DisLove E134 Landon with Vacation Grocery Delivery and Special Occasion Dining at Walt Disney World

In this episode, Kris and Vanessa are joined by Landon from Vacation Grocery Delivery. Landon and his wife Jessica have a team of former/current Disney cast members, who do grocery and alcohol delivery to your Walt Disney World resorts. Unlike national providers there is no markup to items you purchase. You just pay a flat delivery fee and service charge. There is also a small handling fee applied to orders with alcohol too.  

Earlier in the show, Kris and Vanessa discuss the top restaurants to go to when celebrating a special occasion at Walt Disney World. 

• Vacation Grocery Delivery Instagram Profile
• The Mouse for Less list of top dining locations for special occasions
• Disney Dining list of dining locations for special occasion

For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to the Disney Podcast with Vanessa and Chris . I'm Vanessa Ferguson. And I'm Chris Johns. We would like to welcome you to show number 134 and for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show features things we love at Disney. And in each episode we have a guest who creates Disney Magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney Magic into your life. And as a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you take time to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or any other platform where you listen. We always like to read these and give shout outs on the show. And then of course that also helps the show grow as well. On today's show, we will be joined by Landon from Vacation Grocery Delivery. Landon and his wife Jessica have a team of former and current Disney cast members who are dedicated to really providing for all your grocery needs while you're staying at Walt Disney World. And we are really looking forward for you to hear all about their services. And Chris and I were talking about after we spoke to Landon, Chris actually gave me the inspiration for the show topic. I did. Yeah, we were talking about how using vacation grocery delivery is a great way to save money on your food and some of those expenses. And it doesn't mean that you have to skip out on Disney food, it just means it gives you more money to spend on Disney food. So we talked about like your savings between having your snacks, also maybe having them deliver breakfast items to you, maybe snack items that will help you save when you're in the park. And then what happens is then you have some extra money in your food budget hopefully to be able to spend some dollars at some of the nicer restaurants on property. So that's, that's where you inspired me. You talked about all the savings. Exactly. <laugh> . So what I thought is that we talk about how you could splurge on some special dining experiences across a property in particular if you're celebrating an occasion or you don't have to be celebrating occasion, just go to enjoy the food. I know some of these we've been to, some are on our list of must-dos or on our Disney bucket list so to speak. But I also would like to give a thank you to our friends at Mouse Dining and Mouse for less . I was able to look at some of their recommendations as well. So of course if you're planning a special celebration at Walt Disney World, we've talked about lots of different things you can do. But whether you're home or at Disney, a big part of any special occasion is eating. So we're gonna talk about all of the great dining options that can be for an unforgettable occasion or just for a nice night out. Now I kind of divided these up into areas. The first section of the property we're gonna talk about is the Magic Kingdom area. And I did only pick one restaurant at Magic Kingdom, but I think you could make arguments for several more dining experiences there, like be our guest or Tony's Town Square. But for this show I tried to keep it around 10 and 10 total restaurants. And the first one we're gonna talk about is Cinderella's Royal table. Do you remember what occasion we celebrated by going to Cinderella's Royal table? Chris?

