Grocery delivery vs Traveling offsite

[speeb]

Thinking about food when we head down. My kids eat a lot of fruit. We will not have a car. I see three options:

1. Grocery delivery. Really not sure the price is worth the convenience to me. Garden Grocer has quite a markup to begin with, then the $40 minimum and $14 fee. So at best, I'd be looking at $54.

2. Get an Uber, head to the store. Looks like maybe Publix would be the nearest (staying at AoA)? I like this option as I feel like I'd get more bang for the buck and have a better selection. But I've never Ubered before and don't know if this is a good option.

3. Rely on whatever they have at Landscape of Flavors. I'd assume that the markup is probably similar to GG, but without the minimum or added fee. And I'm sure the selection is limited to like apples, bananas, and oranges or something.

I'll probably get an Amazon Pantry box, but no produce there, sadly. Are my thoughts on this about right? I'm leaning toward #2, but by the time I get to the market, I'll have been traveling for 10 hours. Ugh.

Suggestions? What do you do for fruit & veggies at the parks?

 

[HeyKoolaid]

Here's my experience: We used Garden Grocer for on our last trip. They had a great selection of foods that we wanted - better than amazon or Wilderness Lodge's shop. I was willing to pay the premium price after I realized that we were spending several hundred dollars per day for the trip, so taking time out of my vacation to save a few bucks was not worth it. Garden Grocer did an awesome job of getting our order right and their system is easy to use. However, we barely ate half of the food, since we were on the meal plan and we enjoy a lot of goodies in the parks. So at the end of the day, we just went to bed and no one was hungry. Next time we will just buy a few things in the gift shop.

 

[minnie mum]

According to taxifarefinder, a taxi would be around $27 each way to the Public on Vineland. Uber should be cheaper. So to me it's a wash when it comes to GG or getting it for yourself. Depends on how long you're staying whether you would save more than $54 in fruit snacks during your stay ( vs just buying what they have at the resort/parks.)

 

[Stefecatzz]

If you're on the DDP, there is a good point made by a PP about how much you & your family will be able to eat in one day. There is advice on some sites given about not using snack credits for fruit or veggies since compared to other things, it's not the best value. However, most people have so many credits left over at the end that it doesn't make sense not to get whatever you want in that case.

But even if you're paying OOP, the parks have stands that offer plenty of fruits & veggie snacks. Off hand, I can think of Anaheim Produce in HS, Liberty Square Market or Prince Eric's Village Market in MK, the stand outside to the left of the Land Pavilion or inside at Sunshine Seasons at Epcot (Yorkshire Fish Shop in the UK has a pack of 3 clementines available as a snack or dessert option for a meal, listed as 'whole fruit' on the menu so not sure if the fruit offered changes to something else ever) & Harambe Fruit Market at AK. Check out the menus on Disney's site to see if you think it might be worth it.

 

[Chelley00]

We Always use Garden Grocer and a lot of trips we stay offsite with a car. I don't want to take time to grocery shop on vacation, especially after traveling for two days. We just build in the fee as part of our vacation expense.

 

[speeb]

This is all exactly what I was looking for! You all make some good points, and I think I agree about not spending my vacation time grocery shopping.

I am leaning toward a dining plan and not overly concerned with value (I think it would still save us a few hundred dollars). Good to know that my fruit fiends won't go without regardless of what we do though.

Thanks!

 

[larissawbb]

Apples and pears travel well in suitcases.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

How far in advance do you have to order Garden Grocer?

 

[larissawbb]

How far in advance do you have to order Garden Grocer?

At least 7 to 14 days. They give a ten percent discount if you put in an order 60 days in advance then the percentage drops down.

 

[MrsRyan]

Has anyone here tried WeGoShop, Kelly's Personal Shopping or Dolphin Divas? They're all alternatives to Garden Grocer, which I ndont like because they have limited options for things like yogurt and bread and the up charge/fee is high.

 

[ZoZo]

The Garden Grocer delivery fee is likely to cost less than a round-trip Uber fee. When you did your math, you said Garden Grocer would be at least $54, but that includes $40 worth of food.

I ordered from GG last trip, and I didn't find that the mark-up was too significant compared to my local grocery store. It sure was convenient not to have to spend the time to go back and forth to the grocery store - to me it was well worth it. You can be very specific with a GG order, including whether you want already-ripe bananas or ones still slightly green.

 

[Muppetfan3]

I'm another vote for Garden Grocer. This is my 5th WDW trip, although it's been nearly 5 years since we've been, we've had great success with Garden Grocer. Very happy with them. Their website has improved even more since we've used it last. I already placed my order for our upcoming trip - if you place your order early, they provide a discount. My usual staples to get for our room include breakfast items (cereal, milk, fruit, granola bars and yogurt), baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.), beverages (diet coke, water, beer, wine, juice), snack foods (crackers, goldfish, animal crackers, etc.). Love that they will hold your order at the front desk until you're all settled. This service to us is worth it, for convenience, etc. Very nice to have.

 

[beccasmom]

Garden Grocer is a little pricey, but the convenience is awesome. I only wish I had found it earlier! Foodstuffs at Disney are so expensive with limited variety. When we have a car @WDW, I do grocery shop, but I don't enjoy it any more than I do at home! . And it's an intrusion into precious vacation hours, as previously stated. The service is fantastic as is their customer service. I highly recommend them.

 

[ForeverAlice]

We have used garden grocer more than once and have been happy with them. They have been on time and all items have been as ordered and fresh. I normally do the shopping every week at home and do not want to waste any of my vacation time doing it! We will be using them again next trip!

 

[staceyatdisney]

GG fan here too. Used them on last 4 trips. Going to use then for our Aug '16 trip. Order is always perfect and on time. Hopefully I'm not jinxing it by saying this.

 

[cassie58]

Also very happy with GG, and like to get a bag of baby carrots, and a few of the apples w/caramel or pb or carrots sticks w/ranch that we can carry to the park or grab as a quick snack after a pool break or at night before bed. My DD loves those sorts of snacks, and though pricier than I would pay at home, worth it for convienence. We bring most of our dry snacks in our extra suitcase(love SW where our bags fly free!) and use GG for mainly cold things(1/2 gallon milk, cheese sticks, yogurt) and a case of water. Definitely worth the little extra to have it delivered when I arrive!

 

[John Marecek]

I'll add my thumbs up for Garden Grocer. We didn't consider them at first, but glad I looked more into their service. Original plan was Amazon Pantry, but $6 per box, and the boxes filled quick w/ bottle water and soda, made GG a better option. Had a text alert when we landed, bags were at the desk when we arrived, and they even refrigerate if necessary until your room is ready. Top notch service, simple to use, saved us a good chunk on snacks, breakfast and drinks.

 

[happymommy]

We used Garden Grocer for our last trip. I then realized the next day we needed (ha ha) more beer & wine and a couple other things. I used the app & ordered from the pool area for another delivery, and it was scheduled for the next day.

 

[snowman]

We used GG during our trip in 2015. I was so tickled to be able to have Pepsi in my room. We also had bottles of water delivered. We plan on using them again for our 2017 trip, especially some breakfast items...I would much rather eat breakfast in our room.

 

[katt789]

I was in the same boat a couple of months ago, looked on GG and the prices were too much, and they were missing half the stuff I wanted.
I chose to Uber to the walmart near by where things were MUCH cheaper, and I had more than enough snacks/breakfast for the week. Ubering is super convenient and safe, it didn't add too much annoyance to my arrival day either.

Otherwise, I bring stuff from home, apples, bears, granola bars, oatmeal, protein bars/powder all travel pretty well