Feeding tube - shipping nutrition supplies to WDW?

[twinmum]

Hello again! We will be at the GF from Nov 2-10. One of our twins DS8 (as of yesterday!) has cerebral palsy and has a feeding tube to supplement his nutrition. I just realized how heavy the boxes of "Resource" (which we feed through the tube as well as he enjoys some orally) will be. We live in Toronto and will be flying down, so weight is an issue.

The IPO at the GF connected me with a local (Orlando) drug store. The staff was very helpful. They would ship direct to the hotel but they would have to special order and that means ordering 2 different supplies by the case, much more than I need for 8 days.

Also, it seems that Novartis Nutrition in the US does not carry "Resource Plus", the supplement he enjoys orally. Has anyone in the US ever heard of it? DS is quite picky! (I'll call Novartis if no answer from this board)

We are taking ME (the posters here convinced me to give it a try!), so we don't have a grocery/drug store stop. I'm starting to think maybe I should go back to the van idea so we can stop.

Does anyone have any advice?

Twinmum

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Try talking to your airline about the extra weight. I don't know which airline you are using, but most have a "special services desk" which can handle questions that standard reservation agents cannot. They might have a special rule concerning medical supplies/equipment which would be outside the normal baggage limitations.

 

[dclfun]

I would check with your supplier to see if they can ship and also what the formulary is for Resource Plus. There may be the same thing available in Florida under a different name. My particular tube feeding has several names for the same thing/different company that makes it. I've had my supplies shipped before. Otherwise definitely check with your airline as I've brought extra baggage along that was medical and very heavy ( wheelchair and ventilator chargers) and was not charged for excess weight since it *was* medical. Have a great vacation!---Kathy

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

We just got back and while not the same case we have a similar situation in that my son is on the keto diet and requires specific brands of food. We brought our own food along just to be certain we had exactly what we needed. Most airlines will allow at least 2 and sometime 3 bags each. Why not just pack an extra bag with just the formula?

Mike

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

Hi,
We got back a few weeks ago. We stayed at POR. I UPS the equipement and supplies I needed directly to the hotel. I called the hotel ahead of time and confirmed the address. I shipped it 6 days before we left. And called 3 days later to confirm that it had arrived. I had three boxes of supplies that were shipped and the hotel delivered them to the room within two hours of checking in. I did take a can of Ensure with me on the plane to give DS something during the day. (he's on a nocturnal feed)

Don't be afraid to use ME. We had good luck with it. Just make sure when you check-out that you remind them that you need an accessible bus.

We even had a hospital bed delivered and it was set up before our arrival. Disney was wonderful. Don't be afraid to ship your supplies; I think you'll find the hotel staff very helpful. Good luck and have a great time.

 

[scrapperjill]

When we went on our wish trip...and need to pack our dd's nutritional supplements...we also considered either shipping them there or doing a pick up in Orlando. BUT after alot of thought and consideration we decided to pack them in our bags. At the time she was taking up to 8 cans a day...so for 10+ day trip it ended up being ALOT of cans...which tuns into ALOT of weight.

I did do some research on the airline we were using and medical equiptment and supplies did NOT always count towards the baggage limit. Besides that even if we did go 'over weight' with our bags it was going to be less to pay the airline overweight charge when compaired to the shipping charge. We also figured by packing the cans with us...and using them on the trip it would give us that much more room to pack our souviners home.

 

[SueOKW]

I call Allegra medical (my vendor won't ship) and they ship it right to the resort for me. I usually call about 2 weeks ahead of time. We usually have about 5 cans with us in case the case isn't there. I'm not sure what I will do now - although I notice in a trip report posted here they did allow the can..

I supposed we could easily ship our own case too! Actually had not thought about it. silly me.

 

[dclfun]

I always have my supplier ship it or they will contact another supplier in the area to do it,...this way I don't have to pay for the shipping costs and they are responsible for the delivery. The only problem I had once is that I was on a 21 day trip and they needed to ship my entire month's prescription of cans/bags/syringes so I actually had more than I needed and had to bring a weeks' worth home with me. When we flew home though the airline counted the "flat" of cans as medical and also did not charge me the excess weight. Now I have not only my tube feeding but also dog food for my service dog, battery chargers, etc. so it's kind of an ordeal to travel. ---Kathy