Our 1st Visit to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

 

  

Despite our many trips to Walt Disney World, last weekend was our first ever experience at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. Mama was certainly excited! With 36 booths and only 2 half-days to visit in, there was no way we could get to every one and sample everything we wanted to. Personally, I had a very long list of food & drinks to try, and the rest of the family was pretty much just along for the ride. ;) The first night I visited several booth by myself, then the next day we toured many others as a family. The kiosks that I visited on my solitary journey are noted.

 

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All photos were taken by me. For other photos of the foods I mentioned but forgot to take pictures of can be found at www.easywdw.com and www.disneyfoodblog.com, along with their thoughts.

 

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Watermelon Juice

Terra

- Fresh Watermelon Juice * Everyone else really enjoyed this, but I found it to be a bit sweet & would just prefer to eat my watermelon.

Patagonia

*When I first looked at the menu, I wasn't sure I wanted to try anything here. However, we ended up trying two different items here & I'm certainly glad we did.

-Beef Empanada * Not overwhelmingly delicious because the flavors were a bit neutral, but the children and I found it to be tasty.

-Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree * This was VERY good and everyone enjoyed it! The beef was tender and juicy, G loved the Chimichurri sauce, but the boniato puree mostly just tasted like under-seasoned mashed potatoes.

Mexico

-Rib Eye Taco * This is tied as my favorite "main dish". Sadly, the hubs and I finished this off in about 4 bites before I remembered a photo! LOL Not much food for the price, but definitely delicious!

-Mango-Strawberry Margarita * I really thought I would like this, but since I rarely drink alcohol, apparently I forgot that I only like sparkling white wines and frozen mixed drinks. The big man finished this off for me and enjoyed it.

The Refreshment Cool Post

-Dulce de Leche Frozen Yogurt * Apparently this is always a choice here because this is not technically a F&W kiosk. If this is the case, we will be ordering this every time we visit Epcot! Caramel flavored ice cream on a hot day? Yes, please!

Singapore

-Lemongrass Chicken Curry with Coconut and Jasmine Rice * I'm just going to blame the alcohol and heat for me also forgetting that I don't like curry. *eye roll* So obviously I did not like this dish, everybody thought it was okay, although I seem to recall one child asking what that weird taste was...




Schinkennedeln

Germany

-Schinkennedeln Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese * This German version of baked mac n' cheese was fantastic. I was sad to have to share it! LOL Everyone liked it.

-Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll * This was strictly for the hubs and the kids who were interested, and the consensus was that it was just okay. He's also had the bratwurst from Sommerfest and wasn't impressed with that either. I guess when you've had the real thing in country you won't be satisfied with less.


Berliner & Bratwurst
 

-Berliner-Yeast Doughnut filled with Apricot Jam * If you like apricot jam and you like doughnuts, you will like this. I had to fight off children, particularly the one who eats apricot jam on a near daily basis & is now taller than me. *sigh* Maybe you should buy more than one if this is your dilemma as well?

Frozen "Apple Pie"

Poland

 

-Frozen Szarlotka-Apple Pie featuring Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka * A frozen cocktail that seriously tastes like apple pie. Very good!

 

Hops & Barley

-Artisan Cheese Plate: Cabot Cloth-wrapped Cheddar, Purple Haze Chevre Goat Cheese, Cave Man Blue Cheese * Nasty. The fact that this photo shows a near empty tray is surprising because I don't think anyone liked it enough to finish it off. Very disappointing.

Carrot Cake aka Deliciousness

Artisan Cheese Plate

-Florida Grass-Fed Beef Slider with Pimento Cheese * This sounded really good except for the pimento cheese that they added, so the hubs was the only one who tasted this. He said it was good; meaty and cheesy. I guess that means it was good....take it for what it's worth! LOL

-Fresh-Baked Carrot Cake with Craisins and Cream Cheese Icing * It's been over a week now since I had this, and I'm still thinking about it! Hands down the "best dessert" I tried. It was still warm, the cake was moist & the craisins were a great addition. The only complaint I would have would be that the icing was too sweet and sugary, but I don't usually like much icing or frosting on any cake. Everyone else enjoyed the icing, which I think is the only thing I let them taste. Again, buy more than one!

Morocco

*I visited this booth by myself.

-Kefta Pocket * Disappointing. The pita was too big for the one whole meatball I received as well as dry and flavorless. The meatball had okay flavor but was just too spicy. There was a slaw that had great flavor & helped to cool the heat from the meatball, but there was a tiny amount only on one side.

-Baklava * This is the item I was most anticipating. It is one of my most favorite desserts that I rarely have. So with a heavy heart I must tell you that this was THE most disappointing item at F&W. :( It had obviously been frozen and may have experienced frost bite because it tasted like paper and even the honey tasted bad. Just bad all around. Wal-Mart makes better baklava.