Speaker 2: 3:15

Our wedding

Speaker 1: 3:16

Close. It was the day after our wedding. Yeah, that's close. Yeah , I'll give you that . Alright , I , I give credit. Yes. So I'll give that to you. So the day after our wedding, we went there as kind of just, we had already had like the hustle and bustle, a lot of chaos going on as you're getting ready for your wedding. And we were gonna be spending the week at Disney with our friends and family. So we just booked a special night out at Cinderella's Royal Table. Now if you're not familiar with it, of course it's in the castle and they do have a prefix menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And how that works is that you're gonna pick an appetizer and entree and a dessert. I think it varies a little bit for breakfast, but the great thing here is this is a good place to celebrate an adult's only occasion like we did after our wedding. Or you could also celebrate an occasion for little ones in your life because you have some character appearances here. They now have all of the princesses that make similar appearances over in Epcot. So you, you see Cinderella when you're first coming in before you're taken up to the main dining room and then in the main dining room you get visits from Ariel , Aurora, Jasmine, snow White and Rapunzel. So the food's great, you have a beautiful view if you time it right with fireworks you can have that experience. We went at night for fireworks. I think it's also a great way to kick off a day of celebrating at the park because you can start off in the castle. So that's a great option whether you have little ones or it's an adults only one. Now the next one that I'm gonna move to is more, a lot of these are more adults only. Um, the first one is Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian. We have not eaten there. I would say it's probably a little more refined than our taste, but we do like trying new things. Um, so we probably will make it there one day. They have two tasting menus each evening and they really have, they rotate out for really fresh ingredients. You can do wine pairings and it's really one of the best fine dining experiences on property. This would be for, I would consider this more of a splurge sort of celebration that you would go here. You also have like the chef's table, but that's a separate experience than just the regular dining at Victorian Albert's. So that's at Grand Floridian. Another one that's also at Grand Floridian is CCOs and that is in, that one was recently redone and I've heard a lot of great things. It has a Mary Poppins returns kind of ambiance and they have really good American inspired dishes. So that's a great one as well. And you'll see a theme. There's another one at Grand Floridian of course I think be being the flagship resort, they tend to have a lot of these nicer experiences. There's Narce and we had a chance to eat there with our good friends Shane and Charlie a couple years ago . Oh yes , it was wonderful. Yeah . So this is really close to the marina. It overlooks the Seven Seas Lagoon and when we were there we timed it where we were there later when the fireworks happened and they pumped in the music but you could also go outside. They had a patio. I went out to the patio and watched and so that adds some extra to it. They're known for a lot of seafood. But I'm not a seafood fan and I still enjoyed, I think I had steak when we went. It was a great experience and we had been at the parks during the day. We just went back to our resort and changed into nicer clothes and then went over there. The one thing that's important to remember is that you don't have to be staying at a resort to dine there. So we do that quite often whether it be for a fine dining experience or not. So you could be at All Star and you could go over to Grand Floridian and have a great dinner. It , they're not gonna stop you. Just make sure you get your reservation in. Now moving over to another resort also in the Magic Kingdom Loop is the, you also have California Grill. This is at the top of the contemporary resort. There's lots of other great restaurants there, but this is open only for dinner. And you have a great view of the Seven Seas Lagoon. You can see Magic Kingdom. It is a beautiful setting where you can really get a great view before nightfall, but also when the fireworks hit, they have some really great highlights on their menu. They're known for like their braised beef, short ribs. They have a great filet pork tenderloin and people just really talk about, I had a chance to eat there once. And if you go way back, maybe I'll link in the episodes myself, Vanessa Ferguson and the other Vanessa Ferguson and Disney podcasting. We have a thing with John Stamos and him at Disney and I was displaced at California Grill for John Stamos very many years ago <laugh> . So it's a long story in a previous episode. I'll try to link that in there if you're interested. But that's California Grill and that rounds out our Magic Kingdom area restaurants. Now moving over to Animal Kingdom area, there's a couple of great options there as well. At Animal Kingdom Lodge. There's gco , the cooking place, and I have not eaten here but I've eaten at Bomas and there are a few things that are similar. They have a mix of African Indian and Mediterranean cuisine and they're really known for um, their one filet and their macaroni, which I've gotten to taste elsewhere. And they have a lot of um, great wines if you're into that. I know that uh , people talk a lot about their lamb shank, their Moroccan lamb shank. So lots of great options there. Now moving into Animal Kingdom itself, there's Tiffins restaurant and this has a great feel to it and it's kind of fun 'cause it's in the park. Chris hasn't dined here with me, but I have dined here with one of my good friends and we actually lucked out. It was kind of during that covid time where we were looking. We got a last minute park reservation on our last day. We got a last minute reservations for Tiffins. And I will say they were really accommodating. My friend has a lot of allergies and I think just general food and some particular taste and they were able to accommodate everything for her. I actually made a meal out of some of their appetizers that were so delicious. The rooms are amazing. There are some beautiful wall or art on the walls that with butterflies and animals, it's just super beautiful. It's well worth it and it's a nice break from the day when you're at the parks. So Tiffins is a great option as well. Now moving over to Epcot. You have a lot of great restaurants at Epcot and we're only gonna pick a couple that um, highlight what you could look at. Um, the first one is Las Steakhouse in the World Showcase. And that is located in the Canada Pavilion. It is, looks like you're in a wine cellar and that's kind of a cool experience. And when you're there they have a lot of just classic steakhouse options. They're known for their beer cheese soup, their pretzel , um, breadsticks. Super good. You can try those like during food and wine as well. I will say we've eaten at Laier a few times and the food's been good, but I feel like it's super crowded in there.

