Anyone thinking of (or using) owners locker?

[jjpenguin]

For those who don't know Owners Locker is a big purple plastic crate that you can fill and store in Orlando, it gets delivered to your hotel when you arrive and picked up when you leave.

At first I didn't really thinka about it as we only go to WDW once a year (and are planning to skip some years) but having read a couple of threads I was thinking that there are quite a few things that I only ever take to WDW like poncho's, shorts, certain t-shirts, coffee filters, park shoes etc. and I was wondering if it might be a good idea. Then I would pack it full with WDW stuff, including clothes for a week, swimsuits, toiletries etc. and then we could travel with just hand luggage making it easier, (especially now with all the restrictions...). And by not having to take back stuff there should be more room for souveniers...

any thoughts?

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I am not just thinking of signing up, I already did!! The payment does not leave my account until 30 days before my first visit which I have already registered with OL. Like you, I go once a year and will probably skip years but I still think it is worth it. I will store all the things you mentioned plus I plan to buy from Wal-Mart or somewhere cheap, a hairdryer and straightners, a couple of cheap pay as u go mobiles (for me and DS) to put in the locker and use every trip. Any other ideas anybody for good things to store in the locker?

 

[Bexx]

Aruna, I've loved the idea of Owner's Locker from the moment I first heard about it here!! So I signed up a while back and have just filled up my locker on our visit this month - and we are only planning to go to WDW about once every three years for the forseeable future!! I've always been one to take everything but the kitchen sink with me on holiday and my locker is now absolutely full of all the stuff that I could probably leave at home if forced, but would try to drag along with me anyway, because it makes my trip easier and more enjoyable when I get there!!

It's great to know that it's all ready and waiting for us the next time we visit. The planning and packing will now be so much easier, especially if I ever get the chance of a last minute trip.......

 

[waltfan1957]

Aruna, I've loved the idea of Owner's Locker from the moment I first heard about it here!! So I signed up a while back and have just filled up my locker on our visit this month - and we are only planning to go to WDW about once every three years for the forseeable future!! I've always been one to take everything but the kitchen sink with me on holiday and my locker is now absolutely full of all the stuff that I could probably leave at home if forced, but would try to drag along with me anyway, because it makes my trip easier and more enjoyable when I get there!!

It's great to know that it's all ready and waiting for us the next time we visit. The planning and packing will now be so much easier, especially if I ever get the chance of a last minute trip.......

we go every year at xmas this was the first time we used ours everything went great and we left loads of stuff we normally carry back and forth this xmas we are only taking one case and one carry on the service is better than we thought it could be and the convenience of it all is so worth the costhope to use it for many years to come

 

[TinkTatoo]

......At first I didn't really thinka about it as we only go to WDW once a year (and are planning to skip some years) but having read a couple of threads I was thinking that there are quite a few things that I only ever take to WDW like poncho's, shorts, certain t-shirts, coffee filters, park shoes etc. and I was wondering if it might be a good idea. Then I would pack it full with WDW stuff, including clothes for a week, swimsuits, toiletries etc. and then we could travel with just hand luggage making it easier, (especially now with all the restrictions...). And by not having to take back stuff there should be more room for souveniers...

any thoughts?

We only go once a year and the locker is perfect for us. Like you we have stuff that we only ever use in Florida, most of the stuff that you mentioned above plus 2 way radio's, US plug adaptors, batteries, battery chargers, water park mugs etc., As well as leaving all that stuff behind we also left clothes, shaving gear, swimming stuff and sandals for DH, same for me (less the shaving gear ) and swimming stuff for the kids. These would be things we'd have to cart back and forth across the Atlantic year after year.

We had our locker delivered at the start of our trip and by the time it was collected on our last day we had almost a full suitcase free which we were able to fill with lots of lovely US shopping bargains. We can travel a lot lighter this year (although that might not be the case coming back with more room for shopping _ and I know there are more things that we plan to leave in the locker.

I found the company great to deal with and getting a text from my locker telling me it was waiting at my resort or that it had been safely collected when I left was a nice touch. I also found the facility on the website to make a note of what was in your locker very useful.

All in all it gets a big thumbs up from us

 

[hazelandannie]

We live in the UK and go to Florida once or twice every year and at xmas used Owners Locker for the first time after coming across the website one day. I have to say that i thought it was a fantastic idea from the start, as we always end up having to buy extra bags to bring home just to cart the same old stuff backwards and forwards (not to mention the ton of shopping we do lol!)

