Run Disney - Wine & Dine November 2014

In November my sister in law and I were able to sneak away on a girls trip to run the Disney World Wine & Dine Half Marathon!  We began planning this trip very soon after we got home from the Tinkerbell Half in January.  Wine and Dine would be the finishing race to our Coast to Coast medal for 2014.  If you run a Disney Half Marathon in each park in the same calendar year then you are awarded a third medal for the Coast to Coast.

We booked our travel through GET travel, they do lots of the Run Disney events.  They arranged our stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort, our park hopper passes and our Half Marathon Bibs for us.  In this way we found it to be a very stress free way to get set up.  Disney runs are getting to be more and more popular and will even sell out now within a few hours of registration opening up.  Providers like GET Travel already have an allotment of race bibs and so they don't have to fight in registration to get them for you.

Our trip to Florida in November began like any other cross country journey.  I flew to Calgary to meet up with SIL, then together we flew to Toronto and then to Orlando.  From the Orlando airport we hopped on the Disney magic express and were dropped off right at our resort.  It had been a long day of traveling so we had no trouble getting settled in our room and then falling right asleep.  Here's a few photos of our resort the Caribbean Beach Resort.

In the morning we had plans to head over to the Expo at ESPN Sports Center. It was there we would be able to enjoy the expo, pick up our run packages and then maybe head into the parks for a few hours before we had to get ready to run!  The expo had lots of neat booths to look at, a few photo ops and a general atmosphere of excitement!

The first part of the day evaporated on us very quickly.  We were able to pop into Hollywood Studios and Epcot before we needed to get back to our room to try a quick nap and get ready for the evening.

The sky had some pretty serious clouds in them and the weather forecast didn't look promising.  It was really too late for us to modify our running costumes for the run but I did manage to pick up a hat to keep the impending rain out of my eyes.  In BC we get to rain run fairly regularly. 

This will be the last dry picture of the night.  Pretty well as soon as we had bussed over to the ESPN Sports Center and arrived at our corals it began to rain.  It rained lightly at first, our spirits were high, we were ready to rock this run!  We had also arranged to meet up with another friend who would run as our Mickey.

Soon enough it was time to hit the road and get our 13.1 miles on!  There were many characters out on the course for us to have photos with.  This alone despite the down pour of rain was amazing.  You could tell that Disney did have to wiggle a few character stops around.  Some were under any kind of roof that could be found, or tucked in alongside buildings, but they did the best they could.  Some of the characters were even right out in the rain like us runners.

Pirates aren't afraid of the rain

The Tree of Life

The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights was amazing!!!

Running in the pouring down Florida rain was actually not too bad.  It was warm rain, as long as you kept moving you didn't chill.  It was a very unique experience, one I don't suspect I'll soon forget to run in this much water and be hitting puddles that splash up your legs and be really okay with it!  It was all kinda fun.  Of course not what we had hoped for but what is a person to do but make the best of it.

Three short hours later (Disney runs are for fun not PBs) we were running across the finish line.  It was really from this point on that things became more and more unfortunate.  We collected our medals, posed for a few pictures and then went right over to gear check to get out of our wet clothes.  Once the gear check bags were retrieved we had to wait in the cold and wind and rain to get into the changing tent.  Yes, boys and girls each had their own changing tent, but they weren't big enough.  After what felt like an eternity of waiting we finally got into the tent amongst hundreds of other wet, cold women who were in various stages of undress in a tight humid space.  Regardless we carved out a square foot of grass for ourselves and changed into whatever dry clothes we had packed.  It didn't really warm us but it was a step in the right direction.  From there Epcot was open until 4 am for us runners to enjoy the Food and Wine festival.  The first beverage of the night was a hot chocolate.  It may have been the best hot chocolate ever. We didn't tour all of Epcot or do any rides but we did make it until 4 am easy enough.  We had a few bites of food but the cold and the rain persisted.

After we made it back to the hotel room sleep came very easy in our warm beds.  The next few days were a blur of Disney World awesome.  We went into all of the worlds except the water parks and enjoyed all the rides we had hoped for including the new Dwarf Mine Train ride.  Disney World all dressed for Christmas was really something to see and the Food and Wine Festival was a delight!

