Cooking in Villa with Large Group

[went503]

Hello all our family of 14 are going down in September consisting of Parents/Grandparents/Cousins/Aunt's and Uncles. We are planning on eating out atleast twice and cooking dinner in the Villa the other nights. We are staying at the AKL in a GV and 1Bdr. Advice anything would help. I cant imagine its even possible to set a dinner time back at the villa with everyone presumably on different schedules. Does one couple just make dinner for the group each evening and then let the rest of the group just make it back whenever they are hungry and just simply reheat dinner.

Any past experiences from others or suggestions I would like to hear. Did you guys order groceries online/ if you flew did you rent a car and go to the grocery store? This is our first trip with fastpass + and that's a whole new issue. Like I said any past experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[thepops]

One idea is to bring (or buy) a crockpot and then make dinner in that. It will stay warm and whoever comes in at whatever time can grab it and eat.

 

[KiminChicago]

Simple one pot stove top meals would also work without needing to bring a crockpot. Things like pasta (keep a pot of water going, just make sure it doesn't boil dry, don't drain the water from the pot, just scoop the pasta out when it's done cooking), sloppy joes, chili and things like that could be kept warm on a stove top without needing to have a crockpot (just make sure the heat is set low enough that nothing will burn and someone must be in the villa at all times to keep an eye on it). Add in some salads and some bread (or bread sticks) and you should be fine.

 

[disney junky]

Costco frozen meals. If you have a basic idea when everyone is heading back, you can pop a lasagna in the oven. Now I'm hungry. Love their frozen stuff.

 

[smjj]

There are several groceries places online. We use "Garden Grocer" but I hear "We Go Shop" is good also. They deliverer to your room and yes you can order alcohol. One thing almost all agree on is that the Disney version of grocery shopping online is very expensive..smjj

 

[CarolMN]

Hello all our family of 14 are going down in September consisting of Parents/Grandparents/Cousins/Aunt's and Uncles. We are planning on eating out atleast twice and cooking dinner in the Villa the other nights. We are staying at the AKL in a GV and 1Bdr. Advice anything would help. I cant imagine its even possible to set a dinner time back at the villa with everyone presumably on different schedules. Does one couple just make dinner for the group each evening and then let the rest of the group just make it back whenever they are hungry and just simply reheat dinner.

Any past experiences from others or suggestions I would like to hear. Did you guys order groceries online/ if you flew did you rent a car and go to the grocery store? This is our first trip with fastpass + and that's a whole new issue. Like I said any past experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It's difficult to accommodate everyone, especially if they will have different schedules.

I would definitely have the couples take turns preparing the dinner. Those who cook, set the time. Those who want to eat in the villa need to be back at that time to do so. Those who aren't back, are on their own to eat out or warm up leftovers. They also need to clean up after themselves.

We used to do it that way when traveling with my teen and her friend(s) - except I was the one doing the cooking or planning the ADRs. It was their choice to eat with us or not - we paid if they ate with us. Want to guess how many dinners my DH & I alone? (Hint: <1, LOL). Apparently, they preferred to spend their $$ on souvenirs.

The crock pot or one pot meals & frozen dinners, are all good ideas. Would be a good idea to get together before yo go to discuss, agree on who cooks, when and decide on groceries. We ordered groceries from WE GO SHOP and were pleased with the service. We usually do not rent a car.

 

[Donna M]

We rent a car and stop on the way from the airport. For our group it was a family reunion so we wanted to be together for dinner. Each family took a night and was responsible for everything.

We didn't eat in every night since we were at the parks too.

 

[CocosMeme]

We did this a few years ago (GV at Kidani and a studio) with 12 of us. We had 2 grandparents, 4 parents, and 6 children. We took some frozen casseroles we had made at home and a crock pot and it worked well. We would take the casseroles out the day before and let them defrost in the 'fridge, and cook them the next day. One of us would go back to the room an hour before the others and put it in the oven. We also cooked biscuits and bacon or sausage every morning for breakfast. It made a big difference with the budget. We ate out about 3 dinners for the week. There is a Publix and a Target close to AK Lodge. We did laundry every night! It was a great and memorable vacation.

 

[went503]

Thank you all for your responses. I guess we will see how it goes. As it gets closer well will surely iron out those details. I just wish I was leaving today lol.

