Mailing a cooler

[Mississippianna]

I highly recommend Garden Grocer. We've been twice with DD and when she was 18m on our first trip we did GG and loved it. It was so nice to have everything delivered. Bell services brought all our groceries with our luggage from Magical Express because it all arrived at once. We had no trouble getting to the $40 minimum order, and $12 for delivery is cheaper than a cab or shipping. You'll find their prices and selection are better than the resort shops, too. Second trip when DD was 2 1/2 we hired a car service from MCO to the resort and it included a free grocery stop at Publix. While it wasn't as big a deal to take time out from our trip to make that stop, and it was nice to do my own shopping, I think I'll choose Garden Grocer instead next time. Definitely check it out!

 

[Taja]

I've shipped a styrofoam cooler (paid about $2 for it--had to pay $6 for one at Publix on an earlier WDW visit) with other stuff (infant diapers & formula, plus some non-perishable items we love that aren't available in FL) to WDW, but the retail ones need to be shipped in a reinforced carton. They aren't strong enough to ship without protection. I also would recommend stuffing it (packing peanuts, crumpled paper, etc.) if it isn't completely full so it's more difficult to crush it. Packages sometimes aren't handled very gently!

I've also used the soft-side, collapsible coolers. They do require a fair amount of luggage space, though, and some are rather heavy.

What ever you decide, take one-gallon zip top bags for the ice. You will have condensation in the cooler (particularly in humid weather), but the coolers usually won't leak. You can use a hand towel to dry the cooler periodically. We usually use two one-gallon bags to keep milk chilled in a medium-sized cooler (probably about "24 can" size), adding/changing ice both morning and night. It's much easier to add/remove ice from the bags than if it is loose in the cooler! *LOL* The bags seem to last two or three days with reasonably careful handling.

 

[swilshire]

I have a carry on size cooler with wheels and handle that we often used for meats and cold beverages before the 911 restrictions on liquids. If you have room for one more carry on, that is a good option. You would have to ice it down every day, but the one I have holds a lot. I got it from Kohls, but I've seen similar ones since at Tuesday Morning.

Sheila