The Disney Dash Ice Cream Bash

When we arrived at FUMC-Kissimmee in April of 1994, we had lots to learn about the community and the church.  We had lots to learn about being Floridians.  But we already knew a great deal about Walt Disney World.  It didn't take me long to work the House of Mouse into our youth ministry plans.  And the event that became everyone's favorite was The Disney Dash Ice Cream Bash!


We had first discovered the Beaches & Cream Soda Shop while staying with my parents at Disney's Yacht Club Resort following a cruise we took for our 5th anniversary in 1991.  Beaches (as we still refer to it) had great hamburgers and awesome ice cream creations, and we ate there several times.  Then in 1993 on The Magic Tour (a youth trip from Springfield Friends Meeting) a group of us made a dinner stop at Beaches and simply had a blast (see But Now...).  One of the great joys of moving to Kissimmee was making regular trips over to WDW and visiting some of our favorite restaurants.  I decided to include the youth on a trip to Beaches in the summer of '94.  It became a tradition- and The Disney Dash Ice Cream Bash was born!


The Dash took a variety of forms over the years.  In the beginning, we just went for ice cream treats, like the No Way Jose and the biggest, best Root Beer floats you could ever imagine.  Over my final few summers at FUMC-K we would give away a Kitchen Sink (the "takes at least 4 people to eat it" signature sundae of Beaches) every summer and include the winners in our trip.  Then we would just hang out at the Yacht & Beach Club Resort's amazing sandy-bottomed pool, dreaming of the day we would sneak in and swim there.  Later, when I began doing the Dash with the Wesley Memorial UMC group, we would make a day of it, doing a scavenger hunt at the Disney Village or playing miniature golf.  But the highlight of every Dash was ice cream.


I know that many of my readers have memories of the Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, and I'd love to hear them.  In the meantime, I think I need to plan a trip to Beaches for later in September.  Who wants to join me?  :)


Because of Jesus,