What meals or snacks do you prepare in your room?

[DVC Mike]

What meals or snacks do you prepare in your room?

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Many DVC members emphatically state they don’t want to have to prepare a meal while on vacation, and just prepare light quick meals or snacks in the room. Some just make coffee in the room. Others actually cook full meals in their room.

There are many reasons for preparing snacks or meals in your room. Some do so in order to save money versus Disney table/counter service options. Or, if you or your children have certain allergies and you just want to play it safe, preparing a meal from ingredients you select will ensure no one has a bad experience due to a food allergy. Even if no one in your family has a food allergy, maybe you just want to ensure your family eats healthy.

Those of you who stay in a DVC Studio don't have as many food preparation options as those that stay in a 1-bedroom or larger room, as those have a fully operational kitchen (with a stove/oven, full-size refrigerator, sink with disposal unit, dish/glass/flat-ware, pots and pans, and a dishwasher) that you can take advantage of.

We typically stay in a 1-bedroom, yet we've never actually cooked a meal. We usually eat at table service restaurants for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps have a light snack for lunch. Or, we always seem to have leftovers that we'll pop in the microwave or oven, or put on the stovetop. But prepare and cook a full meal? Not so much, as we're on vacation.

Do you ever cook a meal in your DVC kitchen, or do you just use them for light quick meals or snacks? How often?

If you cook in your DVC kitchen, what types of dishes do you make? Care to share any ideas for meals?

Do you bring (or have stored in your Owner’s Locker) any special utensils?

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Purchasing DVC

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• Favorite thing you love, and what you most dislike, about your home resort?
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• What meals or snacks do you prepare in your room?

Just for Fun

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• Do you unpack or live out of your suitcase?

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[deedisneydream97]

Making food in a studio can be tough, but it can be done. Biggest issue is the small fridge (and now some newer DVC's have the fridge with no freezer). I pack a collapsible cooler in my suitcase and store it in the tub (because if it leaks, I don't want to ruin the floor). We usually rent a car and pick up groceries. In the studio, I use a microwave egg poacher, the toaster for toast, also for frozen waffles. Cereal or instant oat meal (boil water in the coffee cup in micro. Sandwiches can be easily made. Dinner will usually be out...sometimes on property, sometimes off (Antonios in Celebration, Joe Crab Shack, pizza to go).

In a one bedroom, it is always eggs, toast, sometimes bacon. Sandwiches or leftovers for lunch. Dinners are sometimes out....but we've also made linguini and shrimp; surf and turf (steaks on the grill, steamed or poached lobster tail), corn on the cob in the mirco, frozen oven fries, baked potato in the micro, frozen pizza from the grocery store; burgers and dogs on the grill with store bought potato salad. No special tools....just what is supplied in the room, although sometimes people walk off with things like pot holders and bowls, but a quick call to housekeeping solves that....have even had a few jokingly ask what smells good and what time dinner is.

My favorite part is the coffee maker in the morning....sipping a cup while sitting on the deck.

I really don't enjoy eating out constantly....although I wish I could afford a signature restaurant every night. And we do have the TIW card that we enjoy. It was a sad day when Monsieur Paul's removed themselves from TIW....that was my favorite place on property.

 

[disneydawn6]

I've brought a crock pot and frying pan in my suitcase last time we were in a studio for two weeks. I've made spaghetti in meat sauce, roast, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot, tacos, grilled ham and cheese and other hot sandwiches, bacon and eggs, pancakes, breakfast potatoes, and lots of other quick and easy stuff.

 

[Longhairbear]

We always get groceries for cooking dinner, and breakfast for at least half of our stay, sometimes more. We like to reserve our dinners out to go to the better restaurants. It makes dining out more special on vacation. Lunches are either in villa, or in parks, or at our resort restaurant.
I've made casseroles, roasts, or gotten frozen dinners to cook in villa. Lot's of times I'll do baked chicken, or pork chops with a salad and side veggie. When we do a side vegetable, it's usually frozen or canned, just to cut down on prep time, and cooking over using fresh.
While in CA, I've done a full on Thanksgiving dinner, with all the trimmings. Friends staying in our villa with us made Jambalaya, and cooked us some great breakfast omelets with hash browns, and bacon.
We fill the dishwasher at least once for a 3 night stay, and more often for a full week. Our food bill on vacation is no where near what it was before we joined DVC.
We use the laundry too! We pack half as many clothes, and do a wash while having cocktails poolside, or on our patio, or balcony. That's what I love about DVC, and no pesky housekeeping trying to get in while we sleep in late.

