Do you Cook at Disney

[kirstenb1]

We're longtime DVCr's. I try to think of things that are easy and use some of the same ingredients. For instance, tacos one night. Then use any leftover lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, for sub sandwiches the next night. We always eat breakfast in the villa too. Just simple stuff, like cereal, fruit or breakfast bars. We always keep the kitchen stocked with snacks and drinks too.

 

[jodifla]

With the expense of Disney food and the drop in quality, we eat more and more at our DVC.

I typically get a big fresh veggie tray -- that way, we can eat them fresh with dip as an appetizer, or cook them and serve with dinner.

Also, whenever we are in Florida we see what fresh fish they have at Publix. We grill as many meals as possible -- they have charcoal grills by the pools and they sell charcoal in the shops.

 

[robinb]

For breakfast we usually just eat bagels and English muffins. We'll also cook eggs and pre-cooked sausage or bacon that's quick to warm up. We make a pot of coffee and take the extra with us to the park in the disposable cups we brought with us (DVC provides some, but not enough). Sometimes we eat some natural-type cereal (like Kashi) with a container of flavored greek yogurt.

We usually eat lunch at CS restaurants. When my DD was little we would bring pb&js into the parks for her. I packed them in Tupperware Sandwich Keepers so they wouldn't get crushed. For park snacks, we go to Costco or Trader Joes to get trail mix and other fruit/nut snack things and I take it out of the big bag and put in into smaller snack bags.

As for dinner, microwavable veggie bags are your friend. Bring spices from home in snack sized ziplock bags. I would plan your meals in advance but I don't think I would make them all crockpot meals. It's probably just me, but it all tastes the same after a while. There are also great places nearby for takeout pizza. We like Giordano's for Chicago stuffed pizza and Flippers for thinner crust pizza. Bring extra dishwasher nuggets from home since I think you are only provided one load's worth.

We also keep snacks in the room like cheese and crackers, chips, fruit, finger veggies, dip, etc. We usually go back to our resort for a swim, snack and rest. We also have the fridge stocked with adult beverages. We have even been known to make blended drinks since you can get a blender at DVC resorts. We'll bring the alcohol in our luggage backed in Rum Runner flasks: http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/.

One thing to consider is that unless you have a Grand Villa no one unit will have enough plates/etc to eat off of for 11 teens/adults. You may want to have people bring the plates, utensils, and glasses from their room into the main villa where meals are prepared. Or, you can use disposable plates/etc.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

I don't have a problem with the actual cooking on vacation. It's the cleanup that makes me feel like it's not a vacation! So, if I do cook on vacation, I do everything I can to minimize the cleanup. Paper plates/cups/bowls and plastic utensils, foil baking pans, lots of ziploc bags, crock pot liners, and those gladware containers that you can use again or throw away (we throw away at the end of vacation). These are things that we don't use at home, so they feel like a treat to me on vacation.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We cook at Disney, and on most vacations. First we will stop at Sam's club for a case of water, a fruit tray, and a veggie tray. We can eat those for snacks or side dishes. I like making chicken tacos in the crockpot. We sometimes make pulled pork or chicken in the crockpot. It's super easy and almost no effort. You can serve it on buns with chips. We also make chicken and barely stew in the crockpot using boneless skinless thighs. Sometimes I make meals at home and then just heat them up in the microwave. Meatloaf freezes and reheats great. Sloppy joes are easy. We never grill on charcoal. It seems like a hassle to me, since I'm used to grilling on a gas grill.

I like cooking, and it doesn't bother me to do it on vacation.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We grill a ton one of the first nights there. We drive and bring the Matchlite charcoal that doesn't need fluid. We make hamburgers, chicken, and salsiccia. We heat them up for lunch and use the chicken to make fettucine alfredo and the hamburger for taco salads. The chicken also goes into the bags of Caesar salad from Publix.
We also have spaghetti one night.
We eat dinner in the room a lot if we have Sea World passes because they close at 6 when we are there or waterpark APs. When we have Disney APs we have lunch and breakfast in the room but dinner in the parks.
Disney food is not that great so we eat one meal in the parks but often the rest in the villa.

 

[GatorMama]

I have in the past. Both of our bigger trips were rating offsite in condos with full kitchens and my in-laws love nearby so I borrowed a crock pot from my MIL.

