Grocery service delivered

[disneyherewecom]

Hey all,
DH and I are trying to decide whether to take a taxi and go get some groceries ourselves or just have then delivered.
So for those of you who have had groceries delivered can you tell me what your thoughts are on it. And how does it work. When the food arrives at your resort, do they hold it for you at the front desk area? What if there is refrigerated stuff?

Thanks
Fran

 

[CleveRocks]

Getting a delivery is SO MUCH BETTER than having to take a taxi and then shop yourself. I've done the "shop for yourself" thing during non-Disney vacations, so I've seen both sides, and believe me, getting a delivery is absolute heaven compared to doing it yourself.

There are 3 delivery options ... I'm familiar with only 2 of them.

I've used Gooding's twice, and I was totally satisfied each time. I've spoken with the owner of the local Garden Grocer franchise, and he impressed me a lot in terms of his committment to quality service to his customers.

Gooding's is a local supermarket that also offers delivery. Garden Grocer is a stand-alone grocery delivery service.

I'm about to explain a grocery delivery method. It's the way Gooding's does it, and it's one way that Garden Grocer can do it. You set a date of delivery but not a time. They don't even attempt to deliver it to you at your room (you might not have even arrived in Florida yet!) . They deliver directly to your resort's Bell Services folks. Bell Services then calls your room (if you've checked in yet). If you're in, they say they'll be right up with the groceries. If you're not in, they store your grocery order for you and even keep the cold stuff cold (which is bagged separately and labeled); they leave a message on your room phone.

When it's convenient for you, you call Bell Services from your room and ask for them to bring your grocery delivery to you. A tip would be appropriate.

As far as the ordering process itself, I can only speak to Gooding's method, as I've never actually used Garden Grocer. Their website has a pretty small selection, but you can order anything that they stock on their shelves, except alcohol. Before your trip, you give them your credit card information, but they won't charge your card until just before the delivery ... there would be no way for them to know the final price before that, just in case they are out of a certain item, or if you ordered deli or produce that must be weighed, etc.

Garden Grocer CAN deliver alcohol.

The $20 Gooding's fee and the $12 Garden Grocer fee are much cheaper than round-trip taxi fare plus tip, and it takes you no time out of your vacation!

 

[J_Krafty24]

We used garden grocer in September and were very happy with them. We had a day and a 2 hour window scheduled for our delivery. There was a 30 minute heads up call before they delivered the groceries directly to the room. When they got there when went thru the order item by item to make sure we got it all.

Personally I thought their selection was excellent and it was really easy to work with online. They were a little bit more expensive than going to the store yourself but when you figure in the hastle of renting a car or getting a taxi it was way worth it. It is also much less expensive than buying disney food.

As CleveRocks said, they will also deliver to Bell Services of your hotel if you wish. If they do not reach you with their 30 minute heads up call they will do deliver to bell services as well.