Eating/cooking in a Disney Resort Room....

[Pooh99]

Was wondering what any of you have done for eating in the room.
I was thinking of bringing a hot-pot and spaghettios for lunch one or two days, pop tarts and cereal for breakfast. Anything else that you have done to cut your food cost?
We are driving so I can take anything....
How big are the refrigerators that you can rent?

 

[laceemouse]

We have rented the fridges before to hold snacks. They are pretty small, dorm room type things. You could also use a cooler if you need more space. I think a small hot pot thing would be fine as they are not much bigger than a coffee maker and those are allowed. When mine were young I used a plug in hotpot to cook baby cereal in hotel rooms.

 

[joyfull]

We just bring a cooler. We bring milk, sodas, water, fruit, salad, lunch meat stuff like that. ( Put lunch meat, fruit, salad etc. into a plastic container so they don't get soggy). We got a refrig. one year, boy was it small. We didn't think it was worth the extra money. Then we bring cereal, cereal bars, chips, bread. We eat breakfast in the room in the morning. Don't forget the bowls, spoons, forks, etc. Then we pack snacks for lunch . If you aren't into water, you can bring koolaid powder and mix koolaid in your water bottle. It is also worth it to buy at least one refill mug from your hotel. You can refill it with tea, coffee, hot coco or soda. We like to eat dinner in the parks or at the hotel. We also like to take one night or two nights and eat somewhere special like the rainforrest, King Stefan's Banquet, Prime Time Cafe, etc.

Bringing food helps cut the cost of food at WDW and on the road. It also gives you something other than fastfood to eat all of the time. I love fastfood, but it can get old come day 3....lol

Waterbottles are also a must!

Hope this helps!

 

[Belle5]

This is a hotly debated topic on this board. There are very strong feelings about it especially from those who would say regular rooms are not made to ventilate food smells or set up with safety features needed to cook hot food thus protecting guest in nearby rooms.

Having said that, on our very first Disney trip years back we were on a very tight budget. I brought a crockpot to our hotel room and would dump cans of Chili or whatever into it to be heating while we were at the parks for the day.

I would not do this now that I have been made aware of the safety issues, etc. If I want to cook (which I don't on vacation) I book a room with proper equipment. Just not something I had thought much about at the time...

 

[1204]

Please check with the hotel. We attend a convention every year and we are told NO cooking of any kind in the room . Coffee in the coffee maker of course is the exception. Hope you have a good trip.

 

[DMRick]

The last thread on this was closed..but just one suggestion..check the food court in your hotel. Most have a microwave and toaster...where they would prefer you to cook your food, and generously allow you to use it for your private items.
One more thing. Most coffee makers are made to shut off after a certain amount of time..hot pots and crock pots etc. seldom have this feature.

 

[Pooh99]

I had no idea I was getting into a touchy subject...
Never really thought about it.
We usually camp but sold our camper last year. Haven't stayed in hotels for vacation lately. I guess we don't have very good hotel manners! I wasn't really planning on cooking a feast...just warming up spaghettios! Is it really any more dangerous than a curling iron, blow dryer or iron?

I will definitely check into the microwave and toaster at the food court. Are there coffeemakers in the rooms at CBR? That would help immensely since my husband is a caffeine hound.
Thanks again.

 

[DMRick]

Is it really any more dangerous than a curling iron, blow dryer or iron?

Usually curling irons, etc, have a set temp they don't go above....but it was more than that..it's the "food" smells etc, that stick to the furniture..makes it harder on the cleaning staff, and the next "guest". It's often against fire codes (since it isn't set up with the right kind of counters, safety plugs, etc). It's sort of how it would be cooking in your bathroom or bedroom at home. But you can always check direct with the hotel you plan to stay with, and see what they say. We bring our food down to the food courts to eat..it actually gets everyone going for the day, and I have no messes to clean up.

 

[LvsTnk]

You could use the hot water from the coffee maker for instant grits, oat meal, and cups of noodles.

 

[jonemick]

Skip renting the fridge and go to the local (Orlando) Target store and get a nice sized cooler ($20). Use the cooler during your stay and then leave it behind or take it home with you, we packed our dirty cloths in it and checked it as luggage last trip. It's much better then renting a fridge ($10 per day) that's small and doesn't work that well from my experience.

 

[ducklite]

I agree with Belle 5. Hotel rooms are not designed for cooking. Cooking can be a safety hazard...appliances (other than coffee makers, irons, and hair dryers) do not have auto off features and can overheat and start a fire if accidently left on. Also cooking in rooms produces odors which get into fabrics and carpets, as well as going through ventinlation systems and walls into your neighbors rooms. Although you might enjoy the smell of Speghettios, I find it gross, and certainly wouldn't want to smell it in my hotel room.

As others have said, there isa microwave and toaster in the food court which they allow you to use. Take advantage of that rather than causing a potential safety hazard.

Anne

 

[hopetoseedisney]

Look here for ideas on preparing meals without cooking...
Meal Ideas
Hope this helps.

 

[jilljill]

You are always safe with the old stand-by of PB&J. This can be breakfast, lunch or an anytime snack. They sell bread in the gift shop and other boxed goodies such as donuts. They don't overcharge for those items since the price is pre-printed on the labels.
We bring boxes of cereal of with us and just buy milk each night and keep in the ice bucket until morning. You can always stop at Eckerd's or Walgreens and buy a styrofoam cooler to use for your stay.

 

[Muffy]

You could also get a foladable cooler at walmart before you leave. It folds up nicely to fit in your luggage and can be reused for years.

 

[Lesley]

Last summer we took coolers, drinks and lots of snacks that didn't need either refrigeration or cooking....we saved a whole lot of money. We took pop tarts, cold cereal, nuts, fruit leathers, trail mix, cookies, etc.....

We didn't really replace any meals except breakfast....but we do tend to snack a lot, drink a lot of soft drinks, and only eat about 2 meals a day.

Basically we just changed the ice in our coolers each day....

 

[laceemouse]

hopetoseedisney- thanks for the link to that other thread! I am new here but can see how this would be controversial. We own another t/s and just bought into DVC so it has been a long time since we spent more than a road night or two in a regular hotel room. I feel sorry for those who do not have a kitchen and are trying to do Disney on a budget. The food prices there are crazy and we really get sick of eating out anyway. Several people on the DVC thread say they never use the kitchen in their rooms, but we look forward to it! Anyway, we used to live and Florida and I miss Publix so much shopping there is part of my vacation fun LOL! Again, thanks for the quick and easy no cook ideas!!! Lacee

 

[princessfamily425]

Well, I'm really glad I came in (first timer) and read all this......We are returning to WDW, staying at CSR in July and me being the spendthrift that I am, was planning on wowing my family with Mickey Mouse waffles (made at the table in our room) for breakfast each morning. We were even thinking of inviting our next door neighbors over for some! Do you guys think this would be really bad?

 

[DMRick]

We were even thinking of inviting our next door neighbors over for some! Do you guys think this would be really bad?

Are you serious? You would deal with the mess of making waffle mix, and storing it, and washing up the mess of butter and syrup, and the grease and smell of the wafflemaker in your room? And invite the neighbors, who you don't know? And this is your first post? Why do I think you are pulling our legs?
Doris

 

[gepetto]

I think it'd stink for a week. What the hell...I'm not staying at CSR...bon appetit.

 

[BethR]

Methinks that there have been a rash of troll sightings on the DIS the past day or so. And we don't need other people to egg them on.

So with that - this thread is closed.