Marathon Weekend Dining Adventures (updated 4/13 - The End)

[dvc4life]

I'm in. Everything looks great and now I'm hungry. My family loves those cheese filled pretzels. Thanks for the heads up about them not being at MK anymore!

 

[jessily]

I'm in. Everything looks great and now I'm hungry. My family loves those cheese filled pretzels. Thanks for the heads up about them not being at MK anymore!

I don't know why they removed them from MK Seems they had a lot of fans Thanks for joining in!

 

[jessily]

Friday 1/9 - Pop Century Food Court

Friday evening I was headed over to Pop Century to meet up with a group of runners from disneyrunning.com who I had talked to over the year while training.
I was a little nervous as I always am when meeting new people, but it was a great group and we had a good time. The food court wasn't too busy yet at 4:30, so we took over one corner and all got in line for food.

This is the only picture I took. Felt a little silly taking pictures of my food with people I had never met before Looking around at the different food stations I was worried about the options. Nothing was looking promising for a pre-half marathon meal. I was hoping for some simple pasta with chicken, but the only thing they had was fettachini alfredo with fried chicken Normally I'd be all for it, but not the night before a long run. Luckily as we got closer to the counter we saw that they had a "Marathon Weekend Special." Baked ziti with salad and a breadstick. I think the food court has 4 or 5 different food stations and this line had about 40 people in it. Not a single person in the other lines. I felt bad for the cast members, but they handled it pretty well. The baked ziti was great. The salad and breadstick were meh. They didn't really have any flavor. Overall I found the Pop Century food court very similar to the All Star Resort food courts.

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Congrats on running the half marathon! Enjoying your reviews.

 

[natalielongstaff]

ooh i love earl of sandwich (why im reading food reviews before i go to Weightwatchers tho i don't know !!!)

 

[msce2]

Who knew they had jalapeno cheese soft pretzels? Well this will definitely be on our list for May!

Thanks for the awesome reviews, and congrats on the marathon!!!!

 

[MinnieMom]

Great reports . . . I'm in!!

 

[jessily]

Congrats on running the half marathon! Enjoying your reviews.

Thanks! Looks like you've run more than a few yourself. Did you run the Disney Half this year?

ooh i love earl of sandwich (why im reading food reviews before i go to Weightwatchers tho i don't know !!!)

Living vicariously through dining reports?... I do it all the time!

Who knew they had jalapeno cheese soft pretzels? Well this will definitely be on our list for May!

Thanks for the awesome reviews, and congrats on the marathon!!!!

Thanks!

Great reports . . . I'm in!!

Welcome!

Le Cellier Review coming up...

 

[Pirate's Princess]

I'm in! I see orange!!!! Yay for DR! I'm also on there, same name. I'm planning on running the full in 2010. I'm so happy to read some food reviews because I'm a total foodie, want to indulge (and plan cause I'm cool like that ;-) ) and have been nervous about the trip and food!

Congrats on the 1/2.

 

[jessily]

Saturday 1/10 - Le Cellier

After the race we strolled through Epcot back to the Dolphin.

and after a short break headed back to Epcot through the World Showcase for our much anticipated lunch at

I had been wanting to eat here for a long time after reading reviews on the Dis. Would it live up to our expectations?

Our ADR was for 1:05, and I think we showed up a few minutes early. When we checked in at the counter the cast members were discussing amongst themselves how things were pretty slow and they couldn't believe they were actually taking walk-ins. We waited down by the restaurant for a few minutes before being seated, not long at all. I think the Canada pavilion is beautiful!

I really liked the whole atmosphere of the restaurant. I've read reviews saying it's crowded and the tables are too close together, but since it was fairly quiet when we were there we didn't notice. Our waitress chatted with us about the race for a long time and I guess forgot the normal spiel that they're supposed to give. It was kind of cute as she kept returning to our table throughout the meal and giving us bits and pieces of information ("I was supposed to tell you...").

We started with some celebratory drinks (the first of many on this trip). I went with a martini (love the olives!) and DBF went with one of the Canadian beers. I wasn't very hungry (I'm usually not right after I run... I saved the real eating for the next day) so I decided to just get a bowl of the Cheddar Cheese Soup that I've heard so much about ($6.99).

It wasn't as cheesy as I expected, but I loved it. That, along with the breadsticks, was the perfect lunch. DBF had the Maple Barbecued Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($13.99) with oven-roasted mushrooms ($4.29) on the side. He thought it was great! I didn't remember to snap a picture of his sandwich, but here's one that gives an idea of the atmosphere inside the restaurant.

I really wasn't hungry for dessert, but wasn't going to leave without trying this guy:

Yum! Very good. Overall, we though Le Cellier was great! It's not first on our list, but we will definitely return someday soon. I'm glad we went for lunch. We're not huge steak eaters, so the lunch options were better for us. Our waitress was wonderful and I didn't feel pressured to order more than the soup. Le Cellier gets 2 thumbs up from us

Thanks to everyone for reading along!

Up next: Tangerine Cafe

 

[jessily]

I'm in! I see orange!!!! Yay for DR! I'm also on there, same name. I'm planning on running the full in 2010. I'm so happy to read some food reviews because I'm a total foodie, want to indulge (and plan cause I'm cool like that ;-) ) and have been nervous about the trip and food!

Congrats on the 1/2.

Hello fellow DR! It was really cool seeing the sea of orange around Disney World all weekend I'm thinking about training for the full in 2010 too, but haven't completely made up my mind yet. Running in Disney was awesome and I can't wait to do it again! Have you run any Disney races before?

