Groceries Delivered or Taxi To Store

[mrsmtc]

Staying at BLT in February. Flying down and going to try DME for the first time. No car rental . As we will have a full kitchen we plan on eating in some of the time. Wondering if we should take a taxi to a store, (which one) for groceries or have them delivered.

Any other tips for not having a car?..Thanks!

 

[RSD Part Deux]

I always use Garden Grocers and have never had an issue with them. If you are ordering over $200 worth the service charge is negligible. They pretty much offer everything a local grocer has.

You can taxi to the nearest Walmart or Goodies at Crossroads. Each way minimum $25.

 

[luv]

I'd do the delivery. It will save you a lot of time and trouble. Probably won't cost much more, either.

If you do go grocery shopping, I'd advise you not to go to Gooding's, which is often out of things, has less selection and is more expensive than the others. I also wouldn't go to Wal-Mart because the Wal-Mart near Disney...I think they feel that since it's always crammed full of tourists, there is no reason to keep the place nice or have the staff be nice. It's just not the best Wal-Mart in the country (or in Orlando.)

I'd go to the Winn-Dixie on Apopka-Vineland. If it were me.

Tips for not having a car? Disney will advise you to allow 60-90 minutes to get where you're going. If you must be somewhere at a specific time, listen to their advice. Also, be patient. Public transportation isn't the most convenient thing and the (often hot and sweaty) people on it aren't always the best smelling ones in the world...or the best behaved. Pack a little extra patience. And remember: The bus leaves when the bus leaves! (Repeat it over and over and over so it's in the very fiber of your being by the time you start dealing with it.)

 

[Sparkle81]

We used Garden Grocer on our recent trip and will definitely use them again in the future. Our groceries arrived exactly in the time slot we chose at the resort (we happened to be right there when they were delivered but they will be stored for you at Bell Services for collection otherwise) and found the groceries to all be in good dates etc. So much easier than worrying about getting to a supermarket & back, as we didn't have a car either.

 

[sublimesting]

Staying at BLT in February. Flying down and going to try DME for the first time. No car rental . As we will have a full kitchen we plan on eating in some of the time. Wondering if we should take a taxi to a store, (which one) for groceries or have them delivered.

Any other tips for not having a car?..Thanks!

We always use Garden Grocer for both food and alcohol and they have never failed us. There are two other places as well: www.wegoshop.com or www.orlandothemeparkshoppers.com. You really have to do the math as some have cheaper products but higher delivery charges. I think all of them deliver alcohol if you ask. That being said you just order and have it sent to your hotel. They'll keep it for you at the luggage services (and they'll keep your cold stuff cold too). Ours is always there when we arrive.

 

[dolce20]

Don't know if you need a stroller but if you do--Kingdom Stroller rental is running a promo for FREE grocery delivery on orders from "Strollers & Groceries" once you place your stroller rental order w Kingdom Strollers. We love KS and we are looking forward to our free grocery order now. So far, Nicole at S&G has been awesome to work with. They shop mostly at Publix and leave your order at your Disney resort's front desk/bellstand. Check out KS's website for more details.

 

[olinecoach61]

We used garden grocers and were pleased. I wouldn't want to spend vacation time grocery shopping

 

[LucyK]

I always go to Walmart or the Publix nearest to WDW (Vineland).

I prefer going myself because I can choose my own groceries, compare prices and wind down after some park time (me and my mom are some of those odd creatures that enjoy going to the grocery store), we usually go after our second full day there.

 

[Ember]

We have not used them before, but have heard great things about gardengrocer. We are planning on using them for our next trip. They even deliver wine and beer! The prices are a bit higher than at a grocery store, but so much cheaper than Disney food prices. Their $14 delivery charge seems much more reasonable than a taxi fee and less hassle too

 

[jlsHouston]

I always have a car, and the one time I didn't I taxied for about 40 bucks roundtrip to the super Walmart on Vineland which is kind of a dirty ghetto Walmart for a super Walmart...I like picking my own things out. If I had a full kitchen though I would be seriously thinking about hitting a Publix. Been a while since I shopped a Publix but they had the best bread...
But if all you are looking for is sodas water juice and snacks and breakfast items I think that grocery delivery thing would be the cheapest and easiest since you won't have a car.

 

[mousehockey37]

Staying at BLT in February. Flying down and going to try DME for the first time. No car rental . As we will have a full kitchen we plan on eating in some of the time. Wondering if we should take a taxi to a store, (which one) for groceries or have them delivered.

Any other tips for not having a car?..Thanks!

