Snowglobe worries....

[disneyworld07]

Hey all,
Just read that a person wasnt allowed to bring the snowglobe on as hand luggage - as it contains liquid. We were planning on buying a particularly nice snowglobe as a souvenir - also a glass item of some sort. Will we not be able to bring our snowglobe on?? If so should we have it shipped from the shop when we very first purchase it?? How much does it cost to ship a large snowglobe to the UK ( ballpark figure)?? Would appreciate as many responses as possible. We will only be 19 and 20 when we travel (just) and really dont want to have any hassles at the airport.
Another thing actually, what do we do if we buy crystal items?? Do we put them in our luggage rather than hand luggage?? Please help!

Many thanks

 

[disney_fan101]

we brought some snow globes recently on are trip and we had to put them in our suitcases, but the shop wrapped them up well then put them in a box then we put them in some clothes in are suitcases and they made it back fine , (but are suitcases were hard material), so if you also have hard suitcases you should be alrite. hope this helps.

 

[cj2me]

A couple of years back my husband purchased a snowglobe at one of the shops on Main street and had it shipped back home as a surprise for me. He doenst recall them charging shipping and if so it was minimal. It arrived within a few days of us getting home. No hassles.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Last year we had one of those big castle playsets shipped home because it was too big to bring home. I don't recall the shipping, but it couldn't have been very much. I thought that I heard that shipping has changed and become more expensive, but I would check it out.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

The costs are high, but if you are buying a snowglobe I recommend shipping it. We have friends who just came back last week and almost had to leave a snowglobe behind.

 

[maelstrom]

I would highly recommend shipping the snowglobe home from WDW. You won't be allowed to bring it as a carry-on (you know, terrorist liquid and all) and I wouldn't trust it in my checked baggage with the way they handle luggage.

 

[swimmom]

When you have items shipped home they are insured, so if it were to break you could get it replaced.

On our last trip we had most of our souvenirs shipped home and the cost was less than what I would have had to pay for my suitcase being over the weight limit. It was within a pound of the limit.

 

[westie]

I had WDW ship a dozen disney plates, bowls, and cups. They all arrived intact and I would use their services again.

 

[wjaye918]

I flew back from WDW Sunday morning. I was going through security behind a family with multiple snowglobes in the carry on bags. They were panicing and TSA made them go back to the ticket counter and check them. If you buy one, I would just pay to ship it home.

 

[gbrooks135]

if you know about how much it will weigh and how big of a box it will be in, you can got to this url http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home&page=0061calculatepostage
and it can calaclate about how much it would cost. this the USPS web site.

 

[natalia1681]

I would as well recommend shipping them home. When we returned from our last trip, as we were checking in, the girl we were travelling with suddenly pulled 3 snowglobes out of her carryon and started freaking out because she had to put them in her checked luggage. It was not a pretty sight, but that is another story:lol: Another story titled, "How I almost left my best friend in the Orlando Airport.":lol:
As she was putting them into her luggage, she was complaining to the woman at the ticket counter about how her makeup had been destroyed during the flight to Orlando. The ticket agent then told my friend that she never checks luggage because of the damage she has seen done:lookaroun You can take that with a grain of salt, but I'm sure that there is some truth to it.
Have them shipped home and then there are no worries!:wave:

 

[figmentmom]

DO NOT put the snowglobes in your luggage!!! Have Disney ship them, even if it's a bit pricey. It's well worth the peace of mind.

If you buy small crystal items that will comfortably fit into your carry-on luggage, take them home that way. Otherwise, have them shipped as well.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I agree that checked luggage is NOT the place to put your snowglobe. Shipping is standard UPS from the parks and it is quite reasonable. What is nice is, if you shop in one of the main stores, you can have your entire package of items mailed home to you. Of course international mail will be a bit more, but for you folks in the UK, it is much cheaper to send from the USA to the UK than it is to send from the UK to the USA.

No matter how well and nicely you might pack your snowglobes (or other breakables) in your checked luggage, the screeners often open your checked bags to check your items, especially if their x-rays can't make out what it is in there. THey will take no effort to rewrap and safety proof your belongings before shoving them back in your suitcase and sending the bag on its way. Almost every trip I have packed odd items into my suitcase (a bronze statue of Horace from the Luxor, a metal Eiffel Tower from Paris) have always been opened and checked with a note in the bag that the TSA checked by bag.

Be smart - have them send your items home.

 

[kwhdmd]

I encourage shipping them home, also. Remember by doing this, if you're out of state, you'll also avoid paying sales tax. With that savings, shipping is very cost-effective!

 

[Scooter]

CAUTION:
Disney has changed their shipping policies.
Instead of paying shipping charges by the weight, they charge you according to how much the item cost.

I had a friend who bought a Snow Globe recently at World of Disney and wanted the items shipped home directly from the store. They were going to charge them like 40 dollars to ship it.

Your best bet is to get the item off property and find a way to ship it UPS yourself.
Or take it to your Disney Resort check-in area. They may be able to ship from there and avoid the high shipping rates.

 

[tink rules]

You know I was thinking...

In light of the new TSA rules... Disney should offer to ship Snow Globes home at a nominal price.... Courtesy and service... It would be appreciated and probably sell more snow globes.....

 

[Stitch69]

Nice idea- but do you think they made that much profit on snowglobes that it would be worth it to do that? They package them really well and nothing is a 100% guantee. I don't see that happening.

 

[Nemo14]

Disney is a business, not a courtesy service. The only way they would do that would be if they raised their prices!

 

[PinMadness]

Shipping to the UK is quite expensive if you ship from any of the stores on Disney Property. Ballpark figure I would say is around $40 or $50 for one snowglobe. They don't charge by weight of the item, they charge by how much the items you're shipping cost. So if you're just purchasing one snow globe, it wouldn't be worth it to ship it at the high costs.

Also, Disney does not like to combine shipping from store to store unless the store you are shipping from carries the items you're trying to ship (and even then it's frowned upon.) So say you buy a crystal item from the Art of Disney and carry it over with you to the World of Disney. When you get to the WOD, you buy a snowglobe and ask them to ship it home for you. You then ask if you can throw in your crystal item that you carried with you because you didn't want to pay for shipping at both the Art of Disney and the World of Disney. They will tell you no because the WOD doesn't carry any crystal Art of Disney pieces.

There is a United States Postal Service that is a 5 or 10 minute cab ride from Downtown Disney. It may be cheaper to ship it from there.

 

[hokielutz]

We had purchased a very elaborate Disney Villans snowglobe from the marketplace this summer. And there was no way we were transporting it back ourselves. So we had Disney ship everything we purchased that day for a nominal fee from the store. They did that, and everything arrived in perfect condition... granted the outside of the shipping boxes looked like the went through WW2.

just one nominal fee... and they shipped everything!!

Pretty awesome, I say.