Disney World eliminates outside vendor drop off services

[TheMaxRebo]

I wonder if Disney will start providing these services /rentals directly and then offer the feature that you don't need to be there to meet the outside vendor as a perk of renting directly through Disney - this way they get in on the $

 

[Marionnette]

The problem is, guest arrive all day and night. This could make it difficult for the vendors and the guest to coordinate a scheduled time.

We have no need for strollers at this point in our lives, but we did rent an ECV from Gold during this last trip. It was just a matter of coordinating with their driver on the day of arrival. They were very good at keeping in contact so that the exchanges could be made with a minimal wait time.

 

[siren0119]

I think it takes away from park time to be just sitting there waiting for a delivery. Maybe with some grocery companies you know the 2 hour window, but for other companies you could be looking at wasting 1/2 to a full day just waiting for them to show up.
I don't use strollers or wheelchairs and drive so I pick up my own food, but this seems like an extreme inconvenience for those who do need these items,

Keep in mind that you're basing your statement on the way those rental companies do business NOW. It may require a change in process for them to continue providing good guest experience. There's no reason a delivery person can't dial a contact number to advise that your delivery is due to arrive within an hour/half hour/whatever. Every logistics company I have ever worked for has this available when things are happening off schedule. They might need to improve their fleet management so they can offer guests morning/afternoon time frames, but again that's fairly standard with a lot of logistics companies and it might lead to much better processes for all the rental companies affected.

 

[rteetz]

I wonder if Disney will start providing these services /rentals directly and then offer the feature that you don't need to be there to meet the outside vendor as a perk of renting directly through Disney - this way they get in on the $

They do in the parks but yeah what about at the resorts. These resorts are huge. People need those things at the resorts too.

 

[N-I-B-O-R]

I wonder if Disney will start providing these services /rentals directly and then offer the feature that you don't need to be there to meet the outside vendor as a perk of renting directly through Disney - this way they get in on the $

I am quite certain that Disney will provide this very soon, especially with the anniversary coming up....why lose out on extra $$?
I was thinking this was going to happen when they released the new stroller design trial at animal kingdom.
Imagine having pick off / drop off capabilities at all parks & resorts. Wouldn't have to take a stroller on a bus, just have one waiting for you when you get off.
Great for the skyliner too!
I would pay disney for this service if it was provided. But has to be a better stroller than the plastic 'L' on wheels

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1177653082961973248

 

[Irish_Mike]

Why not just add a charge to guests who do this? Yes that’s an inconvenience but that’s better in my opinion than not allowing it at all.

As a former Bell Services CM, I can attest to the a couple of problems with how things were before this:

1. Space in the luggage rooms are -surprisingly- limited. Outside of a couple specific resorts (Beach Club really stands out, but also Art of Animation), these rooms are not designed to house luggage, groceries, strollers, ECVs & other deliveries. Not only does this lead to safety issues for the CM's who are working in increasingly cramped conditions, but it required Disney to store items in unsecure places.

At one resort I worked out, the luggage room would fill with nonluggage (Groceries and strollers primarily) to the point that we had to store luggage in a back hallway, conference rooms and even outside of the luggage room in a small courtyard. Not only are these locations not secure and posed risks to both guest safety, but it also raised the possibility for loss, damage or theft of items.

2 - There were a number of times where strollers and ECVs by guests were not returned to us at the end of their vacation, which would lead to conflicts between vendors, them and cast members at the resorts. The guest would say they left it with us, we'd say we never received it as was not signed for when the cast dropped off. This removes the liability from Disney and puts the onus of returning the item directly on the guest(s) who abused this system.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions!

 

[bradleyjhansen]

From Garden Grocer facebook page;

Update: Our managers have spoken to several different WDW resort bell services managers and employees and we have been assured that this new policy only affects mobility vendors (scooters, strollers, etc.) and that grocery orders will still be allowed to be left at bell services. If you have any further questions please feel free to comment on this post, private message us, email us at info@gardengrocer.com, or call our customer service department at 1-866-855-4350. Thank you so much to our customers, we look forward to continuing to serve you!

 

[Irish_Mike]

From Garden Grocer facebook page;

Update: Our managers have spoken to several different WDW resort bell services managers and employees and we have been assured that this new policy only affects mobility vendors (scooters, strollers, etc.) and that grocery orders will still be allowed to be left at bell services. If you have any further questions please feel free to comment on this post, private message us, email us at info@gardengrocer.com, or call our customer service department at 1-866-855-4350. Thank you so much to our customers, we look forward to continuing to serve you!

