Run Disney to Eat Disney - Glass Slipper/Dark Side Challenge Dining Report - Feb & Apr 2016 - 5/9

[Vernie822]

Good luck at the race next weekend! We'll be arriving Saturday and leaving Tuesday. Somehow we ended up at WDW during Wine and Dine in 2015 too.. maybe this is a sign that I need to run (or... half run lol) one of these races sometime.

I have been wanting to try The Wave, and I fee like Citrico's is a hidden gem too.. looking forward to hearing all about it.

And GFV.. Woo hoo!! We just booked our first WDW trip with our DVC contract. We have 150 points at SSR. I figured it would be hard to get in anywhere other than our home resort for early November (we are also going over Wine and Dine this year too.. whoops!) so right now we are just at SSR but a small contract with one long weekend a year is a really good idea!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Yay! We are also gearing up for the Dark Side race weekend! We will be there the 16th through the 23rd & are running the half. I'm looking forward to reading your report.

Yay! Always great to see fellow runners joining along! Are you dressing up for the half? I'm planning on wearing my "I Love Bad Boys" Boba Fett tank top.

Oh good! You are quick with your updates and I can't wait to see some of the Flower and Garden booth foods! I was just noticing that I will be on a plane three weeks from today so I'm curious to hear about the samples first hand!

I like to be quick so I don't forget stuff and can move on to the next reports, since after this trip is over - its all about the Hawaii planning! I shall let you know all about the FLower & Garden Booths - I may not get to try a lot of the drinks though as I don't want to get drunk the day before a race but I'm looking forward to the food!

Your plans look great

Thanks!

I was hoping we'd be in the same proximity at some point, but it looks like only the run plans intersect (the hubby run of course, not yours truly). We're coming in Thursday night and staying at the airport, then have MK and Artist Point on Friday, Resort day (Wilderness) and hoop dee doo on Saturday, then Kona post marathon on Sunday. Are you all just in for the weekend?

One of these days, you should totally run Are you guys doing Wine & Dine?

We are in just for the weekend - I didn't want to take any vacation time for this trip (although I'm taking a half day Thursday) Luckily we live so close that these short trips are so easy to do! Your plans look nice for the weekend. Smart move on having such a relaxing day pre-half marathon!

Good luck at the race next weekend! We'll be arriving Saturday and leaving Tuesday. Somehow we ended up at WDW during Wine and Dine in 2015 too.. maybe this is a sign that I need to run (or... half run lol) one of these races sometime.

I have been wanting to try The Wave, and I fee like Citrico's is a hidden gem too.. looking forward to hearing all about it.

And GFV.. Woo hoo!! We just booked our first WDW trip with our DVC contract. We have 150 points at SSR. I figured it would be hard to get in anywhere other than our home resort for early November (we are also going over Wine and Dine this year too.. whoops!) so right now we are just at SSR but a small contract with one long weekend a year is a really good idea!!

That is totally a sign you need to sign up for a race!

We did dinner at the Wave a couple years ok and felt it was ok. We want to keep it easy this trip and thus keeping close to the hotel for dinner. I like being lazy at night! Citrico's is one of my favorites although this will be my first normal visit there since the chef and management changed. We've always had great meals there!

We own 220 at AKV and the 63 at VGF. When VGF went on sale in 2013, we also had just recently moved to Naples, FL and bought a house - we really shouldn't have bought the points at all but I HAD to have them so I was reasonable about it. This is what we agreed upon. You should have a nice time at SSR! I really liked SSR the two times we've stayed there as it has such great access to Disney Springs! We want more points - we just are behaving for the time being though as we have some other things we need to spend money on around the house.

 

[kastoney]

One of these days, you should totally run Are you guys doing Wine & Dine?

We are in just for the weekend - I didn't want to take any vacation time for this trip (although I'm taking a half day Thursday) Luckily we live so close that these short trips are so easy to do! Your plans look nice for the weekend. Smart move on having such a relaxing day pre-half marathon!

