Thanks for convincing us to eat in our villa!

[Tiger926]

So, we've been back a few weeks now, and we've been degriefing from our trip, as we do each and everytime: what worked, what didn't work, changes, problems and wonderful surprises!

I was going to do a mini dining report, which I don't normally do, but I just haven't felt the desire to do it as our meal experiences were pretty much of the norm. Nothing fantastic at all, with some bad service and subpar food as well.

Hubby and I at first thought it was because we've eaten almost everywhere multiple times, so we attributed it to having BTDT and burn out. We do have a few favourites and must-dos that were still great: Kona Cafe, Marrakesh,Tokyo Dining, and Cape May Cafe! We also added in a few CS places, like Sunshine Seasons and Artisti's Palette that we find ok, and we will do that as well.

We were just discussing our trip with our Disney freak cousins last night, who just returned from DisneyLand, and we all came to the same conclusion - Disney has kept things status quo in the restaurants for too long now, plus subpar service. Add to that surcharges/upcharges, and we now have a much shorter list of restaurants that we will attend next year.

So, we are looking forward to eating more in our villa next year - this will save money too! We always do mid-day breaks, as the stifling summer heat necessitates that, so we will work them into our plans. We actually enjoyed eating in our DVC villa this year for lunch or dinner - have never done that before. Have always eaten breakfast, but we did a lunch and dinner here or there, and it was great!

We won't go off-site, as doing that with smaller kids eats up too much time, plus, last time we did, we got food poisoning, restaurants were way crowded and underwhelming (Bahama Breeze is very overrated, IMHO).

We will still get TIW as we will eat surely eat 1 TS meal per day, so over 11-12 days, this will work out. Plus, we plan our trips to get 2 vacations on our APs and TIW card, so we are covered there!

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for convincing us to eat more in our villa. We liked it a lot! Since we drive our own car, we went grocery shopping (kids loved it as they got to pick out some special treats like ice cream and popcorn), and we get 1 bedroom villas, so we are all set!

Thank so much, Tiger

 

[bobbiwoz]

...
We won't go off-site, as doing that with smaller kids eats up too much time, plus, last time we did, we got food poisoning, restaurants were way crowded and underwhelming (Bahama Breeze is very overrated, IMHO).

...
Thank so much, Tiger

I'm glad you're happy doing your own things in the kitchen. I must admit that I totally agree with what you say here. Well, we didn't get food poisoning, and I'm sorry that you did, but Bahama Breeze is probably my least favorite place to eat, period! Once was enough, but we've gone a couple of times, DH sort of likes it!

Bobbi

 

[eporter66]

We have a few favorite restaurnants that we love (Boma, Artist's Point) and I like a few of the quick food stops (fish & chips in Epcot, Earl of Sandwich) and we are stuck in a routine.

We have stuck to a bit of a routine, so with all the selection we often think we should check more places out. We usually try one or two new places every trip, and then hit an old favorite. Our new favorite was Boma, which we are doing the night of our arrival (in Oct). We are staying in AKV, so it makes for a nice easy day after travelling. We can stop and get groceries, check-in, hit the pool and then dinner for an easy first day. We tried Boma for the first time last year.

I do like some of the quick service shops (Earl of Sandwich, Raglan Road or Rose & Crown/Yorkshire County for Fish and Chips). Our daughter gets a kick out of the Rainforest Cafe' - which is fine for a burger, never had a bad meal there - just nothing spectacular.

We usually eat out three nights, and the rest back at the room. We always start out with breakfast in the room, and then come up with a couple things for dinner. It is easy, saves money, and gives us a break. We often plan the parks around extra magic hours to, so if we can go back to a park that is open late, going back to the room is no big deal.

 

[rentayenta]

Agreed. We were at Disneyland and BBQd twice while staying at the GCV plus ate breakfast in the room daily.

 

[Starr W.]

