Part 5: Cinderella's Castle

To say I was excited about eating dinner in the castle in an understatement. I had made this reservation in early December, my first one made for thsi trip, and had been giddy about it ever since. We had about a 10 minute wait before our 8:05 seating, got our pictures taken with Ms. Cinderella, and were seated in the gorgeous dining room. Even the menu was themed: 



Belle, Aurora, Jasmine, and Snow White made their rounds for photos before we started eating.

Then dinner was served, starting with same rolls that seem to be at every Disney restuarant.

I began with a cheese plate: Brie, goat cheese and white cheddar. The brie was served with honey comb, and was delish. For my entree, I had cobia with tomoto sauce and pasta. The fish very flakey, and the dish had just enough spice to be interesting but not overly so.

The husband had duck for the first time ever, and he nearly licked his plate clean.

I had chocolate mouse with rapsberry sauce for dessert. It was ok, simple but good.

The husband had the trio for dessert:berries and cream, cheesecake, and a small mouse.

Overall, I was super pleased with the service, the atmosphere and the food. It was as good as some of the signature level restuarants, and the whole experiemce is just really neat. I give Cinderella's Castle a 5 out of 5 on my dining scale. *Also, since we went so late, it was probably much quieter than it would be duirng a more kid-friendly time.

Part 4: Princess Half Marathon Race Recap, my 16 minute PR!

My alarm went off at 2:00, and I was up, showered, and dressed by 3:05.I wore (because I enjoy reading this from other people):

• Nike capris
• Nike airborne running tank and airborne sports bra
• VS seamless bikinis
• A sparkle skirt
• My timex ironman
• Balega socks
• Brooks Dyads
• My pink ipod shuffle

The bus stop my part of the hotel only had two other ladies waiting when I got there, and we waiting less than 5 minutes on a bus, though the other stops around the resort were much more crowded, and had long lines waiting for buses. I arrived at the race at 3:45, ate a bagel with butter from the consection stand, browsed race merchandize. and dropped off my bag. My biggest complaint about this race: How far the start was from the drop off point - at least a half mile, if not more!

I was in corral C, so after the first two corrals started, I made my way near the front, and was off! I had three mental goals for this race: sub-2:50, running the whole first 7 miles, and  keeping an even pace in the start of the race. Miles 1 (11:43) and 2 (11:00) were run in the dark, and went by super quickly. By the time we got near Magic Kingdom at Mile 5, I was feeling really good. I hit the 5 mile at 58:02. Running through the castle was such a special moment - I was definately teary. To know how far I have come as a runner and a person  in such a really short amount of time was a wonderful feeling.

Miles 6 and 7 went through the Magic Kingdom and started back onto the highway to Epcot. I hit the half way point at 1:15, and was feeling really good, so I decided to try to run a new continous-running record, and run the first 10 miles, beating my old record by a full three miles. By mile 9, it was getting hot, and the course had little support along the roadway. I was struggling, but detetmined. At mile 9, I was at 1:48:30. I hit mile 10 at 1:59:10. I then took a short break until the next water station, and began to run again. I did mile 10 in a 5:1 run'wal ratio,  and started mile 11 in a 3/3, but ended up walking up a few long overpasses. By mile 12, we were reentering Epcot. Eveything in my body was tired - but I pushed as hard as I could - walking some, running the last 1/4 mile. I crossed the finish line in 1:40:46. a 16:09 PR.

The husband was waiting at the end with a glitterly flower:

His reaction to the day: that he'd never seen more men in drag in one place in his life. There were men as snow white, in tiaras, in ball gowns.

After a shower for me and nap for the Hubs, we went to Epcot to explore the world showcase. We had a quick and yummy lunch at San Angel Inn, followed by a much enjoyed Plum Green Tea Slush from World of Tea in Japan.

Note: I have a slight Duffy obessession. Yes, this makes me a dork.

Up next: Dinner with Cinderella

Part 3: Shutters

I am a huge fan of the in-resort Disney restuarants in most cases, and we always try to eat in whatever hotel we're at at least once. I knew I would want an early bedtime before my 2:00am race-day wake up, so the husband and I choose to spend Saturday night swimming and going to Shutters.

The meal started with bread, which was good, if a little hard.



I had chicken wings for my appetizer, and they were *fantastic* - honey-y and spice coated, without being mouth hurting hot.

In the spirit of carb loading, I ordered pasta with chicken for my entree. It had a jerk seasoning, peppers, and goat cheese. Overall - ok. There is a similar dish at Boatwright's at Port Orleans Resort that is AMAZING, so this was a little bit of let down.

