Bringing breakfast

[Cant wait for Disney]

We are staying in the BWV and wanting to do breakfast in for a few days. Is it just me or is garden grocer expensive? I'm not liking their prices so thinking about trying to pack some bfast items to bring along. Has anyone packed food and if so, what did you bring? just looking to expand my ideas..thank you!

 

[deezeealum]

Are you flying or driving? Driving obviously opens many options. When we flew and brought breakfast stuff we packed pop tarts. Not the most nutrional but they worked. You could also do nutrigrain bars etc. You could always hit the gift shop to buy doughnuts, milk, etc. Others will have great options and also be able to weigh in on Garden Grocer, but we have never used them. Have a great time

 

[bjscheel]

We packed the single serve cereal boxes, some foam bowls, and plastic spoons. Then bought a 1/2 gallon of milk at the CBR gift shop. As the week went on we had extra snacks, desserts from the dining plan we had picked up and could eat in the morning.

Loved eating breakfast in the room- I do love a big hot breakfast- but it was so much quicker to get to those rope drops!

 

[budafam]

I have looked into Garden Grocer as well and just couldn't justify spending that money (but we're driving as well so that opens up a lot of options). We're taking a mini fridge along and packing 2 1/2 gallons of milk, some yogurt, fruit, ham/cheese, bread, peanut butter & jelly and a few snacky things like cereal bars, animal crackers, goldfish crackers, etc. We're going to have the minifridge plugged in the van so it'll stay cool while we're driving. When we stop, we plan to stop and buy bags of ice to put in it to keep everything cool overnight or during the day and cover the fridge with blankets. I hope this works but it could also be a disaster. We'll be arriving at WDW early Sunday morning and going to the parks till about 4 so our fridge won't be unloaded till then I sure hope everything stays cool in that Florida heat.

 

[SDSorority]

We are staying in the BWV and wanting to do breakfast in for a few days. Is it just me or is garden grocer expensive? I'm not liking their prices so thinking about trying to pack some bfast items to bring along. Has anyone packed food and if so, what did you bring? just looking to expand my ideas..thank you!

When we flew, we packed a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, water, applesauce cups, apples, oranges, oatmeal, granola bars, paper plates, thick paper bowls, napkins, plastic forks/knives/spoons....

We stayed in a value with a fridge.

We put 2 bottles of water in a gallon ziplock. Then put THAT in a ziplock. Then put THAT in a plastic grocery bag and tied it up. The PB and Jelly was also put into a gallon ziplock. The bread was put into sandwich size ziplocks, 2 pieces of bread per bag. The apples and organges were put in a gallon size ziplock. Applesauce cups were put into sandwich size ziplocks. All of this food was layered inbetween clothing and secured with those straps in the suitcase. Worked like a charm!

NOW, we rent a car and get groceries from Walmart or Publix when we leave the airport. But it was a good solution when we didn't have a car!

 

[sscassel]

We are not big breakfast family, so what we do is grab granola bars/cereal bars and such to eat on the way out the door to the bus. This holds us off and we eat an early CS lunch about 11 or so.

 

[CarolAnnB]

Garden Grocer was a bit more expensive than my local grocery store, but it is a resort area and I figured I was paying for convenience as well. We bought a couple cases of water, bagels, cream cheese, juice, milk, chips/snacks for room at night. While it was more than I would have paid at home, it was much less than I would have paid for breakfast every day, never mind the water (it was July); that's how I looked at it. And we didn't have a car, so certainly cheaper than taking a taxi to a store. I had a good experience. PopTarts, granola bars, pb crackers we packed in the suitcase.

 

[singleinthe city]

I have looked into Garden Grocer as well and just couldn't justify spending that money (but we're driving as well so that opens up a lot of options). We're taking a mini fridge along and packing 2 1/2 gallons of milk, some yogurt, fruit, ham/cheese, bread, peanut butter & jelly and a few snacky things like cereal bars, animal crackers, goldfish crackers, etc. We're going to have the minifridge plugged in the van so it'll stay cool while we're driving. When we stop, we plan to stop and buy bags of ice to put in it to keep everything cool overnight or during the day and cover the fridge with blankets. I hope this works but it could also be a disaster. We'll be arriving at WDW early Sunday morning and going to the parks till about 4 so our fridge won't be unloaded till then I sure hope everything stays cool in that Florida heat.

You do realize that they sell milk at grocery stores in Florida. How much are you really saving by risking your family's health by transporting milk? I am all for bringing snacks and sandwich makings for the car ride down, but I would stop at a local grocery or gas station for fresh milk. It may be fifty cents more per gallon than your hometown price, but drinking bad milk could lead to a fun trip to the ER.

 

[tlbwriter]

We pack granola bars and Pop-tarts.

 

[budafam]

You do realize that they sell milk at grocery stores in Florida. How much are you really saving by risking your family's health by transporting milk? I am all for bringing snacks and sandwich makings for the car ride down, but I would stop at a local grocery or gas station for fresh milk. It may be fifty cents more per gallon than your hometown price, but drinking bad milk could lead to a fun trip to the ER.