I'm glad you're happy doing your own things in the kitchen. I must admit that I totally agree with what you say here. Well, we didn't get food poisoning, and I'm sorry that you did, but Bahama Breeze is probably my least favorite place to eat, period! Once was enough, but we've gone a couple of times, DH sort of likes it!

Bobbi

We did BB in January, like you once was enough. Personally I'd rather grab a DTD bus(or walk from SSR) and go over to Earl of Sandwich, WGP express etc.

 

[dlm1017]

I agree with eating in the villa more, thats why I added on so we could stay in a 1br and have the kitchen. We spent way too much on food on our last visit and the meals were not all that great. We also will eat out a few times at our favorites and try something new. We would always eat breakfast in the villa, although it is pop-tarts or donuts and coffee, but with a kitchen we could make a hot breakfast which I think would sustain us a little more than donut/pop-tarts. We usually come back for an afternoon break so we could eat something then.

I do have a question, what do you usually cook for dinner? How do you buy groceries for a week without overbuying? I could buy some lunchmeat or PP & J for lunch, but what do you make for dinner?

 

[ddoconnell]

This is one of the biggest reason we bought DVC! We love, love, love eating "at home". We always do breakfast, and then plan our other meals according to magic hours. As far as what to have and how not to over buy...remember that you are on vacation, so no grand, gourmet meals (unless that is your thing! ) We tend to have spaghetti or other things that are just as easy to make. I know some folks with owners lockers keep crock pots so they can do large roasts, etc....so you can do that if you drive! I would also suggest sandwich stuff and snack stuff too. The kids love getting to choose the special treats for each afternoon!

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[LIFERBABE]

we love to cook! Always have. My boys never liked restaurant food, they have a grandmother that has always prepared meals for them and that's what they were used to.
We also love seafood and steak and that is just slim pickings at WDW. All the food has been downgraded so you spend $100 bucks on pasta and sirloin. We love SSR and for a hundred bucks at Winn Dixie we buy steak shrimp and crab legs salad French bread and eat like kings! All very easy to prepare with minimal prep.
Cooking allows us to own more points and travel when we want how we want and as long as we want. We have stayed at least 14 nights over Christmas for the last 8 years. Our NYE meal each year is seafood on the patio. It's been awesome and I always try to encourage others not to turn their noses up at eating in the villa. I agree it saves time, aggravation, and stress. We can go from dinner to hot tub in less than 30 minutes or whatever else we want to do.
If it's just me or we get a studio then we will get the QSDP.
I'm glad you tried it and had positve results!

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks all! It was great to try lunch and dinner in our villa, as we have only ever eaten breakfast.

We used to really enjoy eating @ Disney, and have done DxDP, regular and DDE/TIW for years, but it's starting to be less enjoyable, for all of the reasons we've all been discussing to death on these boards!

We are glad we tried, and the kids really liked it. Our DD7 is a foodie - she has been to almost all Disney restaurants since 10 months old, and loves to cook, watch the Food Network and eat out. The baby who just turned 3 on our trip, a totally different story! Oh, boy - he is a mover and a shaker! He will sit for certain periods and for certain characters, but he needs to move. It is a big struggle to get him to sit for a whole meal at home. So, we had to compromise. DD was upset and angry at first, but she saw how much fun it was to bake pizza in our room, cook up some chicken and make homemade submarines. She really liked it, so we are now all happy campers!

We will be booking next year's trip at the end of this month, and are hoping to get AKV for 10 nights. We've also been doing crazy split stays, and have enjoyed them, up until this trip, when we had lots of issues, courtesy of Disney/DVC. We are so looking forward to being in 1 room for 10 nights/11 days, and settling in. We can buy all of our groceries, and cook up some great meals. So looking forward to this. For our few days at Vero (studio to conserve points), we won't be able to cook as much, but we can still do sandwiches, order pizza from down the road and some microwave meals, so it should be just fine!