Speaker 2: 10:24

It's a tight squeeze.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Yes. So we've been there with just the two of us. We've also been there with several other people and the tables like essentially they'll have a bench table and they have you really kind of right next to other people. I haven't been since Covid so I don't know if they've spread it out a little bit. But they use the word cozy. I would use the word tight space <laugh> , but it is great food, great cuisine, a really nice, their filet is top-notch. I loved it a lot and we've eaten there several times. Another place in the world showcase and French food is not really our taste, but I will say it's gotten so many great reviews and we have di there, the experience was wonderful. So I wanted to bring it up again is Maeu Pauls and the France Pavilion. And this is a great one 'cause it's right by OUIs Adventure. And in it they have French cuisine with a bit of a modern flair. They have a prefix option as well as a la carte. We ate there and when we ate there, the thing I remember was the cappuccino mashed potatoes. We had a really good , um, steak there. It was a little bit outside of our norm, but it was a good experience. Well ,

Speaker 2: 11:34

Yeah , you know , that's part of the reason you would've do these . Try something new.

Speaker 1: 11:37

Yep . And they, you are able to see a little bit of the fireworks. Not as great a view as you would have in other locations, but you are able to catch some of them there as well. So the final parks area that we're gonna look at is Hollywood Studios and we're gonna look at one right in the park and that's at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Now this is a great thing for any kind of special occasion. You can even take little ones here. It has a upscale feel. It's fun to see the character sketches of celebrities that are on the wall. I really love their grapefruit cake, their Cobb salad, their steak. Um, I don't know if Chris remembers, but a while back we were eating there and we just saw one of the best cast interactions with a dining guest.

Speaker 2: 12:21

Oh yes. It was just absolutely wonderful. And it was just one of those cases where there was a person who had just a , maybe a bit of an issue and the staff just was so kind and so generous. And it was one of those things that w I actually found a vice president to email just to kind of commend that person. But it was a very touching experience

Speaker 1: 12:40

And I think it just epitomizes what we've talked about all along, about the great service that Disney offers and why we all keep going back over and over. So Hollywood Brown Derby definitely recommend that. And there are some other options at Hollywood Studios nearby places. I think you could probably argue there's some good options at Swan and Dolphin, which is just a short boat ride away from Hollywood Studios. Um, there's some other ones as well, but again, we're trying to keep it around 10. So that kind of leads into our final place, which is Disney Springs. And again, there would be a lot more options here if you were listing every sort of thing. But I just picked one and the one I picked this time was the Boathouse. And this is a little bit more of a laid back restaurant, but they, I think it's kind of nice because you can celebrate special occasions there as well. And if you're coming in, in your shorts or if you're coming in dressed up, I think you feel comfortable. We ate there for, they have a , one of the boats that's actually in the dining space. They have some nice outdoor dining options. We went there , um, just a couple years ago. We met up for my cousin's birthday and we had food there. And if you want a sandwich all the way up to like really nice seafood, they have lots of different options, which is a great choice and it's a nice way if you're spending a day at Disney Springs doing some other things, you can kind of end your night with a nice dinner there. And then, as I mentioned, there's way more options at Disney Springs. You also have at the Four Seasons I mentioned Swan and Dolphins, so we'd love to hear some of your top picks as well. So really no matter what type of special occasion you're planning at Disney World, there's lots of dining destinations that you can make your night truly magical. Whether it's for a birthday, an anniversary, a once in a lifetime experience, lots of great choices for you. So we give us just a minute and we're gonna get our call up with Landon. We'd like to welcome into the show. He has a business with his partner Jessica, called Vacation Grocery Delivery. They are a team of former Disney cast members that really, they give you all of your grocery needs when you're staying at Walt Disney World. So what they'll do is they can go and do all of your shopping for you and they deliver it right to your resort. So we'll hear all about that here in just a minute, but we'd like to welcome Landon into the show.

