For those that cook while on vacation

[rentayenta]

We are planning on making only 4, maybe 5 ADRs during our 11 night DVC stay. We're planning on cooking some as well. For those of you that plan to cook half of your dinners, do you follow through or end up blowing it off? DH have an idea of what we'll make, nothing to intense but stuff like steaks, burgers, chicken, maybe a pasta, different potatoes and rices for sides, all fresh, nothing boxed, served with a veggie and bread. We'll be there during F&W and are planning on 2 dinners being snacks and drink at F&W.

We'll do breakfast too ranging from pastries to cereal to omlettes and pancakes, fruit, juices, coffee.

 

[alanapapa]

We try to cook some in the rooms, or at least on the BBQ grills outside. Our last trip was XMAS 2010 and we had another family so we ate most dinners in the room. We had pasta, tacos, philly sandwiches, steaks, and chicken, nothing real hard or time consuming. That trip, since the other family drove, we were able to go shopping for food, but we usually order from gardengrocer.com

When we stay at VGC in CA we have to rent a car, but as we lived in Anaheim/OC for many years we know where to shop.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We do cook in our villa a lot. This last trip in early December we only ate out twice. The rest of the time we cooked in the villa and prepared mostly the same things we do at home. I can make a nice healthy stir fry into a "one dish" meal that takes about 15 minutes to prepare and even less time to eat. It's way cheaper and way healthier than eating in the over priced Disney restaurants. I'd much rather spend a half hour at dinner in the villa than 2 hours in a restaurant.

We usually make a grocery list ahead of time and stick to just buying the things on the list. I can make several meals out of one good sized ham or roast. Then the veggies and salads and fruit are added and breakfast items, and we are good to go. I HATE eating breakfast out anyway. I prefer a nice bowl of oatmeal with blueberries or home made pancakes to anything I can get elsewhere.

 

[ajf1007]

We are planning on making only 4, maybe 5 ADRs during our 11 night DVC stay. We're planning on cooking some as well. For those of you that plan to cook half of your dinners, do you follow through or end up blowing it off? DH have an idea of what we'll make, nothing to intense but stuff like steaks, burgers, chicken, maybe a pasta, different potatoes and rices for sides, all fresh, nothing boxed, served with a veggie and bread. We'll be there during F&W and are planning on 2 dinners being snacks and drink at F&W.

We'll do breakfast too ranging from pastries to cereal to omlettes and pancakes, fruit, juices, coffee.

Hi Jenny!!! I'm so glad you started this thread! As you know, I have our big trip in September with 10 people and in order to save some $$ we're going to cook in the villa as much as we can. There are only 3ADR's we're going to make, so I'm interested in what others do. I was thinking about grilling one night and a taco night too, along with breakfast stuff and the usual lunch type stuff. We're going to do the Owners Locker and we're driving so I was going to bring my Foreman grill too. Hmm...can't wait to see what else others have to say!

 

[rentayenta]

We try to cook some in the rooms, or at least on the BBQ grills outside. Our last trip was XMAS 2010 and we had another family so we ate most dinners in the room. We had pasta, tacos, philly sandwiches, steaks, and chicken, nothing real hard or time consuming. That trip, since the other family drove, we were able to go shopping for food, but we usually order from gardengrocer.com

When we stay at VGC in CA we have to rent a car, but as we lived in Anaheim/OC for many years we know where to shop.

I think we'll be mostly grilling too. DH was thinking about renting a car to choose his own meat and produce, he's all about quality, however renting a car is about $45 so I'm going to check the difference between delivery vs shopping. I don't know if GG or WeGoShop up the price of groceries on top of the delivery fee?

We do cook in our villa a lot. This last trip in early December we only ate out twice. The rest of the time we cooked in the villa and prepared mostly the same things we do at home. I can make a nice healthy stir fry into a "one dish" meal that takes about 15 minutes to prepare and even less time to eat. It's way cheaper and way healthier than eating in the over priced Disney restaurants. I'd much rather spend a half hour at dinner in the villa than 2 hours in a restaurant.

We usually make a grocery list ahead of time and stick to just buying the things on the list. I can make several meals out of one good sized ham or roast. Then the veggies and salads and fruit are added and breakfast items, and we are good to go. I HATE eating breakfast out anyway. I prefer a nice bowl of oatmeal with blueberries or home made pancakes to anything I can get elsewhere.

