East Meal Prep Ideas for Hotel? (WBC in this case)

[Princess Angi]

Following along...we are staying in a condo this trip too. I am wanting to save some money by having a few meals at the condo myself. The problem with me is I generally have a hard time wanting to cook and clean up when I am at home. We eat out way too much (something I am trying to fix) as it is.

I feel like being a single mom I am in charge of all of that to begin with and it doesn't feel like a "vacation" for me to be cooking.

Snacks will be one area I will bring along items. We are driving from MN so I think I will pack some for the ride and then stop at the store when we get there for more and on the way out for ride snacks.

Breakfasts are another area I am ok with eating at the condo. Except it is a Florida trip requirement that we get one Waffle House meal (not available in MN). So I am thinking this will mostly be cereal, muffins, breakfast bars, pop tarts and greek yogurt with sides of fruits. I have one who won't eat eggs and my youngest and I eat them almost daily so we can have something out of the ordinary.

I think lunches are the other main area I need suggestions for. I think dinners will mostly be out or something like frozen pizzas. I want it to be vacation still.

 

[Fabnsab]

Following along...we are staying in a condo this trip too. I am wanting to save some money by having a few meals at the condo myself. The problem with me is I generally have a hard time wanting to cook and clean up when I am at home. We eat out way too much (something I am trying to fix) as it is.

I feel like being a single mom I am in charge of all of that to begin with and it doesn't feel like a "vacation" for me to be cooking.

Snacks will be one area I will bring along items. We are driving from MN so I think I will pack some for the ride and then stop at the store when we get there for more and on the way out for ride snacks.

Breakfasts are another area I am ok with eating at the condo. Except it is a Florida trip requirement that we get one Waffle House meal (not available in MN). So I am thinking this will mostly be cereal, muffins, breakfast bars, pop tarts and greek yogurt with sides of fruits. I have one who won't eat eggs and my youngest and I eat them almost daily so we can have something out of the ordinary.

I think lunches are the other main area I need suggestions for. I think dinners will mostly be out or something like frozen pizzas. I want it to be vacation still.

For lunches, I buy lunch meat and everyone makes sandwiches. You can buy macaroni salad and such as sides. for quick breakfasts we do bagels and fruit.

 

[cillakat]

I am so sorry to say this, but none of that sounds like a vacation to me!!!!

Then don't say it, camiandmattmom. Seriously. It adds zero value to the post or the boards.

Thanks everyone else for your helpful input and awesome ideas. This is a wealth of info.

Would love to see the admins pin a post or series of posts for food prep and eating in hotels or condos.

 

[cillakat]

We are at WBC now.

I bought ground beef, hot dogs, steak, and chicken breast and grilled it on their gas grill all at once.

THEY HAVE GRILLS!?!?!?! Where are the grills located? you just made my vacay!

Thanks for all of the other ideas too - super helpful.

 

[cillakat]

And nothing says KISS like just deli meat sandwiches / BLTs / Cold chicken clubs with just chips and fresh fruit. I always buy a ton of the "eat as is" produce and almost none of the "must cook" produce.

Love your list (bacon, eggs, ice cream). Totally on it. Thanks!

I have a few ideas, but they're all over the place, so bear with me!

If you're bringing frozen items, let that be the last thing you pack before leaving. Put everything in the cooler as closely together as you can get it. If there's any gap in the top, add a folded towel on top and close the lid--and do not open it until you get inside the condo! I just have a cheap cooler from Walmart, and everything stays frozen for me until we get there. I have a 10-hour drive, and I've never had an issue with thawing--last year my stuff was in there for a total of 20 hours.

Yup! Totally agree. I've done this many times and it always works. When the kids were little, one was allergic to eggs so I made and brought everything, everywhere.

I always grilled or roasted a bunch of chicken, pulled it off the carcass and froze flat - we ate it plain, on sandwiches...everything. I did this with so, so many foods and just froze it all flat.

Be sure to add coffee filters--the ones at WBC are the cone style, and it's a full size pot.

Thank you! I've got the coffee ready and will get the filters. Ditto disposable cups. Thanks for all your great tips! Trash bags are ready, Finish powerball tabs....non perishables are in a bin in my "staging"/packing area.

Last year when we vacationed on the cheap I used it for my 'test' for our Fl trip. I learned hamburgers were easy but made a huge mess. Clean up is what I hate.

Yes, yes yes!

Thanks for the deets on chicken with sweet and sour sauce. My five will love it and it's just me and my mom with them.

Taco meat (50/50 meat with lentils) is ready to go!

