Packing food in suitcase?

[wako]

I'd like to pack a bunch of snacks, cereal, etc. in a suitcase for our upcoming trip to AllStar Sports.

I thought I read a while back, when I first started planning the trip, that it was recommended NOT to pack food in suitcases, due to airport security. Some people said they have a box of food FedEx'd to the hotel instead.

So I was going to ship a box to my husband's family who lives near there.
But I was just looking on the TSA website, and where it lists what you can/can't have in carry-on and luggage, it said it's OK to pack food such as canned goods, peanut butter, jello, pudding, etc. in luggage.

So why couldn't I pack cereal, snacks, etc?
We're using Magical Express, so won't have to handle our luggage much. And I'll be packing DS clothes with mine, so we should be able to handle the extra suitcase.

Anyone else do this? Good reasons not to?

 

[Mousemom]

I have always packed a suit case with food. Cereal, bagels, pringle chips, snack foods, and even water and gatoraid. I have never had a problem and love having the extra space for all those extras we bring home. You can check these things at the airport but many things can not be in your carry ons any more.

 

[robinb]

Welcome to the DIS!!!

I packed food in my suitcase on my last trip in August after the recent changes went into effect. I packed things like cereal, instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, granola bars, fruit snacks, bread, and peanut butter and jelly (the jar with the stripes of each). I put the bread in a plastic container a little bit bigger than a standard shoe box with a sealable top (get this at Target, K-Mart, etc) and then filled in with the light weight stuff. I packed the bigger items seperately. I even brought a box of wine with me! You can get milk and OJ at the food court .


​

 

[TravelinGal]

Just remember to watch the weight! Food (and it's containers) gets heavy FAST! It won't be a savings if you end up having to pay extra fees for overweight luggage.

 

[MagicMe]

I packed a separate suitcase last year that had snacks (lots of different stuff), stuff like ramen noodles and breakfast food (dry stuff but including pancake mix, etc). I also packed single boxes of detergent and some dryer sheets since we were staying DVC. We picked up eggs, butter, milk, etc down at the store. We made breakfast all most every day and had the snacks for in the parks.

When we left, we still had lots of stuff left since we found we took snacks into the parks but never ate them!

Bottom line, I didn't have any problems with checking this piece of luggage and everything was still in there when it was delivered to the room (at least I'm pretty sure everything was there!)

 

[wako]

Oh, I'm so glad I found this board! Thank you all, so much. I don't know what board it was that people were saying not to pack food in the luggage.

robinb~ It's especially good to know that you did this AFTER the recent changes. It makes me more confident that it won't be a problem. And thanks for the tip about packing the bread in a plastic container. I was thinking that would be something we'd have to buy after we got there.

TravelinGal~ Good point! Luckily, most of the stuff I have so far is lightweight - popcorn, cheesepuffs, etc. But now that I know I'm packing it in a suitcase, it would be easy for me to "forget" and overdo it.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[DznyFan]

We've always packed dry goods in the suitcases as well. The only problem we've encountered was a party traveling with us having powder detergent in a ziploc bag one time - they didn't close the bag properly after having inspected it, and they wound up with detergent all over everything. I'm glad, too, to see that we should still be able to pack dry goods. We've always brought our cereal, peanut butter, sandwich condiments, coffee creamer and sugar, snack bars, things of that nature. Chips, breads and refrigerated goods wait and get purchased at the general store.

 

[robinb]

Chips, breads and refrigerated goods wait and get purchased at the general store.

Unfortunately, non-DVC resorts don't have those kind of things.

I usually just make a grocery stop after we check in, but we used DME on our last trip to save some $$.

 

[fenfur]

Unfortunately, non-DVC resorts don't have those kind of things.

I usually just make a grocery stop after we check in, but we used DME on our last trip to save some $$.

If we are staying at a non-DVC resort, would it be possible to take a Disney bus there (to a DVC resort) and shop and buy stuff and then take a bus back (understanding that it will be a couple different busses to take) with all of our stuff?

Also, what sort of stuff do they have in these "stores"? Any alcohol?

 

[Karnak]

Good idea except for the Gatoraid. I never drink it ... because I hate the idea of sweating in techincolor.

Enjoy.