Belgium

Belgian Waffles & Cocada

-Belgium Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream * You can't go wrong with a warm waffle covered in chocolate!

-Belgium Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream * Personally, I liked this one even more than the chocolate one. However, I found myself combining the chocolate and the berries for an even tastier experience! Everybody liked both flavors.

Brazil

*I visited this booth both by myself and with my family.

Frozen Caipirinha

-Cocada-Brazilian Coconut Candy * This is basically like a huge portion of the inside of a Mounds bar, but a bit drier. Not bad, but VERY sweet & you must really like coconut to enjoy this. One kid polished this off, no problem.




-Frozen Caipirinha featuring LeBlon Cachaca * "Best Drink" in my book! It was cold, fruity & delicious. Not too sweet or strong. I would have bought another one the next day when we stopped there with my family if it wasn't $8.75!! :0


Crispy Pork Belly

-Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Cilantro * Unfortunately, my mouth was preoccupied with the waffles from Belgium when my husband ordered this, so I didn't try any. He and some of the kids agreed that it was tasty.

Ireland

*I visited this booth by myself

-Kerrygold Cheese Selection: Reserve Cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout, Skellig * This was SO good! Wins for "best side dish" in my tastings. It came with a fruit compote that was fantastically delicious and paired well with two strongly flavored cheeses. It was also served with bread (mine was dry) and Kerrygold butter, which is good. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture!

 

Refreshment Port

*I visited this booth by myself.

-Croissant Doughnut with Cinnamon Sugar * Again, I don't think this is limited to the Food & Wine Festival, as this is a permanent kiosk. $4.69 is a LOT for a doughnut, but it was hot & the perfect combination of croissant and doughnut. Hard to describe, but easy to eat! I will buy this again if it is always offered. Again, no picture. :(




Kalua Pork Slider & Pineapple Wine

Hawai'i

*This was the first booth I visited on my single trip around the world.

-Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise * Long name for a tiny sandwich! Having said that though, it was several bites of pure yumminess. The little bites of pineapple were nice surprising complement to the pork. Ties for "best main dish" for me!

-Maui Splash Sweet Pineapple Wine * I bought this on a whim. It was dry, fruity & tasted like pineapple. Go figure! LOL It was very good, so if you like fruity wines, try it.



 

Scotland

-Glenfiddich 15 year * Yes, my husband braved the 15-year-old scotch! He said it was good, but didn't like it warm. He's really just a Bud Light kind of guy, so this was kind of a stretch and just for fun. I'm not sure he'll be trying that again. ;)

15-year-old Scotch!

Have you ever been to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival? Have you been this year or are you planning to go? Let me know what you've tried or want to try! I still have a lot that I want to try and at this point have no plans to go back while F&W is still on.

Vacation on the Cheap: Orlando 2013 - Meal & Snack Ideas

Welcome back to my Vacation on the Cheap Series! I hope that you have been following along and gathering some ideas that you can use on your next vacation.

Today’s topic is food! Yummy! Food can be one of the biggest, if not the biggest cost when vacationing. A family can spend anywhere from $30 for some mediocre chicken strips that have been sitting under warming lights for 5 hours, all the way up to several HUNDRED dollars for a sit-down meal with a certain princess in her castle. That’s just per meal! Over the course of several days one could easily go bankrupt.

This is not to say that you should skip on food and dining experiences that you believe to be worth the money. Like I’ve mentioned before, we do NOT skip on the Dole Whips. (If you’ve had one, you know why I keep mentioning this!) We have several character meals that we really want to do, but have yet to save the money for. When it becomes a priority, I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to save that money.

Figure out what your food priorities are and save for those. Get creative in areas where you know you could save money. We’ve already discussed finding a hotel with a kitchen, free breakfast, a mini-fridge and/or a microwave. Now we’re going to talk about specific ideas for each of those situations, and a few ideas for when you can’t find a hotel with any of those things.

No matter where you stay, do as much as you can before leaving home. If you are striving for a “real food” diet, make snacks such as homemade goldfish crackers rather than buying them. Homemade baked goods will add a special touch to your brown bag lunch. Strive to include treats that will set your lunch apart from run-of-the-mill kids meals so that no one feels deprived. Don’t forget lots of fruits & vegetables to keep it healthy!

