The Running Thread - 2018

[jennamfeo]

ATTQOTD: We have only done Tusker House for dinner, but it was my Character Meal of choice because I wanted to see everyone in their Safari outfits and that was amazing. I like to see the Characters as much as my daughter and I actually had yelled at her last time we were there to get out of my picture with Mickey. OOPS. Hahahaha.

 

[JulieODC]

We aren’t huge character meal people, especially ones that involve buffets (tough with little kids) - but we did really enjoy Garden Grill in our last trip!!

 

[TheHamm]

FFATTQOTD:
I have strong feelings and a spreadsheet on this topic. I apologize that (1) my answer is long (2) I veer off topic at the end with bonus fun meals.

• Akershus- Breakfast was solid. Normal breakfast + smoked fish. I’m not sure bagles and lox are avaible elsewhere in the park, but my kids ate their weight in lox and bacon. The princesses were very gracious when my kids asked them to wait a minute at their table so they could use a wet wipe to clean their hands. Ariel noted she did not mind the smell of fish, they could just hold her hand and take the picture already.
• BOG- I liked dinner here a few years ago, but I cannot decide if it is because I went in with zero expectations or it really was better. I was not as thrilled later and agree to go back because my husband really likes it for the atmosphere. My kids were terrified of the beast and it would have been a disaster to be seated in the west wing room. Breakfast was meh. Not preordering was a mistake, the knights of armor were almost as bad as the beast to a 3 year old. Better with the preorder, but I would prefer to skip it. Also, my kids thought it was amazing to potty in a castle. I promised them if we did not have to pay for diapers I would bring them back to potty in the castle again and they held me to it. A year worth of diaper savings does equal one trip to disney and BOG.
• Cape May- we did this for breakfast with a large group and were off in the corner. We got all of the characters, but for the napkin parade they seemed to do sections and it was always goofy for us. One of my kids ran over to see Minnie mouse and I panicked as I couldn’t see her from the table so I looked like a crazy mom running over. I am a crazy mom, I admit it- I suppose I should just embrace it. I would happily do this one again, but we have not had time.
• Chef Mickey’s- I don’t need to do it again. We were seated in the corner and got little interaction, and the food was not great. My kids love the napkin parade, though.
  
• CRT- I am one and done on this. Breakfast was ok, but not fantastic. The princess interaction was better at Akershus. The pomp and circumstance is not really for me. The view is pretty cool, but the tables next to the windows were small, so our party will never be seated there.
• Garden Grill- I love it, my husband does not. The food is family style and dropped almost immediately at your table, which is nice when you have impatient kids. The food is above average in quality when I think of buffets, but there is less variety. I also love Living With the Land, so circling the scenery for the ride is fun for me. It was more fun for my kids when we were seated on the outside of the ring and my kids would hop up from the table and check out the scenes, imagining that the desert was ‘the outlands’ from Lion Guard, a bonus as there is very little Disney Jr in the parks.
• Hollywood and Vine- we got there for the breakfast to lunch transition, totally by accident. It is always a good option for our family and now we try to do this at every buffet. Bacon and mac & cheese works well for our littles. The character interaction was fun, but they do not talk which my kiddos were confused by.
• Mickey’s BBQ- I WANT TO TO DO THIS! I WILL DO THIS. I’M COMING FOR YOU! And I want to follow up with the campfire at fort wilderness. This and pony rides is what got me to agree that yes, we should put two kindergardners in our mid-sized car and drive for days because that is how we can afford to go at christmas break. Crazy?
  
• Ohana- I love it, but partially because I love Stitch. The food was good and they were happy to bring an extra plate of bacon for my kids. And I just wish we could spend vacation in Hawaii....... this is as close as we may get for awhile!
  
• Tiana’s Riverboat Party- As I love Tiana & dream that jazz will play on this boat, I want to do it. But I do not want to pay for it. So someone, please tell me it is not worth it. Maybe someone will give me a gift card for my birthday and I will use it on this. Nah, I'd use it on Dole Whip & rum at Tamu Tamu.
• Tusker House- This is by far my favorite food at a character meal. BY FAR! This turns out to be our longest lingering meal. It was a good thing as it took us 1:15 to see all the characters here!

