Bringing food with you

[wsmith1978]

Hello all! Heading for Disney World in just 9 days and the excitement is killing me!!

I was thinking - we have the Dining Plan that gives 1 snack, 1 quick service, and 1 sit down meal per day. We always find ourselves having to buy breakfast because a snack just doesn't quite do it for us. I guess we have big appetites. Plus we like to use that snack option to get a Mickey ice cream bar, popcorn, etc. It never really occurred to me to bring food with us to keep in the hotel to have for breakfast, like granola bars or muffins or something like that. My question is, does that seem practical? What would/do you bring? Is that something you would put in your carry-on? And the weirdest/dumbest question of all, will it be safe to eat after going through the scanner at the airport? In other words, any radiation concerns?

 

[Master Yoda]

Plenty of people do it but it is not super practical when you are flying. Some people will actually ship items like this to their resort ahead of time. We drive and use to bring stuff like this but found it to be more trouble than its worth. The scanners will do nothing to effect the safety of the food. The radiation level is simply not high enough, nor is the exposure long enough.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

We've done this every trip since the beginning, but we drive. I get a laundry basket and fill it with peanut butter, chips, pop tarts, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, nuts and fresh fruit etc... We often just make a pb swch and head for the bus, that's breakfast. It also come in handy because we always take a mid day break. Often times you are just hungry for a little something to get you through til dinner ressies. Well your answer is in the basket!

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

I've also read on these forums that people will pack a box and have it shipped to their resort. Then their snacks will be waiting for them upon arrival.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Haven't tried it yet, but I am planning on taking a taxi to the closest Walmart on my first day there to do exactly the same thing. Stock up on some snacks for the room, some beer for my husband, and some grab & go breakfast stuff. From what I understand, the cost of a taxi is only $20, and even paying that, it's a huge savings from what I would pay for that stuff at the parks or at a resort hotel shop. Some folks use a delivery service, which sounds ok too, but I know going to Walmart will be my cheapest option and I'm fine with that.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Plenty of people do it but it is not super practical when you are flying. Some people will actually ship items like this to their resort ahead of time. We drive and use to bring stuff like this but found it to be more trouble than its worth. The scanners will do nothing to effect the safety of the food. The radiation level is simply not high enough, nor is the exposure long enough.

Absolutely correct, however what could be a good idea if you wanted to bring snacks, or even cereal, is put it in one of your suitcases. I've done this when my son was younger and just bought milk when we arrived at Disney. We also used to bring bottles of wine for myself and my husband :animwink: As long as its in your checked baggage, youre good to go

 

[slappy magoo]

Haven't tried it yet, but I am planning on taking a taxi to the closest Walmart on my first day there to do exactly the same thing. Stock up on some snacks for the room, some beer for my husband, and some grab & go breakfast stuff. From what I understand, the cost of a taxi is only $20, and even paying that, it's a huge savings from what I would pay for that stuff at the parks or at a resort hotel shop. Some folks use a delivery service, which sounds ok too, but I know going to Walmart will be my cheapest option and I'm fine with that.

Well, however much the taxi is, you're also "paying" with some of your valuable vacation time away from the resort. If it's a long trip, or you don't mind going to a WalMart on your vacation instead of hitting the parks or lounging poolside, fine and/or dandy. But there's something to be said about arranging to have that stuff already waiting for you when you arrive at your resort, whether it's because you shipped it yourself, or you did your shopping before leaving on vacation and arranged to have it delivered when you arrive. Even if it winds up being more money than the cab ride, if it saves you even a few hours, maybe it's worth it.

 

[wsmith1978]

How does one go about shipping something to a hotel they're going to be staying at?

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Haven't tried it yet, but I am planning on taking a taxi to the closest Walmart on my first day there to do exactly the same thing. Stock up on some snacks for the room, some beer for my husband, and some grab & go breakfast stuff. From what I understand, the cost of a taxi is only $20, and even paying that, it's a huge savings from what I would pay for that stuff at the parks or at a resort hotel shop. Some folks use a delivery service, which sounds ok too, but I know going to Walmart will be my cheapest option and I'm fine with that.

You have the best solution for someone without a car. But you might find it even cheaper to have the taxi go to the Super Target, its actually closer than the nearest Walmart and tends to have a better selection of most things... although if you are looking for any of the cheap Disney autograph books I would suggest the Walmart it tends to have a better assortment of the disney stuff.

 

[slappy magoo]

Most people around here use http://www.gardengrocer.com/ They will deliver to the resort where you're staying, on the day you arrive, within a 2 hour window. Let the front desk of the resort know you'll be expecting a package and they will store it for you if it arrives before you do; I believe they'll even refrigerate/freeze anything that needs to be cool/cold, though I wouldn't recommend getting anything that needs to be frozen unless you're staying in a Villa with a full kitchen. The freezer compartments in those little refrigerators in the rooms won't cut much more than a pint of ice cream.

Gooding's, which is one of the markets closest to WDW, also delivers, but their prices are supposedly on the steep side for most items.

 

[coltow]

I usually pack pop tarts and granola or cereal bars. They don't take up alot of room. We'll usually eat them at the bus stop in the morning. Or I'll pack them in backback for mid-morning snack

 

[SuprDav]

If you drive to DW, bring along the cereal, pop tarts, granola bars etc. We also bring a couple of cases of bottled water & I might even bring a few adult beverages

 

[dreamingofwdw]

We fly and pack some food in our suitcases (checked luggage). We packed instant oatmeal packets and individual applesauce containers for breakfast. We heated up water by using the coffee maker in the room and just brought small bowls (although you could use the mugs in the room) and spoons. It took up very little space in our luggage and it was much cheaper and saved more time than eating breakfast in the parks. We also packed some light snacks too for during the day.

