Quick weekend of last minute booking with kids

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We traveled to WDW last weekend so that I could participate in Disney’s Half Marathon. I planned this trip almost a year out and for almost a year it was going to be DD15 and myself.

A week before the trip Dh decided he wouldn’t mind coming along with our two little kids, Ds5 and DD2 so I added them onto our reservation.
DD15 and I enjoy Disney food much more than Dh so our original plans were much different that what we actually did.

Our original plans included Homecomin, California grill and Olga’s.
Those got switched out for Beaches and Cream, Crystal Palace and Woodys.

 

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We arrived Friday morning and headed straight for the expo. Unfortunately, Dh and older DD had caught the cold I was getting over and weren’t in the best of moods. After the expo we headed to our resort,Yacht Club, and went in search for food. We peeked into the new quick service at YC but found it very lacking.

We ended up at Hurricane Hanna’s.
Dh had a burger
DD15 had an adult portion of nuggets and fries.
The little kids had a nugget kids meal and a burger kids meal.
I ended up getting the buffalo chicken wrap (forgot to take a pic)

We were all hungry and starting to get cranky. There were no empty seats available so we ended up carrying our tray back to the qs in YC to eat.


The food was ok. I did ask if they still had the sand bucket to use in the pool and they gave me two once I asked.

The fries were food however I didn’t love my buffalo chicken wrap. I order them all the time at home and am used to them being warm, but this one is served cold. I wish I had gone with the other option I was considering.
The lack of seating was very annoying too. They really need more tables in that area.

 

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Dinner was at Beaches and Cream. I was able to score an adr the night before using the touring plans adr finder.
DD15 had start to feel horrible and skipped dinner in order to sleep.

Dh had another burger with onion rings.
I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with fries.
Because the little kids never eat anything I ordered a bowl of Mac and cheese for them to split.


The kids ate their Mac and cheese in about 5 seconds and wanted more. I debated getting another bowl but DS was itching to go to the aCade so I said forget it.

 

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Ds and Dh headed to the arcade while DD2 and I got some ice cream to go.
I got a no way Jose sundae with two scoops of ice cream and DD got vanilla.

While the boys played DD and I enjoyed our ice cream in some rocking chairs overlooking SAB. It was a beautiful night and I was so happy to be back at Disney!

After the arcade we picked up a few milkshakes for the boys and DD15, who woke up just long enough to scarf it down.

Overall we were happy with Beaches and Cream. Service was good, food was hot and ice cream is yummy. It’s a nice, relaxing dinner that is a great option especially when staying at the resort.
My only dislike was that the chicken only filled like half the bun and the grilled onions made the bun soggy but it tasted good.

 

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Sat morning I was up early to get to the half marathon. I assumed Dh would get the kids breakfast while I was running but apparently that didn’t go so well. I had told him that YC didn’t have many options at their qs but there was the option to walk to the marketplace at BC.

After finishing the half my family was waiting at the finish line. Dh hadn’t eaten and the kids had only had some snacks. Everyone was hungry. We had an 1130 adr at Liberty Tree Tavern. That meant we had just enough time to get back to YC for me to shower and then get to MK.
DH insisted he was starving. It was a little after 10 by the time we got back to YC but he decided to walk over to BC marketplace and get breakfast. The little kids followed. I was able to modify our adr to 1230.
Around an hour later Dh appeared and was not happy that I hadn’t told him the marketplace was so far away.
We packed everyone up at headed to MK. I hadn’t really eaten at this point and I was very hungry. We ended up being around 15 minutes late bc Dh needed to test out the car rental controls once we got to MK.
They took our name and said since we were late it could be about 30 min. I glared at Dh for making us late but our buzzer went off after a minute.

The kids all had Mac and cheese and fries. DD15 didn’t like the Mac and cheese so she only had fries. The little kids had eaten with DH so they weren’t hungry.
I was HUNGRY so I ordered the platter. I ate all of it other than the mac and cheese that DD2 took. I really enjoyed it all other than the fatty part of the pot roast.
I love the ooey goey cake! It was the perfect meal for post race.

I was very happy with my food. Service was very lacking. I didn’t get my salad until about a minute before my entree. Water was never refilled. We barely saw our waiter other than to order and give the check.

 

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By 2pm the kids were hungry and needed a snack.
DD got a cake pop.
DS got a rainbow cookie.
DD got a different cake pop.
They were all happy with their treats.

 

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Dinner was Crystal Palace. I was a tiny bit sad that we were heading to California Grill like originally planned but at least our family was together.
I didn’t get many pictures. After this trip I have decided we are done with character dinners, especially buffets unless DD2 wants them when she gets old.
DD2 was terrified of the characters and DS5 insisted they were just people in costumes. He was willingly to take pictures though.
I thought the food was ok. I didn’t really think there was much variety but I don’t like a lot of food that is combined like salads and casserole style dishes.
I didn’t really like any of the desserts.
Our total was 218 before tip and that was with DD2 being free. (Includes a glass of wine)
I really enjoy character meal but will stick to breakfast and like the family style ones like Garden Grill much better.

