OKW 1st trip - Groceries? Transport??

[Laura B]

We'll be making our first WDW trip ever this January. We have 3 Adults and 3 kids in a 2bdrm at Old Key West. I'm hoping some of those seasoned DISers can help with some questions:

1. We were planning to use the Magical Express to get there, but did not know what to do about groceries for the week. Our plan is to have a large breakfast and snacks/light dinner things at the condo. What is the best plan to get those items? What kinds of food does the resort store carry (milk, bread, juice?? or is it just chips and candy?)? If we need a larger store, where do we find one and how do we get to it (no rental car)?

2. Most of the parks open around 9am, when should we plan to leave the condo to get there each morning? Does the shuttle bus truly come every 20 minutes, or is it longer in the off-season?

3. The second half of our trip is the Disney Cruise. We were thinking of renting a car one-way to Port Canaveral and then one-way from port to the airport. The Disney shuttle is fairly expensive for all of us, so what is our best alternative? If we rent a car, what are the best options besides the Orlando Airport?

Any other advice about the resort would be appreciated. We have not requested a specific room location - should we look into that?

Thank you so much for your advice. I can't wait until Christmas when I can finally tell the kids (we've been keeping this secret since February).
God Bless - Laura

 

[spiceycat]

1. for groceries

www.wegoshop.com or
www.gardengrocer.com

use wegoshop and have been very happy. garden grocer is the recommend one on the dis.

2. I would leave no later than 8:30am - but remember sometimes without warning the parks can open at 8:30am. so if the first morning you arrive and the park is already open at 8:30am - just start leaving at 8:00am.

also remember you are going to be a DVC member for years. You don't need to see and do everything at the parks each and every time. Take your time enjoy the little things that most guests don't even notice.

3 - no ideal besides the airport. they can rent cars there generally less than other places. but since you are trying to avoid paying for parking - don't know.

I don't even know if you can rent a car close to where the cruise departs and arrives. You might ask on the cruise board if no one hears offers any suggestions.

 

[MommaX03]

You posted some great questions that I am interested in knowing the answers too as well. I have not done my first trip home yet, but I can recommend one thing. It sometimes takes a few hours for your luggage to get to your room during the Magical Express process. We did it twice, and it took anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours. I liked the convenience of it, as I did not have to run to the baggage carousel for bags, bring car seats, and rent a car with three little ones. Depending on when you arrive and what your plans are for that day or evening, you may want to pack in your carry-on bag the appropriate clothes for your plans whether that is pjs, or swimming suits, etc. We usually head out for a meal, and the bags are in the room by the time we get back.

 

[corinnak]

1. We were planning to use the Magical Express to get there, but did not know what to do about groceries for the week. Our plan is to have a large breakfast and snacks/light dinner things at the condo. What is the best plan to get those items? What kinds of food does the resort store carry (milk, bread, juice?? or is it just chips and candy?)? If we need a larger store, where do we find one and how do we get to it (no rental car)?

I found it to be quite a limited selection at the resort store. There was milk and juice, little cups of yogurt, eggs - I don't remember all the stuff they had, but it was limited selection. I did buy some cinnamon rolls there one morning - just prepackaged grocery store type - and I believe they also had bread. It's like a really bare bones convenience store for groceries. Good for buying an extra bit of milk or whatever midweek, but probably better to plan a grocery deivery to start you off.

2. Most of the parks open around 9am, when should we plan to leave the condo to get there each morning? Does the shuttle bus truly come every 20 minutes, or is it longer in the off-season?

I like to get to the park early for rope drop and make a point of being out the door by 8. it can take a little while to ride around OKW and getting to the main entrance, passing through through security etc always takes a bit of time. I think at park opening at least they tend to run around 20 minutes - there is some variation, though, and there is no such thin as planning for the 8:20 bus. If you get out there at 8:20, the bus could be pulling up, or you could wait 15 minutes for the next one.

3. The second half of our trip is the Disney Cruise. We were thinking of renting a car one-way to Port Canaveral and then one-way from port to the airport. The Disney shuttle is fairly expensive for all of us, so what is our best alternative? If we rent a car, what are the best options besides the Orlando Airport?