Speaker 3: 15:05

Hey , how's it going?

Speaker 1: 15:07

Now we have been asking people lately because we like to know what you like about the Disney parks. We've been asking people what is your favorite character to meet at any of the Disney parks?

Speaker 3: 15:18

You know, I, I've gotta bring it back to I love seeing Rapunzel and Flynn that's, it's near and dear to my heart, to my wife's heart. Um, as we both got to play those respective characters , uh, in our time at Disney. And so it it's just like , um, a way of reminding, you know, what's special in life and then, you know, and how we met and stuff.

Speaker 1: 15:38

Oh, that's so special. And maybe you could tell our listeners a little bit about, 'cause you, your background working at Disney.

Speaker 3: 15:45

Oh yeah. I worked on the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder , uh, for about six years on and off. And I did , um, gosh, <laugh> everything that you can imagine. I portrayed the Flynn Writer , prince Charming Hans, and Frozen On the Wonder. Um, had the time of my life . It was a blast.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Now we've heard about how you worked with Disney. Now we'd love to hear all about your business that you have now and the service you provide related to Disney vacations.

Speaker 3: 16:14

Yeah, so we are vacation, grocery delivery, and like you said before, we , um, my wife and I are a team of former cast members, but also everyone that we bring on is either a current or a former Disney cast member as well. That's because we want to , you know, make your Disney vacation as easy as possible. We wanna take care of all of your grocery and your alcohol delivery needs on the services that we provide, you know, are , um, comparable to other, you know , national brands. What we do is we go out, we shop, we label, we staple, we bag everything and we deliver it for you. But what makes us special is that we don't charge any markup on the store or on the , uh, the items that you get from the store. So whereas, you know , other companies that you might order from , um, like some national brands have a , you know , a bottom line of a 15 to a 30% markup per item. All we're gonna do is hit you with a flat delivery fee and then we're gonna take care of the rest . That way when you show up to Walt Disney World , everything is already done for you.

Speaker 2: 17:14

Awesome. Now, what was your inspiration to start the business?

Speaker 3: 17:19

<laugh> ? Um, you know, it was , I , I won't lie to you, it was actually kind of born out of desperation rather than inspiration. Um, because my wife and I were both working , uh, she was working at the parks, I was working at the ships when Covid hit . Okay . And so we both , um, got laid off, which was highly unfortunate. But we had come back to Orlando, her family was here and we were just doing whatever we could to survive. Uh , really. And uh , I think like I was a freelance handyman at the time , you know , with my musical theater . But we , we heard , I was listening to NPR on the radio one day and they said , you know , hey , Disney World is booked up for the first time and ever since started or whatever they said . And I looked at and I was just like, alright , well you know, why don't we, why don't we see if like we can deliver some groceries on the side, you know , we'll just do it on the weekends. It'll help fund our retirement. I dunno , we'll call it , uh, vacation Grocery Delivery <laugh> <laugh> . Fast forward , um, a few years later, you know, it, it grew in popularity. The , the quality and the service that people came to expect grew . Um, and we started to hire on other people that were also laid off and looking to, you know, waiting until they got their call back at Disney. And so we wanted to make sure that we extended that same, that same grace and flexibility , um, to those other cast members that were waiting to get their jobs back. And that's kind of how our whole team was born.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Now you've started to touch on this a little bit, but how do you think that the service you offer adds some magic to your customer's vacations?

