Sell me on Owner's Locker

[Julylady]

UPDATE on post 17 - I joined!

I am considering renting an Owner's Locker. I understand there is a one-time membership fee of $75 which is discounted for Disboard members until the end of June. You then pay either a $100 annual fee or a $150 fee depending on how many times you access it each year. Correct?

I will admit that I don't know much about storage rental, but this seems really expensive to me. The things I think I would store might not even add up to the $100 per year! Paying for an entire piece of luggage both ways to cart my stuff is also less than $100 per year.

I am a DVC owner, but also stay at a 7-bedroom villa occasionally when we have a large group. Would Owner's Locker deliver to a villa in Emerald Island?

Am I missing something? Is is cost effective?

THANKS

Donna

 

[Anal Annie]

Our Owners Locker is stuffed to the gills and I LOVE that when we go to FL we can now travel in just carry-ons. No waiting for luggage on either end. It's also soooo nice not to have to have such a long packing list each time we go. Just clothes and any current meds we may need. We store everything from flip flops, ponchos & umbrellas to spray fan bottles, backpacks, pool bags, batteries & lanyards to all of our "own" toiletries (including razors & a shave mirror for DH) to booze. LOVE it!!

(PS) When I shipped our stuff down to put in it the box weighed 45 Lbs! That's a lot of stuff I don't ever have to schlep again!!

 

[jdvm]

Hi Julylady...I'll let others who are more qualified tell you whether Owner's Locker is worth the money. I'll just jump in to say that, yes we deliver to private homes (including Emerald Island) as well as the airport and just about anyplace else in the Orlando area.
j

 

[dianeschlicht]

LOVE our Owner's Locker! It has made travel to Florida SO much easier, and it has me spoiled when I travel elsewhere! It's great to just pack a few clothes in a carry on, and not have to wait for luggage at the airport.

 

[jekjones1558]

Initially I debated the cost effectiveness of Owner's Locker. This was before luggage fees were so common. But once I had a locker all thoughts about cost went out the window for me. Having so many odds and ends as well as necessities already onsite has made packing and unpacking a piece of cake. It also has made our trips seem more like a visit to a second home because we store things that I love having at WDW but might not want to haul back and forth every trip. The cost of DVC plus airfare plus rental car plus park tickets plus food, shopping, other entertainment is a pretty big number for us. The cost of an Owner's Locker adds a LOT of value for a fee that is a drop in the bucket. Owner's Locker is the most cost effective money we spend for WDW, hands down.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

It is sooooo worth it. Even if you don't have $100 of stuff in there it's so nice not to have to remember everything for each trip.

 

[blondietink]

My DH was very skeptical about having an Owners Locker. Then when it arrived empty, he remarked on how much bigger it was than he thought. Then when we filled it to the brim, he couldn't stop raving about it. On our next trip, he kept asking me to pack this or that and I kept reminding him that the things he wanted packed were already waiting for us in our OL in Florida. He has not stopped raving about it since. We have never had a problem wtih delivery or pickup at any of the resorts we have stayed at. We are now thinking of getting another OL as we will be going 3 times within the next year and we want to keep Florida clothes down there as we will be brining a car two times and for 4 people, room will be at a premium.

 

[Micca]

We love our OL. It's such a great convenience now that packing stuff on planes is so complicated. We take a couple of short trips each year, and it's so nice to have all the supplies we need ready for us at our resort. We now pack minimally so we're not schlepping a bunch of stuff on the plane/car/into the hotel. The service from OL is spectacular. It's the kind of service you wished you could get from everyone you deal with.

 

[bbluvsdis]

I am wondering the same thing! I know I could put alot in it but some of the things I want most won't really work. I always miss my Diet Dr Pepper and frappucino when I am at WDW. We go once or twice a year and soda just doesn't stay fizzy for too long. I wish they had an order form to add things to your locker! HA! It would be nice not to have to lug the ponchos and hair care stuff back and forth. I need to decide but DH doesn't like to idea.

 

[bwalk00]

I will second all the comments above. We have had our Owner's Locker for just one year now and I can't believe it took us so long to get one. It took me a while to convince my husband we needed one. He is now sold. We just returned from a trip to AKV and I love my OL!!! We keep all our vacation necessities and toiletries in our OL and it is packed full. It is wonderful to travel with carry on items and not have to check any bags. John and Brian do an awesome job. We've had excellent service with delivery and pick-up. Our son lives in Gainesville and we have flown in and out of Orlando when visiting him just so we can get our OL. We had scheduled pick-up at the MCO airport last year during one of our visits, but we ended up making a last minute reservations at the BWV and it was so easy to change the pick-up location with John and Brian during our trip. Service is the best!

I love my OL!

Katie

 

[Cyndibear]

We enjoy our OL's very much (we have 2)! We also love being able to just pack a carry-on and not have to worry that we forgot something. It allows us to make our DVC stay feel even more like home. We have all regular size toiletries, cups, dishes, silverware for when we stay in a studio, queen & king sheets, peanut butter, Nesquik, clothing, swimware, and a lot of other things. We fly Southwest so we do not have any baggage charge and we still feel it's still very worth it. We also enjoy the great service we receive from John and Brian. They know what customer service means!!