Me and run have been diametrically opposed since birth My motto is why run when I can walk???? It's amazing Jason puts up with me.

We're on the fence on wine and dine. Jason is signed up and we also have tickets for the swan and dolphin classic the weekend before. So in reality yes we're doing it, but waiting until it gets closer to really decide since Casey will be in "real" school next year.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Me and run have been diametrically opposed since birth My motto is why run when I can walk???? It's amazing Jason puts up with me.

We're on the fence on wine and dine. Jason is signed up and we also have tickets for the swan and dolphin classic the weekend before. So in reality yes we're doing it, but waiting until it gets closer to really decide since Casey will be in "real" school next year.

I'm sure you have many more talents that Jason endears more than your refusal to run I sometimes ask the same question on how my husband puts up with all my quirks.

At least Casey is young enough that missing some "real" school for Disney time won't be a big deal. I think my parents used to do that for a week up until 3rd grade for me -after that it wasn't as long and more so just a day or two here or there.

You should do it

<- Bad Influence I know!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Splitsville

I took a half day off of work and we were on the road by 10:45AM! We got lunch at my favorite fast food that I know is awful for me and don't care, Taco Bell. I didn't take photos but I can promise you, it was delicious cheesy goodness! By 2:00PM, we were pulling into Wide World of Sports to visit the Expo before heading to our hotel.

They have cookies!

At the Expo, we parted ways with lots of money. This haul I'm posting doesn't include the two shirts my friend, Betsy (@Tankgirl) picked up for me as she was at the Expo at opening and I had a feeling these would be super popular (they were - they didn't have them when I was there later in the afternoon, at least not in my size)

Goodbye money!

We were done in about an hour and headed to VGF where we had a seamless check-in and were given a studio on the first floor that actually has a partial lake view! Score!

My husband and I debated on what we wanted to do. We could go to a park, we could go bowling, or we could just be lazy. I won the discussion and we went bowling. This would mean we would miss The Wave but I cancelled the reservation and if I get charged the $20, oh well!

Off to the buses and we headed to Disney Springs!

Splitsville had available lanes so in no time we were at our lane and I proceeded to have the best bowling games of my life. I usually suck at bowling - like getting a 70 is hard for me. Apparently, I had game and I actually beat my husband 2 of the 4 games we accomplished in our time there and I broke 100 on two games!

Game 1! I won!

Now some talk about food - we were almost done with game 1 when I realized we hadn't even had a server visit us yet. I sought out someone at that point and said, "did something change? I never had to wait 15 minutes for a server before" and i got a horrified look back from the lady. She ran off and we got a server. He seemed to have a bit of an attitude when he did get to us as apparently he didn't want to do work today. We ordered everything and went on our way.

Gator Bite (Frozen Orange w/ Grain Alcohol) and Diet Coke

My cocktail was yummy. Its strong but with my 1 drink a day rule, I was going to go for it. My husband is boring with his Diet Coke.

As we were finishing Game 2, our food arrived!

My husband and I split the loaded fries. I got bacon on the side, as well, my husband doesn't eat meat anymore and I wasn't going to give up bacon. These were ok. It seams they changed their nacho cheese or they totally forgot to put it on top but as our server was non-existant I wasn't going to make a big deal as ranch and scallions and bacon still tastes good. My husband was happy as well as he loves fries. We did leave half of this behind though!

Loaded Fries - Bacon on the Side - Fries Smothered with Nacho Cheese, Bacon, Ranch, Scallions and Love

My husband decided he didn't want a real dinner...he went with a brownie sundae. He was really happy with this choice! Warm brownie, ice cream, where can you go wrong? Well, ice cream isn't dinner but he's an adult and can make his own choices!

Ghirardelli Brownie A La Mode - Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles

I ordered the shrimp appetizer for my main meal. This was awesome! The sauce in the shrimp was the perfect spicy sweet blend that made me dance (my dances during this visit to Splitsville were horrifying to all around most likely)

Dynamite Shrimp - Breaded Shrimp Fried to Golden Perfection & Tossed in Sweet & Spicy Sauce

The 2nd game didn't go as well for me but my husband had an awesome game!

