Need Breakfast in Rm ideas to save $$

[bop28]

Saving money by eating breakfast in your hotel room seems like a great way to save money and time. We are staying at the Courtyard in DTD, and will have an opportunity for a quick stop at a grocery store before getting to our Hotel. I really need some ideas for breakfast items and ways to keep them cold if necessary, without the cost of renting a refrigerator. I must have brain lock, because I can't think of anything creative beyond granola bars! Thanks so much!

 

[barbeml]

Since we now drive down from NJ, we have lightweight (and disposable) foam coolers with us for the lunch and snacks we bring in the car. I use four ice packs for trip down, and then replenish with ice in zip-locs once we are at our resort. For in-room breakfasts this year, I am bringing yogurt smoothies (Dannon's new lo-cal ones are awesome) and homemade muffins, plus fruit cups and juice boxes. We are probably going to bring our press pot and make Kona coffee in our room too.

We will be doing in-room breakfasts to avoid the restaurant overload we experience when we try to do too many big meals, but it is also a huge money saver. We will probably only do 3 restaurant breakfasts this time.

We get our foam coolers with Omaha Steaks deliveries. Once we are done with them, they can be tossed in the trash. They really work well, and I think you can find cheap ones just about anywhere.

Good luck!

 

[crusoe2]

Either take along a collapsible cooler or pick up a cheap styrofoam cooler when you make your grocery stop. A cooler has always worked just fine for us and most hotels have free ice machines.

Some food ideas:

bagels, pita bread or cinnamon raisin bread spread with plain or flavored cream cheese (I esp. like honey nut cream cheese on pita bread)

a box full of goodies from the groc. store bakery (something we don't often buy at home) or pre-packaged goodies like donuts, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and danishes

if you have a coffee maker in the room use it to heat water for instant grits or oatmeal

the old standbys - cold cereal and milk, poptarts

And you can round out any of these meals with things like fruit and cheese. Hope this helps.

 

[Kirby]

I know that you are not staying at a Disney resort but maybe the Courtyard has a microwave available for guest use. We stayed at POR last year and my husband and son used the microwave almost every day because they liked their bear claw pastries warm. Other items we carried with us were:

cereal
milk
cookies
soft drinks
popcorn (microwave)
candy
gum
peanut butter/cheese crackers
lunchmeat
bread
condiments
pop tarts
chips
pretzels
water

The non breakfast items really came in handy when we were just too tired to leave the room in the evening to go out to eat. Also, providing our own cokes in the room was much cheaper than buying them out of a machine. Ditto for the candy when we got a sweet tooth. The parks don't sell gum either.

 

[worm761]

my DS(7) loves those new cereal bars. i buy them for morning trips when there isnt time to get him breakfast.

 

[videogal1]

I have always cooked up a loaf of (sturdy) sliced bread into French toast and then frozen the slices laid out on a cookie sheet so they don't stick together. When frozen through I then package them up (frozen) into either a freezer bag or a plastic bread -shaped container. If you're afraid they'll thaw and get "funny" before you eat them, package them in a freezer bag within another container that you can fill with water and freeze...sort of French toast in its own bag under ice...Then, when ready, thaw as much of the stack as you like, pop the slices apart, and cook in a toaster or microwave. I avoid the inevitable syrup in the luggage disaster by topping the toast with cinnamon/sugar/butter, or powdered sugar/lemon juice/butter. Those little condiment containers of butter/ jam /honey/jelly, etc. rarely leak and can be found at many stores. Yummmm. Hard boiled eggs, if cooked fresh from the store and refrigerated immediately, can survive in an ice-filled bag until you get to another refrig. or a next-day breakfast. I used to take iced hard boiled eggs on camping trips...very portable...don't let'em get warm, tho. If you really want to get fancy, you can cook and freeze bacon slices to go with microwaved French toast. Do the bacon bag under ice, to keep it safe...Air travel is so quick that stuff rarely has time to thaw.
As previously mentioned, instant oatmeal is quick, easy, and very portable. Just add hot water.

 

[KJMAX1]

We bring oatmeal which you can make hot water from the coffee pot, and those new Uncrustables. I think they are in the freezer section, but you dont have to freeze them. They are pita bread styled bread, although its white bread, stuff with PBandJ.. No mess, no creating a sandwich.

