And even though I can't really eat the Wine & Dine food, I always have a fun time attending and taking lots of pictures!!
Nathan and my parents are also signed up for the half!
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I just signed up with early registration to run in Disney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon and Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k! Woohoo! I am excited to be running the Wine & Dine half this year and experience the 5th Anniversary of the race! I also love night races and enjoyed my Tower Of Terror and Happy Haunted Trails double races last year!
And even though I can't really eat the Wine & Dine food, I always have a fun time attending and taking lots of pictures!! Nathan and my parents are also signed up for the half!
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Since we have annual passes Nathan and I were able to spend some time in the parks while in Disney for Marathon Weekend. I proudly wore my medals and race shirts the entire weekend!
After the Half Marathon Nathan and I met up at the Cape May at the Beach Club. We were late for our reservation, but they were very accommodating at fitting us in when we were ready.
The chef came to see us and explained what we were able to eat. I picked Cape May because of the breakfast quinoa (I wanted some protein after my race), so I was excited to try it. I was brought out some Mickey Waffles and a Baby Cakes doughnut. This doughnut was to die for! SO good! I could also have the quinoa (which was sweet and had raisins), fruit, potatoes (these were really good), and broccolini (these took awhile to get because they were a popular item!). Everything was very tasty, and we quickly stuffed ourselves full of food. Minnie and Donald came by to visit two times, but we somehow missed Goofy. Dressed in their beachwear, they were excited to see me and my medals! Donald was very excited about my Donald Medal. This was a good character buffet, not crowded, and at a good price. We would come here again! What better time to eat lots of Disney food and not care about healthy items is when you are running 4 races!! Here is where and what I ate for Dopey Weekend! After the 5k, we went to our favorite quick-service breakfast spot: Art of Animation. The service was a bit slow (The chef was not Allison, who is usually quick), but my usual meal hit the spot. Later that night, we ate at Be Our Guest. You can see my review here. After the 10k we had lunch at Mama Melrose at Hollywood Studios. This is not a particular favorite of ours, but Tutto Italia didn't have any reservations left. I ordered the gluten-free, vegetable pasta. I also ate a lot of bread. It was a decent meal for me and filled me up. Friday night we trekked to Downtown Disney and ate at Bongos Cuban Cafe. I ordered 2 sides of black beans, 2 sides of rice, and some plantains. Everything was good, though the waiter and service was really slow. We had to wait a long time to get refills, extra sauce, etc. Nathan ended up getting the Veggie plate, which is basically steamed vegetables and rice. It was hard to communicate that he wanted sauce to go with it, so the ended up giving him straight pepper sauce. Bongos is not the best for a variety of vegan food, but I was craving beans! After the half marathon, Nathan and I went to Cape May at the Beach Club for breakfast. You can see my review here. That night we wanted to stay near the hotel, so we ate at Saratoga Spring's Turf Club. My sister Heidi came to join us since she was running the marathon the next day. It was a nice night, so we ate out on the patio. It started to downpour halfway through, but we were covered and away from the sides. I ordered the gluten-free, vegetable pasta. It was light and refreshing, and I really enjoyed the broccolini. I just wish there would have been some sauce. The service was a bit slow, but the food was decent. After the marathon on Sunday I was starving. We headed back to our hotel and stopped at the Artist's Palette. My options were a sandwich with tomatoes and mushrooms, or a flat bread "pizza". It was basically a flat bread with some zucchini and tomatoes, with a basalmic reduction. I devoured it, including most of the tomatoes (yuck!) because I was so hungry. It wasn't impressive, and was completely over-priced. That night we went to Boma with Heidi to celebrate finishing the marathon. I don't think I took any pictures of our meal, probably because I was so tired. On Monday, before heading to the airport, we stopped at Downtown Disney for a trip to Baby Cakes. We also decided to try Pollo Campero as well. I could eat the plaintains, Yucca fries (YUMMMMM!!!), and the rice. All the beans either had wheat or dairy in them. I love Yucca fries and went back for a second serving. It's nice to know that we have the quick option at DD, and that is was really inexpensive.
