Does anyone eat in their rooms instead of purchasing food in the parks? If so,...

[Pakey]

For breakfast we do oatmeal, English muffins, bananas, oranges. I've also been known to sneak an unhealthy pop tart in there on occasion.

We do sandwiches for lunch (we go back to the resort to hang out at the pool). Most want turkey but I have veggie sandwiches, sliced cucumber, bell pepper and sprouts.

Everyone in our group loves hummus so we've done this for the last few trips and it's been a success. Also veggies and dip or apple slices and peanut butter.

We go out for dinner.

 

[Minnie_me]

We did this, and saved a TON of money. The girls ate breakfast in our room while DH and I showered and dressed. We brought cereal, milk, nutrigrain bars, yogurt, apples, bananas, grapes and oranges......lots to choose from.

Then we hit the parks -- EARLY. We packed snacks (peanut butter crackers, apples) and water bottles to keep us going. Because we went in July, it was HOT. So when the girls got too hot/tired, we went back to the resort. That was usually around 2/3pm. Then they would eat lunch (peanut butter and jelly every day!) and swim in the pool to refresh.

Back to the parks for the rest of the day/night. We would eat dinner at the parks almost every day. But we did a lot of sharing. My kids are very picky eaters. Very often, we would get two kids' meals and one adult meal for the 4 of us.

Good luck! Have fun!

 

[amyy]

Another idea:

Will you be driving? Do you have a decent sized cooler?

You might make some meals ahead of time and freeze them. If you put them in a cooler on your way down and stick them in the fridge when you get there, you can just heat them up in the evenings and eat that.

Some ideas:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/makeaheadrecipes/a/freezecasserole.htm

We personally really like lasagna and enchelada casserole and could eat each for 2 nights and then order a pizza and eat out once, and that would make up a week's worth of dinners.

Thanks for sharing. This won't work for us at Disney but it will here at home.

 

[Green Tea]

Will you have your car, or be relying on an offsite hotel's shuttle? If the latter, it could be pretty oddly timed for meals; you could waste a lot of time sitting around. I would pack some food and eat it in the park for lunch rather than trying to go back.

 

[Fly4free]

We always eat breakfast in the room. Cereal made for a quick breakfast. To eat on the go, my kids love bagels and cream cheese.

I also packed a small cooler with sandwiches and drinks for lunch. I do not recommend going back to the room when the parks are not open late. You loose too much time. It's also important to have plenty of snacks. They help kill time in those long lines ;-)

Have a great trip!

 

[brymolmom]

Just a suggestion to bring the PB&J INTO the park with you - that way you don't have to worrry about leaving before you get hungry. Bring a small backpack with PB&J or turkey sandwiches, chips and drinks! We always do that - when we stay offsite. Love to just break into the backpack instead of waiting in line for the food.

We usually stick to sandwiches, fruit, chips and some sort of 'treat' (cookies or M&M's). Another good, sturdy option is to bring bagels in place of sandwiches.

 

[disneymom3]

If you have a car, that makes it much easier. One thing we have done staying offsite to make meals more affordable and just easier (DH also cannot eat out a lot or he has issues.) is to go to Publix, get a roasted chicken, buy a bag of salad and get (purchase) a dressing packet from the deli area. Along with a loaf of their freshly baked french bread is an awesome relaxing meal.

I know a lot of people don't like the idea of eating in your room but we have no problem with it. We almost exclusively stay offsite with a full kitchen which makes it very easy. Went on a WDW trip with extended family several years ago. (Yes, it was a gift trip ) and had required meals we had to be at. A few of them were breakfast and my kids HATED having to sit in a restaurant for breakfast instead of just having some cereal and hitting the park.

 

[rubato]

I, too, am wondering if you will have a car. The reason is, if you are, you could bring some things that might make it easier to eat real meals in your room. Plates, utensils, etc...

