"You'll find I'm full of surprises" - Marathon/Princess Half Marathon - 3/11 Raglan Road Brunch

I'm glad you did well! 5:01 is a great time and I know in the top 25% of the field (my husband ended up with something similar). My husband is running DS FO Challenge. I'm just doing the 10K for that one!
Thank you!! I’m very pleased and looking forward to the next! Well maybe I’ll see you spectating the half?!
As to where I’m staying Saturday night??? Not sure?! Lol! I added the race after marathon. We are already booked at BLT 4/22-25 then AKL 4/25-27. There are 9 of us (my sisters family for the first time! We’re excited to have a 2BR)
 
Wow, your husband’s new job is turning out to be a great decision all around with some pretty cool benefits! We just ate at La Hacienda for New Years Eve and friends split that platter. It looked SO good and they really enjoyed it. I mis-ordered again (a recent trend for me - ugh!) and had the taco sampler. Ok but nowhere as good as that platter!
 
or our appetizer, my husband and I got our favorite dish here for that part and shared with my mother. Splitting here three ways was the right move as it was enough to enjoy but not overdo it. We really enjoy this! Excuse the horrible photo as we dove right in so you get a partially eaten fundido!
Yum! We both love Queso and splitting it would be a perfect option!

La Hacienda - Mixed Grill Offering New York Strip, Half a Chicken Al Pastor, Chorizos, Vegetables, served with Beans, Rice and Fresh Salsas
This looks great too......so much food and I like how there are enough options for everyone. Another restaurant to put on the list for our anniversary trip!
 
It was an almond soaked cake with a Milk Chocolate Caramel Mousse in the middle. As it arrived not long before we were leaving for dinner, we placed it in the fridge to enjoy after dinner! It was so moist and tasty when we did have it! We only ate half of it during the trip so the other half drove home with us for dinner late Sunday and dessert on Monday.

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While expensive, for Disney this sounds somewhat reasonable. Awesome choice! Hope hubby enjoyed.

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Enjoyed after dinner with a glass of wine that I brought from home + real (plastic) wine cups leftover from the morning beer stand
Keeping it classy :-)

pparently this is a highly rated extra anejo and he really wanted to try it out. Since it is a popular seller and expensive, it wouldn’t be one of the bottles they would open for the employees to taste. This new job of his has really opened his palette up!

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Wow, he is branch out though it looks like a glass of champagne. Did he enjoy it?

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Minty Pineapple Margarita
Now this is my jam. Minty and pineapple, sounds awesome!

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Queso Fundido - Melted Cheese w/ Chorizo, Poblano & Serrano Peppers, Avocado-Tomatillo Sauce and Flour Tortillas
Funny I couldn't figure out what this was. From the picture it looks like eggs, which I thought was an odd choice for dinner :-)

After we talked about it, we realized we could easily split the entree for “2” for “3” and have enough to eat.
Great idea and good to know for us in the future. it looks like they give you tons
 


Thank you!! I’m very pleased and looking forward to the next! Well maybe I’ll see you spectating the half?!
As to where I’m staying Saturday night??? Not sure?! Lol! I added the race after marathon. We are already booked at BLT 4/22-25 then AKL 4/25-27. There are 9 of us (my sisters family for the first time! We’re excited to have a 2BR)

Depends on the route on if I'm going to be spectating or not. For Dark Side we are staying at Animal Kingdom - Jambo House. I may go over to Animal Kingdom to cheer on since that will be an easy place to get to and from.

At least with the 2BR - you get that amazing tub! My husband was missing the tub post marathon. Enjoy your lovely trip!

Wow, your husband’s new job is turning out to be a great decision all around with some pretty cool benefits! We just ate at La Hacienda for New Years Eve and friends split that platter. It looked SO good and they really enjoyed it. I mis-ordered again (a recent trend for me - ugh!) and had the taco sampler. Ok but nowhere as good as that platter!

It is having some cool benefits. It may even give us better benefits during our France trip in Sept 2019! No more mis-ordering!

Brave soul you are for going to EPCOT on New Year's Eve! We've done a short trip during Christmas Week once. We'll avoid it now! Glad you have a wonderful meal at La Hacienda!