He continued to kick my butt in Game 3...

But I proved victorious in Game 4! (2 frames shy of a full game but we were out of time)

We really enjoy Splitsville! The food was tasty. My frozen cocktail was delicious. The bowling was really fun, especially as we were bowling better than usual. Our server sucked but that didn't really matter as I could deal with that with a lower than average tip (since I still haven't gotten a new TIW, bad Dis_Yoda!)
​

 

[Adgie128]

I'm in and wanted to say I've enjoyed catching up on all your food journeys. Good luck this weekend! Nobody does races like runDisney. I wish I was there this weekend for it, too!

 

[franandaj]

So I guess that was an account of Thursday. I seem to have quite a few friends there for the face. Some ran this morning or so I guess from their FB photos. It's a little hard to figure out who is running when, but I definitely have a few Disney friends in Orlando right now.
Cool that you beat your husband at least half of the games. Someday I want to go to Splitsville and try the sushi, but there are so many new restaurants there that sound good, it's hard to fit it in!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm in and wanted to say I've enjoyed catching up on all your food journeys. Good luck this weekend! Nobody does races like runDisney. I wish I was there this weekend for it, too!

Thank you for catching up with my Run Disney food journeys!

RunDisney is doing really well this weekend, although if you listen to FB, apparently it was 'awful' today at the 10K - I didn't have that experience despite being in Corral E - yes I had to wait for a bus at the end but when you finish towards the end of the race, there is a huge surge of people!

You can always join next year!

So I guess that was an account of Thursday. I seem to have quite a few friends there for the face. Some ran this morning or so I guess from their FB photos. It's a little hard to figure out who is running when, but I definitely have a few Disney friends in Orlando right now.
Cool that you beat your husband at least half of the games. Someday I want to go to Splitsville and try the sushi, but there are so many new restaurants there that sound good, it's hard to fit it in!

Yes, this was Thursday Dinner! This race seems to be really popular among my group of friends on FB too - I think I have about 8 people I know here - although I've only ran into 2 of them so far. 3 of them are in my corral tomorrow so that should work well at least! I ran today (Saturday) for the 10K & tomorrow for the half! Afterwards, I'll have some super awesome bling with the Kessel Run since I did Star Wars in Disneyland as well.

I really thought about doing the sushi but TBH, it didn't seem that exciting to me - it was more "Krab" and Mayo filled sauces than stuff I would have wanted to eat. I just really enjoy bowling & we don't go nearly as much as I like but I'll take what I get! There are way too many places to attempt to try nowadays! All of them aren't even open yet either!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Ganachery

After our dinner at Splitsville, we walked through the Ganachery on our way back to the buses. This opened back in December to huge crowds; however, when we walked in, there were only 2 others in there with us!

Super Cute BB8 Chocolate!

I ended up buying one item there that I haven't tried yet - it probably will be a car ride snack on the way home tomorrow!

Caramel Chocolate Crispy Pearls

​

 

[TeresaNJ]

Really enjoying your report!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Really enjoying your report!

Glad you are enjoying it! Hopefully I get to get a lot more posted this week

 

[suse66]

Great reviews! Do I spy a Disney Dooney in that wonderful stash of treasures?? Splittsville looks great! I'll definitely have to add it to our list for our next family trip!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Flower & Garden Festival - Outdoor Kitchens

We slept in a little on Friday and weren't trying to make it to EPCOT at Park Opening - which was a weird feeling for me but I knew we would have a long day in the park. It was nice as I got to see the opening of the day ceremony for VGF from our patio

We headed out to the monorail to head to EPCOT where before we had about an hour to kill before it was time for the booths to open. We decided to use our FP+ for Test Track where we made a very responsive car - enough to be in the top 5 for the day!