We skipped dessert at the restuarant and ended up going to Downtown Disney for ice cream sundae's at Giridelli's, that were amazing as always.

My grade for Shutter: 3/5. Good, not special, but our waitress was super attentive and nice, and the husband had a jerk-rubbed Ahi tuna he raved about. I would definately go there if you stay at Carribean Beach, but not sure I would make a special trip. 

Princess Weekend Part 2: Via Napoli, and Epcot

We started out the day in Epcot, riding Mission Space and Test Track* before heading to Via Napoli for lunch. I was super excited because all of the reviews, everyone from Disboards to the Disney Food Blog to All ears, raved about it. We were seated at the long central table, and it took a good 10 minutes before our drink order was taken. We had the deluxe dining plan this trip, so we were able to choose an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert.
We orded the frito misto, basically a fried sampler platter, to share as the appetizer. It was . . fine. The calamari was chewy and tasty salty, like it wasn't well cleaned. We maybe ate a 1/4 of the whole thing - everything jsut tasted "breaded" with no real seasoning. The husband had spagetti and meatballs for his entree, and it was ok, but plain. He likened it to spagetti-os. I ordered the white lasagna, and what they brought was a few noddles literally covered in vechimel. No flavor, only four pieces of spinach I could count. Like eating the base for mac and cheese before the cheese is added. Two bites and I was done. We also noticed the tables around us got bread and oil - which weren't offered to us.

The waiter didn't ask if anything was wrong when he came to pick up my basically untouched plate and bring dessert. I ordered the Zeppoli, which are supposed to be like donuts, and the husband had tiramisu. His tiramisu was ok, but my zeppoli were cold, hard as rocks, and had the consistancy of yellow cake. Overall score for this meal: 0 of 5. Worst meal I've ever had at Disney.

After lunch, we explored the world showcase, and went back to the hotel to swim.

Up next: Dinner at Shutters

Race recap part 1

This will be a multi-part trip review, starting with the expo, then both races, a few detailed dining reviews, and then our hotel. Hope you enjoy!

Our plane arrived Friday in Orlando at 11:30 about an hour late due to the “intensive ice removal” they had to do before we could leave Indianapolis. We used Magical Express with no issues, and checked into our room at Caribbean Beach. I’ll do a full hotel review later – but it was great! We ate lunch at the hotel’s food court, got our refillable mugs (free with Deluxe Dining), and headed to the expo. Compared to Wine and Dine, the bus transportation seemed much “easier” – less crowded, better organized.

After packet pick up for both races, we did some shopping and I got a black Princess Half jacket, a pink Finisher’s t-shirt, purple running shorts, and a 13.1 Mickey window cling for my car. We had dinner reservations that night at the husband’s only food request: the clam bake at Cape May Café. We have gone for the character breakfast, but this was our first dinner trip. The buffet had clams, mussels, crab legs, and all sorts of sea food and sides. We ate probably too much, but the food and service were sublime. After a quick walk though Epcot, we made it back to hotel for an early night in preparation for the next morning’s 5k.

We left for the Royal Family 5k at 5:15. I wore: black nike tempo shorts, hot pink nike v neck, nike airborne sports bra, my zensah calf sleeve, cheapy target running socks, and my Dyads. The bus was basically empty, and the bag check area was equally dead. We took a few pictures in Epcot, and made our way to the start line area, where there were crazy long lines for pictures will Belle and the Beast and a semi-obnoxious DJ trying to get people to dance. I also saw a man in the greatest shirt ever: On the front “For my 50^th birthday my wife made me do this” and the back “ That’s why I married my favorite princess”. Super sweet! There were tons of people in costumes and tiaras. In the starting area, they had pace guidelines signs, and the husband and I agreed to split it up. He wanted to really “run” and I was trying to get in a pace run for the next day. The race started with fireworks and we were off.

My only complaint about this race is how not accurate the course map was. It took almost a mile to get into Epcot, running on service roads and under Test Track. It was really nice to be able to run through world showcase. I thought it was really funny how many people complained about the “hills” – come and run southern Indiana with me! I hit mile 1 and 2 exactly where I wanted: 12:10, 24:45, and finished the race in 38:08, though the course was more like 3.3 than a true 5k. The husband beat his PR by 10 seconds. We got our medals, went back to the hotel to change, and started our first day at Epcot.

An update in pictures

I promise for full race recaps and a huge trip report later. Happy Monday!

Quick update from the 'World

Husband PR'd at the Royal family 5K this morning in 30:32! The race was very much fun - the World showcase is hillier than I realized! We then had the worst restaurant meal I've had in a long time (Via Napoli), so we're trying to decide where to go for dinner to make up for it. Then an early evening to get ready for a 2am wakeup. Good luck to everyone running tomorrow, and hope is all is well for each and every one of you.