Yum! We both love Queso and splitting it would be a perfect option!

This looks great too......so much food and I like how there are enough options for everyone. Another restaurant to put on the list for our anniversary trip!

Having no Dining Plan makes it really easy to split appetizers or meals! Its a different type of queso than normal since its more melty cheese than liquid cheese but as long as you know that - its yum!

Where are all you looking at for your anniversary trip?

I need to start figuring out our large November trip soon. Too many places to eat!

While expensive, for Disney this sounds somewhat reasonable. Awesome choice! Hope hubby enjoyed.


Keeping it classy :-)
Someone needed to ;)

Wow, he is branch out though it looks like a glass of champagne. Did he enjoy it?
He did! (I would have been a little annoyed if at $30 a glass, he didn't like it) Tequila glasses do look like champagne glasses! I never thought of that. Looking back at my tequila lunch in September - they were in similar glasses as well.


Now this is my jam. Minty and pineapple, sounds awesome!

:thumbsup2 Definitely refreshing! Wasn't the strongest margarita but that's ok!

Funny I couldn't figure out what this was. From the picture it looks like eggs, which I thought was an odd choice for dinner :-)
You don't have to worry about me ever ordering eggs for dinner or breakfast or lunch or ever. Yuck! :sick: Its not often I forget to take pictures of my food - but when I do, its cheesy goodness!

Great idea and good to know for us in the future. it looks like they give you tons

FOr the three of you, it would be perfect as well! It was a ton of food!
 
Tutto Italia

We woke up around 7AM. The plan for this day was to meet my mother at the Boardwalk around 8:40AM to head into EPCOT for the day. It was freezing so both my husband and I got lattes from the Boardwalk Bakery to warm us up on our the walk over. We headed straight to Soarin’ since we didn’t have a FP+ for that ride and then went to Living with the Land.

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Afterwards, I made a super ugly vehicle that did well in the capability ratings for the day, followed by a ride around Spaceship Earth.

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Having done the major rides of Future World, we headed into the World Showcase for our lunch reservation at Tutto Italia. It wasn’t long before we were sat in a booth and were able to review their menu. They had made a couple updates since what they had last posted on the online menu but the changes were definately for the better for my husband & I! While I forgot a photo of the wine, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio since well, Wine Math makes it make sense.

We dove right into the bread. I love those breadsticks!

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Bread

For a started, I got what I always do here - the freshly made mozzarella. The only difference this time, my mother was there to eat the slices of tomato I usually just leave on the plate. I love fresh mozzarella especially with fresh cracked pepper and the sea salt! Yum!

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Fior di Latte Mozzarella - Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Basil, Maldon Sea Salt, Tuscan Olive Oil

My mother ordered a side and an appetizer for her entree. I kinda decided for her since well, she was debating between that or ordering the exact same thing my husband and I were. Someone has to mix it up a bit! She enjoyed her baked zucchini. It was a right size portion for her and she felt like she was getting her vegetables for the day.

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Tortino di Zucchini - Baked Zucchini, Pomodoro, Mozzarella, Parmesan

Her other item was a side of meatballs. My husband and I each stole one of them to try and agree that they were just ok. They felt like they needed more seasoning in them but for people that like more mild flavors, they probably would have been thrilled. I like my Publix meatballs better.

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Side of Meatballs

My husband and I went for the same pasta dish. This was perfect! The chicken was well seasoned and cooked. You can't go wrong with extra cheese on top either! The parmesan cream was exactly what we were wanting on top of the freshly made fettuccini! Both of us were members of the clean plate club after this!

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Fettuccini, Chicken, Parmesan Cream
 
EPCOT Snacks

After our lunch, we explored a bit of the World Showcase. We went into the main shop in Japan as I forgot to bring my husband Jolly Ranchers for the marathon. He likes having a hard candy to suck on while waiting in the corrals before the start line. Luckily, Japan has hard candy that he enjoys so this was a good option for him. This would be a good option for me as well as I was able to get a glass of sparkling sake. I had this sake previously during the Hibachi Experience of Food & Wine Festival a couple years ago so I knew I liked it then. I liked it still now! It is slightly sweet and it has the bubbles which works! My mother stole a sip and thought it was ‘different.’

