On the day you leave Disney.....where do you leave your unused snacks/stuff?

[Friendly Frog]

I always overbuy since I have to order a minimum amount for delivery to the resort (It still comes out cheaper than buying at Disney). I have never had a problem giving stuff away.

I usually look for someone just arriving and waiting on their family to check in. If not that, I will look for someone hanging out at the pool. I have even handed out cold diet coke to people in the parks! ( boy were they grateful.)

I think the thing is that people on the way to the park or just getting back are too tired or too focused to want to deal with thinking through the gift, or don't want to mess with going back to the room to put the things up.

The best time to approach them is when they are relaxed and you can explain that you are leaving soon and have stuff left over if they would like it.

 

[erhed83]

We shipped all non-perishables back Fedex, carried on what we could, and left the rest in the fridge. I doubt they kept anything, but some stuff was unopened (like an ice cream cone in the freezer) maybe at least the cleaning service got a treat

 

[Eliza32]

We always leave our styrofoam cooler by the lift at POP as that's usually where we find one when we get there!!!!

We left half a case of water for Mousekeeping, stuck a note on it.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We've never had any food or drinks leftover. I would rather have to buy a few things in the little store if we run out rather then give stuff away.

When we stayed at WL, the folks in the room next to us were checking out and had left 1/2 case of water, an unopened bag of chips and a cheap kids stroller in the hallway with a note that said we checked out. These are free to whoever wants them.

I thought that was a good idea.

 

[buckirj1]

Okay, I'll play. Why in the world would someone bring so much stuff to WDW that they can't take it with them when they leave? Can't you (generic you) do without it in the first place? Seems like it puts an unnecessary burden on staff to have to deal with your "leftovers."

 

[jcemom]

I wish I had given away our park tickets. They were YES tickets and expire the 20th of this month. That is a wasteful shame!!!

Maybe it would be different, but I tried to give away a spare MNSSHP ticket years ago and a CM from guest services strongly reprimanded me for it. She gave me a refund, after I burst into tears (long story, lol) but I still don't really understand why I wasn't allowed to give it away. I paid for it. It did not have anyone's name on it. I was not asking for any compensation. I just did not want it to go to waste.

If I am ever in that situation again, I will give it away more discreetly.

Back to the topic...we have left unopened bottled water and gatorade for other DISers in the past. We've seen lime green mickey heads in their windows at Pop and the mods, so we knew they were fellow Disney nuts, lol. We just left it right outside their doors with notes attached.

Any leftover snacks go into the suitcase and come home with us. If it's perishable we take it in our carryons to eat at the airport/on the plane.

 

[tinkarooni]

Anything unopened that we can not travel home with, we have always looked for another family to pass it along to. If we can't find a family to take everything we leave it on the counter with a note for mousekeeping. So long as it is unopened and in its original packaging most people are happy to accept with food and drinks. I would imagine the same for pool toys and strollers.... and then they could do the same at the end of their say and pay it forward to someone else.

I am just curious why so many people think mousekeeping would be "happy to accept" a guest's leftover junk?

 

[CathrynRose]

We had partying South American's a few doors down from us, one year. SO when we left, I marched down to them, with unopened, and opened bottles of Vodka, Rum - all sorts of stuff. They happily accepted, and we did a shot.

Every other year, I dump the liquor if it's open, and leave any water/soda's by the ice machine, with the obligatory "TAKE ME" written on the cooler.

I usually don't have anything much of anything left, though.

And the noodles - we'd hand them off to kids by the pool as we walked to check out.

 

[jenjie]

Such a shame to leave a stroller, when the rental prices are not even considered reasonable.

We did this on our trip 8 years ago. We bought two umbrella strollers at Walmart for $10 apiece. It was a bargain compared to the cost of the rentals. We had no intention of bringing them home on the plane, we didn't need them. We left them at our rental house for anyone else who might need them.