*Please note that these are suggestions, and I have not personally tried every recipe*

The No-Frills Hotel

*Many items will need to be kept cold. Use discretion when choosing items to bring based on how much space your cooler has, number of days items will remain in cooler, and if they must be kept very cold or only cool*

 

Breakfast

Oatmeal (packets)– use hot water from the coffee maker or the tap

Muffins - these are really yummy & what we took with us; I also added blueberries to some of them

Cereal – keep milk in the cooler

Breakfast cookies

Granola Bars

*Don’t forget the fruit!

Lunch & Dinner

Homemade lunchables -meat, cheese, crackers

Pasta salad (recipe coming soon!)

Sandwiches or Wraps: meat, pb&j, cream cheese & jelly, cream cheese & ham, Nutella & banana, egg salad, tuna salad (could be made with avocado, it's yummy!) - could also be served on bagel or with crackers

*I would highly recommend wraps because of their portability. No squished bread!*

Cucumber and tomato salad    

Layered salads - in plastic jars because glass may not be permitted

California Taco Salad (recipe coming soon!)

Cucumber, dill, & Greek yogurt salad

Tortellini salad (recipe coming soon!)

Snacks & Desserts

Cookies

Yogurt

Fruit

Granola bars

Muffins

Hard-boiled eggs

Hummus & veggies

Peanut butter in bottom of jar with celery - could add raisins

Rice crispy bars/brown rice bars (recipe coming soon!)

Banana, pumpkin or zucchini bread (one or more recipes coming soon!)

Fruit cups (could make your own!)

Trail mix

Homemade soft pretzels

Homemade graham crackers

Avocado hummus

Homemade goldfish

Homemade fruit leathers

Cake

Fruit with Nutella or other dip

Lemon bars

Cheese wedges or sticks

Mixed nuts

Hotel with a Mini-Fridge and Microwave

(Including all of the above suggestions)

Breakfast

Sausage Pancake Bites – made at home, kept in fridge & reheated

Waffles - made at home with maple syrup in mix & reheated

Mini sausages in biscuits – made at home & reheated

*If you can find these really cool slow cooker liners, you can use your crock-pot to make delicious food for you while you are sleeping or out enjoying the sites!

Crock pot Oatmeal

Crock pot French toast

Crock pot Egg casserole

                                                    

Lunch & Dinner

Buffalo or BBQ chicken wraps – keep sauce on side until eating time

Ham & cheese pockets or calzones

Pasties – a tasty hand-held meat pie, referred to as a hand pie or empanada in other parts of the country (recipe coming soon!)

Picnic pizza rolls

Chicken, pork, or steak skewers with microwavable rice

Biscuit meatballs with marinara dipping sauce

Black & Blue Salad - mixed greens with thinly sliced steak, blue cheese & blue cheese dressing

Again, you can use your slow cooker for these meals:

Crock pot meatloaf

Crock pot Meatballs – party (recipe coming soon!), buffalo chicken, meatball subs (recipe coming soon!)

Crock pot buffalo chicken sliders

 

Snacks & Desserts

Popcorn – take advantage of the microwave; try the paper bag method of popping to avoid nasty chemicals!

Layered fruit parfaits

Fruit salad

 

Hotel with Kitchen

(Including all of the above suggestions)

Breakfast

Whatever you like to eat at home! (Okay, so I've never made those yummy looking caramel pecan cinnamon rolls, but they're on my short list! Anybody else try these yet?)

Lunch & Dinner

Taco salad to go – layered seasoned beef, beans, olives, chopped  veggies, cheese, lettuce in a lidded bowl (or plastic jars) pack sour cream, salsa & chips on the side

Chicken taco salad – mixed greens diced chicken, shredded cheese, beans, and tomatoes with yogurt/salsa mix on side

Sesame noodles- I double the sauce for these noodles!

Quesadilla strips with yogurt/sour cream, guacamole & salsa on side

Nachos

Tacos

Spaghetti

Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

 

Snacks & Desserts

Smoothies (freeze in freezer jam jars, or those cool reusable smoothie pop thingies)

Jell-o cubes or jell-o w/ fruit (can pour right into lunch containers to set up overnight)

Deviled eggs

Fruit salad

Raspberry cheesecake jars

Strawberry shortcake in a jar

This is just a sampling of ideas that I’ve culled from my own recipes, recipes from family and friends, and that wealth of information known as Pinterest! I’m sure that you probably have recipes in your repertoire that could be used to save you money on vacation as well. If you’re serious about saving money on vacation food, take the time to make lists of meals that you think your family would enjoy, which will be easy to transport & prepare. Make sure you share your ideas here with the rest of us!

Miss a "Vacation on the Cheap" Post? Find them here:
Part 1 - Itinerary & Menu
Part 2 - Tips & FREE Things to Do at Disney
Part 3 - Tips for Saving on Food



*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through one of the links, you will be supporting our home school! Thank you!

