Do you really eat at the condo?

[choirfarm]

I'm just wondering... I'm saying that we could save money by cooking our own food and staying off site, but then I think...ok, we leave at 8am and get there for the 9am opening (or whenever the time is) and then stay until close... when do you eat?? Wouldn't you miss a lot of time you could be riding the rides if you have to leave and drive back to the condos and eat? How do all of you work that. I'm just thinking that dh will want to get his money's worth out of the expensive tickets... How do you schedule the time. Last time we went, we went back to our All Star room to take a nap each day, but the boys were 2 and 4 and needed naps. Now they are 13 and 11 and though I may need one, they won't!! I will also have the 6year old girl, who may...I say may tire out more quickly. However, she is the most adventurous about rides and will probably ride things with her daddy that her brothers won"t. Anyway, how do you work going back and forth with such a wide age span and not staying at the park??
Christine

 

[Not so Dumbo]

We thought we would eat at the condo so we stocked up on food at Sams club and only made it back to the condo for naps 3 times out of a 10 day trip. On the day we left we ended up giving the kids like 3 ice cream bars each and having to pitch out a ton of food.

 

[kty]

My Kids were 6,8,12 when we stayed in a townhome in WH in November. Good Question!
We had breakfast every morning in the townhome. The days that we went to the parks, we did not go back for lunch, we ate in the parks. Even if we were on site, we would not have wasted the time to go back to the room. The parks in November closed around 6-7p.m. or, if they were open longer, we were usually tired by 7-8. we would leave the parks, call ahead for takeout - like outback, redlobster, etc. and bring the food back and eat at the townhome. this allowed us to get into pjs, and relax with good food. I think one night we got back around 7 and had spaghetti, another night we had salad and sandwiches. we had water, adult beverages, kids beverages, and some snack foods and fruit. We were not looking at saving money by eating in, just liked it for the convenience and the opportunity to have some healthy stuff around to eat/snack on. I would have been too tired to come back from parks and cook. we loved getting up and eating breakfast in our pjs and relaxing for a bit before heading to the parks. I liked it for the extra space/bathrooms as well.

 

[Lisa06468]

I love the idea of calling ahead for takeout and picking it up on the way home. I'll have to remember to keep some good takeout numbers in the car, call when we're leaving and pick up on the way back to the TH. Its cheaper than eating in - at least you dont have to pay a tip or for drinks - we'll have those at the TH already!

We're big breakfast eaters, so we'll definetly be eating breakfast in before we go. Maybe go out once or twice on a day we arent going to a park. Personally I dont like to have to do too many dishes, or cook or clean, while on vacation - after all, its MY vacation too!

 

[kty]

In addition to not having to purchase beverages/leave tips with take out, if the younger ones did not want take-out (tired of chicken fingers/fries, etc), they could eat a sandwich/cereal or something more nutritious etc at the townhome. I forgot to mention, we also did chinese delivery at the townhome one night, and numerous other places like giordano's, italian eateries, etc. also deliver. woo hoo.

 

[dfarner]

In addition to not having to purchase beverages/leave tips with take out, if the younger ones did not want take-out (tired of chicken fingers/fries, etc), they could eat a sandwich/cereal or something more nutritious etc at the townhome. I forgot to mention, we also did chinese delivery at the townhome one night, and numerous other places like giordano's, italian eateries, etc. also deliver. woo hoo.:banana:

Were the delivery people allowed through the gate at WH without any trouble?

 

[hlbrink]

This is my plan too - we will eat breakfast in our townhouse every day, but I am pretty sure that we won't end up cooking dinner. We may get a few things like chicken nuggets or soup, but will likely get carryout for any lunches / dinners we don't eat at the parks (our kids are nappers, so we will be heading back for a break each day). I like the idea of taking a list of carryout phone numbers with us to leave in the car.

Cooking sounds great but I know that we probably won't do it, and I would hate to throw out a bunch of food at the end of the week. A lot of families on this board do cook meals, there was a post from a week or so ago that had lots of great ideas.

As far as staying from the parks open to close - this gets harder the longer (more days) you stay at WDW, in my opinion. I bet your older boys would benefit from a break on a few days, even if they just go to the pool with Dad while little sis rests.

 

[kty]

yep, delivery people can get through. We had a list from the owner inidicating who delivers to windsor hills with phone numbers/menus/etc. since it is gated, there are probably certain companies allowed through with id or something. Oh, we also stopped by some of the places like outback/redlobster etc. and grabbed menus - you might be able to download them online - so you know what you may want before you call.

I agree that if you have numerous days planned at the parks, the longer you go the harder it is to stay all day. after three days in a row of getting up for rope drop, we were pooped. we were also in orlando for a convention, so we were able to break it up and sleep in for a few days. I didnt realize how tiring it would become. but it is a ton of walking.