Not- character, but not your standard meal for a bonus-

• Coral Reef holds a special place in my heart. Our first time here was because we were hot, hungry, and could not find another sit-down lunch with our 2yos. They were amazed to look at the giant aquarium. They ate a lot of food- I think it had been so hot the previous 2 days it killed all of our appetites. They ignored us. It was perhaps the first meal in 2 years where my husband and I had an entire conversation. We may have even not talked about our kids for 6 seconds. I had a mediocre cocktail and enjoyed their delight at the sting ray playing hide-and-seek in the rocks. I went to the bathroom by myself and they did not even notice. They could have served me the rocks from the bottom of the tank as stone soup and I still would have loved it. We have been back a few times, and my kids reaction is still one of wonder. They love that they get a card with all the fish on them so they can look at them and try to find each one. The food is better than stone soup, but not amazing. I still think better than most of the buffet character meals. The cocktails are still meh, as are most across the character meals and hotels. I will still go there any chance we get.
• BierGarden: My kids love the entertainment, we love the beer. This is the potato salad of my childhood, and my kids love hot dogs anywhere, so we go every time.

Just thinking about all of that makes me think I need to go run off 1000 calories.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: It is a tie between 1900 Park Fare for dinner with Cinderella, Charming and the Step Sisters/Mother and Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. The Stepsisters and Stepmother are so funny! Pooh and friends don't have as much interaction, but I love watching the kids' reactions while there (not my kids, I don't have any yet. LOL)

 

[SheHulk]

FFATTQOTD:
I have strong feelings and a spreadsheet on this topic. I apologize that (1) my answer is long (2) I veer off topic at the end with bonus fun meals.

• Akershus- Breakfast was solid. Normal breakfast + smoked fish. I’m not sure bagles and lox are avaible elsewhere in the park, but my kids ate their weight in lox and bacon. The princesses were very gracious when my kids asked them to wait a minute at their table so they could use a wet wipe to clean their hands. Ariel noted she did not mind the smell of fish, they could just hold her hand and take the picture already.
• BOG- I liked dinner here a few years ago, but I cannot decide if it is because I went in with zero expectations or it really was better. I was not as thrilled later and agree to go back because my husband really likes it for the atmosphere. My kids were terrified of the beast and it would have been a disaster to be seated in the west wing room. Breakfast was meh. Not preordering was a mistake, the knights of armor were almost as bad as the beast to a 3 year old. Better with the preorder, but I would prefer to skip it. Also, my kids thought it was amazing to potty in a castle. I promised them if we did not have to pay for diapers I would bring them back to potty in the castle again and they held me to it. A year worth of diaper savings does equal one trip to disney and BOG.
• Cape May- we did this for breakfast with a large group and were off in the corner. We got all of the characters, but for the napkin parade they seemed to do sections and it was always goofy for us. One of my kids ran over to see Minnie mouse and I panicked as I couldn’t see her from the table so I looked like a crazy mom running over. I am a crazy mom, I admit it- I suppose I should just embrace it. I would happily do this one again, but we have not had time.
• Chef Mickey’s- I don’t need to do it again. We were seated in the corner and got little interaction, and the food was not great. My kids love the napkin parade, though.
  
• CRT- I am one and done on this. Breakfast was ok, but not fantastic. The princess interaction was better at Akershus. The pomp and circumstance is not really for me. The view is pretty cool, but the tables next to the windows were small, so our party will never be seated there.
• Garden Grill- I love it, my husband does not. The food is family style and dropped almost immediately at your table, which is nice when you have impatient kids. The food is above average in quality when I think of buffets, but there is less variety. I also love Living With the Land, so circling the scenery for the ride is fun for me. It was more fun for my kids when we were seated on the outside of the ring and my kids would hop up from the table and check out the scenes, imagining that the desert was ‘the outlands’ from Lion Guard, a bonus as there is very little Disney Jr in the parks.
• Hollywood and Vine- we got there for the breakfast to lunch transition, totally by accident. It is always a good option for our family and now we try to do this at every buffet. Bacon and mac & cheese works well for our littles. The character interaction was fun, but they do not talk which my kiddos were confused by.
• Mickey’s BBQ- I WANT TO TO DO THIS! I WILL DO THIS. I’M COMING FOR YOU! And I want to follow up with the campfire at fort wilderness. This and pony rides is what got me to agree that yes, we should put two kindergardners in our mid-sized car and drive for days because that is how we can afford to go at christmas break. Crazy?
  
