By Tinker Belle Diva
Grocery delivery while on vacation is a relatively new service since my last trip many years ago to Walt Disney World (WDW). Since we normally drive to our Disneyland vacations, flying to WDW meant we wouldn’t be able to bring cases of water, breakfast items, and refreshments that we normally load into a car trunk. I read Pixie Dusted Diva’s review of Amazon Prime Pantry and Now, and I also had a friend, Jaclyn, that just returned from the runDisney Princess weekend using instacart. Jaclyn had a referral code for $10 off my order, so I decided to give that a try.
Want $10 off YOUR first order? Click here.
The selection of stores for the zip code at WDW from the instacart website
Screen Shot of the instacart app on the Apple App Store
Instacart is a grocery delivery service. In other words, they are your personal shopper at a grocery store. The idea of the service is that you create an account on their website or app, order from a selection of groceries, your shopper picks up the items, and drops them off at your hotel for a delivery fee.
While instacart has a website and an app, I used the website. I found the address for our resort hotel on the Walt Disney World website and used the zip code for my hotel to browse what was available. I was looking for grocery items only and chose Publix as the store for my delivery, but other stores are available. You can also choose to have items delivered from multiple stores if you hit the minimum sale amount per store, which is $10 for Publix. Note that pricing is higher than in-store prices at Publix to cover the cost of Instacart service, but was in-line with in-store prices at CVS so shop multiple stores to see what hits your budget. Delivery window times vary also per store, with most having windows from 9 am to 10 pm.
TIP: Be sure to check the Coupons section before finishing your order. I found one of my items had a coupon that saved me $1.00. Also look for items to purchase that qualify you for free delivery. Typically you’ll need to add that item and others to add up to $35 total.
I found that my order could be made up to four days ahead. I created my order on a Tuesday for a Saturday delivery, and decided to make my order delivery time for 3-4 pm, which was a few hours after our plane landed. I liked that I could order days ahead of my trip and know when it would be delivered, as it would be one less thing to do if I waited until we arrived. I also added a tip during the ordering process, but that can also be added after the order is delivered.
DIVA TIP: Customers ordering alcohol on Instacart will be required to provide their date of birth at checkout to confirm they are 21 or older. When the order is delivered, a recipient 21 or older must be present to sign for the delivery and show proof of legal age with a valid photo ID, as well. For this reason, you will need to schedule your delivery window when you will be at your resort.
I received a text about 2 hours before my delivery window that “Your Publix Order is scheduled for delivery at 3:00-4:00 pm”. It also noted that I could add items to my order before shopping began and gave me a link to use the app or the website to add to my order (which I didn’t do). About 30 minutes later, I received a text that Jesus was shopping for my order and that could follow the progress through the app or website.
Communication with my shopper, Jesus
I was then contacted via text by Jesus asking for my last name so that he could delivery my items to the Bell Desk. At 3:41, Jesus sent me a text showing the delivery of my items in the log at the Bell Desk. You then have the option to rate your experience in the app or website. We did not order perishable items, but were told that the Bell Desk would refrigerate them.
We were at Disney Springs when our order arrived, so we checked in with the Bell Desk when we returned to our hotel. They noted that we were ready for the items to be delivered to our room. About 10 minutes later, our items were brought to the room and I was unsure what to tip, so opted to tip the bellhop $5 per grocery bag, just like I would for luggage.
I asked my friend, Jaclyn, about her experience with instacart the month before mine. Since she was taking on the runDisney Princess Fairy Tale Challenge, she wanted to make sure she had enough in the room to keep her hydrated. She chose grocery delivery over buying items in hotel gift shop to save money. It was about $3.50 for one bottle of water in the gift shop and instead she spent that on a case of water through instacart. She also bought gatorade, protein drinks, bagels, and energy drinks for her husband. She was at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Bell Desk kept her order in refrigerators until they got back from the parks. Her husband picked it up and brought it to their room instead of having the Bell Desk deliver, because it was a small order. For Jaclyn, the real kicker is she used instacart when they got back home from WDW. They were wiped after the trip and just didn’t want to go to the store. So she made a list of a few things to get through a couple days and they brought it right to her house.
Before you order groceries, be sure to contact Patricia Payne at All For Dreams Travel to plan that Disney trip for you!
Did Bell Services charge a fee? When I called the resort to inquire they told me that there would be a charge of $6 for every 10 pounds and a separate charge to deliver to the room.
Julie, thank you for being a reader and thank you for your question. Yes, Disney World changed their delivery policy earlier this year. If the items are delivered to the Bell Hop and you pick them up from there, you will not be charged a fee. If you request the items be delivered to your room you will be charged $6 per package (box).