How often do you use the kitchens/kitchenettes when you stay? What meals do you do?

[altobalk]

We are point renters in the process of becoming owners. Just wondering how you all use the kitchens/kitchenettes? When we've stayed in the past with a kitchen, we have generally just kept fruit for snacks and then had cold cereal in the mornings or reheated leftovers for lunch/snack. We fly down and don't plan on renting a car, but I feel like we haven't been making the most of the kitchens that we've "paid" for.

Whenever we book a room with a full kitchen, we use it for breakfast and leftovers. Usually leftovers for snack or lunch when we go back to the resort to swim or relax. And breakfast is easy with eggs and cereal, get up, get something and get out. It is a money and time saver.

 

[dawne98]

I cook in the room on the last few trips
for dinner most of the time
a get the cooked chicken in the bag

and get a bag of Caesar salad



I have also done sloppy joes and tater tots

The last trip I made samore's in the oven



for breakfast I have made Mickey pancakes

We have most of the time had a one bedroom but for our next trip we'll have a studio and we're going to use the grills to cook dinner.

 

[Brian Noble]

Our DVC stays are all in at least a 1BR, though truth be told the washer/dryer are more important than the kitchen.

That said, we always have breakfast in. That could be cereal, coffee, peanut butter toast, etc.---things you could also do in a studio---but having a "real" kitchen somehow makes it more pleasant. At least a few days during the week-long trip, I will make ham and eggs for breakfast, but it depends on how early I get up.

Lunches are almost always out and about---even if just at the QS at the resort, we don't each lunch in.

Dinners are unplanned but helpful. At least once each trip, we all look at each other and decide that we don't really want to go out and about. Assuming this will happen, I will have pre-planned for either a simple pasta (spaghetti & meatballs), tacos, fajitas, etc.

Another idea we use is buying a Smithfield spiral cut ham

This is genius.

 

[clayfolks]

We, too, always cook breakfast. We are big on bacon and eggs, even when we are in a studio.

 

[jodifla]

We cook a lot; simple stuff Just more relaxed and less money. I do try to keep my shopping list to 20 items, and then bring a few items from home.



Breakfast
Eggs
bacon
bread for toast or sandwiches
pancakes (bring mix from home)
bagels
butter

Drinks
Wine
beer
soda
lemonade (bring mix from home)

Dinners
spaghetti (bring box from home)
sauce (Bring can from home)
Bagged salad
Garlic bread
Grilled meat or seafood (bring seasonings from home)

Lunches
Hot dogs
buns
Potato salad
deli meat and cheese
(condiment packets from home)


Snacks

Chips
Popcorn (From home)
Deli veggie platter with dip (also use to add veggies to salads, or serve cooked with dinner)

 

[holden]

We eat most breakfasts in the room. We also like to prepare snacks to bring to the pool (cheese/meat plate, dips/chips, etc). Nice to keep ice cream/frozen treats in the freezer too.

We never prepare dinner in the kitchen.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

Never...I refuse to cook on vacation.

 

[kirstenb1]

Breakfast is something fast like yogurt or cereal. Lunch is counter service at the parks. Dinner, I cook stuff like tacos, make your own subs, spaghetti, etc. Just easy stuff. We also use the kitchen for beverages, and snacks. We go in June and drive down. I used to drop the family off at the resort, then hit Publix, but inevitably, there would be a torrential rainstorm just as I was leaving the store, or arriving at the resort. No more! The last couple years, I let Garden Grocer do the shopping, and I relax at the pool with the rest of the family.

 

[Nie0214]

With a toddler, we need to take late afternoon breaks anyway, so we cook a bit! It saves a ton of money, too.

We make a big breakfast every morning (pancakes; bacon, eggs, toast; homemade Egg McMuffins) to stay full for the day of walking. We pack a lot of snacks for the day (again, said toddler eats a lot and with the stroller, we don't have to carry it) including cheese sticks, blueberries, yogurt tubes, apples, oranges, etc. so we have a pretty full fridge in the room.

We usually have a light lunch while in the parks... sometimes packed PB sandwiches or we split a CS meal. We'll make dinner 2-3 nights or so... easy things like tacos or spaghetti or burgers or a frozen pizza. The other nights we eat at a table service.

 

[toolmanjan]

Until our last visit 12/2016 we rarely used the Kitchen for more than snacks. This time around we brought mostly breakfast fixings with us. So we made pancakes french toast etc. I also bought a 1 cup kurick coffee maker for the trip. We all drink different flavored coffee so it worked out well. Now that Staring Rolls is closed (our favorite QS for breakfast) we'll be making more to eat in the room.