I prefer breakfast in the villa too. My middle DD loves to cook breakfast so I'm all for that.

We were working on meal ideas last night. DH said simple but good. He's going to make spice packets ahead and we'll bring those.

I get so sick of the park food. I like the variety that cooking adds.

Hi Jenny!!! I'm so glad you started this thread! As you know, I have our big trip in September with 10 people and in order to save some $$ we're going to cook in the villa as much as we can. There are only 3ADR's we're going to make, so I'm interested in what others do. I was thinking about grilling one night and a taco night too, along with breakfast stuff and the usual lunch type stuff. We're going to do the Owners Locker and we're driving so I was going to bring my Foreman grill too. Hmm...can't wait to see what else others have to say!

Awesome! We're planning on grilling most meals and then adding roasted red potatoes, rice, garlic mashed, and the like. Plus a salad or fresh vegetable. So far DH said he wants to grill steaks, burgers, and chicken and maybe make a pasta one night. He says simple but truly doesn't know what that means. He uses ingredients I've never heard of. Our grocery bill is astronomical.



Thanks for the replies eveyone!

 

[sandieb]

We are more on a budget this year, and we plan several dinners in the villa. We always have a burger/hot dog night and usually order pizza to be delivered (we stay at the BCV). We eat them down by the quiet pool and have a pizza and splash party. Otherwise, I may bake a chicken dish or have a pasta dinner. Frankly, even if our budget was unlimited, I don't like eating out each night - too time consuming and too many calories. It actually makes the nights out that we do even more special.

 

[sleeperclan]

There will be 7 adults this year (DH, DS, DD, DBBF, DS, DDIL, and myself) and we will have 3 TS meals. The rest of the time we will be cooking. I'll cook the first night and then we will divide up into pairs to cook for the other nights. This way, everyone gets in on the planning and the "fun" and I don't have to cook all our dinners

 

[dianeschlicht]

There will be 7 adults this year (DH, DS, DD, DBBF, DS, DDIL, and myself) and we will have 3 TS meals. The rest of the time we will be cooking. I'll cook the first night and then we will divide up into pairs to cook for the other nights. This way, everyone gets in on the planning and the "fun" and I don't have to cook all our dinners

When we have stayed with multiple family groups in a GV, we have divided the cooking up this way too. It works great! This time we have one other couple with us, and we work well together since there are dietary issues like gluten free for one person, and starch free for another.

 

[rentayenta]

We are more on a budget this year, and we plan several dinners in the villa. We always have a burger/hot dog night and usually order pizza to be delivered (we stay at the BCV). We eat them down by the quiet pool and have a pizza and splash party. Otherwise, I may bake a chicken dish or have a pasta dinner. Frankly, even if our budget was unlimited, I don't like eating out each night - too time consuming and too many calories. It actually makes the nights out that we do even more special.

Do you order pizza from the BCV or a place offsite? I'd love to find some good local pizza. We have very few good pizza places here in Utah.

We aren't cooking for budget reasons but purely for preference. DH can make anything WDW can. We eat home almost every night too. I just prefer home cooked food. And he makes amazing dishes, no casseroles here.

There will be 7 adults this year (DH, DS, DD, DBBF, DS, DDIL, and myself) and we will have 3 TS meals. The rest of the time we will be cooking. I'll cook the first night and then we will divide up into pairs to cook for the other nights. This way, everyone gets in on the planning and the "fun" and I don't have to cook all our dinners

That's a good idea. We do that when we travel with friends to the lake and stuff. It works really well.

 

[sandieb]

We like Papa John's pizza and often order from there. We have also ordered from Giordanos (407-239-8900) a couple times. We plan to try Flippers Pizza this summer. I usually bring a salad and cooler with drinks. It's fun!

 

[toniosmom]

We always eat in the villa. I order from Garden Grocer and there are some things that I stash in my suitcase from home. I have a DS7 and it gives us a lot of flexibility for meals. Rushing to an ADR is usually the time when DS7 has a tantrum...without fail. We occasionally pick up lunch if we're in a park. My son discovered Hurricane Hannah's during our BCV trip last year, so we had lunch there pretty often over that week. I often make pasta, hot dogs, eggs/omelettes, chicken. We don't usually grill because I don't want to deal with the charcoal and the trip back and forth to the grill from the villa. It never seems to be close by...LOL.