 

[mskayjay]

We usually ask other guests how much longer they are going to be at the resort and if they would like our unopened beverages and snacks. We also tell them if we have partial bottles of liquor or other food items that they might be able to use. Last time we were at VWL we gave a group of 20-something guys who were down the hall from us a 30 pack of beer, vodka, mixers, eggs, muffins, butter, eggs, cheese, sandwich meats, etc etc etc....they were beyond thrilled to have it! The trip before that we gave a family a case of water that we weren't going to use. Some folks look at you like you're crazy and others realize that the likelihood that you're going to give them something "bad" is very slim but I understand people passing and don't get offended if they say "no".

 

[mskayjay]

Okay, I'll play. Why in the world would someone bring so much stuff to WDW that they can't take it with them when they leave? Can't you (generic you) do without it in the first place? Seems like it puts an unnecessary burden on staff to have to deal with your "leftovers."

I don't intentionally overbuy when I have things delivered or bring stuff with me but sometimes it happens! You order or buy based on what you think you'll use and then decide to go ahead and stay at the park instead of having dinner at the villa or you just go ahead and order a cocktail at the bar instead of going to the room and using what you have. It's called spontaneity! And I don't leave my stuff to "burden" anyone but I'm sorry,if there are a few things left behind it is more than made up for the fact that we are in fact clean, tidy, considerate guests for mousekeeping. I guarantee you that the few things we leave behind are nothing compared to some of what we have seen walking by other rooms that have been recently vacated!!!!!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Forgive me but this is a bit long winded!

I used to work housekeeping in Las Vegas as a houseperson(the person who brings you extra towels/pillows/blankets, etc.) and it is officially a non-tipped position but a good rule of thumb is $1 for a small quantity of items(toiletries or a couple towels), $3 for a large quantity(4+ towels, pillows, fridge) and $5+ if you forget to ask something on your initial call and we have to go back to the locker. $1 may not seem like a lot to you but it helps us out a lot! I've been able to take vacations I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise off my tips from there.

Keep in mind, most of the time the housekeeping lockers are only in one hallway and usually at the very end and are rarely fully stocked so we have to sometimes run around a few floors to find what we need. Usually we have 3-5 floors we cover at any given time as well. That's why it can take awhile so please be patient with us and try not to get irritated if it's taking awhile. Sometimes we get upwards of 40 calls an hour and that is REALLY hard to keep up with and get to the rooms within the 10 minutes that we're supposed to.

Also, $1/day is more than reasonable for tipping the housekeepers; They never do give the houseperson any of that, even though the houseperson usually winds up removing all the trash and stripping the room when you check out. We do take unopened drinks and food back to the locker for everyone to have access to. Items left behind(strollers, pool toys, etc) usually get taken to lost and found if there's no note on them.

As long as you don't leave behind a HUGE mess or a lot of trash/opened and half eaten/drank items it really isn't that big of a burden. You wouldn't believe how trashed I've seen people leave hotel rooms.

You can also call housekeeping for extra trash bags or a larger trash bag if you have a lot of stuff to throw away. We are more than happy to bring it down to you and we'll even help you clean if you ask nicely and we aren't really busy(but make sure you call the housekeeping desk and ask to speak to a manager if we do something extra() like that, not the front desk. They almost never pass word along to our managers and we don't get the recognition we deserve for a job well done.)!

Also, PLEASE empty out drink bottles! It saves us time emptying them and saves weight in the carts. They get HEAVY(150lbs+) after awhile.

Word of advice, if you ever forget your charger for your phone/camera or lose it go to the lost and found in the hotel and tell them you lost it. They'll ask you what kind or bring out a bin of chargers to find yours(at least in Vegas). There are literally THOUSANDS of these left every month.

Hope that helps!

 

[aprilgail2]

Okay, I'll play. Why in the world would someone bring so much stuff to WDW that they can't take it with them when they leave? Can't you (generic you) do without it in the first place? Seems like it puts an unnecessary burden on staff to have to deal with your "leftovers."

I don't bring anything with me other than clothes- I drive to walmart on the way from the airport or train station and buy everything there-sometimes we don't use as much as we expected to and its left over and I am not carrying it back home with me-I like to travel as light as possible.