 

[Anal Annie]

We only use studios but the only thing we "cook" in them is breakfast. (I have no desire to cook on vacation.) We usually only do like bagels or frozen waffles with fresh fruit but at HHI I did make eggs in the microwave and I used the Pre-cooked bacon in the microwave and I toasted English muffins to make breakfast sandwiches. That's about as elaborate as I've done tho even tho I know there's a lot more I COULD do. We also don't want to schelp back to the room just to eat. That's a lot of wasted time...

 

[ElizabethCB]

This thread is so helpful as I prep for our first DVC trip, which will be in a 2br with my sister and her family.

We won't have a car and will definitely do grocery delivery. Can we have wine and beer delivered too? (We live in PA, which has really weird alcohol laws. Wasn't sure how things are in Florida.)

 

[Kidanifan08]

Like others, breakfast is our main meal in the villa. We have been members for 8 year and have never done a full meal, other than a frozen pizza. Breakfast is primarily cereal bars, fruit, yogurt or toast. Of course, coffee is a must. We generally are rope-droppers, so it it hard to do anything more elaborate. Despite our lack of cooking, we love the full kitchen for snacks/happy hour. Our fridge is usually full, with cheese, dips, soda, beer, milk, cold cuts, fruit, etc. We have a Brita pitcher in our OL and keep it in the fridge, as well. As much as we love the full kitchen, our favorite part of the 1 or 2 bedroom villas is the W/D and living room.

 

[butsy113]

This thread is so helpful as I prep for our first DVC trip, which will be in a 2br with my sister and her family.

We won't have a car and will definitely do grocery delivery. Can we have wine and beer delivered too? (We live in PA, which has really weird alcohol laws. Wasn't sure how things are in Florida.)

Yes you can have alcohol delivered also. Garden Grocer has you scan your ID into your account for these purchases. It works great! We actually order a case of beer and I bring it home in my suitcase, lol! I live in IL where you can't get Youngling, my husbands favorite.

 

[ElizabethCB]

Yes you can have alcohol delivered also. Garden Grocer has you scan your ID into your account for these purchases. It works great! We actually order a case of beer and I bring it home in my suitcase, lol! I live in IL where you can't get Youngling, my husbands favorite.

Wonderful! Thank you!

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

In a studio, you can't do much besides what you have done. With a real kitchen we do cook more to save costs. We travel with 7-12 people so Disney prices will 'kill' any budget. We always get a car, you can't make a meal on what Disney has in their gift shops. As owners we go at least 2 times a year, so we don't go commando on the parks any longer. We spend more time at the resort than we did at first. If you do become members you will start to relax more, knowing you can go back often.

Any chance you are the Bill with the twins?

 

[BillPA]

Sorry, 3 kids, 4 grandkids, no twins

 

[luckyman_apd]

We stay strickly studio's (wasn't the original plan when buying but learned to stretch the points). My buddy across the street is also a DVC owner. We split the cost of an owners locker each year and keep a 6qt crock pot, a griddle, some decent silverware (forks, knives). Pancakes and bacon are easy with a griddle and microwave. Cereal is also an easy choice. We've got plenty of crock pot recipes. Pulled pork sandwiches is an easy crock pot meal. Plop the pork in with some seasoning and a can of root beer, 8 hours later it pulls apart and dinner is served. We made a steak and potatoes recipe once. Turned out ok. crock pot always makes meat soft, but for what it was, it was decent for a crock pot meal. I know we did a steak, peppers, and onion sandwich....but without an oven to melt the cheese on top (just not the same untoasted like i've made at home) it was lacking a bit. Plenty of chicken recipe's out there.

I sometimes have rented a car, sometimes not. When I can priceline the car cheap, We get one. Otherwise an Uber ride to Winn Dixie or another store depending on closest to the resort we are staying is never more than $25-$30 round trip....just have to plan right to fit everything in the little fridge. It really doesn't take much to make a crock pot meal in the morning, set it and it's ready when you return to the room for a break.

 

[DougEMG]

We'll use the kitchenette to make bacon and scrambled eggs or oatmeal for breakfast and then things like soup or hotdogs for something later in the day. For us that is about all the cooking we want to do on vacation.

 

[RescueRanger]

We always bring a crock pot. One of our favorite and easiest meals is french dip sandwiches. Take a 3 lb roast and put it in the crock pot with a can of beef broth and a package of Lipton onion soup mix. Cook on high 4-5 hrs or low 8-10. After cooking, pull apart meat and serve on buns.