Food shipments Question??

[momoftwins]

Last year, I packed food for our breakfasts and snacks in a checked suitcase. This worked out ok. However, this year we have decided to bring strollers with us, and of course our luggage.
(I am gong to try to keep items down to two strollers, two kid size suitcases which the kids can roll - hopefully, one suitcase for my husband and me - the kind you could put in an overhead, a husband, and two 7 yr olds )

In trying to minimize the amount of items we have to drag through the airports, I am trying to decide whether to ship down a box of food or pack it in a cooler and check it at the airline.

Has anyone had any problems checking a cooler? I have one that is medium size that has a handle and rolls on wheels. I was thinking of packing it up and then checking it. How do you secure your coolers? Do I secure it after I get to the airport, in order to let them look inside? BTW, we are flying Southwest out of Providence.

Gosh, now that I think about it, will all of this stuff fit in a towncar??

For those of you that send a box ahead of time, how do I determine the most economical way to ship. Do you use just regular cardboard boxes?

Thanks for any info. Have a great day.

 

[pumpkinboy]

You know, for a small fee, and a whole lot less hassle, you can order groceries from Goodings and have them delivered to you in your hotel. Yeah, they are a bit more expensive than other supermarkets in the area (tho on par with many in Mass), but they are comparable quality-wise with Bread & Checkbook here in Mass (I guess it's called WholeFoods now, but...) and the convenience factor is hard to beat. With that, you don't need the extra suitcase or cooler to lug around.

Another option is, since you're going to be in a towncar anyways, take advantage of the short grocery stop at a Publix maybe (tho they only stock the mega-pack size of anything. What do I need with a 16 pack of juiceboxes with just 2 kids?). If you're at a DVC resort, you can also pre-order certain items and have them in your room at check in.

Unless you have special food requirements and you can't get certain things in the Orlando area, just buy locally and be done with it; save your energy for vacation.

 

[momoftwins]

I will go and check out the Goodings website. You are certainly right about food being expensive in MA!. Our flight does not get in until 10:00, on a Sunday night.

I figure my kids will be crabby enough without having to drag them around at a grocery store late at night.

But the more I think about it, I would be paying shipping anyway on the boxes.

Thanks for a good idea. With all of this snow and cold weather, April cannot get here quick enough!!!

Have a great night.

 

[drogerstn]

We take a hard-sided cooler with us when driving or flying.

We use the cooler as "luggage" when flying; I secure the cooler closed with duct tape. I put name tags on the handles as well as write our name on the tape. The cooler offers good protection to items inside because of the hard sides.

We use the cooler as an "ice chest" when at the resort and keep drinks and food items requiring refrigeration in it. I prefer the hard-sided cooler over a soft-sided one because of the better insulation and the drain plug.

 

[tink98]

Hi
In July we shipped a medium size cardboard box with lots of snacks for our children. We chose to do this because our DD has allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. We are used to what she can have and didn't want to spend too much time in the store reading labels if we were unable to find her favorites (granola bars, etc.) The man at our local post office thought I was crazy to spend $16 to ship the box but the peace of mind was worth it for us. We also used delivery confirmation $0.60 to track online. I think this was worth the time it saved us in the grocery store on vacation. We had a rental car and went to the store for a few things that we couldn't ship (milk). DD7 and DD4 probably would've been too exhausted for a lengthy shopping trip on our first day.

Have a great time.

 

[momoftwins]

Do you put food in your cooler for the flight? Do you duct tape it shut after they check the cooler?

 

[drogerstn]

I've never shipped the cooler with ice in it, but that isn't a problem. People ship coolers with ice quite often. We bought lunch meats and drinks at Walmart after we got to our destination; we had a rental car. If you are going to make a grocery stop, buying multiple items doesn't add much more time than buying just a few. We packed some light weight food items (cookies and crackers) and clothes in the cooler.

I tape the cooler shut before leaving the house and pack duct tape to use on the return trip. I assume that the security personnel will tape the cooler shut if they decide to open it for inspection. More than likely, the cooler will not come open even if its not taped shut, but there is always a chance that it will tip over while on a conveyer or fall off a cart...

 

[mcnuss]

In trying to minimize the amount of items we have to drag through the airports, I am trying to decide whether to ship down a box of food or pack it in a cooler and check it at the airline.

What would you take on a plane that would require a cooler to store it? Even drinks, etc... don't need to be chilled. Are you planning to take perishables? That would worry me. I am fairly confident given all I have seen that the TSA is not going to re-duct tape your cooler, and in fact, I think they are going to be annoyed if they need to open it and it's taped. I would not want to incur their rath.

A few years ago when traveling to Orlando with friends, we realized that the most convenient and economical way to get to our DVC resort, do a grocery stop, etc.. for all of us (5) was to rent a car from National (Alamo now, right?) for one day, and return it at the center at WDW. I think we paid $75 for it, but it was less than the 2 towncars we'd have needed, less than Mears or a cab. We did not want it the whole week so it was a great plan. After dropping everyone at the resort, I shopped, and the next am, we returned the car. (We left on different days, and now I can't even remember how we got to MCO...probably took Mears.)

 

[safetymom]

I'll second what McNuss said about the TSA. You don't want to do anything that is going to upset them. If they have to find something to cut through the duct tape and then have to wade through your cooler with ice they aren't going to be very happy. Also don't expect them to retape when they are done.

I have learned after many many trips that you do what you have to do to get through security. One upset TSA employee can ruin your day.

 

[momoftwins]

mcnuss: I agree we do not want to do anything to aggravate TSA. The only reason I thought of a cooler was that I do not have a hard sided suitcase. I was going to store food inside of it and just ship it through. There is nothing perishable that I would ship. I was trying to think of something that could not be crushed(or have the food crushed) intransit. Plus, I could use the cooler at the resort to store milk or whatever.

safetymom: I was going to try and find a luggage strap (something that could be easily opened by a person) to wrap the cooler.

However, after reading other threads and info off the TSA sight, I think I am just going to ship a box down to the resort. This will certainly save me potential grief in the airport and shorten our grocery stop when we get to Disney.

Thanks to all for your input.

 

[DMRick]

If you do bring ice..the cooler has to be lined with enough towells, or other absorbant item, to sop up any liguid that may spill. They asked us last time, when we checked our collaspable cooloer, if we had ice. I said yes, and they asked us to remove it and then come back and check in. Luckily, it was ice packs, and so they let it go through.

 

[NotUrsula]

"...I've never shipped the cooler with ice in it, but that isn't a problem. People ship coolers with ice quite often."

I'm afraid that is absolutely not true. Regular ice and dry ice are strictly forbidden in checked luggage. If you want to ship something in dry ice, you have to send it as cargo, and it must be packed in a special ventilated shipping container. (Dry ice can explode under certain conditions.)

We check a hard cooler on SWA (an Igloo Wheelie Cool) every time we go to FL. Before and after 9/11, the procedure is still the same. An airline employee *must* inspect the contents before accepting it as checked baggage, and the reason that they must inspect it is to make sure that there is no ice or dry ice inside. They may or may not allow you to check perishables, but the only kind of ice pack that may be used is a sealed coolant pack.

Before 9/11, the airline agent or skycap would tape up the cooler after inspecting it, but they don't normally do that now, as TSA must be able to get into it, too. I use a luggage strap on mine, secured longwise, run through the small handles and latched on the side. I also put the contents in a clear plastic bag, so that if TSA wants to lift it out and examine the contents independent of the cooler itself, they can do so without losing anything.