All in all our Wine & Dine / Splash & Dash Half Marathon in Florida was fabulous.  Just like any of the Run Disney events it was magic with every mile!  I might like to try it again one year without the rain.

Character Dining - Ariel's Grotto

 
In 2012 we booked a Character lunch at Ariel's Grotto.  Ariel's Grotto is the character dining spot inside California Adventure.  We hadn't been there before so we really didn't know what to expect. 

The cast of characters at Ariel's Grotto are the Princesses.  When you arrive for your reservation time you are greeted right away by Ariel in her wedding dress at a photo spot.  That's a nice touch we thought.

The location is superb and we were seated outside on the patio so that we could look upon the water.  We were immediately served with some appetizers of cheese, crackers and olives.

After we had chosen our lunches from a fairly limited menu the princesses began to arrive.  One at a time.  Unlike the fur characters, the princesses can talk.  And do they ever.  They carry on cute conversations with your wee ones.  They teach them some princess like sayings and picture poses.

Overall we enjoyed our lunch.  I thought the food was a little off the mark for family dining.  It was fancier that it needed to be.  Scott and I enjoyed it very much but if you have a picky eater it might spell trouble.

There aren't many other ways to get quality princess time in the parks and so for that reason we think Ariel's Grotto is a win.

Character Dining - Disney's PCH Grill

A few years back while staying at the Paradise Pier hotel we booked a character dining experience right in our own hotel!  The Paradise Pier is home to Disney's PCH Grill.  There's nothing more convenient than a breakfast reservation in your own hotel.

As per the usual Character Dining experiences the food was fantastic!  What we noticed with the PCH Grill is that they had a bit more atmosphere.  They had a theme song and a dance when the characters came out to visit and the whole California beach theme made for a great ambiance. 

Each location for Character Dining has a different cast of characters of course.  In this sense it is a bit of Disney magic because once you've enjoyed a few character meals you want to try them all.  Or is that just me?  There are currently five character dining locations running at Disneyland & California Adventure.  Each of the Disney hotels has a character meal as well as a one in each of the parks.  Not all of them are breakfast either.  We've heard great things about Goofy's Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel but we've not yet made it there to try it out.

We had a great time, laughing, singing and eating our way through breakfast at the Paradise Pier.  There are always lots of interruptions to your meal when characters come to visit.

The PCH Grill is only a character dining experience for breakfast.  The rest of the day you can expect great family restaurant fair.

Character Dining - The Plaza Inn

One of the hidden secrets of Disneyland is Character Dining.  It wasn't until we had been to the park several times that a friend suggested we go into town hall and inquire about Character Breakfast.  Sure now adays Character Dining has become quite a big thing with several locations to choose from. 

The first time we went to a Character Breakfast we booked it through town hall and made our reservations there.  I'm sure you can still do that, but if you're planning ahead the Disney website has a full dining and reservations section there.  The classic location is the Plaza Inn for Mickey and Friends breakfast.  We have enjoyed the Mickey and Friends breakfast on three occasions through out the years.  Sure the price is more than you've ever paid for a breakfast before, but this is no ordinary meal.  You will be treated to a buffet of delicious breakfast items, everything from omelets, to pancakes, waffles, breakfast meats, fresh fruit and scrambled eggs.  There's no way a person can leave hungry.

While you are enjoying your breakfast either inside the restaurant or outside on their patio Disney characters will wander around.  When the character approaches your table they'll take the time to interact with each family.  They are happy to sign autograph books, give hugs and pose for photos.  During the approximate time it takes you to eat your meal you will have one full rotation of Disney characters.

Karly was a bit scared of the characters the first time she met them

Smaller children may be afraid of some of the characters.  Karly was 5 at our first Plaza Inn Character Breakfast and she wasn't really a fan of some of the characters.  Perhaps show your children some photos of what's going to go on and they'll be a little more comfortable with the whole idea and have a bit more fun with posing for pictures.   Don't forget to take horizontal photos for your autograph book!

Here she is just one year later loving the Fairy Godmother!

For us the Character Breakfast is a bit of an extravagance but we only do one Character meal per trip.  It's been a great way to fill up those autograph books and get to meet some of the characters up close.  These are memories that will last a life time.

What a perfect way to start your Disney Day!!