How do I ship food to myself at BWV?

[Mickey_Maniac]

I know, I know, first I gotta go out and buy it, then pack it, but then what? How do you normally ship it? USPS, Fed-Ex, etc How far in advance? How do I address it? Do I need to put anything special on the box or label so they will hold it until we arrive?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[tmc2469]

We mail ahead of our trip every year. We have always ship regular US mail directly to the BWV with our arrival date on the box and we have had no problem. We only send non pershiable items.

 

[goldilocks_63]

We're leaving for BCV Oct. 4. Is 1 week ahead enough time to ship, or 2 weeks?

And what address do you use. I don't know how to find the WDW address, and then just add BCV, or OKW, etc??

 

[July]

Just for DVC!
I live so close. I could grocery shop and delivery to the resorts. Gosh it could be so much fun... What do you think?
Think I should retire tomorrow.
I want to shop for my DVC friends...

July

 

[patsal]

Gosh July that is such a great idea..you are so selfless thinking about all you r fellow Dis DVC'ers! LOL
But seriously, you could be on to something look at what they certain businesses charget o have a few goodies waiting for you at check in (between the upcharge on items and then the inflated delivery charge) you could easily retire and make a good profit!

 

[tripletvan]

address package as follows;

name
c/o Boardwalk Villa's
2101 Epcot Resorts
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
32830-1000
put guest arrival date on package

ship one week prior to arrival.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I never thought up shipping food. We always pack an extra suit case, fill it with food, then put it inside one of the bigger ones on the return trip. We have also taken on the plane, actually underneath, a cooler with frozen food, like a lasagna, chicken parm, etc, etc. That way its homemade, and makes an easy dinner. We just buy the salad and bread, and all done!

 

[danacath]

Has anyone ever shipped food down over the Christmas holidays? We'll be arriving on Dec. 28. I'm wondering how much extra shipping time I should allow during the busiest mailing/shipping time of the year? Also, has anyone ever shipped unused groceries back HOME? I'm wondering if this can be done from the resorts, just in case I overpack-- as I probably will.

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

tripletvan,
Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for.

July,
You do the driving, I'll answer the phone calls. We have been looking for a way to retire to WDW Land for a while now. You might be on to something here...

 

[Kick it up a notch!]

Maybe I missed something but why are you shipping food? I mean really, for the effort and cost of shipping you could shop down there and bring it back to the room. I don't understand why people would pack or ship food other than snacks for the plane ride?

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

Kick it,
We are going to try this for two reasons. One, the price of food in Orlando is significantly higher than back here in RI. Second, it seems like no matter where you go, you have to buy the Jumbo size of everything. We are planning on shipping down just enough to get us through the vacation, then we dont have to worry about throwing away the stuff we cant eat.

This is a first time try for us. If it doesn;t seem to work well, at least we tried.

 

[tripletvan]

Ditto Mickey_Maniac! I would rather just have what I needed and just do a run in run out grocery stop as oppossed to taking time from my vacation. Pretty much just cold and big things like cereal
I save prescription bottles and mix italian seasoning, Old Bay or cinnamon for Fr. toast. Bigger tight bottles with just enough olive & Veg oil. A coffee can with odds & ends and then I have a place for the bacon grease after cooking.
If it was just a couple of us I would probably asy forget it buty not with five of us and three of them are hungry teens!! $$$$$$

 

[zurgswife]

There are grocery shopping options that have normal prices....SuperWalmart, Greenland Target have the cheapest prices I've seen yet in Orlando area...example

1/2 gal milk...Walmart $1.52
Target $1.65

Compare with Goodings
1/2 Gal milk....$2.39

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

tripletvan,
I couldn't agree more. The absolute last thing I want to do while on vacation is to go food shopping. I would rather just grab milk and cream and go back to the fun...

 

[kathleena]

I don't understand why people would pack or ship food other than snacks for the plane ride?

I am experimenting with shipping food down this next trip because

1) We are arriving near midnight so can't shop when we get there
2) We don't have time to shop until 3 days after we get there
3) I can get it cheaper here, even after paying the shipping
4) Buying at my local store means buying where I work means my money goes back to the bottom line means more success share for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! (haha, OK, so that's not a big reason, but at least I know that our brand name is quality stuff and just as good as the national brands. I won't buy the store brand names in any other store.)
5) We would rather spend our time vacationing than shopping

For perishables, we always go to the Publix down Vineland. They have wonderful produce and bakery.

 

[Caskbill]

We always drive (nice being retired), but still buy a lot of food before we leave and take it with us. Same reasons: Have the food right with you immediately so no necesary side trip to a grocery first thing, familiar with local brands, cheaper (milk = $1.89/gallon), already have the local store's discount card, etc. DW will also fill small containers for those things you only need a little of (salt, butter, cooking oil, etc).

We'll take a cooler with cold items (milk, butter), and lots of ice, several packs of pop (typically $2.50/12 pack) and so on. Then a couple of boxes of canned food, bread and such.

Just two of us so plenty of room in the car including the trunk and the back seat. We'll use a smaller second cooler for cold drinks to use on the trip, and a small bag with snacks.

We make a one-night stop enroute, a little over half-way there, will eat dinner out somewhere that night, have the hotel's continental breakfast in the morning, and then finish the drive, arriving at WDW about check-in time, and not having to wait for the room.

Works great for us.

 

[travelbug]

Hey, danacath-
There's a thread over on the Budget Board that may help answer your questions. I don't know how to post a link, or I'd be glad to do it.

Someone over there said that they go on www.UPS.com to see how long it will take a pkg. to arrive between specific cities and on specific dates. A couple other people said that the front desk at BCV took care of boxing and shipping back stuff for them. Maybe BWV will do the same thing??

Good luck!

 

[Claudia1]

Yes, Kathleena, we have shipped for all the same reasons and even more. With the decrease in the allowed weight limits on checked baggage, we knew that we would have to pack at least two more suitcases.

We live in the midwest and shipped one large, 40# box one week prior to our arrival. The shipping info posted earlier is correct. It cost us $15 to ship it all, including small cans of ready-made formula. I used disposable diapers as packing. The bell staff brought it to our room for us, too.

We think that we didn't quite break even with the higher prices at the tourist grocery stops but it was certainly better than the $40 airline charge for an over-weight bag.

We just didn't have the option of getting to a bargain store (like WalMart) and we were there for 10 days, with a baby and lots of luggage, a stroller, etc....

I agree with all of your reasons and hope you will let us know how you like it.

 

[danacath]

Here are a few more reasons to ship food down: (1). The airlines are now discouraging people from packing food in their luggage, due to increased security measures. (2). Also, we're getting a fantastic town car rate, but we only get a 15 min. grocery stop. I can't even imagine myself trying to shop in an unfamiliar store with kids in tow for 8 days' worth of groceries for a family of 5 in 15 (or even 30) minutes! Nope, too stressful. Instead, we'll ship down most of our groceries, leaving the quick stop for milk, perishables, and heavier items.

travelbug--Thanks for the info on the Budget Board thread. I will definitely check it out!

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

danacath,
Did you find the budget board thread? If so, can you post a link to it, or let me know what you searched for? I would like to read up on that one too.

travelbug,
Thanks for the info on the UPS web site. I wasn't aware you could do that.