Bringing sandwiches from Publix....

[gmar1210]

Anyone ever try to bring one of those in and keep it cold in a soft side cooler? How well do they stay. Don't really want to bring in bread and buy cold cuts at the counter.

 

[AllthingsDisMom]

I've done this and stored the sandwiches in the insulated pocket of my diaper bag (sort of a soft side-like cooler I guess)

Skip the sauces, mayo, tomatoes or anything you can imagine soaking into the bread. I have a very visual memory of making my children eat soggy sandwiches on the bench near Spaceship Earth at Epcot. Not the happiest lunch ever.

Since then I decided to opt on eating in the parks.

 

[gmar1210]

I've done this and stored the sandwiches in the insulated pocket of my diaper bag (sort of a soft side-like cooler I guess)

Skip the sauces, mayo, tomatoes or anything you can imagine soaking into the bread. I have a very visual memory of making my children eat soggy sandwiches on the bench near Spaceship Earth at Epcot. Not the happiest lunch ever.

Since then I decided to opt on eating in the parks.

Yea I thought about the bread being soggy. I love those chicken tender subs they make though

 

[chicagoshannon]

We used to do this all the time, except from Subway. You can usually get little packet of condiments instead of having them put it on. DO NOT put the sandwiches in a locker though. I vividly remember doing this as a kid and we returned to ant filled sandwiches!

 

[Klayfish]

If you have nothing to keep it cold, like an ice pack, it won't stay cold. We bring all of our food in, but have a large soft sided cooler bag and plenty of ice packs. Works great.

 

[gmar1210]

This has me thinking. I usually eat a 1/2 chipotle sub and it it cold the following day since there is lettuce and tomato on it. I bet those would hold up better than a sandwich. Anyone try that.

 

[MolonLabe]

I have to say if you haven't had an Ultimate boars head sub from Publix you haven't really lived yet. You'll never be satisfied with any other sub from any other chain ever again. They are that good.

Having said that, IMO it's a pain to lug all that around and the savings isn't really that much. If you must, there are small insulated sleeves and pouches you can buy that really do a fantastic job and you don't have all that extra baggage to deal with. We did that on one trip with my wife when she was trying to stick to diet for breakfast and lunch.

 

[gmar1210]

I have to say if you haven't had an Ultimate boars head sub from Publix you haven't really lived yet. You'll never be satisfied with any other sub from any other chain ever again. They are that good.

Having said that, IMO it's a pain to lug all that around and the savings isn't really that much. If you must, there are small insulated sleeves and pouches you can buy that really do a fantastic job and you don't have all that extra baggage to deal with. We did that on one trip with my wife when she was trying to stick to diet for breakfast and lunch.

Yea ultimate is good but my go to will always be the chicken tender sub. It may be a bit much to lug around. Reason why I want to bring in a sandwich or burrito is because I really do not care for the food in the parks.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I have to say if you haven't had an Ultimate boars head sub from Publix you haven't really lived yet. You'll never be satisfied with any other sub from any other chain ever again. They are that good.

Having said that, IMO it's a pain to lug all that around and the savings isn't really that much. If you must, there are small insulated sleeves and pouches you can buy that really do a fantastic job and you don't have all that extra baggage to deal with. We did that on one trip with my wife when she was trying to stick to diet for breakfast and lunch.

I'm with you there! My kids prefer the chicken tender sub, but DH and I either get the Ultimate or the Italian. We live within walking distance to a Publix, so it's a popular meal here.

As to the OP, I would pack "soggy" stuff, like tomatoes and condiments, separately. An insulated bag with an icepack should hold them just fine. And while the chicken tender sub is popular, I would go with something that holds up better cold, like cold cuts.

 

[Klayfish]

Having said that, IMO it's a pain to lug all that around and the savings isn't really that much.

What are you comparing when you say the savings isn't really that much? Do you mean buying from Publix vs. eating at a QS? If so, then I'd probably agree. We did that once...and only once. On our Thanksgiving trip, we didn't arrive at WDW until about 6pm. Long story short, we were supposed to drive down the night before, but DS10s' football team made it to their "Super Bowl" so we had to delay the trip by a day and left right after the game was over. Left Atlanta around 11:30am and arrived near WDW at 6:30pm. We wanted to head straight to MK. Instead of just making an exception and buying QS, we stopped at Publix. I'd guess we saved $8-$10 total over if we had just gone to QS. It wasn't worth the extra stop, eating in the car, etc...in hindsight we should have just made an exception and done QS.

However, if you're comparing bringing your own food in (buying bread and cold cuts, etc...) to eating in the parks, I'd completely disagree with you. That's what we do 99% of the time, bring our own food in. We spend a small fraction of what people who eat in the parks do.

 

[kydisneyfans]

A deli sub from Publix isn't going to save much, if any, money over a QS meal at Disney. I would not go through the hassle of carrying it around on ice. If anything, leave it in the room fridge and go back to the room at lunch and eat it.

 

[MolonLabe]

What are you comparing when you say the savings isn't really that much? Do you mean buying from Publix vs. eating at a QS? If so, then I'd probably agree. We did that once...and only once. On our Thanksgiving trip, we didn't arrive at WDW until about 6pm. Long story short, we were supposed to drive down the night before, but DS10s' football team made it to their "Super Bowl" so we had to delay the trip by a day and left right after the game was over. Left Atlanta around 11:30am and arrived near WDW at 6:30pm. We wanted to head straight to MK. Instead of just making an exception and buying QS, we stopped at Publix. I'd guess we saved $8-$10 total over if we had just gone to QS. It wasn't worth the extra stop, eating in the car, etc...in hindsight we should have just made an exception and done QS.

