Mailing items to resort ????

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2007
Mailing items to resort ????
8
Sun, 05-06-2007 - 2:35pm

Another question :) In a pp someone suggested mailing water to the resort before your arrival. This brought some questions to mind. We will be flying, therefore have a limited amount of space. (I am not complaining. It is much better than a 13 hour drive with a 2 year old!!!) Anyway, I was thinking of mailing somethings like water bottles, diapers, wipes, snacks, etc. Has anyone ever done this before? How far in advance would we need to mail the stuff? To where? Does Disney hold it until we get there? Would it be cheaper to buy once we arrive? We will not have a car, so going to the grocery is out. We would have to purchase on Disney property. Airline questions- Has anyone ever checked diapers, snacks, etc? Did the weight exceed the allowable limit? Anyone know what that limit is? (We are flying Southwest) What the charge is for going over? Boy, I didn't realize I had so many questions!!! Any advice on this matter is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance~

Leslie :)

preston.jpg picture by lescliff

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 05-06-2007 - 3:21pm

Most airlines... but please check Southwest specifically... allow two checked suitcases per ticketed passenger, each bag must be less than 50 pounds. That includes children with a ticket so my family of two adults and three kids could conceivably have 10 checked suitcases!! Obviously more than needed. But the weight limit can be reached very quickly with a large suitcase. When I use my one large suitcase I always keep my scale ready to check the weight. If you are over you will be asked to 'repack' by redistributing things right there at the ticket counter, or you pay a fee. I think my sister paid $40 this fall when it happened to her.

As far as shipping a package, I haven't done it but plenty here have. Although one thing that stuck with me was to bring a suitcase with snacks, diapers, etc. and then it will be empty for souvenirs on the way home!

Laura

Laura

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Avatar for carolejd
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-1999
Sun, 05-06-2007 - 5:41pm

I think the cost of shipping that kind of stuff would be quite high - water bottles especially are heavy, and diapers are bulky.

I know there are at least two grocery stores that deliver to Disney property, and I know people here have used them - hopefully they can post with some information.

Since you don't have a car, I know some of the limo/town car services that pick up from the airport will allow you to make a short stop at a grocery store on the way to your resort also.

Just a few alternatives to consider

Carole

Carole

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2007
Sun, 05-06-2007 - 10:15pm

I was thinking that the cost would be rather high also. That is why I was pondering the questions :) I think I should be able to fit everything into the suitcase . . . just not water bottles! However, when it was suggested I thought I might be missing something. After all, I think most of the ladies on here have 'been there, done that' quite a few times :) I would love to know the names of the groceries that deliver. We are taking the Magical Express, so will not have the option to stop. Thanks for your input!

Leslie :)

preston.jpg picture by lescliff

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2007
Sun, 05-06-2007 - 10:19pm

I like the idea of empty suitcase to fill with goodies! I am sure Preston will have lots of stuff to come home with. My parents are going with us. If he sees something, they buy it for him. Isn't that what grandparents are for? He is the only one, so it doesn't make it any better :) Also, thanks for the info on the airlines! I will have to check out Southwest.com. Thanks again!

Leslie :)

preston.jpg picture by lescliff

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2006
Mon, 05-07-2007 - 8:24am

I have no personal experience with the grocery delivery, but I believe the name of the two that deliver are Garden Grocer and WeGoShop. You could do a search and find out the info.

HTH

Charis

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 05-07-2007 - 11:38am

last August I had 2 cases of water shipped to our resort from Staples. Shipping was free so it was very inexpensive I think maybe $6 a case much cheaper than buying induvidual bottles at Disney. All you had to do is sign up for thier free rewards card.


But unfortunatly I have heard rumors that shipping is no longer free, You need a minimum $50 purchase some people have been buying the water and an ink catrtitrge that they would need anyway at some point to add up to $50. Another option is Cosco. I have not checked that out yet but heard they have free shipping.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2007
Mon, 05-07-2007 - 9:18pm
Thank you for that info! Still got lots to learn re: ways to save $$$...no free dining plan for us, since we're stuck going before school starts again! :(
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2005
Tue, 05-08-2007 - 8:17am
Hello! I will try to be brief but this may get a bit long sorry :).
We took a trip to Disney the beginning of March (DH DD -2YO and me) an I shipped much of what we were going to use since we did not have transportation to the store and Disney property prices can be a bit high for everyday stuff. Due to our daughters age and the fact that my husband was at a conference for 3 of the 7 days we were there we didn't do the dining plan so we tried to save some $$ by sending stuff to eat too (we ended up spending about 40$ a day to eat at the parks and resorts when it was the 3 of us). To give to an idea on price I sent 2 boxes that weighed around 30-35 pounds total through UPS from Boston to Orlando for around $38 the boxes arrived the day before we did and they were waiting at the concierge desk to pick up.Keep in mind if you do ship and are arriving in the evening concierge may be closed and you wont be able to pick your boxes up till the morning. I sent a big pack of diapers 24 small juice box size containers of milk snacks. swimmies, sand toys, stuff to do laundry, toiletries like sunscreen and shampoo (travel size), cereal bars, dried fruit, granola bars ,cookies and crackers, a few juice boxes and some friut strips, a pop up tub of wipes and a refil pack size. I am sure there was more but you get the idea. Because I sent all of this the three of us travelled on southwest with 2 small suitcases and 1 carry-on which was totally manageable for walking through the airport with a toddler and a stroller. We also shipped a case of water from staples because shipping was free which I totally reccomend if you can find free shipping elsewhere. It was I think 7 dollars for a case of 24 bottles we drank everyone of them which was savings of I think around 1.50 a bottle at least.
We haven't used the stores that deliver to the resorts I think Garden grocer is one of them You can check out their website for prices first depending on what you are buying they can be a bit pricey (for example- we needed organic milk which was around 4.00 a half gallon). Most of the resorts sell essentials for food to but also can run you a lot of money after a week. For snacks too check out Amazon.com they have bulk packs of a lot of foods and often offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount just make sure if you do their super saver shipping you give yourself at least 2-3 week maybe even a little more for the items to get there it can take a while I think most of the resorts will hold packages for 30 days but you could call to confirm.
Everyday when we went to the parks we took snacks and water and would just eat something small for lunch or dinner. You can usually get a small lunch size cooler in especially iof you have children with you we saw lots of people eating sandwiches they brought in. There were some good moneysaving tips on ALLEARS.net and mousesavers.com (I think those are the right names) one had tips on inexpensive food options like just buying 2 slices of bread and bringing PB&J for sandwiches. I didn't notice where you were staying but I am assuming it is at a resort that has a fridge in the room that was a great help to use we kept our leftovers for the next day and milk or juice.
To me if you aren't going to use a delivery service it comes down to how much luggage do you want to carry through the airport/resort.If it doesn't matter then I would pack a couple of extra suitcases and use them to bring stuff back I packed a duffel bag to bring itmes back with us ( that was in the box too :). Sorry to have rambled on so long!! I hope you and your family have a great trip.We had such a great vacation there!