5 Tips For Sending Packages To Your WDW Resort Hotel
In one of our more recent chats we talked about sending packages directly to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel as a way to cut back on luggage and maybe even save a little bit of money. Today, I want to take that discussion a step further. I mean. . . sure. . . you know you can send a package, but how do you make the most out of this service and save the most money? That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today, so let’s get this doom buggy rollin!
Crunch The Numbers
When we first started digging into this topic I mentioned that there are some people for whom sending a box directly to their Disney Resort hotel is more of a necessity than a convenience. If this is you, you can disregard this particular tip. For everyone else, crunching the numbers is important when deciding whether or not sending a box to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel is worth the money. After all, we are talking about shipping costs which can add up quickly.
Though having a package with all the odds and ends that didn’t quite fit in your luggage sent directly to your hotel might be convenient, it’s not always more cost effective than checking a second bag. For example, sending what the USPS describes as a “large flat rate box”, with an interior size of 12″ x 12″ x 5 1/2, will cost you about $22.00 to ship. This is more than half the price of checking a second bag with an airline like Delta for a fraction of the space. Definitely something to think about!
Of course, these numbers will look different depending on how you choose to send whatever it is you’re sending and which airline you’re flying on, which is why crunching the numbers is important in the first place. You can check with your airline of choice or visit the USPS website [they’ve got a postage calculator for you to use there] to get started.
Check The Walt Disney World Website
Sending a package directly to the Walt Disney World Resort hotel that you’ll be staying at might seem like a well kept secret, but it’s not much of a secret at all! In fact, you can find an entire page on the Walt Disney World Resort website dedicated to Mail Services and everything you need to know about sending or receiving a package at Walt Disney World.
Over on this page you can find guidance on where you can send packages from or how to address them in order to ensure they are received and available for you at your hotel. You’ll also find other important information which is why it’s important to give the page a visit before heading on over to the post office. This will ensure that you are up to speed with everything that you need to know when mailing a box and aware of any changes that might impact your box getting to you when you arrive.
Keep It To Consumables
The topic of mailing a box to Disney always raises a lot of questions. One of the most common centers around what I do with the stuff that was in the box when it’s time to go home. There’s a very simple answer to this question. . . . . nothing. That’s right! The stuff that I mail to Disney usually never ends up coming home with me, but it’s not because I’m frivolously ditching stuff; it’s because most of what I send to Disney via the post is consumables.
Consumables, or single use items that will be used up quickly, are a great option for mailing via post to Disney. Not only do they tend to take up a lot of space, but they can often be lightweight and more affordable to ship. A good example of this might be diapers, snacks, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, toiletries, disposable masks and hand sanitizer. With a little bit of planning it’s fairly easy to determine how much of every item you’ll need, of course including a few extras, making it so that the contents of that box you sent is used up by the time your trip is over.
Use Free Shipping
If there’s one thing most of us have become well acquainted with since 2020, it’s free shipping. One way or another, many of us have upped our online shopping game in the past year. . . . . so why not use that knowledge when sending a box to Disney?
I know. . . great idea, right!?
Rather than having items sent directly to you, have them sent from your favorite online shopping venue straight to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel. This allows you to take advantage of any free shipping you may have available to you while also saving the extra step of having to go to the post office yourself.
Plan Ahead
As we’ve established, sending a box to your Disney Resort hotel can be very convenient. That said, it does take a little bit of work and planning ahead to ensure that you’re getting what you need when you arrive rather than the day before you leave. If you’ve decided to go ahead and send a box, you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing it long enough in advance that it will arrive when you do. For me, this is usually something I do about 7 to 10 days before I leave. Of course, if you live in a place where mail tends to be a bit sluggish you can adjust accordingly.
You’ll also want to take this into consideration if you’ll be placing an order online and having it sent directly to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel. In that case, be sure to keep processing time in mind as it can vary from place to place and might make the estimated shipping time longer than you originally anticipated.
Well, happy haunts, that about does it for this one! I hope that these tips are useful when deciding whether using the Walt Disney World Mail Services are right for you. As always, not every tip will work for everyone, but I’m hoping that they’ll help get you started nonetheless!