 

[dgaston]

We've been with 7 adults -- big fan of Stouffer's lasagna (just remember to let it defrost in frig to cut down on cooking time), have brought my crockpot as carry on -- no problem with TSA, and I buy sauce at Olive Garden plus their salad and breadsticks thru the Carry-out menu, then cook my own pasta. My son-in-law makes excellent chicken enchiladas. We do fewer and fewer Disney meals. Last trip just one night at Olivia's and a lunch at Hollywood and Vine for characters for DGD. But then we do tend to spoil Abby whenever possible!

 

[DVCDAVE]

Let me share our approach: We've done this three times in a GV at Boardwalk. The key is PLANNING. We tackled this by:

1) Breakfast is easy, just create a shopping list of breakfast food items to shop for. Cereals, milk, juice, 5 dozen eggs, someone can precook at home 5 pounds of bacon and freeze in a couple of Tupperware containers to throw in their luggage as they leave for the airport.

2) Lunches are generally in the park but having bread, lunch meats and cheeses is a good idea in case of rain or even snack foods.

3) Create a draft daily dinner menu weeks before the trip and have all the families review it for modification to attempt to satisfy tastes. Once an acceptable menu is finalized, create a shopping list from it. This may also be a good time to discuss sharing the cooking responsibilities as usually every family has a favorite specialty they excel at preparing. One idea we came up with is to get a precooked spiral cut ham to heat up the first dinner, so the leftovers can be used for sandwiches and breakfast omelets.

4) While a online grocer can work, or even taking a taxi. We have rented a car for the first day to go over to the Super Walmart over on Vineland. They also have a liquor store which makes shopping very convenient. Face it, shopping for 12 or more is massive. Having the shopping list created in the planning process streamlines the shopping.

5) The logistics of getting this planned is the easy part. Getting everyone to understand and work within the guidelines of the process can be troublesome. There needs to be a meeting in the planning process so that everyone IS together at dinner time. Everyone eating dinner at different times doesn't work well with warm food. There undoubtedly will be a shortage of flatware and cookware for the stragglers. Besides, how many people can hover over the stove warming up their food? A suggestion we use is to ask guests to return to the GV and use the pool for down time when the parks are usually most crowded, 2PM-5PM. This allows everyone to relax and unwind plus whoever is doing the cooking that night gets a chance to get started on things. While it may sound like a waste of time on the surface, on several occasions guests of ours have thanked us after the trip that having that down time made it feel like a real vacation. Besides, after dinner one can always return to the parks for more rides, fireworks and parades.

Just sharing our approach...........

 

[disney junky]

I'm enjoying this thread because one of the selling points of DVC for us was the ability to make our own meals. The cost of eating in the parks just gets sneaky high, especially when you are dealing with growing families. I often feel reading these threads, and reading how often people eat out at sit down places, buy the dining plans, etc, that we are quite the minority. I am, and probably always will be quite frugal. WDW and DVC is a splurge for us, but it's still hard to look at a menu and know I'm going to be spending more on a meal than I do on a week's groceries at home.

 

[went503]

Let me share our approach: We've done this three times in a GV at Boardwalk. The key is PLANNING. We tackled this by:

1) Breakfast is easy, just create a shopping list of breakfast food items to shop for. Cereals, milk, juice, 5 dozen eggs, someone can precook at home 5 pounds of bacon and freeze in a couple of Tupperware containers to throw in their luggage as they leave for the airport.

2) Lunches are generally in the park but having bread, lunch meats and cheeses is a good idea in case of rain or even snack foods.

3) Create a draft daily dinner menu weeks before the trip and have all the families review it for modification to attempt to satisfy tastes. Once an acceptable menu is finalized, create a shopping list from it. This may also be a good time to discuss sharing the cooking responsibilities as usually every family has a favorite specialty they excel at preparing. One idea we came up with is to get a precooked spiral cut ham to heat up the first dinner, so the leftovers can be used for sandwiches and breakfast omelets.

4) While a online grocer can work, or even taking a taxi. We have rented a car for the first day to go over to the Super Walmart over on Vineland. They also have a liquor store which makes shopping very convenient. Face it, shopping for 12 or more is massive. Having the shopping list created in the planning process streamlines the shopping.

5) The logistics of getting this planned is the easy part. Getting everyone to understand and work within the guidelines of the process can be troublesome. There needs to be a meeting in the planning process so that everyone IS together at dinner time. Everyone eating dinner at different times doesn't work well with warm food. There undoubtedly will be a shortage of flatware and cookware for the stragglers. Besides, how many people can hover over the stove warming up their food? A suggestion we use is to ask guests to return to the GV and use the pool for down time when the parks are usually most crowded, 2PM-5PM. This allows everyone to relax and unwind plus whoever is doing the cooking that night gets a chance to get started on things. While it may sound like a waste of time on the surface, on several occasions guests of ours have thanked us after the trip that having that down time made it feel like a real vacation. Besides, after dinner one can always return to the parks for more rides, fireworks and parades.