 

[Beezle2]

We like the 1 bedroom for the full kitchen and usually stay in one. I like making us a good breakfast before we go out in the morning and will usually do eggs, bacon, cereal, pancakes etc. We will most often eat lunch out and then some dinners in but not all. We have used the grills for chicken or steak and tend to keep things more simple when we do have dinner in. Pasta, tacos, sandwiches, things like that. We really do get tired of eating out for every meal and I like to have a beer or glass of wine and unwind in the room after a park day. Everyone gets to chill and we save money. I have used the grocery delivery services and gone over to get groceries at Publix myself, both are good.

Our last trip was in a studio and I used the micro wave to make eggs in a coffee cup that were perfect for egg sandwiches. Just spray inside the cup with Pam, crack an egg in it, scramble it up, and micro til done. We put that on a toasted english muffin with a slice of cheese and it was a hit. Fast and portable. I did not try any dinners at the studio but if we had been staying longer I might have. I thought the space was tight for storage and clean up.

 

[Alice Sr.]

We cook breakfast and that's about it, although we did use the grill by the (BWV) quiet pool one year. We have TS for dinner and leftovers for lunch.

 

[eporter66]

We always get a 1 bedroom, so it is easy to cook. We always do breakfast (cereal, english muffins, eggs), so we can get an early start and don't have to stop. We usually order cold cuts too, when our DD was really little, we would go back to the room for her naps, so we wanted to have food for lunch. A sandwich, or PBJ's works just fine, nothing fancy. Even now, we still tend to take a break and go back to the hotel for the afternoon to swim, and get a little down time.

We ordered grocery delivery and just got a few things: Milk, case of water, english muffins, bread & eggs, cold cuts, and a frozen pizza. In our suitcase we brought Peanut Butter, snacks (pretzels, pringles, crackers etc...) and this was perfect for us. We tried to eat dinner somewhere either in DTD or in one of the parks. This time of year was not busy, so we could walk in most places without reservations. We went to the Earl of Sandwich twice, ate at Nine Dragons (China) in EPCOT, and we were happy with our meals.

 

[tasha99]

We are at BLT right now, on the second half of our BWV/BLT split stay. We stay in a 2BR, and this trip we made:

Breakfast every day except today and tomorrow (went and are going to The Wave buffet). Breakfast has generally been bacon or sausage, eggs, hashbrowns etc, or bagels and cream cheese w/ fruit.

Spaghetti dinner and leftovers for 1 lunch

Frozen pizza dinner twice

Sandwiches for lunch

Wine and cheesy type trays for snacks (chevre, brie, dried fruit, fresh fruit, almonds etc)

Our ADRs this trip were/are: San Angel Inn, Scifi Dine In, Boma, 'Ohana, and V&A. Had Biergarten, but canceled due to restaurant fatigue. Had The Wave, but canceled because it doesn't seem necessary to have an early breakfast ADR, and walking in keeps our options more flexible.

We like to eat in our room a bit because I find the crowds at restaurants tedious. Our favorite meal so far has been Boma. We will go every trip from now on (I am not joking--I had 3 bowls of soup before even hitting the entrees, they were that good. I also had a tiny bowl of the 4th--had to try them all, lol.)

 

[jtkboston]

Just got back from a week at Aulani in a 1BR. We ate out one night, cooked or reheated leftovers the rest. We drove from the airport and stocked up at Costco, getting breakfast items: case of single-serving cold cereal, milk, OJ, bacon, eggs, and lunch/dinner materials. We liked the freedom to make meals on our own schedule.

When at AKV in a studio in July, we used a grocery delivery service (and DME, so we had no car) for breakfast items to eat in the room, and ate lunch in the parks, and dinner in the parks or at a resort restaurant.

