New Service: store your personal vacation gear

[PhilUK]

You need to post this on the UK Boards ! We always end up leaving essentials behind so we can bring back more souveniers and stuff.

Phil

 

[wisbucky]

This is an awesome idea and I think I even mentioned something similiar for Disney to do on these boards quite some time ago. Im excited to see how this takes off for you. As of right now we do leave a rubbermaid container with a friend's son. But it is becoming harder and harder to always arrange pick up and drop of with him.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Just saw this thread tonight!!! How did I miss it before?

Not sure if the quota for the 100 lockers have been filled yet, but I signed up tonight.

Great idea. Especially for families with kids.

I did leave some of the following comments with our application.

I wonder if there could be special size lockers - even for an additional cost. We have a stroller we ONLY use at WDW, so it would be great not to have to lug it back and forth every trip. Our kids not longer use the car seats especially now that we use ME, but I'm sure some members might want to leave a booster seat for their trips. These are bulkier items that might not fit into a square container.

Another question might be if more than one individual can get access to one locker, For example, different family members going down on 2 separate trips.

I thought of a great item to put in the locker. A REFILLABLE mug!!!!!!! Since no one in our family drinks a lot of soda, we have never gotten one, but I'm almost tempted to get one just for the locker!!

Can you imagine a member starting a mug collection from every resort and storing it in the locker and pulling the correct one out depending on where they are staying that trip?!!!

Good luck on succeeding in this venture!

 

[kdzgon]

This seems like an excellent idea for everyone at first, but after some thought it seems better suited to storage of more personal items (holiday decorations, "special" bags, hats, etc) than general supplies. It would also be excellent for overseas travelers and very frequent and/or last-minute visitors even for just general supplies.

If a family makes only two visits per year, $180 (the cost of the service) will buy a lot of supplies and/or pay for quite a bit of shipping. It might be worth it anyway just to not have to store that Disney box at home (and have to worry about shipping it), though I also like that it limits waste - I hate discarding perfectly usable items when we head home again.

 

[kristytru]

sounds like a GREAT idea! Just finished my application!

 

[CarolA]

I wanted to post my quick review as a tester

1. The owners are WONDERFUL. I gave them the WRONG month on my check in and they were very good to me and still delivered my locker the next day to SSR.

2. It's bigger then I realized. Actually finding a place to put the thing was a little difficult. At OKW this wouldn't have been a problem, but at SSR the closests just aren't that big. I wound up storing it in the foyer.

3. Here's a brief listing of what I put in mine
Pal Mickey (bought on sale at the outlet since I know I could leave him!)
Beach Towel
Swimsuit Coverup
Suntan lotion (I was flying on to Colorado on business and needed to do carryon so even if it expires this was a good idea)
Tote Bag (one of those large ones they sell at the gift shop)
Disney Crocs
Bubble Bath
Expandable duffle bag (what I hauled the stuff to Disney in)
Two t-shirts (cutting down on the luggage to haul to Coloado0
Disney pins and lanyard
Hat
Travel Candle
Sweatshirt
Jacket
Corkscrew
Extra ziplocks
Package of Olay Facial Cloths
Disney Wallet on a string
Disney String backpack
Extra Ziplock bags

I think that's it.

4. I was not sure that as a single person this was a great idea but the truth is that it will allow me to have some of the above "nice to haves" like a beach towel at Disney and still do a carryon luggage deal for a short weekend trip which I think may be it's best selling point for me.

As I said, the owners have been great to work with even when I had the mental meltdown!

 

[jdvm]

Hey CarolA,

Thanks for your comments and we're pleased everything worked out for you. Our website should be fully functional in the next couple of months and you will be able to schedule your visits on the site (as well as view your confidential on-line inventory and a bunch of oher neat stuff).

But, you know, we're very aware that mistakes happen and that we're dealing with people's vacations so we always want to be a phone call away. Brian and I have a firm goal of always having a human at the other end of the line for our Members...and while you may have thought you were high maintenance, we just smiled because it worked out and you found it convenient. Getting your Locker to you was great fun, actually. I was in Miami at a function with my wife when I got your PM on my cell phone. I quickly spoke with Brian back in Orlando and we had your Locker waiting for you when you checked into Saratoga Springs the next day. It was our pleasure.

I'm particularly pleased that, as a singler teraveler, you find that Owner's Locker makes sense for you. A lot of people think that because they drive instead of fly, don't have kids, etc. Owner's Locker may not be for them.
Your post shows how having things already here instead of having to lug them back and forth can make things more convenient for anyone.

kdzgon, you make an excellent point on wasting. You don't know how many times we threw perfectly good stuff away before we started using a Locker to store things between visits. And you're right, shipping things can be cheaper--and you don't exactly have to pay for the space your stuff takes upin your garage or closet! But have a look at the photos on our blog showing what all we were able to fit in a Locker. The one shown has over $350 worth of stuff in it. It adds up quickly.

