Shipping something from Disney to home

[AliceinWhoville]

We wanted to buy something for our daughter for Christmas that we saw in the Eporium. I could call Disney Direct but I might be going in Dec but flying so I wouldnt be able to take it home with me (something huge).So heres my question we have prepaid shipping labels at work and it be no prob to use one and have it shipped to my work or home. Is there a way to box something up w/o that big nice disney shipping charge.I'd rather slap my own label on it then have to use there overpriced ones lol.Can this be done?

 

[Rob562]

What service are you using? I don't know if Disney resorts will accept something from a Guest that's for something other than the USPS.

In the case of the USPS, you could pre-purchase your postage and box and flat-pack them in your luggage. Or get a flat-rate box if the item will fit inside one of them. The Disney resort would then gladly put it with their outgoing mail for pickup.

As for other carriers, I searched for UPS, and there are two UPS drop-boxes listed along Buena Vista Drive. One is at the Downtown Disney admin building (which might require you to go to not-exactly-Guest-accessible areas). The other is listed for the address for the Sun Trust bank across the street from the Marketplace. So if your package could fit in one of the drop-boxes, you could go that route.

As for FedEx, their site lists a drop-box at Sun Trust, too. Plus the Casting Building just down the street.

Both FedEx and UPS have full service locations within a mile or two of Downtown Disney, so you could always grab a taxi to one of those.

-Rob

 

[Mystic]

What service are you using? I don't know if Disney resorts will accept something from a Guest that's for something other than the USPS.

-Rob

Actually, that's not the case. Take your prepaid label to your hotel's front desk. They should be able to help you package it up and then just stick the FedEx label on it and the resort will be able to send it for you.

On our last trip we bought a large Sorcerer Mickey print for my brother and the store was going to charge us $50 to ship it home since that's how much the print cost. We went to the front desk at the Wilderness Lodge and they shipped it home for us via FedEx no problem. They supplied us with the box and the weighbill and then took care of arranging for a FedEx courier to come and pick it up.

Make sure you let someone at your office know that you are sending it if you decide to send it to your office. I had let my office know the package was coming and they still refused it. If you are going to send it to your house, I suggest waiting until the day you depart to ship it so that you'll be home when it arrives the next day.

 

[WDW 3]

Do all the resorts help with sending a package home? Moderates in particular? We usually don't have much room to spare in our luggage and were wondering about this option. One trip we were leaving Blizzard Beach and they were handing out travel mugs to everyone leaving. That caused some packing creativity.

 

[marcriss]

You can also go to one of the business centers to ship something out, their packaging supplies can be limited though.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Do all the resorts help with sending a package home? Moderates in particular? ....

We shipped a large item home from Port Orleans Riverside on our last trip.
The front desk referred us to the General Store gift shop and they shipped it from there. Arrived OK.

You can stop reading now or you can immerse yourself in these details as to how we wound up with the large item.

OK. So my wife is a big fan of the artist/sculptor Jim Shore. Watches him all the time when he's on QVC. He makes interesting items and is a very nice guy. So- when she found out that Jim Shore was going to be at WDW the same week that we were going in December, our WDW schedule got his appearance in EPCOT included. He was also going to be at DTD but EPCOT was a day earlier.

So- We show up at the American pavillion in EPCOT when Jim Shore is there. His schedule showed him signing items and greeting people for several hours, then taking a break, and then returning. In actual practice he was a real trooper. Did not take a break. They were his fans so he stayed there.

So- we get in the line. After about 10 minutes my wife said that we didn't have anything for him to sign and she didnt' just want to meet him. So- I got sent into the gift shop on the right side of the American Adventure building to get a Jim Shore item. Guess what- all the small items were sold out. I had to return to the line rather quickly and didn't have a lot of time so I grabbed a castle piece that he had created, sort of like Cinderella's castle except he called it Castle of Dreams. When I checked out it was over $100 dollars. Wow. Oh, well. My wife wants something for Jim Shore to sign and this may be the only time she gets to see him in person.

So- we (I) purchase a $100+ castle.
I get back in line with her. We move along slowly as the line moves, picking up the bag with the castle each time and then setting it back down. Finallly it's our turn. They have an assistant getting the items ready for Jim Shore to sign. He has trouble getting it out of the styrofoam but finally does. My wife goes up to Jim Shore and he greets her, as he did all the other guests, as though they were the only person there that day and a most important person. Meanwhile I take pictures with my camera.