 

[rentayenta]

We like Papa John's pizza and often order from there. We have also ordered from Giordanos (407-239-8900) a couple times. We plan to try Flippers Pizza this summer. I usually bring a salad and cooler with drinks. It's fun!

Thank you for the pizza referral. Keep us posted on Flippers please. We like a thinner NY style pizza vs the fat crusted Chicago type.

We always eat in the villa. I order from Garden Grocer and there are some things that I stash in my suitcase from home. I have a DS7 and it gives us a lot of flexibility for meals. Rushing to an ADR is usually the time when DS7 has a tantrum...without fail. We occasionally pick up lunch if we're in a park. My son discovered Hurricane Hannah's during our BCV trip last year, so we had lunch there pretty often over that week. I often make pasta, hot dogs, eggs/omelettes, chicken. We don't usually grill because I don't want to deal with the charcoal and the trip back and forth to the grill from the villa. It never seems to be close by...LOL.

I wonder why the WDW grills are charcoal but GCV was propane? I agree that dining in the villa offers better flexibility. I hate being tied down to ADRs. We end up canceling 1/3 of the ones we make. There are really only a few places I'm itching to try.




In all honesty we share a ton during meals so as far as money goes, we won't save all that much. Between the rental car and quality ingredients DH needs, the DDP might be a better deal.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Hi Jenny!!! I'm so glad you started this thread! As you know, I have our big trip in September with 10 people and in order to save some $$ we're going to cook in the villa as much as we can. There are only 3ADR's we're going to make, so I'm interested in what others do. I was thinking about grilling one night and a taco night too, along with breakfast stuff and the usual lunch type stuff. We're going to do the Owners Locker and we're driving so I was going to bring my Foreman grill too. Hmm...can't wait to see what else others have to say!

We will be having a group of 8 this September also, so I was wondering how you are planning a trip for everyone. Are you all staying together or different villas? We have GV at OKW for the 8 of us.

 

[rentayenta]

We will be having a group of 8 this September also, so I was wondering how you are planning a trip for everyone. Are you all staying together or different villas? We have GV at OKW for the 8 of us.

We did a GV at OKW with 10 of us and it was plenty big. We loved it.

 

[Greysword]

We make liberal use of the full kitchen, and it is one of the major perks of DVC (especially for our family).

Eating in the villa is actually very easy, since meal times intersect well with the "afternoon break" touring plan recommended by all. In fact, eating in the room is an excellent reason to leave the park mid-day. Our schedule generally goes like this:

Wake up, get ready, eat breakfast in the room
Visit park in the morning
About noon (11AM-1PM), get hungry and leave park for hotel
Eat lunch in room away from crowds and chaos
Spend afternoon outside of park (nap, swim, shop, etc)
Gather around 5PM in room and do dinner/supper
Head back into park and enjoy evening (watching many leave to find food after grueling afternoon ).

It works well for us, and we bookend our park visits with a meal. If everyone is tired, lunch can be as simple as cold cuts or a salad. The relaxing afternoon allows time to prepare dinner in leisure.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[dbs1228]

Greysworld that is exactly what we have been doing for the past 17 years even before we bought DVC we discovered the cabins at Ft. Wilderness and could not go back to not having a kitchen! Now that we have laundry in our villa we pack more food i.e. cereal, snacks, mac n cheese, some small bags of spices etc.... We then do a big grocery shop when we get there for fruit, veggies, milk, bread and of course adult beverages! A few years back we spent about 210.00 and my DH said "are you kidding me wow that is expensive" I just laughed and said family of 5 for 10 nights that is 21.00 a day which included chicken, steak, burgers, beer, wine, soda, water not too shabby. I too prefer to eat a "simple" meal in the room then go out to restaurants. It has always given our DD's some down time too.

 

[Micca]

Enjoying food in our DVC villa is one of the unexpected pleasures of ownership for us. I must say most of you are doing a much better job of making healthy choices than we do We love stocking up on basic sandwich/snacky type things.
The quality of WDW food has declined so much while the prices have increased. I can make a tasty sandwich in the room that would cost 3 times what I paid for the ingredients in the parks. We used to love dining at WDW, but until they can turn things around we'll have our in-room feasts at a fraction of the price.