Just sharing our approach...........

Perfect thank you for this. I was definitely looking for experience and I appreciate your suggestions.

 

[DVCDAVE]

A final observation:

This one is 100% accurate too.

If one of the other parents in the group says; "not to worry, my kids will eat anything, they aren't fussy". Be forewarned !! Their kids will be the most picky, thee most fussy, and the biggest whining complainers in the group !!! Never fails to be true.....

So if you hear these words in the planning process, make note of it.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

We travel with our family of 4, my parents, DH's cousin and her family of 4, and 2 other cousins. Similar to a previous poster, we do breakfasts in the rooms (eggs, pancakes, etc)

We plan on lunch in the park and dinner as a group in one of our rooms. Crock pots have worked well, as does making up a big lasagna ahead of time and popping it in the oven while the kids go for a swim in the evening.

Cooking in the room was the tipping point for us. Cheaper meals, as well as having a bit more consistency in what the kids eat. Our 7 year old has diabetes, and not dealing with restaurant food all week makes for much better blood sugars.

 

[went503]

We travel with our family of 4, my parents, DH's cousin and her family of 4, and 2 other cousins. Similar to a previous poster, we do breakfasts in the rooms (eggs, pancakes, etc)

We plan on lunch in the park and dinner as a group in one of our rooms. Crock pots have worked well, as does making up a big lasagna ahead of time and popping it in the oven while the kids go for a swim in the evening.

Cooking in the room was the tipping point for us. Cheaper meals, as well as having a bit more consistency in what the kids eat. Our 7 year old has diabetes, and not dealing with restaurant food all week makes for much better blood sugars.

Was it hard to set a dinner time and actually have everyone make it back in time for it?

 

[DVCDAVE]

I know that the prior post was not directed at me. But I'd like to share how we handle this issue.

Keep in mind that you are the host/hostess. Someone needs to be the leader and it might as well be you. Further, chances are as a DVC member you have far more Disney experience then any of your guests. Therefore, your guests believe you can speak with authority.

During the planning process make an economic argument on why eating breakfast and dinner in the room will save them a ton of their money which can be used for other things during their stay. Face it, purchasing a meal plan is about $60 per person per day. WOW! that's $240 per family of four per day ! That's a ton of groceries!

If the economics alone don't seal the argument, then explain how much time is actually wasted sitting waiting to be served a meal. The average breakfast will be $15 per person plus an additional $25 for dinner and figure a good hour in the restaurant eating, in most cases mediocre overpriced food. Wouldn't that time be better spent by the pool while someone is preparing the dinner? After all, it is supposed to be a vacation too.

Granted, not much can be done about lunch.

The meals don't need to be elaborate. As I mention, a Pre-cooked spiral cut ham will take about 90 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees. Add some corn, salad and bread......perfect. Makes handy leftovers for sandwiches and omelets. How about Tacos? cook extra meat and set aside for spaghetti sauce before adding the taco seasoning. Always a popular dinner. We have a grocer nearby that sells precooked frozen duck halves for $7.99 that are vacuum packed. 30 minutes at 325 degrees just add a side and bread. Keep them frozen and throw them in your luggage just before leaving for the airport before flying to WDW.

We usually plan on dinner around 6:30. We also try to be out of the parks by 3PM because that is when the heat gets high, the crowds are worst, and dare I mention.......the meltdowns of the overwhelmed, over stimulated and exhausted young ones start occurring. Its a great time to head to the pool, relax and whoever's turn it is to start preparing.

 

[bianca]

We had a party of 10 adults in GV at SSR in January and had an arrangement that worked out perfectly. We have always used "We go Shop" to pick up our groceries and used it for this trip, too.

For breakfast, We ordered a BUNCH (if memory serves, it was 36) of those pre-done breakfast sandwiches that you pop in the microwave, a variety of Danishes, muffins and bagels. Everyone was expected to take care of their own breakfast needs. OJ, coffee and milk were also in great quantity.

Lunch was usually skipped by our crew, but they did partake in park snacks in lieu of lunch until they got back to the villa for dinner. Since the parks closed early in January, dinner was usually at 8-9. In addition, we always had a few leftovers from dinner, so if the guys were hanging around the villa, they helped themselves to those.