• Ohana- I love it, but partially because I love Stitch. The food was good and they were happy to bring an extra plate of bacon for my kids. And I just wish we could spend vacation in Hawaii....... this is as close as we may get for awhile!
  
• Tiana’s Riverboat Party- As I love Tiana & dream that jazz will play on this boat, I want to do it. But I do not want to pay for it. So someone, please tell me it is not worth it. Maybe someone will give me a gift card for my birthday and I will use it on this. Nah, I'd use it on Dole Whip & rum at Tamu Tamu.
• Tusker House- This is by far my favorite food at a character meal. BY FAR! This turns out to be our longest lingering meal. It was a good thing as it took us 1:15 to see all the characters here!

Not- character, but not your standard meal for a bonus-

• Coral Reef holds a special place in my heart. Our first time here was because we were hot, hungry, and could not find another sit-down lunch with our 2yos. They were amazed to look at the giant aquarium. They ate a lot of food- I think it had been so hot the previous 2 days it killed all of our appetites. They ignored us. It was perhaps the first meal in 2 years where my husband and I had an entire conversation. We may have even not talked about our kids for 6 seconds. I had a mediocre cocktail and enjoyed their delight at the sting ray playing hide-and-seek in the rocks. I went to the bathroom by myself and they did not even notice. They could have served me the rocks from the bottom of the tank as stone soup and I still would have loved it. We have been back a few times, and my kids reaction is still one of wonder. They love that they get a card with all the fish on them so they can look at them and try to find each one. The food is better than stone soup, but not amazing. I still think better than most of the buffet character meals. The cocktails are still meh, as are most across the character meals and hotels. I will still go there any chance we get.
• BierGarden: My kids love the entertainment, we love the beer. This is the potato salad of my childhood, and my kids love hot dogs anywhere, so we go every time.

Just thinking about all of that makes me think I need to go run off 1000 calories.

Now *this* is comprehensive!

 

[jennamfeo]

FFATTQOTD:
I have strong feelings and a spreadsheet on this topic. I apologize that (1) my answer is long (2) I veer off topic at the end with bonus fun meals.

• Akershus- Breakfast was solid. Normal breakfast + smoked fish. I’m not sure bagles and lox are avaible elsewhere in the park, but my kids ate their weight in lox and bacon. The princesses were very gracious when my kids asked them to wait a minute at their table so they could use a wet wipe to clean their hands. Ariel noted she did not mind the smell of fish, they could just hold her hand and take the picture already.
• BOG- I liked dinner here a few years ago, but I cannot decide if it is because I went in with zero expectations or it really was better. I was not as thrilled later and agree to go back because my husband really likes it for the atmosphere. My kids were terrified of the beast and it would have been a disaster to be seated in the west wing room. Breakfast was meh. Not preordering was a mistake, the knights of armor were almost as bad as the beast to a 3 year old. Better with the preorder, but I would prefer to skip it. Also, my kids thought it was amazing to potty in a castle. I promised them if we did not have to pay for diapers I would bring them back to potty in the castle again and they held me to it. A year worth of diaper savings does equal one trip to disney and BOG.
• Cape May- we did this for breakfast with a large group and were off in the corner. We got all of the characters, but for the napkin parade they seemed to do sections and it was always goofy for us. One of my kids ran over to see Minnie mouse and I panicked as I couldn’t see her from the table so I looked like a crazy mom running over. I am a crazy mom, I admit it- I suppose I should just embrace it. I would happily do this one again, but we have not had time.
• Chef Mickey’s- I don’t need to do it again. We were seated in the corner and got little interaction, and the food was not great. My kids love the napkin parade, though.
  