In both places, we pack light and do laundry during the week. The 1BR layout with washer/dryer in the unit is awesome!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

We do breakfast - cereal, waffles, cinnamon rolls - and cocktail hour - gin/tonic, wine, nuts, cheese. We also have a Keurig in our OL for coffee, hot chocolate, etc.

 

[mom2rb]

We have groceries delivered. For breakfast we have cereal, frozen waffles, toast ect.. We mostly have a nice meal for lunch at the parks, it is cheaper and less crowded. For dinner we have 3 options, we have sandwiches, or I will make breakfast foods, eggs and bacon are easy to make, or we order from Giordano's Pizza and eat the leftovers for a few days.

I feel like my family saves a ton of money by having breakfast and dinner in the room. We still have one nice meal and snack a day.

We use the coffee maker the most. There is nothing better than sitting on my balcony watching the day start at Disney, especially from a BLT lake view room.

 

[dayvewc]

I bring groceries (mostly) or buy from a grocery store while there (last minute items, or things I've forgotten). Breakfast is usually fruit and a breakfast beverage (Carnation drinks), snacks are generally individual packages of pretzels or trail mix, and dinner is either table service, microwave meal, or sometimes I'll find a grill and use it. (Not all of my stays are at DVC, I honestly can't remember if I've seen a grill on DVC, but every other timeshare I've stayed at has them).

I also have a crockpot in my Owners Locker that I will set up a couple of times during my stay so that when I return that evening the meal is ready to eat.

 

[han22735]

We order from GG and its always just quick breakfast items. Bagels, muffins, english muffins, cereal, oatmeal, milk, cream,waters juice and fresh fruit. I bring coffee/tea/sugar, peanut butter from home. Lunch and dinner are always in the parks/resorts.

 

[ToddyLu]

We do the 30 minute stop with our car service. Like other folks we typically do croissants, fruit, bagel for breakfast and then have M&Ms, chips, popcorn and pretzels for snacks. I buy the 1/2 gal milk because they fit in the studio fridge. We will buy a case of water for the week or longer stay. Dinners are always out. We usually do a lunch at Nine Dragons and one or two breakfasts at Boma.

 

[michelleiada]

We usually just do breakfast and snacks in out DVC kitchen. Eggs, bacon, cereal, bagels, fruit, cheese, coffee, wine, beer. I love having the kitchen but we don't utilize it lot because we do the dining plan. After all...who wants to cook on vacation....not me!

 

[Tunseeker1]

We did christmas a few years ago for DD 2nd birthday week and we made a ham dinner, christmas cookies, ham and bean soup and I don't remember what else.
My parents trip was pork loin roast, steaks,baked chickens, and a bunch of other stuff.

 

[DiznyDi]

I keep a Keurig mini in my locker. I make coffee

 

[Hopefully]

We order in from Garden Grocer. We order quick breakfast items, fruit, juice, coffee, water, soda, beer and wine, cheese and crackers, and other snacks.
Breakfast in is the most I do. We too usually do the DDP for lunches and dinners.

 

[kirstenb1]

Breakfast is something simple like a breakfast bar, cereal, yogurt and fruit. Lunch we eat c/s at the parks. Dinner, again is pretty simple. Make your own subs, tacos, pasta. Snacks are things like cheese and crackers, nuts fruit, chips, etc. We all get sick of restaurant/fast food after a couple of days, so we enjoy some of our favorite simple meals that I make back home.

 

[Coloradomom]

We always stay in a studio at SSR and do 2 week long trips. Just DH and me. We keep a small fry pan and utensils in our Owners Locker. We have made salmon patties (bring canned salmon from home), tacos (freeze ground beef and pack it, we fly from Colorado), canned tamales, Mac and cheese with hot dogs. We do all breakfasts in room, scrambled or fried eggs. We have also done grilled cheese. We typically do 4 dinners in our room, just to break things up. We are always trying to think of new things to do with our fry pan. We do not do a grocery stop, we bring what we need with us, and buy the rest at the resort. We do not have a car.
When we travel with our grown kids we don't do dinners in the room...only breakfast.