On our most recent trip to Walt Disney World, Brian and I were on day three of our quick weekend getaway and we had decided to make a stop that evening over at the Beach Club. We were on our way to spend the night at Epcot. He wanted to soak in the atmosphere, so, much to my original hesitation, I said ok. He is not a go-go-go park goer like I am, so I try to indulge him in his wishes occasionally.
So, we decided to sit by the beach for an unspecified amount of time. (At least for me...I could just feel the seconds ticking away...telling me, you're one step closer to the park's 9 pm closure.) It ended up being wonderful just laying there and relaxing. I caught up on Twitter and he laid there, resting. We watched as they prepared to set up the screen for that evening's movie. (More on that in a bit...)
All the sudden, I smelled Rome burning. Or at least what it smells like when Rome burns in Spaceship Earth. I knew we were close to Epcot, but didn't think they'd pipe the smell all the way over here! :) So I started looking around and what did I see...a campfire!
Brian and I discussed going over there and, at first, I was a little hesitant. I didn't know if it was just for hotel guests or how the whole thing worked. But I saw a family who was sitting next to us on the beach who came prepared with hot dogs, so I thought, let's just go over there and take a look.
We saw two Cast Members, one who was poking the fire and one who was standing at a table with sticks and baggies full of marshmallows. I asked what was going on and she said that we were more than welcome to have a bag of marshmallows and gave us a pair of sticks with instructions. (Don't hit each other with sticks, don't hit Cast Members with sticks and don't wave your flaming marshmallows around in the air when they catch on fire! I was disappointed...I wanted to do all three!) We then joined the families who had already started lighting their marshmallows on fire.
The baggie had a substantial number of marshmallows in it. I want to say there were somewhere between six and eight. We both shoved our treats on the sticks and held them out over the fire, toasting them ever so carefully. It was really a lot of fun! We watched as families bonded over the process and I think we did too. There is nothing like eating warm marshmallows. I'm kind of a sucker for them.
While it was something that I wasn't expecting to do on my Disney vacation, it is one of those things that I think was a highlight of this trip. It's amazing how something so small could have such an impact on our vacation. And it's all because Brian wanted to sit by the water. I guess I'll have to thank him sometime.
The marshmallow toasting happens nightly, along with a movie that is shown on the beach. Each night, a different Disney flick is showcased. It is shown directly on the beach where guests have access to beach chairs to lounge in. It is a great way to just kick back from the hustle and bustle of the parks and relax.
Or you can do like we did...where we spent about a half hour toasting marshmallows and then went into the park to get ready to watch Illuminations. When we came back out through the International Gateway, the movie had starting showing on the big screen not long before.
I would not hesitate to do this again now. I think it is a fabulous way to spend an evening. Have you ever taken part in anything like this before either here or at another resort? Let me know on the Facebook page.
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