Need some DVC food/money saving advice!

[Ariel8676]

We are a family of six..we eat in our room for breakfast and dinner and pack lunch to bring to the parks. At the store we get eggs, english muffins, ceareal, frozen waffles, butter, milk and OJ for breakfast (or anytime really lol). We go to Publix because my spoiled kids will only eat Boars Head cold cuts lol so we get rolls or bread and some things from the deli + mayo and mustard. We also make a bunch of breaded chicken cutlets and we can have chicken parm, or make chicken wraps or sandwiches for dinner or lunch in the parks. We buy pasta and jar sauce (my kids can deal with jar stuff for a week lol), everything to make tacos, frozen pizza etc. Then we get a couple cases of bottled water and lots of grapes, bananas and apples..good to eat at the parks. It normally costs us somewhere around $200 (little more maybe) for the whole week...

 

[HannaBelle]

I have not done this at WDW, but I have done it for other time share vacations where we had a full kitchen.

I prepared meals at home and frozen them to take with us. Lasagna, meatloaf, spaghetti sauce with meat, smoked ribs, taco meat or fajita meat, mac and cheese casserole…whatever sounds good. I put them in disposable pans and then pack them in a suitcase.

Then, I pair them with fresh produce (or frozen) to make quick meals. I will pre-cook bacon for quick breakfasts and freeze it as well. Scrambled eggs just take a few minutes to make. We just make a grocery run after checking in. You could have garden grocer deliver for you.

 

[rutgers1]

I am loving this thread! Thank you for all of the well thought out replies.

I am thinking of making a list of all of the counter service places where you can sit and get somewhat of a "table service" feel. There are some places that feel like a low budget counter service, but we have been to other places where, aside from waiting for our food, we feel like we got a bit of an upgraded experience for a cheaper price.

Wolfgang Puck's sounds like it would fit my criteria, as does Columbia Harbour House. Any suggestions?

 

[bigtony777]

As several have already stated, rent a car for one day. Look at prices from the airport and dropping off near downtown Disney or the swan. I can usually get a one day rental for under $40. I prefer to be able to pick my own food and would save money as well.

We also eat breakfast each morning in the room or while waiting on the bus. Cereal, bagels, granola bars are good options. We will often go to a breakfast buffet right at the end of breakfast hours and are really eating lunch. The last few trips we have used the grills at the resort and grilled chicken, steak, hot dogs. You can check out all needed grilling utensils at Community center for free. You will need to buy charcoal.

 

[Katie10]

We just got back from a 8 night trip with 7 adults and as with all our trips we pack some of the lighter weight foods such as cereal, coffee, mac and cheese, bagels in our suit cases. We also go to our local grocery store and get cold cuts for the week that I pack in a small soft sided cooler or lunch box and put in our carry on (we only have a 2 1/2 hour flight and if our room is not ready when we arrive bell services puts the cooler in a fridge for us). We do a big grocery shop while there and usually do spaghetti and meat balls (store bought kind), using left over meatballs for subs the next day for lunch or dinner, buy burger to make burgers one night and taco's another, chicken with a dry rub or shake and bake and a big salad using left overs to make a big salad with chicken in it the next day. Everything I make is simple and can incorporate to another meal. We eat breakfast in almost everyday and one other meal depending where we are. We have saved so much money by eating in and with my girls they actually prefer it. Also I pack sandwich bags so if we decide we want to pack a sandwich for the park we can and I bring the big freezer bags to store the left overs since the containers in the room are limited

Ok so I've never personally done this but I read it online. I was thinking of bringing our own lunch meats from home in a carry on cooler bag. I know they don't allow you to bring freezer packs or frozen water, but, someone wrote that they use frozen vegetables to keep their foods cold. Its a small tip, but, I was so excited to hear it!

 

[bearbear]

We usually have groceries deliveries. I also pack Mac and cheese cups. My girls love them. We also do whispering canyon for a late lunch.
We do pack breakfast items and lots of snacks.
We are going for 2 weeks the end of August beginning of September. we have to curb our spending also.

