Cooking in a 2BR VS. Dining Plan?

[Longhairbear]

I love to cook, and one reason we bought DVC, to have a kitchen. Last trip we only ate lunches out, and a few dinners. Every other nite I cooked dinner, or reheated something I made for later. We had a glass of wine, or fresh brewed coffee while I cooked, or took a short walk around the resort while something baked in the oven.
We saved a ton of money, and gained time wasted waiting for a table in a restaurant. We had more time to relax and eat on our schedule.
Best of all to enjoy the resort.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting to see how many DVC members actually cook! Which is obviously a great option and a $$ saver.
But for us eating out is what a vacation is mostly all about these days. We haven't cooked a thing at OKW since we became members in 1992. Coffee in the morning and once or twice a Bob Evans sausage sandwich in the micro. But that's it.

 

[photobob]

We have done the DDP & we've done basically what you plan on doing...bought groceries & only ate one TS meal per day & we much prefer to NOT buy the DDP. We found we spent too much time making the most of the DDP instead of just enjoying a relaxing vacation. Plus if we order dessert, we tend to share it anyway because we're so full after eating our meals. We also have the TIW card so we end up saving more money by not using the DDP.

We have never done the DDP but this post pretty much sums up our feelings. We usually have a snack bfast in the room, pop tart or granola bar types of things. We have a nice TS meal for lunch, it is cheaper than dinner and ADR are much easier to get a shorter notice. We may have a lite dinner in the room, usually a sandwich or pasta salad. If we are in the parks we may grab a CS meal.

I considered the DDP for our last trip, but after doing the math it didn't seem like it would be a good deal for us. It would only been a good deal if we ate way more than we usually do and ordered much more expensive items than we usually do and include the dessert which we don't normally have. If we have dessert we usually share just to have a taste. If the gratuity had still been included it would have come closer money wise, but with it no longer included it threw the equation much more out of whack.

Having the TS lunch fits pretty well into our park touring routine as well. We like to get to a park at opening and do all the major attractions before lines grow and go at a pretty good pace until lunch. We have a nice lunch and may do a minor attraction or two before heading back to the resort for a nap and/or swim before returning to a park for evening activities. Everything we do after lunch is at a much more relaxed pace.

 

[rsimon]

I was wanting some advice. We are doing our first trip as DVC members (yeah) in August and tossing around the idea of cooking as opposed to getting the dining plan. We have always done the dining plan but last time we just found we were eating dessert twice a day, because you can, and it really wasn't healthy. We did it, of course, because we had paid for it I'm wondering if we would be better off having breakfast at home and we always come back to the resort for lunch and a break, so to have lunch at home, and then we are only paying for groceries and dinners, and probably a few snacks around too. Please weigh in with what you have done and how well it worked. BTW we have 2 kids they will be 9 and almost 5 at the time and 3 adults and one 16 y/o in our travelling party staying in a 2br.
Thanks in advance

This is exactly our plan this trip. We have done the dining plan and stayed in the villas before, and it just doesn't make sense anymore. We ate too much and didn't enjoy dinner as much as we could if we just ate in the room something lighter. We don't mind paying for dinner and we will probably order more like we normally would instead of all getting a desert, we normally share a desert.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We've done it both ways several times, and after keeping many notes etc, we KNOW it's cheaper for us to do a combination of cooking in and eating out. We not only spent more on the dining plan, but it was WAY more food than we wanted, and we wasted a lot of CS credits, because we just don't eat counter service. We do much better using the DDE (TIW) card for our once daily TS restaurants, and do all other meals in the villa. It really doesn't take a lot of planning or prep anyway. We make simple things like we make at home, and the fresh fruits and veggies are better for us anyway. We tend to make pancakes or oatmeal for breakfast (both hang with you a long time) and then either have a simple lunch or simple supper in the room, depending on when and where we have our daily TS. We like the signatures, so this works best for us.