 

[Lisa06468]

yep, delivery people can get through. We had a list from the owner inidicating who delivers to windsor hills with phone numbers/menus/etc. since it is gated, there are probably certain companies allowed through with id or something. Oh, we also stopped by some of the places like outback/redlobster etc. and grabbed menus - you might be able to download them online - so you know what you may want before you call.

This is great to know. We will definetly be doing this. I know I wont want to cook, and will only (yeah right) be buying things like milk, bread, breakfast stuff, maybe a little lunch meat for DH for his midnight snack.

 

[DonnaL]

We do some cooking in our DVC villa......that said, it's usually things that can be prepared ahead of time with very little finish prep and then, we alternate between eating out/take-out. Don't know if you're flying or driving, but, we fly and my carryon is usually a larger size Thermos insulated bag loaded with homemade frozen meatballs/precooked frozen boneless chicken/precooked frozen ground hamburger. TSA doesn't have a problem with any of these items because nothing is liquid. The bag I use will keep things frozen/cold up to 24 hours. We fly from PHL and have a two hour ride to get to the airport, so timewise the food is in the bag usually for about 6 1/2 to 8 hours and everything is still frozen when we get to WDW and checkin. With everything precooked and frozen all I need to do is add a jar of sauce to the meatballs or have meatball sandwiches and salad, the chicken can be used for fajiitas (sp?) or chicken salad,a quick chicken cacciatore, etc. and the ground hamburger...sloppy joes, tacos, etc. So, even eating in can be accomplished very quickly ......usually within a half hour after returning from the parks you can be sitting down eating. We have three children also and a 6 year old grandson (our kids are all now adults 27, 24, and 19) but, by eating at least breakfast and three dinners in during our visits over the years, we've saved a TON of money. We don't do it as much these days because anymore we usually don't have everyone with us on every visit. The key is don't go to the grocery store when you get there and go crazy buying stuff that you'll have left over......just get some snack stuff, breakfast stuff and the items you need to finish up any meals you're preparing. Another hint is to premix any spices you need for your meals and pack in ziplocs tucked into the pockets of your insulated bag. It's worked for us for a lot of years!

 

[spiceycat]

definitely do - however I am allergic to the sun. so being in the parks from 10 to 11 am (depending upon the sun) to at least 3 or 4pm - is a problem.

so eat breakfast before leaving (except when doing a character meal) - then come back for lunch, generally eat a little snack before leaving.

that say if you really have a tight budget - bring some food with you into the parks. the security guards will allow food and water - no beer.

bring snacks for your kids - at those ages you will need them.

for lunch don't even go to the counter service - go to those carts - they have Turkey legs - which are so different your kids will probably love.

but boy they are messy - so bring some wet ones or whatever you use to clean the hands, faces, arms - afterwards.

now most of the time you need to eat what your bring - but sometime for the kids a Turkey leg or two won't hurt the budget too much.

 

[Darcy03231]

We were in Orlando in August when the parks are open late. We had a big breakfast in each morning and got to the parks when they opened. Everyone brought a frozen bottle of water with them and a snack (usually a granola bar). Since it was really hot we only stayed in the parks until about 1-2 pm (the hottest part of the day) when the lines got really long. We then went back the house for a swim and rest and had an early dinner. We did a lot of grilling and kept the meals pretty easy. We'd go back a night and found not only was it cooler as the sun went down, but the lines weren't as long as they were at mid-day and no one was grumpy as they'd been able to cool off and have a bit of a rest. We did eat a couple of meals in the parks, but not many. We found the days we went to Busch Gardens and we stayed all day were the days the kids (and adults) got grumpy toward the end. We were all hot and tired. Taking a mid-day break worked the best for us.

 

[mom_2a_sept_princess]

Yup! Nothing like eating breakfast still in your jammies!

I could get up early and not have to leave to get a cup of coffee. I would relax on the porch while everyone still slept. I would have my bagel and coffee. Once DH and DD (4) got up, they would eat too. Then we were ready to hit the parks!

A few nights we ordered take-out and ate in the condo. We never cooked dinner but liked the take-out. This way we could get DD home, bathed, and let her relax while food was being delivered. Much better than eating in a resturant every night.

