eating in the room to save

[mommylovesdisneymore]

we are planning on eating our breakfast in our room each day with stuff we bring and pack snacks and only really spend on dinner We are staying at POP and this is our first time on grounds is there a micro wave in the main eating area we could use ? we have those individual mac and cheese things and such and do not know how we are going to heat them up

 

[lisalis]

I brought those for my son last time, since he just turned four and doesn't eat a whole kid's meal yet. I just put the water in and microwaved them in the quick service eating area. They have about 3 or 4 microwaves on the end caps of the drink and condiment areas facing the food area. They are actually pretty good with a dab of creamer put in as well. You could either eat in the cafeteria or take it back to your room. The cafeteria can get pretty crowded at times.

FYI - They also have jelly packets there, but no peanut butter. I brought a loaf of bread to make him sandwiches as needed, but there was no peanut butter. Luckily, he likes jelly sandwiches

 

[squirrel]

Other things you can do:

Oatmeal-hot water available in the food court.

Popcorn-microwaves in food court, if you purchase one of the popcorn souviener buckets you can refill it yourself.

Cereal-food court sells milk in different sizes.

PopTarts-food court has toasters available.

 

[IllinoisMommy]

We took cereal bars and small cereal boxes on our last trip. When we have had a car we hit a local grocery store for bananas and other items too.

 

[blessedby3]

We always order pizza from an offsite company (like Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, etc) for a cheap meal for our family at least one evening (sometimes 2 depending on the length of our trip). We bring our mugs to the food court and fill them up and grab a table outside. You have to meet the pizza guy in the lobby anyway. Its a much tastier pizza than what you can get at POP and they always have specials.
I know you were asking about breakfast, but thought I would throw that in for a cheap lunch or dinner.

 

[SandrA9810]

For things that only need hot water, you can get that from the coffee machine. There's a selection for just "hot water". Just remember that the microwaves are professional series, so you don't enter just the time, like 1 = 15 seconds, 2 = 30 seconds, 3 = 1 minute.

I know at like Wilderness Lodge where they sell snacks in the gift shop, they tell you which setting to use for popping popcorn and such, cause it stinks in the food court once some one burns popcorn.

 

[ashlansmom]

We always eat breakfast in our room as well. It does save a lot of money to eat in the room when you can, or at least bring your snacks. Last time we ordered some stuff from Garden Grocer. My DD has an egg allergy, so it's tough for breakfast anyway. She has a limited menu she will consider anyway... : ) We had yogurt, cereal and milk, graham crackers and peanut butter and bananas. We also had snack items like granola bars, chips, goldfish, bunny grahams, etc. We took this to the park in teh backpack so that we didn't have to pay for snacks for her at least... of course we do still have treats, but just not every morsel has to be paid for. I think it's a great way to do it! Good luck!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

we are planning on eating our breakfast in our room each day with stuff we bring and pack snacks and only really spend on dinner We are staying at POP and this is our first time on grounds is there a micro wave in the main eating area we could use ? we have those individual mac and cheese things and such and do not know how we are going to heat them up

yes, there are microwaves in the food court. When we don't have the free dining, we do just what your talking about, eat breakfast in the room and use the microwaves for lunch, then buy dinner in the park. one trip my kids were really into the chef boyaredee micro meals and were eating quite a few of them for lunch. It really cuts down on the price of the trip if your kids are willing to do that! Good luck!!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I brought those for my son last time, since he just turned four and doesn't eat a whole kid's meal yet. I just put the water in and microwaved them in the quick service eating area. They have about 3 or 4 microwaves on the end caps of the drink and condiment areas facing the food area. They are actually pretty good with a dab of creamer put in as well. You could either eat in the cafeteria or take it back to your room. The cafeteria can get pretty crowded at times.

FYI - They also have jelly packets there, but no peanut butter. I brought a loaf of bread to make him sandwiches as needed, but there was no peanut butter. Luckily, he likes jelly sandwiches

I'm a little surprised that you expected them to provide you condiments to make a complete meal with. You could have brought your own peanut butter and jelly along with the bread.

 

[disneymarie]

We always order pizza from an off site company (like Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, etc) for a cheap meal for our family at least one evening (sometimes 2 depending on the length of our trip). We bring our mugs to the food court and fill them up and grab a table outside. You have to meet the pizza guy in the lobby anyway. Its a much tastier pizza than what you can get at PO
P and they always have specials.
I know you were asking about breakfast, but thought I would throw that in for a cheap lunch or dinner.