 

[ilovediznee]

The thing I like best about these threads is the different opinions based on each families needs and wants. Bottom line - I work FT, have 2 pt jobs and have a husband who travels some and an almost 9 year old who is in girls scouts, church and soccer. I cook a lot compared to my friends so when vacation comes, I don't want too.

I am able to work enough OT to pay fo rthe DDP this June and we are also staying three extra days on the basic plan so I'm not cooking.

This is what we do and will be doing in June - staying in a 2Bedroom with another family and others in a studio. Anyone who wants to use the kitchen can. We are going to have b'fast several days in the room with muffins, toast, cereal and then use our DDP for going out to lunch and dinner. Because of not going out for b'fast, we are going to go to several Signature restaurants that use 2 meal credits.

In the AKV we will also have a full refrigerator so we will have snacks and drinks.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to cook. I do love to cook but I want to spend my time doing other things.

Good luck to all - Diane

 

[robinb]

I guess it depends on how you vacation. I personally don't cook while on vacation. We have a quick breakfast in the room like english muffins or cereal in the room and we have snacks in the room. All other meals are purchased in restaurants. We *might* use the BBQ once while on vacation, but that's it.

 

[jodifla]

No DDP for us! We cook breaksfast and many lunches in the room, and use DDE for TS dinners. In a week, we'll do two dinners in the room..normally pasta and grilled steaks or fish.

I hate the way the DDP wrecked Disney dining. The new DDP isn't very good cost savings anyway since it only includes desserts, not appetizers, and doesn't include tips.

 

[Jeremy&Susan]

its probably just me BUT i dont go on vacation to cook...its DDP all the way for our crew

Agreed that we dont go on vacation to cook either, but going out for breakfast and / or lunch is much more effort than making pancakes for breakfast and tuna or a salad for lunch.

Going out to eat for those meals is just too much work for us on vacation.

 

[robinb]

Agreed that we dont go on vacation to cook either, but going out for breakfast and / or lunch is much more effort than making pancakes for breakfast and tuna or a salad for lunch.

Going out to eat for those meals is just too much work for us on vacation.

For us it's too much work for me to go back to the resort when I'm hungry for lunch. We're not all-day commandos, but we usually don't go back to our resort until after lunch a a couple more attractions. I do think that breakfast out of the room is a complete waste of time ... no matter where you stay. We eat breakfast in the room even when we stay in non-DVC resorts.

 

[perpetualplanner]

For us, it's breakfast in the room (I cook it) and some snacks but otherwise we eat out. My boys, 13 and 9, are big breakfast eaters so we get 18 eggs some of the shake and pour pancake mixes (just add water) a box of cereal and some bacon and sausage - also some donuts or coffee cake. This will last us a just about a week. We also get some bags of chips for by the pool and a package of cookies - gotta have some cookies and milk before bed! I don't think we'll ever do dinners in the room - we have too many favorite places to eat at WDW and not enough time!

The advantage of the big breakfast is that the smell wakes the boys up and they're happy. Plus, we seldom do a big lunch - usually just snacks or we share a few counter service meals.

I wish there were a dining plan that could just do 1 TS and 1 snack a day - that'd be perfect for us and DH wouldn't have to see that TS bill!

 

[lundve]

I wish there were a dining plan that could just do 1 TS and 1 snack a day - that'd be perfect for us and DH wouldn't have to see that TS bill!

I'm with you for sure!! But I am sure this plan would not be a good financial business decision for Disney, even if it were for us.

 

[purplepeg]

Wow, I can't believe all the different opions, I love it Some of the restaurants we haven't tried that we want to are signature so 2 ts credits We love trying all the different cuisines at Disney and love eating out. I would love it if they just went back to the plan the way it was but then we all knew what a great deal it was, too bad Disney caught on and changed it Thanks again, you guys are giving me all sorts of things to consider and when I decide for sure what we are going to do I'll let you know.