Uber/Lyft

[Disneylovers2000]

Has anyone used these services to go and get groceries or to Universal? I realize a lot of you have your vehicles there and have no need for this service but we are flying in and are renting trailers. I am trying to decide if its worth renting a vehicle or just Uber it. Any info that is helpful would be fantastic! Thanks Campers!

 

[bama_ed]

Has anyone used these services to go and get groceries or to Universal? I realize a lot of you have your vehicles there and have no need for this service but we are flying in and are renting trailers. I am trying to decide if its worth renting a vehicle or just Uber it. Any info that is helpful would be fantastic! Thanks Campers!

Keep in mind the Uber/Lyft drivers cannot come come to your campsite to pick you up nor drop you off. You would have to walk or take an internal bus (or golf cart or bike yada yada) to the Fort Wilderness check-in building and get picked up there (and dropped out) as would a taxi or town car service. Only the MinnieVans have the competitive advantage of being able to drive up to your door to get you or drop out there.

Disney basically treats the ride share companies as they do the taxis and town cars and shuttle services which is pick up and drop off service is from the lobby area which is where those other services work from.

Theoretically, Disney offers their resort service to their guests to transport you and your stuff to your trailer. But that may not work well in reality. Personal shopping services such as WeGoShop or "GardenGrocer at one time could come to the campsite/cabin because Disney has no competing service. Personally i dont know what those rules are now.

But as we've seen, when you are competing with Disney on Disney property, they will skew the rules in their favor to make a buck.

Same rules apply for to/from Universal. From/to Fort lobby/check-in building only. They work it this way because they can.

Bama Ed

 

[Luxurious_Lumiere]

I recently stayed at a Cabin and used Lyft/Uber.

We had heard that only Minnie Vans could drive up directly to a cabin or campsite, so for one long trip where one person in my party wasn't feeling great, we did just that. The Minnie Van picked us up at the cabin, and later at night drove in to drop us off at the cabin. Not a great help for off-property trips like you have mentioned, but good to remember for your stay.

On a separate occasion, we just used Lyft b/c the Minnie Van was far too pricey for the short trip. We said something to the driver along the lines of "they dont let you into the actual campgrounds do they?" And he responded with "Oh, I think they do. Lets see what happens". We checked in at the security gate (it was late at night) and our driver drove us right to our cabin loop and no one stopped him. He said he had done it before too. It sounded like the "official" rule is that Lyft/Uber are only supposed to pick up and drop off from the main lobby area. But it seems some cast members may not enforce this all the time. In any case, it is def possible to uber/lyft into the campgrounds, but otherwise you will just need to use the front area for transportation.

As for groceries: I ordered from Garden Grocer and everything said that it would be delivered to bell services up front. And I could either pick up my order there or have bell services deliver it. Well, lo and behold there's a knock on my cabin door later in the afternoon and a man from Garden Grocer is there with my things (and had other folks' orders in his garden grocer truck parked in our cabin lot). Now, it was raining a ton on this particular day, so maybe it was just a matter of bell services not wanting to go out in the rain? And they said have at it Garden Grocer, drive through the grounds all you like! I would recommend Garden Grocer even if they didn't deliver it right to my cabin door though. I'm sure you could look for deals in a grocery store and would save money on delivery, but it was so nice to have one less thing to worry about and one less trip to take. I was able to enjoy a lot more of my first day by having the order delivered.

 

[bama_ed]

On a separate occasion, we just used Lyft b/c the Minnie Van was far too pricey for the short trip. We said something to the driver along the lines of "they dont let you into the actual campgrounds do they?" And he responded with "Oh, I think they do. Lets see what happens". We checked in at the security gate (it was late at night) and our driver drove us right to our cabin loop and no one stopped him. He said he had done it before too. It sounded like the "official" rule is that Lyft/Uber are only supposed to pick up and drop off from the main lobby area. But it seems some cast members may not enforce this all the time. In any case, it is def possible to uber/lyft into the campgrounds, but otherwise you will just need to use the front area for transportation.

The drivers know the rules and know they aren't supposed to go directly to cabins/sites. If caught/stopped, they are disciplined (fine? not allowed on property? who enforces?). The DIS Transportation board is a great resource for questions such as these as FYI.

There are always people who will break rules. Don't want this thread to devolve into that. Just sayin' what the policy is. And I'm someone who follows the rules most times (the speed limit on the interstate is an exception ).

