I would tend to think a hot pot wouldn't be too big a deal. It can heat up water hotter than could be done in a coffe maker, and depending on the size, heat more water.
Here are some food suggestions. I know when we are tired, i don't even want to have to make a trip to a food court!
ramen style cup o noodles.
there are many similiar style soups/potatoes/pastas that you just add water to. I find mine at Trader Joes.
Easy mac is usually cooked in hot water (rather than hot water being poured over it) A hot pot can accomplish this.
You can use peanut butter as a dip, and slice and dip apple slices and dip pretzels.
You can bring along mini summer sausages, and slice and eat with crackers. (also sold at Trader Joes) If you have a Hickory Farms near you, or a similiar place, they sell things like summer sausage, cheese spreads, etc.....usually in very small packaging, so you could eat in one sitting. (I may not mind keeping drinks cold in a cooler, but not cheese and meat and so on) In fact, Hickory Farms has a website, you could order food from there!
If you're willing to run out to the food court, you could bring along a can opener for things like Spaghettios, Chef Boy R Dee and so on (I won't touch it, but my kids LOVE it)
There are shelf stable dinners (like frozen meals, but are vacuum sealed) that are warmed up in the microwave.
Another option, if you're trying to keep expenses down......have someone make a quick run to the store for a deli meal from there. I assume most grocery stores in Orlando have a deli. We can buy a whole rotisserie chicken, side dish and rolls for $6 or $7 dollars. Some also have ready to eat ribs, with coleslaw and rolls would be a meal, too. One local market has Chinese food!In my mind, bringing in something like that isn't much different than ordering a pizza to your room. (I'm sure someone on this board knows what local stores are nearby and what they might offer)
Breakfast is easy, at least for me. I bring along instant oatmeal, poptarts (yes, they are horribly unhealthy, but are a great bribe when trying to wake sleepy children, who never get them the rest of the year!), juice boxes. I also buy the instant flavored coffees, because I find hotel coffee horrible!
If I were planning on eating some meals in my room, and had my car, I'd throw in some paper plates and cups and plastic utensils and napkins.
I tend to walk the middle of the road. I don;t think eating in the room is a big deal, nor do I think using a hot pot is, but bringing a microwave, toaster oven or crock pot would be (that's just MHO)
I don't think it would be a half bad idea to have two topics pinned to the top of the budget board...one might be easy things to have in hotel rooms and another might be easy meals to fix when you are staying somwhere with a kitchen (these topics seem to come up on the board on a regular basis, and with the search function frequently not operating, it can be hard to find all the posts) Again, JMHO
Julia