We eat in the parks now, but we once camped and ate all of our meals in our RV. I brought a crockpot down and froze meals ahead. Then, in the morning, I put one frozen meal in the crockpot and it was ready in time for dinner. I just don't know if this would be possible in a resort room. I had a full kitchen in the RV (small but all the necessary things), and that won't be the case in your resort. I hope you find some things that will work. Good luck.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

If you have a vehicle, there is a Panera Bread nearby. We get a bunch of a bagels and cream cheese from there and that's our breakfast the whole trip (mostly). We are DVC members, though, and have a full kitchen with toaster. You *could* get by doing bagels without a toaster, but probably would be better if you had one (could bring one, I suppose). We have also done cereal bars, fruit, etc. We usually do at least one meal "out" per day and the other 2 in the villa. Most always breakfast is in the room. (If we do breakfast out, it's usually a late breakfast and more of a lunch.) We have also done BLT's. Costco has precooked bacon. Just nuke it. Would also need a toaster for the bread, I suppose... but we all LOVE them and it's quite a refreshing meal sometimes, not too heavy. Otherwise, I would do sandwiches, etc. Hot dogs would be easy. I would only plan on breakfast and lunch in the room without a kitchen... lunch when you come back for your midday break and then an early dinner somewhere out. Or make your big meal out an early lunch, come back for break, quick light dinner (sandwiches, etc.) before heading out again.

 

[ConniegB]

Generally we go to Walmart/Sams, or Publix and stock up on a variety of foods, snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner items to fix in our room, and plan at least 1-3 meals at one of the parks. It's much cheaper and allows you some down time and it's nice to go back to your resort for lunch during busy times at the parks, then go back as the crowds thin out.

 

[we3peas]

One word if you have a refrigerator



Crock pot!!!!


Freeze meals at home, let them thaw in refrig cook on low in crock pot. You now what's in them because you fixed them. You don't need to be there while they reheat and they are ready when you are.

 

[tzolkin]

Our first two trips we bought groceries and ate mostly our food instead of purchasing in the parks.

We have three kids (two preschool-aged at the time) and the parks were hot/crowded, so we planned to go back to the room each day anyway. We would eat breakfast in the room (or on the way to the bus), go to a park from 8-11ish, return to the resort from about 12-4, and then go to a park for a few hours in the evening.

We didn't really have any "meals" in the room, mostly just snacks-- breakfast items, fresh and dried fruits and veggies, cheese, crackers, etc. (We also didn't have a microwave, so foods were bit more limited)

We always brought food and water into the parks so we could snack throughout the day. We used hydration backpacks and I would make shaped pb&js so the kids could just take one "dinosaur" or whatever as a little snack instead of sitting down to eat a whole sandwich.

We only drank water when we were in the parks (we had milk, juice, and soda in the room). This alone saved quite a bit of money.

We probably ate the equivalent of one CS meal per person per day, but not all at once. We usually shared meals and stopped at more than one place. For example, DH and I might split a sandwich at Epcot before heading back to the resort to nap and then that evening the kids might want to share a few orders of corn dog nuggets at MK. Or we might order a pizza that night at the resort.


This worked well for our family because we don't like to eat a large meal all at once when we're hot and the kids were little enough that they prefered snacking throughout the day anyway.

 

[beansmom]

One word if you have a refrigerator

Crock pot!!!!

my understanding is that CPs are not allowed in resort rooms and, frankly, i don't want to smell your dinner cooking when I come back to my room for an afternoon break. We do bagels, fruit, salad, sandwiches--sandwiches made with wraps rather than regular bread fare better during a trek to the parks.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

My family of four do this all the time but not all three meals. We always stay on-site but we drive there so we have use of our car. Here are some suggestions:

1. Cold--cuts, cheese, tuna salad, PBJ, sandwiches.
2. Bagged salads, salad dressing and a can of tuna, salmon, chicken etc. makes a wonderful, healthy meal.
3. Publix, Wal-mart offer whole cooked deli-chickens. Add a couple of cans of vegetables, baked beans and a loaf of bread and you have a delicious dinner for under $10.
4. Frozen dinners (although not extremely healthy) are great for a quick lunch or dinner with a salad.
5. We pick up a couple of bananas, apples, peaches, strawberries (whatever is in season) and cut up a huge fruit salad and sometimes that is lunch with some plain yogurt or cottage cheese with crusty bread. It is wonderful in the summer when it is so hot.
6. There are many places to eat in Orlando cheaply. We went to CiCi's and although it is not fancy, we had all you can eat soup, salad and pizza for about $5 per person. Can't beat that.

