AboutSue Holland Expertise I can answer just about anything relating to the Florida Disney parks - including the resorts & Downtown Disney. As a Disney Vacation Club member, I`m very familiar with that program as well. I love the resorts as much as the theme parks - especially the attention to detail and the friendly service provided
Expert: Sue Holland Date: 6/26/2008 Subject: Grocery Stores near Animal Kingdom
Question Hi Sue, I just googled something and your site came up. It looks like you are the expert on my subject. I am a 46 year old travel agent and have never been to Disney World... I know, it's a sin isn't it? Well, my daughter is attending a dance convention there starting this Saturday and I'm lost without knowing where I'm going and not having a rental car. We are staying at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Animal Kingdom. Can you tell me the best way to get to a grocery store? I'll be looking for snacks, Vitamin Waters, bottled water, that type of stuff. I was told by a rep. at Disney that they have a store but knowing from experience, that stuff will be 5 times the price. Are there shuttles that will take me to the main gates and then walk to a grocery or will I be better off taking a taxi? If so, do you know how much that will be? Any help and directions you could give me would be great. Thank you :)
Answer Hi Karen,
It's about time you got to WDW, lol - but better late than never. You might get addicted and return over & over again after this trip. Coronado Springs is a nice resort, and it's pretty well located. They classify it as being in the Animal Kingdom area, but it's a bus ride away. You won't see Animal Kingdom or be able to walk there from the resort. In fact, it's almost as close to Epcot & Hollywood Studios as it is to Animal Kingdom.
To get to a grocery store you'll need a car. Disney doesn't transport you anywhere offsite except to the airport. You can hire a car service or take a taxi, but you'll end up paying for the time you're shopping. The closest grocery store to Disney property is Goodings, but they're outrageously priced. When you walk in, the store is carpeted - which gives you an idea it's not like most grocery stores. There's a Winn Dixie a little further away in one direction, and a Publix slightly further away in the other direction. Unless you really need alot of groceries, it's not going to be worth the car rental or cab fare.
The store at the resort isn't necessarily 5 times the price. Some stuff is high, but some is the same price as the grocery store. As a rule of thumb, if it's something that has a price on the packaging, Disney tends to charge that. If there's no price, they charge what they want. You'll have the Pepper Market at your resort, which is probably the best food court in all of WDW. They cook everything fresh, and there's a huge variety. For snacks in addition to your meals I'd consider bringing some of that with you, or shipping it to yourself ahead of time since the airlines are getting to nuts about baggage & extra fees. Bottled water will be your biggest challenge, as that's expensive anywhere inside WDW. Some people have ordered a case of bottled water through Staples and had it delivered, so you might look into that to see if the cost is worthwhile.
I'm not sure what taxi's cost, but Publix is just a few miles away. There is traffic, so the meter will run while you're at red lights. I would imagine it's not more than $10-15 each way. It's right by the Premium Outlets, so you could take a cab to the outlets, shop at the discounted Character Premiere (Disney - generally half price), then walk across the parking lot to Publix, do your shopping, then take another cab back. That way you're getting more from your cab ride than just snacks.
