Day 2 at Walt Disney World After the Expo

So, on Day 2 of the Walt Disney World Marathon Trip, we started off going to the Expo, which I already covered here.

It was the wait for these guys that made our time at the Expo last longer than it should have. By the time we were able to purchase the runDisney New Balance shoes, Brooke and I were ready to head back to our resort and regroup. Due to the time and being limited with Disney transportation, we knew dinner was going to come late for us. However, we had so much stuff from the Expo that we couldn’t just carry it all around. So, we took the bus back to the All Star Sports and got ready to head out for dinner.

When at Walt Disney World, it is both convenient and inconvenient to use the Disney transportation. This is a nice offering by Disney so you don’t have to rent a car for your stay. However, it also holds you captive to the routes that the various forms of transportation go. On the end of our second day in Florida, this was a frustrating experience for us. I purposefully didn’t make dinner reservations because I didn’t know how long we would be at the Expo. In my mind, we’d get there when it opened and then stay until lunch time. After lunch, we’d head out to do other stuff. Since this didn’t happen, I’m really glad that we didn’t have reservations somewhere. As we waited for our shoes, I had an idea of where I wanted to eat that night. However, I had no idea how long it was going to take us to get there. I wanted to eat at the Beaches and Cream Soda Shop at the Beach Club Resort which was in the Boardwalk area. In my research, I saw that I needed to take a bus to EPCOT and it looked like we just would walk from there. So, we got on our bus.

We had not idea how this bus ride to EPCOT would prove to be the start of a long adventure to get to our desired eating location. You see, I didn’t know that there was no way of walking to the Boardwalk area from where the busses dropped us off at EPCOT except through the theme park. As soon as we landed at EPCOT, this became crystal clear. So, I got my phone out and tried to figure out how to get to the Boardwalk area without going through EPCOT. The directions said to take a bus to the Saratoga Springs Resort and catch a bus to the Boardwalk Resort from there. So, we hopped on another bus. As we approached the first bus stop at the Saratoga Springs Resort, I learned that there were multiple stops. So, I asked the bus driver if this stop would have a bus come by to take us to the Boardwalk Resort. He assured me that it did. Time was passing as we waited for a bus. We saw several theme park busses pass us and I didn’t see Boardwalk Resort as an option on our stop. So, I panicked. After seeing about 5 busses pass, we decided to hop on a bus to Downtown Disney. There had to be a bus to take us to the Boardwalk Resort from there. Right?

So, that’s what we did. We took the Downtown Disney bus and caught a bus that brought us to the Beach Club Resort. It took so long for us to get to Downtown Disney initially and we were both so hungry by that point that we almost just decided to find a place to eat there. Smart phones are awesome! I was able to double-check that the Beaches and Cream Soda Shop would even be open when we got there before leaving Downtown Disney. After all, it was after 8pm at the time we got to Downtown Disney and. according to my information, it was going to be at least another 20 minutes once we got on a bus to get to the resort we needed to be at. So, dinner would not happen until at least 9pm.

As we were making the loop of the Swan and Dolphin Resorts, the Beach Club was coming up. Even though I was originally planning on getting off at the Boardwalk Resort, I took a guess and got off at the Beach Club Resort. That was a good guess as it was exactly where we needed to be. Brooke and I were hungry and it was cold outside. So, by then, we just wanted to find the place. First, though, Brooke needed a restroom ASAP. As she found the restroom, I got out my trusty smart phone and found a map of the resort to find where we needed to go. The My Disney Experience app saved the day!

We were both so happy to find this place! They had a take out window and a line for where you go if you want to dine in the small restaurant. With all that we went through to get there, we just wanted to sit in one place for a little bit.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, do it! It’s a really cool little soda fountain shop that feels right out of the 1950’s.

The atmosphere is so cool that it took Brooke and I instantly away from the stress of finding this place and allowed us to enjoy ourselves.

Gotta love the juke box!

We were so happy to have found our destination!

Even the menu was super fun!

If you want to see what they offer, just click on the images and enlarge them. You have the front and the back of the menu.

Because it was a soda fountain sort of shop, we had a burger. Because it was so late, we had them split the burger. Also, the deserts looked so good that we knew we wouldn’t order one if we tried to have a dinner each and desert.

We had the No Way Jose and split that as well. No way either of us to eat either by ourselves. The cool thing is that they make all the food right in front of you. Both Brooke and I appreciated that the cook cut the burger in half for us and we were served on separate plates. The burger was the best we had at Walt Disney World and the desert was da bomb! The ambiance, combined with the food make this a place I think everyone should visit at least once. No advanced reservation needed.

The Beaches and Cream Soda Shop is located behind the pool. Since we were not staying at that resort, it was a little tricky to get there. However, it gave us the opportunity to check out this amazing pool!

I loved the windmill!

And another shot from the pool area…

On our honeymoon, we never got over to the Boardwalk area. So, since neither of us were racing the next day, we decided to walk around a little bit and take in the beauty that this part of Walt Disney World has to offer.

We loved the view from the end of the dock where I believe you can take a boat to EPCOT.

I love the way the light shimmers off the water.

This is the dock we walked out onto. Pretty Cool!

Ah, EPCOT in the background! When we were trying to find the Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, Illuminations had started and we got to see some of the fireworks!

A beached pirate ship that serves as a playground, I think.

I could have stayed there for hours. But it was getting late and we did have a full day of theme parks the next day. So, since I remembered that the Boardwalk Resort was the last stop before returning to Downtown Disney on the Disney bus route, we walked over to the Boardwalk Resort.

We made one more stop at the restrooms before heading to the bus loading area. That gave me to check out the lobby area of the Boardwalk Resort.

I love the way Disney decorates their resorts!

The large paintings just give off a classy, yet boardwalk kind of feel.

Heading out to the busses, I saw this work of art and thought it was cool.

Great job on the theming Disney!

If only I could afford to stay here for a week! Both the Beach Club and the Boardwalk Resort look amazing! However, it was time to catch our bus to Downtown Disney and eventually back to the All Star Sports. Parts of day 2 (our first full day) on this trip were spectacular. Other parts, not so much. I could have done without the 5 hour wait to get the runDisney New Balance Shoes and the crazy journey to get to the Beaches and Cream Soda Fountain Shop. However, the new shoes are really cool and the Beaches and Cream was amazing! If only we could have paused time to spend more of it on the Boardwalk. Of course, the Walt Disney World 10K course would take us all from one end to the other and the Walt Disney World Marathon would also take us through some of the same area. So, I did get a good feel for the area by the end. However, I still could have stayed there all day.