 

[Muffy]

You can request a coffee maker from housekeeping if one doesn't come with your room. Then you can use the hot water to make all kinds of things (easy mac, oatmeal, soup) It is very convienent to have in your room for times that you are to tired to go out!

 

[Musky]

Toaster scrambles (I think they're made by Pillsbury) and Hot Pockets with egg and cheese are favorites in my family, along with homemade muffins and fruit. Great Starts breakfast entrees are good, too - not cheap or healthy, but good. The precooked bacon that they've recently come out with is another idea. If you have access to a microwave you could serve this with microwave pancakes. A cooler is definitely the way to go, but if possible try to get one with a drain on the bottom so you can just drain the water out every day and replace the ice without having to take all your food out.

Musky

 

[tink2dw]

Cereal and milk
apples,bananna's sliced and added to bagels and creme cheese
granola bars
gogurt- yogurt in a tube ready for travel
Fruit cups
pop tarts - chocolate ones are softer and can be eaten out of the package.
Special K cereal bars w/dryed strawberries or blueberries
nuts
seeds-shelled and unsalted
dryed fruit
string cheese
Cereal and milk
juice drinks
muffins
donuts

 

[LoriZH]

The new yogurt bars are great, they are made by nutragrain and they also have nutragrain mini's with and without yogurt topping, very good.

Everyone else gave you some great ideas.

 

[bop28]

Thank you all very much for offering these ideas. I think I must be suffering "planners burnout" because I just couldn't think of anything without help!

 

[Mickey527]

I sometimes do cooking in my room too, although I ignore posts by people who make rude comments.
I use one of those little wire hoop water heaters. You put the immersion coil into a cup of water and it heats it up in seconds.
When I drive I bring a toaster oven and a plug in cooler too.
I don't cook much in the room, but it does come in handy for Bfst, and snacks later in the evening.
I pick up those stuffed bread appetizers and other little snack type foods. THey cook up great in the toaster oven and it is nice to sit in the room and have something to nibble on while watching tv before bed. Sometimes you just need time to chill out and take self time instead of overdoing the park time.
Now for the safety part.
Every hotel I have ever stayed in has metal doors. I picked up some of those magnet sheets that you can put through your computer. I made some BIG reminder magnets and I always put them on the door of the room. They remind me to unplug the electrical appliances I might have left in. I don't like to leave them plugged in even if they are shut off.
I see these magnets before I open the door to leave the room and they have helped so far.
All you who put down those of us who cook in the room please take notice, but don't flame me. Peggie

 

[viluvsdisney]

We get a cooler to store milk and for breakfast we have plain ol' Cheerios with bananas! Yum!!

 

[Bethel]

I have found that fig newtons (the individual ones work well) make a great breakfast. Fast, doesn't melt or crush easily, and is sweet without being candy.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says......................................Buy a $10 hot pot. It holds about two quarts, and can do great things!
Will take a family size can of Campbells chiken noodle soup, that will serve up to six.
Just heat up one quart of water and you have more than enough for two cup o noodles.

I never thought this would work , but it did. If you have a can of raviolli,and have no way to cook it, no coffee maker, no hot pot, no micro etc. This takes a long time but it does work.
Fill a sink with the hottest water you can get, every ten minutes drain the water and refill with hot water. In 40 to 60 minutes, that can will will be really hot! Same thing goes for a can of stew, or chili. The can will be hot, the food will be warm, but where else can you get warm food, with no delivery, no micro, no oven etc.
This really works. It works great on small 7/or 8 ounce cans as they heat up much faster.

 

[Mic]

We usually take a small toaster for bagels and poptarts, and cereal and milk. I purchase fruit when I get to Florida. A little tradition I started about a year ago was to bring the "Magix" cereal to WDW for the kids to eat while on vacation. I never buy it for home, just on trips to WDW, so it seems special(and it's loaded with sugar!). Don't forget the bowls and spoons...we have before!

 

[Cindy B]

Lets see I am just looking over our food for our trip..

We got those small individual boces of cereal for the kids (yes, we don't do those at home)

We also got rice crispy treats, some cheese/wheat crackers, some Magix cookies, Kim Possible coolers, fruit snacks, granola bars...

We will be buying milk and yogurt and some alcoholic beverages when we are down there.