Vacation on the Cheap: Orlando 2013 - Tips for Saving on Food

Welcome back to my series Vacation on the Cheap! Links to the preceding installments can be found at the bottom of this post!

Saving money on food when you're at home can be difficult. Saving money when you're on vacation can seem downright impossible! For as long as I can remember, we've been packing sandwich fixings whenever we go roadtripping, whether for one day or one week. This is a great money saver & one I highly recommend! Unless of course you're like me and don't really enjoy sandwiches. I'm not really sure why it took me so dang long to realize that if I was not happy eating sandwiches at home, I would never be truly happy and satisfied eating them while away from home! This holds especially true when you are somewhere like a theme park where delicious food is in your face every hundred yards. This is the vacation where I decided to change that.

Enjoying our ham & cream cheese bagels!

If you studied my menu at all, you'll notice that sandwiches make an appearance a grand total of three times in eight days. Only one of those is a boring old pb&j or lunchmeat sandwich. In reality, I think we only ate two. The day we left home (pb&j or lunchmeat) and the day we went to Downtown Disney (ham & cream cheese on bagels).


I was determined to have delicious food whilst on vacation without spending a ton of money! I know some of you are thinking, "Yes, but you had a KITCHEN in your hotel room! What about those of us who stay at regular hotels?"

Good question. I've yet to try it, but the next weekend we vacation I will let you know how it goes. The hotel that we will be staying at from now on when we only go for weekends is a super cheap, no-frills hotel. It's run-down and old on the outside, but the rooms are clean and in good shape. The mattress is sagging, but it's comfortable. (Always bring your own pillow!) There is no fridge or microwave. There may be a single-serve coffee maker in the room, but I'm not sure. There is an unadvertised free breakfast consisting of instant oatmeal, bagels, danishes, fruit, cereals, and beverages. It's super-duper close to one of the Disney gates. Oh, and it's cheap!


Here are some tips that should help you save money on food no matter where you stay:

Tip #1: Find a hotel that offers a FREE breakfast! Plain instant oatmeal, a glass of milk & a piece of fruit is a great breakfast! (Avoid the flavored oatmeal! Sweeten with good old sugar, jelly, maple syrup or honey, if they have it.)

If you can't get a free breakfast, make sure your hotel room has a fridge and a microwave. Some hotels don't put them in all their rooms, so make sure you ask!

If you can't find a hotel that offers any of that (although you should be with some dedicated research), pretend like you are going camping! At least food wise. Plan foods that are non-perishable, portable, are easy to prepare without a kitchen, and/or made at home and brought with you.


Tip #2: Don't be embarrassed by bringing your own food! No, really. People will probably stare at you as you enjoy your delicious & nutritious homemade meal packed with love, but I like to imagine that they're just jealous. I'm pretty sure those people were watching with envy the day we ate Black & Blue Salad (steak with blue cheese) and fresh strawberries with Nutella dip!

There is no rule that says you can't bring your own food into a theme park. Disney has restrictions on type & size of cooler, plus no glass containers. Whatever your destination, check the rules for what you are and are not allowed to bring.

Tip #3: Plan Ahead! Remember the itinerary we discussed? If you want to take your own food with you on vacation, you'll need to have a basic idea of what you'll be doing around each meal time. Some days I planned for us to still be at the hotel for lunch, and other days where we'd need to pack our food. I needed to know this before we left home.

Also, do not pack your food and leave it in the big cooler in the car with the idea that you will retrieve it come meal time. Your family will be starving, you'll be at the back of the park, and NO ONE will want to walk all the way back out to the car. Ask me how I know. LOL See our set up for packing it all with us here.

Tip #4: Be Creative! No boring sandwiches unless your entire family REALLY loves them! I spent large amounts of time scouring Pinterest for portable foods. I found some really great ones under lunch ideas or camping boards!

I didn't want anyone to feel like they were deprived of some fantastic meal just because we made it ourselves. This led to meal ideas like steaks, Dinosaur (hard-boiled) eggs, orange cake, and bananas with minion faces! Don't forget to include your family's favorite foods and snacks.

If you really want to get creative, you could try making those cool bento lunches that look like someone spent hours making them. In this house, "ain't nobody got time for that!"

Tip #5: Pack more snacks than you think you'll need! When your kid passes 7 other kids with Mickey bars dripping down their brand-new $80 Cinderella costumes, they're going to want one too. Probably the Mickey bar AND the costume! If you want your kid to have a Cinderella costume, or any other Disney memorabilia for that matter, make a stop at the nearest Wal-Mart where the same costume will only set you back $20. It's still official Disney merchandise.