Speaker 3: 18:59

Um, kind of like I said, I think, I think we all know that vacationing to Disney World now is not just like a , uh, you show up and you just do it. You know, it requires meticulous planning and we wanna take that big step out of there for you. We know that from the moment you step off the plane, you know, you've got your entire schedule laid out down to the minute . Now what we do is that we're gonna contact you the day before you arrive in most circumstances and we're gonna shop that order for you and we're gonna go ahead and deliver it. Disney Bell Services has fridges, freezers everything that they need to keep all of your items, you know, properly stored. So that way whenever you show up that day, it doesn't matter if your flight's been delayed or anything like that, your groceries are there waiting for you . You've got snacks for the kids that are tired from the plane flight or for, you know, the husbands that are tired from the plane flight <laugh> , um, <laugh> ,

Speaker 1: 19:47

Right? <laugh> .

Speaker 3: 19:49

Um, and same thing, you know , uh, we also have um, flexible alcohol delivery windows and so we're gonna make sure that, you know, when your order says it's gonna be there, it's gonna be there. You know , there's not gonna be any shopper that's delayed hours on hours or just doesn't show up or, or cancels your order. You know, like we hear so often, they'll be sitting around waiting for hours, oh this company canceled their order, we're never gonna do that. We're always gonna make sure that you're taken care of and if we don't meet that quality expectation that you're looking forward , we're gonna do everything we can to make it right.

Speaker 1: 20:18

And that's an excellent point. I mean this was pre covid I think in, actually we had a trip right before covid in 2020 and we had an order with a national delivery company and we had gotten in that day and they canceled the order that night. They didn't have a shopper and that just kind of, it was the beginning of our trip. We were hoping to have some of those things when we got there that night and we were kind of left in it. And it would've been great to have an option like what vacation grocery delivery offers and I think it's so great for you to have that now. And one of the things that I think people might not realize is how do they do the shopping? Like, because it's not like an app and different things like that. Where do they go to shop?

Speaker 3: 20:59

Yeah , you're actually gonna head to our website, which is www vacation grocery delivery fl com and we're gonna, and it'll walk you through that entire personalized menu we've got. What we've got is a system where you can select your item, you can select the quantity, you can select, you know, any kind of brand variety that you want. If you have any notes about that item, you can type 'em on there. Um, one of our big draws is that we're great for people that have , um, allergy problems in their, in their family home . Um, because you know, all the time, you know, shoppers are, are gluten-free or you're dairy free and stuff like that. And all of our people are trained to handle all of those situations. They know to look at the ingredients. You're guaranteed you're gonna get in a , that your shopper's gonna contact you or at least attempt to. Sure. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:49

Now I know recently there have been some changes 'cause you talked about alcohol delivery. How does that work? Because there may be some people that know about those changes with deliveries.

Speaker 3: 21:58

Yeah, sure. Um, it used to be that select companies were allowed to, and we were one of them , um, deliver alcohol to Walt Disney World. It was a process where we just had to get the ID beforehand. Disney has now come in and said, Hey, that's not gonna happen anymore if you have to have alcohol delivered, you have to connect with the guests directly. And what we've got is we have alcohol delivery windows from 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM that we'll we will be there to meet with you, drop everything off. Um, if your room isn't ready for whatever reason, our people are gonna get it to Bell Services for you. They're gonna make sure that it's all taken care of

Speaker 1: 22:34

If something happens and you're not able to meet, are you, what, how does that work?

Speaker 3: 22:39

You just let us know if you have like a flight delay . It's totally common. It happens and we're gonna work with you on what our next available window is and we'll get you slipped in there. No problem.

Speaker 1: 22:48

Perfect. And I know you also offer some other services as well. I know you said a lot of travel agents take advantage, but if somebody else was looking, what are some of the baskets and things that you offer?

Speaker 3: 22:59

We've just got some gift basket options and um , actually some exciting things coming down the line that may or may not have to do with making s'mores. Ooh .