• CRT- I am one and done on this. Breakfast was ok, but not fantastic. The princess interaction was better at Akershus. The pomp and circumstance is not really for me. The view is pretty cool, but the tables next to the windows were small, so our party will never be seated there.
• Garden Grill- I love it, my husband does not. The food is family style and dropped almost immediately at your table, which is nice when you have impatient kids. The food is above average in quality when I think of buffets, but there is less variety. I also love Living With the Land, so circling the scenery for the ride is fun for me. It was more fun for my kids when we were seated on the outside of the ring and my kids would hop up from the table and check out the scenes, imagining that the desert was ‘the outlands’ from Lion Guard, a bonus as there is very little Disney Jr in the parks.
• Hollywood and Vine- we got there for the breakfast to lunch transition, totally by accident. It is always a good option for our family and now we try to do this at every buffet. Bacon and mac & cheese works well for our littles. The character interaction was fun, but they do not talk which my kiddos were confused by.
• Mickey’s BBQ- I WANT TO TO DO THIS! I WILL DO THIS. I’M COMING FOR YOU! And I want to follow up with the campfire at fort wilderness. This and pony rides is what got me to agree that yes, we should put two kindergardners in our mid-sized car and drive for days because that is how we can afford to go at christmas break. Crazy?
  
• Ohana- I love it, but partially because I love Stitch. The food was good and they were happy to bring an extra plate of bacon for my kids. And I just wish we could spend vacation in Hawaii....... this is as close as we may get for awhile!
  
• Tiana’s Riverboat Party- As I love Tiana & dream that jazz will play on this boat, I want to do it. But I do not want to pay for it. So someone, please tell me it is not worth it. Maybe someone will give me a gift card for my birthday and I will use it on this. Nah, I'd use it on Dole Whip & rum at Tamu Tamu.
• Tusker House- This is by far my favorite food at a character meal. BY FAR! This turns out to be our longest lingering meal. It was a good thing as it took us 1:15 to see all the characters here!

Not- character, but not your standard meal for a bonus-

• Coral Reef holds a special place in my heart. Our first time here was because we were hot, hungry, and could not find another sit-down lunch with our 2yos. They were amazed to look at the giant aquarium. They ate a lot of food- I think it had been so hot the previous 2 days it killed all of our appetites. They ignored us. It was perhaps the first meal in 2 years where my husband and I had an entire conversation. We may have even not talked about our kids for 6 seconds. I had a mediocre cocktail and enjoyed their delight at the sting ray playing hide-and-seek in the rocks. I went to the bathroom by myself and they did not even notice. They could have served me the rocks from the bottom of the tank as stone soup and I still would have loved it. We have been back a few times, and my kids reaction is still one of wonder. They love that they get a card with all the fish on them so they can look at them and try to find each one. The food is better than stone soup, but not amazing. I still think better than most of the buffet character meals. The cocktails are still meh, as are most across the character meals and hotels. I will still go there any chance we get.
• BierGarden: My kids love the entertainment, we love the beer. This is the potato salad of my childhood, and my kids love hot dogs anywhere, so we go every time.

Just thinking about all of that makes me think I need to go run off 1000 calories.

WELP. I am just gonna copy and paste that somewhere safe for our next WDW trip....

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: No kiddos, so no character meals, unless you count Baloo and King Louie showing up at Flame Tree Barbecue.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Fun Friday QOTD: With my trip coming up in 5 weeks and my excitement level increasing by the day, todays and the next few Friday questions are going to be very park related. So for today I want to know, what is your favorite character meal that you have been to? What is one that is on your to do list?

I can tell you my least favorite! Chef Mickey's! Went there the morning of the marathon and really regretted spending the money there.

My favorite character meal doesn't exist anymore - Sci-Fi Breakfast for Star Wars Weekends! I loved the characters that were there - Storm Troopers, Greedo, Jawas, Darth Vader, Boba Fett!

I want to try the Tangled Breakfast.