Sleepy at DVC. Great point about the stroller Locker. We already have Golf, Tennis, Christmas and Clothes Lockers in the pipeline and we just added a Stroller Locker to the list. We'll also have an "Out of the Box" feature on our website where our Members can ask about storing just about anything that doesn't move--wheelchairs, bicycles, canoes--even cars.
John

 

[kdzgon]

I'm so excited - I'm already planning my list of what we will want to leave in Florida and what we will need to bring back for our other (non-Disney) trips. We sold our boat recently and have lots of duplicates that I think will come in handy and I can leave without missing here. Great timing for us, John!!
Thanks so much!

Laurie

 

[jdvm]

Hey Laurie, you make a really good point about duplicating things. I call this the "second home mentality" and there are a couple of (too long) pieces I've written on our blog about how Owner's Locker can allow you to treat your vacation club like a second home.

You may tend at first to think of the Locker as a place to keep things you don't want to constantly buy when you arrive and then throw away when you leave. But as you get used to the concept of having a place to store things between visits, you might begin to think of your Locker as a place to keep things that will make you feel at home when you're here.

For some people that may be sentimental champagne glasses, a vase for flowers only used when on vacation, or a cast iron skillet becasue that's really the only way some foods taste good.

Now you know what to do with all of that stuff from the boat!!!

John

 

[iluvdisney]

I just got home the other day from a wonderful vacation and just want to say that the Owner's Locker is the best idea!

Of course, I always said to myself after almost every trip that I have to make a box so I can just store the stuff I want to bring down with me everytime and always need. Well, now I don't have to worry because I used the Owner's Locker for the first time this past week and was able to leave the "regular stuff we use" in it and just left it with the bellman.

Carol - I found that the box stored easily under the sink in the studio I was staying in.

I also got an email from John and Brian that my locker had arrived safe and sound and will be waiting for my return.

Thank you guys!

 

[ReneeQ]

I wouldn't mind storing a non-stick frying pan, for when we stay in a 1 or 2 BR. I don't think I've seen that mentioned. Fitted sheets would also be nice (though that's already been mentioned). But at least every other trip we stay in a studio, so wouldn't need the frying pan for the studio. The price might be too steep for me, as some of my trips are also solo and in a studio. But I do love the whole idea.

I just checked what's in my "Disney box" and some other things I could leave (that I haven't seen mentioned) are my pop up laundry hamper, my Cool Max socks and a few pair of leggins.

Is the one free delivery/pick up allowed once per calendar year, or once every 12 months?

 

[jdvm]

Hey ReneeQ

Good question about the yearly free delivery. First of all, when you sign up, your Locker will be delivered free to your resort for your initial visit. It will also be picked up free at the end of your initial visit. The storage fees will begin when your Locker comes into the warehouse "loaded" for the first time. Your "year" would also begin then (should we call it your Owner's Locker use year??). Hope this makes sense.

Believe it or not, a cast iron skillet came up a couple of times in our research as a likely item people would store in a Locker!

My oldest daughter goes to school in Savannah, by the way. What a beautiful place!!
John

 

[disneykidatheart]

Just wanted to report that our recent experience with the Owner's Locker worked great! We were lucky to be chosen as one of the test users of the Owner's Locker. It was delivered to Old Key West as promised and we were notified at check in that the locker was there.
The box seems huge at first but you will be surprised how fast you can fill it. In the end I had to take a few things home that I would have liked to leave. We will probably switch things out next time as we figure out what is truly convenient to leave. By the time we returned home from the airport we found an email stating that our box was back home in storage.
Another thing I would like to mention is the excellent communication John and Brian provide regarding questions and other information. They seem to be making every effort to make the usage of the Owner's Locker user friendly.
I have seen the list of things others have left in their lockers and most of mine are duplicates but I do have a few others.

Make-up and curling iron, one set of underwear (I have been in Florida while my bags decided to spend the night in Dallas and it is pretty miserable trying to start the vacation without the necessities.)
Other items include a small softside cooler for day trips, toothpicks, sudoku book and paperback, small cross stitch kit.

The box can get heavy pretty fast. My husband regretted leaving it to the last trip down from the third floor to our rental car.

 

[ladyandtramp]

This is so funny - the last few trips my hubby and I made to Florida, we kept thinking, wouldn't it be great to have some place to store this stuff that we end up buying when we are down here, or that we only use at WDW (my Mickey Ears, etc! ) so we don't have to lug the stuff everytime.
We even thought of a business along this line - wondered if it would flourish .

So, best of luck to you - great idea - I will be looking over the web site to see if it would be cost-effective for us (there is just the two of us).

 

[RobDoc]

We just returned Sunday from our 2nd OwnersLocker trip. Our locker was waiting for us at OKW and, thankfully, the Bell Staff brought it to our villa for us (I had to sit on it to close the lid last trip and it weighs a "ton").

Everything was as we left it and it made packing for this trip really easy since we had so much already there. We changed to an off-site exchange after 5 days and the Bell staff again carried and stored the locker for us (with our other luggage) until we picked up our rental car to go to our other destination.