We have also talked about grilled some chicken breasts and freezing them.

I've always done that and it works great.

I also made a big breakfast casserole but no one would eat it reheated.

Ahhh, mine will so I have made two. Thanks for your tips!

There are just 3 of us (me and 2 teens) we went through 2 dozen eggs, 2 loaves of bread, two large bagets ( they were $1 at Walmart) 3 packs of carved lunch meats and 5 bottles of Indian River orange juice. Bought a bunch of cheese, bacon, crackers, bob Evans mashed potatoes, already made macaroni and cheese some fresh veggies and fruit
Dollar tree was good for snacks, they has the same frozen lemonade and Italian ices that cost big bucks in the park for $1

Great reminder about dollar tree. Thanks for your helpful list!

On our last night we did a "chopped Orlando" game were the kids had to make dinner based on what was left over...it was fun!

That is SO COOL! I'd love to do that and we have a few who might be up for the challenge

you will be surprised how little people actually eat while on vacation.

I've been generally surprised by the opposite. I guess because we do meals rather than snacks - well, three meals and one snack.

It's not my favorite thing to do (even at home) but with our family size and our income my choices are cook a little or never go.

Yup. YOu got that right!

What we did when we stayed at WBC was take a couple of hours on our check in day (we were just chillin anyways..) to do some meal prep work.

Yup, I'll cut where I can (pre cut produce) but there is no way around having to do a little if we want to eat well.

I was pretty overwhelmed (by work) when I wrote the initial post). Am now feeling like I can tackle more cooking - and have started already. Thank goodness for big freezers!

In fact, heading to a restaurant when we were all exhausted was more of a hassle than having a swim and hot tub and picking at stuff from the fridge. And as a PP said, if it allows us to stay longer, I'll gladly prepare a quick healthy meal in my condo then head to the pool rather than waiting in line for a table with an exhausted family.

THIS

And your yogurt parfait sounds great. Thanks!

I don't mind cooking at home, because I enjoy eating healthy. The thought of eating out for a week straight makes me feel bloated and fatigued. I've been teaching the kids to realize that food is fuel. If you put quality fuel in, you will run better. Frankly, the minor inconvenience of taking a few hours out over a week long vacation to prep and cook healthy meals is So worth it to have 4 happy, healthy, energetic kiddos!

100% agree with what you said. It's how we eat at home and how we do and feel best when we eat (mostly) on vacation.

Love all the suggestions and hearing how different folks optimize their meal planning / cooking / eating / touring time based on their own needs.

You've all been super helpful!

 

[ibob52]

THEY HAVE GRILLS!?!?!?! Where are the grills located? you just made my vacay!

Thanks for all of the other ideas too - super helpful.

This WBC Map (index) indicates there are *grills* near Towers: 1 - 3 - 4 - 5

 

[lcoult]

This is so helpful to me!!
I like to throw uncrustables (those circular pre-made PBJ's) in my backpack for the kids. Easy. I don't buy them otherwise, but that helps.

Can you guys give tips on HOW you schedule your day to make it back for meals? Do you typically come back for lunch or dinner... etc.? We stayed on site last time and this next trip we are going to try the offsite/break and pack some food route to save $$! I haven't figured out which is the easiest/best way to plan (for touring schedule and meals).

Thanks!!

 

[Fabnsab]

THEY HAVE GRILLS!?!?!?! Where are the grills located? you just made my vacay!

Thanks for all of the other ideas too - super helpful.

Oh yes! You just have to go down to the activities desk and check out grill utensils. The grills are everywhere. 30 minutes of my time and I had everything grilled for the week.

 

[Fabnsab]

This is so helpful to me!!
I like to throw uncrustables (those circular pre-made PBJ's) in my backpack for the kids. Easy. I don't buy them otherwise, but that helps.

Can you guys give tips on HOW you schedule your day to make it back for meals? Do you typically come back for lunch or dinner... etc.? We stayed on site last time and this next trip we are going to try the offsite/break and pack some food route to save $$! I haven't figured out which is the easiest/best way to plan (for touring schedule and meals).

Thanks!!

That's a hard one without knowing your schedule. If you guys spend a lot of time in the parks, maybe plan on breakfast in the room daily, pack lunches for the parks, and then some days be back for a late dinner of premade food you prepped in the beginning. On our park day, we eat breakfast in the room, I pack snacks and sandwiches for a late lunch and we get dinner and treats in the park.

We only do two park days and the rest are pool days so we eat in the room a lot.