 

[LSUlakes]

Real quick... MRI follow up: NO stress fracture! Tendon and entire area just very inflamed. I will need to dial it back a little, but am fine to continue running. This probably all comes back to the tear in my foot tendon that plagues me—it has been very sore this week. I have just been on my feet ALOT (this is why it bothers me when I go to WDW). I will continue running, just probably slow it down a little.

In other news, I got my Boston bib number and corral placement. This always excites me. I will be in wave 1, corral 3.

ATTQOTD: We don’t do a ton of character meals anymore since my kids have gotten older. Last November, we did Bon Voyage which was probably best breakfast I ever had in WDW. Also did Tusker House which was really good!

There are so many things that are must-dos for us. Peoplemover is always a fave since kids have been going on it since they were babies. Lately, FOP is our obsession. Love that ride!

Thats great news! Also, I'm excited for you about Boston!!!!!

@TheHamm nice run down!

 

[beatlecat42]

Back when Liberty Tree Tavern was a character dinner, I'd have said that, have some great family memories from there...but now, probably Crystal Palace (love me some Pooh and friends). In fairness, there's not much to compare to (only other character meals we've done were Cinderella, Akershus dinner, and Garden Grill)

 

[Barca33Runner]

ATTQOTD:

We've done Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey, and Tusker House.

Would absolutely do Tusker House again and we plan on it pretty much every trip. Food is great and the characters are perfect for the location.

Crystal Palace is a favorite for me and I probably rate it higher than others because A. Eeyore and B. Soft Serve Ice Cream. I think the characters here are great as well, but I realize Pooh and Friends are not necessarily on the radar for every kid anymore. One set of my nieces and nephews love them, the others were slightly confused but game since they were still characters. (ETA re: Soft Serve-I'm basic. Dole Whip is fine, crazy combos of frozen block ice cream are fine, but give me a simple chocolate vanilla twist soft serve any day)

Chef Mickey was meh. Wouldn't do it again as it's currently constituted.

 

[TheHamm]

Now *this* is comprehensive!

It pains me that my kids are terrified of Tigger because I want to do crystal palace! And I love the stepsisters, but they left a bad taste in my kids mouth in park as the sisters picked up on my kids favorite dresses at the time were the same color as the step-sister's dresses. Oh, and our Garden Grove reservation was cancelled due to a vomiting member of our party, so we are a bit gunshy on that one.
How can I complete my spreadsheet this way? I guess I have to go by myself?! Is that too weird?

 

[cavepig]

Tusker House I've really enjoyed, especially as a vegetarian lots of choices. Only thing is it's pretty loud in there which made it better as a quick serve place back when versus the buffet/character meal.

 

[michigandergirl]

Fun Friday QOTD: We've done Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, Akershus, and Cape May. Tusker House was my favorite - we went for breakfast before the park opened - the food was great, we got pics with all of the characters, and we were done right as the park was opening, walked out and right into the line for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

I think our days of character meals are over, kids are getting too old.

 

[SheHulk]

ATTQOTD: No kiddos, so no character meals, unless you count Baloo and King Louie showing up at Flame Tree Barbecue.

View attachment 307802

You know, you don’t look very old, and you’re faster than me, so you’d better be pretty dang goofy or you’re going to have to change your screen name.

 

[Disney at Heart]

ATTQOTD: No kiddos, so no character meals, unless you count Baloo and King Louie showing up at Flame Tree Barbecue.

View attachment 307802

I think our days of character meals are over, kids are getting too old.

Our “kids” and DIL are in their 30’s, and we still love character meals from time to time.
@TheHamm We are staying at Ft Wilderness in about 3 weeks for the first time and doing Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, Hoop-de-doo Revue, Chip’n’Dale’s Campfire, a Segway tour, and whatever else we can get into (rented a golf cart to tool around in and maybe a hayride?). We’ve done the meals and run through the area before, but want to get the full Ft W experience this time!

