No car rental - grocery shopping?

[WWallaceII]

Hi all,

A bit of a strange query - we are going to WDW in August, staying at AKL and will be travelling via Magical Express to the resort.

Is there anywhere nearbly AKL that we could pick up some basic groceries? If so, how could one get there without a car?

Thanks for any assistance!

 

[tigsmom]

Not sure what you are looking for, but the hotels have small stores that you can get milk, cereals, bread and the like. Its a bit more expensive than a grocery, but not too bad.

 

[WWallaceII]

Yeah, it was pretty much the basics you mentioned. Maybe large water bottles, as we Scots don't quite have the heat that Florida does in August :lol:

Thanks for the almost instant reply!

 

[mary219]

you can take a car service to walmart.the hotel stores are ok for some basics,but it is more expensive.One trip to walmart and you will save some money and have a better selection.There are also lots of disney and florida souviniers that you can pick up(sorry for the bold letters,i dont know what i did)that are a lot cheaper than items in the theme parks or resorts.Of course,not the same stuff you would find around the resorts and parks,but tshirts and towels,magnets that are not bad at all.Also bottled water,juices .We picked up two styrofoam coolers for 5.00 each and kept them filled with drinks and some yummy desserts that we couldnt finish at meal times.it was well worth the trip to walmart.

 

[tumelo]

I always stay at the AKL and they usually have a taxi waiting outside. You could always use that.

 

[CleveRocks]

you can take a car service to walmart.the hotel stores are ok for some basics,but it is more expensive.One trip to walmart and you will save some money and have a better selection.

But you can save even MORE money by getting a grocery delivery. There are 3 such options in the area. Garden Grocer and WeGoShop are stand-alone delivery services. Gooding's is a supermarket that delivers. The highest delivery charge is $20 ... MUCH cheaper than a car service or taxi.

The free Disney's Magical Express plus a $20 fee (it can be lower) for grocery delivery is going to be much cheaper than a car service. Seriously.

AND you won't have to waste your precious vacation time walking around a store where you don't know where anything is. Relax ... enjoy ... have someone else do the shopping for you and deliver it to your resort.

 

[WWallaceII]

Thanks folks, CleveRocks - that sounds like a great idea, you are right - why lose some of our vacation looking around a grocery store?! :lol:

Thanks again everyone, once again this site proves supremely useful!!

 

[davidpw97]

I have never used a grocery delivery service before but after browsing the Garden Grocer website, it seems like you'd be better off hiring a car and making the trip to wal-mart yourself. It costs 12$ for delivery plus a gratuity if you want to add one on. You have to place your order atleast 24 hours ahead of time and you have to be there when they deliver and that's 2 hours out of your day that could be spent in a park because you have to give them a 2 hour window. Also it doesn't look like they deliver alcoholic beverages and that might be pretty important to some people.
If you went to walmart yourself you'd have to pay for a car but it shouldn't be too expnesive since it can't be more than 10 miles away. You can buy whatever you want including alcohol. You won't have to take any time out of your day because walmart is open 24/7, so you could go early in the morning or late at night and not miss out on any park time. If it were up to me, i'd do the shopping myself, just to make sure I get exactly what I want.

 

[DicksonGR]

Wallace,

The first three years we stayed at AKL we were without car. We used taxi and I know this may sound stupid to you Americans but it was a cool experiance being in an American supermarket - so much better than the ones here in Scotland.

There is also a small convience store opposite one of the Pirates Cove mini golf courses (near a Ponderosa) that means you could spend the night on International drive then when you're finished go in for some shopping and get them to call a taxi for you.

Thought I had struck gold when I found the last 6 pack of Magners in there - didn't think you got that in the States.

 

[CleveRocks]

I have never used a grocery delivery service before but after browsing the Garden Grocer website, it seems like you'd be better off hiring a car and making the trip to wal-mart yourself. It costs 12$ for delivery plus a gratuity if you want to add one on. You have to place your order atleast 24 hours ahead of time and you have to be there when they deliver and that's 2 hours out of your day that could be spent in a park because you have to give them a 2 hour window. Also it doesn't look like they deliver alcoholic beverages and that might be pretty important to some people.
If you went to walmart yourself you'd have to pay for a car but it shouldn't be too expnesive since it can't be more than 10 miles away. You can buy whatever you want including alcohol. You won't have to take any time out of your day because walmart is open 24/7, so you could go early in the morning or late at night and not miss out on any park time. If it were up to me, i'd do the shopping myself, just to make sure I get exactly what I want.

