No microwave- have cooler- any thoughts on lunches?

[bratray]

hello

staying at AKL- of course no microwave but i do have a cooler- we are doing a couple of lunches but mostly dinners in WDW- i need some ideas on stuff to have for lunch- kids will get real tired real quick of PB & Jelly! <lol>

thanks for any tips

lisa

 

[LKS]

We took PB&J of course (get that squeeze style jelly!), but also: Turkey lunch meat and mayo, mini carrots and ranch dressing for dip, chips and salsa, regular chips, small yogurts, dole fruit cups and individual applesauces. We also had cereal, milk and juice for breakfast and cookies, fruit roll-ups and granola bars for snacks. But my kids really never tire of PB&J and we had plenty of ice cream and other snacks in the parks too. We ate all but one breakfast in the room, and most lunches in the room. All of this fit in one large cooler, one dishpack-sized cardboard box and one milk crate. We did look like the Beverly Hillbillies when we unloaded the van, but it was worth it.

I would think you could take those tuna salad kits they sell in the store, but I'm the only one in my family who would eat tuna. There's also pimiento cheese, other lunch meat etc...

Good luck.

 

[bigsis1970]

I have heard you can use the Microwave in the Mara..
for Our trip - coming up very soon - i am bringing some Easy mac and bowls/ fruit snanks/ granola bars/ cereal/ kids mini bowls
( microwave cups of ravoli/chicken soups) some pasta bowls - add water and microwave . ( my kids won't do PB ) and we are also going to make a groc stop and get some juice boxes /water/
milk/lunchables/ chips and salsa .
Hope this helps some Michelle

 

[DawnL]

What I pack is a little electric pot - you can pick one up for about $10 on sale. Then you get do canned soup, canned Ravioli, etc. I also pack a small toaster with us to make bagels, waffles in the a.m. But we always drive down so packing room isn't an issue. PB & J is always on our list too!!

 

[AprilsZoo]

Cup-O-Noodles!
You can get the "ramen noodle" style and there are other kinds too -- like mac-n-cheese, and creamy noodle, and others. Just about anywhere you can get coffee, you can also get a cup of boiling water.

BTW, if you ever find the cup has cracked, just dump the contents into a bowl (break the dry noodles into pieces if needed), add the water, and cover with a plate, inverted bowl, or plastic wrap.

 

[Muffy]

Bringing a toaster is a great idea. You can toast all kinds of things, bagels, english muffins, toaster pastry, thomases corn muffins (flat ones) and thomases waffles!

 

[MELSMICE]

Even better than a regular toaster is a toaster oven/broiler. We brought one to the Contemporary last year. You can make toasted cheese sandwiches, individual pizzas.

Lunchmeat sandwiches are a great idea for lunch. We went to the counter service restaurant in the CR & got the condiments along with lettuce & tomato for sandwiches. Also, I am also pretty sure you can use the micro in the resort counter service areas.

Are you driving or flying? Getting a styrofoam cooler when you get there or bringing it yourself? If you fly or drive w/ a cooler maybe you could put the toaster or toaster oven inside the cooler if you wanted to bring one.

 

[bratray]

hello

we are flying to disney- i have a cooler that looks like a piece of luggage- it has a collapsable handle and wheels and it is a good size (i just love this cooler) i plan on putting all my non-perishable items in the cooler for the flight down

i have tossed the idea around of bringing a toaster or crock pot- but so afraid it would get broken- and my sometimes "cheapo" DH wouldn't dream of leaving items purchased behind <lol> i will probably bring a coffee maker (hope it doesn't break) as for some strange reason AKL doesn't provide these- go figure -you spend an arm and a leg to stay there and they can't provide a coffee maker!!!! oh well, no matter what food or appliances i have i am going to have a fantastic time!!

thanks everyone for all the great tips!


Lisa

 

[YangYang]

I was told that AKL would supply a coffeemaker. I was told that you needed to call housekeeping and request one. If anybody knows otherwise, please let me know-we leave in less than 48 hours!

Has anyone experienced problems with bringing food, coolers,etc. into the resorts? We have several 12 packs of drinks, a rubbermaid container (large) and boxes of chips and cookies. We are bringing a sandwich maker which is packed in the rubbermaid container. My mother is convinced that we will be thrown out.

 

[simonmunro]

Is it really a money saver to pack actual groceries with napkins, plastic utencils and put yourself thru it all as opposed to just buying a combo meal at a counter service and splitting it? I told hubby I'd consider it if it does save LOTS of money.

 

[MELSMICE]

bratray - I also thought that if you call housekeeping they will send up a coffee maker. Check again before taking one w/ you.

YangYang - we have always brought food, coolers & last April even brought the toaster oven & my parents drove with one of those refrigerator/coolers that you can plug into an outlet or a car. Never a word from anyone. Regardless, I don't think they would kick you out - they would only ask you not to use something.

simonmunro - It is a real money saver having some food in your room. I wouldn't pack napkins or plastic silverware because you can get those items from any counter service restaurant & take them back to your room - that goes for condiments also. You can usually get paper cups & plates from housekeeping. We usually just ask while they are making up the rooms. Last year we actually took some to our room from the counter service restaurant in CR. Even having just breakfast items & things for lunch saves money. Plus, sometimes we don't feel like going to eat - especially for breakfast. It is quicker to let everyone grab something for breakfast & get ready for the day at the same time.

 

[YangYang]

If you have ever traveled with adolescent boys, you will understand taking food with you. We're planning on eating out - that's part of the experience of WDW - but the boys "starve to death" in the mornings waiting on us to get ready and while the adults don't always need a late night snack, the boys will need practically a full meal before bed! We also have two VERY picky eaters so even if we do eat out, they don't always find enough to eat. Having snacks and drinks in the room means that we don't have to trek with them to the food court every time they feel a hunger pang, and we have familiar food for our fussy eaters.

 

[BeckyV]

As DVC members we always carry food. I have two cheap suitcases with wheels that I bought from Kmart. The food packs easily and does not spill out. I also do this for our other timeshares. Easier to carry a suitcase than a lot of bags.

 

[bratray]

hello

hopefully i am wrong about the coffee makers but this is what i read on Debs page:

"Is morning coffee available?
Mara, the quick service restaurant, serves coffee. Be sure to get a refillable mug if you like refills of coffee and soda. There are no coffee makers in any of the rooms."

here is the link http://www.wdwig.com/faq_akl.htm

a sandwich maker sounds like a good idea!

*** okay i was wrong and glad to admit it- AKL does provide coffee makers****

lisa

 

[LKS]

We know we save a fortune eating some of our meals in the room. With three young kids who might eat what they order, or might not, it is wonderful to just make them a pb&j in the room and not have to figure out who needs their own meal, who can share and who can eat from my plate. We often waste food at restaurants. We ate one breakfast at BOMA for about $60 and no one really ate much - they all just wanted to get to the pool. Wish we had cereal that day too.

Oh, and take your own utensils please. It's not going to add any pleasure to your vacation to be skulking around the utensils in the food courts and restaurants trying to decide how many you can abscond with and not be noticed! The plastic stuff and paper plates are really cheap and we take a roll of paper towels instead of napkins.

 

[Magic2000]

We usually drive down to Disney, and of course, always have an ice chest with us. We bring softdrinks and fruit juices for the kids, and we bring snack items and breakfast items - poptarts, donuts, breakfast bars, etc. (Nothing that really has to be cooked) This saves us money for the five of us eating in restaurants for breakfast - but mostly it saves us time! We can eat while we're getting ready. Sometimes, the kids will take their breakfast bar to the park to eat later.

We also usually have chips and cookies for snacks in the room, along with the drinks. We like to take our afternoon break and just relax - kick off the shoes, put the Disney channel on and get our Tip For Today!

For our upcoming trip, I'm going to bake a Banana Nut Bread to bring with us for our breakfast! We can just take a slice with us to the parks, and get a milk there! We usually have lunch and dinner out.

Enjoy your stay!!