“Told you I did. Reckless is (s)he.” - November 2017 Trips - 12/30 Bonus - Magnolia (Italy Trip)

Such great reviews, now I wish we had ate at Tiffins, that looked really good. We had debated going to Paddlefish which from your review looks good, but I still miss Fultons, we ended up at the Boathouse for lunch one day and it was great. I saw your husband on the bus back to the resorts after the 10k and Half so we must have had close finish times. Oh and the California Grill brunch was awesome!
 
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We had the bread service at Nomad and it was really good. I think the entrees seem to be changing and getting a little more normal (as far as Fran is concerned) next time we are at WDW I'm making a reservation there!
 


Mmmmm! May have to risk the bad service just to try this.

I love a good caesar salad, this looks perfect!

I need to try that drink next time I am at AK!

Tiffins looks great.... your DH picked what I would have ordered and you picked what my DH would like. The bread service looks good too!

Bad service can be avoided if you sit at the actual bar rather than a table. At least then there is a better line of sight for your server so you are less likely to get ignored!

Tiffins has so many great options! The beef is also really good!

I’m bummed about the whole Disneyland thing too! I really wanted to try to get my coast to coast but oh well. I haven’t completely ruled out castle to chateau with MommaoffherRocker though! Congrats on your first race post surgery! St Jude’s will be a rewarding HM to return to!

I’m running the marathon o_O lol! My BFF and I are running together! I’m terrified but feel training is on the right track thanks to DopeyBadger! I’m not sure our plans yet as BFF is trying to decide on her tickets options?! Will you be going to the Dis meet Friday at Hurricane Hannah’s? If so, I’ll be sure to say hi!!

You should totally do Castle to Chateau! I'll encourage you to go for it! Who doesn't want to go to Paris?

Yay for running the marathon! Glad you feel your training is on track! Not sure if we are doing the Dis Meet as my mom will be with us.

Wow, big endorsement for Tiffins! I was a little intimidated by the menu but I’m going to have to take another look if it’s become one of your faves. I’m impressed with your discipline on drinks with lunch and dessert. What little discipline I have always goes out the window as soon as I set foot on property! :rolleyes:

I think the menu makes it seems a lot more out there than it really is. It is one of my favorites now! I have too many favorites though and not enough time to enjoy them all! That discipline kinda went away when we went to the Parisian Afternoon for my husband but I'll get to that story sometime in the next two weeks!

Thank you for sharing the meals at Paddlefish and Tiffins look delicious. We had been to Fulton's in the past. Will have to add these two for our October 2018. May 2018 ADRs already booked :) -

Glad to give you new options for your October trip!

Great thread as always. How has Taste of Tiffins changed?

It has changed as before they gave you a bunch of different of options that you could pick yourself. This time - it was only 2 specific combos - one dish being a protein and one being a vegetable. I liked being able to pick two protein dishes.

Such great reviews, now I wish we had ate at Tiffins, that looked really good. We had debated going to Paddlefish which from your review looks good, but I still miss Fultons, we ended up at the Boathouse for lunch one day and it was great. I saw your husband on the bus back to the resorts after the 10k and Half so we must have had close finish times. Oh and the California Grill brunch was awesome!

The Boathouse is a great option! That is awesome your lunch was good too! My husband started in A for the 10K and finished in 54 minutes and Started in B for the Half and was at 2 hours 15 minutes (give or take a few minutes). If you tried to say hi he probably was in his own little world.

California Grill Brunch is awesome! What entree did you get? Hopefully you got lots and lots of mimosas! You deserve after running all those races!

Enjoying the reviews, we tried Tiffins in August and had a wonderful meal.

Thank you for reading along! It's great to have such a tasty option in the Animal Kingdom.

We had the bread service at Nomad and it was really good. I think the entrees seem to be changing and getting a little more normal (as far as Fran is concerned) next time we are at WDW I'm making a reservation there!

I'm glad Fran is willing to finally give Tiffins a try! I know you should love it! Good to know you got to enjoy the bread service at Nomad! That is a great lounge!
 
Il Mulino

After relaxing for a bit in the room, we both set out our clothes for the next day for the races. A little before 5PM, we started walking over to the Swan for our dinner at Il Mulino. We were quickly sat at the exact same table we’ve been sat at a couple times before. We ordered some sparkling water and I got myself a glass of prosecco! This was our first “Italian” meal since returning from Italy. We knew we needed to adjust our expectations a bit since we were really spoiled during that trip.

