You're on vacation. Why are you cooking in your room?

[LavaMama]

I'm new to DVC and buying a contract that is currently in ROFR. I was reading about owner lockers and so many people seem to be using them for things like rice cookers, crock pots, mixers, spices, etc. Honest question. Why? You're on vacation, why are you making meals in your room?

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Save money. Eating out every meal for a family of four is expensive, and especially breakfast, we often like to have options for when everyone is awake and ready to start the day.

The kids are finally getting to eat decently, but I can heat up nuggets, frozen pizzas, mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, eggs/pancakes, bagels and toast and fruit and milk in the room for a fraction of what is identical to the parks.

We don't do major cooking, mostly reheating leftovers and cooking/microwaving typical kid crap, but once a week we'll make a decent meal. We ended up hosting friends and their kids late night, and I made a second batch of spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread, wine, cheese and crackers, popcorn for everyone in the 1B. It was a nice option to have folks over after parks closed to hang out.

We get the munchies if we stay out late and do after-hours swimming. It's nice to have a frozen pizza to throw in or even a cup of soup or salad.

 

[CarolynFH]

Because I like to eat breakfast in my pajamas. And I also like to brush my teeth after breakfast instead of before.



In the long ago, when I still showered, washed and styled my hair, and put on makeup every day (I can't believe I did that, but I did, as if I were going to work that day), DH could cook breakfast while I showered. Made mornings much more efficient in getting everyone out the door for the parks. Now having breakfast in the room and drinking coffee there is just a relaxing start to the day. And if we're there in the summertime, we're making sandwiches for lunch in the room, too, because we're not going to the parks until sundown.

 

[jeneric997]

I am with you OP. I don't cook, but we usually have breakfast items and coffee in the room. We don't have an owner's locker and have gotten by for 15+ years. We also drove, so we could just bring things.

I do think others do it to save money. Considering how expensive food is at Disney, it can save a lot of money.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

The biggest reason has to be because the cost is so much less to eat in the room. If a family of 4 can eat at least 1 meal a day in the room, they would save roughly $500 over the coarse of a weeks vacation.

Another reason would be allergies and dietary restrictions.
I am a vegetarian who doesn’t eat fake meat and although Disney had tried in the last few years to have 1 vegan (not vegetarian) item on every menu, 95% are made with fake meat so we either eat off property or make something in the room.

 

[pinkxray]

We love cooking breakfast in the room. We are early risers and typically have breakfast around 6:30 am. Most breakfast options at Disney don't open until 7/730. DH and the kids love to have eggs and bacon for breakfast, so it is much cheaper to cook it in the room vs multiple bounty platters each day. DH used to drive me crazy when we were trying to rope drop bc he had to stop and get his bounty platter when the counter service places open. Now, we get cheaper and better tasting breakfast in our room before most places are even open. Haven't missed any more rope drops.

We do still typically have dinner out. Lunch is usually Disney food, although sometimes the kids will just want something simple like a pbj or grilled cheese before hitting the pool. We haven't moved into slow cookers or anything yet but I can see us including some frozen pizzas or nuggets in our grocery orders as the kids as moving into teenage years.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We are new to DVC also.
- Personally I wouldn't spend money on owner locker space for big appliances, Id use what was available in the villas. Toaster, stove, microwave.
- When not DVC I think most peoples mentality is utilize every second possible in the parks because you dont know when you will be back. With DVC you know you will be back so you don't have to be on the go go go to squeeze all the fun stuff in, you can slow down and take time to eat in room.
- Breakfast it takes sometime to wake up get ready and be in a chair eating, so being able to make a light breakfast and eat lunch at the parks/hotels works better.
- Save money.
- Some people enjoy cooking
- Speical dietary needs. When my son was a baby/toddler we didn't feed him processed non organic foods so I made it point to figure out how to make food in our cash paid studio, if I had been in a DVC villa it would have been so much easier.

Im sure there are many other reasons.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm new to DVC and buying a contract that is currently in ROFR. I was reading about owner lockers and so many people seem to be using them for things like rice cookers, crock pots, mixers, spices, etc. Honest question. Why? You're on vacation, why are you making meals in your room?

Check back with us after you've been a member for 15 or 20 years. If you're still regularly paying for 3 meals per day and rope dropping theme parks, you're probably in the minority.

 

[VGCgroupie]

In the long ago, when I still showered, washed and styled my hair, and put on makeup every day (I can't believe I did that, but I did, as if I were going to work that day), DH could cook breakfast while I showered. Made mornings much more efficient in getting everyone out the door for the parks.

This!

My husband will sometimes make to go sandwiches for us to take in the parks with us too while I spend time getting ready.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Most often it will be what type of vacation are you having. Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you're going park commando and often over time your type of vacations adjust and shift. For some convenience is the name of the game, for others cost effectiveness, for others types of food and what mood it puts them in is another.