We had our box arrive at our hotel 2 days after we arrived so we could take our time filling it and this was a great start as it arrived with no problems and exactly when it should have done.

The 2 free shirts we got with the locker were an added bonus also

By the end of our holiday we had put in so many things that we will need time and time again and i was amazed just how much these things really do hold. It was filled with all sorts from mugs to sunscreen to towels and so on .....

Even on our departure day we made a tiny mistake with sealing the locker and had to tie with ribbon until it was collected by the driver and they were so helpful when we called to explain our silly mistake.

Also no problems with picking it up and we got the text to say it had arrived in storage safely and to let us know that the proper security seals were now on it!!

So all in all our first experience with Owners Locker was an excellent one and i would highly recommend them to anyone even if you dont go every year. We are even considering adding a 2nd locker when we return in October!!

Annie & Hazel

 

[mikki.young]

We have a locker and think it is great. There wouldn't be room for a weeks worth of clothes in ours though! We certainly travelled home a lot lighter and hope to be even lighter going back out in April.

 

[LeCras]

We have ordered a locker which we will be using for the first time in May, and I already have a looooong list of things we are leaving in it, including an old laptop that we can use for internet access when we're there!

If you go to the OL web site, there are lists of what people put in theirs on the forums. Lots of good ideas - and some bizarre ones too.

Charlotte

 

[Hilary]

I'm really tempted to give this a try, but I'm not sure it would work for our circumstances - it's been really interesting to hear how you all find it

We (at the moment) tend to have two trips to Florida per year, but not staying in one resort each time. A typical pattern would be to spend a couple of nights in a DVC resort on arrival, then a few nights at a beach location, then back to DVC before flying home. So, although I can see that we'd be able to use the delivery / pick up for the locker at our DVC resort, we'd then be left driving the locker around with us to the beach resort.

I'm not sure if we'd find that a bit of a pain, or a really useful way of transporting our 'stuff' around!

My other slight question mark over it is that we'd end up buying duplicates of everything to put in the loccker so that we'd still have a hairdryer / kettle / etc / etc at home in case we wanted to take them on a trip to somewhere other than Florida! This would seem to me to make it quite an expensive outlay :

What do you think?

 

[TinkTatoo]

......We (at the moment) tend to have two trips to Florida per year, but not staying in one resort each time. A typical pattern would be to spend a couple of nights in a DVC resort on arrival, then a few nights at a beach location, then back to DVC before flying home. So, although I can see that we'd be able to use the delivery / pick up for the locker at our DVC resort, we'd then be left driving the locker around with us to the beach resort.

I'm not sure if we'd find that a bit of a pain, or a really useful way of transporting our 'stuff' around!

My other slight question mark over it is that we'd end up buying duplicates of everything to put in the loccker so that we'd still have a hairdryer / kettle / etc / etc at home in case we wanted to take them on a trip to somewhere other than Florida! This would seem to me to make it quite an expensive outlay :

What do you think?

If you start and finish in a DVC resort you could have your locker delivered to your first resort then ask Bell services to move it to your final resort and collect it there when you check in.

I don't know about your second point, are your other trips abroad to the US? if not you could buy US specific electrical stuff in Wal-Mart and leave that in your locker and use your other stuff for non US trips. You'd be surprised at how much lighter you can travel - although you might be like us and still bring the same amount of "empty" luggage to take advantage of the shopping.

 

[Hilary]

Thanks for the reply. It's really useful to hear an objective opinion

If you start and finish in a DVC resort you could have your locker delivered to your first resort then ask Bell services to move it to your final resort and collect it there when you check in.

Yes, we could ... but then we wouldn't be able to use any of the things in the locker while we were away from Orlando unless we took the locker with us or transferred the contents to something else to move around with us - but I think that would defeat the object!

you might be like us and still bring the same amount of "empty" luggage to take advantage of the shopping.

There's a real danger of that if DH gets anywhere near the Bass Pro shop for fishing gear!

 

[Ali and boyz]

we have also been thinking about one of the lockers, can I ask you all just what you all have in yours, just trying to think if we would justify having one and also I know they give the size on their website but some people were saying they look quite big

 

[TinkTatoo]

Yes, we could ... but then we wouldn't be able to use any of the things in the locker while we were away from Orlando unless we took the locker with us or transferred the contents to something else to move around with us - but I think that would defeat the object!....

