Advice on groceries

[GoofGoof]

For my next trip to WDW we will be flying and not renting a car. We are staying in a 2 BR villa at BLT. We definitely want to get some food and drinks for the room. Not planning on cooking Thanksgiving dinner or anything like that. Mostly breakfast, snacks and drinks. I have several question:

1) has anyone shipped food from home to the resort (non-perishables of course). If so how did it work out?

2) Has anyone used the DVC grocery service?

3) Has anyone used a 3rd party online grocery service? If so when they deliver milk and other perishables to the hotel will the hotel store them in a fridge for you until you pick them up or do you have to be in the room for delivery? Will they deliver wine/beer?

4) Has anyone rented a car from the Contemporary or another resort? How does it work? Is it easier/cheaper to rent a car and drive to the grocery store than to have food delivered.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

1-3) - Use the Garden Grocer (gardengrocer.com).....they will exceed your expectations. (beer & wine can be purchased as a special request) (produce has always been excellent)

4) Rent Alamo if you need a rental....They will pick you up and drop you off at your resort via shuttle bus from the car care center. (ORLR72)

***Order through the Garden Grocer and stay on vacation....you'll be glad you did.

 

[GoofGoof]

1-3) - Use the Garden Grocer (gardengrocer.com).....they will exceed your expectations. (beer & wine can be purchased as a special request) (produce has always been excellent)

4) Rent Alamo if you need a rental....They will pick you up and drop you off at your resort via shuttle bus from the car care center. (ORLR72)

***Order through the Garden Grocer and stay on vacation....you'll be glad you did.

Thanks for the advice. Does Garden Grocer give you a delivery window? Do you need to be in your room or can they deliver to bell service and then have them hold it until you pick it up?

 

[slappy magoo]

I have never used Garden Grocer but have only heard good things. If groceries are the only reason to rent a car, use Garden Grocer instead. If you are thinking of using a rental car for the whole trip, rates are usually better renting from the airport - Disney Magical Express is a nice perk, but so is leaving for the airport when YOU want to, as opposed to their schedule. And if you have an annual pass, there may be further discounts, check mousesavers.com
And yes, if you order food that needs to be kept cool or frozen, your resort will arrange it, though it would not hurt to call ahead and let BLT know your plans and needs.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

Thanks for the advice. Does Garden Grocer give you a delivery window? Do you need to be in your room or can they deliver to bell service and then have them hold it until you pick it up?

They give a delivery window....but bell services will accept and store your order till your ready. Bell services will also deliver the order to your room when you request.

 

[goodanu]

I'm curious about this too, for beer and wine the website states you must present ID. How do they work this? Will they deliver beer and wine to the hotel staff for you or do you have to be in the room to receive it?

 

[unkadug]

I'm curious about this too, for beer and wine the website states you must present ID. How do they work this? Will they deliver beer and wine to the hotel staff for you or do you have to be in the room to receive it?

I think that the hotel staff will know the age of the room owner.

But, if you are trying to work the system, you could always get your parents to rent the room then Garden Grocer would never know the difference.

That way everybody will be penalized when their license gets revoked for delivering to underage people.

 

[goodanu]

I think that the hotel staff will know the age of the room owner.

But, if you are trying to work the system, you could always get your parents to rent the room then Garden Grocer would never know the difference.

That way everybody will be penalized when their license gets revoked for delivering to underage people.

I
No worries in trying to work the system. I'm plenty old enough.

 

[unkadug]

I
No worries in trying to work the system. I'm plenty old enough.

Then, I think the hotel staff will be able to handle it unless you are ordering several cases of beer.

But, if you want to be on the safe side, send GG an email and ask about their policy.
info@gardengrocer.com

But, it's a good question...I sent them an email...if I hear back I'll let you know what they say

 

[GoofGoof]

I searched a little online and it looks like garden grocer may have lost there ability to sell alcohol. This seems to be a recent issue. According to rumors they are looking into getting a license to sell beer and wine directly. Apparently they were just stopping at the store on there way to you room to pick up beer and wine. As this was just something posted on another forum can anyone verify this? Has anyone used garden grocer in the last month or 2 and successfully gotten beer or wine delivered?

 

[goodanu]

Though I could be wrong here I believe this was an issue about month ago. When I was on the website the option to purchase was not on the page.... Now it is. I believe I got an email from them stating all is good with the sale of beer and wine recently. Unless something has changed in recent days I think all is good. I guess we can follow up with an email to check. I was going to call them anyway to check about the ID issue as well.

We go in August and will be in a 2 bedroom at BLT. I was hoping to get snacks and water delivered, and with the cost of a six pack at the hotel store, a case of beer from them would be a significant savings.

 

[GoofGoof]

You are probably right. I think they got it straightened out. I emailed them and got this response:

You can order any alcoholic beverages as long as they are on our website.You will need to fax or email us a copy of your photo ID before the alcohol can be delivered.

Looks like we are good to go.

 

[unkadug]

Well the question has already been answered...but here is the reply that i received:

Hello,​

​

When you place your order you will need to send us a copy of your photo ID you can fax it or email it to us. It depends on where your staying but most resorts have bell services that will accept the groceries for you and hold them until you check in that day.​

---​

Thank you,​

The GardenGrocer.com Team​

www.gardengrocer.com​

Toll Free: 866-855-4350​

 

[GoofGoof]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Looks like garden grocer is my best bet over renting a car to go shopping. The prices are probably a little higher than a grocery store, but I am not buying so much that the added cost exceeds the cost of the rental car and it seems to be very convenient.

 

[lakegeorge_mom]

Thanks for the advice. Does Garden Grocer give you a delivery window? Do you need to be in your room or can they deliver to bell service and then have them hold it until you pick it up?

We ordered $200 worth of food and drinks, I have a special needs child who is very limited on what he can eat or drink. They had everything put away for us when we arrived! Cold items were stored in the fridge or freezer, other items were put away nicely and even organized, such as pasta with the pasta sauce etc.If you want to be there for the delivery, you can also set up delivery for after arrival and specify that you want to receive it yourself. It was wonderful! I went to my local Enterprise for a car, who I rent from a lot at home, they were able to get me much better rates because we are repeat customers than anything I found online, and set it all up for us! If you have AAA they may be able to get you great discounts and help you as well.

 

[BCVTalsJam]

Also if you guys are getting the meal plan you will each get a refillable cup for free refills in the resort. So that might be a good option for drinks...my wife and I usually get snacks for the room and it usually means a 2 liter of diet coke but now with the free refills that has stopped

 

[disney magic 06]

Don't forget the Hess Station at Downtown Disney. The small store there is surprisingly well stocked with grocery items and drinks/snacks. It's only 5 minutes walk from Planet Hollywood or Raglan Road, just across the road at the far side of the car park-you can see the Hess sign from DD. If you get off the bus at the Pleasure Island stop it's even nearer.

 

[dreamfinder]

I've done both WeGoShop and GardenGrocer. Service at both was good, WeGoShop had a slight edge. Garden Grocer called like 15 mins beforehand to say they were going to show up, and then just sent a SMS after they left it with bell services even though we had made a point to be waiting in the lobby. WeGoShop met us at our room with the groceries. Garden Grocer posts the prices on their website, but seems to just shop Publix. (Our last order was all Publix) So on a big order, WeGoShop may very well end up being a more affordable service since they charge receipt price, plus their service fee. For instance, I seem to recall a gallon of milk costing $1-1.50 more through Garden Grocer than WeGoShop. But WeGoShop charged a $18 service fee, so its about finding the sweet spot. Using the DVC grocery service I believe is just the same prices as if you shopped in the store in the resort, they just have it all ready for you.