Cannot decide whether or not to cancel Fridge/GG order?

[mbf]

We are going to be at ASMo (4 adults, 1 child in two rooms) from Dec. 14-20th. We will have free QSDP so 2 meals and 2 snacks per day (and my oldest DD will be coming 2 days late so we will have her credits from those days). My youngest child is on the Adult portion plan and since I have had gastric bypass and cannot eat so much I am planning on sharing a few meals with him or with one of my DD's as my oldest does not eat a lot either (no one really wants to be stuffed). My DH says that 2 meals and 2 snacks is also a lot for our family as we don't often eat much on vacations where we are active.

Here is my quandry: I have reserved one refrigerator for our rooms so approx. $10 a day ($70 assuming they charge us for Wed - Tues). I have also put in a minimum order with Garden Grocer for 2 half gallons of milk, 3 gallons of water (mainly for our coffee maker that I will be packing, I need good coffee), 1/2 & 1/2, oranges and grapefruits, orange juice, yogurt, and some bread. This totaled over $60 with delivery. I will be packing the cereal for us in my checked luggage.

I am starting to wonder if the roughly $130 spent on in room breakfasts is really worth it. By my calculations we should have enough "extra" credits from my meal sharing and oldest DD's extra days to eat breakfast out for at least two days. And then if we have extra snack credits left over those could be used as well.

I still think since it is quicker to eat in the room some days that I would like to bring cereal and maybe buy milk at the ASMo store (are half gallons available?) and keep it in a soft cooler with ice. I can bring Mini Moos for the half and half. I have asked my DH what he thinks and he is vague on the subject. Basically whatever I want to do he says but I know he will either complain about not having OJ or complain about all of the wasted milk and fruit at the end.

I would love opinions from anyone on this board about what you think is a good idea. I am very much on the fence over this one.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Why not bring cereal bars with you. Eliminate the need to buy milk and keep it cold in your room. Plus you can use one of your snack credits for single serve milk/juice.

Here is the info from the pamplet..

Some examples of eligible Snack options include:
Frozen Ice Cream Novelty,
Popsicle or Fruit Bar
Popcorn Scoop
(single-serving box)
Single Piece of
Whole Fruit
Single-serving Bag
of Snacks
20 oz. Bottle of Coke®, Diet Coke®,
Sprite® or 20 oz. Dasani® Water
22 oz. Fountain
Soft Drink
12 oz. Coffee, Hot
Chocolate, or Hot Tea
Single-serving Prepackaged
Milk or Juice

 

[mbf]

I thought about the cereal bars but my DH will not eat just those for breakfast. I would rather pay OOP for milk (just don't want to have to walk to the food court every morning) than use a snack credit as it is not a very cost effective way to use snack credits. I am thinking of packing the Horizon Milk boxes but have to buy some first to let DH try (he is my biggest pain in the butt). DS loves them and the DD's would be fine with the cereal bars. I will have to pick up some today and see how it goes.

 

[luvdumbo]

I would personally skip the garden grocer order, it seems like a lot for seven days including the dining credits. You could use a snack credit to get a single serve cereal and a mickey milk. That is what we do sometimes because one could only eat so many sweets and we would sometimes save our deserts that came with our meals for snacks later.

 

[nichanda]

I think I'd skip the grocery order as well, and pack any little snacks you may want in your luggage. The fridge would depend on how much you want to keep in your room.

If you only have a mini fridge in your room, there isn't too much that will fit in there anyway. If breakfast is all you want it for, you could bring a box of cereal with you in your suitcase, and just buy some small containers of milk down there.

Also, if you don't mind the hassel, you could take a collapsible cooler in your luggage, and fill it up with ice once a day if you wanted to keep drinks cold in your room (bottles of water, juice, etc). You could also bring some snacks to have in the room that don't require refrigeration.

Would you spend more than $70.00 to buy drinks? If not, it may not be worth it.