As for the Mickey bars, have an alternative on hand at all times! We don't skip the Dole Whips in our family, and you shouldn't skip something that you really want & have planned ahead to spend the money on. For all the other times, I have snacks. They may not be super nutritious because I chose ease and portability, but they're probably healthier than the theme park snacks.

I plan for two snacks a day. It takes a lot of energy to walk around theme parks, stand on line in the boiling hot sun and humidity, and push your children through the themed store that you have to walk through at the end of every ride.

Us, successfully navigating the shops. (Meaning we didn't buy anything! LOL)

Banana!

Transformers in Training

Include some protein and (healthy)carbohydrates for a more satisfying snack. Make sure you pack enough to help everyone get through the day, plus a little extra. If you end up with leftovers at the end of the day it's okay. I'm sure they will get eaten eventually!

Tip #6: Invest in quality containers! The only two items I can confidently recommend are the Ziploc Divided Containers and the Ziploc Round Screw-top Containers. I have not encountered any problems with these two items that weren't user caused. All of the refillable bottles, coolers, lunch bags, and other plastic containers we have used have either not stood the test of time and abuse use, or are just adequate. I don't want to recommend anything that doesn't work!


Both of these containers are reasonably priced, so you should be able to stock up on however many your family needs. We bought 12 of the divided containers so we could pack 2 meals per day. Buy whatever you need & will fit into your coolers with room for extra ice. BTW, we ended up buying two of the clearanced (70%off, so $3.98 each)lunch bags from Target that I mentioned before. They will fit two of the Ziploc Divided containers, with plenty of room for ice packs. They also came with little water bottles that fit into an outside pocket! BONUS!

Here is the meal we enjoyed on the beach of Disney's Polynesian Resort.

(Look! No leaking between compartments!)

Teriyaki Pork & Pineapple Kebabs over brown rice (with soy sauce), grapes & banana pudding!

Tip #7: Bring your own water! Each person should have their own refillable water container. On this vacation they received lanyards from which they carried their own bottles. There are plenty of water fountains from which to refill, or you can ask for free ice water from a food vendor. Keep frozen water bottles in your cooler to keep your food cold and to drink later in the day. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!


I really hope that the tips I've shared with you will be helpful in saving you money on your next vacation or even a day away from the house!


Next Up: Meal & Snack Ideas

My adorable family in the shops. We have a thing for hats!
Vacation on the Cheap Posts:
Part One - Itinerary & Menu
Part Two - Tips & FREE Things to Do at Disney

Vacation on the Cheap: Orlando 2013 - Tips & FREE things to do at Disney!

Welcome back to my series Vacation on the Cheap! You can find the first installment here where I shared my planned itinerary and menu.

HOTELS:
I talked briefly about the hotel we got for a great price through a vacation club. If you're interested in the specifics, let me know. I supposed I shouldn't really call it a hotel because it is a resort that is comprised of 1-3 bedroom condos. The Polynesian Isles was a lovely resort that I hope we get to stay at again! I didn't take any pictures of the resort or our room, and can't get any pictures to transfer over, but you can check a bunch of them on TripAdvisor. We rented a 2 bedroom condo for the week because we were expecting another family to join us & split the cost, but they weren't able to come. This worked out just fine because the six of pretty much needed all the room! It had a full kitchen and an outdoor grill which were the secret to our saving money on food.

I highly recommend that if you will be vacationing for a week or longer, that you find accommodations that have a kitchen. There are many rentals within reasonable distances from popular tourist destinations that are probably cheaper than a hotel room and come with extra room & amenities. This is also a superb option for families larger than the standard "2 adults, 2 children". This is why we (sadly) don't stay on Disney property. There are very few rooms to accommodate families with more than 4 people & they are WAY too expensive. In the future we may rent point from Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Members which would allow us to stay in a Deluxe Disney Villa for less money than the rack rate. The DisBoards Forum has thread here that you can learn more about renting DVC points.


ITINERARIES:
I'm sure that itineraries is a dirty word to some of you! That's okay. There's a lot to be said about flying by the seat of your pants! Remember when I packed up my 4 kids and drove for 2 1/2 days from Texas to California so I could see my husband? That led to my kids' first trip to Disneyland! :) See the pics here and here! Don't forget to read all the stories that go with the pics & all the other interesting things we did along the way!

Still, having an itinerary can save you time, money & headaches. No, really! Like I've already mentioned, we aren't a family that can go on vacation and lay around on the beach for a week. We need to DO things! I spend hours (okay, days!) researching our destination and what we can do there. In case you hadn't guessed, Disney is our big love! It doesn't matter how many times I have been there, I still plan. Especially at a theme park, this pre-planning can save you time. I know what attractions to visit at what time of the day, and which day is the best day to visit to have the shortest wait times. I hate standing in line, and so do my children!

