Villa In-room Food Costs

[SheriB]

Since we always ate all 3 meals out before, we plan on eating breakfast all 7 days, and dinner at least 4 out of 7 nights in our room. With 4 adults (me, DH, my mom and dad) and 3 children(DD16, DS12, and DD friend 16), and no fancy meals (large salads, hot dogs, spaghetti, etc), how much do you think we should budget for groceries? Also, any suggestions for quick, in-room meals that won't have me slaving in the kitchen(after all, it is vacation)? Thanks for any info.

Sheri

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

I'll be checking back - great question! I hope we can do four or five nights dinner in-room too, but don't really want to cook up a storm. Maybe pizza ordered out a night too.

 

[travelbug]

Hi, SheriB! I notice that you're fairly new to these boards. Just wondering if you've surfed around on the Budget Board. There is a wealth of information there, including how much to budget for food, etc.

I don't think I can be very helpful answering your question myself, so I'll defer to all the expertise to be found over on the Budget Board. It's great!

Good luck, and have a wonderful trip!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Sheri...wouldn't the food cost approximately the same at home as at Disney? So maybe you want to ask the reverse question...how much should I budget for meals OUT rather than meals IN. Either way the budget board is the place to be.

But...for details from this board you might want to share whether or not you will be using studios or a 2 bedroom.

One suggestion...when I used to travel with a group like yours we made a point of picking up interesting items to eat...premade seafood salads, different types of cheeses, antipasto type items. You can also get items like roasted chicken or cold cuts. Items that you can combine in a pan to create a full fledged meal beyond hotdogs or spaghetti in the same amount of time or less.

An example...nachos...here you need cheese, some type of canned chili either with meat or without and maybe sour cream. The chips can be eaten separately as a snack yet you can prepare everything together as say...nachos or a taco salad.

And...why not leave space for one or two breakfasts out. There are some really nice buffets available.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

We normally eat most of our meals in our villa, so we just take our normal weekly grocery budget and use that. We normally make things like tacos, brats, hamburgers, spaghetti, Stouffer's lasagna. For breakfast we usually take our waffle iron with us and have waffles a couple of mornings and bacon, eggs, sausage and hashbrowns some other mornings. We generally only eat out a couple of meals while we are there.

 

[SheriB]

Thanks, guys!
I may still post on the budget board, or just allow a little extra than our usual weekly food budget (anything leftover I get to spend on me!-since I had to prepare the food-haha).
Once again, thanks for the info!

Sheri

P.S. What's a brat (posted by TIdoublegaER)?

 

[Ralph&Pam]

brat = bratwurst, a type of sausage. It's a short a sound; the long a "brat" would be an annoying child. Bratwurst is similar in size to a hot dog (at least the quarter-pound size hot dogs), usually a coarser grind and certainly more spices than a hot dog. Traditional bratwurst is made from ground pork, although I also enjoy a turkey brat available from one of the local butcher shops (lower in fat than the traditional, although higher in fat than plain ground turkey, which I use in chili and meat sauces for spaghetti). Here in the Chicago suburbs, folk wisdom is that the best bratwurst comes from Wisconsin, and I certainly agree that excellent brats can be found throughout that state. Locally produced products in my hometown also have a well-earned reputation.

Ralph

 

[lsutigger2]

Another suggestion, if you are driving, or are willing to perhaps carry a travel cooler, is to prepare somethings at home and freeze them. In just a few days, we'll be leaving for our trip and I have frozen spaghetti, chili ( I have a recipe that makes enough for 20!!), white beans and rice, and beef stew. That way we have homecooked meals that we enjoy without cooking while on vacation! We'll grocery shop once we are there to get other items for meals. like breakfast.

 

[MrShiny]

Oh jah hey, brat's - Wisconsin's gift to the midwest (well, Germany by way of Wisconsin).

Uumm, want to drive to the Brat Stop right now. Too bad there is no route from Chicago to Orlando that goes through Kenosha.

Anyway, back on topic - has anyone here had DVC stock their fridge for them? Is this as expensive as it sounds it would be?

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by MrShiny
has anyone here had DVC stock their fridge for them? Is this as expensive as it sounds it would be?

No, haven't done that, but for some reason, whenever we're on vacation, we seem to spend a LOT stocking the refrigerator ourselves! Since we're within driving distance of both WDW and HH, I try to bring condiments, butter, and other basics, so we don't have to buy them there, but the lure of all those temptations at the grocery store (you know, it's vacation, treat yourself!) really seems to add up!!!