Our return was also uneventful - as we just left the box at the front desk (there is a placard mounted on the side stating "Hold for ownersLocker Representative"). By the time we arrived home there was an email letting us know our box was back at the warehouse, ready for our next trip!

Everything has been very smooth and the OwnersLocker staff has been a delight to work with. They are also well respected at the DVC resorts and have worked hard to establish a working protocol at the resorts.

All is well!

 

[DutchsMommy]

Other things you might want to leave:

Sand toys for the kids
Fishing rod
Diapers/Pull Ups for the kids (ok, maybe adults too )
Sweater/Hoodie for those cool nights
Every piece of summer clothes if you are coming in from up North!


Great idea - wishing you success.

 

[bavaria]

First off, my apologies to JDVM for being so late with my review. I was hesitant to sign up for the ‘test drive’ of a locker at first, as I am not the ‘typical’ WDW/DVC traveler. I usually travel alone, and have friends join me for a few days during my trip. But since I also travel about 300 days/year, I thought that I might be able to offer a different perspective on the locker and its usefulness.

When I travel for work, I am gone for anywhere from 11 days to six weeks or more. Obviously, when one travels that much, a hotel room becomes home. As a result, I travel with more items than a normal Monday to Friday business traveler. The same is true for my vacation travel – I want to make my hotel room as comfortable as possible. Plus, being a DVC member I am spending less time at the parks and more time at the resorts and restaurants.

So here are my thoughts/comments/observations.

Arrival – my locker was delivered before my arrival. I did not get it until the next day, due in part to an 11pm check in. Lesson learned – be proactive and ask for your locker

Size – WOW. I was expecting a smallish recycle box, not a large box with dividers and a sewing type knick knack box for small items.

Transporting the box – I moved resorts 3x during my stay, each time with my locker. While I normally would not use bell services, I did each time. I suspect that the bell staff like the concept as it results in more usage for them. The box was light enough for me to move about the room. I did find an easy space to store it in each type of room/studio I stayed.

Contents – I traveled down with a 25 inch suitcase and laptop, and did some shopping on my first day. My goal was to leave items in my locker to make future stays more ‘homey’ and not to have to transport those items. So what did I store? (I didn’t make a list, as suggested – the locker comes with one you can fill in so that you remember for your next trip)
• Jar of Nutella
• Sandwich maker
• Cutlery
• Plastic plates
• Salt/pepper
• Coffee filters
• New pack of Starbucks coffee
• Jars of hummus
• Travel size bottle of Tide
• Pair of slides
• Full size H2O shampoo/conditioner
• Full size chocolate body wash
• Full size contact lens fluid
• Travel sewing kit
• Large travel candle and matches
• A lot of smaller items I can’t recall – a surprise for when I return!
• And the crowning touch…… a DUVET

I never learned to sleep in sheets and blankets, and they are my number one pet peeve about WDW/DVC. I brought a lightweight duvet and was in heaven for 2 weeks – no more sleepless nights tangled in sheets and avoiding the ick factor of ‘used’ blankets.

Looking at the list above, it covers items I would use in both a studio and regular hotel room (my usual pattern is studio + regular hotel room). I also stocked up on some food items for the first day or night; this past trip my late arrival meant that even room service was closed, and since I travel internationally I can’t always bring food with me.

Are all of those items ‘must haves’? Maybe not, but for me they are. I don’t understand going on vacation and being less comfortable than at home. Vacation is where one should relax and not worry that one doesn’t smell as nice as usual, or is missing a key item.

So thumbs up to John and his service – I highly recommend it, and see how it can meet the needs of a variety of travelers.

 

[CarolA]

Oh I love the Duvet idea. Where did you buy it?

That may have to get added.

I also felt that I was not a "normal" traveler. Like Barvaria I travel a lot and travel solo. Lately however I have been traveling to the same place OVER AND OVER AND OVER again and I just store things at the hotel so this is the same concept.


(And what are slides?)

 

[bavaria]

The duvet was about $12 USD at Ikea! and the cover was about $14; I had others but wanted a new one to go with the new duvet. On my last day, I aired out the duvet on the balcony chair, removed the cover and took it home to wash, while I replaced the duvet into the locker (although John did need to repack for me as my squashing skills are not as good as his! )

by 'slides' I mean something like this

but mine are a little different with one wide band. I always have a pair in case I have a suspect looking carpet in my hotel room. They are very comfortable for wearing around the room, out on the balcony, etc. I left a lime green pair in my locker and have the hot pink pair in my suitcase...

 

[wingawh]

WOW, what a service.

We arrived on Satruday afternoon and had to ask for the locker on Sunday. Bell services found it promptly and handed it over.

The locker is great. Plenty of room for just about anything you want to put in in. The dividers and the plasitc small box was a great idea.

Upon our departure yesterday we dropped it at Bell Services and by the time I arrived home I had an email saying it had been picked up by Owners Locker.

We are looking forward to having our goodies when we return the next time.