Afterwards we went to Baby Cakes and spend lots of money on pumpkin and banana bread, cookie sandwiches, and cupcakes. My Virginia runner-friend, Leanne made reservations for Be Our Guest for the night after the 5k. After going on the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World, we met up and got to check out this new restaurant. The rooms are pretty over the top, with awesome chandeliers and details. We sat in the main dining room, but also got to check out the other rooms. I ordered the only thing on the menu that I could have - the Ratatouille with no mushrooms. It came on top of quinoa. It was good, but not amazing. But then again, I'm not a fan of tomatoes like that. It cost $17.
I had some Rice Dream for dessert. It was certainly a good experience, but I'm not very often in the mood for ratatouille, so I don't know if I would go back there again. You can read about my parent's October 2013 experience with Be Our Guest here. Nathan and I used some of our Disney Vacation Points for our room at Saratoga Springs over Marathon Weekend. We really wanted to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it was full by the time we could book, and our waitlist never came through. Oh well. We own points at SSR, but this was our first time staying there. This is a Downtown Disney Area hotel, as it is just across the lake. Although we wanted a room that was near transportation and on the ground floor, we got a room in The Carousel section, on the fourth floor. At least there was an elevator. I don't think I would have had survived if I had to climb all of those stairs.... Our room was about half a mile away from the Race Bus pick-up, which doesn't seem like a lot, but when you are walking there in the morning, walking to the corrals, standing around, running, and then walking back to the bus, and then back to the room, it really adds up. I think we would have had a totally different experience if we were closer to the main Hall. There was no pool in our area, or laundry, or an ice machine. Saratoga Springs WAS pretty...I will give you that. But we preferred the vibe that Old Key West gives off more. It just feels more home-y. The room at Saratoga seemed to be a bit small, compared to OKW. It had a queen bed with a pull-out couch, which was fine for us. But maybe since we weren't on the end, it just felt a little more cramped. While not our first choice of hotel to stay at, it is our base resort, so we will probably be here again. (Matter of fact, we are booked here for Wine & Dine Weekend 2014, in case we can't get into Boardwalk).
Hopefully a different location of room, or not being here during DOPEY weekend where I am running four races will change our minds on how we liked it. ...You start planning your next Disney Vacation before your most recent one takes place, and you plan Disney Vacations to hold you over until your next Disney Vacation!
I now have a trip planned for Spring Break in April with my friend. Nathan and I are also going for 7 nights in July, where we will get to spend 3-nights in a Savannah View room and 4-nights in a Standard View Room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are also going to Disneyland over Labor Day Weekend in August for the Dumbo Double Dare race. THEN we just booked 5-nights at Saratoga Springs (and will wait-list at Boardwalk) for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November! I love being a DVC member and having an Annual Pass! I leave for Florida Wednesday night to run in the Inaugural Dopey Challenge: 5k, 10k, Half, Full. I anticipate coming home with sore legs and 8 medals! 6 will be from the Dopey Challenge, and 2 will be from Digital Running Club.
Above is my costume for the Full Marathon. I may be adding a visor, depending on what I find at the expo. I am in the middle of finishing my costumes, packing, and getting nervous! You may not hear from me until after I get home next Monday, but I will try to post something if I am able! You can also sign up to track me as I run - in real time! Wish me luck! The vegetarian option for San Angel Inn is an open faced burrito on corn tortillas. It includes refried beans, squash, peppers, and onions. If they don't put too many peppers and onions it is pretty good. The chips are also gluten-free.
We were lucky that our trip coincided with the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. Unfortunately for me, the only thing that I could safely eat was the Orange Whip and Fresh Watermelon Juice. But, my family was able to enjoy the food. A lot of these pictures are courtesy of Marty :) |