*If you are going to Walt Disney World, the best planning site by far is easywdw.com ! Josh knows what he is talking about! For WDW food, visit http://allears.net/din/dining.htm *

On this trip we weren't going into a Disney park, so I obviously needed to find other things for us to do (besides our 2 days at Universal Studios) & since we were on a budget, FREE was the name of the game. I scoured the internet & here is what I came up with:

Swimming at our hotel
Disney's Boardwalk at night (pretty lights & entertainment)

My first every Dole Whip Float! 

Disney's Contemporary Resort (riding the monorail through the building, the butterfly garden & view from the roof)
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort (the Wedding Pavilion)
Disney's Polynesian Resort (hula lessons, DOLE WHIPS!, the Electric Water Pageant & Wishes Fireworks from the beach)
Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports
Downtown Disney (the Lego store & a FREE Lego build!, FREE chocolate from Ghirardelli)
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (animal watching by day & by night-vision goggles, and African storytelling)
Disney's Art of Animation Resort (Cars, Finding Nemo & Little Mermaid)
Disney's All-Star Movie Resort (Toy Story!)
Ride the boat from Disney's Port Orleans Resort to Downtown Disney & back
Disney's Wilderness Lodge (follow the river from the lodge to the beach & watch the geyser erupt)
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort (butterfly garden, Tri-Circle D Ranch & petting zoo, Chip & Dale's Campfire Sing-Along & marshmallow roast, followed by an outdoor movie)

Then we needed to find a time to fit all these activities in while still being able to relax at our fantastic resort. I didn't know if this would be too many activities or not enough, but that's what the itinerary is for. Just remember that an itinerary is tool to help you, not restrict you. A guideline, if you will. If you looked at my schedule in the last post, you'll see that instead of times, I broke down the days into "morning", "afternoon", and "evening". This keeps things flexible. Plus, everyone in your group knows what is going on each day and YOU don't have to keep answering "What are we doing today?" over and over.

Which brings me to my next point: Get your family involved in the planning. In my house, I'm in charge of the planning. All the kids and the hubs can offer up their advice & I will try to include things that each person wants to do. My fantastic hubby gets the final say. Luckily, he usually only makes changes if I've made a stupid mistake somewhere!

When I'm going to a theme park, I have a list (at least in my head) of what attraction we need to visit first, based on popularity and capacity. If you really don't care about getting everything done in a day, you can go to whatever you want first, but you may end up waiting in ridiculously long lines. I say do your homework before you go!



PACKING FOR THE DAY:
Packing for a full day of touring requires some thought. We've perfected our packing skills a little more on each trip we take to the parks. Here are some of our essentials:

A Stroller: Yup. My youngest child is 5 & we still push a stroller around the park! My children aren't allowed in it though! LOL You can rent a locker at most parks, but they cost money & usually aren't anywhere near you when you need them. There is always stroller parking near attractions. A stroller can be loaded down with tons of weight and no one will complain about having to carry it all. If your children are responsible enough, they can help push it. Mine fight over who gets to push it. Go figure.

A Backpack: A good sturdy backpack is a must. We just acquired a new to us (FREE) backpack which was miraculous since both straps had finally broken on our old one and we weren't going to fork out money for a new one. Stuff this puppy with all your non-perishable snacks, napkins, wet wipes, sunscreen, diapers, change of clothes, whatever you need!

An adorable child & all our stuff!

Coolers/Lunchboxes: For us, we have a soft-sided cooler (the only kind allowed in WDW) measuring  10.5" x 10.5" x 9" (which is also within WDW regulations). This holds four of these Ziploc divided containers with room for plenty of ice & maybe an extra water bottle or two.

These containers are fantastic! They are leak-proof and sturdy. We have had several for years and not had problems with them.

We also used a small soft-sided lunchbox (leftover from the kids public school days) that sort of holds two more lunch containers and a small baggie of flat ice. This is not ideal as the ice melts quickly. We've spotted some lunch bags that will fit two Ziploc containers with plenty of room for ice at Target's Back to School clearance section. We're just waiting for the price to drop past 30% off, then we'll most likely pick up two. Otherwise, we will need to get another large cooler. Update: The price dropped & we scored 2 (with water bottles) for less than $10!

Coolers are essential for avoiding costly (and not always so tasty) vacation food! This is especially helpful if you are eating a special diet. I know many of you are here from 100 Days of Real Food, which means you're probably trying to eat a real food diet. Although Disney is very good at offering healthier options at many of their restaurants, this is not the case everywhere. By bringing your own food into the parks, which is totally within the rules, you can control what you are eating!