We are so glad we took everyone's advice on here - for years we didn't cook in our villas, and I realized this year, what a waste of money that is. We had to add-on as the point re-allocation hurt us 2 years in a row, so now, we are making do with the points we have, and will NOT be adding on anymore. With that new perspective, came a realization that we were not utilizing our villas to their fullest, by eating 2-3 TS meals per day in the parks or resorts.

Thanks all, and happy trips to all! Tiger

 

[Caren]

I do have a question, what do you usually cook for dinner? How do you buy groceries for a week without overbuying? I could buy some lunchmeat or PP & J for lunch, but what do you make for dinner?

We just came back from a week in which we only dined out four times. Knowing what to buy in the way of food was fairly simple, really--plan menus, calculate what you'll need to make each meal, and add it up. Then add a few things for snacks. We did have some leftovers at the end of the week, but not that many. Our meals were fairly simple and pretty much reflected what we ate at home. The only real problem was that I hadn't taken into account that the vent fan at BLT wasn't up really smelly food--foods like bacon and sauerkraut linger.

 

[Halle]

Liferbabe, we're planning on doing a shrimp boil on NYE this year. My only concern is getting clams, have you ever purchased them at that time of year? Where do you get your seafood and is it fresh or frozen. Lobster tails would be fun too.

 

[edk35]

So, we've been back a few weeks now, and we've been degriefing from our trip, as we do each and everytime: what worked, what didn't work, changes, problems and wonderful surprises!

I was going to do a mini dining report, which I don't normally do, but I just haven't felt the desire to do it as our meal experiences were pretty much of the norm. Nothing fantastic at all, with some bad service and subpar food as well.

Hubby and I at first thought it was because we've eaten almost everywhere multiple times, so we attributed it to having BTDT and burn out. We do have a few favourites and must-dos that were still great: Kona Cafe, Marrakesh,Tokyo Dining, and Cape May Cafe! We also added in a few CS places, like Sunshine Seasons and Artisti's Palette that we find ok, and we will do that as well.

We were just discussing our trip with our Disney freak cousins last night, who just returned from DisneyLand, and we all came to the same conclusion - Disney has kept things status quo in the restaurants for too long now, plus subpar service. Add to that surcharges/upcharges, and we now have a much shorter list of restaurants that we will attend next year.

So, we are looking forward to eating more in our villa next year - this will save money too! We always do mid-day breaks, as the stifling summer heat necessitates that, so we will work them into our plans. We actually enjoyed eating in our DVC villa this year for lunch or dinner - have never done that before. Have always eaten breakfast, but we did a lunch and dinner here or there, and it was great!

We won't go off-site, as doing that with smaller kids eats up too much time, plus, last time we did, we got food poisoning, restaurants were way crowded and underwhelming (Bahama Breeze is very overrated, IMHO).

We will still get TIW as we will eat surely eat 1 TS meal per day, so over 11-12 days, this will work out. Plus, we plan our trips to get 2 vacations on our APs and TIW card, so we are covered there!

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for convincing us to eat more in our villa. We liked it a lot! Since we drive our own car, we went grocery shopping (kids loved it as they got to pick out some special treats like ice cream and popcorn), and we get 1 bedroom villas, so we are all set!

Thank so much, Tiger

That is funny that you wrote about Bahama Breeze. That was our least favorite meal. The place is decorated nice but the food did nothing for me at all. I thought it was pricey and it was just OKAY. I have not really cooked on any of our trips but I have to agree that we are getting tired of the food at Disney. We eat quick stuff for breakfast and sometimes order pizza but that is about it.

I have been thinking about our NEXT Disney trip and right now I have no idea when that will be. We are NOT going next summer. We are taking a break from the summer trip. We have gone 4 straight years in the summer. I know you are a teacher and you have to go during the summer. Sure we have fun but it is so hard to not WANT THOSE COOLER TRIPS OF JAN. AND NOV.

