I have a runDisney suggestion for you. It’s not that exciting. You are not going to be jazzed about it. But you have to trust me.
Articles abound about the best place to carb-load pre-runDisney race. Pasta places and pizza places are the favorites – Via Napoli, Tony’s, restaurants with flatbreads and noodle dishes. If you don’t want to have a sit-down meal, a lot of resorts have make-your-own-pasta stations.
Well, sit-down restaurants can be expensive and time-consuming. It may be tough to get the ADR you want. And I can tell you from experience that the lines for those resort pasta stations the night before a race are loooooong.
I would like to offer a different solution. It is multi-pronged. It is available at just about every resort. It is about as cheap as Disney gets. It is: The Pasta Kid’s Meal.
Clocking in at the time of this writing around $6, the pasta kid’s meal nets you a bowl of pasta with the sauce of your choice (and sometimes a meatball if you want one and your resort offers that option, as I find only some do), two sides, and a small drink. Some CMs will even throw in a breadstick for free, although some count this as a side.
I am not going to lie to you. This pasta with sauce is, to be frank, not delicious. It’s extremely bland. It’s kids’ food; it’s designed to be bland. I’m not talking about a taste sensation here. I’m talking food that will carb you up good WITHOUT MESSING WITH YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. Very important, that last bit. And the kid-size bowl is built in portion-control; no risk of overeating pre-race.
But that’s not the only advantage of this meal. It multi-tasks! Your $6 meal comes with a small drink. Choose the mini bottle of water. Buy an additional bottle of PowerAde for tonight and drink that mini bottle in the morning before your race.
You also earn two sides. These could be grapes or apples or carrots or cookies, depending on location. I always get two cookies. I eat one with my pasta and save the other for first thing in the morning while prepping for the race. It’s delicious and small enough that even when I’m not hungry yet, I don’t have trouble downing it, thus sending me into the race with a shot of carbs and sugar. Energy ahoy!
Am I describing an amazing meal? God, no. But I’ve used this strategy three races in a row and felt great for all three of ’em – energized and sated without feeling heavy. Give it a try!
What’s your favorite pre-runDisney meal?
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This is a great idea! I like the portion size for the kid's meal. I do love me some Via Napoli, but I'd rather savor that another time, and use something like this as my pre-race meal.
That's a good point – you don't want your meal choices locked down by the next morning's race at a restaurant you love!