Good if true, but Disney is definitely going to have to put out a public policy soon.

 

[Rschall]

That is certainly going to add a layer of complexity for those who rent ECVs.

We have always brought our own strollers because we use them in the airport.

Why are there so many stroller rentals at WDW?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

From Garden Grocer facebook page;

Update: Our managers have spoken to several different WDW resort bell services managers and employees and we have been assured that this new policy only affects mobility vendors (scooters, strollers, etc.) and that grocery orders will still be allowed to be left at bell services. If you have any further questions please feel free to comment on this post, private message us, email us at info@gardengrocer.com, or call our customer service department at 1-866-855-4350. Thank you so much to our customers, we look forward to continuing to serve you!

makes me think even more Disney will start offering their own rental scooters and strollers ... if anything I would think dealing with groceries would be harder to keep fresh, etc. - plus people could say they *need* a mobility device. Disney being able to offer one when needed I think

 

[tlmadden73]

Maybe is Disney looking at new add-on to provide their own Stroller or Scooter services.

I mean .. I felt it was always really "nice" for Disney to allow off-site vendors to come onto their properties, (clogging their roads and parking lots) and fill up their lobby/entrance with all these things for their guests.

"Nice" doesn't make money and the accountants running the business have that philosophy.

Another guess is that this is maybe:
1) Security issue - hoping to lock down their resorts to ONLY resort guests (via magic bands)? But then that would mean they would block Ubers and grocery store dropoffs too.

2) Maybe this is their way to discourage ECV and Stroller use? If it is harder to get them, maybe some people will think twice before renting one and clogging up the park pathways. I mean .. if I had a kid on the "cusp" of needing a stroller and I couldn't get it easily dropped off at my hotel -- I may just NOT get one .. or rent one of Disney's out of sheer convenience.

3) Cost savings? (less bell services/front desk people needed to manage this)

4) Space? It seems at the Values they just sit these outside (near the Magic Express dropoff). It does look kind of junky.

5) Liability?

 

[Tigger's ally]

makes me think even more Disney will start offering their own rental scooters and strollers ... if anything I would think dealing with groceries would be harder to keep fresh, etc. - plus people could say they *need* a mobility device. Disney being able to offer one when needed I think

or trying to get a company like Kingdom to be an "official partner".

 

[PrincessNelly]

We have no need for strollers at this point in our lives, but we did rent an ECV from Gold during this last trip. It was just a matter of coordinating with their driver on the day of arrival. They were very good at keeping in contact so that the exchanges could be made with a minimal wait time.

I'm glad that worked for you but I still feel this will make things harder for the guest and vendors. Vendors would need to work 24/7 and have even more personnel on hand to make deliveries. This is going to result in price increases for 3rd party rentals.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Looks like OSR will start doing pick ups and drops off at MCO. I have a feeling ME is going to get hammered with strollers very soon. I can't see this working for mobility devices though as ME has limited capacity for those per bus.

 

[Tigger's ally]

I'm glad that worked for you but I still feel this will make things harder for the guest and vendors. Vendors would need to work 24/7 and have even more personnel on hand to make deliveries. This is going to result in price increases for 3rd party rental.

The video from Kingdom strollers said 3 deliveries morning and 3 afternoon on weekdays and 5 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon on weekends.

 

[PrincessNelly]

or trying to get a company like Kingdom to be an "official partner".

I believe Kingdom was already recommended by Disney on their vendor page.

 

[PrincessNelly]

The video from Kingdom strollers said 3 deliveries morning and 3 afternoon on weekdays and 5 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon on weekends.

My main concern is mobility devices like wheelchairs. For guest like my fiance, he can't get around the resort without it. If its not already at the resort when we arrive, its going to be a huge issue for us.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Looks like OSR will start doing pick ups and drops off at MCO. I have a feeling ME is going to get hammered with strollers very soon. I can't see this working for mobility devices though as ME has limited capacity for those per bus.
View attachment 439409

ME bus drivers will need extra tip! 50% will go in pocket, 50% into savings account to cover henia surgery....

 

[Marionnette]

I'm glad that worked for you but I still feel this will make things harder for the guest and vendors. Vendors would need to work 24/7 and have even more personnel on hand to make deliveries. This is going to result in price increases for 3rd party rental.

I do see your point about the lack of convenience. And not to argue with you, but many of the 3rd party vendors are less expensive than their “featured provider” counterparts. Much of it is due to not paying Disney for the privilege of dropping off and picking up at will. The change only makes things harder for those featured providers and their customers. The other providers already have a system for dropping off and retrieving from their customers.