 

[Girlpower]

We were not looking at saving money by eating in, just liked it for the convenience and the opportunity to have some healthy stuff around to eat/snack on. I would have been too tired to come back from parks and cook. we loved getting up and eating breakfast in our pjs and relaxing for a bit before heading to the parks. I liked it for the extra space/bathrooms as well.

ditto...saving money was just a side-effect of how we like to vacation. I cannot stand eating in a restaurant three times a day for 7 days...the wait to get seated, the wait for the waiter to take your order, the wait for the food to be brought to you, the wait for the bill...ugh! Breakfast was usually cereal or toast, if we went back to the condo for lunch and nap then lunch was either sandwich, grilled cheese or ravioli...we didn't do the Outback or Red Lobster thing, but that's a fabulous idea! I think one night we stopped at the grocery store and got a Rotisserie chicken and a salad. And we had beer and wine in our fridge, so that part is definitely cheaper than in a restaurant.

 

[disneysteve]

We always eat breakfast in our condo. Saves time. Saves money. Saves calories.

I don't think we've ever had lunch in the condo.

We don't often cook dinner, but we have done it on occasion. Something really simple and cheap like pasta with some veggies. The kind of thing where we could buy just what we needed and not have any waste. Or TV dinners for when we really just feel like vegging.

And we will do takeout. We often get pizza from Flipper's and bring it back to the condo. Or a rotisserie chicken and sides from the supermarket. Nothing fancy. Some nites we just don't want a big meal or don't feel like dealing with a restaurant. Cheaper and calmer to eat in.

 

[Brian Noble]

Breakfast every day. Lunch was always in a theme park. One, maybe two dinners in the villa, tops. Pasta, sandwiches, frozen pizza, a bagged salad kit---something dirt simple that is mostly "assembly" as opposed to "cooking".

It's not about saving money, it's about convenience. I get to eat my breakfast without (a) showering first, or (b) scaring everyone in the food court.

 

[choirfarm]

Breakfast every day. Lunch was always in a theme park. One, maybe two dinners in the villa, tops. Pasta, sandwiches, frozen pizza, a bagged salad kit---something dirt simple that is mostly "assembly" as opposed to "cooking".

It's not about saving money, it's about convenience. I get to eat my breakfast without (a) showering first, or (b) scaring everyone in the food court.

Well, if we stay at ASM suites I was going to do this anyway...breakfast in our room. I don't want to scare anyone either!!!!
Christine

 

[ALnRYSmom]

We have stayed in other extended stay type places with kitchenettes and will most likely do the same at the condo (thank goodness for a full size kitchen) that we've done there. We will have breakfast every day at the condo, unless I can talk the dh into the IOA Character breakfast. I've scheduled in a day at the condo "rest day", so at least breakfast and lunch that day. We will do some brown bag lunches at the parks and then will have pasta and salad or a frozen quick meal ready at the condo if we decide to do dinner there. Our road trip to NASA day, we will either stop and get stuff to bring back or cook depending on the time. And of course Mommy has to have her nightly yogurt prior to bed. I love that I will be able to have real coffee in my jammies in the AM.

For us it is a money saving option. Our kids don't like sit down restaurants, they would rather be up and moving, and my dh is very much a 'wait and see where we want to go next' kinda guy so trying to schedule 5 days of ADRs wasn't even an option. We have ONE ADR (gasp - LOL) and that is for the Norway Princess lunch. I know some may try to tell me that we will be missing out on part of the 'Disney Magic' by not doing the more themed restaurants, but we will most likely not be back for years so our version of 'Disney Magic' consists of seeing, riding and doing as much as we can rather than racing from ADR to ADR and getting home wishing we had spent more time at the attractions instead of in a restaurant.

But to get back on subject yes, we will eat at the condo for a portion of the time but will not let it be a driving force in how we schedule our time at the parks.

 

[PattySwind]

I always stay at a place with a kitchen and I'll be staying at WH for the first time this April. I hate to cook so when I go to WDW I get some stuff like tea,juice,muffins, bagels,cream for coffee, junk food to keep in the house to pick at. I enjoy the Crystal Palace breakfast, Trailsend breakfast buffet, Golden Corral for dinner (a few times). We eat counter service at MK and eat our way around the countries at Epcot. Vacation is my excuse to eat! It's the one time of year when I allow myself to eat whatever I want. When I get back home then it's back to the reality of cooking, but while on vacation, No way!

 

[dougsmom98]

We have eaten breakfast in the house all this past week. We had lots of fresh fruit (strawberries are in season now), coffee, orange juice, cereal and milk, scrambled eggs, pancakes (the kind you just add water to the mix), english muffins and yogurt. We didn't eat as many lunches in our house, because we were off and doing things, but we took cheddar cheese and ers with us to the parks, and cold drinks. On our off park days, we had easy lunches like hot dogs and chicken sandwhiches. If we didn't close down the park, we had take out or went out. One night we had chinese and one night we had pizza. We went to Applebees another night and the Golden Corral another night. Off site restaurants really have some bargains.