When we were in Hawaii at a for rent by owner condo we made 2 or so meals because it was nice to have them on the small balcony overlooking the beach watching the sunset.

 

[reddog21]

I'm new to DVC and buying a contract that is currently in ROFR. I was reading about owner lockers and so many people seem to be using them for things like rice cookers, crock pots, mixers, spices, etc. Honest question. Why? You're on vacation, why are you making meals in your room?

I'm with you on this one, I cook 300+ days a year the last place I'm cooking is on vacation. At least for me a vacation is an escape from everyday life and cooking puts me right back into it. I actually enjoy cooking just not on vacation.
We do use the microwave a decent amount for any leftovers we might have taken back to the room.

 

[reddog21]

Check back with us after you've been a member for 15 or 20 years. If you're still regularly paying for 3 meals per day and rope dropping theme parks, you're probably in the minority.

I'm in the minority, 25 years in and still rope dropping and eating 2.5 meals out. Breakfast is usually a skip or a donut/pop tart/something quick on the go so I'm not sure that would be considered a meal.

 

[StarCruzer]

For us, it is to have some healthy and non-fried food options. Yes, you can get things like salads in the park, but they are usually a little sad. We store fresh veggies, greek yogurt, milk for cereal, etc. Also great for leftovers and reheating. The mini fridges can't store nearly as much.

We also do things like buy a bunch of desserts we like at the beginning of the trip (like zebra domes) and store so we can have a nice end of the night treat. Or we'll grab a huge pack of tenders from Chicken Guy and keep them in the kitchen for snacks. When my MIL had her birthday with us in Disney we were also able to grab a full-size cake from Amorette's to celebrate.

While we don't do a ton of cooking, having a full kitchen means you can store a lot of extra food and have better reheating options. For example, the best way to re-heat pizza is by cooking on the stovetop in a covered pan.

I imagine for larger groups, as many have already said, cooking dinner can save a ton of money. And as others have pointed out DVC folks tend to visit more frequently, and don't always feel the need to spend every minute in the parks.

We've had DVC for six years and are definitely more relaxed about park days than we used to be.

 

[MICKIMINI]

When we first bought in 1996 I would plan on about two dinners a week as we often had a gang in a 3 BR GV. It seemed a good way to help others save a bit and let us get together. I found that everyone else was "on vacation" except DH and I, but mostly me. They'd sit around and watch me cook. They don't get invited anymore!

At this point, we prefer a 1 BR for us and get a studio for our son and DIL (not always at the same resort) and we eat out most of the time. We always have coffee in the morning and a quick bite. The big fridge is great for frozen pizza which we always seem to eat, fruit, cheese, all types of single serve drinks etc. Sometimes we even buy ice cream!

My regular grocery budget stocks the fridge. We only have a few ADR's and mostly QS now. For two or four adults, I find it almost cheaper to eat a QS than actually cook. If we had little kids it might be a different story.

 

[CarolynFH]

DH and the kids love to have eggs and bacon for breakfast

Oh yes, back in the day a hot bacon and eggs breakfast was a weekend or holiday treat at home, so DH cooking breakfast on vacation made the day seem more special!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'm new to DVC and buying a contract that is currently in ROFR. I was reading about owner lockers and so many people seem to be using them for things like rice cookers, crock pots, mixers, spices, etc. Honest question. Why? You're on vacation, why are you making meals in your room?

You may not realize that many DIS DVCers visit WDW multiple times a year. I imagine that dining out each time for every meal gets pricey, not to mention a little tedious.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I cook a lot at home and I refuse to do so on vacation. We do eat breakfast in the room every day, but nothing cooked. Lunch and dinner are always QS or ADRs. That’s part of the fun for us, the different theming that we don’t have at home. We also spend a lot of time in the parks. After almost a lifetime of being DVC (my parents joined when I was a kid and we own as adults) I still rope drop the parks because that’s what we come to WDW for, the parks, so we’re very rarely in the room anyway. We use the microwave a lot though, reheating leftovers or some late night snack. That’s the extent though.

 

[JackosinDIS]

We do use the kitchen, but mostly for the kid’s breakfasts… they want cereal and they want it NOW!

 

[Anthony1971]

While we do not cook in our room maybe a bagel for breakfast but in recent years we stopped doing that. May start again after this years price hike and shrunken size of the muffins.
Food is expensive to eat out every meal. So there is an option that some use a lot some a litlle and others not at all.
The question is sort of the same as asking why would one purchase DVC when the can pay cash to stay in the same room?
Same rooms are expensive

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Because you spent your lifesavings on a DVC contract so you need to save money while there.

But seriously why buy DVC which is supposed to be like "a home away from home" that has a kitchen and not cook your meals?

I'm with you though which is one of the several reasons I would never buy into DVC.
With that said why are you purchasing?