There is a $2 off coupon online I always print. That helps with the tip. When you call make sure to tell them you have a coupon in case you use credit card to pay. They will bring the pizza, soda, other sides, plates napkins too. We do this for sure the first night.

For hot water I take my electric water kettle I paid $6.00 for at Target 6 years ago. and also a $6 toaster.
I make a stop or take Bagels, tube of spread, bread, the cups of noodles, the tuna spread or chicken salad.
Just having a squeeze bottle of jelly and toast with some tea is a filler too.

Always cereal, some fruit. just a banana, apple. but my kids love the fruit cups and like carrot sticks with ranch dip.
Also some Micky pretzels.

It is so easy for our family as each one is getting ready to have a breakfast, then we do not worry until lunch,
Many of the kids like when I have at least some of the Walmart wraps for when we got back to the room.
It is a long day and getting back to a room with no access to food is a strain. The mini mart near DTD has a large selections of sandwiches and snacks to get by on too.

The other thing if we have a car, is to run up to Whattaburger. Have to do that at least 2 times a trip.

 

[cab0899]

I've bought peanut butter packets to put on my toast in the morning at PopCentury. They're not in the same place as the jam but they do have it.

 

[hartj5]

We also eat breakfast in our room. I packed a suitcase full of food (we fly Southwest so no baggage fees). Then I have an extra suitcase to put our souvenirs in on the way home. We took individual cereal boxes, pop tarts, cereal bars, snacks. It worked out very well! We will be doing the same thing when we go next month.

 

[mommylovesdisneymore]

Thanks everyone so much for all the tips I knew I could count on you guys if I had any questions I planned on bringing a small toaster my son Loves waffles so that is a must evrymorning for him

 

[TinkWink]

Wow, some great tips here! Love the idea of the water kettle.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm a little surprised that you expected them to provide you condiments to make a complete meal with. You could have brought your own peanut butter and jelly along with the bread.

Glad I am not the only one thinking that. That seems like a very tacky thing to do. Just like making a salad from the topping stations. I'm hoping that poster at least bought something at the food court. There is being frugal, and then there is being cheap.

 

[maxiesmom]

Thanks everyone so much for all the tips I knew I could count on you guys if I had any questions I planned on bringing a small toaster my son Loves waffles so that is a must evrymorning for him

You are actually not supposed to bring any cooking appliances along to use in your room. Disney does provide toasters in the food court that you are free to use. Much safer that way instead of having a bunch of people with toasters in their room. You just cannot count on everyone to be careful when cooking in their room.

If you ask, Dinsey will tell you that bringing your own toaster is not allowed. This has come up a few times before.

 

[aprilgail2]

I'm a little surprised that you expected them to provide you condiments to make a complete meal with. You could have brought your own peanut butter and jelly along with the bread.

I was thinking the same thing! That is not being frugal-thats stealing!

 

[JenLanDisney]

Pop foodcourt (and I imagine other food courts) will sell you an entire loaf of bread. They have white or wheat. Ask at the counter where they sell eggs. I don't remember the exact price. It was a large loaf for under $3.

 

[charming23]

When we went in September of 2009 we drove so we brought with us cereal and oatmeal for breakfasts. We had a coffeemaker in our room at CBR and used that to make hot water for oatmeal. We did stop at a grocery and get milk, bananas, oranges, and grapes. We also picked up snack items like cheese and crackers, peanut butter, and bottled water.

We were on the dining plan and liked being able to eat breakfast quickly in the room while getting ready and then having the credits for lunches and dinners.

 

[Marionnette]

we are planning on eating our breakfast in our room each day with stuff we bring and pack snacks and only really spend on dinner We are staying at POP and this is our first time on grounds is there a micro wave in the main eating area we could use ? we have those individual mac and cheese things and such and do not know how we are going to heat them up

I know that you've been to Disney before but have you done the "return to the room for lunch" thing on previous trips? It takes a lot of time out of your day. You have to walk to the park exit from wherever you are when lunchtime comes. Then you either have to wait for a bus to get back to your resort or a tram to take you to your car, commute back to the resort, walk to your room and then make lunch. Reverse the whole process to get back to the park. We're talking something like close to 3 hours for lunch from the time you decide you're hungry until you're back to touring the park.

You might want to consider just taking lunch bag type food into the parks and stopping to eat at lunchtime. Or packing healthy snacks and then eating a late lunch/early dinner in the parks. We've found that between the heat and the excitement, we rarely heat 3 meals and often only want a light snack at lunchtime. The kids prefer to eat a granola bar while waiting in line at RnR than trecking back to the room for a microwaved meal.