There is a company in Central Florida that allows you to purchase groceries and other vacation supplies online and will deliver your goodies to your hotel. I've heard a lot of great things about Garden Grocer. Being that we're going to be staying at a deluxe resort and will have a refridgerator it's something worth looking into. We're also not on the DDP so we won't be having leftovers that we can warm up if we get hungry back at the hotel.
My main purpose for buying from Garden Grocer is for the sake of having bottled water at our disposal at any time. Water in Walt Disney World isn't cheap. A standard bottle of water is $2.50. We drink an awful lot of water since Matt and I don't drink pop. That is going to add up quick if we keep having to buy bottle after bottle. It just makes sense to purchase a pack of water and keep it in the hotel room.
The thing that is tricky for me right now is trying to figure out what to buy since there is a $40 minimum purchase. I will have to get with my mother and mother-in-law and see if there is anything specific that they want ordered but for right now this is what I have compiled.
Dasani 24 PK - $7.99
Bolthouse Farms - Green Goodness 32 oz - $4.79 (I drink this often in the morning instead of a full b-fast)
Special K Bars - 6 CT - $3.59 (My mom and I both like these)
Newman's Chunky Mild Salsa - $2.99
Tortilla Chips - $4.19
My total is only $23.55 not including tax. There is also a $12.00 delivery fee on top of everything.
I think I can come up with a few more breakfast options like oatmeal for Matt and maybe my mom will want Pop-Tarts. Garden Grocer also does fresh produce so I'm guessing Matt will want bananas.
I'll probably place the order a week before we arrive. Garden Grocer delivers your stuff to your room if you will be there within the 2 hour window that they arrive. If not, they'll leave it for you up at bell services. We'll probably go that route since I'm guessing we'll be at the parks right away.
My first order of business when arriving in Orlando is to visit a Publix and load up on the same things. My girlfriend and I eat breakfast in the hotel and pack a lunch to bring to the park. We take the money saved on midday meals and put it toward nice evening dinners. Don't worry, Disney, you're getting all our money one way or another.
ReplyDeleteWhoa - great idea!! I need to order this for when my mom and I go in Dec. A pack of 24 bottles of water for the price of about 3 in the parks is the beat deal ever! Thanks for letting everyone know!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Bobby. Disney isn't missing the extra food money that us smart buyers are saving by eating in the room when possible. I rarely ever pay for breakfast outside of the room because I tend to like lunch and dinner food more. I can get eggs and toast anywhere but can I get a huge falafel wrap anywhere? No! :)
ReplyDeleteEllen, I think Garden Grocer is genius and I'm glad you do too.
When we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in January 2008, we ordered a case of water from staples.com for around $8 and had it delivered to the front desk (it was there for us when we checked it.) It was great because we had a fridge in our room.
ReplyDeleteFor our trip earlier this year we considered renting a fridge and getting water again. But I ran the numbers (for fridge rental plus the cost of water to be delivered) and it ended up being about the same as if we were to just buy water in the parks/at the hotel. So we decided to skip it.
I did buy a small, cheapy, collapsible cooler to keep water cold in our room so that worked out well.
That's a great idea, Jill! If we can't come up with anything else to order from Garden Grocer maybe we'll have Staples deliver it. Do you remember how much delivery was? I don't want to spend $40 on groceries that we don't even "need."
ReplyDeleteWe've never rented a fridge before. We had one in our room at CBR a few years ago but I don't think it worked very well. We basically just stored desserts in there. At POP we had one that was left in the room for us free of charge. That was on our honeymoon and we used that more since my brother sent us a gift basket with cheese.
My mom is obsessed with getting ice in the ice bucket. First thing she does is find out where the nearest ice machine is to our room. She won't drink water unless it's ice cold. I'll drink it as long as it's not piping hot. Water is water.
I prefer cold water too. So it was nice having the fridge. But the collapsible cooler worked fine last time too.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how much delivery is. Sorry. I just remember having to time it so it got their the day we arrived or at the earlier a day earlier.
However, I do remember reading on the DIS something about deliveries to hotels. So you may want to call your hotel and make sure it's okay before you do it. Just in case.
I also remember typing in something specific for the mailing address. Can't remember what though. If you search "water delivery" or something on the dis, I bet you can find some info on it if you decide to go that route instead of Garden Grocer.