We have decided we are going to try HHI next summer instead. It is closer to home too. I want to go back to Disney when it is cooler. We loved our Nov. and Jan. trips and I miss them terribly. It is so hard once the kids get older to plan those trips. Our dd's college schedule DOES NOT match our other two son's schedules at all except for summer. I think it is going to end up being a shorter trip during the school year with our 11 year old sometime over the next year. I would love to go in Oct. for the food/wine and MNSSHP next Oct. We were going this year but then we decided to do 2 weeks in FL in July. I just haven't figured it out yet. I hate not having a trip in the planning stage. I guess my next counter will be for HHI.

 

[Tiger926]

That is funny that you wrote about Bahama Breeze. That was our least favorite meal. The place is decorated nice but the food did nothing for me at all. I thought it was pricey and it was just OKAY. I have not really cooked on any of our trips but I have to agree that we are getting tired of the food at Disney. We eat quick stuff for breakfast and sometimes order pizza but that is about it.

I have been thinking about our NEXT Disney trip and right now I have no idea when that will be. We are NOT going next summer. We are taking a break from the summer trip. We have gone 4 straight years in the summer. I know you are a teacher and you have to go during the summer. Sure we have fun but it is so hard to not WANT THOSE COOLER TRIPS OF JAN. AND NOV.

We have decided we are going to try HHI next summer instead. It is closer to home too. I want to go back to Disney when it is cooler. We loved our Nov. and Jan. trips and I miss them terribly. It is so hard once the kids get older to plan those trips. Our dd's college schedule DOES NOT match our other two son's schedules at all except for summer. I think it is going to end up being a shorter trip during the school year with our 11 year old sometime over the next year. I would love to go in Oct. for the food/wine and MNSSHP next Oct. We were going this year but then we decided to do 2 weeks in FL in July. I just haven't figured it out yet. I hate not having a trip in the planning stage. I guess my next counter will be for HHI.

Hey, Denise! Have fun planning your HHI trip! Hubby just asked me today about HHI, but I think it's best to wait until kids are older, as we would go on our way back home.

Both kids loved Vero, so we are tentatively looking at adding 3 night/3 days to the end of next year's WDW trip. We are hoping to get AKV for the whole 10 nights, and we will be able to book that at the end of August.

Summer trips are hot, but we have no choice at this point. We are excited about the addition of Vero though, as a relaxing way to end our WDW trips. We learned a lot on this trip to Vero, just as I know you did, so we know now to be at Vero for 4:00, as we won't get our room before-hand. We'll stop at Publix to get a few groceries, and we'll eat most, if not all meals in our room - probably get pizza one night. Shutters was ok, but nothing spectacular, and the CS near the pool, was not that great, plus they charge tips for everything there. We can do better ourselves!

Next year's trip for food will be different - hubby and I have already agreed on that, as next year we will be hit with buffet upcharge/surcharge, as usual, prices are higher, food is not that great, and service is subpar. We have a few favourite restaurants that we will work in, and then we will fit our villa meals around those. It will be a bit more difficult as we won't be at Boardwalk, so we can't just walk to Epcot, or take the ferry to DHS, but I'm sure it will work out ok, as we have our van, and hubby can get around WDW with his eyes closed!

Have fun planning your next trip, Tiger

 

[kirstenb1]

I agree with eating in the villa more, thats why I added on so we could stay in a 1br and have the kitchen. We spent way too much on food on our last visit and the meals were not all that great. We also will eat out a few times at our favorites and try something new. We would always eat breakfast in the villa, although it is pop-tarts or donuts and coffee, but with a kitchen we could make a hot breakfast which I think would sustain us a little more than donut/pop-tarts. We usually come back for an afternoon break so we could eat something then.

I do have a question, what do you usually cook for dinner? How do you buy groceries for a week without overbuying? I could buy some lunchmeat or PP & J for lunch, but what do you make for dinner?

We did make-your-own subs one night. If you buy 2 one lb packs of ground beef, you can do tacos/nachos one night, then baked spaghetti another night. IMHO, the kitchens have a limited quantity of kitchen knives, pans, serving dishes, etc, so the simpler the better. I've always wanted to do a burgers/dogs on the grill one night, but haven't yet.

