On most of our trips to WDW, we use Tiffany Towncar service or a rental car to stop on our way from the airport to WDW and acquire groceries to keep in our hotel room (juice, fruit, granola bars, cereal, etc.). But with Magical Express getting high praise -- and no extra cost to me -- we are probably going straight from the airport to our room this time.

Has anyone tried grocery delivery to their WDW resort? Is it cost prohibitive? Which companies do you recommend? Any hassles from WDW staff over having such things delivered?

My understanding of the process is that I would order online or by phone and then have groceries shipped to my hotel (WDW Beach Club) to coincide with our arrival. Does that sound right? Any restrictions on how far in advance my package could arrive?

I know how to hunt on the Net and in the guidebooks. I can read the promo copy and details that companies put on their sites. What I am looking for is experience: have any of you actually tried this (ie, ordered and shipped groceries), and if so, how did it go?

Cheers,
Mike/Bear Necessities

Here's a recent thread (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=94638&highlight=grocery)with some opinions of gardengrocer.com. I believe some people have used wegoshop.com as well, but not sure if they're still around.

If you do a search for "grocer" and include all the WDW forums, you also might find some trip reports that provide information.

Ill go ahead and say that I was a skeptic when it came to online grocery ordering. After recently trying Gardengrocer.com, I can say that we will use them again in a heartbeat. Even though they do charge a reasonable fee for their services, we still saved a lot of cash compared to eating out and buying bottled water, and soda. (Ever try to find a Diet Pepsi anywhere on property?)

The ordering process was easy and they had nearly everything we wanted.

We provided a delivery time and when we got off the plane, I got a phone call from the person who delivered our order telling us that it was there at bell services and mentioned how many packages we had and how many were in the fridge. When we got to our room later in the day, bell services at AKL brought up our grocerys as well as the carry-ons we stored during the day.

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that if you dont use everything you are either going to throw it out or have to take it with you, so some pre-planning is needed.

They are well worth considering...

We just got back yesterday and used the garden grocer service. While most people are really positive about it, we won't be using it again, could have just been bad luck though. We got the call at our resort asking if we were there, and waited and waited. My DH spent a hour at our hotel front desk trying to track down the order-they couldn't find it. I called them, but it was almost there closing, got an answering machine and didn't hear back. I then emailed and phoned several times until I finally got a live person the next afternoon, who assured me it had been delivered-she said she would confirm with our hotel and call me back. When she called back she said it had been delivered to the wrong hotel. Okay, stuff happens, I am okay with that, a little miffed at having to chase them, but no biggie. they are going to redeliver it. I was concerened about the cold stuff but they said it would be okay. So then, when it does come to our hotel-the driver says he is short on time and can't deliver it to our building/room-we will have to go and get it. I was ticked-I mean we had gone a full day without the groceries and could have easily gone and got them ourselves for cheaper. The actual items were just as described and very good-we were missing one item, not a big deal, but it was the bread, so made sandwiches tough! Overall, since we had rented a car anyway, we could have easily gotten them ourselves for much less hassle (picture phoning them repeatedly while in the MK) and for less money.

We've used gardengrocer twice, and the service was very good, and saved us a lot of money, for bottled water, snacks, and breakfast food. A very nice thing about the sevice, is that you can shop on-line, and know exactly what is available, and pay for it before you get there, and also choose a delivery time. Bell Services will hold the order for you, if it comes before you check in, or while you are out, and will deliver it to your room. Both times we used the service, they called us shortly after our arrival. You can also order non-food items, like toiletries, sunscreen, and other items, that take up a lot of room, and add a lot of weight to your luggage. With airlines current restrictions on size, number, and weight of checked luggage, you can, easily, take 10 or more pounds off your luggage by having the items delivered to the hotel.

Weuse gardengrocer.com and they were great. Had everything we asked for, was easy to work with and tweak our order. I would use them again.

We used gardengrocer on our last trip and we were EXTREMELY satisfied. I found the prices reasonable and the people helpful and friendly.

I just spoke to Marge at WeGoShop because, get this, I need booster seats delivered to a hotel for an international client who is renting a car. (The car rental company wanted $120 for a $15 booster seat). Anyway, she said she can do it for me.

I do recommend scheduling your delivery a few weeks before. They book up very quickly. Have a great trip!

We used gardengrocer on our last trip and we were EXTREMELY satisfied. I found the prices reasonable and the people helpful and friendly.

I just spoke to Marge at WeGoShop because, get this, I need booster seats delivered to a hotel for an international client who is renting a car. (The car rental company wanted $120 for a $15 booster seat). Anyway, she said she can do it for me.

I do recommend scheduling your delivery a few weeks before. They book up very quickly. Have a great trip!

About three years ago, I used WeGoShop. I believe, there was a different franchise owner, at that time. They offered a reduced delivery rate, for a second delivery in the same week. When we got to the hotel, my niece discovered that she had left her sneakers at the hotel by the airport, where we had stayed the previous evening. I called WeGoShop, and she went to Wall-Mart, and bought sneakers, which saved us a lot of time and hassle. I only wish my SIL had thought about other items she would need during the week, like film, because she paid a premium on-site. These services are really time and cost efficient, if you don't have a car, and don't want to spend vacation time shopping.

Can you ad on after you have placed an order. We are leaving June 18 and have decided we would like to order a few more things. Anyone out there done this before?

We used Garden Grocer on our past trip this May and was very satisfied...We ordered bottles of water and also snacks like chips and they arrive in perfect condition. Prices were average (they do have sales which we took advantage of) I liked that they have the breakdown of unit price so you know if you are getting a deal. We made a mistake and had delivery for the morning even if we didn't arrive till 5pm and everything was just waiting there at the Pop Century. Since we use DME they brought it up with our luggage as we went explorering at DTD. I would recommend them and also use them on our next vacation.

Aloha-

Can you ad on after you have placed an order. We are leaving June 18 and have decided we would like to order a few more things. Anyone out there done this before?

I think you can. Check the website for instructions. I would call to check, but you can probably just place another order, and note in the comments that they should consolidate with your first order, and deliver them together.

we used gardengrocer for our trip in jan/feb and were *very* satisfied with the service. We saved about $120 by getting two boxes of bottled water (36 x 600 ml bottles - cost 25 cents each, cf $2 each at the parks). we also had breakfast foods and snack items delivered, along with toiletries. we were not there when the items were delivered (we were still in the parks) but the WL staff took delivery, kept the dairy items in the fridge all day, and delivered the groceries along with our bags when we got back in the evening. wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to others and would certainly use them again if we ever make it back to WDW.