What Are the Grocery Delivery Options at Disney World?

Are you looking to save money on your Walt Disney World vacation? Frequent guests know a secret that you may not.

Disney allows for the delivery of goods to hotel rooms. This applies to everything from Uber Eats to…groceries.

Oh yes, you can ship a carton of bottled water to your hotel if you like. Similarly, you can order Pop-Tarts or fruit or whatever you like for breakfast.

Disney will even throw in the coffee for free! So, let’s take a look at the best grocery delivery options in Orlando.

Quick Facts about Grocery Delivery

First of all, please be aware that Disney allowed grocery delivery even during the pandemic. Some rules apply, though.

Third-party delivery services cannot take goods straight to your room anymore.

Instead, you’ll have one of two options. First, you can have the items sent to Bell Services at your hotel. Then, you may pick them up at your leisure.

Alternatively, Disney will take a package to your hotel room for $6. So, delivery at your door is possible. It’ll just cost $6.

As for the grocery options, you’ll recognize some of the names on this list, while others may cause a double take.

Also, many of these services come with minimum requirements. For example, nobody will ship one bottle of coke or a single banana.

Expect a minimum order price ranging from $25-$50, depending on whether it’s a national chain or a local vendor.

Amazon

When you order with Amazon, you’re not reinventing the wheel.

Presuming that you haven’t lived in a cave for the last 20 years, you’re most familiar with this option.

You order something from Amazon, and it’ll arrive the same day. Yes, the company introduced same-day delivery for Walt Disney World in 2019.

No matter what you need, this option can be a lifesaver. Parents can order diapers or formula.

Swimmers can order a new pair of trunks or suntan lotion. And everyone can order drinks that they CAN take with them into the parks.

The mark-up for most sundries at Walt Disney World is relatively high. I joke about the $3.50 bottled water a lot.

You can get Nestle Pure Life for $19 for 24 of them, which could cover you for the entire vacation.

By planning for this sort of delivery, you greatly expand your options for saving money at the park.

Amazon is also terrific for emergencies. It’ll deliver in two hours for free for any order over $35. For anything under $35, you’ll pay a modest $4.99.

Even better, when you absolutely must have something immediately, Amazon will deliver in 60 minutes or less for a cost of $9.99.

Dizzy Dolphin

Maybe you’re not a fan of Amazon, though. I have a friend who gives me grief for shopping there because he dislikes their labor practices.

I’ve been with Amazon since – no joke – 1998, so I feel some loyalty to it. However, I like to shop local when possible as well.

The best options for that in Orlando are the next two suggestions.

 

Dizzy Dolphin Delivery (DDD) is the less-heralded one, but I feel a kinship toward it as well.

I’m a member of the Disney Vacation Club, and the people who founded DDD are in DVC as well. In fact, that’s how they came up with this business!

 

As frequent Disney resort guests, they recognized that the delivery options in Orlando weren’t good at the time. So, they started their own!

I’ve always admired that sort of entrepreneurial spirit.

Now, DDD will take your order, whether it’s vague or specific. For example, you can tell them you want beer or that you need Oskar Blues from Dale’s Pale Ale.

In other words, you can just say, “tortilla chips,” or you can ask for Tostitos Hint of Lime, the one true tortilla chip.

DDD will try to fulfill your order as closely as possible. It’s like hiring a personal shopper to do all the heavy lifting for you.

Some critics suggest that the Orlando local shops charge more than big-box vendors, but that’s how the system should work. They cannot make it up in volume.

When you shop local, you should expect to pay more. That may be a consideration when you’re trying to stretch your vacation budget, though.

Garden Grocer

The other popular Orlando local offers more than 5,000 items on its website.

You’ll sign up for an account and then choose among these options. It’s not as open-ended as DDD, but that’s because you’re ordering from a grocery store.

Whereas DDD works as a personal shopper, this place stocks its own goods. The big-box chains struggle to compete with both services for this reason.

DDD and Garden Grocer have earned sterling reputations for taking care of perishables and frozen goods. So they’ll keep these items cool until the Disney hand-off.

Frustratingly, some of the national shippers get a bit sloppy about this stuff. I say that as a warning to those buying stuff that’s not good at room temperature.

You may want to splurge to buy local instead.

Instacart

During the pandemic, you may have discovered Instacart. QZ wrote an article about how it made Instacart “essential.”

I got along fine without it, but I literally live a block from a Kroger. Most people weren’t so fortunate.

In fact, this article indicates that only Amazon and Walmart deliver more groceries!

So, you likely know that Instacart works like DDD, only on a grander level.

You load an app and order whatever you want from wherever you want. Your personal shopper will make multiple stops if that’s your desire.

Also, the minimum order for Instacart can be as little as $10, depending on various factors.

The downside is that you will get hit with the equivalent of surge pricing charges if you order during a peak period.

Still, that’s a small price to pay (literally) to have your choice of any vendor near the Disney campus.

The one catch with Instacart is that you won’t even know how much you’re paying for the service until the final screen.

By that point, you’ve probably invested so much time that you could overpay rather than start from scratch with somebody else.

Shipt

When I hear Shipt, I immediately translate it to “Target.” Technically, that’s wrong, though.

Shipt stands as its own delivery brand, one with deals with companies like Petco, Kroger, and CVS Pharmacy.

The catch is that you must pay $99 a year for Shipt membership. However, it’ll work in your town of residence as well.

Plus, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner. So expect a deal on annual membership at that point.

With a Shipt membership, you’ll get “free” delivery in an hour, even on the Disney campus.

I put free in quotes because you should tip the driver, and it needs to be enough for them to make a living.

With Orlando traffic the way that it is, you might be someone’s only customer for that hour.

Beyond that, there’s everything to like about Shipt. Target and Kroger are both available in the area, giving you a choice of most groceries.

Walmart

These days, Walmart offers Amazon-like delivery for a simple reason. Amazon showed up and wiped out Walmart’s massive market share advantage.

Since then, Walmart has gotten smart or at least smart enough to mimic its main competitor in the retail business.

I used to live near a Walmart and grew to hate the place since it always felt so gloomy and congested.

So, I stayed away for years until the pandemic struck. Then, last March, my laptop broke on the 11^th…yes, that’s the day the apocalypse started.

I couldn’t find a replacement laptop available to ship anywhere but Walmart. With no other choice, I gave in and tried them again.

Less than 48 hours later, I had a new laptop…at a reasonable price and with an excellent warranty. I’m typing on it right now.

Sub-two-day delivery on limited supply electronics in mid-March of 2020 is pretty much the gold standard in logistics.

I’ve liked Walmart ever since then and have used its delivery service several times during the pandemic.

They were my Altoids pusher for a while, as I couldn’t find those on store shelves anywhere for a time.

In Orlando, Walmart delivery works almost identically to Amazon’s. (Go figure.)

Walmart will bring you pretty much anything you want for roughly $8-$12. The lone exception is alcohol, which may be a dealbreaker for you.

Those who want to buy a wide range of supplies should probably price stuff out on Amazon and Walmart. Then, pick whichever one is cheaper.

Everyone else would do well to choose one of the other options with boots on the ground at Walt Disney World.

PS:

Hilariously, while finishing this article, I searched for a video that would explain how DDD works. The only one I found is from a MickeyTravels agent!

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Amber! Great job! You got a like and subscribe from me!

Feature Image: PEPPERIDGE FARM

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