So- our turn to meet Jim Shore worked out well, after an hour of standing in line, and we leave EPCOT to return to our room at Port Orleans Riverside. On the bus we start wondering how we are now going to get this large castle home. It's a big box. We decide not to pay the airline extra or take a chance they will break it.

So- when we get to the resort we ask about shipping it home.
The front desk refers us to the General Store gift shop and they did a good job. Cost about $25 to ship.
Later we found out that a person is allowed one 'personal' item to carry onto the plane, according to Continental rules. For my wife it's her purse. For me it could have been the castle but we didn't know that at the time.

So- that's how we ended up shipping a package home from from our moderate resort.

 

[captainkidd]

Just a warning - We shipped 6 boxes home last week from the WL, and it's been a disaster. We're still missing 2 boxes, and we never received tracking numbers via email for any of the packages like we were supposed to.

We did it last year from the Poly and had no problems. Not sure what went wrong this year.

 

[mickey7879]

We used to ship from Disney when their prices were a flat rate fee. When they went up (too high in our opinion), we started going to the UPS store and having it shipped by them. They carefully packaged our items and they arrived without any problems. A few times we've shipped from Disney and have gotten our items damaged. Although Disney has always sent replacement items, it still a hassel to call and explain everything.

 

[mickey7879]

Just for future reference, does anyone know the current rates they charge to ship stuff home? At the time, it was a lot cheaper for us to go elsewhere, but didn't know what the current rates were.

 

[dreamfinder]

Just for future reference, does anyone know the current rates they charge to ship stuff home? At the time, it was a lot cheaper for us to go elsewhere, but didn't know what the current rates were.

According to allears (http://allears.net/tp/mailorder.htm) the rates are

Merchandise Value Ground Express Air Economy Air AK/HI Express Air AK/HI Economy Air
$ 0 - $50.00 $ 9.95 $34.95 $24.95 $39.95 $29.95
$50.01 - $75.00 $14.95 $39.95 $29.95 $44.95 $34.95
$75.01 - $100.00 $19.95 $44.95 $34.95 $49.95 $39.95
$100.01 - $150.00 $24.95 $49.95 $39.95 $54.95 $44.95
$150.01 - $250.00 $29.95 $59.95 $49.95 $64.95 $54.95
$250.01 - $500.00 $34.95 $74.95 $54.95 $79.95 $59.95
$500.01 - $1000.00 $39.95 $89.95 $69.95 $94.95 $74.95

If the table looks funny, view the one directly on the page. They say those are from June 2007, but they Jive with what I paid in Oct 08 and no one has reported any changes in those lately. The rates are the same if you order something over the phone, or have them ship it home for you.

To the OP, depending on what exactly you are shipping, you MIGHT do better with Disney shipping rates. Try doing a price estimate on UPS/FedEx website. Since they do it by weight, if you buy a heavy cheap item, Disney may be cheaper. If you go with UPS/FedEx, remember that they charge more to deliver to a residential address than a commercial one, so take that into consideration. Also, they only insure your package up to $100, so adding the additional insurance will bring the price up even more, but without declaring the full cost, if it breaks, they will only compensate you $100.

 

[WDW 3]

Thank you everyone. I'm thrilled I can ship directly from the resort! The cost is worth the convenience because we never rent a car. Love your story Riverside Bunny. I love all Disney things Jim Shore does too! I have 2 small Mickey's in my office

 

[pixiesteno]

We shipped a very large, heavy box ( about 33 lbs) of christmas presents right from Pop Century last December. Guest Services gave me the box and a form and I filled the box and the form and took it back to guest services. I received our UPS tracking number right there on the spot. As we own a business and are a UPS shipper I was even able to use my own shipper number so it was on my regular billing. The package arrived right on time. I had it sent Next Day Air due to having to wrap the packages and the fact that it was Dec 18 when I was shipping it out. So for my 33lb and approximately 19X19X19 box it was around $70.00. For the weight and size for NDA from Fl to NY that really wasn't as bad as I figured it would be. When we would have been forced to purchase another suitcase to get it all home at over $100.00 and then pay extra to the airlines and hope they don't lose it - UPS from the resort was the best option. I was very, very please with the help that Guest Services gave us.

 

[captainkidd]

Just a folloeu up to my post - We did receive the remaining 2 packages yesterday. WL wasn't much help with the tracking information, but they did arrive, so that's what really matters.