I have done: spaghetti and Cesar salad; BBQ pork sandwiches (crock pot) with broccoli slaw; chicken tortilla soup; beef stroganoff in the crock pot... And then I planned more time intensive meals for our days not in the park: knock off PF Changs chicken lettuce wraps are a fave!

I also did breakfast almost every day. On mornings we eased out for rope drop, it was usually something I prepared and carried with us: breakfast burritos, yogurt with fruit and granola, toasted sandwiches...

I have always tried to balance my meals 1/3 cooked in the condo, 1/3 at quick service or a regular chain and 1/3 at a table service option on property. That said, every time we have had SOMETHING come up at the last minute and had to cancel one or more ADRs and added in another cooked meal or two.

 

[scrapquitler]

I am working on plans for a trip for next year. I am blessed with a sister who owns DVC and is gifting points for a big family trip (Her family, my family and my mom and step dad.
My family almost never eats out. Which means when we do eat out too frequently we have tummy issues. I am planning to cook most evening meals and all breakfasts. Does anyone else cook while at Disney? What do you make usually?
I have planned:
Taco salads (because its quick and easy)
Crock pot meatball subs with a side salad
Crock pot chili (made with canned beans and leftover taco meat for quick and easy)
Spaghetti with leftover meatballs

I will be cooking enough for the entire gang (3 teen boys, 2 teen girls, 3 men, and 3 women!)

The last time we stayed off site and I had a full kitchen, I made:
Rotiesserie chicken and a bag of salad.
Frozen lasagna, raw cut veggies and dip
burgers/hotdogs/chicken on the grill, macaroni salad and baked beans (the place we stayed had a grill, so we used it a few nights

With your large group, I'd also do a spaghetti/meatballs/salad night, maybe a turkey breast meal and don't forget the possibility of breakfast for dinner.

 

[Stephaniesue]

I don't cook at Disney, but we do when we are on the beach. To me Disney and the beach make the perfect vacation.

We grill a lot at the beach. DH usually handles the meat and I handle the sides. We plan to cook all but our last dinner at the beach.

I usually just buy hamburger, hot dogs, chicken breast and steaks. We stick with easy sides like salad, noodles, baked potatoes, and my son's favorite mac and cheese.

Your menu sounds ok to me, but I do agree with mixing up the proteins. Instead of beef tacos you could do chicken tacos in the crock pot. Just throw chicken breast, canned tomatoes, and taco seasoning in before you hit the parks.

 

[Praying Colonel]

It depends on whether we're going in for rope drop. If we're staying offsite in a condo with a kitchen and not going in for RD, I get up early and make a hot breakfast, and we also have lunch there before going in. If we're going in for rope drop, we have a quick breakfast (cereal/yogurt/fruit) and eat lunch in the parks.

We rarely cook a dinner meal--if we do, it's usually only 1-2 meals during our stay and it's something easy, like spaghetti and salad, or hamburgers.

 

[avic77]

Great suggestions! I love the fruit and veggie tray ideas. Thank you all. Yea I will mix it up some.
Everyone will do breakfast and lunch on their own and my sister, my mom, and I will share the dinner work.
Yea we will be getting ALOT of paper plates, cups, bowls, and plastic spoons and forks.


My family really does better eating food I cook, every time we do park food the entire time we have tummy issues. Id rather cook then deal with that.

 

[robinb]

Yea we will be getting ALOT of paper plates, cups, bowls, and plastic spoons and forks.

All DVC units 1BR and bigger have actual plates, cutlery and
glassware *and* a dishwasher in them. No need to generate all that garbage.

My family really does better eating food I cook, every time we do park food the entire time we have tummy issues. Id rather cook then deal with that.

Pssst. Everyone has 'tummy issues' with park food. . We have a "eat something green" rule in our family. We have to eat AT LEAST one green thing per day. It helps us make better food choices and have fewer 'tummy issues'.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We grill a ton one of the first nights there. We drive and bring the Matchlite charcoal that doesn't need fluid. We make hamburgers, chicken, and salsiccia. We heat them up for lunch and use the chicken to make fettucine alfredo and the hamburger for taco salads. The chicken also goes into the bags of Caesar salad from Publix.
We also have spaghetti one night.
We eat dinner in the room a lot if we have Sea World passes because they close at 6 when we are there or waterpark APs. When we have Disney APs we have lunch and breakfast in the room but dinner in the parks.
Disney food is not that great so we eat one meal in the parks but often the rest in the villa.