I couldn't have made it through this journey feeling this good about everything without your support. Love and hugs!

We're off

I'm sitting at the airport with my perfect oatmeal and a cafe Americano. We had a major snowstorm on the hour drive to the airport, but we safely made it and have checked in through security. Good vibes and prayers to everyone else traveling today! I'm a little nervous about flying - wish us luck!

Randokm question: we saw a tiny dog being carried through security today.Neither the dog or the personn seemed concerned. Do all dogs get scanned?

48 Hours and counting!

Our flight for Disney leaves at 7:10 Friday morning! We'll be landing at MCO, then taking the Magical Express to our hotel. I'm nervous about that whole process (anyone done it before and want to provide advice), but excited to be going!

Last night, I ran a speedy mile (10:13) and did some ab work between work and school. My packing for Disney is close to being done, but I still have some last minute running around and house cleaning to get in tonight.

My foot is . . .better. Sometimes. Or worse. Just generally uncomfortable.

Husband is trying doing his own pre-race prep this week: he's running the royal family 5k at Disney with me the day before the half. It will be his 3rd 5k, and I think he's getting fairly excited, too.

What are your last minute race tips?

Busy week!

Yesterday after work I went to the orthopedist (all is well!), ran 2.98 miles in 29:00 minutes, and then began the process of registering for classes. Yup, I am officially going back to school this semester. Yay for me. (Or not. Kind of dreading this, actually) Tonight, I have few things to finish booking for the trip for Princess, then hope to get in a run and a class at the Y.

The exciting thing? All our dining reservations are made! Here's how the week looks:
F: Dinner at Cape May Cafe
S: Lunch at Coral Reef (1st time to eat there), Dinner at Shutters at Carribean Beach
S: Lunch at San Angel Inn (1st time to eat there, Dinner at  . . . CINDERELLA'S CASTLE. Finally got reservations for this! I am 5-year-old-kid exciting about eating here.
M: Breakfast at Tusker House, Dinner at Narcosoosee's

What is a dream restaurant for you?

My Favorite Disney Dining

I have had only two bad dining experiences at Disney: Hollywood and Vine (cold food, empty buffet stations) and at Le Cellier (griztly meat, horrendous waiter). But some dining experiences are better than the rest.


10. Les Chefs de France. The food is standard French Restuarant, but Remy is awesome
9. Whispering Canyon Cafe at  Wilderness. Great American food with fun waitstaff
8. Bluezoo at Dolphin - Todd English's seafood restaurant
7. Artist's Point at Wilderbess Lodge
6. Cape May Cafe
5. Crystal Palace
4.Kouzzina by Cat Cora, but I love her so much it probably wouldn't matter if there was any food at all
3.Boma, at Animal Kingdom Lodge. African and Middle Eastern inspired food. Both the breakfast and dinner are great
2. Boatwright's at Port Orleans. Best sweet tea and cornbread ever.
1. Yachtsman Steakhouse

What are you favorite?

Character Dining at Disney

I am huge dork for character meals. So is the Husband (though he won't readily admit it, and tries to play it off as a love for buffets). Right now, the following restaurants have characters:
 At the  Magic Kingdom:

Crystal Palace - all three meals have Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. This is buffet style. I've been to breakfast and dinner here, and while the dinner is good, the breakfast offerings are to-die-for

Cinderella's Royal Table - Also has characters at all three meals. Typically has all Disney princesses. The food is ordered off a set menu, and when you arrive at Cinderella Castle for your reservation, a photographer will be on hand to take pictures of your group in the lobby, before you are seated. This meal takes 2 dining credits, and is nearly impossible to get ADRs for. Try as early in advance as you can.

In Epcot

The Garden Grill - Chip and Dale's Harvest Feast, dining only

Princess Storybook Dining Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion

At Disney's Hollywood Studios

Playhouse Disney's Play 'N Dine at Hollywood & Vine- has characters from the morning Disney shows

 

At Animal Kingdom

Tusker House - Has Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey with "African inspired" breakfast food

Other Places:

Cape May Cafe - . Goofy, Minnie, and Donald are there for a breakfast buffet. The food is really, really good - this is the husband's favorite place to eat at Disney!

Chef Mickey's - Contemporary

1900 Park Fare - Grand Floridian. Breakfast has Mary Poppins and dinner has Cinderella

Polynesian -- 'Ohana Character Breakfast - every morning with Lilo and Stitch, Pluto and Mickey

Have you tried a character meal? Which is your favorite?

