Cooking Up Magic in Your DVC Villa: The Benefits of Having a Kitchenette or Kitchen Right in Your Room!

Posted:  Dining Resorts

As much as I enjoy eating, I do not like cooking. That being said, I LOVE having a kitchen or kitchenette in my room when staying with DVC, and in this blog, I’m going to share why!

The kitchen in a Two Bedroom Villa at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. The cabinets are white with a geometric pattern, and the backsplash is also white geometric tiles. The counter is dark grey with a white sink. The refrigerator, microwave, and stove are all stainless-steel. There is a black toaster, roll of paper towels, a black coffee maker, and cream and sugar on the counter.

Almost all of the DVC Studios will have a kitchenette, and One Bedroom and larger room sizes will have a full-size kitchen. This sets DVC apart from many normal hotel rooms outside of the Disney bubble where you’re most likely going to have maybe a coffee maker and an ice bucket at your disposal. Though they’re not the biggest in size, the Studio kitchenettes will have a mini fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and disposable plates and cutlery for guests to use during their stay. 

A Studio kitchenette at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. The lower and upper cabinets are white, with a stainless-steel mini fridge at the bottom. The brown countertop has a steel mini sink, black toaster and coffeemaker, cream and sugar and coffee packets on it. Above the counter there is a stainless-steel microwave and disposable cups, utensils, plates, and bowls. To the left of the kitchenette is the doorway into the bathroom.

In the larger room sizes with a full-size kitchen, there is also a full-size refrigerator, stove/oven, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and dishwasher. Additionally, you’ll find dishes, pots and pans, a baking sheet, cutlery, utensils, and more—everything you need besides the actual groceries to make and consume your food!

The spacious kitchen in a Grand Villa at Disney’s Riviera Resort. There is a large stainless-steel refrigerator with double doors, slate blue cabinets, a stainless-steel stove and microwave. The center, upper cabinets have cut outs displaying the dishware. The countertop and backsplash are a creamy white color with a coffeemaker and paper towels on the counter.

Having these spaces right in your room is convenient for many reasons, and my personal favorite is having somewhere to store and reheat leftovers. I find the portion sizes for many Disney eateries to be above and beyond what I care to enjoy in one sitting, so being able to take a doggy bag back to my room is pretty awesome! In fact, you can almost guarantee that you’ll find some pizza or a container of leftover mac and cheese in my fridge during a Disney World trip! 

Macaroni and Cheese from the Beach Club Marketplace served in a paper to-go bowl. The pasta is topped with shredded cheddar cheese, small green onion pieces, and cheese-flavored Goldfish crackers.

This also helps to cut down on waste, and when you just can’t finish that incredible dish you ordered, you don’t have to sadly leave it behind. You can enjoy the remaining deliciousness for a midnight snack!

Full size cheese pizza from the Pizza Window at Disney’s BoardWalk Villas in a cardboard box.

Speaking of snacks, this is another reason I love having a kitchenette or kitchen in my room! Even if you don’t plan to prepare big, multi-course meals during your stay, you have somewhere that you can store snacks and drinks for those late nights or extra early mornings when you don’t want to venture out of your villa or find that the dining locations at the resort are closed. 

A kitchenette in a Deluxe Studio at the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The speckled grey countertop holds a white toaster, black coffeemaker, cream and sugar and coffee packets, paper towel, sponge, and dishtowel next to the mini sink. Below the counter is a white cabinet and mini fridge. Above the counter are white cabinets with glass cut-outs and a stainless-steel microwave.

If you’ve taken advantage of the Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours, chances are by the time you get back to your resort, it’s pretty late, and you will have worked up an appetite rushing from ride to ride in those last precious park moments. It’s nice to know that even if the dining options at your resort have closed for the night, you’ve got some pop tarts or microwave popcorn you can munch on before heading to bed!

An un-popped bag of microwave popcorn placed on the inside glass tray of the microwave in a Studio kitchenette at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The door of the microwave is open, so the white interior is visible.