Well you could either leave things in it that you might not need at the coast or take with you. When we move resorts it just goes in the back of the car and then we unpack what's in it and store the empty box in a wardrobe or cupboard. When we are on the move again we just pile the stuff back in and sling it in the boot.

....There's a real danger of that if DH gets anywhere near the Bass Pro shop for fishing gear! .......

LOL

I'm fairly sure I had an e-mail or read something from Owners Locker where they were providing the facility to store items that might not fit in the box like golf clubs (or even fishing rods ) You could always contact them to find out

 

[TinkTatoo]

we have also been thinking about one of the lockers, can I ask you all just what you all have in yours, just trying to think if we would justify having one and also I know they give the size on their website but some people were saying they look quite big

They are actually a lot bigger than they look and we managed to fit in more that we thought. We've got

Clothes, hats, swimwear and sandals for DH & I
Swimming toys & goggles for the kids
Waterpark mugs
Lanyards & Bumbags
Beach towles
US plug agaptors
US battery charger
4x US 2 way radios and chargers
US Nintendo DS chargers
Kitchen essentials (coffee filters, disinfectant wipes, bin bags, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, clothes washing tablets, tupperware type containers)
Shaving gear, toiletries,
AA batteries
A Swiss army knife

That's all I can remember at the moment but I've got a feeling there's more in there. There is a facility on the Owners Locker web site to list what's in your locker but I forgot to make a note of what we left in it.

 

[Hilary]

I'm fairly sure I had an e-mail or read something from Owners Locker where they were providing the facility to store items that might not fit in the box like golf clubs (or even fishing rods ) You could always contact them to find out

LOL! If I tell DH that, there'll be no holding him back and we'll have one ordered before the night's out!

From the list of things you have in yours, it certainly sounds much more spacious than I imagined. I'll definitely be looking into this a bit more seriously now!

 

[jjpenguin]

Glad to hear all the positive comments, it looks like I'll be talking to DH on this one and starting to make my list...

 

[Hilary]

I signed up tonight

I'd never have thought a big purple box (currently empty) could make me look forward to our next trip to Orlando this much!

 

[Pootle]

Ok Hilary, colour me officially envious (Appropriate colour for the smiley!) I've toyed with the idea for ages but DH - who does the lugging of the cases after all - thinks it's a waste of money. But I just like the idea - and I do make the trip with a friend too when I have to haul my own stuff about.

I think I've just talked myself into it too

 

[jdvm]

Glad to have you as a new member, Hilary, and thanks to some of our Members who jumped in on this thread and did a better job describing Owner's Locker than I could!

Pootle, your husband is very typical. One of the reasons no one has offered a service like Owner's Locker before is that people don't think they need it. After all, folks have been coming to WDW for quite some time without OL and have gotten along just fine!

But we hear ALL the time from people who've tried us that the way they vacation has been transformed. I'm sure we will at some point, but we haven't found a Member who doesn't like it.

And that's our challenge. How do we get people like your husband to give us a try??

Tell him there's a risk-free trial where we'll give you every penny back if you don't like it....or, better yet, let him have a look at the lists of things people tell us they store and see if that helps. There are several OL packing lists on the DVC forums here at The DIS and the Owner's Forums (in the Community section of the OL site) also has lots of lists.

John

 

[Pootle]

Pootle, your husband is very typical. One of the reasons no one has offered a service like Owner's Locker before is that people don't think they need it. After all, folks have been coming to WDW for quite some time without OL and have gotten along just fine!

But we hear ALL the time from people who've tried us that the way they vacation has been transformed. I'm sure we will at some point, but we haven't found a Member who doesn't like it.

And that's our challenge. How do we get people like your husband to give us a try??

Tell him there's a risk-free trial where we'll give you every penny back if you don't like it....or, better yet, let him have a look at the lists of things people tell us they store and see if that helps. There are several OL packing lists on the DVC forums here at The DIS and the Owner's Forums (in the Community section of the OL site) also has lots of lists.

John

Hello John, after writing my response in the above post, I sent the link to DH (currently working in Italy) and he replied immediately "Good idea if it helps you ....!" I didn't need his permission - we're not that sort of couple - but it was nice to have that kind of response

So, I'll be along to sign up soon