Would you cook to save $400 on vacation?

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Actually... the OP asked for opinions about cooking vs. dining out, and whether or not the savings of $400 was incentive enough. She didn't ask for opinions on other posters. Imagine that.

I forgive you. There are certain topics on the forums that repeatedly come up. I often frequent those to see even more responses on a topic I am either familiar with or need more info on. Now (since I didn't quote anyone on this thread), if you would do that same search on the forums instead of this thread, you would see each and every phrase I mentioned above and guess what? Its not even in MY words. Imagine that.

So I'll use some of your own words and say that accusing someone of making something up to prove their point (when they clearly did not) says more about you than I ever could.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

We have a longstanding joke in my office about passengers or customers who use 'you people' in correspondence. It ranks just above "no offense but" and just below "in an oven itself"

I still think that this sentence that you wrote is not nice...

"You people who make it sound like its a 40 hour a week job to cook at your home/condo are just clueless. And honestly, why even comment on it? No one is knocking you for eating out all the time so why would you even post in a thread like this is you couldn't contribute to what the OP asked in a way that doesn't make it sound like those who cook are somehow in a Chinese slave labor camp??"

I took that to mean the people posting in THIS thread. Perhaps if you would have omitted the word "You" and just began with "People" it would have read as more of a general statement which I would have no issue with. Though, I still don't understand questioning a person's decision to post, but that's your right to do. I stand behind my original statement that you are the only one who mentioned the word "slave", but I will add a disclaimer in that you are the only one who did so in THIS thread. I was unaware that I should research all the threads on a topic prior to commenting on one. I have not been a member for very long, and when I saw your post, I noticed it was the only one in the thread that was uncivil in what is otherwise a very polite thread. I am truly sorry if I offended you in any way. I am one of those people that does not take kindly to seeing others attacked and talked poorly about when it hasn't been warranted. In my opinion, your post seemed specifically directed to the people in this thread and in my opinion, they did not deserve to be talked to that way. Again, I apologize. Peace to you and yours.

 

[Disneyliscious]

I still think that this sentence that you wrote is not nice...

"You people who make it sound like its a 40 hour a week job to cook at your home/condo are just clueless. And honestly, why even comment on it? No one is knocking you for eating out all the time so why would you even post in a thread like this is you couldn't contribute to what the OP asked in a way that doesn't make it sound like those who cook are somehow in a Chinese slave labor camp??"

I took that to mean the people posting in THIS thread. Perhaps if you would have omitted the word "You" and just began with "People" it would have read as more of a general statement which I would have no issue with. Though, I still don't understand questioning a person's decision to post, but that's your right to do. I stand behind my original statement that you are the only one who mentioned the word "slave", but I will add a disclaimer in that you are the only one who did so in THIS thread. I was unaware that I should research all the threads on a topic prior to commenting on one. I have not been a member for very long, and when I saw your post, I noticed it was the only one in the thread that was uncivil in what is otherwise a very polite thread. I am truly sorry if I offended you in any way. I am one of those people that does not take kindly to seeing others attacked and talked poorly about when it hasn't been warranted. In my opinion, your post seemed specifically directed to the people in this thread and in my opinion, they did not deserve to be talked to that way. Again, I apologize. Peace to you and yours.

I can see how what I wrote was not clear. I'm not the most liked around here because of some of my opinions and some of it is probably how I word what I say. I will definitely try to choose better words from now on.

 

[OhdahLolly]

This time around at disney? No! I feel like I am constantly cooking/cleaning dishes, so vacation is a break to not be in the kitchen. I don't have to do them, and neither does anyone else! That to me is worth the extra 400, but I respect that not everyone feels that way.

If I was gonna cook though, I might bring my crockpot. It's hard to beat for ease. If you set it in the morning before you leave, by the time you get back from the parks, it's already done for dinner.

 

[GinnyEmma]

We have a longstanding joke in my office about passengers or customers who use 'you people' in correspondence. It ranks just above "no offense but" and just below "in an oven itself"

Lol, is that like ending an insult with, "bless his heart..." the local favorite. You can say someone is an axe murderer and smile, shake your head and say that and it is considered inoffensive.