 

[Halle]

Hello Everyone............Our family of 4 became a family of 5 with the addition of a 10 year old foster child. He will be with us for our upcoming trip in August. While we normally watch our expenses when visiting Disney, this will be even more important this year with 3 growing/hungry boys.

Here are our details:
1) GROUP: Mom, Dad, 3 boys ages 15, 14, and 10 (all considered "adults" by Disney Dining)
2) DURATION: It is a 2 week trip.
3) LODGING: For week 1, we are staying in a 2BR villa at AKV. For week 2, we are staying in a 1BR at OKW.
4) MONEY SITUATION: This could be the trip that breaks the bank. We need to be creative. We don't have to pinch every last penny, but we need to limit the expensive dinners.

Questions:
*** Will we definitely have access to large pots (for cooking pasta) and baking pans in the 1BR and 2BR villas?
*** Do you have any in-village food suggestions?
*** Any suggestions for places we can go to within the parks and Downtown Disney where we can get the "eating out" experience while still keeping costs down?

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Call housekeeping and they will bring you large pots for pasta, we have done this many times. The pots were not the same brand that was stocked in the room (they were a better brand), I think they may have been left behind by other guests. We also always request and additional toaster.

 

[Sleepy425]

I mentioned this in the other foster parent thread, but wanted to make sure you saw it. Case workers want the kids to be treated like family and included in things (and don't want to have to find respite homes), so if you ask there may be resources to help you pay for his expenses. Not all of them, but every bit helps.
I feel guilty asking for extra money for my foster kids (they are only 15 months so our Disney trip won't be any more expensive in regards to flights or tickets so I did not for this trip), but our support worker always tells us, "that's what it is there for! Take advantage of it!" We got into foster care to help the kids. Any pay, or extra allowances, they give us I consider their way of saying, "sorry our agency sucks to deal with and you waited 6 weeks for a simple form to be filled out when we expect yours to always be on our desk within a few days."

 

[Dean]

Disney is expensive, esp for 5 people for 2 weeks. The best defense against breaking the budget is to plan. The more you can do in the rooms and grilling out at the resorts, the less you'll spend. But you'll need to plan those meals to have what you need and avoid special trips for individual items. When flying to places that are more expensive or even where we just want to make sure what we need/want, we take as much as we can with us rather than buying there. It saves time and money assuming it doesn't make you spend more on luggage with the airlines. Otherwise I'd agree with breakfast in the room and a late lunch out then snacks or a light dinner. Counter service or even just appetizers can often be a good choice. It's likely the teens are big eaters but you and your spouse may not be and the 10 y/o might prefer kids meals. Counter service will be cheaper than TS, lunch will frequently be cheaper than dinner and non buffet's are often cheaper than buffet's overall if you make choices to limit costs also such as water, no dessert's, cheaper or split entree's, etc. If any in the group are willing to share, there are some meals that are much larger than others such as the combo plate (dinner only) at Cosmic Ray's, Flame tree if it's open by then (not sure the timetable) and at several of the places with a large counter service such as the value locations or PO. Renting a car and eating off site will likely be cheaper overall as well but might or might not be worth it.

As you've described them (appreciative, reasonable), I doubt they'll cause an issue. But ever how you decide to approach it, I'd have a sit down with them and go over all of the parameters so everyone is on the same page and so that everyone is comfortable when the meal choices are made. It's unlikely the DP will work for this exact situation but if you did want to splurge a little here and there, there's a chance the DP would work by getting it for one week but not the other. It likely wouldn't save you money but might allow you to do some things that otherwise wouldn't fit into the budget. I'd also suggest you go over the menu's with them for the TS places you consider to make sure there's something that fits for each. For example, when we get the DP we're often getting full use of it the first and last day and often using credits for signatures for dinner and/or doing shorter stays. So we may not have enough credits for a full meal for everyone every meal otherwise. We'll often cover one meal with appy between couple's with the DP (often dlx) and let our adult children or others cover any additional charges. But this approach fits our normal patterns anyway so it's not a big deal for us.

 

[jo-jo]

I have not done this at WDW, but I have done it for other time share vacations where we had a full kitchen.

