Do you really eat at the condo?

[davinakb]

If you really plan to be gone in the parks open to close, then a big breakfast is worth cooking, get you ready for the day. Plus you have a fridge to freeze water for bringing into the parks; can prepare snacks to bring too (individually wrapped cheese, kept in a cooler with the frozen/cold waters works well) or brown bags as someone else posted, which saves $.

The trick is to not overbuy: if you are only doing breakfast, plus a late-night snack (i.e. save the ice cream bars for home rather than the park) then buy just that. If you know you will have at least one day that is just pool/shopping and not in a park, then buy food just for that day. Or order out as others have suggested. You can always buy more if needed, that way you will not be dumping a full fridge. FWIW.

 

[FayeW]

The first couple of times we went we had breakfast and snack foods, and bought a couple of frozen things like lasagna etc for 2 or 3 dinners. I felt obligated to go back and eat them towards the end of our stay because I didn't want to throw anything away.

Last time we just did the breakfast/snack stuff and we had lunch one day. We spent more on food because we ate out more, but I didn't like feeling like we had to eat something we didn't really want, just to get rid of it.

Next time I will probably pick up a BBQ chicken and salads, so that could either be a dinner or make sandwiches for a lunch. Might buy a frozen pizza or two as well.

I usually bring cereal, peanut butter, coffee, granola bars, cookies , microwave popcorn and Pringles,etc from home and then just buy the other snacks and drinks. Last time I brought a small tub of margarine also because I didn't like the margarine I bought in Orlando before. I couldn't get used to white margarine and it tasted "funny" to me.

So, we do eat all breakfasts, and might have an occasional lunch or dinner, it is mostly the convenience of getting our coffee in the morning and being able to have a cold drink or snack in the evening that makes the kitchen a requirement for us.

 

[shamrock30]

We eat breakfast at the condo, and pack some lunches to go on the days we're not going to the parks. This is mostly so we eat healthier. We also do takeout sometimes for dinner.

As far as actually cooking, we don't ever do that. It's just the two of us though.

 

[dioxide45]

We usually just buy breakfast items and some snack items for the condo. We eat all of our lunches in the parks or wherever we might be, dinner is usually at an offsite restaurant. Like others we freeze bottles of water to take in to the parks and also place some in a cooler in the trunk of the car. It is great to have cold water after leaving the park and finding your way to the car. That stuff is like gold.

 

[smphbear]

This will be our 3rd time in a condo in the past 5 years. We are only a 10 hr. drive from the mouse so we bring some frozen meals with us in an ice chest. In the month before we leave, I make 2 pans of lasagna. One for that night and one to freeze. When we are ready for it, it just needs 30 minutes in the oven. I bring jambalaya frozen so it just needs to be reheated once we get there.

With little ones, we eat a big breakfast before we go in. Muffins, croissants, cereal, pancakes, waffles are usually in the menu for the week. We are there from morning till somewhere between 1 - 2. We go back and take a nap and eat. The order depends on the kids' needs. We eat a full meal at some point so we can hit the parks again till closing. We always bring water bottles with us and snacks in the bag.

 

[jsmla]

This will be our 3rd time in a condo in the past 5 years. We are only a 10 hr. drive from the mouse so we bring some frozen meals with us in an ice chest. In the month before we leave, I make 2 pans of lasagna. One for that night and one to freeze. When we are ready for it, it just needs 30 minutes in the oven. I bring jambalaya frozen so it just needs to be reheated once we get there.

When I read your post I just knew that you had to be from Louisiana! We only recently began staying off-site but I lugged pans and pans of jambalaya, etouffee and gumbo to Ft. Wilderness back when the kids were young.

We've always eaten in quite a bit, even when we stayed on-site. Now that we've discovered that we actually prefer off-site condos I'd say we eat in about 75% of the time. We don't commando anymore so it's usually breakfast and lunch at the condo with a few dinners in and a few TS meals thrown into the mix.

OT (kind of): I was so worried about the logistics of staying off site the first time since we don't like to stay in the parks all day. It was nothing like I expected. Excepting perhaps the Magic Kingdom at closing time (when we'd have to queue for the monorail/ferry), we could get from the park gates to our condo in well under half an hour. It was easy peasy to return each mid-day for a good lunch and a rest.

Jennifer

 

[stahshee]

we plan to eat mostly in the condo. I plan to buy the stoffers dinners for a couple of nights, chicken,spagetti . We plan to eat out 3 x tops... we enjoy comming back for rest at 1pm and we will eat a lunch/dinner and then go back at 5.

 

[smphbear]

When I read your post I just knew that you had to be from Louisiana! We only recently began staying off-site but I lugged pans and pans of jambalaya, etouffee and gumbo to Ft. Wilderness back when the kids were young.

Yep, we are almost neighbors. I am from LaPlace. As a kid, we spent two trips at Fort Wilderness. Then, my parents joined Coast to Coast so we started to stay at campgrounds and rent lodging very cheap. This trip and the last two, my aunt got us a getaway week through her timeshare. Last time, we stayed at Cypress Pointe. I think a lot of people don't realize how quick you can get around. My friend was there the same week as us last summer. She stayed at Pop Century. We compared travel times... I won.
The buses took her longer.