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Laid Out for 10K

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Prosecco

We ordered cheese for an appetizer. Yes, that’s right - just chunks of cheese! They were wonderful bits of parmigiano reggiano too - almost as good as the ones we had during our goodbye dinner for our Tauck Tour in room. That one was better as we were literally at a restaurant on the Appian Way though. We thought that was a better option than a salad as well.

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Parmigiano Reggiano

My husband went with a normal pasta dish. He was happy with their pasta and sauce. There wasn’t much left when he was done so that’s a good sign!

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Penne Rigate - Penne Served w/ Original Il Mulino Marinara Sauce, Parmesan and Ricotta Cheese

I went with the daily special as I just wanted pasta with a cream sauce and this was a good option for it! I totally avoided any of the scallops in the dish and still had a decent amount of food.

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Daily Special - Pasta w/ Shrimp, Scallops, Garlic Cream Sauce

We skipped dessert as I wanted ice cream.

Overall, a decent first Italian meal post Italy. I’m glad we went with that as an option over some other Italian restaurants.​
 
My daughter and I ate at Il Mulino for the first time in May...will definitely be on our list to visit again. Your meal looks great!
 


I did 56:35 for 10k and 2:07:25 for half, not bad for me considering I have a difficult time running in the humidity. I also did the Castaway Cay 5K and the heat and humidity was brutal, thankfully it was only a 5k. Your husband did look like he was in the zone on the bus, but I was too, i just wanted to get back to the resort to get the rest of my day on. For the California Grill brunch for my entree i just had the eggs benedict with the lobster and my husband got the Korean Fried Chicken AND the Hangar Steak, they were supposed to be half portions but they came out with the full portions, it was alot of food. I obviously ate some of his and the Korean Fried chicken was delicious! Your plate of cheese at Il Mulino, oh my! That is right up my alley!
 
I just tried Il Mulino for the first time last month and really enjoyed it! The Swan and Dolphin hotels really have some great options and can usually accommodate walk-ins - love them! Seems like a perfect pre-race meal... hope the next morning went smoothly! I saw some of your pics from Italy but would still love to hear more about your meals there - esp the Michelin starred spot!
 
That looks like a nice dinner. I can imagine how dining at an Italian restaurant after having the real thing could be a potential disappointment. Based on your reviews, I keep considering this restaurant bit somehow it never makes the cut.
 
I missed the beginning but I'm here now. I have no idea how I didn't realize you were down there for the half as I would have loved to meet up but apparently our ships passed in the night. We got down on the 3rd and Jason did the 10K and the half. I did food and wine and food and wine not officially at food and wine. Can't wait to hear about more :-)
 
My daughter and I ate at Il Mulino for the first time in May...will definitely be on our list to visit again. Your meal looks great!

Il Mulino does get passed up a lot on these boards, just like many of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants. It is a great hidden gem! Glad you had a great meal as well!

I did 56:35 for 10k and 2:07:25 for half, not bad for me considering I have a difficult time running in the humidity. I also did the Castaway Cay 5K and the heat and humidity was brutal, thankfully it was only a 5k. Your husband did look like he was in the zone on the bus, but I was too, i just wanted to get back to the resort to get the rest of my day on. For the California Grill brunch for my entree i just had the eggs benedict with the lobster and my husband got the Korean Fried Chicken AND the Hangar Steak, they were supposed to be half portions but they came out with the full portions, it was alot of food. I obviously ate some of his and the Korean Fried chicken was delicious! Your plate of cheese at Il Mulino, oh my! That is right up my alley!

I probably saw you run past at the Boardwalk/Swan/Wine Ladies area while I was waiting for my husband to pass during the half marathon! I definitely felt for all the northern runners as I know the humidity was rough for those that aren't used to it (my husband had no issue as it was actually less humid than what he normally runs in) The Castaway Cay 5K is probably one of the hardest 5Ks out there because of the heat and humidity! We've done it twice and know its rough.

Don't blame you for wanting to just get back to the resort! I was so glad to have a 1 Bedroom for the laundry ability after the races.

It would be hard to leave that brunch hungry! Good to know the Fried Chicken was good! I looked at that dish in September but ultimately decided against it so that I could have the shrimp.

I just tried Il Mulino for the first time last month and really enjoyed it! The Swan and Dolphin hotels really have some great options and can usually accommodate walk-ins - love them! Seems like a perfect pre-race meal... hope the next morning went smoothly! I saw some of your pics from Italy but would still love to hear more about your meals there - esp the Michelin starred spot!

They do have some great options! I know we aren't really fans of BlueZoo but we know others are. We just haven't had much luck there! Shula's is also always a great spot too.

Maybe once I finish the actual Disney portions of this report - I can post my Michelin Star Meals from Italy as Extra's here. Most meals we had over there were Amazing!

