We just got back from an extra magical weekend at the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon! The best part of the weekend was getting to meet so many of our team tutu friends in real life. We are working on a complete race recap, but in the meantime we wanted to share some free printable stickers to commemorate the Wine and Dine fun! The set includes a sticker for the 5K, 10k, 13.1, and 19.3 distances. There are also blank stickers so you can write in a milestone of your choice.
Put the stickers in your planner or training log to reward yourself for a job well done!
Congrats to all who ran last weekend!
During our last Disney trip, we tried a BRAND NEW dining experience: Minnie's Holiday Dine at Hollywood & Vine in Disney's Hollywood Studios. This holiday themed character dining experience just made its debut this November and will continue to run through January 3, 2016. The cost is $46.99 for adults and $27.99 for children. The experience is also offered through the Fantasmic! dining package at $52.99 for adults and $31.99 for children.
Reservations for Minnie's Holiday Dine can be made by visiting DisneyWorld.com/DINE or by phone at 407-WDW-DINE.
Overall, our group of three adults really enjoyed this experience! The atmosphere was festive, the food was tasty, the chocolate fountain was epic and the characters were friendly. The tables are very close together and the restaurant does get very loud, but I would still recommend this dining experience with two enthusiastic thumbs up.
Upon entering the restaurant, you are welcomed by a photo op with Santa Goofy. You can take a picture with Santa Goofy at another location in Hollywood Studios, but there will be a very long line. This is a great way to get the photo opportunity and skip the wait!
Dinner at Minnie's Holiday Dine is served buffet style with lots of seasonal favorites. Overall, the menu was pretty eclectic and offered a little something for everyone. The buffet starts with a delicious bread station complete with pretzel bread and cranberry butter (possibly one of the tastiest things at the buffet.) The buffet moves onto salad and soup selections including quinoa salad, caesar salad, winter kale and cabbage salad, roasted butternut squash soup and more.
Yummy pretzel bread and cranberry butter. Photo courtesy of Disney Food Blog.
As for the buffet entrees and sides, some of our favorites included pumpkin ravioli, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, brussels sprouts and green bean casserole. Other popular items included lobster mac and cheese, honey bourbon turkey and cherry port ham.
There is also a kid friendly buffet station for any guests bringing along the little ones. Some of the items included corn dog nuggets, tater tots and mac and cheese.
In my opinion, dinner was great but the absolute best part of this meal is the DESSERT BAR. Here is a picture of the chocolate fountain and Christmas displays which are front and center at the epic dessert bar.
We pretty much stacked our plate with one of everything. Pictured below you'll see the gingerbread cupcake, red velvet cake, brownie, pecan tart and eggnog cheesecake. The dessert bar also included chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered marshmallows, pumpkin tarts, peppermint bark, soft-serve ice cream and more.
The food at Minnie's Holiday Dine is delicious, but it's made even better by the table visits from classic Disney characters! Mickey, Minnie, Daisy and Donald are all circling the room while guests enjoy their dinner. Each character makes a personal stop at your table for a photo. Best of all, they are wearing newly designed holiday attire to celebrate the occasion.
The dinner host: Minnie Mouse!
In addition to the table meet and greets, there were a few holiday sing-a-longs happening over the loud speaker and opportunities to get up and dance with the characters. As a nice keepsake, each guest received an autographed card to take home featuring signatures from all of the special celebrities.
If you aren't able to make it to this event by January 3, Minnie has announced she will be hosting seasonal events all year long! Depending on the time of year, there will be events for each season with special decor, music, food and costumes! Here are some of the dates that have been announced.
The Runs in Tutus team has been on dozens of Disney vacations, and one thing we know for sure is that your Disney Dining experiences can really make or break your Disney vacation. There is nothing worse than being hungry in Disney World and realizing you have to wait in line for an hour to eat, and even if you do plan ahead and make reservations, all Disney restaurants are definitely not created equal.
We've always been the kind of group that plans our dining reservations well in advance, and as a result we've tried a number of the most popular restaurants. So without further adieu, may we present the best Walt Disney World Restaurants as determined by each tutu wearing food critic on the Runs in Tutus team. These are all table service restaurants in the price range of $15-$30 per adult.
Christine and Mom at dinner!
This restaurant is located inside the Mexico pavilion at the Epcot World Showcase. The ambiance is spectacular and it feels like you are dining during twilight in 17th century Mexico overlooking the Mayan ruins. You can also get a glimpse of the boats entering the ride in the pavilion (Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros.) The service is wonderful, the food is delicious and there are vegetarian options, which is a plus for us because Amanda and Melanie are vegetarians. You may have to ask the server to bring a vegetarian menu because there are options that may not be listed on the regular menu. Added bonus to this restaurant is it's located inside, so you'll have a chance to cool off in the air conditioning or find shelter from the rain. Reservations are strongly recommended.
The meal is extra magical if you find Donald Duck standing outside in a sombrero afterwards!
This restaurant is extremely unique with its 50's drive-in theater setup. The tables look like adorable little cars and the lights are dimmed down low so it feels like nighttime. There's a big movie screen that shows retro sci-fi clips while you munch on tasty classics like Fried Dill Pickles and an All American Burger. The vegetarian options at this place are amazing: Veggie Burgers, Vegetarian Sheppard's Pie, etc. The restaurant is also calm and quiet because kids are occupied by watching the movies. It's indoors with good air conditioning, which is always nice on a hot summer day. For adults, there are even sci-fi themed cocktails with glow-in-the-dark ice cubes! We usually make a reservation for this restaurant. If you really want to get one of the car style tables, you will definitely need a reservation. Sometimes the picnic style tables in the back don't have quite as long of a wait if you go during off peak times.
We went to this restaurant one year to celebrate Melanie's birthday and it was so magical! The food is a fusion of African and Indian, and the restaurant overlooks the animals roaming in the Sunset Savanna – zebras, giraffes, birds and more. It is absolutely beautiful. There are meal options for everyone, and we really enjoyed the unique choices and flavors on the menu. The service was impeccable, and we received the best rendition of "Happy Birthday" at this restaurant – complete with drums and a little African flair! The restaurant is a bit of a pain to get to if you aren't staying in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area, but it is well worth the trek. After your meal, you can enjoy the view outside and get a closer view of the animals by the campfire. Reservations are recommended and usually aren't too difficult to get. You definitely want to make your reservation for a time of day when the sun is out, otherwise you will miss the spectacular view.
While these three restaurants take the lead for now, we did have some very close contenders including Chefs de France, The Hollywood Brown Derby and Liberty Tree Tavern. If you're running the Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November, you'll definitely want to look into reservations now so that you can get into some of the good ones. Do you have a favorite Walt Disney World Restaurant that isn't listed here? We'd love the hear about it and try it out.