Water Bottles: This seems like a no-brainer to me, but maybe it isn't obvious to everyone. Each member of our family carries their own refillable water bottle. This trip our kids had lanyards to carry them across one shoulder so they didn't always have to hold on to it. It was big help! The hubs and I usually just keep ours in the outside pockets of the backpack. There are also as many extra frozen bottles that we can fit stuffed into the cooler. At Disney any food service place will give you cups of ice water that you can then refill your bottle with. Unfortunately, I think most of their water tastes funny, so I just pack as much of my own as I can.

Lanyard with a pocket attached: Keep your money and park passes on you at all times with this handy dandy invention. You will have to leave bags and loose articles when you board most rides, and you don't want to leave your money behind! The plastic pocket should help to keep your items dry in case of a sudden downpour or an especially wet water ride.


Well, I think that about covers it! I would love to hear any tips and ideas that you guys have for vacationing on the cheap!

In the next post I will talk more about the food and menu planning.

Any questions I can answer? Or at least attempt to??

Vacation on the Cheap-Orlando 2013-Itinerary & Menu

We went to Orlando on vacation at the beginning of the month. It was a totally different kind of vacation for us for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that we shouldn't really have gone because we're kind of broke right now. It seems to be a familiar state for us, but we are working on it. The biggest factor right now has been power bills of $400+ dollars every.single.month for several months now. Running the AC is killing us, but I can't live with the heat & humidity.

Despite our current economic situation, the fact of the matter was that we had already paid for the hotel (a great deal through a vacation club) back around March, and our tickets for Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure were paid for last year.

Back story: Way back in 2011 we started planning for a super special 10 day trip to Walt Disney World & Universal Studios for Christmas 2012. We pre-bought all the theme park tickets. Then the hubs got word that they were closing the facility that he worked at & we were going to be relocating just after Christmas 2012. To Florida! Yay, happy circumstance! On our first trip to WDW we traded those tickets in for annual passes which left us with a very small monthly payment.

Sadly, we can't use our WDW passes right now because we skipped a couple of those monthly payments in lieu of keeping our power on. It's cooling off a bit (like 5 whole degrees), so our bill should go back down to a slightly more reasonable bill.

Because of this, I had to get a bit creative when it came to stuff to do. This leads to the next reason why this vacation is different. Usually we go, go, go on vacation. We love to hit the theme parks early and stay late. Yes, we are usually exhausted & need a vacation from our vacation! LOL After this vacation, I'm glad we didn't do that & thankful that we didn't take that super Christmas vacation because we never would have made good use of all the tickets.

After some internet searching I found some great FREE things to do at Walt Disney World that don't involve stepping foot into one the four theme parks! Here is the itinerary I came up with:

 

Vacation Itinerary - September 2013

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Saturday 8/31 Breakfast: At Home Lunch: Packed Dinner: At Hotel	Drive to Orlando	Grocery Shopping Check-in to Hotel (after 4 pm) Swimming/Preparing food for the week	Disney’s Boardwalk
Sunday 9/1 Breakfast: Cereal At Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Islands of Adventure (opens at 9 am, leave by 8 am, latest!)	Islands of Adventure	Cinematic Spectacular –best viewing at Central Park at the lagoon curve (be there 30 min. early)
Monday 9/2 Breakfast: At Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Swimming	Explore the Contemporary (visit the butterfly garden & see the view from the rooftop) & the Grand Floridian resorts (Wedding Pavilion) Hula Lessons at the Polynesian at 330 pm (BE EARLY!)	Eat a Dole Whip Walk through the torch-lit gardens at the Polynesian. Watch the Electrical Water Pageant & Wishes fireworks from the Poly beach.
Tuesday 9/3 Breakfast: At Hotel Lunch: At Hotel Dinner: Packed	Swimming	Wide World of Sports Free Lego Build at Lego Store Downtown Disney (5 pm – BE EARLY!)	Animal Kingdom Lodge night vision goggle animal watching & African storytelling
Wednesday 9/4 Breakfast: Cereal At Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Universal Studios (opens at 9 am, leave by 8 am, latest!)	Universal Studios	Cinematic Spectacular –best viewing at Central Park at the lagoon curve (be there 30 min. early)
Thursday 9/5 Breakfast: At Hotel Lunch: At Hotel Dinner: Packed	Swimming	Art of Animation & All-Star Movie Resorts Downtown Disney Ride the boat from DD to Port Orleans	Eat beignets Yeehaa Bob! (begins at 830 pm BE SUPER EARLY!!!)
Friday 9/6 Breakfast: At Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Wilderness Lodge – follow the river from the lodge to the beach & watch the geyser erupt	Fort Wilderness – Butterfly Garden, Petting zoo & Tri-Circle D Ranch	Chip & Dale’s Campfire Sing-Along & Marshmallow Roast followed by an outdoor movie.
Saturday 9/7 Breakfast: At Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Pack up & check-out of hotel by 10 am	Anywhere on Disney property that we didn’t get to explore, or want to go back to!	Drive home

 Please don't think that everything went this way, because of course, it did not! LOL I love to plan everything out completely, but am pretty flexible in the moment.

