Groceries when staying in a studio or just DDP?

[Raivyn]

Hello! For those of you who stay in a studio, do you just do the DDP, or are you able to bring food and not eat out? If you don't do the DDP, how do you do it and what do you bring? Since the studios don't have full kitchen, I can't think of any food solutions other than microwavable burritos. Thanks for your advice!!

 

[princessfionasmom]

We are going in Oct and doing a split stay, 3 nights at BLT in a studio and 6 nights at OKW in a studio. We plan on doing DP for the first stay and then having groceries delivered when we get to OKW. Last year we had groceries delivered which included cereal bowls, milk, muffins, snacks, case of water, soda, fruit, bread, bagels, mayo, cold cuts, canned tuna and canned chicken. I also brought easy mac for kids and some stuff from trader joes we love. We'll have breakfast in rm every day and then we will eat out for either lunch or dinner and have the other meal in the room. It worked great for us last year so I hope for the same this year. We'll probably let the kids order some junk food I don't allow at home. But you can definitely make it work without having all micro food.

 

[Raivyn]

The canned food is a great idea. On the DVC site, they have a grocery order form, right? We won't have a car, so even getting groceries will be a bit of a hassle. But we need to save some money on this trip because we already have some big ticket items planned (i.e. California Grille, Cinderella's Table).

Any other suggestions would be helpful. There are 4 of us, and I'm having a difficult time planning how much food will cost if we won't have a full kitchen to use, and even though the DDP is convenient, we'd like to cut our costs even further.

Thanks!!

 

[allshookup]

The canned food is a great idea. On the DVC site, they have a grocery order form, right? We won't have a car, so even getting groceries will be a bit of a hassle. But we need to save some money on this trip because we already have some big ticket items planned (i.e. California Grille, Cinderella's Table).

Any other suggestions would be helpful. There are 4 of us, and I'm having a difficult time planning how much food will cost if we won't have a full kitchen to use, and even though the DDP is convenient, we'd like to cut our costs even further.

Thanks!!

One suggestion is instead of ordering from WDW, you could take a cab to a grocery store where prices would be much more reasonable. We typically stay in a 1 or 2 BR, but even so I don't really cook. We buy coffee, juice, water, beer, wine, bagels, donuts, fruit, chips, soup, & the ready made foods in the bakery section like potato salad, chicken nuggets, wings, etc.

Edited to add: although the DDP sounds great, you should really look at what you would typically order on a daily basis & see if it works for you. I think a lot of people compare what they got to what they paid, but I always wonder if they really would've ordered all that food? We don't eat desserts at every meal or even full meals with sides at every meal. I think you can save a lot more if you eat breakfast in the room & maybe a few lunches. I did the math, and it's not that great of a savings for us, but everyone is different.

 

[HayGan]

Our first time in a studio at OKW, we decided we wanted to bring some food along to have in the room. We did not have a car and did not want to pay for a cab or for somewhat inflated delivery prices (just our opinion.) What we did is packed our rolling collpsable cooler similar to this one http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-High...JDGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1238029283&sr=8-1. We brought along frozen waffles, ready to heat bacon, instant oatmeal, frozen grapes for breakfast. The frozen grapes act as an excellent ice pack. We also brought along some microwave popcorn and frozen pretzels for snacks. This stuff worked great for quick breakfasts in the studio in the morning. On the way to MCO, we checked the bag. On the way home, we used the cooler as an extra suitcase.

I'm sure that there are other things you could think of to bring to have simple and easy meals in the room. Chicken salad or tuna salad sandwiches would be easy. There are other great threads around that provide some additional suggestions as well.

 

[daisyduck123]

We stay in a studio & always get the dining plan. No way am I ever going to cook on vacation...or wipe crumbs off counters. We don't keep any kind of food/snacks in the room.

We keep NOTHING in our room fridge except some beer for DH.