I've also heard of people making instant oatmeal with water heated in the coffee maker. Since your taking one, this may be of interest. Small packets of instant oatmeal hardly weigh anything, so easy to pack.

 

[roxysmum123]

Every time I travel I plan on doing Garden Grocer and always end up completely forgetting to do it. In many trips I have never regretted not having it. Going on that, and the 130$ for a week of breakfast calculation I'd say skip it. I like a PP's suggestion of cereal bars, if you're not big breakfast eaters to begin with that'd prob keep you going till lunch.

 

[mbf]

Thanks for all the advice! I figured we could pack our Brita pitcher for the coffee water since a lot of people seem to find the water taste an issue for coffee. The package of coffee and coffee filters will fit right into the pitcher to make more room in the suitcase.

I definitely could pack the collapsible cooler. I will make it fit lol.

And my son and DD's love those Lucky Charms/Honey Nut Cheerios cereal bars so they will be a perfect item to pack. Youngest DD is always running late anyway so she can take them on the go. Then if anyone is still hungry we can get a snack at the parks.

 

[emmakatbaby]

We stayed at all star movie last summer with quick service dining. We did bring cereal and bought milk but it was only sold at all star music. We also kept it in the refrigerator. When we ate supper in the resort we had our refillable mugs for drinks so we all got milk or juice and put them in the fridge for breakfast. I would definitely cancel the garden grocer order, the portions are huge so meals can easily be shared. My DD and I shared many meals so I used some credits to get breakfast in the resort that I brought back to the room for everyone to eat while we got ready. At the end I still had meal credits and snack credits to use up!

 

[emmakatbaby]

We stayed at all star movie last summer with quick service dining. We did bring cereal and bought milk but it was only sold at all star music. We also kept it in the refrigerator. When we ate supper in the resort we had our refillable mugs for drinks so we all got milk or juice and put them in the fridge for breakfast. I would definitely cancel the garden grocer order, the portions are huge so meals can easily be shared. My DD and I shared many meals so I used some credits to get breakfast in the resort that I brought back to the room for everyone to eat while we got ready. At the end I still had meal credits and snack credits to use up!

 

[essom71]

When we have stayed at rooms that don't have a fridge we have done 3 things.

1) Bought a cheap styrofoam cooler and put milk in it...they are available at fort wilderness camp ground. The milk is available at the gift shop.

2) We have rented a car and gone to walmart and bought stuff including the cheap cooler.

3) We have taken the bus to downtown disney and walked to a local grocery store and taken a cab back...but this really takes a little time.


REMEMBER: you are able to get boiling water from the drink station in the mug you get with your meal plan....I saw you thought of bringing a brita. I personally think the fridge is alot of money considering you may only need to buy a few things. Really look what is available for your snack credits...you will have plenty of food. I question if you will even need to buy milk etc. There is a thread showing you what is available for snack credits under disney dining.

 

[mbf]

Thanks everyone! I did cancel the order from Garden Grocer. They were very quick to reverse my CC charge as well. I still have to cancel the fridge but I seen no point in keeping it.

We are not renting a car but using Disney transportation exclusively. (this way I can keep DH from veering off course like he tends to do lol)

I know I will probably be sharing quite a few meals with DS6 or even with my DH or DD21. Like everyone said, the portions look huge and we tend not to eat much when we are active. I would rather eat the amazing variety of snacks on the plan anyway! (essom71 I have been drooling over that list for months lol)

 

[vacation_junkie]

We are going to be at ASMo (4 adults, 1 child in two rooms) from Dec. 14-20th. We will have free QSDP so 2 meals and 2 snacks per day (and my oldest DD will be coming 2 days late so we will have her credits from those days). My youngest child is on the Adult portion plan and since I have had gastric bypass and cannot eat so much I am planning on sharing a few meals with him or with one of my DD's as my oldest does not eat a lot either (no one really wants to be stuffed). My DH says that 2 meals and 2 snacks is also a lot for our family as we don't often eat much on vacations where we are active.