I had my shopper acquire stuff at Costco. One night we had lasagna (2 pans), salad and veggie. One night we had Mickey shaped Chicken nuggets with baked potato bar and salad. One night was Chicken Alfredo (again, 2 pans) with salad and veggie. One night we grilled burgers outside. One night was grilled cheese (Swiss and bacon).

The logistics of actually cooking for that many people in a DVC unit are difficult at best. The pans aren't big enough, the pasta strainer is small, their serving dishes are too small, etc. I found it very easy to pop the thawed out frozen meal in the oven for an hour, cook a veggie and make 10 salads which I just lined up on the counter waiting for dressings.

I also purchased two cheesecakes so that anybody wanting dessert could handle that. In addition, there was also the requisite wine, beer, etc. We fed all 10 of us (including booze) for around $500 for 5 days and NOBODY went away hungry! We are taking a large group again in December and plan on following the same gameplan.

 

[went503]

I know that the prior post was not directed at me. But I'd like to share how we handle this issue.

Keep in mind that you are the host/hostess. Someone needs to be the leader and it might as well be you. Further, chances are as a DVC member you have far more Disney experience then any of your guests. Therefore, your guests believe you can speak with authority.

During the planning process make an economic argument on why eating breakfast and dinner in the room will save them a ton of their money which can be used for other things during their stay. Face it, purchasing a meal plan is about $60 per person per day. WOW! that's $240 per family of four per day ! That's a ton of groceries!

If the economics alone don't seal the argument, then explain how much time is actually wasted sitting waiting to be served a meal. The average breakfast will be $15 per person plus an additional $25 for dinner and figure a good hour in the restaurant eating, in most cases mediocre overpriced food. Wouldn't that time be better spent by the pool while someone is preparing the dinner? After all, it is supposed to be a vacation too.

Granted, not much can be done about lunch.

The meals don't need to be elaborate. As I mention, a Pre-cooked spiral cut ham will take about 90 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees. Add some corn, salad and bread......perfect. Makes handy leftovers for sandwiches and omelets. How about Tacos? cook extra meat and set aside for spaghetti sauce before adding the taco seasoning. Always a popular dinner. We have a grocer nearby that sells precooked frozen duck halves for $7.99 that are vacuum packed. 30 minutes at 325 degrees just add a side and bread. Keep them frozen and throw them in your luggage just before leaving for the airport before flying to WDW.

We usually plan on dinner around 6:30. We also try to be out of the parks by 3PM because that is when the heat gets high, the crowds are worst, and dare I mention.......the meltdowns of the overwhelmed, over stimulated and exhausted young ones start occurring. Its a great time to head to the pool, relax and whoever's turn it is to start preparing.

Thank u for all this info i greatly appreciate it.

 

[went503]

We had a party of 10 adults in GV at SSR in January and had an arrangement that worked out perfectly. We have always used "We go Shop" to pick up our groceries and used it for this trip, too.

For breakfast, We ordered a BUNCH (if memory serves, it was 36) of those pre-done breakfast sandwiches that you pop in the microwave, a variety of Danishes, muffins and bagels. Everyone was expected to take care of their own breakfast needs. OJ, coffee and milk were also in great quantity.

Lunch was usually skipped by our crew, but they did partake in park snacks in lieu of lunch until they got back to the villa for dinner. Since the parks closed early in January, dinner was usually at 8-9. In addition, we always had a few leftovers from dinner, so if the guys were hanging around the villa, they helped themselves to those.

I had my shopper acquire stuff at Costco. One night we had lasagna (2 pans), salad and veggie. One night we had Mickey shaped Chicken nuggets with baked potato bar and salad. One night was Chicken Alfredo (again, 2 pans) with salad and veggie. One night we grilled burgers outside. One night was grilled cheese (Swiss and bacon).

The logistics of actually cooking for that many people in a DVC unit are difficult at best. The pans aren't big enough, the pasta strainer is small, their serving dishes are too small, etc. I found it very easy to pop the thawed out frozen meal in the oven for an hour, cook a veggie and make 10 salads which I just lined up on the counter waiting for dressings.

I also purchased two cheesecakes so that anybody wanting dessert could handle that. In addition, there was also the requisite wine, beer, etc. We fed all 10 of us (including booze) for around $500 for 5 days and NOBODY went away hungry! We are taking a large group again in December and plan on following the same gameplan.

Thank you i will definitely use all of your advice.