That looks like a nice dinner. I can imagine how dining at an Italian restaurant after having the real thing could be a potential disappointment. Based on your reviews, I keep considering this restaurant bit somehow it never makes the cut.

There are so many restaurants and so little time to get to everything. I know we luck at since we go to WDW more than an average person so we can try to get around to all our favorites. One day you'll get there!

I missed the beginning but I'm here now. I have no idea how I didn't realize you were down there for the half as I would have loved to meet up but apparently our ships passed in the night. We got down on the 3rd and Jason did the 10K and the half. I did food and wine and food and wine not officially at food and wine. Can't wait to hear about more :-)

Welcome! Our ships did pass in the night again. Hopefully you start your report soon! Is Jason doing Dark Side this year? We'll be there for that as well!
 
Ample Hills Creamery

Before heading back to the room for the night - I headed to where the ice cream was located! I’m not sure why I selected cotton candy to go with the sweet cream and cookies. Those two don’t really mix well together. That was a bad selection on my part - nothing against the ice cream! The M&M Cookie Cone was a good selection as well.

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Single Cup of Cotton Candy, Sweet Cream & Cookies in a M&M Cookie Cone

My husband went with one of his favorite ice cream selections - a brownie sundae. He stayed with some pretty normal flavors to enjoy with the brownie. He had it finished before we even got back to our room! I think he liked it ;)

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Brownie Sundae w/ Sweet Cream & Cookies & Vanilla

Back in the room - we each watched television on our respective electronic devices until we got to bed around 8:30pm.​
 
They do have some great options! I know we aren't really fans of BlueZoo but we know others are. We just haven't had much luck there!

And this is one of our ADRs for May - my son picked it out. I know he has been to Il Mulino - not sure about Shula's. We try to pick at least one or two new restaurants for each visit. Not sure if he has been to Blue Zoo yet. Will have to ask him. Hope it's good and worth the $$$.
 
I’d love if you posted some about your Italy trip as extras! I still haven’t tried Ample Hills yet. Looks like the perfect sweet treat to end the night. It’s going to be interesting to see if/how the Boardwalk is changed when the gondolas are operational.
 
And this is one of our ADRs for May - my son picked it out. I know he has been to Il Mulino - not sure about Shula's. We try to pick at least one or two new restaurants for each visit. Not sure if he has been to Blue Zoo yet. Will have to ask him. Hope it's good and worth the $$$.

BlueZoo has always had good food when we've gone - we've just haven't had good luck with service and/or table location. Others have had great experiences so I would try a place for yourself before writing it off completely, with the exception of something completely horrible happening again and again but I haven't read anything like that about BlueZoo. Other places have ebbs and flows. We initially disliked California Grill immediately after the reopening from the remodel but now we love it again. They worked out their kinks!

Hope you have a great meal!

I’d love if you posted some about your Italy trip as extras! I still haven’t tried Ample Hills yet. Looks like the perfect sweet treat to end the night. It’s going to be interesting to see if/how the Boardwalk is changed when the gondolas are operational.

I will do that at the end provided I'm not super behind! Gotta keep this up!

We've tried it one time before but I don't see us going out of the way for it. This was an easy option since we were staying at Boardwalk.

It will be interesting to see how it changes - they are going to have to make the international gateway more efficient with the extra amount of people going through there! It didn't matter what time of day we went, there was always somewhat of a backup because of everyone having to go through the detectors.
 
Food & Wine Festival Booths

We woke up at 2:45AM and got ready for the race. My husband started in corral A - I was in Corral B as I had created hopes for my pace post ankle surgery when I originally signed up in January 2017. That didn’t happen as I didn’t train as well as I had hoped. My husband did his best 10K since Princess 2016 though!

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Pre-10K

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10K Characters

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Post 10K Snack

Something after a race makes cheese food taste so good. Same goes for oreos! Since Boardwalk was the last stop - I enjoyed my food during the drive back to the hotel. It’s a lot easier to walk to the room not carrying 2 beverages, a medal, a foodbox and a Dr. Cool towel.

I got cleaned up as my husband was already back in the room, clean and napping! We headed to Hollywood Studios for 2 rides - Star Tours and Rock’n’Roller Coaster and then headed over to EPCOT for some booths before our special event - A Parisian Afternoon. We decided to walk counterclockwise around World Showcase which lead us to skipping France since we knew we would be eating French food soon!

Brazil

My first choice was for Crispy Pork Belly! I hadn’t had this item in a while since I do love the cheese bread more but I wanted meat over cheese at this point in the morning. The pork belly was perfectly crispy and melted in my mouth! I also was easily able to avoid the black beans!