 

[DawnM]

I am seriously thinking of doing this for our next trip.

Usually my week consists of much the same menu because it is easy for me.

Last trip it was something like:

Spaghetti or Pasta dish
Steak and Potatoes
Pancakes, sausage, fruit, eggs
Pizza

The rest of the nights we either ate out or had leftovers.

It really isn't too much trouble. I cook casually while the boys go swimming with DH.

We don't do rope drop to midnight closing in the parks though, we like to get to the condo by late dinner time and swim and veg.

Dawn

This time around at disney? No! I feel like I am constantly cooking/cleaning dishes, so vacation is a break to not be in the kitchen. I don't have to do them, and neither does anyone else! That to me is worth the extra 400, but I respect that not everyone feels that way.

If I was gonna cook though, I might bring my crockpot. It's hard to beat for ease. If you set it in the morning before you leave, by the time you get back from the parks, it's already done for dinner.

 

[pantherlj]

I am looking over my December plans and I see I could pretty easily save about $400 if I decided to cook a few dinners instead of going out. We are staying in a 1 bed at OKW and so have a full kitchen, I'm kind of tempted, it's not that we can't afford to eat out I have the money. I just think of how nice it is to grab a drink, cook something and chill without fighting more crowds at resturants. We are there Dec 17-27th and we will eat out 6 nights Ts, 1 lunch TS, and 1 Breakfast TS, and lots of CS lunches.

We are a group of 5 so cutting 3 meals would be save money and just be more relaxing which sounds good.

If you would cook, what would you cook? I'm thinking pizza, tacos... and something

As if 8 pages of response isn't enough

Yes, it is nice to just grab a "beverage" and have a relaxing evening at "home" with normal comfort food that you normally make on a busy work night especially after 3-4 days of restaurant food. It seems like you are thinking more about the relaxing and family time than the money and hassle so I say go for it.

We went to my grandmothers last summer and she doesn't cook anymore. My 11 yr old was SO excited that we were going to eat out every meal. After the 3rd day she said she couldn't stand one more meal out and we hit the grocery store

Last disney trip we planned a couple of dinners in and ended up just snacking those night. We were so full from all the other food we had been eating. The kids loved just vegging in front of TV and doing nothing for night!

Have a great time.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Yes, Yes, Yes! I would cook!

Easy stuff though...pizza's, tacos, chicken and rice, frozen lasagna and garlic bread.

Sounds like fun!!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I love to cook on vacation. We make all sorts of things.

We always have breakfast in our room. Cereal, muffins, fruit, and bagels. We also get cinnamon rolls and frozen waffles. Lunches are easy assorted breads with lunch meat, cheese, salads, and some chips. Sometimes chicken nuggets and tater tots.

I get a huge bowl of fresh fruit washed and ready to go and pick up some frozen veggies like corn, broccoli, and California blend. We also get a big bag of carrots.

Dinners are a little more work but it's nice to have the kids wake up from a nap, eat dinner, and move on with our night. We make chicken tacos, baked mostaccoli, chicken and rice, baked potatoes with toppings, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and soup, and breakfast for dinner. Sometimes we have a simple veggie pizza and a salad.

We still like to have a few meals at our favorite places at MK and Epcot but it's nice to come up from the pool and have a meal ready to go. I also bake some brownies, cookies, rice crispie treats, and muffins in Disney themed liners, decorate them with Disney sprinkles, or those little candied characters. It's easy to pack them for a snack. DH also loves frozen soft pretzels so those are an inexpensive treat as well.

This year I'm making a kit for wacky cake (the eggless cake) and the frosting everyone loves on it. That way, we won't be stuck with a ton of opened food we barely used. If cooking saves us money for something else, I'll do it every year.

 

[StuckInKS]

It depends on if I *needed* that $400 to make the vacation happen. Otherwise, probably not since I don't like cooking on vacation (or at home) and we like eating out. We spent $750 on the DP for the first 7 nights of our stay this year at WDW and probably another $250 OOP for the last 3 nights. We normally spend $300/mo eating out at home, so why not on vacation, too?