Fine Dining in the World

An intro:

Disney has three types of sit down restaurants:

Wait-service, where you order from a menu and food is brought to your table

Buffet

Family-style, where specific courses are brought to your table to served family style. This is also all-you-can-eat

Disney also has character dining, where Disney characters come to each table for photo ops. This is just as much for couples without kids (or maybe we’re just dorks).

Among the wait-service restaurants, there is a special category of fine dining establishments: the signature restaurant. There is typically a dress code, the service is exceptionally, and the food is divine. These include:

Victoria and Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Winner of Zagat's National Top Ten Restaurants and the prestigious AAA 5-Diamond Award, which serves a prix-fixe seven course meal

California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort
Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot® FutureWorld
The Hollywood Brown Derby at the Disney's Hollywood Studios™
Citrico's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Flying Fish Café at Disney's BoardWalk Resort
Jiko at Disney's Animal Kingdom® Lodge
Narcoossee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
The Maya Grill at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Artist’s Point, at Wilderness Lodge

The husband and I visit at least one each trip we make, with the goal of eating at all of them. We have been to Artist’s Point, which is worth the visit for the atmosphere alone, and to Yachtsman. That was the BEST steak either of us has ever had. More than worth the trip – too fabulous for words.

If you are on a dining plan, the signature restaurants (except V&A’s, which is not on the dining plan), each take two credits. Paying out of pocket, the meal runs hubby and I around $75-$100, so the dining plan really pays off in the case. Also, don’t be scared of the dress code. Hubby has worn nice jeans both times and fit right in.

Up next: character dining

Disney Dining Part 1

One of the things that I most look forward too any time the Hubby and I go to Disney is the food - Disney is a foodie's paradise. I'm going to do a few posts in the next couple of weeks to highlight my tips and favorite places for dining on property at WDW. One thing I learned quickly is the need to have advanced dining reservations (ADRs in disney-fanatic speak) for any sit down meals you want to enjoy. These can be over the phone or online - http://www.allears.com/ has a very comprehensive dining guide with menus for all on-property restaurants and a complete guide to dining plans and the reservation system.

Before any trip, I like to map out each day and determine where we'll be in the evening and start making dinner reservations from there. Trust me, spending a day in Animal Kingdom and then having to rush from bus to bus to get across the World for dinner the Contemporary is no fun. I start with dinner because 1) the evening spots fill up the quickest at the more popular places and 2) knowing what time we'll eat dinner helps me decide if I need a lunch reservation or if a late breakfast would work better. Typically, we eat two meals a day at sit down restaurants and have either a light breakfats or mid day snack as our other meal.
Personally, I don't eat the fast-food counterservice type food at home, so we don't eat it at Disney, either. It is good quality and tastes good in the few times I've had it, but I'd rather savor the experience of eating than gobble down burgers. And the Husband would throw a FIT if I even suggect a fast food place.
I make a spreadsheet to capture my tenative choices, the park we'll be in during a given day, and how long transporation will take between the places, and then use that to make ADRs. For example:

Sunday
3:45 Leave for Race
6:00 Race Start
9:30 Back to hotel
10:30 Shower, change
12:00 Leave for epoct
1:00 San Angel Inn
Epoct
Magic Kingdomn - monorail trip
8:05 Cinderella's Castle Dinner

One caveat to the system: many places only have a few tables for two at any given time but have several for larger parties. However, the online system only places 2s at two-top tables. If you are a party of two and can't get an online reservation, you'll be better off calling the dining number, which can override the system and put you at a larger table.

Up next: where to go?

Short long run

I ended up cutting my planned 5 miles to 2.5 for a very good reason: movie night with the hubby! I'll do the 5 miles Wednesday instead of its planned 2 miler. Husband has been begging to see Tron since we first saw the Tron-covered monorail in Disney in May, and was super-excited to see it in 3D last night.

My review: better than I expected, but I really wasn't looking forward to it. I don't enjoy the original, though, either - maybe that's a generational issue, and I'm too young to appreciate it?

Here's my workout plan for the week:

M: 3 miles
T: XT
W: 5 miles
R: 4 miles
F: XT
S: 6 miles
S: XT

What's yor plan for the week?

Do you liike Tron?

Last Night's Run

I did four miles with my running group last night in 46:15,  with two walk breaks after 3.5 miles, thanks to some hip flexor tiredness caused by my pt. I can't believe I'm signed up for a half! I made hotel reservations for here:

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

I've stayed here on a few other Disney trips, but Husband hasn't, so it will be nice for him to experience a different hotel. Do you go to Disney?

Coming today: a recap of my first half, Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon