Past Windsor Hills guests-How much did you actually use your kitchen?

[hcmommy]

One of the reasons I booked our vacation home at WH was because I thought we would save a lot of money on food by being able to cook, have snacks, etc. But as I plan our park days I wonder how much we will even be there to cook or how often we will. My kids will be 21 mo. and 3.5 when we go and we are going over 9 mo. from now so I am not sure if they will be good stroller nappers then or need to go back to the resort to nap. Anyway, what were your experiences? Did you cook? Make sandwiches? Just have breakfast at the condo and that's it?

 

[sympatico]

When our sons and their families went they usually had breakfast at the house before heading to the parks. It was easy for the little kids to eat breakfast in their pjs and then get cleaned up to go for the day. The DILs also packed sandwiches and snacks to take to the parks. A few of the days we came home around 1pm for a rest and went back around 4pm. Some of the days we made lunch at the house also. Even the days that we stayed to the park all day we usually got the kids supper meal at the house. (They're not good restaurant eaters). So even if you don't get big meals, it's still good for breakfast, snacks and quick meals, especially in the evening.
It gives you a break from restaurant food all the time.

 

[MEredhead]

We just got back from Windsor Hills last week and this is the one area I really struggled with during our visit. As you mentioned I wanted to take advantage of the kitchen and try to eat as many meals at the villa as possible. I didnt want to lug around sandwiches so I just packed snacks. I found we could do breakfast and either lunch or dinner at the villa but not both. It was the one item I found hard to juggle and didnt feel like i saved any money eating at the villa - so much so that I will stay onsite next time if we are only coming to spend time at Disney. I loved our villa (and would recommend it to anyone) but I just find it easier to stay onsite and have the dining plan.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We used the kitchen for breakfast...frozen waffles, english muffins, cereal etc and then the days we took breaks we ate an early dinner at the condo before heading to back to the parks and for late night snacks. We saved money and it really helped our digestives systems stay intact-lol. We kept fresh fruit, raw veggies, yogurt, cream cheese and lunchmeat and cheese as well as drinks stocked in the fridge for the trip. Even though we didn't plan to make many sandwiches, we did as my kids were pretty sick of Disney food after about 4 days of the parks. Plus then if they ate something healthy at the condo they got to indulge in a special snack or 2 at the parks each day...no fighting with them to eat healthy food at the parks.

 

[Tiffa]

We have rented a house in Rolling Hills and used our kitchen alot because of our pickey eaters, spagetti was usually a must, chicken nuggets and hamburgers I would rather make them then spend big bucks buying them and then not wanting to eat them. Cook alot of breakfast eggs, toast, cereal I really want to rent a grill this year!!

 

[Ellwood]

We stayed a few years ago during Thanksgiving week. We had a big breakfast every morning. That kept us full for a while, and helped eliminate the need for snacks.

For Thanksgiving day, we invited some of my relatives who lived in Florida over, and cooked a big traditional meal, complete with turkey and all the trimmings. It was wonderful.

I absolutely love renting the vacation homes during the Disney vacations. Having so much room is great, and the kids love having their own pool and hot tub to play in. I don't think I would ever stay in a hotel room, for Disney, again.

 

[btcrane]

We didn't use our kitchen for every meal, but we used it enough that we definitely saved money over staying in a hotel room and forking out $50 every time the 5 of us ate breakfast at the food court. As others have said, we also used it for snacks and preparing food to take to the parks. We always plan one or two "off" days, away from the parks to rejuvenate (this is for DH) and we make a lot of use of the kitchen on those days. Definitely worth it to us.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

mistake

 

[Brian Noble]

Our daily "schedule" is pretty much the same in any unit with a kitchen, home or condo, onsite or off.

We get up early enough to have a full breakfast and make rope drop. This means scrambled eggs, toaster waffles, pre-cut fruit, etc. I'll either buy ready-to-eat bacon, or make up a batch the night before and reheat in the morning to keep things simple. And, good coffee. There has to be good coffee.

Lunch is almost always in a park.

Some days we'll stay in the park until mid-afternoon, in which case dinner is often back at the unit, often something simple---frozen pizza, pasta, hot dogs, etc. Sometimes this will be takeout instead. Other days we'll take a mid-day break and return to the park---on those days, we usually have dinner in the park, but might grab a quick bite before we go.

We also use it a lot for snacks, etc.

 

[two*little*birds]

We typically had breakfast at home most mornings.

We had the odd lunch at home, but that was only twice I think and both times it was take-out.

We also did a few take-out dinner at home.

So yes, we found the kitchen very useful!

 

[cey]

We consider a kitchen with a full size fridge, stove and microwave an absolute must when we travel. Last year, our group of 8 ate breakfast every morning, yogurt, cereal, fruit, eggs, muffins etc. and packed homemade submarine sandwiches, pasta salad, trail mix and fruit for lunch at the parks. The great thing about WH is that you can go back to your villa in the pm, have a swim, eat an early supper, spaghetti, steak, burgers, chicken( loved the BBQ) and then go back to the parks or spend the evening shopping at the various outlet malls!

We didn't mind sharing meal prep or loading the dishwasher, when we realized how much money we were saving and were enjoying tasty fresh cooked food. I agree about the counter food selection getting old. Even the kids in our party preferred the lunch we brought from home. No delays standing in food lineups meant they could enjoy more rides!

We also froze bottled water and brought it to the parks. It acted like cold packs and thawed by lunch time.

 

[disneyohbear]

We stayed at Windsor Hills last year and enjoyed having the kitchen. Like others it allowed us to do breakfast before heading to the parks. It also gave us a place to reheat leftovers from a dinner or take dinner to eat after the day at the park. We didn't really cook in the kitchen as we had very park intensive days. I think its worth it just for the savings in breakfast and being able to freeze bottled water. Having a full size fridge with our family is always helpful.

We have stayed both on and off site with more offsite because it is less expensive for us and offers more space for us to spread out. If you think you might use the kitchen I say go for it. Its always worth trying something once.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We have stayed at WH 3 times. We usually just eat breakfast there - not much else.

Sometimes we will get a take out - or perhaps have a snack there if we are round the pool.

We stay there because it is near to WDW & we love the extra space - and laundry facilities - so we don't in theory have to take as much

 

[dragitoff]

I've wondered this same thing. We've always stayed onsite, but since we're going with 2 other families (12 people total), we found the rental houses to be much more economical. My wife has jokingly (although I think there was seriousness to it) said she is not cooking at all while we're on vacation so our plans were to eat breakfast at the house. We all usually eat cereal or breakfast bars for breakfast. We'll be in the parks each day for lunch and most of the time for dinner, but should we leave the parks early enough, we'll just pick something up at a restaurant and bring it back to the house to eat. Oddly enough, you can get a decent dinner at a sit down restaurant for about the same price as counter service food at the parks. I love some of the Disney restaurants, but let's be honest, counter food isn't as good as most sit down restaurants.

Whatever makes it easiest and most affordable for your family is what you should do. You are on vacation! Enjoy your trip!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We stayed at Windsor Hills for four weeks. We ate breakfast there all but 3 days. We only used it for a few lunches but but great use out of it for dinner. We got sick of eating out fairly quickly. And after a full day at the park, it so much nicer to go and relax back at the villa and have something easy for dinner. ie: salad, spaghetti etc. Well worth it for us. Its really expensive eating out with a family all the time.

 

[jmontori]

We stayed at a town home in in November and found it quite useful. Great for breakfasts and coffee or if we picked up someting on the way home from the parks.

We're actually staying again at the the same town home in April since we loved the home and with two kids will be "off siters" from here on out.

 

[ckoncurat]

We ate breakfast and some dinner there, but i wish we want spent more time. Windsor hills has an awesome pool and a really cute playground- little kids like your will really enjoy it.

 

[TheLadyTremain]

I stayed at Windsor Hills in 2005 (Ok, maybe it was Windsor Palms, I really can't remember ) My sister and her family rented a condo for 10 days and I tagged along for a few days. We ate breakfast every day in the condo. Breakfasts ranged from cereal to egg sandwiches. We also packed a lunch each day for the park. We didn't come home during the day and ate dinner in the park (all counter service). All groceries were purchased at a Super Walmart. It definitely saved some money!

 

[twob4him]

All of these posts are making me feel much better! My last three trips to Disney included the meal plan...the regular one. I cannot eat all of that food. And eating in restaurant after restaurant doesnt agree with me...if you kwim?! So our next trip is offsite at WH. I am hoping the mix of "homecooked" and maybe a few Disney meals will work out better!

 

[Cruz91]

We always use the kitchen for breakfasts every day (except days we went to character breakfast), use it to pack a lunch for most days, and use it for dinner about 1/2 the days. It comes in very handy. Of course saving money is great, but it's also about not feeling weighted down by heavy meals.