Marathon Weekend 2019

[lhermiston]

OK - I know this is an extremely loaded question... but since we don't visit WDW as often as DLR, and since most of our visits in the past have been with kids - I could use your help. As we begin mapping out our days over Marathon Weekend (and beyond..) we are trying to figure out which Table-service restaurants to try. I don't know if we'll go to many - maybe 3 or 4. The rest of the time we will have breakfasts at our BCV and will do a lot of Quick Service. We'll also be watching our diet from Thurs-Sun as we will be (hopefully) running the Dopey. Most of our table service experiences will probably be Sunday night through the next Wednesday or so.

Are there 3-4 table service restaurants that are "musts" each time you visit? I don't think we'll do a Character Experience, but here's some of the table service ADR's we're considering:

• Beaches & Cream (never tried it... but we're staying there and have always wanted to go there)
• Cape May Cafe (for dinner... same thing)
• Via Napoli (wasn't open last time we came... we've heard great things and love this type of pizzeria)
• California Grill (want to have one "upscale" dinner... hopefully time it w/fireworks)

There's many others I've wanted to try (Boma, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Ohana, Yachtsman, Le Cellier...) Just trying to figure out a good balance between our time in the parks, cost, experience, etc.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Ohana has been our must do for the last two visits, but I really want to try California Grill (without the kids).

 

[croach]

Especially when it's their ice cream martini!

I remember seeing you with that. It looked pretty good.

 

[PrincessV]

WDW... food... value... yeah, I'm Team Stay Offsite Somewhere With a Kitchen And Make My Own Food, lol! For non-race stays, we do have a few places we really enjoy and will make a point of reserving:
Via Napoli
La Hacienda
Jungle Nav. Skipper Canteen
Yak & Yeti
Brown Derby

 

[lhermiston]

WDW... food... value... yeah, I'm Team Stay Offsite Somewhere With a Kitchen And Make My Own Food, lol! For non-race stays, we do have a few places we really enjoy and will make a point of reserving:
Via Napoli
La Hacienda
Jungle Nav. Skipper Canteen
Yak & Yeti
Brown Derby

We’re doing yak & yeti for the first time next year!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

On the pizza subject... We have really enjoyed Blaze as DS. I know it's a chain, so please don't hate on me for that... we don't have them around here! It's relatively fast (depending on the line) and fun to put every topping imaginable on your pizza. I also feel like it's a good value!

(For DLR folks, my DH prefers Pizza Press just slightly over Blaze, but similar concepts!)

 

[a-mad]

On the pizza subject... We have really enjoyed Blaze as DS. I know it's a chain, so please don't hate on me for that... we don't have them around here! It's relatively fast (depending on the line) and fun to put every topping imaginable on your pizza. I also feel like it's a good value!

(For DLR folks, my DH prefers Pizza Press just slightly over Blaze, but similar concepts!)

We love Blaze! We have one near our house, and it's my youngest son's favorite place to eat. For what you get, it's also pretty affordable - especially since our two youngest are happy with just pepperoni, and you get a good-sized pizza for about $6 that fills them up.

At our most recent trip to DLR we stayed in a relatively new Hyatt Home on Harbor Blvd that had a Blaze pizza on it's main level (along with Starbucks and Walgreens). I ended up using my mobile app to order pizzas while we exited the park that were hot and ready for pick-up when we went back to our hotel a couple of nights on our trip. Our kids loved it.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

At our most recent trip to DLR we stayed in a relatively new Hyatt Home on Harbor Blvd that had a Blaze pizza on it's main level (along with Starbucks and Walgreens). I ended up using my mobile app to order pizzas while we exited the park that were hot and ready for pick-up when we went back to our hotel a couple of nights on our trip. Our kids loved it.

When we went to DLR in November, that Blaze was "in training" and opening up the next week or something. The mobile ordering would be so nice, we waited in a really long line at Pizza Press.
Blaze and Starbucks... what else could you want in a hotel?

 

[LSUlakes]

We’re doing yak & yeti for the first time next year!

We are also doing it for our first time this April. I excited about it!

On the pizza subject... We have really enjoyed Blaze as DS. I know it's a chain, so please don't hate on me for that... we don't have them around here! It's relatively fast (depending on the line) and fun to put every topping imaginable on your pizza. I also feel like it's a good value!

(For DLR folks, my DH prefers Pizza Press just slightly over Blaze, but similar concepts!)

The one and only time I have been to DS this is the place we went. It was perfect for us. We had got in late that afternoon driving in from Baton Rouge, LA, took a bus to DS explored a but and had a pizza. Thought it was tasty! We now have one near our house, but a different name, same deal though.

 

[Keels]

(For DLR folks, my DH prefers Pizza Press just slightly over Blaze, but similar concepts!)

Now I’m craving Pizza Press.

 

[camaker]

Now I’m craving Pizza Press.