There are many ways to eat while at Disney without breaking the bank. We never spend more than $100 per day for food for 2 adults, 2 kids and that includes having one meal per day in a restaurant.

 

[kaytieeldr]

my understanding is that CPs are not allowed in resort rooms and

The OP isn't staying onsite, and it's obvious - given the microwave - that unlike most WDW properties, wherever they're staying does allow cooking in the rooms.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

The OP isn't staying onsite, and it's obvious - given the microwave - that unlike most WDW properties, wherever they're staying does allow cooking in the rooms.

Not true. Cooking in rooms is only allowed if there is a separate kitchenette with dishes, utensils etc. and a mini-stove or burner. Most rooms outside of Disney have mini-fridges, micro. and coffee pots but they are to be used only for heating something small and not cooking full meals. The proper ventilation is not there and you can be thrown out for cooking as it is considered a fire hazard.

 

[shellynn24]

We got one of these:

http://www.target.com/s?keywords=igloo+backpack&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1

We take it into the parks with us and it holds enough snacks, lunch, water, and extras for all 5 of us.

Dawn

Another idea:

Will you be driving? Do you have a decent sized cooler?

You might make some meals ahead of time and freeze them. If you put them in a cooler on your way down and stick them in the fridge when you get there, you can just heat them up in the evenings and eat that.

Some ideas:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/makeaheadrecipes/a/freezecasserole.htm

We personally really like lasagna and enchelada casserole and could eat each for 2 nights and then order a pizza and eat out once, and that would make up a week's worth of dinners.

Thank you for both of these posts. I love the backpack cooler, when we go to the zoo here I always pack a lunch...its just healthier.

I might try this freeze a meal and micro it at the resort (offsite condo). We usually eat a TS meal for lunch cause the kids love to eat out at disney and head "home" before fireworks cause the girls don't really like the noise. Love these ideas, thanks!

To the OP, when I was growing up we always ate at the campground. It was that or not have the money to go. But I agree with plan on taking your lunch to the parks in a small cooler (ref: above awesome backpack style, lol) my kids love to have a picnic, find a shady spot and realx. Just don't climb any fences into grassy areas, disney doesn't really like that

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We eat breakfast in the room and have cereal/milk, muffins, already cooked bacon, fruit cups, donuts usually.

When we used to stay at this one hotel on the beach that had a microwave, we would get frozen pancakes too.

We also did frozen lasgna and already made rolls from a grocery store. And my son loves bagel bites so those might work. I've also done those frozen pizza slices that you can get now.

We don't do any meals in the room except for breakfast much anymore though. I got tired of dealing with it and the smells just lingered and lingered which would gross me out and make me feel sick.

 

[santa's surpriz]

I have done cold fried chicken (Huge fan!) and pasta salad. I premake the pasta and mix it in the room. I have also done shrimp cocktail, chicken salad made with canned chicken, and fruits/veggies with dip. Another one of our favorites is cream cheese spread on Buddigs corned beef wrapped around scallions. Sandwich kabobs (cheese cubes, rolled up and then sliced lunch meats, tomatoes, and cucumbers put on a skewer.) We are not sandwich people so I try to be creative with what does not need cooking.

 

[MamaJessie]

We are doing almost every breakfast in the room. My kids don't get a lot of packaged foods so they love getting pop tarts, cereal bars, entemanns muffin packs and I'll bring bagels and cream cheese too. I was going to do cereal and/or oatmeal but realized I didn't feel like having bowls and spoons.

Lunch will be PB&Js, meat and cheese sandwhiches, DH is going to have tuna pouches, I might bring chef boyardee micro cups too. I noticed at walmart they had veggies, in the little individual plastic cups that you usually find fruit in. I thought those looked good, that way I know the kids are getting veggies sometimes.

Snacks at the room - carrots and ranch, pretzels, cheese sticks, yogurt tubes, apples, peanuts

Snacks for the parks - I am making rice kripsy treats at home to have the first day or two, disney themed fruit snacks, granola bars, and since DH will grow tired of carbs fast I am going to bring jerky too.

I have already made my grocery packing list

Dinner will be out. I cannot convince DH to eat like this for every meal and I am willing to make that concession.