Sending College Dorm Stuff Cross Country--On the Cheap?

[TinkOhio]

Yikes! I was planning on renting a van or SUV to drive my daughter and her college stuff to her school by Disney World--until I priced out a one-way rental. I knew there would be additional fees, but I can't see a way to rent the car for less than around 1,000 for the 4 days that I would have the car!! Now I'm thinking of shipping her stuff down.

We will be in the WDW area for two nights. I will be staying in the hotel alone after dropping her off at school, so I would like to stay on Disney property. I feel safe there and know it well. I found a great price on Orbits with a code for the hotel, so that is no big deal. I can also secure flights for both of us for a song, too. The problem lies in how I will get her dorm stuff down there. In the past, we have shipped a couple of boxes to our resort several times while staying over Christmas, but this will be more than a couple of boxes. My friend once shipped all her Christmas gifts and a tree to a UPS store by WDW, and they held it there so that she could just pick it up and bring her loot to WDW. But I'm SO nervous of losing the things that my daughter's clothes and valued things.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them! I won't drive the whole way down or up by myself anymore. I did that before and crimped a nerve in my leg. It made me lose feeling in a large chunk of my thigh. It doesn't hurt, but I'm afraid of losing more feeling. Luckily, my leg still has normal function, but a neurologist told me that I will never get the feeling back.

The prices of rentals continues to climb. Please help!

 

[TinkOhio]

Just a thought. I know that the CSR has a business center. Can I have things shipped there?

Thanks, again, for any help!

 

[cel_disney]

I would definitely not hesitate to ship things to UPS or Fedex and have it held there for pick up. We do this for work with VERY expensive items and don't have any trouble. I would hold at UPS/Fedex instead of the Disney business center. I assume you will be renting a van when you arrive and can haul it all.

That's not to say that shipping it will be cheap - you will need to make sure that it's packed/delivered atleast a week before to have it shipped freight. Your UPS store can give you dates/rates. You should also look at shopping for items in Orlando instead of shipping them from home or shopping on Amazon and having anything new delivered straight to her at school after she arrives or to a resort you are staying at (ones with business centers have a fee for this pickup - might want to pick a hotel that this will be free).

I would also pick an airline that you can carry maximum luggage on the plane. You should each carry 2 suitcases to carry most of her clothing and the toiletries she has to bring from home and use your carry on for any 'valuables' (not sure exactly what those are besides electronics/jewelry for a college kid?). Even if you have to pay for the luggage it's probably cheaper than shipping (and free if on southwest!)

 

[DISbot]

Sometimes UHaul actually is cheaper than a rental car (and you can still get vans or things other than giant trucks). They are designed/expect many one-way rentals so they may be more reasonable?

Or, you could find a friend who wants to go to Disney (what friend wouldn't?!?!), and have them ride with you, so you can return it to the same place?

 

[China Expat]

You can ship directly to the university postal center...

 

[JenzyHP]

Is this her first year? Personally, I think I would wait and buy most things in Orlando.

 

[Psychodisney]

I'd agree with Jenzy. Also, you can buy stuff at websites like Target and just have the stuff sent directly there. Works well during the school year too for toiletries, snacks, etc.

 

[georgina]

We flew DD on SW with the 2 free checked bags, and bought or picked up at Bed Bath & Beyond what she needed once there. BB&B has the service where you go to a store near you and scan what you want, then pick it up near the college. She and a friend split a storage unit during the summer so she can just fly home with a suitcase.

 

[malibuconlee]

How much stuff does she have to send? Anything large? I'd suggest looking into a POD long distance move. Had a friend that did that once.

Or evaluate what you can take on a plane vs. what you can buy when you get there. Might be cheaper to forgo looking for sales and just buy when you get there or as needed having odds and ends delivered to her the first few weeks.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thanks for all of the tips. We'll definitely be checking into them.

 

[barkley]

if one of the items you are looking to have is bedding (comforter, sheets.....)-check and see if there's one of the college dorm rental companies doing business w/your dd's college. a friend used this type of service when her dd attended across the country and it saved her a good bit of money vs. having to ship items back and forth at the beginning/end of each school year.

there are companies that rent pretty much everything needed/wanted for dorms-we see them roll up to the local university near the dorms every september for drop off, and in june for pick up.