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Great reviews! Keep them coming!

 

[monkeyhouse]

I really want to try the Spicy Cheese Pretzel now.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Hello fellow DR! It was really cool seeing the sea of orange around Disney World all weekend I'm thinking about training for the full in 2010 too, but haven't completely made up my mind yet. Running in Disney was awesome and I can't wait to do it again! Have you run any Disney races before?

I haven't. I haven't even ran a race before. I'm sure I'll be afterward. DF and I went down in Jan. 07 and 08, not knowing about the races, but we saw everyone, and everyone who ran it, and we felt like massive bums. It made us feel awful so we set our sites on 2010. I'm excited and I know it's the best place to run your first one. If you can afford it, you should totally do it. I love DR!

Congrats on finishing the half, it's a great accomplishment. I'm such a slow runner, but my goal is to just finish it.

 

[jessily]

Great reviews! Keep them coming!

Thanks!

I really want to try the Spicy Cheese Pretzel now.

I haven't. I haven't even ran a race before. I'm sure I'll be afterward. DF and I went down in Jan. 07 and 08, not knowing about the races, but we saw everyone, and everyone who ran it, and we felt like massive bums. It made us feel awful so we set our sites on 2010. I'm excited and I know it's the best place to run your first one. If you can afford it, you should totally do it. I love DR!

Congrats on finishing the half, it's a great accomplishment. I'm such a slow runner, but my goal is to just finish it.

Disney is definitely a great place to run your first race. I'm a slow runner as well! That's another reason is a great place to run... there are many walkers and run/walkers at Disney events so as a slow runner I was in the middle of the pack. I'm thinking about using a run/walk schedule for the full marathon.

Best of luck with your training!

 

[jessily]

Saturday 1/10 - Tangerine Cafe

After lunch at Le Cellier we spent the afternoon wandering around Epcot. I should have been resting more, but I wasn't, and soon regretted it. I had only slept 2 hrs the night before due to nerves and having to be up at 2:30 for the race. Around 4:30 we were in Japan because DBF wanted to see the drummers and I just couldn't take it anymore. I told him to stick around as long as he wanted. He said after the drummers he would find us some dinner and meet me back at the hotel. He asked what I wanted and I said to surprise me... at that point all I could think about was getting in bed.

I didn't take any pictures of dinner as I ended up eating it in bed, but here's a nice shot I took on the way back to the Dolphin Resort. The moon was very cool looking that weekend.

Awhile later DBF showed up with dinner from Tangerine Cafe (Morocco Counter Service). He got the Shawarma Chicken Platter for me and the Lamb Platter for himself ($11.95 each). Wow! I couldn't believe how much food was in each of these! So much meat and in my opinion too much. You definitely get your money's worth, but this would be an excellent counter service entree to share with someone else. The meat came with hummus, tabouleh and a tangierine couscous salad. It also came with a dinner roll that was stale and not very good, but again, huge! The meat was perfectly cooked and we thought everything was delicious. We will definitely be eating there again, but next time we'll split an entree.

After dinner I did something I thought I would never do in Disneyworld...
I fell asleep before 7 pm I guess I really needed it though. Slept until 7 the next morning and was ready to take on the World.

Up next: lunch and drinks at the Tune In Lounge (50's Prime Time)

 

[mrsturtle]

thanks for the reviews! we're thinking about tangierine cafe for the vegetarians in our group. heard they have some veggie options. seems like lots of people really like this place. hope you we're able to rest up for more disney. enjoy!!

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Love the reviews so far! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[jessily]

thanks for the reviews! we're thinking about tangierine cafe for the vegetarians in our group. heard they have some veggie options. seems like lots of people really like this place. hope you we're able to rest up for more disney. enjoy!!

You should definitely check it out. I didn't actually go in, so I didn't see the menu, but the salads and hummus that came with the meal were delicious!

Love the reviews so far! Can't wait for the rest.

Thanks for joining in!

 

[jessily]

Sunday 1/11 - Tune In Lounge (50s Prime Time)

Sunday we found ourselves perusing the menu outside 50s Prime Time. I think it was around 11:45 and there was no one sitting at the bar yet, so we grabbed 2 seats. The full 50s Prime Time menu is served at the bar, which is a good option if you can't get an ADR or aren't interested in the antics inside the restaurant. The bar does get crowded around lunchtime though and in my experience stays crowded all day (especially if it's raining), so it's best to show up early.

We both ordered a drink (I think mine was called Dad's Electric Lemonade and DBF had a beer). I love the glow cubes! I decided to order Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie ($16.99) and DBF went with Mom's Old Fasioned Pot Roast ($16.99).

The chicken pot pie was not at all what I expected. The picture isn't great, but you can see that it's not actually pie, but the filling topped with a flakey pastry (although now that I read the menu, that's exactly how it's described... I must not have been paying attention). I thought it was delicious! DBF also really enjoyed his pot roast. He was resistant to eating there at first, but was glad that we went. I should add that the food came out FAST! Really fast. Less than 5 minutes after we ordered it fast. It definitely wasn't a cheap lunch, but we really enjoyed relaxing at the bar and taking our time.

After a few rides and wandering the park for a few hours we decided to stop at the Backlot Canteen. This is located next to the Studio Catering Company in the back of DHS.

I had the 180 Spin (Margarita) and DBF had the High Octane (Long Island Iced Tea). Both drinks were very good and we always enjoy this little, out of the way bar. I've never found it to be crowded (except during the Osbourne Lights).

Up Next: Dinner at California Grill!