After a visit to Test Track, we looked around the Festival Center where I saw something I HAD to have as I am Dis_Yoda you know?

Yoda Stepping Stone

My husband should be putting it outside today in our backyard!

Then it was time to start eating! We started clockwise around the World Showcase where I was pretty much Little Miss Piggy with no shame. I also broke my RunCation rules about 1 Drink A Day.

Jardin de Fiestas - Mexico

The first booth we stopped at was Mexico where I picked up the following two items.

Tacos de Camaron: Tempura Shrimp served with Hibiscus Flower, Caramelized Onions and Habanero Sauce

Elderflower Watermelon Sangria

The Shrimp Taco was awesome! There was just enough of a kick in the sauce without making my mouth turn on fire as the onions and flower tamed it down. Totally a win! The watermelon sangria was just ok. I think I was expecting more of a watermelon flavor for the drink but it tasted more like watered down wine.

Pretty Jungle Book Sand Sculpture

Primavera Kitchen - Italy

On our way to Italy I ran into another person I know from the Disboards although I was thrown off as I wasn't expecting to see her alone and thus I was confused. Sorry Debra! It was nice to meet you!

In Italy, I only got 1 item for myself. It was a standard issue banquet type Chicken Parm. It was ok - but I kinda wish I saved room for something else and I ended up throwing half of it away as it felt like something I've eaten at many conference/college banquet type meals.

Pollo alla Parmigiana: Breaded Breast of Chicken, Tomato, Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese

The Smokehouse: Barbecue & Brews - American Adventures

The Smokehouse was one of the 2 booths I was looking the most forward to and it didn't disappoint! I picked up 3 items here for myself, although my husband did share the beer with me.

Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash w/ White Cheddar Fondue & Pickled Jalapenos

Warm Chocolate Cake w/ Bourbon-Salted Caramel Sauce & Spiced Pecans

Funky Buddha Floridian Hefeweizen

The Burnt End Hash was as awesome as I remembered it being in 2015. The beef was super tender and the white cheddar fondue worked well with both that and the hash! The warm chocolate cake was ok - the real star was the Bourbon-Salted Caramel Sauce with the Spiced Pecans so once all that was gone - I was done with the cake. The Beer was something we've had before so we knew it would be a winner for us to share! Nice, light and refreshing!

Japan Candy Run

My husband likes Candy - so in Japan when we looked through the shops and picked up a few items. My husband really wanted to try the Green Tea Kit Kats because the people on a podcast he listens to loves them (although when he finally tried one on Sunday evening - he wasn't impressed)

The chews were his food he had before and after the races in the room.

The cola hard candies are mine and remain unopened to date but I know its something I enjoy as its carbonated candy that fizzes in your mouth as you let it melt! Cola has always been my favorite flavor of those choices!

Fleur de Lys - France

As we headed to France, I ran into Betsy where she had picked up 2 shirts for me at the Expo and handed them over along with the receipt so I could paypal her the money. We chatted for a bit but when I realized it would be chatting for a long time, I ordered all my items from Fleur de Lys that I wanted and was glad that I could use Betsy to help me carry it to the table.

More RunDisney shirts!

Tarta a l'onion Alsacienne: Alsation Onion Tart w/ Sautéed Onions, Fresh Thyme and Rosemary on a Flaky Puff Pastry Crust

Cassoulet au Confit de Canard: Pulled Duck Confit w/ Braised Flageolet Beans

Macaron Chocolat Framboise: Large Raspberry Macaron w/ Chocolate Fudge and Raspberry Jam

La Vie en Rose Frozen Slush: Grey Goose Vodka Orange, St-Germain Liqueur, White & Red Cranberry Juice

When I bit into the Onion Tart, I had a "When Harry Met Sally" type moment. It was that good. It was perfectly cheesy and filled with onions. If I had enough stomach space, there would have been a 2nd visit to this booth during the trip but sadly there just wasn't enough time!