 

[apdebord]

ATTQOTD: We don’t do character meals often. I feel like a lot tend to be buffets, and as with race expos, buffets give me some anxiety. But, I actually had a great breakfast at CRT this past summer. I had the tenderloin and eggs with a really great Boursin/chive sauce. I know a lot of people knock it, but I enjoyed myself. I’ve written about it before, but this is where my grandmother cried just before Snow White came to greet her. So I think that made the experience perfect.

A must-do is California Grill. Either for dinner or sushi and drinks in the lounge. Newer must-dos are Trader Sams and Nomad Lounge.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD FF: I don't like any character meals, so I'm out lol! Have a great weekend, all!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

It pains me that my kids are terrified of Tigger because I want to do crystal palace! And I love the stepsisters, but they left a bad taste in my kids mouth in park as the sisters picked up on my kids favorite dresses at the time were the same color as the step-sister's dresses. Oh, and our Garden Grove reservation was cancelled due to a vomiting member of our party, so we are a bit gunshy on that one.
How can I complete my spreadsheet this way? I guess I have to go by myself?! Is that too weird?

Not at all. I've done a few character meals by myself. Even as a single adult male with no kids, I have never felt ignored or looked down on by characters at any character meal including princess ones. I've had some very memorable character moments at these meals. For the 24 hour party in 2014, I dressed like a Jedi and ate at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure. Belle told me the Beast was a good guy and had just joined the Rebel Alliance. On another occasion, Cinderella sat down across the table from me. And made me promise not to tell Prince Charming.

ATTQOTD: I've done character meals at both Disneyland and Disney World although it's been nearly 4 years since I've done one at Disneyland.

Disneyland: Ariel's Grotto (now closed), Goofy's Kitchen (Disneyland Hotel) in 2009 and Breakfast with Minnie and Friends at Disneyland's Plaza Inn in 2008. It's been too long to fairly comment on the food, but both feature a wide variety of characters.

Walt Disney World: Liberty Tree Tavern 2006 was a character meal hosted by Goofy with Minnie, Pluto, and Chip and Dale in
colonial attire.

1900 Park Fare 2006 dinner: Cinderella characters were great. Really fun. Rolled with the punches when my sister asked Prince Charming to help tutor her then somewhat unique suitor.

Chef Mickey's 2006 and 2009: Characters were great. Food was fine. Found people kind enough to take pictures for me.

Cinderella's Royal Table 2012: I decided to eat in the castle to celebrate running the Coast to Coast in 2012. Even though I'm no longer a youngling, they still gave me a plastic sword as it would make for some great photos. Which it did. The food here is good although I will be honest. You are paying for the experience of dining in the castle. If it's only about the food quality, there are much better signature restaurant dining options in Walt Disney World.

Be Our Guest 2017: I love the atmosphere here a lot. The Beast is cool. I was wearing a Dark Side Half marathon shirt and he wanted to be sure I was not a villian.

Restaurant Akershus 2009, 2012, 2017: I really like the salad buffet with a lot of different salads, fresh fruit, cold cuts, and cheese. The entrees here are quite good. I love the desserts. I think I sometimes dream about the desserts. Had some great character moments here too. Watching the younglings parade around the restaurant with the princesses is fun. Unless you must dine in the castle, this is a better princess character meal. Less expensive, same characters, better food.

I may eat at Garden Grill in April. Only trick is that it's a 9:45 reservation and I'll probably need to leave for the airport on Magical Express at 12:00pm. I have accepted that I may have to cancel this one. I'm kind of hoping that showing up earlier might help them take pity on me.

 

[SunDial]

QOTD: Race expos, like them or hate them? Why?

ATTQOTD: I hate going to race expos. If I could get my bibs mailed to me, even for extra money I would do it every time. I dislike the waste of time going to a expo for something that take 10 minutes but waste half of my day doing it.

When I first started running in 2013/2014 it was a mixed feeling. All the first runs were at Disney. The hype of the run was fun. I enjoyed the stroll around the vendor area but didn't like the official merchandise area. The couple of event specific items that I really wanted back then were always gone.

Now when I go up to Disney for runs there is really no desire to get any specific merchandise. It has become a leisurely walk around to see everything. One or two events it was grab package, shirts and head to the parks.