I really wasn't looking at it as saving money. More like convenience so we don't have to do a shopping trip while we're near Disney. We're also driving and will probably be drinking it on the way down. I'm sure it's going to be fine and if it's at all not cool (you can tell by touching it), we'd dump it. I'm not going to make my family drink warm milk or risk anything by doing this. Thanks for your concern though

 

[bear_mom]

An alternative to GG and bringing your own food down with you is to ship a box down before you leave. We have done this twice now and it works really well. When we check in, they bring our box out to us. Just make sure you use UPS or FedEx, the USPS is routed differently.

Emily

 

[Cant wait for Disney]

thank you everyone..these are great ideas! disers rock! if you dont mind me asking..what was the shipping like on usinf fedex or ups for a box of food? we're in PA so it's quite a distance

 

[ssawka]

Avoid bread products if you are going to check a suitcase with food. The first time we flew down, we packed a suitcase of food (before the airlines started charging) and included a package of Lender's bagels. Well, I guess it was hot where the suitcases were stowed on the plain, because within a day the bagels were moldy.

I agree with PPs that shipping a box down before is the best option, although this is likely to cost you about $15 - $20 depending on where you are staying. Also, you can't ship perishables, so you will probably have to pay a bit more to get them from Disney.

Shipping a box works really well for us, because DD is on a gluten-free diet.
By packing the products ourself we can be sure that there are no subsitutions in brands.

 

[kaytieeldr]

thank you everyone..these are great ideas! disers rock! if you dont mind me asking..what was the shipping like on usinf fedex or ups for a box of food? we're in PA so it's quite a distance

Alternative to all the recommendations = WeGoShop.com

They will shop at the one store of your choice, therefore they will charge you the prices that store charges (e.g. Publix, SuperWalmart, etc.). Garden Grocer, because they have a standard price list, apparently shops at a single, unnamed, seemingly somewhat higher-priced store.

 

[Crystal824]

While Garden Grocer is more expensive than my regular grocery store, it seemed to me it was cheaper than shipping a large box down or paying for extra suitcases as we are flying. If you drive, you definitely have more options.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I do a combination of things. I pack dry goods like cereal, spoons, bowls, snack foods that won't get crushed and then place a Garden Grocer order for liquids and perishables like bottles water, milk, fruit, etc. I know I spend more than I would otherwise but my GG orders end up costing me maybe $60 with fees and tip and I'm happy with my purchase and haven't overspent on all of my items. I fly SWA and I never come close to 2 bags PP so I have plenty of room to pack items.

I've considered going with wegoshop but I don't like not knowing my total ahead of time. I'm not sure why that is. They sound like a great service and get great reviews. I think I also get a little worried that brands are VERY important to me because I've checked specific brands of food for my kids' allergies and if a substitution had to be made that would be very dangerous for us.

 

[bear_mom]

UPS has a cost estimator on their website. I think it was like $12 to ship a box from Michigan - we shipped mini begals, peanut buter, small boxes of cereal, fruit chews, granola bars, water flavor packs, little bottles of wine and a few other small things.

We did GG once and prefer to send down food.

Emily

 

[ssawka]

While Garden Grocer is more expensive than my regular grocery store, it seemed to me it was cheaper than shipping a large box down or paying for extra suitcases as we are flying. If you drive, you definitely have more options.

I don't get how it is cheaper than sending a box. Last year I sent a relatively large box through FedEx for $9 + $5 Disney charge = $14

With GG your paying higher for the groceries, $12 delivery fee if it is under $200, and now they've added a $2 fuel surcharge, that's $14 plus tip for the driver.

YMMV, depending on how much you are planning on sending.

 

[RangerPooh]

Garden Grocer was a bit more expensive than my local grocery store, but it is a resort area and I figured I was paying for convenience as well.

We've ordered from GG a number of times and always thought it was worth it. Sure you pay a little more but its worth it IMO. Plus when we have ordered form them we include diapers and wipes with the order so that we don't have to ship them with us. Plus depending on where we were staying or how late we checked in, sometimes the groceries were waiting for us in the room or cabin

 

[HisQween]

Hello all,

This is my first post I just wanted to throw in another idea to having breakfast in your room. We will be going in June and this is what im planning on doing.

IDK if any of you are familiar with Horizon Organic Milk, but I first found this milk when my baby started school and I wanted to send her with a good snack. I was at WalMart when I found these little juice boxes with MILK in them, on the shelves, not in the fridge...I read the box and purchased a few to sample. We usually drink 2% milk and we honestly couldn't tell the difference. They DO NOT need to be refrigerated, they come in reg white milk, chocolate, vanilla (not my favorite ) and strawberry. They were so good, and needless to say they are a staple in our pantry now.

How this relates to our Disney vaca? Since we are flying, I plan on packing some in our luggage, to have in our rooms with breakfast. I also plan on packing personal cereal boxes, oatmeal, PB & J, small plastic bowls, etc. Im not 100% sure this idea will work, but its worth the try. *Crossing my fingers*