 

[iheartdisney]

That is the main reason we are staying at the cabins. I can buy a whole bag of chicken nuggets for the price of one kids meal. Heck, I can even get Mickey shaped nuggets!

 

[Cin]

No way! Part of the vacation is letting someone else do the cooking and enjoying new foods and the local cuisine where I am visiting. I enjoy dining out and new experiences. But if I had to I would. Except like on camping vacations where part of the experience is the cooking outdoors.

 

[tkitty]

It depends. When traveling with my DD andd grandkids-staying at on of DD's time share resorts, we grocery shop and eat breakfast and most dinners in our room.
At WDW, I refuse! It's enough to be on the go all day in the heat. I want to sit down once a day and be waited on! The DDP is the way to go for my DH and I. Make our ressies and just enjoy. We look forward to it.

 

[mybestieismickey]

I'm definitely in the no way crowd. I hate cooking. It's not vacation if I have to cook. And then clean it up. I love going out and having someone deal with it all. However, this doesn't mean I have to eat out for every meal. I have no problem making breakfast in the morning as long as it's nothing more strenuous than eggs and bagels. And DH is usually willing to cook for me when we are on vacation. So, if saving the $400 meant we could go on the trip, yes. I would let DH cook for us. If it just meant saving $400 that had no real affect on our trip other than maybe souvenirs, no way Jose!

 

[aprilgail2]

Sorry, I'm going the opposite way. No way would I cook on vacation. To me, it's not a vacation for me if I have to work. I'd rather save up a little bit longer so that we can go on a vacation where everyone can enjoy themselves. But if I'm stuck making meals or doing dishes and then we head to the parks, it's going to feel like we're home only w/ different scenery..... I love being able to go out to eat when we're on vacation. It's a lovely break from the norm.

Another vote for the NO WAY in heck would I cook on vacation. The closest thing I do food related on vacation to save is maybe have some breakfast items int he room, like donuts or such. But no way, if I have to cook, i'd rather stay home..lol.

I agree- We will do breakfast but only something like a donut, pop tart, fiber one bar etc-we are not breakfast eaters anyway so we really don't do breakfast out but nothing that I have to cook while on vacation. My daughter wouldn't touch a chicken nugget and I am not having tater tots or frozen lasagna etc while I am on vacation---just not happening.

 

[Schmoodle]

Absolutely! I don't have to cook to save the $400, but that's a bonus. Who wouldn't like $400 for another splurge? We are leaving for a condo at the beach tomorrow and I'm taking my crock pot and griddle. We'll be having crab cakes, rotisserie chicken with salad and bread (no cooking there), taco salads, pulled pork sandwiches, shrimp, yum! You rarely get enough veggies with a restaurant meal. We get tired of eating in crowded restaurants, waiting for tables when we're tired, much rather be sipping a glass of wine on the patio! And after a couple of days of restaurants, our tummies get unhappy and we start craving fresh and simple. We take turns cooking and all help with clean up so doesn't take much time at all.

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

And after a couple of days of restaurants, our tummies get unhappy and we start craving fresh and simple. We take turns cooking and all help with clean up so doesn't take much time at all.

That's exactly what happens to us. I couldn't eat lunch and dinner out for 7 days in a row. Maybe if we had the DDP I'd be willing to see what the variety could include. Cooking in works for our family but I understand why people don't want to do it.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Yep, but I love to cook at home too. We stay at Wyndam Bonnet Creek, so we had a full kitchen. We did spaghetti one night and soup and sandwiches another. It was nice to not have get the boys ready for dinner after an afternoon at the pool.

We also did breakfast in the condo every morning except for 2 characer meals.

We didn't do it to save money, but it was an added bonus!

 

[Brer Shay]

YES! I would cook to save $400

I prefer to cook most of our dinners instead of going out. I admit that the cost is a big factor, but so is the healthfulness of much of the food. We all need to get in some fresh veggies and somewhat less processed food. I keep it as simple as possible for the most part (since it's my vacation too), but I can grab alot of easy to prep items at the grocery store that every one will be happy with. Sitting and waiting for food in a restaurant every evening is not my kids idea of a good time.

 

[Skylarr29]

Nope