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Hana Awaka Sake

My mother wanted something really chocolatey from France. She apparently had never been inside the ice cream place or realized what they had there outside of ice cream. She never knew the ice cream macaron existed. All three of us ordered one and were happy. It is the right amount of richness for each of us.

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Chocolate Ice Cream Macaron

Afterwards, we left EPCOT and headed back to our respective hotels. I totally took a nap. My husband played video games. My mother enjoyed her hotel. We were going to meet back up at dinner.
 


What a fun morning! I love staying at the Epcot resorts and that leisurely walk over through the International Gateway. I’m really hoping the gondolas don’t wreck that. I want to love the new Soarin but I just can’t get past the CGI distortions - bendy Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal etc.

I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t been to Tutto Italia in years - since before they refurbed, which I just looked up was 2012. Your pictures and descriptions confirm I need to go back ASAP. That chicken and fettuccini looks divine!!! And I love wine math!
 
What a fun morning! I love staying at the Epcot resorts and that leisurely walk over through the International Gateway. I’m really hoping the gondolas don’t wreck that. I want to love the new Soarin but I just can’t get past the CGI distortions - bendy Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal etc.

I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t been to Tutto Italia in years - since before they refurbed, which I just looked up was 2012. Your pictures and descriptions confirm I need to go back ASAP. That chicken and fettuccini looks divine!!! And I love wine math!


I'm really hoping the gondolas don't wreck it either! They are going to need to add more turnstiles back there for the increased traffic. Wonder when that is on the plan!

There is some bad CGI distortions in the new film. When I go to France next year - I really want to take a Fisheye photo of Eiffel Tower as a joke, if I still remember to do it then!

I loved Alfredo's! I initially was not happy that it was closing and Tutto Italia was going to take over. That said, they met up for my standards. I know it gets mixed reviews on these boards but sometimes I wonder what is it they are comparing too? I have yet to have bad food there. Bad service, yes but not bad food.

Wine math is the best math (coming from an engineer & math tutor)
 
The Boathouse

My husband and I boarded the bus to Disney Springs around 3:20pm and made it to Disney Springs by 3:45PM. We hate driving to Disney Springs and with the new bus set up - it usually works out ok if you have some luck in the timing of the buses. It saves me the anger of their parking situations. Upon arrival, we went shopping a bit. We ended up finding my husband a neck gaiter for the marathon for $10.50 at Columbia which was perfect so he could stay warm! We also found me two new Stitch items which were perfect for my collection of Stitch. We met my mother right before 5PM at the Boathouse and got seated at a corner table. With as busy as they were, I was super happy to have a corner table to help protect the noise from bothering us too much.

My husband and I each ordered an adult beverage. I had a lovely adult whiskey cocktail while my husband had a very fruity cider. I was actually shocked that he ordered another adult beverage as he wasn’t too keen on ordering wine at lunch.

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The Bradford

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Cider

We were given the best bread in all of Disney which my husband and I quickly devoured. They did give us a 2nd order of bread. My mother avoided the bread because of her entrée. We told her she was crazy.

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Parker House Bread

As I hadn’t had vegetables and I enjoy their salad, I ordered a Caesar. I realize this isn’t a healthy salad at all but I’m sure that romaine lettuce has some nutritional value to it. I was the only one at the table that ordered an appetizer though.

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Caesar Salad

My mother ordered herself a lobster roll. The amount of meat on top was a ton! She ended up having to fork and knife it to eat it as otherwise it would have been a disaster. The only problem with using the fork and knife is she didn’t get to enjoy as much of the bread with the sandwich. She loves this dish and was very happy with it again this evening.

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Lobster Roll

My husband went against our normal pre-race dinner of protein heavy and decided to carb load more and order something atypical for him. There was a ton of lobster with this Mac’N’Cheese so he was a happy camper. It was super rich though and towards the end - decided to eat the meat over the pasta just like the server warned him would happen.