I love the idea of grilling the first night. Definitely something we're going to do next trip. And I love the idea of fruit and veggie trays from Sam's Club, as well as the large bag of romaine lettuce for salads.

We cook every trip. It's a combination of not being about to stomach restaurant food day after day, the cost of restaurant food for our family of 6, as well as the time eating in restaurants takes from our trip. We always have breakfast in the condo (cereal, bagels, eggs, potatoes, oatmeal), usually take a mid-day break back at the condo for swimming and eating (spaghetti, tacos, pork tenderloin, taco salad, chicken), and then back to the parks for the evening. Sometimes we eat a CS dinner at the parks, sometimes we just snack there.

 

[TwoMisfits]

We always cook on vacation - every breakfast and 2-3 lunches/dinners and a few desserts over a 10 day trip.

One of my best "Chopped-like food creations" was made on vacation. When the family left the plain glazed donuts alone all week (a shock) and I had a few eggs and milk left at the end of a vacation, I sliced the donuts in half and made a french toast custard (with no sugar b/c the donuts had enough) and we had donut french toast (with some bacon and a fresh fruit salad and coffee) for an amazing brunch, a family favorite for life which now we actually plan to make on vacation (and only vacation). Why pay for a Cronut when you can have a donut french toast?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I don't cook while at Disney. At all. I actually don't mind cooking but the clean up sucks and I'm a messy cook. I'm too tired after a day at the parks to cook and clean.

When we do the shore/beach for a week I do cook. It's more of a chill out vacation. More relaxing than Disney. I might be weird but I don't particularly care for Jersey shore food that much.

I like to cook things I don't normally make at home. I cook typical Puerto Rican dishes most of the time. Things I can cook quick during the week.

So on vacation some typical things we do are steaks on the grill with loaded baked potatoes. Fettucini alfredo with shrimp or chicken. Chicken parm. Chicken ceasar salad. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on rolls. Lasagna. Loaded mac and cheese. We also grill burgers and hot dogs.

 

[disneychrista]

Don't cook but also have never had the facility to do so. Breakfast is either whatever the hotel has (cereal & fruit) or whatever we brought (muffins & fruit). Rarely do we eat Breakfast in the parks. And when we do it is more like Brunch and then we skip lunch.

 

[sheetz]

"Cook" is probably too strong a word but we normally try to prepare our own meals when we have access to a kitchen. Usually that means rotisserie chicken, frozen lasagna, take and bake pizza and other convenience foods like that. If I do cook I'll make it the first night and keep it in the frig so it's ready to reheat.

 

[pigletto]

We'll be offsite this trip and have a full kitchen for the first time. I plan to offset the food bills by eating breakfast in the condo, and making some lunches or dinners but it will be easy things. Like a picking up a fully cooked chicken and putting together a salad, or sandwiches. Just things that aren't time consuming or involve a ton of clean up. We do plan to eat out one meal a day and snacks. I don't mind having to do a bit in the room to eat healthier. We do find that 10 days of meals in restaurants is too much for us and nobody feels well after eating out that much. So we'll mix it up a bit, but no long involved cooking for me.

 

[froggygal1301]

Great thread! We will have a full kitchen this time and we are not Disney food fans. I will be packing lunches for the parks but DH likes to try different area restaurants for dinner. So we will probably be doing sub sandwiches or wraps for the park and bringing snacks and drinks. I love the fruit and veggie tray ideas. My 4yoa is a super picky eater but will eat fruit like crazy. I also liked the idea about bringing disposable coffee cups. Yay for bringing my own yummy coffee to the parks in the morning!

 

[TravelMommy]

I find we do more and more as the years go by... I usually do a large order from Garden grocer to get water, pepsi, iced tea, almond milk, eggs, cheese, pasta sauce, breads, meats, fresh and frozen produce and we bring a few things (food allergies). Breakfast usually in the room, usually one meal and/or snacks in the park. I like having dinner in the villa and relaxing on the veranda, one of the best things about our last trip.