The pulled duck was good as well with the duck being really tender with a lot of the melty fat flavor throughout that makes a good pulled duck. I skipped eating the beans but that's just a personal opinion about beans.

My husband stole about half of my macaron. Of what I did get to try, I really enjoyed. The raspberry jam wasn't too overpowering or sweet which balanced out with the chocolate fudge inside.

The Rose Slush is always a nice enjoyable beverage with it being hot out! Although, I kinda wish they would make something different in 2017 as I'm getting bored of this one!

L'Artisan des Glaces

While I was enjoying my goodies from the Outdoor Kitchen, my husband was finally hungry. He didn't want real food again and went to his favorite snack place of Walt Disney World to get a sundae. I told him that Ice Cream isn't lunch or dinner food, especially not for two meals in a row. He loves his ice cream! I told him he needed real food at Dinner though

Ice Cream Sundae w/ Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Chip, Caramel

Cider House - United Kingdom

My husband was the most excited for this booth as he loves cider. We shared this flight. We both enjoyed the Black Cherry cider the most followed by the Blueberry Cider then the Organic Pear and lastly the Beer. The Black Cherry one had a great cherry flavor while still maintaining a great cider feel to it. The beer felt like just an average beer.

Beer & Cider Flight
Sonoma "The Pitchfork" Organic Pear Hard Cider
McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider
Keel & Curley Mad Man Blueberry Hard Cider
Cigar City Brewing Tampa-Style Lager

 

[franandaj]

I want some of all the food items you tried!

Jim and I did a practice run out at DCA on Friday with the F&W festival and I ate so much it made me sick. I'll know to pace myself better in just under two weeks!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great reviews! Do I spy a Disney Dooney in that wonderful stash of treasures?? Splittsville looks great! I'll definitely have to add it to our list for our next family trip!

Thank you for reading along! That is a Disney Dooney in that stash of treasures! It was the Dooney that was released for the Dark Side Weekend races. Splitsville is great fun for the family! The food is generally pretty decent and it feels clean unlike some bowling alleys around the country!

I want some of all the food items you tried!

Jim and I did a practice run out at DCA on Friday with the F&W festival and I ate so much it made me sick. I'll know to pace myself better in just under two weeks!

I had pretty good luck this year with the items I decided to try! I'm pretty happy about that!

Definitely need to pace yourself in two weeks! I'm glad you were able to get out and enjoy the DCA F&W Festival (and I'm also glad they brought it back finally!) Can't wait to read all about your Flower & Garden trip that has been in the making for 2 years!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Love reading your trip reports! I totally have to hunt you down during W&D to say hello! I love your Dooney! I love Disney Dooney. I have 2 purses and a wallet now in what I know will be a growing collection. I am waiting to see what the F&W Dooney is so I can start saving. Ugh, why must live get in the way of my Disney spending. I wonder if my daughter would be willing to stop her private school to fund our habits JK, I would never do that to her.

Did you like VGF? We were on the other side of the building on the first floor for our March trip. We looked out at the Poly, but if you stood up and looked left you could see the park. I LOVE VGF! It is so me! We have 200 at AKL and 200 at VGF and plan on adding another 200 at VGF in the next year or so. DH totally wanted to add after our most recent trip.

 

[Adgie128]

Nice shirts. What is it about the expo that makes you want to buy everything in sight? It's so tempting!

Your items look delicious. That macaron looks like something I would be very into because it reminds me of a jelly ring, which is my favorite.

By the way, that When Harry Met Sally reference earns an A+ in my book. I just watched it again last week on TV. So good.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Love reading your trip reports! I totally have to hunt you down during W&D to say hello! I love your Dooney! I love Disney Dooney. I have 2 purses and a wallet now in what I know will be a growing collection. I am waiting to see what the F&W Dooney is so I can start saving. Ugh, why must live get in the way of my Disney spending. I wonder if my daughter would be willing to stop her private school to fund our habits JK, I would never do that to her.