Cyndi

 

[jamstew]

The convenience is worth its weight in gold. Is it cost effective? I'm not sure, but I really don't care I'm a solo traveler 90% of the time, and I go 2-3 times a year. I have two lockers--one for my solo trips when I stay in a studio and one that has all the stuff for the kitchen, laundry, etc., on the rare occasion that my kids/grandkids go with me or on their own. Anything that makes our lives easier is worth it, and, IMO, it's quite a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Julylady]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies. I am pleased to hear that they pickup/deliver from off site villas. That might make the difference.

It was particularly helpful to hear what people store in their lockers. A lot of the items people mentioned, I don't think I would store. For example, my family is fine with the hair products WDW provides (including the hair dryer). I can't see us storing any food products between visits.

I could see storing mister fans, rain ponchos, umbrellas, a sweatshirt for each, flip flops.

Still deciding......

 

[Elise79]

It was particularly helpful to hear what people store in their lockers. A lot of the items people mentioned, I don't think I would store. For example, my family is fine with the hair products WDW provides (including the hair dryer). I can't see us storing any food products between visits.

I could see storing mister fans, rain ponchos, umbrellas, a sweatshirt for each, flip flops.

Still deciding......

How do you manage with the WDW hair products? You only get new supplies every 4 days unless you are paying for extra house keeping? Sorry just curious.

We love our locker and it is full. Everything from toiletries to swimwear is packed in there

Also it has not been mentioned by OL offer a free trial- you can order it and if you don't like it they will give you all your money back.

 

[thepops]

And with Aulani starting sales shortly, could we possibly see and Owners Locker West starting up? ;^)

 

[heathers4um]

Hi there - I am so excited to use mine for the first time! I pasted my shopping list to show you what can be kept and how convenient it would be to not have to schlep some of this stuff you may need:

Its especially helpful when you have someone who is allergic to certain things and/or has specific desires.

my apologies for the spacing issue - cant seem to fix it.



Toiletries: Misc: Kitchen:

baby powder batteries aluminum foil
Basic soap beach bag baggies
body lotion cards coffee
conditioner cintronella candles filters
contact solution collapsible cooler laundry soap
deoderant dominos plastic wrap
face lotion first aid kit pop up laundry bag
face wash flip flops salt/pepper
hair brush hair ties sugar
make up pain reliever wine
q-tips/cotton balls rain ponchos wine stopper
razors sewing kit
shampoo sweatshirts
shaving cream swimsuits
shower soap umbrella
sunscreen
tampons/pantyliners
toothbrushes
toothpaste
wipes

 

[Julylady]

Okay, you all convinced me!!

It sounds like its not so much about the $$ saved as it is about not having to haul all that stuff to Florida. My carryon bag always weighs a TON because I keep throwing "must haves" in it. Many of the things you'all listed for your lockers are on my must have list.

So....I SIGNED UP. I selected the DIS Boards discount from the drop down list, but my confirmation email didn't reflect any discount or the fact that I get two visits per year. Is that normal??

THANKS again to everyone.

PS.....I normally travel with small size shampoos/hair products that I use to supplement what WDW provides.

 

[Micca]

Okay, you all convinced me!!

It sounds like its not so much about the $$ saved as it is about not having to haul all that stuff to Florida. My carryon bag always weighs a TON because I keep throwing "must haves" in it. Many of the things you'all listed for your lockers are on my must have list.

So....I SIGNED UP. I selected the DIS Boards discount from the drop down list, but my confirmation email didn't reflect any discount or the fact that I get two visits per year. Is that normal??

THANKS again to everyone.

PS.....I normally travel with small size shampoos/hair products that I use to supplement what WDW provides.

Awesome! You are absolutely correct about the money vs convenience. Obviously many of us love it. Best of luck with your experience.

 

[Anal Annie]

Okay, you all convinced me!!

It sounds like its not so much about the $$ saved as it is about not having to haul all that stuff to Florida. My carryon bag always weighs a TON because I keep throwing "must haves" in it. Many of the things you'all listed for your lockers are on my must have list.

So....I SIGNED UP. I selected the DIS Boards discount from the drop down list, but my confirmation email didn't reflect any discount or the fact that I get two visits per year. Is that normal??

THANKS again to everyone.

PS.....I normally travel with small size shampoos/hair products that I use to supplement what WDW provides.

I have refillable 3 oz size shampoo & conditioner that I leave in our locker for myself (the stuff for color treated hair) so that when they need to be replenished I can just fly down with a new set. I have short hair so I have found that I can get at least 3-4 weeks out of a "set" so that will hold me for several trips. DH has no hair so he doesn't need anything (he shaves his head which is why I packed a shower mirror in our box). DS just uses the shampoo & conditioner provided by Disney. I packed full size bottles of my Olay Shower stuff (I didn't want to take up TOO much room so I got like a smaller size, not a KING size). For my body moisturizer I shipped down a 1/2 empty one...same with my hair mousse and facial moisturizer & eye cream. I didn't want to feel like I was wasting anything so I just purchased new stuff for home 1 or 2 things at a time & packed up the 1/2 or 3/4 used up stuff for the locker. I did pack travel size shave gels for myself & for DH as those last a long time.

For our OTC meds (Aleve, Advil, Benadryl, Immodium, Gas-X, Tums, Advil Cold & Sinus, Dramamine etc.) and our sunscreens I keep track of how many are left & the expiration dates on my inventory sheet.

I just LOVE not having to pack all this crap for every trip!!!

 

[jdvm]

welcome to the OL family, Julylady and thanks to our Members who do a far better job than I could convincing folks to give us a try!!
The e-mail you received was an automatic one. You'll be getting a separate e-mail from me confirming the DIS deal.
j