 

[TwoMisfits]

This is so helpful to me!!
I like to throw uncrustables (those circular pre-made PBJ's) in my backpack for the kids. Easy. I don't buy them otherwise, but that helps.

Can you guys give tips on HOW you schedule your day to make it back for meals? Do you typically come back for lunch or dinner... etc.? We stayed on site last time and this next trip we are going to try the offsite/break and pack some food route to save $$! I haven't figured out which is the easiest/best way to plan (for touring schedule and meals).

Thanks!!

We do 1 paid meal in the parks and we bring snacks/drinks. We tend to tour when the parks close at 7pm or 8pm...and if we go in the morning, our family is about done by 6:30pm. So, we usually have a "last snack" to share at 4pm or 5pm and then everyone can hold out for dinner when we get back. Or, if we want to watch the night show, we swim at our condo early in the morning, have lunch, and then head to the parks (so we eat dinner as our 1 meal). For the evenings we come back for dinner, I have a mental plan before I even get back and the 1st thing I normally do is grab my blender (since everyone is really hot and thirsty) and blend up a fruity smoothie/shake and give it out (even if it's just OJ, ice, vanilla ice cream, and fresh bananas - our Orange Julius). If everyone has a smoothie, they can wait the 20-30 minutes for a real dinner to appear, since even making sandwiches (pulling everything out, slicing tomatoes, onions, lettuce, toasting bread, etc) takes times when kids aren't old enough to make them themselves...

This is why vanilla ice cream is always on my list (I'll also do strawberries, bananas, ice, ice cream, and milk and chocolate milk, PB, and banana and ice - all favorites)...

 

[Chelley00]

I take my crockpot to WBC. Minimal cooking and dinner is ready when we get back from the parks or pool or where ever we've been for the day.

 

[dja14]

As far as lunches, my middle son told me yesterday he would prefer just to have stuff around to make a sandwich, sub or wrap kind of thing.

Planning the day-- In the past (when my kids were younger) we did our long trips like this: Everyday was a park day, but none where whole days. My husband hates crowds and my kids have autism, so 9-11 is impossible for us. We were most always at parks at rope drop. We ate breakfast in condo (or offsite hotel), we ate lunch in the park, usually a snack in park. We carried water bottles (and usually mini snacks and a peanut butter half for my super picky one). By 2-3 we were leaving parks for the day. Evenings were movies, swimming, easy dinners at home (or the occasional off site sit down) A couple times we went later, after lunch (ate at 'home') and then we ate supper in the park and a snack, stayed as late as we wanted.

Our hotel and condo has always been close enough we could be at the parks within 5-10 minutes (MK is more complicated) We could have left, eaten lunch and gone back-our family just couldn't do it

My kids are older teens now and know their triggers and can control themselves more, so our next trip I expect much more park time. We are going to Universal though and when we go it will close around 7-8. SO my plan is breakfast most times in condo, lunches mostly out and about half our suppers at condo. I figure we will have late days (sleeping teens) so we can do early lunch (at condo) some days.

Full Disclosure- I have one child who has type 1 diabetes so we have to have food available all the time and we will carry snacks regardless. With that in mind I am thinking of taking some simple wraps or bagel sandwiches for some heavier snacks.

 

[dja14]

For the evenings we come back for dinner, I have a mental plan before I even get back and the 1st thing I normally do is grab my blender (since everyone is really hot and thirsty) and blend up a fruity smoothie/shake and give it out (even if it's just OJ, ice, vanilla ice cream, and fresh bananas - our Orange Julius). If everyone has a smoothie, they can wait the 20-30 minutes for a real dinner to appear, since even making sandwiches (pulling everything out, slicing tomatoes, onions, lettuce, toasting bread, etc) takes times when kids aren't old enough to make them themselves...

This is why vanilla ice cream is always on my list (I'll also do strawberries, bananas, ice, ice cream, and milk and chocolate milk, PB, and banana and ice - all favorites)...

I had not thought of smoothies but I am going to add it to our list. We are going in August and I already have one who hardly eats but she would eat this. Thank you so much

 

[cillakat]

For those staying at WBC: remember to reserve a Pay it Forward Bin!

I just checked with the previous teal bin user and the bin currently has "ponchos, pool toys, coffee filters, sugar sweetener, etc packets, shampoo and conditioner, laundry packets. Snack packs, sunscreen, a small soft cooler, and I'm not remembering what else. Not much food wise but good for household staples."

You could also always connect with the person who has the bin before you and ask them to text you a photo of bin contents to help with planning.

