When we go to Disney, we always order groceries ahead of time and have them waiting for us at our resort. This is a super simple and convenient way to save money and time at Disney World. First of all, we can eat breakfast in our room before we head out (except for the day we do Tusker House breakfast which is a must!).
We also buy snacks and bottled water to take into the parks with us. Disney will allow food and drink to be brought in and it's way cheaper to take in your own water than it is to buy drinks at the parks. I have a slight caffeine addiction so I buy flavor drink packets that include caffeine. My family appreciates that as they don't want to be around me when I get a caffeine headache!! I also bring non-caffeinated ones for the kids since they haven't become addicted yet. :)
I also pack a sharpie to bring with us and each morning, I put the boys' initials on a bottle. That way we're not all sharing germs. Don't forget your backpack to carry the water and snacks!!
If you're in a villa or Fort Wilderness Cabin, you'll have a full-sized fridge so order all the groceries you'd like! In standard resort rooms, you'll have a small dorm-sized fridge so think about what you really need to refrigerate. And I wouldn't do anything that needs to stay frozen as it may or may not have small freezer section in your fridge.
Each night when we returned from the parks, I would put in the water for the next morning. Of course, I had a few Diet Cokes in there and some milk for the boys. So you don't have a ton of room but if you plan ahead a bit, it's great.
Here are the things we ordered for our trip just to give you an idea:
Keep in mind these prices were from last year so probably not still valid. This is from Garden Grocer - a grocery delivery service that takes the items directly to your hotel at Walt Disney World, leaving them with bell services (which refrigerates perishable items). I highly recommended them and most do as they are the most popular with Walt Disney World guests by far.
The process is simple: You go to Gardengrocer.com and click on "Create Your Account" and fill out the form to register your account. Browse through over 5,000 products and add them to your cart. Shop by brand, category, or use the search toolbar to find the products you want. Click on the shopping cart at the top of the page to begin the checkout process. Fill out the form with your billing information & let them know what resort you're staying at and what time frame you'd like your groceries to be delivered in.
So other than the cost of the groceries, are there any delivery fees? Yes. Disney charges a flat $5 to recieve the order. Garden Grocer charges a $14.00 delivery fee but if you spend over $200, the delivery fee is waived. You need to plan ahead though - if you need same day delivery, the fee is $30 and next day delivery is $20. Keep in mind that there are limited delivery time slots so if you wait until the last minute to order, there may not be availability for delivery. I tend to order several months in advance - you can add on to your order later if you think of something else you need. They also usually offer a discount for ordering early - this is the current discount and it was the same when we traveled last year:
Besides the cost savings of eating breakfast in the room, taking your own water and snacks, having groceries delivered saves time too. We can eat while getting ready or while on our way to the parks so the minute we get there, we're ready to get on our favorite attractions while the lines are still small. Even getting a quick service breakfast can take what feels like forever when you want to be on Space Mountain!
Same thing goes for standing in line for drinks and snacks. Don't get me wrong, an apple won't replace Dole Whip but it does limit the lines to stand in. (FYI, don't forget about Mobile Ordering to also limit those lines).
A couple of other things to consider - beside bringing along your own sharpie, I pack a bunch of ziploc bags. It's nice to have those when you want to have individual snacks in your bag or you want to save that last bit of candy.
Please give me a call if you have any questions! I would love to help you plan and book your Disney or Universal vacation! And even better - there's NO fees for my services!!