 

[dianfossey]

I cook a lot while on vacation (not just WDW). We do it to save money, but also eating out gets to be such a PITA after a few days and everything starts to taste the same.

For me, the key is to organize everything before I leave. I have a calender and plan out every meal I intend to cook. It sounds really OCD but it is mostly for making sure I have everything I need (both utensils and food) for every meal. I also pack a photocopy of my recipes if need be. Most everything is 30 minutes or less prep time.

I pack non-perishables & spices (in snack size baggies) in my suitcase. I have also made batches of meatballs/sausage, froze them, wrap them in newspaper and pack in the suitcase. They are frozen SOLID even after a day of traveling by plane. I do this for other stuff too, just can't think of what at the moment. If you are willing to do this you can get very creative. dbs1228 is correct - with a laundry in your unit you have lots more room in your case. For the rest I have my complete shopping list that we stick to and we go to the market directly after checking in. If I know I am going to need more fruits/veggies later in the week I make a second list.

Some things we do -

First thing we make is a huge batch of spaghetti or american chop suey and throw it in the frig for quick lunches/dinners, even breakfast - hey, it's vacation!

Rotisserie chicken from the market - chop it up and use this for chicken Cesar Salad, chicken quesadillas, chicken salad sandwiches

Steak and bake potato (I use the broiler)

Shrimp Scampi

Chicken Cutlet or Parm

Deli meats for sandwiches to bring to the park. We have them on croissants and they hold up very well.

Packed frozen meatballs and sausages, topped with melted cheese on a hard roll for hot sandwich meals

We have one big breakfast for dinner meal (brinner) and we cook everyone's favorites and have a feast - pancakes (dry mix from home), eggs, bacon, ham steak, omlettes, hash browns

Then the usual fruit, veggies, breakfast stuff and snacks.

Sounds like a lot of work but if you organize it all before you leave it is quite simple once you are on vacation.

......or maybe I'm just a little nuts - LOL

 

[rentayenta]

We make liberal use of the full kitchen, and it is one of the major perks of DVC (especially for our family).

Eating in the villa is actually very easy, since meal times intersect well with the "afternoon break" touring plan recommended by all. In fact, eating in the room is an excellent reason to leave the park mid-day. Our schedule generally goes like this:

Wake up, get ready, eat breakfast in the room
Visit park in the morning
About noon (11AM-1PM), get hungry and leave park for hotel
Eat lunch in room away from crowds and chaos
Spend afternoon outside of park (nap, swim, shop, etc)
Gather around 5PM in room and do dinner/supper
Head back into park and enjoy evening (watching many leave to find food after grueling afternoon ).

It works well for us, and we bookend our park visits with a meal. If everyone is tired, lunch can be as simple as cold cuts or a salad. The relaxing afternoon allows time to prepare dinner in leisure.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks! The full kitchen is a huge perk for us all well. We usually do breakfast in the villa too. That ranges from a full hot breakfast to cereal depending on the mood and our plans. Lunch we generally eat in the parks.

Greysworld that is exactly what we have been doing for the past 17 years even before we bought DVC we discovered the cabins at Ft. Wilderness and could not go back to not having a kitchen! Now that we have laundry in our villa we pack more food i.e. cereal, snacks, mac n cheese, some small bags of spices etc.... We then do a big grocery shop when we get there for fruit, veggies, milk, bread and of course adult beverages! A few years back we spent about 210.00 and my DH said "are you kidding me wow that is expensive" I just laughed and said family of 5 for 10 nights that is 21.00 a day which included chicken, steak, burgers, beer, wine, soda, water not too shabby. I too prefer to eat a "simple" meal in the room then go out to restaurants. It has always given our DD's some down time too.

I agree. Our guessing our grocery bill for the 12 days will be $250 but considering we're at Disney, that's a steal. Heck, that's a good deal if we were at home too.

Enjoying food in our DVC villa is one of the unexpected pleasures of ownership for us. I must say most of you are doing a much better job of making healthy choices than we do We love stocking up on basic sandwich/snacky type things.
The quality of WDW food has declined so much while the prices have increased. I can make a tasty sandwich in the room that would cost 3 times what I paid for the ingredients in the parks. We used to love dining at WDW, but until they can turn things around we'll have our in-room feasts at a fraction of the price.