 

[edk35]

We stay in a studio & always get the dining plan. No way am I ever going to cook on vacation...or wipe crumbs off counters. We don't keep any kind of food/snacks in the room.

We keep NOTHING in our room fridge except some beer for DH.

"wipe crumbs off the counters" Laurie...you crack me up.

 

[Crystal_27]

I also have no plans of cooking while vacationing - it will be DDP all the way for us regardless of whether we have a studio or one bedroom.

 

[edk35]

Well we don't stay in a studio but a 2 br. but we do have stuff in our villa. I don't cook meals really. I tried this last summer when we did 2 weeks at WDW and our first 8 days were at OKW and I made some grilled cheese sandwiches and a frozen pizza or two for when we were having non park days chillin at the resort/pool for our lunch. That was not bad. We buy, donuts, bagels, cold cereal, granola bars, sometimes frozen waffles/pancakes. I don't make sausage or bacon or eggs. We just find it easier to have a quick breakfast in the room before heading out that way the kids are not starving by the time we walk into the park and we are able to enjoy the rides/attrations before it gets crowded. We buy soda/water/beer and snacks. We aren't into cooking full elaborate meals but we do like to save on the cost of drinks in the parks since we are all big water drinkers. Plus it is nice to have stuff in the room when you are back at the resort instead of running down to the resort store where everything is much higher. NOW we have never done the dining plan but I would think even with your snack credits you guys would spend out of pocket at some point for drinks/water in the parks. We would that is for sure. Our kids love the mickey bars and that alone would eat up their two snack credits each day.

If it were me....I would have some light breakfast foods/snacks/drinks at least in your studio. If just grab and go stuff you can eat on the way each day or when you get to the park. It really does save a lot of money. I get a 32 pack of water for about 9 bucks that would cost you about 64 bucks in the park.

 

[spiceycat]

my food allergies makes it easier and generally quicker for me to cook.

since driving can bring pre cooked frozen meals.

for hamburgers or steaks all the dvc resorts have an outside charcoal grill.

also bring this thing
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7780122

it goes hamburger, chicken or steak too.

 

[princessfionasmom]

I didn't order my groceries from our resort, I ordered from garden grocer which worked out great. This year I am going to try wegoshop (pretty sure thats the name), they will go to the store you request and will stop at a liquor store too. Good luck!

 

[cseca]

90% of the time we stay in a studio because there were only 2 of us. Plus we don't do full cooking during our vacations anyways. That being said, I don't like to waste $ on park food on all our meals. So we always bring snacks and buy microwaveable or deli sandwiches fixin.

What I just found recently is (thanks to our kitchen renovation) microwaveable egg container thingy (yeah, really technical right? ).

Basically you need 3 or 4 things:
Eggs, microwaveable bacon (optional), cheese and bread of some kind (english muffin or just regular sandwich bread works as well).
First you microwave the bacon. Then you beat the 1 or 2 eggs in the container with the microwaved bacon (or you can leave the bacon out also, up to you) and cook it for about 1 min.
Then you make a sandwich out of the cooked egg/bacon, cheese and bread. VOILA! Almost like egg mcmuffin but cheaper

You can bring the egg cooker and bacon from home (there are 15 slices in a box - you probably only need 2 to 3 slices per sandwich) and buy the cheese, bread and eggs at the resort. You'll have good bfast for cheaper everyday. It's not gourmet but it won't set you back lots of $ either.

And for lunch you can buy some deli meat from the resort store or they have some options for microwaveable meals (not too healthy or a lot of options but they have some). We've done the deli sandwich and chips during lunch breaks and it wasn't bad at all. We get to rest in our room and save some $. We usually splurge during dinners tho.

