Limitless wanderer

In July of 2025, the month of my 34^th birthday, I decided it was time to visit the Walt Disney Beach Resort. Previously I had been at the Grand Floridian and it truly lived up to all of the hype. Since I am an annual passholder, my focus is less on the parks and more on the hotel I stay at- the main things I look for is access to the park (Skyliner for the win), food (obviously) and of course, the pool. It was for these reasons I thought I would give the Beach Club a try. When I arrived there I tried to use the water park benefit and headed over to blizzard beach. However, it was so packed that I decided to give up on that venture very quickly and made my way to the resort. The resort was undergoing some refurbishments so the exterior has some construction around it, but the pool and Skyliner were all working. Going into the resort you feel classic Disney vibes- that clean exciting environment that only Disney can create. Checking in was very easy, my room appeared to get an upgrade and was located in the main lobby- this was great for easy access to restaurants and the pool, however incredibly loud at night. Given the choice I would ask for a different room. 

My first visit was to the pool- since I arrived late afternoon the pool was in full swing. And by that I mean it was incredibly busy and absolutely packed. Stormalong Bay is a shared area with the Beach Club’s classier sister resort- the Yacht Club- here is a general analysis: 

Stormalong Bay (Overall 3/10): 

Pros: 

• Pool area was bigger than other resorts
• Interactive features such as a whirl pool, artificial sand and a slide
• close to ice cream

Cons: 

• Nowhere to sit. Even after rope dropping the pool (something I never thought I would have to do)- I was able to get seats directly in the sun. I felt like I was up against chair saving champions. 
• The fake sand is a very rough texture and hard to walk on 
• Limited shade
• Drinks were not allowed in the pool (the Grand Floridian would never…..)
• The bar, Hurricane Hanna’s, was a major let down

Hurricane Hanna’s Pool Bar (overall 3/10)

Pros: 

• Full bar
• The Drinks were STRONG

Cons: 

• Long wait time (22 mins to get drinks)
• nothing unique in terms of flavors  

Here is a list of items I ordered and the ranking assigned: 

• Virgin Pina Colada ($6.99): overly sweet, probably great for children, but for adults trying to avoid alcohol it was sickeningly sweet. 2/10
• Pina colada ($17.50)- overly priced, very sweet, not strong (alcohol content rating is 5/10). Overall rating is 3/10
• Cape Codder ($15.50)- The star of the show, it struck a balance of sweetness and tartness from the cranberry and pomegranate. It was very refreshing and came with a strong poor of Tito’s. 9.5/10

My first dining experience was at the famous on-site restaurant- Beaches and Cream. I tried a myriad of items- see below for a quick recap: 

Beaches and Cream Restaurant (overall 6.5/10)

Beaches and Cream Restaurant (overall 6.5/10)

• French Dip sandwich with onion rings (9/10)- $22: This was definitely a hit, the onion rings had a thick batter and the sandwich itself had alot of flavor. 8/10
• KIDS meal: Hot dog ($10.50)- Overall what you would expect, a great option for an adult who is not fully hungry or trying to avoid the massive Disney portions. 
• Angus Beef Burger ($23) cooked medium well- over cooked, the meat itself lacked a lot of flavor, the fries were great. It was also wet for no reason. 5/10
• No Way Jose Ice Cream Sunday ($14.50)- Honestly this one shocked me and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can NOT trust social media… it was hard to stomach. I am not sure if it was the heaviness of the starchy but flavorless peanut butter sauce or the massive amount of rich chocolate fudge- this was something that you literally could one or two bites then just walk away…. which unfortunately I did (as an ice cream lover this one hurt). As for the ice cream itself… it had a really weird texture and taste that did not sit right on the tongue- I think Disney makes some modifications to prevent melting, but this left it with a very weird . 4/10
• Fudge Brownie Mudslide ($14.5)- Better than the peanut butter sunday- there were still texture issues with the weird ice cream but overall the better of the 2 choices. 7/10

TIP: If you have social anxiety don’t order the Kitchen Sink Sunday- they make a spectacle when delivering it to your table. 

Tie Dye Shirts!

While walking around a Disney resort you might notice different activities for the kids. This visit I was able to make my life long dreams of making a tie die Disney shirt come true! There are employees walking you through the process from start to finish. You are able to choose either a shirt or a sweat shirt- the cost was ~ 20 depending on what you chose. Overall a fun activity with a neat souvenir. 

Cake Bake Review

The next morning I had a reservation for the controversial Cake Bake shop, located on Disney’s Boardwalk and home of the $22 pieces of cake. Reservations are very hard to come by but luckily I was able to land a 7am breakfast reservation. When arriving the exterior is magical and creates an illusion of pure fantasy. Going into the resturant you see impeccable decorations, muted grey, white and pink colors, floral arrangements and tables set with linen cloth (rare for disney). The ambiece and the vibes were great, even at the early time of 7am. While I did not get a piece of cake yet (the resturant is seperate from the bakery)- I tried both quiches available (Ham/goat cheese and broccoli)- both were on the custardy side with a thinner crust. To start the meal I ordered the blueberry crumb cake, which was not overly sweet and had a great blueberry taste to it. I also ordered a side of pancakes (with glitter and their signature buttercream)- the children’s portion is perfect for an adult as well as their eggs and bacon. Overall my main complaint was the quiches were slightly on the runny side, however our server had warned us beforehand that it was intentional so that was a risk I took. See below for a shortened version of my review: 

Cakebake Shop- resturant (overall 8/10)

• Rose Cappuccino ($9): 2/10- a skip. Too floral and not strong enough on the espresso. 
• Latte ($6): 5/10- average but not strong. 
• Ham, rosemary and goat cheese quiche ($25)- 7/10- 
• Broccoli Quiche ($16)- 7/10- taste was great, texture is what got me  
• Hot Chocolate ($9): 9/10- magical 
• Pancakes (children) ($14)- 9.5/10- outstanding 
• Eggs/bacon ($7 and $8): 7/10- solid but nothing special 
• Blueberry Crumb Cake ($9): 8/10- served as an appetizer so a good start to breakfast 

Cakebake Shop- Bakery (overall 10/10)

• $22 cake slices- perfection- I tried the Earls Court Cake slice and the Lemon Blueberry Cake

Finally Stop… Boardwalk Deli

The Boardwalk deli, located adjacent to the CakeBake Shop, was the last stop on my journey. This is my go to place for a quick breakfast- I typically get a latte from CakeBake (iced with half peppermint) and a breakfast sandwich from the Deli.