 

[Tiger926]

I agree with eating in the villa more, thats why I added on so we could stay in a 1br and have the kitchen. We spent way too much on food on our last visit and the meals were not all that great. We also will eat out a few times at our favorites and try something new. We would always eat breakfast in the villa, although it is pop-tarts or donuts and coffee, but with a kitchen we could make a hot breakfast which I think would sustain us a little more than donut/pop-tarts. We usually come back for an afternoon break so we could eat something then.

I do have a question, what do you usually cook for dinner? How do you buy groceries for a week without overbuying? I could buy some lunchmeat or PP & J for lunch, but what do you make for dinner?

We made sandwiches, pizza and pasta for lunch/dinner. Kids loved the pizza the best! Next year we'll get a roasted chicken and then use it for lunch sandwiches the next day, spaghetti and tacos/burritos. We also bought fresh fruit, pastries and salads, as well as snacks such as: popcorn and ice cream. We also love to have bacon sandwiches for breakfast (turkey bacon), bagels, cereal, pastries, oatmeal and waffles. None of us can eat eggs, so none of those either.

We are Canadian, and we are amazed at the amount of foods we see in the frozen section when we shop in the states. There are some very good looking pasta, rice and meat combination dinners that look good for oven or microwave, so we'll try some of those next year too. We eat very well at home, and no fast food at all, so a few new things for the kids to try will go over well!

The biggest tip I can give for not buying too much, and having wastage is watch the quantities of what you buy - don't buy huge jugs of milk if you can't drink it all, same with juice, margarine/honey/syrup is always a problem too as they come in larger containers. We also buy stuff that we can take back home - cookies, crackers or fruit cups can be eaten in the car.

Good luck! Tiger

 

[Anal Annie]

That is funny that you wrote about Bahama Breeze. That was our least favorite meal. The place is decorated nice but the food did nothing for me at all. I thought it was pricey and it was just OKAY. I have not really cooked on any of our trips but I have to agree that we are getting tired of the food at Disney. We eat quick stuff for breakfast and sometimes order pizza but that is about it.

I have been thinking about our NEXT Disney trip and right now I have no idea when that will be. We are NOT going next summer. We are taking a break from the summer trip. We have gone 4 straight years in the summer. I know you are a teacher and you have to go during the summer. Sure we have fun but it is so hard to not WANT THOSE COOLER TRIPS OF JAN. AND NOV.

We have decided we are going to try HHI next summer instead. It is closer to home too. I want to go back to Disney when it is cooler. We loved our Nov. and Jan. trips and I miss them terribly. It is so hard once the kids get older to plan those trips. Our dd's college schedule DOES NOT match our other two son's schedules at all except for summer. I think it is going to end up being a shorter trip during the school year with our 11 year old sometime over the next year. I would love to go in Oct. for the food/wine and MNSSHP next Oct. We were going this year but then we decided to do 2 weeks in FL in July. I just haven't figured it out yet. I hate not having a trip in the planning stage. I guess my next counter will be for HHI.

(waiting)

(watching)

 

[edk35]

(waiting)

(watching)

WHAT MISS LEEANN..........You think I will cave and go next summer don't you?? OR Do you think I will cancel another week at HHI to go to DISNEY??? I will stick to my summer plans in 2011.

 

[Tiger926]

WHAT MISS LEEANN..........You think I will cave and go next summer don't you?? OR Do you think I will cancel another week at HHI to go to DISNEY??? I will stick to my summer plans in 2011.

Should we start a bet about this?

Tiger

 

[nickspace]

I like eating in the villa. With a family of 5 it saves us the time, aggravation, and money. We send our grocery list to we go shop and the food is waiting for us when we arrive. I love it!

 

[edk35]

Should we start a bet about this?

Tiger

Both of you are cracking me up!!!!!!