Based on the above itinerary I devised the following menu plan:

Vacation Menu - September 2013

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Saturday 8/31 Breakfast:Home Lunch: Packed Dinner: At Hotel	Waffles or Pancakes (Mix maple syrup into mix for extra ones for snack) Prep: Make the hummus -Bake the orange cake	Leftovers or Sandwiches Veggies	Grilled Steaks Grilled Corn on the Cob, Sweet Potatoes, and any other veggies that we find that would be good to grill Prep: grill steak kebabs & pineapple (separately & assemble later) for Monday -Grill steak for Black & Blue salad for tomorrow -Make Tortellini Salad -Boil eggs (18) -Frost the orange cake
Snacks		Leftover waffles or pancakes	Orange Cake
Sunday 9/1 Breakfast: Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Cereal Fruit	Tortellini Salad Carrots, celery & cucumbers or leftover grilled veggies Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans (jelly beans)	Black & Blue Salad with avocado & hard-boiled eggs Strawberries with Nutella Prep: mix eggs & spinach together for breakfast (to turn eggs green) -Put chicken in crockpot on low
Snacks	Muffins & Dinosaur (hard-boiled) eggs Butter Beer @ Harry Potter!	Hummus & Crackers	Orange Cake
Monday 9/2 Breakfast: Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Green (Scrambled) Eggs & Ham Toast w/ butter Fruit Prep: Make Hawaiian Rice Pudding -Make Yakitori Noodles -Shred chicken	(Teriyaki?) Steak & Pineapple Kebabs Salad Hawaiian Rice Pudding	Yakitori Noodles with Chicken Sweet Potatoes Fruit Salad
Snacks		Tropical Trail Mix	Dole Whips @ Poly! Orange Cake
Tuesday 9/3 Breakfast: Hotel Lunch: Hotel Dinner: Packed	Oatmeal (with fruit?) Prep: Make lemon bars -Boil rice for tomorrow	Hamburgers & Hot dogs Grilled Veggies Lemon Bars Baked beans Prep: Grill Chicken & Veggies for kebabs	Tortellini Salad Fresh veggies Fruit Banana Pudding (?)
Snacks		Hummus & Crackers	Animal cookies
Wednesday 9/4 Breakfast: Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Cereal Bananas with Minion faces drawn on! J	Chicken & Veggie Kebabs Rice	Ham & Cream Cheese Bagel Sandwiches Veggies Prep: Freeze lemonade for Friday
Snacks	Muffins & cheese sticks/wedges	Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits	Lemon Bars
Thursday 9/5 Breakfast:Hotel Lunch:Hotel Dinner: Packed	Breakfast Burritos (with bacon) Fruit Prep: Make Pasta Salad -Boil eggs (8) -Bake extra bacon for BLT’s -Make brown rice crispy bars	Nachos with guacamole Prep: Make corn dog muffins	Pasta Salad with Ham Veggies Fruit Salad
Snacks		Brown rice crispy bars	Beignets @ POR! Drinks @ Yeehaa Bob!
Friday 9/6 Breakfast:Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Oatmeal with fruit Prep: Pop popcorn in individual brown bags for movie tonight -Boil rice	BLT’s Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits	Corn Dog Muffins Coleslaw Frozen lemonade
Snacks	Muffins & cheese sticks/wedges	Trail Mix	S’mores & popcorn!
Saturday 9/7 Breakfast:Hotel Lunch: Packed Dinner: Packed	Cereal Fruit	Pasta Salad with Ham Veggies	Tuna Salad with Relish & Crackers Veggies Fruit
Snacks		Brown rice crispy bars	Whatever is left!

*Use little umbrellas on Monday when we go to the Polynesian

*Make “minion” bags out of yellow paper bags for Wednesday when we go to Universal Studios

*Use decorated brown lunch bags & bandanas for napkins on Friday when we go to Ft. Wilderness

This too did not go according to plan, but that's okay! I spent about $200 on groceries for the trip which is more than I usually spend for a week's worth of food, but way less than we would have spent eating out! I also did not get many pictures of the actual food because it was consumed so quickly or I forgot, but I think I got a few. I'm still going through the pics.

Check back for more details of our "Vacation on the Cheap"! Feel free to ask any questions & let me know your ideas for Vacationing on the Cheap!