Pay it Forward Bin details and how to reserve
http://www.disboards.com/threads/wy...n-please-read-first-post-for-details.3155751/

 

[TwoMisfits]

I had not thought of smoothies but I am going to add it to our list. We are going in August and I already have one who hardly eats but she would eat this. Thank you so much

I have one who would routinely have their smoothies and then just apple slices with a PB dip and be good for dinner (we love apple slices at the condo b/c we don't do those sliced apples in bags - the taste is just always off from a fresh apple). It makes that option easy and still filling...

 

[cillakat]

Can you guys give tips on HOW you schedule your day to make it back for meals? Do you typically come back for lunch or dinner... etc.? We stayed on site last time and this next trip we are going to try the offsite/break and pack some food route to save $$! I haven't figured out which is the easiest/best way to plan (for touring schedule and meals).

We stay offsite (obvs) and follow the touring plans from Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World -- their online version is touringplans . com

PAST TRIPS: We are at the parks super duper early, leave around noon, then go back around 5.

THIS TRIP: We will bring lunch into the park, stay till 3 or 4 or 5, then go back for dinner. Back to a park if needed for an evening show (every other night)

 

[KristinU]

Oh yes! You just have to go down to the activities desk and check out grill utensils. The grills are everywhere. 30 minutes of my time and I had everything grilled for the week.

Do you check out grill utensils for the length of your stay or just for a couple of hours? I may just pick up a set at our grocery stop or pack some along.

Anyone know if Publix has premade kabobs in their meat department?

We are used to traveling in our RV where I just pack everything ahead of time, including prepared stuff that I've frozen ahead of time. But this trip will be at WBC and I'll be purchasing most things down there (might pack a few dry things from home). Here's my plan:

Dinners:
Tacos
Spaghetti
Burgers & Dogs
Pizza
Grilled Chicken
Kabobs

Lunches/Snacks:
Sandwich Stuff
Cheese
Crackers
Veggie Tray
Hummus
Fruit Tray

Breakfasts:
Muffins (are there muffin tins at WBC?)
Waffles (I just picked up a duplicate Mickey waffle maker to pack along and plan to leave it in the Pay-it-forward bin!)
Scrambled Eggs/Breakfast Wraps
Fruit
Bacon
Peanut Butter Toast

And of course some treats and snack bars, etc.

And I'm definitely in the camp of folks who prefer to cook on vacation. We do like to do a couple of special restaurant meals a week at Disney, but not 3 times a day every single day. I just like the control of what goes into the food we're eating. DH is sodium restricted, so eating at restaurants frequently is stressful for him (and subsequently for me), and our family is used to low sodium so we feel like big oompa loompas when we eat out repeatedly.

 

[Fabnsab]

M

Do you check out grill utensils for the length of your stay or just for a couple of hours? I may just pick up a set at our grocery stop or pack some along.

Anyone know if Publix has premade kabobs in their meat department?

We are used to traveling in our RV where I just pack everything ahead of time, including prepared stuff that I've frozen ahead of time. But this trip will be at WBC and I'll be purchasing most things down there (might pack a few dry things from home). Here's my plan:

Dinners:
Tacos
Spaghetti
Burgers & Dogs
Pizza
Grilled Chicken
Kabobs

Lunches/Snacks:
Sandwich Stuff
Cheese
Crackers
Veggie Tray
Hummus
Fruit Tray

Breakfasts:
Muffins (are there muffin tins at WBC?)
Waffles (I just picked up a duplicate Mickey waffle maker to pack along and plan to leave it in the Pay-it-forward bin!)
Scrambled Eggs/Breakfast Wraps
Fruit
Bacon
Peanut Butter Toast

And of course some treats and snack bars, etc.

And I'm definitely in the camp of folks who prefer to cook on vacation. We do like to do a couple of special restaurant meals a week at Disney, but not 3 times a day every single day. I just like the control of what goes into the food we're eating. DH is sodium restricted, so eating at restaurants frequently is stressful for him (and subsequently for me), and our family is used to low sodium so we feel like big oompa loompas when we eat out repeatedly.

They give you a 2 hour window to check them out. We had plenty of time to cook, wash, and return.

Your plan sounds great! I don't remember a muffin pan. Other than glass all I remember is a round aluminum pizza pan.

 

[KristinU]

M


They give you a 2 hour window to check them out. We had plenty of time to cook, wash, and return.

Your plan sounds great! I don't remember a muffin pan. Other than glass all I remember is a round aluminum pizza pan.

Cool, thanks for the info! I'll see how much space I end up with in my suitcase and either pack one or pick one up at Wally World, I like making fresh muffins!

 

[Brojoef]

Bump