We are spoiled by the space, full kitchen, and laundry facilities in the unit. Last summer, a two bedroom cost us $526. It is up to $674 this summer. (This is including taxes.) The same 7 nights in the values - over $900. I like my space, and I will willingly admit to being cheap about things like this.

Nice to "talk" to a neighbor.

 

[Taratink]

We have breakfast in the room every morning and it is the best! We had 2 lunches and 3 dinners in the villa. I get sick of eating out all the time and my stomach can not handle all the fatty foods.

 

[stahshee]

We have breakfast in the room every morning and it is the best! We had 2 lunches and 3 dinners in the villa. I get sick of eating out all the time and my stomach can not handle all the fatty foods.

me too

 

[skmommy]

We ate in quite a bit on our last trip. Nothing fancy, but we packed frozen meals that would each make dinner and either lunch or dinner the next day as well. We use DreamDinners here (a meal preparation franchise that is great for the working mom ) and these meals are perfect to pack in a cooler for the 9 hour drive. I do like the take-out menus in the car for pick-up on the way home from the parks though- have to make a note of that.

 

[choirfarm]

We have breakfast in the room every morning and it is the best! We had 2 lunches and 3 dinners in the villa. I get sick of eating out all the time and my stomach can not handle all the fatty foods.

So how do you schedule it if you are at the park until closing?
Christine

 

[Taratink]

The days we stay at the pool, visit the waterparks and go to AK we eat at the villa. I make pasta and sauce, bagel pizza's and sandwiches. I don't go crazy with the menu. I like light and easy. I have been taking notes from this site to find a good take out places. I'll write down the phone numbers and keep that info. in the van. I might try to BBQ this next trip too.
Tara

 

[kydisneyfans]

We eat breakfast most days, plus we have down days where we are not park touring. Our condo is used mostly for reheating leftovers from previous meals and to keep beverages cold. We may cook a small meal.

Being able to slide open a screen door to a patio and having an additional TV in the unit are reason enough to spend less to stay offsite.

 

[MommyTo5]

I love the idea of calling ahead for takeout and picking it up on the way home. I'll have to remember to keep some good takeout numbers in the car, call when we're leaving and pick up on the way back to the TH. Its cheaper than eating in - at least you dont have to pay a tip or for drinks - we'll have those at the TH already!

We do this nearly every day of our vacation!!! Some mornings, we hit a breakfast buffet on the way to the parks - usually Ponderosa, Sizzler, or Golden Corral - and other days, the kids will have a quick breakfast of pop tarts or cereal bars on our way out the door. We usually eat a quick counter service lunch at the parks. Then... we call for Take Out as we are leaving the WDW parking lot each evening. Our favorites in the area are Chilis, Applebee's, Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, Chevy's, Red Lobster, & Giordano's (the BEST pizza!!!)... and they all are very experienced with preparing orders to go. Many even offer curbside service! We either decide what we'd like by viewing the website menu in advance or we print the To Go menu and bring it along to decide right before calling. This works awesome for our family as we generally aren't in the mood to go and sit in a restaurant for a long meal after spending the day in the parks. We do, however, leave the parks a bit early on our last night, go back to our townhome and change/clean up, then go for a nice dinner IN a restaurant on our last night. The kids seems to enjoy this tradition.

IMO, vacation isn't vacation if you are cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, and eating the same food that you eat at home.

 

[SilverMickey]

We eat a big breakfast everyday in the condo. Then sometime between 2-5pm we go back to the condo, I cook a lunch/supper while the kids swim. I eat and hubby brings the kids in to eat I usually sneak a swim in myself. Head back to the parks with a snack in our bag for later and we buy stuff to share. We get upset stomachs if we eat out all the time. I buy food for half the week and then access what we will need the last few days. Our last day at the parks we usually eat out as I try to plan to be out of food by then. My neice is a college student in FL and we give her the leftovers if there are any!

We will be in FL 2 weeks this year and our hotel at the beach has a full kitchen and this is the only way we can afford to do the parks and beach!

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Lisa06468]

IMO, vacation isn't vacation if you are cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, and eating the same food that you eat at home.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Reflection]

We eat breakfast most days, plus we have down days where we are not park touring. Our condo is used mostly for reheating leftovers from previous meals and to keep beverages cold. We may cook a small meal.

Being able to slide open a screen door to a patio and having an additional TV in the unit are reason enough to spend less to stay offsite.

Extra TV, lots of space, blender in the kitchen to whip up frozen drinks to sip on the balcony or patio--these are main reasons for spending less to stay offsite.

 

[imagineer4life]

pb and j in the condo :]

good times.

 

[englishteacha]

We're park commandos, so we eat breakfast at the condo, pack a snack, and spend the day in the park. In future, we may pack a lunch to take into the parks. PB and J packs well. We have never cooked, but it's so nice to have a cold drink in the fridge and cereal and milk for breakfast and snacks.