I'd never heard of Pizza Press until I went to DL two years ago! I found it two doors down from my hotel and WOW! I loved it. Wish we had one near us.

 

[KingLlama]

Okay gang, they just ordered pizza for the entire office and it just got here, but I brought a healthy vegan lunch from home, so I would really appreciate it if all of you would SHUT YOUR MOUTHS ABOUT PIZZA RIGHT ABOUT NOW.

 

[Keels]

I'd never heard of Pizza Press until I went to DL two years ago! I found it two doors down from my hotel and WOW! I loved it. Wish we had one near us.

I usually stay at the Fairfield Inn and loved that they were open until 1 - we’d grab a late night pizza on the walk back from the park and eat it out by the pool!

 

[Bree]

I had pizza and beer as my celebration/recovery dinner after the princess half and it was awesome.

 

[IamTrike]

OK - I know this is an extremely loaded question... but since we don't visit WDW as often as DLR, and since most of our visits in the past have been with kids - I could use your help. As we begin mapping out our days over Marathon Weekend (and beyond..) we are trying to figure out which Table-service restaurants to try. I don't know if we'll go to many - maybe 3 or 4. The rest of the time we will have breakfasts at our BCV and will do a lot of Quick Service. We'll also be watching our diet from Thurs-Sun as we will be (hopefully) running the Dopey. Most of our table service experiences will probably be Sunday night through the next Wednesday or so.

Are there 3-4 table service restaurants that are "musts" each time you visit? I don't think we'll do a Character Experience, but here's some of the table service ADR's we're considering:

• Beaches & Cream (never tried it... but we're staying there and have always wanted to go there)
• Cape May Cafe (for dinner... same thing)
• Via Napoli (wasn't open last time we came... we've heard great things and love this type of pizzeria)
• California Grill (want to have one "upscale" dinner... hopefully time it w/fireworks)

There's many others I've wanted to try (Boma, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Ohana, Yachtsman, Le Cellier...) Just trying to figure out a good balance between our time in the parks, cost, experience, etc.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Ohana is typically our Sunday night post marathon meal. It's been a tradition for us, but increasingly we find it frustrating. We love their salad and the stuff that comes in the noodle skillet but the meat is meh (except I like the shrimp) I think it will come off our list for a while.
We've also done Whispering Canyon with our Marathon Group. It's a quantity rather than a quality meal. We had a fun time but I don't think we'll go back on an adults trip.
California Grill had good food but we had awful service. We had an earlier seating at night and it was like the waiter didn't no how to spread out courses. We'd be mid course and they would bring out the next one. There were a bunch of other issues too. It was our 17th anniversary dinner so it was kind of a bummer for the experience to suck.
CRT we had a great experience this year there with two adults for dinner. Service was wonderful.
Via Napoli is a regular Saturday lunch for us on Marathon weekend. We usually wind up with a a bunch of different Pastas and Pizza and eat a little bit of both. Since its lunch we don't mind the chaotic experience.
San Angel Inn is really inconsistent but we wind up grabbing lunch there a lot. While the main entrees aren't great we tend to just get the tostada's de tinga and soup
Kona most race weekends at least part of our group will do a breakfast at Kona.
I've really wanted to Narcosee's too for an adults meal.

We usually go there post race, not because we love the meals but for their awesome ice cream desserts. No Way Jose, yummm! (We do eat the meals, just find them average).

+1 for No Way Jose

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Now I’m craving Pizza Press.

I'm in for a quick trip

 

[Marc A.]

Do we know why run disney pushed the dates back a weekend?? With kids back in school we now can't attend....
We had a great time this past year for the 5 and 10k (a little cold though)

 

[goingthedistance]

Do we know why run disney pushed the dates back a weekend?? With kids back in school we now can't attend....
We had a great time this past year for the 5 and 10k (a little cold though)

It's the weekend before MLK Holiday weekend. MLK Holiday falls a week later in 2019 so Marathon weekend falls later as well.

 

[rteetz]

Do we know why run disney pushed the dates back a weekend?? With kids back in school we now can't attend....
We had a great time this past year for the 5 and 10k (a little cold though)

Due to the holidays. Race weekend would start on the 2nd and that is was too close to New Years.

 

[camaker]

I usually stay at the Fairfield Inn and loved that they were open until 1 - we’d grab a late night pizza on the walk back from the park and eat it out by the pool!

That's where I stayed both my trips to DL for DLH! The first trip was solo and Pizza Press was right there for an easy dinner one night. I took DW back the next year only to find that they'd moved down to the other end of the parks. Still walking distance, but nowhere near as convenient.

 

[a-mad]

Thanks everyone for your awesome replies re: Dining. It certainly will help us plan out our week as we get closer. I will spare you my follow-up question on Quick Service for a few more months

I'm really enjoying all the great input you guys have given over the past few weeks - ya'll are awesome.