Did you like VGF? We were on the other side of the building on the first floor for our March trip. We looked out at the Poly, but if you stood up and looked left you could see the park. I LOVE VGF! It is so me! We have 200 at AKL and 200 at VGF and plan on adding another 200 at VGF in the next year or so. DH totally wanted to add after our most recent trip.

I got the F&W Dooney as a wristlet in 2014 - in 2015 I wasn't a huge fan so hopefully 2016 is a good F&W Dooney! I have more Dooneys than I care to admit and I've sold a few of them so it could have been a large amount!

I love VGF - we own all of 63 points there so it isn't somewhere we get to stay often especially since the standard studios book up so quickly 11 months in advance and it isn't often when we plan that far in advance nowadays. I still think Poly is my favorite although we don't own any points there. I'm not sure I want to stay on the monorail again for a race weekend that starts at EPCOT as being forced to take the monorail caused some unneeded stress on Sunday Morning when things weren't working right. My husband enjoyed it too!

Nice shirts. What is it about the expo that makes you want to buy everything in sight? It's so tempting!

Your items look delicious. That macaron looks like something I would be very into because it reminds me of a jelly ring, which is my favorite.

By the way, that When Harry Met Sally reference earns an A+ in my book. I just watched it again last week on TV. So good.

Thanks! The Expo is so tempting to spend all the money at! I know I spent more than I originally planned on spending - oh well! I work to spend money so I shouldn't feel bad about it. We had to stop as we totally wanted more but knew it would be a little absurd at a certain point.

We really lucked out on the items this year! Nothing was a complete dud which is a win to me as we've had some bad duds in the past. I really enjoyed that macaron - not too much jelly.

That onion tart was that good My husband had actually walked off to get his ice cream at that point when I started eating it and Betsy just had to laugh when I made that noise biting into it!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Tutto Italia

When we decided to take the break from eating at the Outdoor Kitchens, we headed back towards Future World to enjoy some attractions! We visited Figment, the Land (which is eerily empty with Soarin closed), Nemo and Spaceship Earth! By 3:45PM, we were done and hot and ready for dinner so we could get back to the room and sleep before the race the next morning. We headed to EPCOT and hung out at the lobby for Tutto Italia where we had a 4:30PM reservation. That is when they open for dinner so we just had to wait it out. At least we were in the AC and away from the crowds able to relax!

At promptly 4:30, we were sat in the exact same area as February and given the menus to review. I behaved myself and ordered a bottle of sparkling water instead of a cocktail to help ensure I was hydrated enough for the 10K.

I admit my husband and I are sometimes fully creatures of habit, especially when we know what we like and are eating at a place as we know its good pre-race food for us!

I went with the warm mozzarella appetizer. There is really nothing better than warm, gooey, stringy mozzarella with a little bit of sea salt on top. I didn’t even offer my husband any to share!

Fiori di Latte Calda – House Made Whole Milk Mozzarella Served with Warm Roasted Pomodorini, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Focaccia

My husband went with the same entrée as his last visit. As a vegetarian now, there aren’t a ton of options for him here sans meat other than this one. He really enjoyed this again! Super filling with the pasta, just the right amount of cheese and a great pesto sauce!

Fettuccini Campagnole – Arugula and Basil Pesto, Spinach, Burrata Cheese

I also got the extra same entrée as always! Creamy white sauce, chicken, prosciutto pieces and filling raviolis are a match made in a happy Dis_Yoda stomach! I was so full I couldn’t even finish it!

Ravioli di Ricotta – Chicken, Prosciutto, Parmesan Cream

We were done by 5:15 and on our way back to the hotel! We set up for the early wake up call and got our outfits laid out. I was asleep by 8PM!​

 

[momabaarjo]

LOL...foodie Melissa loves Taco Bell. I would have never guessed!

I love that you put Betsy to good use!

That bourbon cake looks AMAZING and the rose slush...oh my. I tend to have to agree with your DH about ice cream. LOVE the stuff!

OHHHHH warm gooey cheese...the best.