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Lobster Mac N Cheese

When I reviewed their daily special menu, I noticed they had an appetizer of *hot* peel & eat shrimp. I knew that would be perfect for me but obviously an appetizer portion wouldn’t be enough for dinner. I ordered a double portion for my main meal and it was great. It ended up being about a pound worth of shrimp. Our server was also awesome and instead of just providing me with a finger napkin, he gave me a bowl of water for me to place my fingers in while eating to keep my hands cleaned. This was the best thing ever! Made the eating experience much more enjoyable since it was easy to stay clean despite having to work for my food. He said that wasn’t a restaurant thing - he does it as that is what his wife does at home. I was very happy with my shrimp as it had decent kick to it.

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Double Order of Special Appetizer - Peel & Eat Louisiana Shrimp

After dinner, we parted ways with my mother for the weekend. She wasn’t coming back over for the marathon following the next morning as she wanted to get home and go grocery shopping. My husband and I had decent bus karma and it wasn’t too long before we were back at the hotel. We noticed Todd ate the other chair over the course of the day since he was now lonely. Back at the room, we watched some television until about 8:30 PM and went to bed as we knew our 2:45 AM wake up call would come early!

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Todd is all lonely
 
Wow! Lobster-mania! Both dishes look Ah-may-zing!!!! Your shrimp looks super too, but maybe not *hot*! We’ve had Boathouse on the itinerary a few times, but with kids, it’s been changed. Next time-nope!
 
Enjoying your reviews, the pasta dish looks so yummy and the Boathouse always seems to be a good choice. We have been 1x and really liked it! I need to try the ice cream macaron in France it always looks so delicious.
 
I found this one before you got too far! I think I missed the boat entirely on your last DR but am working my way through it too. Your meals look great - we haven't done Hacienda San Angel in a long time and we've never tried Tutto Gusto so I love reading about those! Excited to read more.

Edit: I meant Tutto Italia. I think everyone knows why Melinda defaulted to the bar name, which I have visited :oops:
 
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Boy, your Boathouse review pushed me to add it to my list to try next time I’m at WDW! I keep reading great stuff about this place! The awesome experience with the waiter being so considerate with the bowl of water cinched it for me. Love reading your revie2s
 
Tutto Italia

We woke up around 7AM. The plan for this day was to meet my mother at the Boardwalk around 8:40AM to head into EPCOT for the day. It was freezing so both my husband and I got lattes from the Boardwalk Bakery to warm us up on our the walk over. We headed straight to Soarin’ since we didn’t have a FP+ for that ride and then went to Living with the Land.

KQwDu2r.jpg


Afterwards, I made a super ugly vehicle that did well in the capability ratings for the day, followed by a ride around Spaceship Earth.

VCnQeFb.jpg
UOzR4cy.jpg


KlI3kyP.jpg


Having done the major rides of Future World, we headed into the World Showcase for our lunch reservation at Tutto Italia. It wasn’t long before we were sat in a booth and were able to review their menu. They had made a couple updates since what they had last posted on the online menu but the changes were definately for the better for my husband & I! While I forgot a photo of the wine, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio since well, Wine Math makes it make sense.

We dove right into the bread. I love those breadsticks!

j7cwHMi.jpg

Bread

For a started, I got what I always do here - the freshly made mozzarella. The only difference this time, my mother was there to eat the slices of tomato I usually just leave on the plate. I love fresh mozzarella especially with fresh cracked pepper and the sea salt! Yum!

MwD4wS1.jpg

Fior di Latte Mozzarella - Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Basil, Maldon Sea Salt, Tuscan Olive Oil

My mother ordered a side and an appetizer for her entree. I kinda decided for her since well, she was debating between that or ordering the exact same thing my husband and I were. Someone has to mix it up a bit! She enjoyed her baked zucchini. It was a right size portion for her and she felt like she was getting her vegetables for the day.

v57SO1e.jpg

Tortino di Zucchini - Baked Zucchini, Pomodoro, Mozzarella, Parmesan

Her other item was a side of meatballs. My husband and I each stole one of them to try and agree that they were just ok. They felt like they needed more seasoning in them but for people that like more mild flavors, they probably would have been thrilled. I like my Publix meatballs better.