 

[JillC LI]

We do this every trip. I pack pre-apportioned inidividual ziploc baggies of each person's cereal of choice. We buy a carton of milk for the fridge upon arrival, and sometimes we'll use an extra snack credit to pick up some fruit cups. Between the cereal and the fruit, we are fine until lunch which we eat early to beat the lunch crowds. I am not s coffee drinker, but DH is, so he runs over to the food court for his morning coffee to have with breakfast. (He prefers to buy it than to make it himself in the room.)

 

[MuchLovedMama]

We typically fill up our smallest suitcase with Pop Tarts, Granola Bars, Donut sticks, indv. donut packs, Pringles, Oatmeal Cream Pies, Kool-Aid single pouches, Fruit Snacks & stuff like that. I have a large Lock & Lock container that I pack all the breakable foods in like the pop tarts and oatmeal cream pies. We almost always make due with this stuff for breakfast and midnight snacks.

 

[melmood2000]

I have used Garden Grocer and been extremely happy with them. Although last time we went to WDW we got the dinning plan for free and it was my first time on the plan. I used garden grocer and bought apple slices, fruit snacks, milk, cereal for breakfast I also got a case of water bottles. By the end of the week I had so much left over food and now way to pack it to bring it home so it became a waste.

With the dining plan we had I got the refillable mug, but when ever I would have dinner at the resort my meal would come with a drink so I would get a water bottle, leaving the case of water I got unused.

When I would eat dinner at night my dinner would come with a desert, I can't eat desert every night so I would opt for a muffin and that would be my breakfast in the room the next morning, There for not need the extra cereal I had bought.

You can be the only judge as to how much your family eats but I don't see any harm in packing it in your suit case if you have the room. I would look in to garden grocer the great service make for a worry free option.

Have fun :wave:

 

[wsmith1978]

Thanks everyone! Gonna bring a few things in the suitcase, but not too much. You all had great ideas!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

How does one go about shipping something to a hotel they're going to be staying at?

I've shipped boxes to myself at the resorts several times and sent one to myself on our Disney Dream cruise in September. Usually I pack a USPS Priority flat rate box as careful as I can to take up every inch of space. All you need to know is the address of your resort and label the box properly (ie. Guest: Jane Doe, Confirmation #1234567890, Arrival Date: 02/02/2012). Do NOT ship thru Fed Ex or UPS unless you've given yourself a couple extra days for the delivery. USPS ships direct to the resorts. The others go to a central location then get distributed from there which can add an extra 2 days.

I send anything I will need that I don't necessarily want to carry (flying or driving). I ship non-perishible snacks, breakfast foods, sunblock, ziplock bags, plastic tumblers, coffee, coffee fixins, laundry soap, ponchos, etc. Breakfast ideas for an easy made-yourself breakfast are the instant grits or oatmeal and some disposable coffee cups. Hit 'em with some hot water from the dispensers in the beverage station areas and you're set! I have shipped myself my small 4-cup coffee pot with supplies numerous times because I will NOT use the 4-cup pots that are kept in the rooms. :hurl: If you need to ship things back home either check with the concierge at your resort or hop a cab to a resort with a business center.

When flying I've taken non-perishible foods and stuff in the luggage as well. Never attempted laundry detergent just because I'm too afraid a white powder or a liquid will get my stuff rifled-thru for sure.

Also, when flying we've ordered milk, sodas, bottled water, and laundry detergent from Garden Grocer. Love their service and highly recommend!

 

[Disneykidder]

We always fly and have always packed a suitcase full of snacks. It is a life saver in the parks $ wise as well as for a melting child that just needs a quick little something. We pack fruit snacks, dried fruit, pretzels, lots of water, crackers, chips and especially cereal. We will use some quick service meals on breakfast but for the most part we just purchase a galloon of milk at the resort and have cereal in our room. Mods and deluxes have fridges but if you have a value, just use the ice bucket and store your milk there or you can rent a fridge for $12 a day, I think. Having muffins or cereal in our rooms saves time, as well. The water bottles can also be refilled on the parks. Any food cart will give you a cup of ice which can be put in a water bottle to drink. We also freeze the water bottles in our fridge to have it cold throughout the day.
We pack zip lock bags in our suitcase which we use for various snacks as well as a wash cloth that we wet and freeze to keep us cool throughout the day.
A lot of people send their snacks in a box to meet them at the resort or you can use a delivery service such as gardengrocer.com.
Hope my ideas have helped.

 

[minnielaw]

I will point out that we have tried to do the breakfast in the room thing without much success. Cereal, Pop Tarts, etc. just do not stick with you for very long because they don't have much protein. We have discovered that without a "hot" breakfast (eggs, toast, pancake, etc.) we run out of steam around 11 or 11:30. We are not huge eaters and don't normally have a "hot" breakfast at home, but we must burn lots more calories at WDW!

I also agree with Master Yoda that it's more trouble than it's worth. We do bring snacks with us for the room, but usually end up taking most of them home with us. With the DDP we just have so much food that we don't need or want extra snacks.

Just something to think about...