 

[patsal]

Okay, I'll play. Why in the world would someone bring so much stuff to WDW that they can't take it with them when they leave? Can't you (generic you) do without it in the first place? Seems like it puts an unnecessary burden on staff to have to deal with your "leftovers."

Sometimes you opt to stay out later in the parks and grab fast food rather than return to the villa to prepare a meal, sometimes stuff at the store is BOGO and you don't get around to using both, sometimes cases of water are 3 for 10 so you buy three but only go through 2.5. Sometimes your kids food jag abruptly changes at an inoppurtune time.

 

[SDSorority]

If the snacks are unopened we leave them for mousekeeping. If they want them, great! If not, they'll dispose of them.

 

[talulabelle]

Wow, while reading this thread it has occurred to me that this is a real opportunity for a volunteer group to collect food for homeless shelter or food pantry. In my area a church has volunteer signed up for every night of the week to go to the local Paneras and pick up any of the left over bakery items that will be trashed that night and they drive them to the soup kitchens to be used the next day.

The resorts in the area should really have a bin at the front desk for people to deposit unopened non-perishables and strollers (which could also be distributed to families in need) Every night volunteers could pick them up. I imagine that it would be a staggering amount day in and day out. Or there could be a policy that anything you would be leaving behind for housekeeping to deal with could just be left with a note "for donation" and housekeeping could take it to bin for later pick up. I think that guests would look upon this a very nice community gesture on Disneys part.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We have asked at various hotels before (not Disney), and we were told that housekeeping does take unopened food or drinks that are left behind. I don't see why some people think that is a big deal. Why wouldn't they want free food. It is packaged and sealed. I also don't think it is a big deal to offer it to a family just starting their vacation. We have given away pool toys when leaving before.

We try not to be wasteful, and would rather see the items be used by other people than thrown in the trash. We don't usually have a lot left over, but last year we had bought a large variety pack of single serve chips and had a few left over. I wasn't going to bring them home on the plane. We also had bought a 12 pack of pepsi, and a case of water with a few left over. It is much cheaper buying it, and leaving a few behind than it would be to buy them individually as needed.

 

[scillacc]

I think mousekeeping isn't allowed to take anything that is left by any guest. It can be viewed as stealing. I'd try to maybe hand it off to people just arriving, or take it to the airport?

 

[jcemom]

We have asked at various hotels before (not Disney), and we were told that housekeeping does take unopened food or drinks that are left behind. I don't see why some people think that is a big deal. Why wouldn't they want free food. It is packaged and sealed. I also don't think it is a big deal to offer it to a family just starting their vacation. We have given away pool toys when leaving before.

We try not to be wasteful, and would rather see the items be used by other people than thrown in the trash. We don't usually have a lot left over, but last year we had bought a large variety pack of single serve chips and had a few left over. I wasn't going to bring them home on the plane. We also had bought a 12 pack of pepsi, and a case of water with a few left over. It is much cheaper buying it, and leaving a few behind than it would be to buy them individually as needed.

I know *I* like it when someone gives me free stuff!

 

[MickeyP]

I would not be lugging stuff to the front desk, when there are people who would appreciate it more: on the floor, at the pool, or cleaning my room.

When I say appreciate it MORE I mean, "WOW, I never get anything for free. I can't believe they were so nice!" Then, they may do the same thing to someone else.

I will also add, that I already give to charity, so when JC Penney, or TJ Maxx adds at the end of your sale, "Would you like to donate a dollar to XYZ?" (the charity of their choice) I do get annoyed. I have nothing against helping people in need, but I hardly think people struggling would appreciate a pool noodle, or a Slim Jim. As for the strollers, I'm going out a limb here saying, maybe someone doesn't have a stroller because they can't afford it, but we are talking 10.00 disposables that other guests, who've already spent thousands of dollars for a vacation would LOVE! I would totally opt for easily giving it to another family on vacation. How Magical!!! And... how easy!