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Side of Meatballs

My husband and I went for the same pasta dish. This was perfect! The chicken was well seasoned and cooked. You can't go wrong with extra cheese on top either! The parmesan cream was exactly what we were wanting on top of the freshly made fettuccini! Both of us were members of the clean plate club after this!

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Fettuccini, Chicken, Parmesan Cream
 
I was way behind on the boards. You've had a lot of great meals over the course of this report. I really need to get back to some of those places, but there are just so many great restaurants, i always have a hard time choosing. I've never eaten off the menu at La Hacienda, but that may change, the queso fundido sounded really good!

I love that lobster roll, we split that when we ate there, and it was plenty to share!
 
Where are all you looking at for your anniversary trip?
Oh boy, it's a long list already.......Il Mulino, Yak and Yeti, Tiffins, Morimoto, Victoria and Alberts, Ohana, Jiko, Artist Point plus snacks around World Showcase, drinks and nibblies at various lounges and bar hopping along the monorail! Can't wait!
 
Wow! Lobster-mania! Both dishes look Ah-may-zing!!!! Your shrimp looks super too, but maybe not *hot*! We’ve had Boathouse on the itinerary a few times, but with kids, it’s been changed. Next time-nope!

It was lobster mania for everyone but me! My shrimp were the right temperature. I actually prefer my peel and eat shrimp to be warm. Don't change next time! The kid's meals are super cute here! They come out in a paper car!

Enjoying your reviews, the pasta dish looks so yummy and the Boathouse always seems to be a good choice. We have been 1x and really liked it! I need to try the ice cream macaron in France it always looks so delicious.

Glad you are enjoying them! My husband really enjoyed the pasta dish. I have yet to have a bad meal at Boathouse! I do love the ice cream macaron. They seasonally change up the 2nd one - I miss the vanilla option!

I found this one before you got too far! I think I missed the boat entirely on your last DR but am working my way through it too. Your meals look great - we haven't done Hacienda San Angel in a long time and we've never tried Tutto Gusto so I love reading about those! Excited to read more.

Edit: I meant Tutto Italia. I think everyone knows why Melinda defaulted to the bar name, which I have visited :oops:

Shock! You love Bars! You've been really busy living life and planning a wedding - makes sense why you aren't caught up over here! Too many restaurants to enjoy around the World Now! I'm happy with that though so there is always something to mix it up with.

Boy, your Boathouse review pushed me to add it to my list to try next time I’m at WDW! I keep reading great stuff about this place! The awesome experience with the waiter being so considerate with the bowl of water cinched it for me. Love reading your revie2s

Yes! Boathouse is awesome! I've never had the water before but it worked out so well to avoid that shrimp smell being soaked into my fingers as I ate my food! I love shrimp but that is a pain sometimes!

OMG I love publix meatballs the most, and I am Italian.

They are super good! I also like them because I'm lazy and don't have to mix the meat myself so its a cleaner dinner!

I was way behind on the boards. You've had a lot of great meals over the course of this report. I really need to get back to some of those places, but there are just so many great restaurants, i always have a hard time choosing. I've never eaten off the menu at La Hacienda, but that may change, the queso fundido sounded really good!

I love that lobster roll, we split that when we ate there, and it was plenty to share!

Well, you've had some house drama so makes sense that you are behind. It is hard choosing among the restaurants. Doing the race weekends makes some of it easy as we are going to go for certain type of meals then. La Hacienda is nice but don't blame you for only getting there for the tequila lunches as those are enjoyable. My husband is actually going to do that one with me next year. I have a feeling November is going to be a really intensive F&W special event schedule for us. He taught his first Whiskey class yesterday and it went well!

Oh boy, it's a long list already.......Il Mulino, Yak and Yeti, Tiffins, Morimoto, Victoria and Alberts, Ohana, Jiko, Artist Point plus snacks around World Showcase, drinks and nibblies at various lounges and bar hopping along the monorail! Can't wait!

Those all sound good! Bar hopping is so nice!
 

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