Speaker 1: 23:07

But

Speaker 3: 23:08

Our , uh, best seller is that we sell a , uh, a small popcorn bucket gift basket. Those popcorn buckets are super popular because obviously you can take them to any popcorn, stand at Disney and get a refill. I think it's for $2 and 25 cents , one bucket takes care of the entire family and it's just a great tree for everybody to have.

Speaker 2: 23:27

Now you know, you mentioned the website again, but are you on any other social media platforms so people can find out a little more?

Speaker 3: 23:33

Yeah , we're on Instagram, I believe, just with the same name.

Speaker 1: 23:37

And we will make sure then to share the Instagram profile as well as the website. And I think really if you are looking at like, we have a trip coming up next month, how early should somebody put in their order? I guess then in addition, how late could I put in a order? So both, yeah,

Speaker 3: 23:54

Sure. We recommend that you put in an order about two weeks in advance. Uh , sometimes longer than that, especially if you know you're gonna be traveling on a weekend or a holiday . We do book up sometimes a month in advance at least, but you can order as early as I believe it's three days out for our system blocks off the calendar.

Speaker 1: 24:14

Okay, perfect. And if I were wanting to order like one of those gift baskets, is it the same window?

Speaker 3: 24:21

Yep , absolutely. And if you ever, you know, if the calendar is grayed out for whatever reason, always feel free to send us a message. You know, we love to make exceptions for very nice people because there needs to be more cheer in the world today.

Speaker 1: 24:34

For sure. Well thank you so much for joining us today, Landon. We really appreciate it.

Speaker 3: 24:40

Yeah, absolutely. Glad to . Thank you so much for , um, giving us the time to, to talk about ourselves.

Speaker 2: 24:46

Thank you again to Landon for joining us today.

Speaker 1: 24:49

And now we are onto our two minute trivia and our wisdom from Walt quote . And Chris , you are up with trivia.

Speaker 2: 24:54

Thank you . You know, we've done so many tris, two minute tris that it's getting a bit difficult to find something unique and so I looked up high and low to find something unique to some of the best restaurants in Disney. And the best I could come up with was Uhoh .

Speaker 1: 25:09

What ,

Speaker 2: 25:10

What restaurant did Lady and the Tramp go to?

Speaker 1: 25:16

Oh, it's the Tony's at Magic Kingdom.

Speaker 2: 25:20

That is correct, yes. Tony's Town Square restaurant.

Speaker 1: 25:23

Yes. And it's cute 'cause they have some theming in there and that's a good tie in with the movie as well. And we love dogs.

Speaker 2: 25:31

Yes. <laugh> , you know, there's just not a lot . Disney doesn't share all their secrets on how many eggs right . They use in a year and how many potatoes are peeled. So the best we got is what restaurant did, lady and The Tramp. Okay. Here's a question between Lady and The Tramp. What character do you like the best?

Speaker 1: 25:50

Um , probably Tramp.

Speaker 2: 25:52

Oh

Speaker 1: 25:54

Yeah ,

Speaker 2: 25:55

Interesting.

Speaker 1: 25:55

I don't think you've eaten at that restaurant with us, but my mom and I, we were there and it was freezing so bad that they were bringing out the tablecloths and letting people use them as blankets.

Speaker 2: 26:06

What time of year was this?

Speaker 1: 26:07

It was summer, so it was hot. So they had the AC so cold though, people were freezing.

Speaker 2: 26:11

Wow.

Speaker 1: 26:12

<laugh> . So anyways, but yes, it's a great restaurant and I know they do a lot of the dining packages with some of the different special like viewings and stuff there as well. So in honor of our episode on Food, I decided to pull a quote from a Disney film about fine dining instead of using a Walt Disney quote. So this is from the movie Ouie, this much I know if you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff. And hopefully all of you on your next Disney vacation can only eat the good stuff and enjoy these fine restaurants. Get some great, whether it be you could have an alcohol delivery from vacation, grocery delivery, some nice snacks that you can enjoy before or after a dinner. But really, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Dis Love podcast with Vanessa and Chris . I'm Vanessa. And

Speaker 2: 27:04

I'm Chris . This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.