Shipping parcels to Canada

[monkeyman200]

I am trying to figure out the logistics of sending a parcel home to Canada during our week at DLR. are there any postal outlets close to the resort where I could send from? We are not planning on renting a car for our vacation. Does anyone have some suggestions? TIA

 

[mamaCta]

From my experience receiving parcels of merchandise from the US, only use the US postal service. Should your package get held up for duty or taxes, the processing fees for Canada customs are a lot cheaper through the postal system than they would be through a courier service. I'm talking $10 versus $40 with UPS.

 

[tdhickey]

Where in Canada? most prominent border towns have parcel receiving services where you pay a fee (usually $5). Hagens in Blaine is decent, with good hours, you need to sign up in advance.

 

[monkeyman200]

We live in Saskatchewan, a couple hours north of the border, if that helps! We will be flying via Seattle, and I was hoping we could send a package home ahead of ourselves to help with the baggage charges. There are 6 of us, and I have a feeling someone will be needing extra space in their luggage on the way home. We are three generations going on a once in a lifetime family vacation.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am trying to figure out the logistics of sending a parcel home to Canada during our week at DLR. are there any postal outlets close to the resort where I could send from? We are not planning on renting a car for our vacation. Does anyone have some suggestions? TIA

I don't know which hotel you're staying at, but there's a Post Office on Ball Road between Walnut and Disney Drive, about a mile from the Disneyland Hotel.

 

[Susie63]

I packed an empty duffle bag in my suitcase on the way to DL and put all my clothes in it and my souveniers in my suitcase on the way back. We flew with WJ and since our first bag was free...I only paid $20 for the extra suitcase. Waaaaaayyyy easier than packing up a box and shipping it and no customs problems.

 

[monkeyman200]

We are flying Alaska Airlines, and have to pay for every checked bag. I know we will have alot of souvenirs between the 6 of us. We are staying at Hojos so it won't be impossible to get to a close post office. We would likely send our unnecessary items and hope the package doesn't cost as much as just paying for the extra luggage!
Thanks everyone for your tips and comments so far. I appreciate it. These boards are wonderful!

 

[duckwife]

One thing we have learned to do with Alaska Air is to gate check our bags. We usually check in one big suitcase for the 3 of us that has the liquids(hair gel, food, sunscreen etc.) and pay the $20 and we take the carry on size suitcases to the gate and check them in there. They give you luggage tags and put them in with the other luggage and you pick them up on the carousel at the other end of your flight. You don't have to pay for this and you can still take your personal carry on bags on the plane with you.
You could take and extra carry on size suitcase with you with very little in it and take souvenirs home in it.
Even if you did have to pay $20 to check an extra bag, it is going to be cheaper than mailing it home and less hassle.

 

[Geemo]

There were six of us, 3 generations on our last trip. I had everyone pack a carry-on rolling tote only, plus a nice size backpack for their second carry on.

Going, most of the backpacks carried on were empty. The empty backpacks gave us enough room for souvenirs coming home.

Coming home the dirty laundry is packed in backpacks and souvenirs in the rolling totes.

Due to a purchase of a pocket knife, we did check one bag for $20. I looked into USPS to send the knife home to Oregon. But the cost and hassle made the $20 luggage fee more desirable.

The extra backpack trick has worked for us many times.

Good luck

Geemo

 

[mamaCta]

I have a soft hockey bag on wheels that I have packed in my suitcase on trips. The ability to shop for clothing in US stores is worth the extra bag on the way back.

 

[VandVsmama]

The US Postal Service has a postage calculator on their website and it appears you can use it to calculate postage to international locations.

http://postcalc.usps.com/

 

[VandVsmama]

So using that website, I just selected to ship to Canada a flat-rate box with max weight of 20 pounds. Price came to $64.95.

Dimensions of the flat rate box were 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" or 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2".

I would expect other sized boxes (i.e., the non-"flat rate box" from the USPS) to be more expensive. Thus, if you really have quite a lot of souvenirs, it might really be more economical to pack it in your luggage instead of shipping.

And keep in mind that the USPS assumes that you will pack everything up yourself and arrive at the post office with everything to go. They will not necessarily give you packing materials, packing tape, scissors, etc.

UPS and DHL ship internationally but would be more expensive.

 

[monkeyman200]

Thanks for the eye opener! I guess it wouldn't be so bad to pay the extra baggage after all! I really appreciate all the time everyone took to answer my question. I am so glad that I ran across these boards. You are all wonderfully helpful people!

 

[Phoenixrising]

Another option is to pack really light, and put an extra rolling carry on in your main suitcase. Only take what you really need. I've done this before with good success. Then use a backpack as your carry on. It's really hard to pack light, but if you do this you can have alot more room in your suitcase. On my Nov trip I'm packing so light that I really only need a small rolling carry on for 6 days. I know I'm going to be bringing back alot of souvies, so on the way the out I'll nest my rolling carry on into my main suitcase and use a backpack as my carryon. On the way back I'll put the backpack in the main suitcase, and use the small rolling suitcase as my carry on. Pack smart and pack light.

 

[monkey30]

I agree to pay the extra fee for baggage, not only can it be more cost effective, but then u don't have to wait 2+ weeks for your package.

Our last trip,for a family of 5 to DL we had 1 suitcase checked everyone had a carry one (very small only one roller bag) we just did laundry at the hotel one day while the kids were swimming and grandma was napping. It worked well, less to pack and more room for extras. We also have a small folding bag with us just incase. It's one we bought on our first WDW trip as the 2 grandmas went overboard and we had to get it home somehow.

Another thing if u find that u did buy to much, the ART is super easy to use and one person can make a quick trip to a mall to purchase a cheap duffel bag to use.

Good luck!