However, if you're comparing bringing your own food in (buying bread and cold cuts, etc...) to eating in the parks, I'd completely disagree with you. That's what we do 99% of the time, bring our own food in. We spend a small fraction of what people who eat in the parks do.

Correct, making and packing your own is definitely cheaper.

My wife is a stay at home mom. When we go on vacation she pretty much gets the week off from cooking / food prep. Breakfasts are usually in the room / house but consist of bagels, Danish, yogurts, fruits ect ect and even in the houses we bring paper cups, bowls and plates.

Non wdw trips I usually cook, or more correctly grill a few feasts of locally sourced fresh seafood if we have a gas grill available where we are staying at a place with one.

I totally get saving money though, we've been there to make trips work past. I work a lot and value every second of my time off. anywhere we can save time vs money on vacation we save time.

 

[Klayfish]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but as I've said many times before I think a lot of people have a serious misconception about what packing/cooking on a WDW vacation really is. Sure, if you want to make it work and time consuming you can. But we make and prep incredibly simple stuff. The "cooking" seriously consists of dropping boneless skinless chicken breasts into the oven and letting it cook while we relax. Stuff like that, almost zero "prep" work. Clean up consists of putting everything in a dishwasher and pressing the "start" button. Minimal actual dish scrubbing. For us, the value proposition is well worth it. I'd say we spend about $5-$6/person per day while on vacation. For the 10 minutes per day we spend on food prep, it's worth it. If we had to spend hours over a hot stove, maybe not. But it's just a routine we've gotten into and enjoy it. Doesn't mean it's for everyone, I understand the attraction of eating out.

 

[kymom99]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but as I've said many times before I think a lot of people have a serious misconception about what packing/cooking on a WDW vacation really is. Sure, if you want to make it work and time consuming you can. But we make and prep incredibly simple stuff. The "cooking" seriously consists of dropping boneless skinless chicken breasts into the oven and letting it cook while we relax. Stuff like that, almost zero "prep" work. Clean up consists of putting everything in a dishwasher and pressing the "start" button. Minimal actual dish scrubbing. For us, the value proposition is well worth it. I'd say we spend about $5-$6/person per day while on vacation. For the 10 minutes per day we spend on food prep, it's worth it. If we had to spend hours over a hot stove, maybe not. But it's just a routine we've gotten into and enjoy it. Doesn't mean it's for everyone, I understand the attraction of eating out.

I think regardless of where your vacation is if you have a kitchen it can actually be more relaxing to have some of your own food. Otherwise you have to get cleaned up from the pool or beach or whatever and decide where you want to eat. Sometimes it's real nice to just go to the fridge and make yourself something whenever you decide you are hungry. Also if a place is unfamiliar, it helps to have some stuff you know everyone likes.

 

[gmar1210]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but as I've said many times before I think a lot of people have a serious misconception about what packing/cooking on a WDW vacation really is. Sure, if you want to make it work and time consuming you can. But we make and prep incredibly simple stuff. The "cooking" seriously consists of dropping boneless skinless chicken breasts into the oven and letting it cook while we relax. Stuff like that, almost zero "prep" work. Clean up consists of putting everything in a dishwasher and pressing the "start" button. Minimal actual dish scrubbing. For us, the value proposition is well worth it. I'd say we spend about $5-$6/person per day while on vacation. For the 10 minutes per day we spend on food prep, it's worth it. If we had to spend hours over a hot stove, maybe not. But it's just a routine we've gotten into and enjoy it. Doesn't mean it's for everyone, I understand the attraction of eating out.

When we stay at a place with a kitchen, we always make breakfast. For lunch and dinner, we will just get take out or find a decent place offsite. We are just too tired at the end of the day to cook or prep.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I think regardless of where your vacation is if you have a kitchen it can actually be more relaxing to have some of your own food. Otherwise you have to get cleaned up from the pool or beach or whatever and decide where you want to eat. Sometimes it's real nice to just go to the fridge and make yourself something whenever you decide you are hungry. Also if a place is unfamiliar, it helps to have some stuff you know everyone likes.

I have to agree with this. My kids would rather just chill out and have burgers or whatever, snack when they want, and so forth. They just don't care for restaurant meals, getting (minimally) dressed up, having to wait for their food. I had my daughters in Italy over the summer (DD22, DD14), and the younger one's least-favorite aspect was the drawn-out meals. In Italy!!! She was much happier grabbing a panini or slice of pizza from any nearby corner market.

I do cut corners when we vacation--like taking break-and-bake cookies, versus cooking them from scratch like I would do here. And we might use frozen meatballs and jarred sauce, or even cooked, sliced chicken breasts. Normally, I'd be too cheap to do these things. But, it's my vacation, too.

 

[Klayfish]

When we stay at a place with a kitchen, we always make breakfast. For lunch and dinner, we will just get take out or find a decent place offsite. We are just too tired at the end of the day to cook or prep.

Yeah, no doubt. We pretty much never cook at the end of a day...unless you count reheating leftovers "cooking". We tend to cook in bulk. When we cook boneless skinless chicken breast, we'll make 6lbs of it. Or if we make boxed mac and cheese for the kids as a side, we'll make 3 boxes of it in one giant pot. So if we've been in the parks all day and come home for dinner, we simply grab stuff, toss it in the microwave and eat. WaWa often does the $.99 fountain drink specials, so sometimes we'll stop and get those monster sized sodas...but I require them to be caffeine free, zero calorie drinks. Mmmm....I love caffeine free diet Cherry Coke!!!