Walt Disney World is as close to impeccable in its Imagineering as you could ask of anyone…but no one is perfect. And sometimes plans can go a little awry for even the best of us.
Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney’s Beach Club Resort has always been a hidden treasure. It was tiny and so tended to be tough to get a reservation – but once inside it was such a lovely experience. Classic diner food. Massive ice cream sundaes – including the famed “kitchen sink” that could feed a family of 276.
The famed kitchen sink!
Prices there are incredibly reasonable for a Walt Disney World restaurant. It was just this cozy hideaway that served up grilled cheese and tomato soup and ice cream sundaes in an old fashioned soda shop environment.
As delicious as it is ugly…
I’ve raved about it before. You can find the post right HERE.
Sometime last year, they closed the space for a major remodel. Part of that was a major expansion – they were basically tripling the interior space and doubling the seating capacity, making for a restaurant that would be easier to get into and more comfortable to navigate once you were inside.
Seemed like a great idea. But somewhere along the way someone on the planning committee lost the memo on what Beaches & Cream actually is. And we learned that the hard way when we visited very soon after they reopened their doors.
Oy.
Don’t get me wrong. The menu is still great and the prices are still reasonable. The grilled cheese and soup is delicious. The new tater tots on the menu are yummy.
The ice cream and milkshakes are sinful. And the cast members inside are still wonderful.
But the space?
It’s a no from me….
You can triple the size of a restaurant without losing its character. But the round old soda shop tables are gone. The coziness of the space is a memory. They really just threw the baby out with the bathwater with the space. It’s sleek and streamlined. The tables are big plain rectangles and theres a godawful light fixture that looks like something out of a modern home catalog. It’s kind of a bummer, to be honest.
Would I still swing by here if I was staying at an Epcot Resort or spending the day at Epcot and in need of a break? Sure. Would I make a special trip? Probably not. And I put this out there not to be negative. We all misstep a little some times. And this would be so easy to fix with a quick redo of some of the details in the space. But for now…I’m sad to say that this spot has lost a little of its magic.
Let’s eat our feelings at the pickup window.
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Have you been to the newly reimagined Beaches & Cream Soda Shop yet? What did you think? Am I totally off base here?