Here is my quandry: I have reserved one refrigerator for our rooms so approx. $10 a day ($70 assuming they charge us for Wed - Tues). I have also put in a minimum order with Garden Grocer for 2 half gallons of milk, 3 gallons of water (mainly for our coffee maker that I will be packing, I need good coffee), 1/2 & 1/2, oranges and grapefruits, orange juice, yogurt, and some bread. This totaled over $60 with delivery. I will be packing the cereal for us in my checked luggage.

I am starting to wonder if the roughly $130 spent on in room breakfasts is really worth it. By my calculations we should have enough "extra" credits from my meal sharing and oldest DD's extra days to eat breakfast out for at least two days. And then if we have extra snack credits left over those could be used as well.

I still think since it is quicker to eat in the room some days that I would like to bring cereal and maybe buy milk at the ASMo store (are half gallons available?) and keep it in a soft cooler with ice. I can bring Mini Moos for the half and half. I have asked my DH what he thinks and he is vague on the subject. Basically whatever I want to do he says but I know he will either complain about not having OJ or complain about all of the wasted milk and fruit at the end.

I would love opinions from anyone on this board about what you think is a good idea. I am very much on the fence over this one.

look on the boards for the fridge swaps...we used them a few times! ITs free and the one we always used had a coffee pot too!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I am a gastric bypass person too. We were there in October. I was very thankful that we changed our plans and ended up in a townhouse vs. staying at a hotel. I eat yogurt every day (greek) for breakfast. It has a nice huge amount of protein in it. I am one that feels yucky if I don't get my protein in and I wasn't going to let that happen at Disney!
I don't know what you eat on a daily basis, but for me, it would have been necessary to pay for a fridge to keep food in for myself. The rest of my family can fend for themselves.
Enjoy your trip. It was not hard for me personally to find healthy, high protein items to eat while at the world. If you have any questions let me know.

Sarah

 

[ZoZo]

For variety, I often buy muffins or pasties at the bakeries in the parks, to eat the next morning for breakfast.

You could also being some small cans of juice from home since those don't need to be refrigerated. And buy some apples or bananas at the food court and you're all set without a fridge.

 

[mbf]

I am a gastric bypass person too. We were there in October. I was very thankful that we changed our plans and ended up in a townhouse vs. staying at a hotel. I eat yogurt every day (greek) for breakfast. It has a nice huge amount of protein in it. I am one that feels yucky if I don't get my protein in and I wasn't going to let that happen at Disney!
I don't know what you eat on a daily basis, but for me, it would have been necessary to pay for a fridge to keep food in for myself. The rest of my family can fend for themselves.
Enjoy your trip. It was not hard for me personally to find healthy, high protein items to eat while at the world. If you have any questions let me know.

Sarah

Thanks Sarah. I am pretty far out now (4.5 years) so I can pretty much eat anything but some stuff does bother me (like cereal) and my blood sugar tends to plummet at weird times (I am hypoglycemic). However, I can go most of the day and not eat or feel hungry and no blood sugar drop.

Normally for breakfast at home (on weekdays) I eat an egg plus an egg white with some cheese and spinach. Not home I can subsist on a cup of coffee. Oatmeal, toast, and cereal with milk make me so comatose!! A lot of other carbs do as well which is why I will be thrilled to share meals because of the sides kind of being wasted on me. I can take it day to day with most desserts but I have a feeling the cheesecake cups and chocolate mousse cups would make me sick (so again sharing will be a pretty good thing). I can eat pizza with no problems. I have a feeling I will just have to air on the side of caution as much as possible while there.

LOL, as long as I have my real coffee I will be all set!

Vacation-junkie: I did check out the fridge swaps but by the time I figured out what it was all about most of my days were taken. The most I could get was our first two days which would probably be more hassle than it is worth.