Oh we do Pizza Rolls, popcorn, and Pop Tarts too. Just not for dinner. Our fridge and pantry will be stocked like at home minus the spices and specialty stuff. We are pretty healthy during dinner but the kids love a tray of Pizza Rolls after a mega night in the parks. Plus we can have our own coffee and creamer.

I cook a lot while on vacation (not just WDW). We do it to save money, but also eating out gets to be such a PITA after a few days and everything starts to taste the same.

For me, the key is to organize everything before I leave. I have a calender and plan out every meal I intend to cook. It sounds really OCD but it is mostly for making sure I have everything I need (both utensils and food) for every meal. I also pack a photocopy of my recipes if need be. Most everything is 30 minutes or less prep time.

I pack non-perishables & spices (in snack size baggies) in my suitcase. I have also made batches of meatballs/sausage, froze them, wrap them in newspaper and pack in the suitcase. They are frozen SOLID even after a day of traveling by plane. I do this for other stuff too, just can't think of what at the moment. If you are willing to do this you can get very creative. dbs1228 is correct - with a laundry in your unit you have lots more room in your case. For the rest I have my complete shopping list that we stick to and we go to the market directly after checking in. If I know I am going to need more fruits/veggies later in the week I make a second list.

Some things we do -

First thing we make is a huge batch of spaghetti or american chop suey and throw it in the frig for quick lunches/dinners, even breakfast - hey, it's vacation!

Rotisserie chicken from the market - chop it up and use this for chicken Cesar Salad, chicken quesadillas, chicken salad sandwiches

Steak and bake potato (I use the broiler)

Shrimp Scampi

Chicken Cutlet or Parm

Deli meats for sandwiches to bring to the park. We have them on croissants and they hold up very well.

Packed frozen meatballs and sausages, topped with melted cheese on a hard roll for hot sandwich meals

We have one big breakfast for dinner meal (brinner) and we cook everyone's favorites and have a feast - pancakes (dry mix from home), eggs, bacon, ham steak, omlettes, hash browns

Then the usual fruit, veggies, breakfast stuff and snacks.

Sounds like a lot of work but if you organize it all before you leave it is quite simple once you are on vacation.

......or maybe I'm just a little nuts - LOL

Love your meals. DH is going to pre pack tri tip rub and spice packets. Because we'll be going to the store, I'm going to buy shampoo etc when we get there insuring we have plenty of room for souvenirs. I don't like to bring gooey shampoo bottles home after vacation.

Our meals for this trip include:

Grilled tri tip for 11 , roasted garlic red potatoes, and some sort of fresh vegetable, baguette....

Grilled hamburgers but not just any buger. DH got a recipe from one of Gordon Ramsey's shows and these are insane. We'll do sweet potato and Russet potato baked fries too.

Grilled seasoned, depending on what flavor he's feeling , chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, and again a fresh salad or vegetable. Might have to resort to frozen rolls though as baguettes or French Bread don't last more than a day.

Pasta, again, depends on his mood as to what kind he'll make. Last night he made Carbonara and it was crazy good. I'm sure we'll con him into that. Again with salad and bread.

 

[saycindy]

I cook a lot while on vacation (not just WDW). We do it to save money, but also eating out gets to be such a PITA after a few days and everything starts to taste the same.

Sounds like a lot of work but if you organize it all before you leave it is quite simple once you are on vacation.

......or maybe I'm just a little nuts - LOL

Great ideas and I'm going to write some of these down.

We will be at BCV for 8 days this summer. I seen some where here to plan for 1/2 of those days. I plan on 4 lunches and 4 dinners, doing breakfast at least 5 days too. Feasting for breakfast most mornings so we can last till lunch or whenever. Love the idea of pizza by the pool someone mentioned.

I want to plan EXACTLY for those 4 lunches and dinners. I don't want to throw food away. Planning only that so we can safely wing it here and there and not run commando style all week.

We plan on getting a car for arrival day and heading to Walmart for food/water and then to get some adult beverages. (Before that we can go to the Outlets and DTD). After we can head to the villa for a quick meal and then head to Epcot for EMH. Don't think I'll be able to keep my family from one park the first day.

Glad I'm not the only one tired of DDP. Still making ADR but not as many and some late lunch ones instead of dinner.