Bama Ed

PS - and I think understandably on food deliveries that the Fort is a little different from other resorts as LL said. Over there people don't have a full kitchen (DVC not withstanding) so most orders are like pallets of bottled water, etc. But Fort guests usually want things for breakfast, lunch, and supper fixin's plus s'mores.

 

[KristinU]

We've taken Uber/Lyft to Universal a couple of times from the Fort. As BamaEd said, we did the pick up and drop off at the main parking area at the Outpost. Worked great for us. The drop off/pick up area at Universal is in their parking complex area and a quick walk into the entrance. Frankly, I think it was just about a wash with the parking fee at Universal, this was the summer before last.

 

[Disneylovers2000]

We've taken Uber/Lyft to Universal a couple of times from the Fort. As BamaEd said, we did the pick up and drop off at the main parking area at the Outpost. Worked great for us. The drop off/pick up area at Universal is in their parking complex area and a quick walk into the entrance. Frankly, I think it was just about a wash with the parking fee at Universal, this was the summer before last.

Oh yes! I hadn't thought about the parking fee and how that could even out the cost!! Thanks for the food for thought!

 

[Disneylovers2000]

Keep in mind the Uber/Lyft drivers cannot come come to your campsite to pick you up nor drop you off. You would have to walk or take an internal bus (or golf cart or bike yada yada) to the Fort Wilderness check-in building and get picked up there (and dropped out) as would a taxi or town car service. Only the MinnieVans have the competitive advantage of being able to drive up to your door to get you or drop out there.

Disney basically treats the ride share companies as they do the taxis and town cars and shuttle services which is pick up and drop off service is from the lobby area which is where those other services work from.

Theoretically, Disney offers their resort service to their guests to transport you and your stuff to your trailer. But that may not work well in reality. Personal shopping services such as WeGoShop or "GardenGrocer at one time could come to the campsite/cabin because Disney has no competing service. Personally i dont know what those rules are now.

But as we've seen, when you are competing with Disney on Disney property, they will skew the rules in their favor to make a buck.

Same rules apply for to/from Universal. From/to Fort lobby/check-in building only. They work it this way because they can.

Bama Ed

Thanks Bama!!

 

[Disneylovers2000]

I recently stayed at a Cabin and used Lyft/Uber.

We had heard that only Minnie Vans could drive up directly to a cabin or campsite, so for one long trip where one person in my party wasn't feeling great, we did just that. The Minnie Van picked us up at the cabin, and later at night drove in to drop us off at the cabin. Not a great help for off-property trips like you have mentioned, but good to remember for your stay.

On a separate occasion, we just used Lyft b/c the Minnie Van was far too pricey for the short trip. We said something to the driver along the lines of "they dont let you into the actual campgrounds do they?" And he responded with "Oh, I think they do. Lets see what happens". We checked in at the security gate (it was late at night) and our driver drove us right to our cabin loop and no one stopped him. He said he had done it before too. It sounded like the "official" rule is that Lyft/Uber are only supposed to pick up and drop off from the main lobby area. But it seems some cast members may not enforce this all the time. In any case, it is def possible to uber/lyft into the campgrounds, but otherwise you will just need to use the front area for transportation.

As for groceries: I ordered from Garden Grocer and everything said that it would be delivered to bell services up front. And I could either pick up my order there or have bell services deliver it. Well, lo and behold there's a knock on my cabin door later in the afternoon and a man from Garden Grocer is there with my things (and had other folks' orders in his garden grocer truck parked in our cabin lot). Now, it was raining a ton on this particular day, so maybe it was just a matter of bell services not wanting to go out in the rain? And they said have at it Garden Grocer, drive through the grounds all you like! I would recommend Garden Grocer even if they didn't deliver it right to my cabin door though. I'm sure you could look for deals in a grocery store and would save money on delivery, but it was so nice to have one less thing to worry about and one less trip to take. I was able to enjoy a lot more of my first day by having the order delivered.

I just went onto the Garden Grocer site, and wow! I found it to be expensive!!

 

[Luxurious_Lumiere]

^I guess this is where the benefit of living in New York comes in handy for me: I'm so used to expensive prices in my everyday life that I never get any sticker shock when I go to Disney! haha.

Things to note about Garden Grocer though: You can get a percentage off your order by placing it early. And if your total is at least $200, the delivery fee is waived.