As I mentioned in another thread, we had a car service pick us up at the airport and we were able to make a grocery stop (we didn't need it, but it was an option when setting up the service). Since you're doing the DME, I can't really help, but something you could do that I've heard of...

Shop at home and FedEx your stuff to your resort. Obviously you wouldn't want to do your milk and other short shelf life items this way, but your bottled water and stuff you can ship down ahead of you and it'll be there upon your arrival, and you can beat out those Florida prices!!!

 

[Magical Dreamer]

Gardengrocer.com every year.

We have them delivered to the resort an hour or so before we arrive and call bell services when we get in the room.... They usually have them delivered to the room within 15 minutes.

 

[dolce20]

In addition to the promotion I mentioned above for free grocery delivery, also know that Happy Limo always provided us a free 15 min publix stop on the way to WDW.

 

[GoofGoof]

We used GardenGrocer and it was great. They delivered to BLT at the time we picked but we weren't back to the room yet so they left everything with bell services. CR has a walk-in fridge so they keep the cold stuff in there. We didn't get any frozen items, but I would assume they would keep the frozen stuff in a walk-in freezer too. When we got back to the room and were ready we called bell services and they brought the bags up. Really easy and they deliver beer and wine too

 

[coachwnh]

Another vote for garden grocer! always excellent!

 

[Eeyore Eyeore]

As I mentioned in another thread, we had a car service pick us up at the airport and we were able to make a grocery stop (we didn't need it, but it was an option when setting up the service). Since you're doing the DME, I can't really help, but something you could do that I've heard of...

Shop at home and FedEx your stuff to your resort. Obviously you wouldn't want to do your milk and other short shelf life items this way, but your bottled water and stuff you can ship down ahead of you and it'll be there upon your arrival, and you can beat out those Florida prices!!!

You're saving money by Fedexing bottled water (as opposed to buying a case down there at a market or through garden grocer)?!?

 

[GoofGoof]

You're saving money by Fedexing bottled water (as opposed to buying a case down there at a market or through garden grocer)?!?

My father in law shipped my kids their Christmas present this year from FL and the box weighed about 25 lbs and cost about $35 to ship. Maybe you could shop around for a lower rate, but I can't see how shipping water can save you money. We considered shipping lighter items like cereal and snacks, but after running the numbers it worked out cheaper getting it all from Garden Grocer. We had 8 people and ate most breakfasts in the room plus we got some adult beverages so we hit $200 and got out of the delivery charge.

Garden Grocer has a 30 pack of bottled water for $8. The delivery charge is $14 for orders under $200. If all you ordered was a case of water it would cost $22 including delivery which seems like a lot but it's still only $0.75 a bottle vs $3.50 in the parks. If you are planning on getting any perishable items like milk GG is a lot cheaper than the resort gift shop.

Apples to apples comparison. The 24 pack of 16.9oz bottles at GG is $6.99. At my local Sams Club it's $5.99. So GG is $1 more. Maybe if I got it on sale I could save another buck. If that's all you bought and you could ship the case for less than $16 then you would save money shopping at home. When we compared items GG was slightly higher (but competitive) or in some cases about the same or even a little cheaper than my local grocery store. This is probably relative to where you live. I live in the suburbs of Philly so Northeast food prices. I'm sure there are lower cost areas of the country where groceries are cheaper. All of Garden Grocers prices are listed on the website so it's easy to figure out what you would order then add in the delivery charge and compare it to what you would pay to buy the same items at home.

From what I understand if you stay at Boardwalk there is a gas station quickie mart type place that is a doable walk from the hotel. Doesn't help you at BLT but for future reference if you ever stay there it's another option.

 

[mrsmtc]

Garden Grocer it is! Priced what we would want and it might be a bit more than at home but still gonna save a ton of $$$ and time since we don't have to go get it! Thanks all for the input!

 

[mousehockey37]

You're saving money by Fedexing bottled water (as opposed to buying a case down there at a market or through garden grocer)?!?

Garden Grocer for a case of Nestle water = 7.99, here in PA we pay 3.39 for the same case. So to FedEx that with other snacks and such, YES. You ARE saving money.

 

[mousehockey37]

How much are you paying to ship the water? The case of 30 16.9oz bottles of nestle water weighs about 32 lbs. We priced out shipping a 40lb box on Fed Ex before our trip for the water and some light snacks and it was a little over $32. Is there a cheaper shipping option to ship a package that heavy?

Aren't you just all over me tonight... The point of THESE posts is that there are cheaper and/or better options than using garden grocer or a taxi.