What Happened to In-Room Dining at Walt Disney World?

Room service, or as Disney calls it, in-room dining, was available at Walt Disney World’s deluxe hotels a number of years ago. It was an expensive treat that we splurged on only a handful of times, but the memories are pretty distinct. On those occasions, we were exhausted from busy days in the parks, and we ended up back in the room early, too tired to go out for dinner. We were tucked in our beds early with the lights dimmed, watching whatever series of movies were playing, almost always Harry Potter and sometimes Star Wars. I cherish these memories with my family, even though we only ordered cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.

I’m not sure anyone notices these days, but room service has entirely disappeared except for Disney’s Grand Floridian. Gone are the days of having someone roll a cart up to your room and drop off platters covered with silver domes and piping hot food underneath. Remember those tiny salt and pepper shakers and the fancy small jars of ketchup? The drink you ordered came covered with layers of plastic wrap that you delicately removed in order not to spill anything.

All you had to do was pick up the phone and order it! You didn’t have to take any more steps for the day or worry about being in a mass of crowds at the end of the night after the fireworks. Yes, a side platter of fresh fruit might have cost $15.00! But it was also worth every penny.

So what happened? Unfortunately, during the pandemic, treats like in-room dining ceased to exist at Walt Disney World. At the time, this was understandable. But why has it not returned? Can guests staying at a $500.00-a-night hotel not afford it? Is room service a dated thing? Or did it fall to the wayside, and no one ever remembered to reinstate it?

I don’t have the answer as far as Disney is concerned. But when we stayed at Disneyland’s Grand Californian a little over a year ago, I was shocked to find the hallways lined with room service carts, morning, noon, and night, the entire length of our stay. Room service is still a thing when we cruise, even with Disney Cruise Line. Rest assured, if you stay at a nicer resort near Disney World, like the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek, the Waldorf Astoria, or the Four Seasons, a room service menu will be prominently placed in your hotel room.

A part of me wants to believe that Disney inadvertently forgot to reinstate room service at its upper-level hotels, but another part feels that it’s a cop-out. Yes, you can mobile order from select table service restaurants at these resorts, and we absolutely love being able to do that. But it’s not the same thing, and table service restaurants have limited hours. So, if you return to the hotel at 9:15 p.m., you cannot order a hot, freshly prepared meal.

Formerly, you could have been able to order something from the “late” hours section of the menu, where only a select amount of items were available after a certain time. But it was still something. And if you have a late flight, good luck. All of the restaurants at the airport tend to close early. You’ll have to go out of your way to find food between the airport and the resort. Depending on your mode of transportation, you might not have the option.

But here’s the deal: it’s late, you’re tired, and it feels like most complaints are brushed aside across the board these days. So you take your trip, and before you know it, room service is no longer a thing or a distant memory. Or maybe it’s something Walt Disney World Hotels don’t offer? You have to go somewhere else to get that catered type of service.

Again, I’m not sure of the answer. But I wonder. What happened to in-room dining at Walt Disney World?