Is it a 7 day or a shorter one? I have heard that some people rent a car for the week and pay the parking because it is cheaper than the disney shuttle. You could also hire a limo/towncar.

Any other advice about the resort would be appreciated. We have not requested a specific room location - should we look into that?

I guess it depends on if you have strong preferences - the DIS consensus seems to be that there aren't many bad locations at Old Key West. I enjoyed our location on Penninsular Road a great deal, but it looked like there were nice things about each area, too.

Thank you so much for your advice. I can't wait until Christmas when I can finally tell the kids (we've been keeping this secret since February).
God Bless - Laura

Wow - that is a long, long time to keep such a secret!

 

[cyiland]

We'll be making our first WDW trip ever this January. We have 3 Adults and 3 kids in a 2bdrm at Old Key West. I'm hoping some of those seasoned DISers can help with some questions:

1. We were planning to use the Magical Express to get there, but did not know what to do about groceries for the week. Our plan is to have a large breakfast and snacks/light dinner things at the condo. What is the best plan to get those items? What kinds of food does the resort store carry (milk, bread, juice?? or is it just chips and candy?)? If we need a larger store, where do we find one and how do we get to it (no rental car)?

(see below)

3. The second half of our trip is the Disney Cruise. We were thinking of renting a car one-way to Port Canaveral and then one-way from port to the airport. The Disney shuttle is fairly expensive for all of us, so what is our best alternative? If we rent a car, what are the best options besides the Orlando Airport?

We have used Tiffany Towncars (tiffanytowncars.com) on trips where we did not want to mess with car rental. As a part of their transport, they will provide a stop (30 minutes, I think) at an off-site grocery store... Albertson's, maybe. We found that our best plan is to send a box of non-perishables UPS prior to leaving. DVC will hold it at your resort pending your arrival (call the resort directly for the details of where to send the package). This way, a well-orchestrated crew can fan out and get the items you need once you arrive at the grocery store.

Tiffany also provides shuttle transport to Port Canaveral. According to the website, a van will run about $65 for your trip from the airport to the hotel, and a roundtrip to Port Canaveral is $240. Don't know if this is a "good deal" for you or not, but I know that Tiffany was dependable in OUR experience. We've used them twice before, and if we don't choose to rent a car this time, we'll use them again on our next trip.

Let us know what you decide!

 

[Laura B]

Thank you for your help. Questions about grocery delivery: When do the groceries get delivered to your room? Is it there waiting for you when you check in or do you have to be checked in for the online store to deliver it? We wouldn't get to the resort until after 6:30pm and I would not want to spend the first full day waiting for a grocery delivery.

In terms of car service from the resort to the cruise terminal then back to the airport a week later - Even $240 round trip is less than 5 people paying $68 each on the DCL shuttle. I guess the issue is, is it worth the extra money over renting a car (we would not rent for a week and pay for parking, but we could rent for the day we leave and rent again the day we return home). Is that way more trouble than it's worth? Anyone have advice on that?

Yes - it has been really hard to keep this secret. We have almost spilled the beans many times. I'm trying to think of a great way to package this gift for them (mickey ears; the cruise DVD, etc). Not sure how to do that. The girls are 6, 9 & 12.
Thanks again for all the help.
Laura

 

[cncDisney4]

Regarding groceries: We've used gardengrocer.com before and will be doing so again in December. You need to place your order on-line and it will ask your date of arrival and give you a time frame for delivery. They can also leave the groceries with bell services (they have refrigerators) and then bell services can deliver to your room.

We are like you and mainly eat breakfast in the villa with just a few snacks. A great thing to order is bottled water! You can take these into the parks and it is a wonderful money saver. We usually order a case of water and just cart home what we don't use.

They also only accept a certain number of deliveries per day so I would call soon if you are going during a peak time. If you have any questions about gardengrocer.com - just call the number on the website and talk to Brian - he's always been a great help. Enjoy!