Longer stay - tired of restaurants?

[garada3]

For those of you who take longer (10+ days) trips to WDW, do you get tired of the food in the restaurants?

I know that DVC'ers on longer stays take advantage of their kitchen facilities, but we will not be staying in DVC villas.

Just wondering how the longer-trip, hotel-room based visitors feel after 10 days of eating WD food.

And if it matters, DH did not like the dining plan in May of '06 so we will not be purchasing that option.

Thanks in advance - I appreciate your input!

 

[Soubrette]

I'd probably get tired of paying the prices before I got tired of the food.

If I were going to be there that long, I'd almost certainly get something with an efficiency kitchen. Or at least have a car so I could eat off-site.

 

[themudd4]

Can I ask why DH did not like the DDP?

If you are staying onsite...
VALUE RESORT: I would suggest getting in on a fridge swap. Much cheaper than renting from the resort. I suggest swap #2 on the budget boards for the nice fridge and Jennifer is great to deal with!
MOD RESORT: They have mini fridges in them.
DELUXE RESORT: I believe they also have a mini fridge in them.

That wont help you with cooking the meals you may want but it will give you a nice place to keep your items cool.

Personally for us, We adore the DDP...and I think like the PP we would go broke from paying the prices before we would getting tired of eating out. Especially me, since I am the one that does all the cooking. Don't get me wrong...I am not saying eat burgers everyday. The great thing about WDW is the varity, and some of the places offer some good ole home cookin'. Maybe try 50's Prime Time, Boatwrights, Liberty Tree Traven, or something a lil more fun like Mickeys backyard BBQ.

 

[hmp2z]

We definitely get tired of the food options there! At this point, we've been everywhere we want to go, multiple times, and we know where we like to eat. We have a 4-night stay booked in August, and we had the California Grill scheduled twice, because CG, Flying Fish, and V&A's were the only places we wanted to go for dinner.

If you're looking to go off property, I can HIGHLY recommend Roy's on West Sand Lake - it's fantabulous. Here's our review, if you're interested:
http://hpandaw.wordpress.com/2007/06/09/roys-on-west-sand-lake-orlando/

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Amyrlin]

14 days with free dining, several 2 TS meals so we can eat off site for a change.

 

[newharmony]

We stay for 20 nights in the fall (DVC) and 20 nights in the spring (usually ASMo). We do not use DDP but do have the DDE. We do not do any TS because we don't like having to plan our days. We love the adventure of "where are we going to have lunch?" and "where are we going to have dinner?" That's a big part of the fun we have at WDW...we are totally spontaneous. We don't get tired of the food because it is always something different. We do have breakfast in our room. I bring a coffee maker in the spring and also bring/buy bagels, fruit, danish, etc.

 

[bluslag]

We have stayed anywhere from 7 days to 14 days and always have eaten on property. We love every minute of it because we love to walk after dinner and you can walk right out of the restaurant and just keep going. Sometimes it seems a little to planned but it just makes it easier for us. We are part of DVC and the last 2 years we have stayed in a 2-bedroom and enjoy having the big refrig but still never cook. Its nice to have a place to have waters and breakfast item. Last year was the first year we tried the DDP and loved it. We did not buy much from the stores because the plan gives you so much to eat. We have even used some of our snacks for water. Not sure if we are going to use the DDP this year if they change it to much.

 

[BillSears]

I've had those trips when all I wanted for breakfast was a bagel. When I'm really tired of stuffing myself silly. I've learned to stop overindulging and to take a break and eat some small meals.

I don't miss home cooking but I do sometimes get tired of the amount of food.

 

[garada3]

Can I ask why DH did not like the DDP?

We had the DDP plan in May '06. One DS was a 'disney' adult and did not eat $35+ of food each day, our younger two sons did not like the kids options at times and we also has service issues which DH attributes to the DDP. Plus it was a whole lot of food and we felt very tied to our credits and found ourselves eating because we needed to use the credits.

Next time we visit, all three kids will be charged at the adult price and we would just prefer more freedom to spend our food money how and when we want.

I know that everyone won't agree with our reasons and to each, their own

 

[lunalibre]

We did not get the dining plan either, and probably never will. It's just way too much food for us, and even though we ate about one TS each day, we didn't spend enough to make the dining plan worth the money (especially since it would have negated our AAA discount!). DH has digestive problems that make him unable to eat large meals and he has to limit fried food, too.

WRT getting tired of the restaurants, that didn't happen to us during our stay. However, we made it an objective to find as much "real food" (i.e., baked/grilled/roasted main dishes, veggies, and fruit) for meals as possible. I knew which CS places would work for us in each park, and we planned out the dinners. Was it a hassle? Well, yeah. However, that also meant we ate much like we would at home, which meant we really didn't get tired of the food. We were there 11 days, BTW.