I'm getting the impression that you're not understanding some of the details.

When you say "hire a car" I'm not sure if you mean rent a car to drive yourself of take a taxi. A rental car, after taxes and the $5 domestic security fee and so on will run you at least $30 or $35 for a day. A $12 delivery fee plus a tip would be cheaper than that. A taxi will run you at least $20 to $25 plus tip, and the $12 delivery fee plus tip would be cheaper than that.

With Garden Grocer and with Gooding's you specifically DO NOT need to be presednt for the delivery. You can have Garden Grocer deliver to your resort's Bell Services, and then Bell Services will hold it for you until you get back ... and they even keep the cold stuff cold for you. This takes ZERO time, compard with the time to get to and from the store and do the shopping.

AND ... Garden Grocer can and does deliver alcohol. It's Gooding's that can't do it.

You can make sure you get "exactly what you want" by being brand-specific when you make your order.

I'm not arguing here. If you like the idea of shopping for yourself, then go for it! But when you state that shopping for yourself would be less expensive and take less time, then I can objectively state THE FACT that your statement is incorrect.

 

[davidpw97]

I'm getting the impression that you're not understanding some of the details.

When you say "hire a car" I'm not sure if you mean rent a car to drive yourself of take a taxi. A rental car, after taxes and the $5 domestic security fee and so on will run you at least $30 or $35 for a day. A $12 delivery fee plus a tip would be cheaper than that. A taxi will run you at least $20 to $25 plus tip, and the $12 delivery fee plus tip would be cheaper than that.

With Garden Grocer and with Gooding's you specifically DO NOT need to be presednt for the delivery. You can have Garden Grocer deliver to your resort's Bell Services, and then Bell Services will hold it for you until you get back ... and they even keep the cold stuff cold for you. This takes ZERO time, compard with the time to get to and from the store and do the shopping.

AND ... Garden Grocer can and does deliver alcohol. It's Gooding's that can't do it.

You can make sure you get "exactly what you want" by being brand-specific when you make your order.

I'm not arguing here. If you like the idea of shopping for yourself, then go for it! But when you state that shopping for yourself would be less expensive and take less time, then I can objectively state THE FACT that your statement is incorrect.

I stand corrected. I was basing everything on the website and it doesn't list any alcoholic beverages under it's beverages list nor does it say anywhere that the option to order alcohol is given later on once you have started placing an actual order. I called their phone number and a nice lady said that they do deliver alcohol but they don't give you that option til you have started placing your order and that you have to fax them a copy of your ID, guess they could do a better job of making that clear because if I were going to place an order and I looked at their list of products offered I probably would not bother signing up. I looked at wegoshop, they specifically said they will deliver alcohol so I assumed that since GG didn't mention it, they probably didn't, that is my poor assumption but it was based on what I had in front of me. It also doesn't say you have to be present at delivery but it doesn't say they can leave the delivery with someone else either. I just know if I were ordering a list of items, i'd want to know right away if I got what I ordered so the situation could be corrected sooner than later.

As far as the cost goes getting there and back would be more expensive in a taxi than having it delivered. But the groceries themselves would be cheaper at walmart or publix than the prices on the Garden Grocer website and I know from experience that Goodings is always more expensive than anywhere else. The savings on groceries probably wouldn't equal the extra money you'd spend getting there/back vs. the 12+tip for delivery, but might not be a huge difference.
If I were coming from another country and wasn't too familiar with American grocery stores or American products, I think i'd still want to do it all myself.

 

[teacup317]

We spoke with the Garden Grocer the other day. They will deliver right to your resort for $12 - that's pretty inexpensive. A taxi is expensive, a rental car even more so. They have lots of items available on their website and as far as ordering liquor, all you have to do is call them, they will give you their fax # and you'll need to fax them your ID. There is a space on the ordering sheet for you to add liquor. As far as a gratituity, they usually deliver prior to your arrival. The concierge desk will have your order from them available upon checkin provided you have ordered well in advance. When we spoke with them last Sunday, he suggested that we order ahead as much as 2-3 weeks. :wave:

 

[mary219]

I guess its just the way i am.I would rather take some time out and do it myself.but i guess if you are just getting some beverages and a few basics,then a delivery would be the way to go.I bought lots of stuff like beach towels and some tshirts.A new bathing suit for my daughter.The kids picked up some florida magnets and keychains to bring home for their friends.Stuff like that.And a new duffel bag to bring home all the stuff we bought!!!!:ROFLOL:
and it didnt require any planning ahead,so for me it was worth it.