I prepared meals at home and frozen them to take with us. Lasagna, meatloaf, spaghetti sauce with meat, smoked ribs, taco meat or fajita meat, mac and cheese casserole…whatever sounds good. I put them in disposable pans and then pack them in a suitcase.

This sounds good, but I'd be afraid if it got lost. How do you wrap it? Will it be a drippy mess if the suitcase doesn't show up until the next day? I have a vacuum sealer, maybe for something like meat sauce, I'd double seal it.

I have taken a few things down just for the 2 of us. Brown and serve sausage, shelf stable bacon, cheese, butter, cream cheese. In a small box, in a small cooler (like for a casserole), wrapped in my bathrobe. I always hope if anything goes wrong it won't be an issue with someone's else luggage.

But if you're flying and baggage fees aren't an issue, fill a suitcase with mac and cheese, boxes of cereal, snacks, etc. Even if you went shopping on your own or use a shopping service, bringing those items means less things you need to get there.

 

[Nanajo1]

We fly Southwest. So we have two bags each. We fill one with insulated coolers. These hold cold cuts, baby carrots and the like. The other has cereal,English muffins Mac n cheese etc. We double bag items that could leak,like jelly,mustard,mayo. It can be done. Remember to ask about a DVC discount if you buy snacks at the resort or shops in the parks. If fact ask about discounts wherever you are.

 

[HannaBelle]

This sounds good, but I'd be afraid if it got lost. How do you wrap it? Will it be a drippy mess if the suitcase doesn't show up until the next day? I have a vacuum sealer, maybe for something like meat sauce, I'd double seal it.

I have taken a few things down just for the 2 of us. Brown and serve sausage, shelf stable bacon, cheese, butter, cream cheese. In a small box, in a small cooler (like for a casserole), wrapped in my bathrobe. I always hope if anything goes wrong it won't be an issue with someone's else luggage.

But if you're flying and baggage fees aren't an issue, fill a suitcase with mac and cheese, boxes of cereal, snacks, etc. Even if you went shopping on your own or use a shopping service, bringing those items means less things you need to get there.

I just wrap in foil and then bag in ziplocs. It does not have a chance to thaw/melt or get drippy. Maybe you could wrap in some old rags/towels if you are worried about it? The bathrobe is a great suggestion!

 

[jo-jo]

I just wrap in foil and then bag in ziplocs. It does not have a chance to thaw/melt or get drippy. Maybe you could wrap in some old rags/towels if you are worried about it? The bathrobe is a great suggestion!

I love taking my bathrobe on trips, the towels just don't do the job. Especially with BLT having no sheers.

 

[eliza61]

Hello Everyone............Our family of 4 became a family of 5 with the addition of a 10 year old foster child. He will be with us for our upcoming trip in August. While we normally watch our expenses when visiting Disney, this will be even more important this year with 3 growing/hungry boys.

Here are our details:
1) GROUP: Mom, Dad, 3 boys ages 15, 14, and 10 (all considered "adults" by Disney Dining)
2) DURATION: It is a 2 week trip.
3) LODGING: For week 1, we are staying in a 2BR villa at AKV. For week 2, we are staying in a 1BR at OKW.
4) MONEY SITUATION: This could be the trip that breaks the bank. We need to be creative. We don't have to pinch every last penny, but we need to limit the expensive dinners.

Questions:
*** Will we definitely have access to large pots (for cooking pasta) and baking pans in the 1BR and 2BR villas?
*** Do you have any in-village food suggestions?
*** Any suggestions for places we can go to within the parks and Downtown Disney where we can get the "eating out" experience while still keeping costs down?

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

One thing we do that cuts down on our food budget. There is an Ihop and Perkins pancake place at the crossroads right by dtd. My family likes breakfast at Ihop we can easily get a good breakfast for 8-9 bucks per person. Then we generally don't have a big lunch and eat an early dinner.

Also by the crossroads there is a really decent pizza place (sorry can't remember the name of it). we've had 2 large pizza's and drinks for 4 for a decent price. I have all guys in my clan so they ate like adults since they were 6 yo.

 

[Lisa75]

Just a quick note that at AKV Kidani, I had to call Housekeeping to ask for a baking sheet and a mixer. They have them. Just had to call though.