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DO YOU COOK IN YOUR ROOM??

Ashley Monroe

Blondie
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
I have seen so many people who talk about cooking, eating, etc...but nothing actually specific about what rooms/etc they are cooking in. I have seen a sort of mix, but if you are in a value (even some moderate) resorts, what are you cooking on? Did you take appliances? Is this allowed?

Also, does anyone know what airlnes allow you to check small "appliances" (ie: a cooktop stove, etc?)...that you would need? is this normal? we don't want to get the dining plan this round and just be free...so...this is an idea I had but not sure what I can travel with?

*We're flying Southwest btw: thanks!
 
Cooking on small appliances is not allowed at any resort other than what is provided by Disney at resorts with kitchens/kitchenettes. Do people do it anyway? Yes. Would I? Never. It's a fire hazard. I also don't want to cook on my vacation. I like to save money as much as the next person, but packing granola bars and fruit cups for breakfast is all I'm willing to do. For what it's worth, the dining plan isn't always the most economical way to eat meals. You may find paying out of pocket for each meal to actually be cheaper. Look at the menus online and do the math. You might be surprised. Another option is to order pizza from a chain and have it delivered to your room or if you rent a car, go off property for some of your meals. They will be less than what's available on property.
 
If you're looking to save money, bring small snacks into the park, like granola bars or natural fruit snacks or baggies of crackers. For lunches or dinners, choose one to do in park, and then maybe do another one off site (like at one of the fast food places near your resort), look for groupons for nearby restaurants, or make sandwiches and enjoy them in your room and then get in an afternoon nap too ;)
 


For what it's worth, the dining plan isn't always the most economical way to eat meals. You may find paying out of pocket for each meal to actually be cheaper. Look at the menus online and do the math. You might be surprised. Another option is to order pizza from a chain and have it delivered to your room or if you rent a car, go off property for some of your meals. They will be less than what's available on property.

We did the math for our last trip to Disneyland and realized that since we have two little ones who are small eaters, the meal plan was just ridiculous. Portions are more than hearty at the Disney parks, and they split meals. We got snacks throughout the day, making it easier for me and DH to split meals when we could and save money too. We did not get the meal plans, and I looked for groupons. I found one for Johnny Rockets, which was in a shopping center across from our hotel. There were online offers for DTD restaurants like Earl of Sandwich too. You might look around for deals near your hotel, whether you're staying on site or not. You might be surprised. Even if you're flying in and won't have a vehicle, it might save you money to split meals in the park, eat one or two meals as sandwiches, or call an Uber to take you somewhere else. If you stay at Ft. Wilderness, you can cook out every single night :)
 
If the room has a regular coffee pot, you could make hot water and have the instant oatmeal. I have never cooked in a room. I would get some snacks after arriving to have in the room.
 


There are a few things you can make with just hot water from a coffee maker like couscous, instant noodles, and some freeze dried foods. You also have a mini-fridge in the values so you might be able to pack some cold foods in your luggage. An electric travel sized tea kettle is probably the limit of what I might consider an acceptable cooking appliance in a regular hotel room. It's conceivable that it could be used to reheat boil-in-a-bag or canned food, but don't quote me on that as I've never tried it!
 
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I have seen so many people who talk about cooking, eating, etc...but nothing actually specific about what rooms/etc they are cooking in. I have seen a sort of mix, but if you are in a value (even some moderate) resorts, what are you cooking on? Did you take appliances? Is this allowed?

Also, does anyone know what airlnes allow you to check small "appliances" (ie: a cooktop stove, etc?)...that you would need? is this normal? we don't want to get the dining plan this round and just be free...so...this is an idea I had but not sure what I can travel with?

*We're flying Southwest btw: thanks!
For flying: A liquid fuel cooktop stove would not be allowed if it is not brand new in still in the box. A propane-fueled stove would be permitted as long as there is no fuel cylander. https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/baggage/special-luggage-pol.html

You definitely would not be able to bring any fuel in your luggage. That ban includes propane cylinders. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items

But that information would only be of use if you are camping at The Fort. You cannot cook in your room with one. They are absolutely prohibited.

I'll admit to cooking in my room by using the hot water from a coffeemaker...oatmeal, tea, instant soup. There are also toasters and microwaves in every food court that you are welcome to use even if you are not purchasing food there. When we stay in a DVC villa, the menu can be expanded to include toasted bread and bagels, as well as microwavable foods and even stove top/oven cooking if we have a 1- or 2-bedroom villa. You might want to incorporate those into your plans.
 
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I always like to cook on vacation, but we get a DVC room with a kitchen at Disney or rent a house for non Disney vacations. I wouldn't cook in a regular room.

I travel a lot for work, and stay in hotels. There's usually a microwave and I do use those for TV dinners etc or reheating restaurant food.
 
My plan is to premake breakfast bowls/burritos/pancakes and just reheat in the food court. I also plan to pack a few lunches into the parks because we don't care for the options at 2 of them. If you search you can see what other people are taking. It's mostly cold foods you don't really need to cook.
 
We packed a bag of bagels last time and toasted them in the food court for breakfast. They have little containers of cream cheese, and we brought a jar of peanut butter from home. It was easy and probably cost us $5 overall and saved us at least $10-15 a day for the days we ate them! I'd maybe bring some fruit cups, raisins, nuts, trail mix, breakfast bars, granola... but that's about as far as I'd go in a regular room!
 
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No, we don't cook in rooms. If money is that tight, you may need to rethink your vacation choice?

We do get breakfast food delivered from WeGoShop: Milk, cereal, fruit, apple sauce, yogurt, etc and have breakfast in our rooms, but never would I want to cook in my room.
 
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I don't want to cook while on vacation. As other have said I would never bring a stove top, it is not allowed and I would not risk getting kicked out of the hotel. We do bring bagels for breakfast studios have a toaster that is the extent of our "cooking". I have thought of bringing my nutri bullet I miss my green shakes in the morning but it is pretty loud so I don't want to disturb other guest.
 
We stay offsite in a cabin with a kitchen, so yes we do cook occasionally. In a regular hotel room, we mostly just use the microwave.
 
If I am driving and staying value, especially with my sister, I usually take muffins, bread, cereal, non-refrigerated milk boxes, cheese sticks, peanut butter, jelly, lunch meat, chips, carrot sticks, apples, bananas and drinks. It sounds like a lot, but we do not bring more than I we expect to eat on the drive down and back, including our stay.

My sister is not always a breakfast food person in the morning and would rather have a peanut butter & jelly or a peanut butter & banana or just a muffin. I usually prefer to have something along the lines of breakfast. We usually do not have a tight schedule, so might find ourselves with a few hours in the afternoon and want a light meal or snack.

If I fly, I might bring some prepackaged muffins, snack bars, cheese sticks, fruit and crackers.

The only time I have actually cooked at WDW was when I have stayed at FW Cabins. Then we usually cook and/or grill at least 1 meal a day.
 

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