 

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Sunday we were up bright and early to head to DHS.
Once the park opened DD15 needed to ride Smugglers run and insisted on heading there first even though I said the wait would go down later. They ended up waiting around 90 minutes.
While they waited Dd and I killed time in Galaxys edge. We had some popcorn and Diet Coke for breakfast.
I was happy to see they had buttered popcorn since I wasn’t sure DD would eat the other flavored one.


After the kid built their droids they wanted to spend time playing with them so Dh stayed with them while DD15 tracked down blue milk.

 

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We ended up at Woodys lunchbox for some real breakfast. We got 3 breakfast bowls (minus the brisket and gravy so just eggs and tater tots) and a kids smore French toast.
I asked for 2 extra bowls and divided it amongst us. It was the perfect amount. Nothing special but filled us up. I didn’t really care for the French toast so we wouldn’t get that again. It wasn’t bad but just not much flavor.
DD was happy with the cutie that came with the kids meal though.

 

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We had no plans for lunch but we were moving from YC to Gf. We decided to head to GF and have lunch at Gasparilla before hitting the pool

I didn’t get many pics. Dh and I split a burger and the kids had something that they probably didn’t eat much of.

I also got a coconut dessert from the case that I really enjoyed but DD2 also enjoyed it and ate around half.
The food was good and hot. It was very slow to come out though. They said around 10-15 minutes but it was almost 25.
My favorite part is the view from the outdoor seating

 

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Dinner was Raglan Road. I should have just gone with my initial choice of GF Cafe but I have wanted to try Raglan Road for years.
Again we were late bc we had no clue where we were going. The last time we were in Disney Springs was 2012. Thankfully we were only about 5 minutes late this time. In the future I will tell Dh and the kids are adr is 30 minutes early than it is. It is so hard to get them out the door.
This meal is a blur. Our waitress was great and I liked the entertainment but the little kids were just all over the place and we couldn’t really enjoy our meal.

Dh and I each got a burger. Kids got Mac and cheese.
I also got a Celtic sangria
By the time dessert was offered I had enough of trying to tame the kids so I asked for the bread pudding to go.

I ended up eating it while watching the fireworks from the marina at GF.

 

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Monday morning rolled around and it was time to head home. I was up early and headed to Gasparilla to refill my coffee mug. I love that GF and Poly qs are open 24hrs. I am usually up around 4/5am so it’s nice to be able to sneak out of the room and have somewhere to go.
Once everyone was up we headed back to get breakfast. They have breakfast items out that you can just grab. Of course they had all the options out besides the breakfast platter. I had to ask for one. Dh saw mine and wanted that. Then DD15 wanted that. So I had to go back to the girl a few times to get more. Not sure why every other item is out but not that.
The little kids got Mickey and Minnie waffles and bacon.

Everyone ate their food. Despite being under a warmer and the eggs coming right out everything was barely warm. Little disappointing for our last meal. Hopefully it was just a fluke bc I loved the GF and we tend to eat many meals at whatever resort we are at.

 

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Overall it was a great weekend. It would have been a totally different experience if DD and I had traveled ourselves but after a rough few months I really wanted the whole family there when I did the half marathon. It was the first one Ive done in 7 years since having the two little kids. The last few months have been stressful and full of health related issues so I felt grateful to be in Disney running the half.
The food was all fine. Nothing outstanding this time. On our longer trips older DD will try to do some dining alone as DH hates eating out and the little kids would rather be running around.
I find it easy with the little kids and Dh to stick to meals either in the park we are ate or at the resort we are staying. I’ll save heading for Disney Springs or resort hopping for our girls only trip.
Our weekend was way too quick but we will be back to Fl in Nov for a Disney cruise. We will save our week long Disney trips for when DD2 is a bit older.
(I’m in the purple)
The cruise also falls right after the Wine and dine half marathon so I might try to sneak out of our Universal resort and head to that. Otherwise we will be heading to the Star Wars rundisney weekend in2021.

Sorry it’s not the best dining report. Once the kids decided to come I knew good pics and food went out the window but it was worth it. And I always like bad pics more than no pics on this board. Thanks to everyone who posts their food pics! It helps kill the time until our next Disney trip.

 

[DLo]

thanks for taking the time to report. congrats on running the half . glad you were able to go with the flow with the trip changes

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

Maybe it’s just me, but I have yet to come across a dining report I didn’t enjoy! Thank you!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Thanks for the report, and congrats on the half marathon!

 

[wonderchica]

Great report! I love runDisney reports!