on my list.

Joy

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates Cheryl

[chezp]

[ QUOTE ]
Well Cheryl, you've done it! After reading your wonderful account of Cirque, I think I'm going to book it for my mom and I for our trip in November. I also think Palio might be worth a try since you enjoyed it so much. It's one of the few places we haven't eaten at yet so now it's on my list.

Joy

[/ QUOTE ]

Joy, that is so good to hear! I can assure you that you won't be disappointed with Cirque du Soleil - all their shows are superb!

[LSUtigerfan]

Great update! One day we will have to see La Nouba...I love the Cirque shows, they are awesome! My dh just surprised me with tickets to their show "O" in Las Vegas for my 33rd birthday!!! Glad to hear that Cirque didn't disappoint, although I've never heard a complaint from anyone before. Palio's sounds yummy, especially the dish that you ordered.

More please!!!