 

[sharbear]

Can you fly southwest from your location? That way you each get 2 suitcases to check and a carry on. Pack what you need for your trip in the carry on and use the other 4 suitcases for her stuff.

Don't buy anything for the dorm. Bed, Bath and Beyond has a order from your home and pick up at your location service. Use that for all of the dorm supplies and pick up at the college location. Target has the same option to order and pick up at your location. Start saving all those 20% off coupons for bed bath and beyond.

There is no reason to rent a car to drive to Orlando. Everything except her clothing and personal items can be bought down there. She won't need winter clothes or boots.

Anything else she needs can be shipped after she gets there. There is Amazon prime for college students, I'm not sure of the pricing but I think it might be 1/2 price. Any other items she needs can be shipped from Amazon in 2 days.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Not sure if you've considered a cheaper vehicle and renting a top carrier instead of the SUV or if you can get one that has a hitch you can rent a cargo carrier too. One year we rented a bunch of these items from the place down the street and easily tripled the amount of stuff we carried for a 2 week rental at the beach. Some carriers don't even need the roof rack. We have a Jeep so will be doing this next month

Also, have you looked to see if you could join with someone else in your area going to the same area. I have a cousin that carpooled to UCLA from NY,NY

 

[dina444444]

I will second buying items when you get there. One of the few things that we bought before I moved across the country and had shipped were things like bedding and towels so we could wash them before first use. I would check with the school about shipping packages. Where I went they started accepting packages 10-15 days before move-in and packages had to be sent to a different address than were regular mail was sent. During the summer I would recommend looking at getting an inexpensive storage unit to store all of the items on for the break that aren't needed. I did that between my sophomore-junior year and my junior-senior year of college. I used a storage service through the school my first summer break and would not recommend that method unless you have a reliable drop off window for when you will receive your stuff.

 

[elgerber]

Amazon Prime is another option. We ordered a ton of stuff for my dd's room from there. I had it shipped here, but you could easily order it to arrive there the same day, or day after, you do. College students get a 6 month membership for free, and half price after that.

 

[KKB]

Because our schedule is tight for move in we are flying--DH, me & DD on SWA. So 6 suitcases. I figure whatever cannot fit in those, we will hit Target when we are there to get the rest! (or order to ship to her!)
We did this with DS but he doesn't have as many clothes so we were able to buy some things before...don't think we will have that luxury this time!

 

[scrapquitler]

Yikes! I was planning on renting a van or SUV to drive my daughter and her college stuff to her school by Disney World--until I priced out a one-way rental. I knew there would be additional fees, but I can't see a way to rent the car for less than around 1,000 for the 4 days that I would have the car!! Now I'm thinking of shipping her stuff down.

We will be in the WDW area for two nights. I will be staying in the hotel alone after dropping her off at school, so I would like to stay on Disney property. I feel safe there and know it well. I found a great price on Orbits with a code for the hotel, so that is no big deal. I can also secure flights for both of us for a song, too. The problem lies in how I will get her dorm stuff down there. In the past, we have shipped a couple of boxes to our resort several times while staying over Christmas, but this will be more than a couple of boxes. My friend once shipped all her Christmas gifts and a tree to a UPS store by WDW, and they held it there so that she could just pick it up and bring her loot to WDW. But I'm SO nervous of losing the things that my daughter's clothes and valued things.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them! I won't drive the whole way down or up by myself anymore. I did that before and crimped a nerve in my leg. It made me lose feeling in a large chunk of my thigh. It doesn't hurt, but I'm afraid of losing more feeling. Luckily, my leg still has normal function, but a neurologist told me that I will never get the feeling back.

The prices of rentals continues to climb. Please help!

How about sending it directly to the school?? It seems kind of odd to me to send it to an intermediate location, because you'll still have to get it to the school if you do that.

It might be easier and less expensive to just have her bring the most important items with her, and buy the main dorm things (bedding, storage things, linens, school supplies, etc) once she gets to the college, then store it in a storage unit over the summers.

 

[magchavez]

Bed Bath & Beyond can do a college registry. You can make a list in your hometown and pick up everything at the Bed Bath and Beyond nearest the school.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thanks so much for all of the help!