Chapter 14
Simply Whelming

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After Tracy got back from work, we headed to the parks before dinner. We had a reservation in DCA, but before going to our restaurant we had to see if Francisco was in his spot by Grizzly River Run.

Why, yes indeed he was!

After we’d watched him for a while, it really was time to get to our dinner, so we made our way back to Wine Country Trattoria.

This meal was our first time actually visiting this restaurant in spite of walking by it so many times through the years.

We were seated outside—perfect for this weather—and soon got our bread.

I always struggle with deciding whether or not to eat at Italian restaurants because so many of them aren’t any better than Italian food we can easily make at home. Still, this meal was our last one on the CoolTech dime and we wanted to see if it was any good.

We opted for the Bolognese, which is described as “Choose your Pasta – Campanelle, Spaghetti, or Fettucine served with a rich Ragu of Beef, Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Seasonings.” It looks like we chose campanelle.

It was good, but it didn’t blow me away by any means. I think that we chose the entree based on the top Yelp! recommendations, too, which makes me think that the restaurant itself is just so-so.

Still, it’s always fun to try someplace new and get a different vantage point.

Overview of Wine Country Trattoria Dining Experience
Service: Fine, but nothing too memorable. 3/5
Atmosphere: Apart from Carthay Circle, DCA doesn’t really have any sit-down restaurants with incredible atmosphere or theming. Again, Wine Country Trattoria is nice enough, but nothing too special. 3.5/5
Food: We mostly were just looking to have a new table service dining experience when we booked a reservation for this restaurant and weren’t exactly expecting it to blow us away. The food, like everything else about the experience was fine. 3.5/5

First Visit?: Yes
Will Return?: Probably not. Tracy is even more picky about Italian restaurants than I am, and they have to blow her away for her to want to go back.

Dusk is always my favorite time of day at the Disney theme parks, and it was the perfect light in which to enjoy the boardwalk along Paradise Bay.

We rode Toy Story Mania, and I did really well considering it had been a long time since we’d last played.

Next, we went up in Mickey’s Fun Wheel (non-swinging, of course!).

It’s always a little risky to do this ride at night when it’s at all chilly outside because it gets downright cold way up there, but today wasn’t too bad.

Looking out on the lights is always the best part of the ride.

We completed our circle through Paradise Pier by riding another favorite—Jumpin’ Jellyfish!

Cars Land was next.

We already knew the days were numbered for Luigi’s Flying Tires, so we had to get in another ride now (even though we’d be back in December for our actual final ride).