This leads me to another benefit, which is that you can stock up your kitchen or kitchenette with groceries and see a little bit of savings when it comes to food. When I’m traveling with a large group of family, when we first arrive in Orlando, we take a little trip to a nearby grocery store to purchase items for easy-to-prepare meals, snacks, and, of course, cases of bottled water. If you’d rather have the groceries come right to you, you can place delivery orders with services such as Garden Grocer, which will drop your purchase off right at your resort. 

A hand holds a white coffee cup in front of the stone fireplace in the living room area of a Cascade Cabin at the Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. The beige sofa can be seen below the cup, and a small fire flickers in the fireplace.

Even having a quick breakfast in your room or preparing something portable to take to the parks can help save time and money. Chomping on some Cheerios or popping a bagel in your room’s toaster are a fast and frugal way to feed the family before a long day of park hopping. Plus, you can knock out your caffeine craving, and when you get to the park, you don’t find yourself rope-dropping a restaurant instead of an attraction and can quickly pass by the massive Starbucks or Joffrey’s lines to get straight to your favorite ride! 

An iced coffee beverage topped with whipped cream sits next to a pink sprinkle donut on the blue counter of a Joffrey’s Coffee location. The cup holding the iced coffee has the purple Joffrey’s logo on it.

If driving down with my extended family, we’ve even brought a Mickey waffle iron on past trips, so we can still enjoy the most magical of breakfast foods, but without the huge bill that comes with taking 10 or more people out to a restaurant for the same meal. You can fix sandwiches for lunch, or if your room has a full-size kitchen, popping frozen pizzas in the oven is a great way to feed everyone quickly, easily, and inexpensively! Not to mention, it can sometimes be nice to have a break from the fried and decadent foods found on many menus around WDW.

Frozen foods such as pizza, ice cream, vegetables, and Eggo waffles are displayed behind the glass freezer doors of the Grab-and-Go section of The Artist’s Palette at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

My own personal experience comes into play on the next benefit. Not only am I a picky eater, but I also have some allergies that I need to consider when choosing my meals. Now, Disney is absolutely fantastic at making dining accessible and enjoyable for guests with allergies and special dietary requirements. However, having space to cook your own meals and knowing exactly what ingredients are used and how they’re being prepared is also very handy. 

A full kitchen at the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The upper and lower cabinets are white with a circular cut-our pattern on the upper cabinets. The backsplash is also white with diamond-shaped tiles. The counter is a light speckled grey with a white sink. The microwave and stove are both stainless-steel. There is a silver toaster, a white coffee maker, and coffee packets, cream, and sugar on the counter.

This is also great for people like me who don’t always find something on a menu that tickles their fancy and kiddos who get easily distracted or over-stimulated in restaurants and don’t eat as much as they usually would (or at all!)

2 paper plates of food on the coffee table in a Studio at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. The plate on the left has sandwiches and kettle chips on it, with a cupcake with white icing behind it. The plate on the right has chicken nuggets and kettle chips on it. In the background the TV is on the blue resort channel atop the white dresser.

Dining in your room is also a great way to spend quality quiet time with the family during your trip. On non-park days, spending time around the table with your loved ones for a relaxing dinner or enjoying a low-key lunch in your cozy, air-conditioned room after spending the morning at the resort pool can be lovely. Many of the DVC resorts also have public BBQ grills, so you can even have a fun family cookout at your home away from home!

A grilling area at Disney’s BoardWalk Villas. Green foliage surrounds the grill area which is made up of red bricks and a concrete half wall. The grill sits atop the red bricks, and a wooden picnic table is across from it. There is also a green trash can nearby, and the salmon-colored resort building is visible in the background.

Though there are literally hundreds of eateries to choose from at Walt Disney World, if you’re staying in a DVC villa, your own room may become your favorite dining location! There are so many reasons why having a kitchen or kitchenette to use during your stay is beneficial, and I hope this blog helps you make the most of your space during your next vacation!

The kitchen of a Cascade Cabin at the Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. The cabinets are dark wood, with a stainless-steel fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and stove. Above the grey stone countertop there is also a stainless-steel microwave. There are paper towels, a silver sink, coffee packets with cream and sugar, and a black coffeemaker on the counter. There is a small table across from it with a grey stone top and wooden stools. There is red and wooden art on the wall, and another wooden table top with black chairs can be seen in the corner.

 

~Stacy  

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