AKL & sending food ahead?

[kathy387]

Going in August with our 2 teenage girls {and yes they do eat!} and then hubby and I are going back in December. In order to cut costs a little, we were hoping to send some breakfast items and snacks down the day before we leave. We're staying at Portofino Bay for 2 days before heading to the AKL for 7 days. For a family of 4 who does mostly counter service, this could mean atleast a $300 savings just on breakfast. Can I do this for the Disney portion of our trip and if I can, where do I send it as far as an address? I'm willing to pay a small fee if they'll hold it for us until checkin. We will have a rental car but are not too crazy about trying to find a grocery store. Can anyone help? Kathy

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

The cost would be a lot to send this stuff, why not just go to Wal*Mart or Publix or one close to Crossroads? The one I am thinking of is not Goodings but is just about a mile or so east of Crossroads. It is a catchy name like HennyPenny or Piggly Wiggly and I simply cannot remember (guess Idid not catch it).
But, in answer to your question, yes, they will hold whatever you send. The address can be had by calling Disney.

 

[hercamore]

I guess for me it makes more sense to just buy what we want when we get to Orlando as Gail said.

You won't have a problem finding a grocery store. There is always Goodings in the Crossraods by dt disney. That is pricy, but may be cheaper than shipping stuff.

Just north of the Crossroads area is a brand new WinnDixie which is a really nice store and prices are less there.

Good luck,


herc.

 

[kathy387]

I just thought I'd ship some stuff because I really don't want to spend any time "grocery shopping". I hate doing it at home and really don't want to do it on vacation! I ship UPS at work so I know pretty much how much it will cost per pound so unless prices down there are alot cheaper, I guess it's a toss up. If we should decide to go to Winn Dixie {I heard Goodings is really expensive}, how would I get there from AKL?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by kathy387
I just thought I'd ship some stuff because I really don't want to spend any time "grocery shopping". I hate doing it at home and really don't want to do it on vacation! I ship UPS at work so I know pretty much how much it will cost per pound so unless prices down there are alot cheaper, I guess it's a toss up. If we should decide to go to Winn Dixie {I heard Goodings is really expensive}, how would I get there from AKL?

Yes, Goodings is VERY EXPENSIVE. Winn Dixie (that is the tricky name I was trying to remember) is really easy to get to. From AKL head towards DD, at the hotel plaza road, take a right, at the light that would take you to Goodings if you went straight, take a left, Winn Dixie is up about a mile or so on the right. Very easy, very reasonable and well worth the trip. I hate shopping also, but, this is not bad, honest and the prices are way less than CT.

 

[kathy387]

Thanks! I'll print this out and bring it along just incase! I really hate spending my precious vacation time doing things that I hate to do at home! The one thing that I won't ship is water or anything else "wet" so I guess we'll end up stopping there! Going in August will probably mean more of a need for beverages than food anyway!

 

[Markiesgirl]

We've used Netgrocer.com several times to send ourselves snacks and breakfast food at disney. It sure beats wasting time grocery shopping on vacation. Use the hotel name and 'Hold for Guest LastName and your dates of stay' under that and then the hotel address. Like I said we've done this at least 4 times and have NEVER had any trouble or been charged anything for the resort holding the box. We calculate shipping times so the box arrives a day before us and it's waiting when we check in.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Markiesgirl
We've used Netgrocer.com several times to send ourselves snacks and breakfast food at disney. It sure beats wasting time grocery shopping on vacation. Use the hotel name and 'Hold for Guest LastName and your dates of stay' under that and then the hotel address. Like I said we've done this at least 4 times and have NEVER had any trouble or been charged anything for the resort holding the box. We calculate shipping times so the box arrives a day before us and it's waiting when we check in.

While that is a great idea, I find Netgrocer to be right up there in price with Goodings plus the shipping. I really don't like to grocery shop but, I certainly take the time to save the money, which, after seeing netgrocers' prices, is quite a bit. It is funny, we don't feel our vacation has started until we have food, etc. in our unit at OKW. Our shopping trip last a grand total of 2 hours( we usually use Super Wal*Mart), it is done on the first day (a day we don't do much anyway) and it is over with, then it is a week of pretty darn good dining.

BUT....If the works for you, then it is a great thing!!!!

 

[CarolA]

Actually I have shipped and if you don't do overnight it is not that bad. Just call the hotel and get the "mailing" address for packages. Be sure to note on the package "HOLD FORXXXX arriving X/X/03>"

 

[ducklite]

Here's an even easier store to get to from AKL...

Head out to 192, make a right onto 192 and go about 2-3 miles down the road, you'll be at a new Publix on the right. Decent prices and SO easy to get to. Never crowded. And you don't have to deal with the traffic up aound DTD.

Anne

 

[BostonMouse]

I found that you can get a lot of breakfast items/snacks at Walgreens and the prices are comparable to the rest of the US. It's just up the street from Crossroads near Vistana.

Stay away from Goodings. They're a total rip-off.

 

[AspiringCindy]

The Publix that ducklite spoke of is great. Very reasonably priced and only a few minutes from AKL. The store is very large and there never seems to be alot of people in there shopping!

 

[danacath]

kathy387,
If you still want to consider shipping a box of food down ahead of time, do a search on these boards and type in the phrase "shipping food". You'll find all kinds of helpful info on how to do it, the approx. cost, etc. I'm going to be sending a box down in December for several reasons...shopping in an unfamiliar grocery store is not what I want to do on vacation (been there, done that. LOL); I can send down ''freebies" and deeply discounted items due to sales/coupons/rebates; town car stop is only 30 min. and I know I can't shop for a week's groceries in an unfamiliar store in that amount of time; and I don't want to bring food down on the plane--family of five will be plenty loaded down with baggage as it is. I'm going to try to "think lightweight" when choosing items to ship down ahead of time. I will use the town car grocery stop for perishables, canned goods and other heavy/bulky items.

Hope you have 2 great trips!

--cath

 

[summerrluvv]

We always ship a large box down with water, juice, snacks, toiletries, etc. It's never been more than $20.00. If you use fed-ex ground, it's a lot cheaper than UPS and make sure you ship from an actual fed-ex facility NOT a place like mailboxes, etc. where they upcharge everything.

I prefer to do all my shopping at home because it's cheaper, especially with double coupons here, and I don't want to spend my time in the grocery store on the way to the park.

 

[tiff13]

{Using my daughters log in!} Thanks to everyone who responded! I will do the search when I have more time tomorrow and then decide which way to go!We'll probably just eat breakfast somewhere at Portofino for those 2 days but have breakfast in the room at AKL, now it's just a matter of deciding on sending it or buying when we get there. I'll definately be printing out all of these directions tho!