Disney World Orlando’s Most Popular Grocery Delivery Businesses
Now that Disney announced the parks reopening date post Covid-19, planning a trip to Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando is a daunting task, even for repeat visitors. Not to mention how expensive it can get. Fortunately, there’s a way for us Disney fans to save some money during our trip: On groceries!
Buying groceries at the resorts will break the bank, fortunately there are several services that deliver directly to your resort. Here I will compare the most popular ones to save you time and money every step of the way.
Disclosure: I’m not an affiliate to any company mentioned in this article, I have no financial incentive in referring any company, this is the best way to keep this article bias free and accurate.
This is a new company that started less than a year ago (late 2019), they’re expanding very fast for a reason: Cheap prices and efficient service. We used them twice already and they’re now part of our Disney trip. Their prices are transparent: no minimum order required, no membership fee. You schedule your delivery date and time, from 2 hours to several weeks in advance, the best part is, they provide free delivery (minimum $75 order though). One drawback is they don’t deliver alcohol.
Pros:
- Very competitive prices
- Free Delivery on orders of $150 or more ($9.90 otherwise)
- They deliver to all Disney World and Universal resorts
- You are in constant communication with the delivery driver for last minute instructions
- No minimum order required and no membership fees
- Very friendly staff
- Wide selection of products
- Orders are professionally and neatly packed, no broken chips or squished bread.
- A local family business: I personally like supporting small businesses than corporations, but that’s just me!
- Express checkout for faster shopping experience
Cons:
- No alcohol (They offer alcohol-free beers though)
2. Instacart
This company is one of the biggest grocery delivery services around, it’s the middle man between you and the local grocery stores. However, the prices advertised on their website are higher than the prices at the stores themselves, basically you’re paying a markup plus delivery fee. They charge an annual fee of $99 for express delivery. The following is what you get with this membership:
$0 delivery fees on orders of $35 or more ($7.99 for non-Express)
- Reduced service fees (typically 5% for non-Express)
- No busy pricing fees during peak delivery hours
- Shop at a variety of stores with free delivery on the entire order
- Note: This membership does not give you faster delivery or earlier time slots than other customers. Likewise, membership with Instacart Express does not guarantee that specific delivery slots will be available for a given delivery. Service fees may apply.
Pros:
- Ability to order from stores beyond supermarkets
- Free delivery for first order
Cons:
- Prices vary from actual in-store prices, which means you’re paying a premium
- Doesn’t take store sales, coupons, or rewards into account
- Membership fees and ambiguous pricing structure
Prime Now shops Whole Foods and the Amazon site for groceries and household items. There isn’t a minimum order, and delivery is free for orders over $35. Otherwise the fee is $4.99. Prime Now is currently available exclusively to members of Amazon Prime with the annual membership fee of $119.
Both Instacart and Amazon prime Now use contractors for order deliveries, which leads to issues as they’re not trained in delivering to Disney resorts. Most of the time, they just drop orders at the hotel’s Bell Services without any consideration to which products must be refrigerated. This creates frustration when ordering dairy or meat products.
Pros:
- Fast delivery
- Free delivery for order over $35
Cons:
- Must be a Prime member
- Not available to non US residents (must be a US Prime member)
- Sometimes orders are not stored in the fridge at the Bell service.
For years, Garden Grocer was my go-to grocery delivery service until I switched to Water Butlers. If you’re willing to send them a copy of your valid photo ID, you can even purchase alcoholic beverages like beer and wine. They only deliver to Disney resorts, so if you’re at Universal or Airbnb they won’t deliver to you. The biggest issue I had with them is that their prices are inflated! Another drawback is that you have to schedule your delivery way in advance to get some sort of discount, but even with the largest discount you still pay a huge premium compared to the first 3 options.
Pros:
- Alcohol delivery (when you send a copy of valid ID)
- Friendly staff
- A local family business: I personally like supporting small businesses than corporations, provided I’m not paying a huge premium!
Cons:
- Expensive
- They deliver to Disney resorts only
- You must create an account to shop
- Minimum order required is $40
- Delivery fee: $14
Magic Kingdom park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park will begin a phased reopening on July 11 — with Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopening on July 15. If you’re planning your trip, please stay safe and I hope you have a magical vacation!
5. Walmart.com
Where I live in North East, we shop sometimes at walmart.com. Their phone customer service is friendly and prices are the cheapest you can get, the only thing that we don’t like is that they employ contractors to deliver our groceries and sometimes they seem not to care about what they’re delivering. All items squished in plastic bags, melting ice cream, … As the old moto says: You pay for what you get!