 

[robinb]

If we are staying at a non-DVC resort, would it be possible to take a Disney bus there (to a DVC resort) and shop and buy stuff and then take a bus back (understanding that it will be a couple different busses to take) with all of our stuff?

Also, what sort of stuff do they have in these "stores"? Any alcohol?

The DVC general stores are like a minimart. They have bread, quarts of milk, OJ, chips, frozen pizzas, PB, jelly, bagels, pasta, pasta sauce, etc. Basically quick to cook foods since the most of the villas have full kitchens. And yes, they have alcohol. I guess you could take a bus from a park to one of the DVC resorts and then back to a park and back to your resort. I would rather just pack my bread and box of wine .

 

[golden1]

How expensive is the food at the DVC mini-mart? I didn't even realize these existed! We are renting points at BWV in December. Where is the general store located there?

 

[robinb]

How expensive is the food at the DVC mini-mart? I didn't even realize these existed! We are renting points at BWV in December. Where is the general store located there?

The general store for BWV is on the Boardwalk. I think it's called The Screen Door. The prices are more expensive than standard mini-mart prices. But, you're paying for the convenience. Beer is very expensive, but less than buying it by the bottle from one of the bars.

 

[plotmom]

As an alternate suggestion I would suggest that you order groceries and other things (diapers if you have a little one) on gardengrocer.com. They have a wide range of perishable and nonperishable items, only charge $10 for delivery and if you don't have perishable items being shipped you can have the bellman accept the order for you. BTW I did travel on our last trip with baby food and formula (my daughter needed a special kind) and didn't have a problem checking it. This time however, I am using gardengrocer.

 

[vandort]

I did pack a large suitcase with non-perishable items for our trip two weeks ago. I figured that I would then have an empty suitcase to put souvenirs that we would acquire during our stay. The food items arrived in great shape and we did have plenty of room to take home whatever we wanted from the parks.

 

[vassello]

Love the gardengrocer.com idea! Now, if they only delivered alcohol also! We would be soooo set!!!

 

[snowwhite17]

We have packed food in the cardboard paper boxes several times. We just reinforce it really good and use a lot of tape. I always tell security what is in them and I have never had a problem. I also pack extra tape in case they want to open it up and take a look. Then we can tape it up again. We have done this on International flights as well.

 

[pooh2001]

What about shipping some food items to yourself a few days before you go ?
We use UPS - if we arriive on a Saturday, I go to UPS and ship my 'food' box to myself on Tuesday.

I send to the WDW resort address and also add in the returen adress area... my address, my name, ressie #, my date of my arrival at the resort.

I have never had a problem doing this.

We are staying for a 14 day magical vacation next year.

I plan on shipping one box on the Tuesday before we go and a second box on the Friday before we go.

First box to arrive on the Saturday we arrive, some snacks, tuna, small mayo, peanut butter, jelly, bread in a plastic tossable container, cereal, Disney themed bathroom cips, Disney themed tissues, $1 store plastic plates, cups and plastic utensils (to be thrown away before we leave).

Second box, to arrive the 1st Wednesday when we are in WDW - more bread, tuna, small mayo, and gum for plane ride home.

We do the towncar ride from the airport with a food store stop.
We buy paper towels, garbage bags (we like to be neat if we eat in the room), water bottles and Floridian snacks the kids find they like and most likely a new pair of swim goggles (lie they need them ).

We order from the Disney Floirst the Bountiful Fruit © Snack18
Cradled in a whimsical Mickey colander you will find a variety of fresh fruit to satisfy and optimize your health. $55.00 plus tax

We also buy milk at the WDW resort gift shop.

Not all meals are eaten in the room. We have at least one ADR per day.
But if we do an ADR lunch like Coral Reef, Garden Grill or Crystal Palace - we can do PB&J or tuna sandwhiches for dinner with some fruit.

Like wise - if we do a late breakfast buffet (around 10:30 am on a MK early entry morning) at 1900 Park Fair or Chef Mickeys - then we have a quick bowl of cereal at 6:30 AM before going to MK and then use the late breakfast as our lunch

Just our 2 cents

 

[PinballFamily]

Shari -
You might want to email Brian (the head of GardenGrocer) via their website and tell him what you're looking for - they offer many items not listed on their site (including *festive* beverages). We did...

 

[vassello]

Thanks - I just may do that. Festive drinks, huh? YUM!