Mailing box to Disney tip

[sajilunni]

Hi, we're doing a vow renewal at Disney and I didn't want to lug my huge dress, accessories and DH's suit in a suitcase through the airport, so I decided to mail them down. My wedding coordinator advised me that the resort would not accept any boxes sooner than 3 days before arrival. I figured I would mail it through Priority Mail on Tuesday, it would get there by Thu/Fri, in time for us to arrive on Saturday and have the V.R. the following Wednesday. So I got an "Extra Large Box" from U-Haul and took it to the post office. The box was relatively light weight (24 lbs) but bulky. When I get to the post office they tell me that the weight is fine but there is a surcharge for the size. It would be $77 to ship it down. I thought it was expensive, but I figured UPS would be even more, but then they say that it's not eligible for Priority Mail and I can only use Parcel Post. It would take 6-10 days to arrive. I was in a panic because I could just imagine us having to wear jeans to our vow renewal, and having the dress arrive two days later.

So I took it over to UPS, imagine my surprise when they told me it would be $51 to ship it down and it would be there by Friday guaranteed!

So if any of you were in the same mindset as me, and thought that USPS was always going to be cheaper than UPS or FedEx, it's not always the case. If you can fit what you want into their free Priority Mail box, it's a good deal because you can stuff it with as much heavy stuff as you want and it's still $12.95, but if you are sending a bulky box down, it might be better to go with a private shipper.

 

[HarleyMom]

Good to know, 'cause my son is moving to Orlando in August for the Disney College Program. We are planning on shipping most of his stuff for his apartment because I didn't want to pay the extra fees to the airline! Thanks much! I'll definitely look into this when the time comes!