Garden Grocer for TENT camping

[katiekomo]

Thanks for letting me ask all these questions!! Everyone is so helpful!

I'm flying with all my camping gear, so prob not able to include food. I plan to eat breakfast and lunch at the campsite and dinner "on the go". (Usually I would have lunch on the go, but I'm planning on a mid-day break... plus I'd rather cook in daylight!)

I've seen a lot of people rave about Garden Grocer. They state that CMs even put their cold items in their cabin's refrigerators if the guest is not in their cabin! Since I'm tent camping (and flying with a mini-fridge isn't likely!!), will they hold the cold items for me at the outpost until I can pick them up? (Once I get the items, I'll put them in my cooler that I'm flying with... and I'm ordering ice.)

I'd be their within a few hours, but I don't want to have to wait around for delivery if I don't have to...

 

[clkelley]

Thanks for letting me ask all these questions!! Everyone is so helpful!

I'm flying with all my camping gear, so prob not able to include food. I plan to eat breakfast and lunch at the campsite and dinner "on the go". (Usually I would have lunch on the go, but I'm planning on a mid-day break... plus I'd rather cook in daylight!)

I've seen a lot of people rave about Garden Grocer. They state that CMs even put their cold items in their cabin's refrigerators if the guest is not in their cabin! Since I'm tent camping (and flying with a mini-fridge isn't likely!!), will they hold the cold items for me at the outpost until I can pick them up? (Once I get the items, I'll put them in my cooler that I'm flying with... and I'm ordering ice.)

I'd be their within a few hours, but I don't want to have to wait around for delivery if I don't have to...

Yes, they will do that. Also, be prepared to replenish that ice EVERY day. They have ice machines at each comfort station ($2.00 for a bag). I haven't found a cooler yet that will keep ice in Florida for more than 12 hours.

 

[katiekomo]

Eek! Good to know...

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Ive found that if you cover your ice chest with towels and keep it in the shade, it "helps"......its still hot as pig breath, but there is a noticable difference, also...leave the ice in the bag(i.e., leave the bag unopened placed into the cooler) versus dumping it out into the cooler....dont know why, but that makes a big difference also.

 

[katiekomo]

I was thinking a small(ish) soft cooler that would fit in my bag (or tent trunk) when I fly... Do those help or hurt this 'ice melt' situation?

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Eeeehhhh.......hate to say it...but those dont do much in FL temps. Maybe GardenGrocer can deliver a cheap styrofoam (appologies to those "green" fanatics out there!) one for you.

 

[katiekomo]

Yeah-- looks like they sell them for about $6. Is that the best insulator? Looks like I'll need to plan on eating up the food that needs chilling first to save some money from my newly labeled "ice budget".

 

[BigDaddyRog]

ICE BUDGET.....who'da thunk'it, huh!!!

 

[katiekomo]

I know!! This "doing Disney simply" thing is really getting complicated!!

 

[treehugnmama]

we use gg every trip (we don't camp though, well not at wdw) Last trip we bought the sytrofoam cooler from them....it didn't last the week. It cracked and started to leak...but I have a 3 and 5 year old that like to "help" It did its job but I was amazed at how fast the ice melted and we weer in a room. It was way better than the soft cooler we brought though....ice lasted twice as long in the styrofoam.

 

[DaveInTN]

Is there any way to do one of those refrigerator swaps at the Fort? I've seen reference to them on the hotel resort boards...similar to the stroller swaps. Maybe that would work well for cold items for tenters? They are pretty common I think at the value resorts....http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1454053

 

[m1tchells]

What about using your soft cooler by putting it inside (or outside, depending on the size) of the styrofoam cooler? Not gonna solve the problem, but can't hurt anything. Also, I wonder if GG sells blocks of ice? We always freeze water bottles and non-carbinated drinks for added help...not sure how you could work that out.

The fridge swap would be ideal!

 

[clovermeg]

What about dry ice? I know Publix has dry ice and I always use it when I go camping! It lasts for days in the swampy South Carolina heat!

 

[Disney Bunny]

Not sure if this would work, but one solution might be to use a regulation cooler as "luggage". Just need to make sure that dimensions and weight are within your airline's guidelines and strap it up well so things don't come out during the flight.

Another thing you can do is pack ziplock bags to put items in the cooler so they don't get soggy. Just because the ice has melted doesn't mean that the water in the cooler is no longer cold. You don't need to totally drain all the water each time you add ice if the water is still cold. That can help you to save on your "ice budget".

 

[peggyN]

I flew in and camped for a week. Brought a collapsable cooler and it didn't keep the ice from melting for long and my food was floating in water. Baggies are mandatory. The styro cooler inside the other sounds like a good idea. You could cut it down to fit. Cover it with a sleeping bag? Didn't feel like storing perishables for a very long time. The quantity of ice you get from the machine next to the comfort station is huge and overflows the bag you hold under the chute so you get a lot for 2 bucks! Hey, it's part of the adventure and nothing beats camping at FW.

 

[wlsirola]

I watched a lady hold her bag under the ice machine, and it dumped enough ice to only fill about 1/4 of the bag.. I thought "what a rip off!", but you someone above me said you get a decent amount of ice? Thats good to know for future reference.


Regarding the cooler situation. We use a marine cooler, and its supposed to be a 5 day cooler. It lasted 4 full days, and I'm sure we could have squeezed one more day out of it, but we weren't camping any more than 4 days. I should also add that our cooler was kept in full sun for those 4 days. We keep it on the tailgate of the truck for easier access(and it gets awfully heavy with everything packed into it)

 

[retired and happy]

On my last trip I got a less-than-full bag the first time, but after that it was full every time. No complaints, but wish it would last longer rather than making ice water so soon.

 

[kimsdreamvacation]

We also tent camped our first time at the Fort this past Dec. and I also have to agree with the other PP's about using a fabric cooler,it did NOT keep ice very well(nothing in this world is worse than waterlogged bologna,no flavor,yuck) But I also have to say we were lucky, after a few days at the Fort some other campers were leaving and gave us their styrofoam cooler and it did indeed keep ice longer.As for the bags of ice from the comfort station, ours were always filled to the top and even overflowed so well worth the 2 bucks and then some.The worst part of our whole experience was the amount of rain we had while we were there,the sun only came out for 2 days out of our 9 day trip and I found myself wishing for the snow again but that insanity was short livedthank goodness!!We can't wait to go back to the Fort even though I will confess that this time we have defected to a resort,POP,but have plans to come back home to see our Fort,with our popup,next year. So welcome to the Dis and also to Fort Wilderness,have a wonderful time!!!!