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Crispy Pork Belly - w/ Black Beans, Tomato & Onions

Belgium

While I had my pork belly - my husband wanted two items from Belgium! The Belgian Waffle with the Chocolate Ganache has been one of his favorite items for a while. The Braised Beef was something hearty but the real star of that dish was the gouda mashed potatoes. Not a bit of them were left!

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Beer-braised Beef w/ Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes
Belgian Waffle w/ Warm Chocolate Ganache


We split the Cidre between the two of us. Sample was small but at least we got some sample of one of the ciders we love .

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Stella Artois Hard Cidre

Japan

Our next stop was Japan where I found this Origami super cute as who doesn’t love your personal healthcare assistant?

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Origami Baymax

I decided to try the pork here. It was only eh. The meat was hard to eat and while some parts had decent flavor - others didn’t so it was like it didn’t get fully marinated or at least marinated correctly. It also was one of the more expensive items of the festival and I didn’t feel it was worth it.

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Teriyaki Ginger Pork - Marinated Pork w/ Sweet Chili and Teriyaki Sauce

India

When I was at the festival with my mother, India was one of my favorites because of the coriander dip! My husband almost refused to let me stop at this booth but he was quickly hushed when he tried it. The Coriander Pesto still rocked this time around. My husband also devoured the mango salsa. My only complaint is that there isn’t enough bread for all the dips!

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Warm Indian Bread w/ Pickled Garlic, Mango Salsa, and Coriander Pesto Dips

Farm Fresh

As we finished our journey around the World Showcase - we stopped for a cider flight as we do love cider. Our favorite was the Gumption Citrus Freak of the 3. We’ve had the elderberry now a few times and it's still really an easy joy.

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Cider Flight - Gumption Citrus Freak Hard Cider, Woodchuck Raspberry Hard Cider, Two Henrys Elderberry Cream Hard Cider

We went on a ride or two before heading over to France for our special F&W Event.​
 
Congrats to you both on a successful race. Looks like there were some fun characters out on the course. I wish I could get into running. I have several friends who are basically addicted. Oh, that pork belly! Wasn’t it amazing? Definitely one of my faves. I didn’t get to try India and now I’m bummed- that looks delicious. Happy Thanksgiving!!
 
What in the heck is this supposed to be?????

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Post 10K Snack

Something after a race makes cheese food taste so good. Same goes for oreos! Since Boardwalk was the last stop - I enjoyed my food during the drive back to the hotel. It’s a lot easier to walk to the room not carrying 2 beverages, a medal, a foodbox and a Dr. Cool towel.
Jason never ate his, but brought them back to the room and they made the perfect snacks for Casey throughout the trip!

Belgium

While I had my pork belly - my husband wanted two items from Belgium! The Belgian Waffle with the Chocolate Ganache has been one of his favorite items for a while. The Braised Beef was something hearty but the real star of that dish was the gouda mashed potatoes. Not a bit of them were left!

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Yum!!!! These look awesome. The Belgium booth had such a long line every time we were there we never made it.

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Origami Baymax
Love it!

The Coriander Pesto still rocked this time around. My husband also devoured the mango salsa. My only complaint is that there isn’t enough bread for all the dips!

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We never tried this one either. It looked pretty similar to Sanna's bread service (which we did have). Was it?
 
Congrats to you both on a successful race. Looks like there were some fun characters out on the course. I wish I could get into running. I have several friends who are basically addicted. Oh, that pork belly! Wasn’t it amazing? Definitely one of my faves. I didn’t get to try India and now I’m bummed- that looks delicious. Happy Thanksgiving!!

There were a lot of fun characters out! Different ones than I expected to be out for a race which was a great surprise! I'm in a love/hate relationship with running - my husband is in that addicted category for sure! I do love that pork belly! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well!

What in the heck is this supposed to be?????

Wine Ladies! I don't know - they made a lot of comments about people. Interesting ladies they were!

Jason never ate his, but brought them back to the room and they made the perfect snacks for Casey throughout the trip!
Glad Casey got to enjoy the food options at least! Sometimes Shaun doesn't eat his either - at least after the 10K - he will for the half.

Yum!!!! These look awesome. The Belgium booth had such a long line every time we were there we never made it.
Yup - the lines were pretty bad! We skipped France and Canada because of the lines this time around but at least we know we can try it next year!

We never tried this one either. It looked pretty similar to Sanna's bread service (which we did have). Was it?

It was really similar to Sanaa! We didn't make it to Sanaa this trip so it was a nice snack.
 

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