 

[bkaz]

We just got back yesterday from a week in a studio at SSR. In the past we had stayed off site in a one or two bedroom with a full kitchen, so I still ordered groceries from Garden Grocer this time...but not as much. Unfortunately we ended up wasting most of what we bought...or bringing it home. The fridge in the studio is small, but COLD!! Most everything we bought froze on the first night...and the fridge was set on a low setting. Water, milk, juice, lunchables, apples, canned fruit...all frozen! The kids still drank the chocolate milk as shakes, and the water was great cold...but the other food was a loss. Either way, we found that with the refillable mugs we headed over to the food court area for drinks and muffins for breakfast...ate lunch in the parks...and dinner was either in the food court or at DTD. We did however use all of our snacks, granola bars, fruit chews, etc. that we bought to take to the parks. As far as the dining plan...I kept track of what we spent and we spent less than the $100 it would have cost per day for the 4 of us to get the Quick Service Dining Plan...but we are "fast food" eaters with the 2 kids occasionally sharing one adult meal and we did not do any character meals, etc.

 

[redrosesix]

90% of the time we stay in a studio because there were only 2 of us. Plus we don't do full cooking during our vacations anyways. That being said, I don't like to waste $ on park food on all our meals. So we always bring snacks and buy microwaveable or deli sandwiches fixin.

What I just found recently is (thanks to our kitchen renovation) microwaveable egg container thingy (yeah, really technical right? ).

Basically you need 3 or 4 things:
Eggs, microwaveable bacon (optional), cheese and bread of some kind (english muffin or just regular sandwich bread works as well).
First you microwave the bacon. Then you beat the 1 or 2 eggs in the container with the microwaved bacon (or you can leave the bacon out also, up to you) and cook it for about 1 min.
Then you make a sandwich out of the cooked egg/bacon, cheese and bread. VOILA! Almost like egg mcmuffin but cheaper

You can bring the egg cooker and bacon from home (there are 15 slices in a box - you probably only need 2 to 3 slices per sandwich) and buy the cheese, bread and eggs at the resort. You'll have good bfast for cheaper everyday. It's not gourmet but it won't set you back lots of $ either.

And for lunch you can buy some deli meat from the resort store or they have some options for microwaveable meals (not too healthy or a lot of options but they have some). We've done the deli sandwich and chips during lunch breaks and it wasn't bad at all. We get to rest in our room and save some $. We usually splurge during dinners tho.

My DH would love your Egg McMuffins, and he is the type to eat breakfast in his PJs so he will probably steal your recipe!

We have an RV and are seasonal campers - it gets pretty hot in the summer so I try not to use the stove too much -- the AC is pretty noisy. There are definitely a lot of great meals that you can do in the microwave, and some (like scrambled eggs) are actually better done in the microwave. We make sloppy joes, rice dishes, etc. but also splurge on the gourmet frozen dishes like meatballs and stuffed potato skins. Great things available, even if its just side dishes to add to a steak you cook on the BBQ.

We always keep snacks in our hotel rooms, regardless of where we stay, because it's so much more convenient if somebody wants a midnight snack.

 

[cseca]

My DH would love your Egg McMuffins, and he is the type to eat breakfast in his PJs so he will probably steal your recipe!

Steal away
I had it this morning and I didn't even season the egg (I forgot to leave salt and pepper out of the boxes for cooking), it was still good.
You can also buy an egg poacher or egg boiler for the microwave if you prefer your egg sunny side up or boiled. I only bought the scrambler container. I'm definitely bringing this gadget to disney on our next trip.

 

[CarolA]

I find the DDP is too much food of so so quality.

I don't cook much but I have breakfast and snacks. I may go offsite or do a few sitdowns to fill in, but generally... it's just a mix of things.

 

[JamesF408]

Hello! For those of you who stay in a studio, do you just do the DDP, or are you able to bring food and not eat out? If you don't do the DDP, how do you do it and what do you bring? Since the studios don't have full kitchen, I can't think of any food solutions other than microwavable burritos. Thanks for your advice!!

Hi Raivyn,
I would just do DDP. My wife and I usually do the DDP because of the small fridge. Can't store much. We do utilize the fridge and microwave for leftovers that we didn't eat.

But DDP is about $37 a day per person and keeps you satisfied all day.