 

[Alaska Catdog]

We always seem to stay about 13 nights, we always stay onsite and never rent a car. On our last trip we ordered out, we got some salads and pizza (real Chicago style pizza) it was a nice change. I'm sure there are probably any number of kinds of places that will deliver and it's different enough from WDW food to be palatable even though it's still not home cooked.

 

[Whosemom]

We used to get tired of vacations - eating, sleeping all strange - after a few days ... then we started camping! Eat out if you want eat your own food if you want. YAHOO!! NOw we don't ever want to come home. We go 2.5 weeks somewhere every June and its hard to come home.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Our last 10 visits to WDW have been for 10 days. On 8 of those visits, we were not on the dining plan. The last 2 viists, we were. I will never go back to Disney without the dining plan.

If I were to just eat burgers, chicken strips, pizza or the other main staples at Disney World, I would probably get tired of the food.

First of all, I don't go to Disney World to cook! I want a break from cooking! I cook each and every day and I want somebody else to cook for me while I am on vacation!

We drive to WDW so we are able to bring along some light breakfast items like pop tarts, muffins, etc. We also had room for colas, water and a small, collapsible ice chest that held about 8 or 9 drinks (we usually bring along containers of milk and juice).

For the past two years, we have stayed at the CBR and we had a refrigerator in our room. They also have a nice food court so, on the mornings we wanted something more than a snack for our breakfast, I walked over to the food court and brought breakfast back to the room.

We stop around 11:30 or so for our lunch. I have noticed, over the past several years, that the menus have changed and offer more of a variety. You can still order burgers, pizza and chicken strips but there are also other items such as wraps and salads. The food court style counter service restaurant at Epcot offers a wide variety of foods to choose from too.

Mid-day, we will pick up a quick snack.

We like to try different table service meals for our dinners. This way, we don't feel as if we are eating the same old food every time we have dinner.

I guess, all in all, I don't really tire of the food. I am just so glad to be spending some quality time with my family at WDW!

 

[JohnathanS]

At least one of our trips each year is a long (16-21) day trip, and yes, we get tired of the restaurants. But it's not so much from lack of variety, but simply from having to go "out" to get food for every meal. It's nice to have a fridge and microwave or, even better, a full kitchen so that you can grab stuff without leaving the room. That's one of my favorite perks as a DVC member. I must say, though, that I am a very proficient home cook and even at home I much prefer cooking my meals than going out.

 

[angelmav]

I really enjoyed most of the food in the parks, what I didnt enjoy was paying OOP. I would never stay onsight again without the DDP as the prices are, for the most part, insane. I thought there was enough variety though that you wouldnt tire too quickly from eating onsite.

 

[dizneyrules]

We usually spend 11-14 days on our Florida vacations. Last year was the first year we stayed entirely on site visiting only WDW parks and did not have a car rental. We had the dining plan, which we really liked. However, I think all of us got really tired of the limited selections of CS meals! We are going again this year and staying a shorter time (9 nights). I think this time we are going to split some CS meals - maybe buy two CS breakfasts and 3 CS lunches and split between 5 people. That might eliminate some of the problems we had last time. We have all of our TS ADRs made and hopefully eating a lighter lunch will allow us to eat more at our TS meals.

I do have to say that when we do get home, everyone seems happy to go back to our regular home cooked meals - at least for a while!

Ann Marie

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

We love WDW food. As I've said on many threads, we save ourselves from overindulging and we save a lot of money by sharing most meals.

We love Kona, Jiko, Boma, Bluezoo, Narcoossee's, etc. There are many places that are a little more mature in their tastes and are really enjoyable. There are a few places (V and A's, for example) that we haven't tried yet, but hope to one day soon. There are also great character dining options like Crystal Palace that are really must-do's. Sometimes, we even skip dinner and just get dessert or something light like a salad (Olivia's has great soups and salads). We also like to get a pizza and some drinks and sit outside on the Boardwalk for dinner.

If you do get tired of the food, there are great options that are quite close by. Margaritaville and Tchoup Chop at Universal/Citywalk are great and there are lots of other places nearby as other posters have pointed out. If you don't mind getting away from Disney, rent a car for some dinners away from WDW, but it wouldn't be worth it to me, personally.

Also, does anyone know if you can still get take out delivered to resorts? I remember doing that in the early 90's but I don't know if it's still allowed now that the resorts do pizza delivery, too. That might be a good idea for those who are dined-out.