While many things at Disney World have returned to normal, there are some perks that may never return.
Staying in a Disney World hotel used to mean a lot more than just convenience, with special perks such as early park access, airport transportation, and many more.
Some of these benefits have yet to return, so are these perks gone forever?
Room Service
Sometimes when you return to your room at the end of the night, all you want is a snack without leaving your bed, but that’s not possible in most Disney World hotels at this time. Although room service has returned to a few Disney World hotels, like Disney’s Yacht Club, it remains unavailable at most other hotels.
This means you probably can’t expect to order in-room dining at your hotel, and we don’t yet know if this service will ever return. Keep in mind that you can order food delivery, like pizza or Door Dash, but you usually have to get your food from the main lobby.
Here’s what you need to know about ordering groceries to your Disney World hotel!
Merchandise Delivery
Merchandise delivery used to be a super convenient way to avoid carrying around that bulky souvenir all day. You could arrange for your purchase to be delivered right to your Disney World hotel room, and not have to worry about lugging it around all day.
Right now, you can opt for select stores to hold your purchase until a certain time of day, or pay for your items to be shipped to your home. It’s uncertain whether merchandise delivery to your hotel room will ever return, though we do know that it will be returning to Disneyland Resort, so perhaps Disney World could be next!
Why Disney World’s moderate resorts might be the best play to stay.
Extra Magic Hours
Extra Magic Hours allowed guests staying at qualifying Disney World hotels to have extra time in Disney Parks, either in the morning or evening. It was usually an hour, but sometimes it could be two extra hours of park time!
Instead, Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours have seemingly replaced Extra Magic Hours, and there are some big differences. Only deluxe hotels qualify for Extended Evening Hours on select dates, and Early Theme Park Entry was reduced to 30 minutes, rather than an hour. We don’t yet know whether these are permanent or temporary changes.
Learn more about Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours here!
Magical Express
As you may know, Magical Express was officially discontinued as of January 2022, so this perk really is gone forever. Now hotel guests must schedule their own airport transportation, which means an added expense and more planning for your Disney World trip.
Now, your options include services like Mears Connect or The Sunshine Flyer, rideshare, renting a car, or a few other transportation methods. Make sure you remember to include this added expense in your budget!
All the ways to get to and from the airport without Magical Express!
Daily Housekeeping
Since Disney World reopened in July 2020, housekeeping has been modified in Disney World hotel rooms to take place every other day in a lightened way. Light cleaning includes wiping certain areas, trash removal, more towels, and vacuuming.
In the past, housekeeping services were provided daily, but this is still not an option for Disney World hotel guests. At this point, we don’t know whether daily housekeeping will return as an option in Disney World hotels.
The BIG thing that still hasn’t returned to Disney World hotels.
Free MagicBands
Complimentary MagicBands are no longer available for Disney World hotel guests, although they can occasionally be purchased at a discount. You don’t have to get a MagicBand, but it can be a convenient way to purchase items around Disney World and even enter your hotel room.
If you don’t want to add this expense to your budget, you can use MagicMobile via your smartphone, which lets you add your Disney World ticket or pass to your device’s digital wallet. Then you can use your phone (or your smartwatch) the same way you use a MagicBand! Disney did just roll MagicBand+ out in the parks, which offers park interaction and color-changing lights along with haptic feedback — read more here.
Read more about MagicMobile here!
Airline Check-in
Resort Airline Check-in has been discontinued, so this is not a perk you will find in your Disney World hotel. This service allowed Disney World hotel guests the option to check-in for a flight on a qualifying airline, check luggage, and even get a boarding pass.
This was a convenient way for guests to head straight to security at the Orlando International Airport, but now guests have to stick to the usual airport arrival routine.
Learn more about getting to and from the Orlando Airport here!
Some of these Disney World hotel perks are gone, but some could possibly still come back — only time will tell! Stick with AllEars for more Disney World news.
Find out how you can maximize your trip by choosing the BEST Disney World hotel for you here. We’ve even ranked quite a few of the resorts on property, and you can read more about that here.
SIX Disney World hotels were voted best in Orlando for 2022 — find out which ones made the list here.
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What Disney World hotel perk do you miss most? Tell us in the comments!
I see a lot of people complaining, but when I see videos of the parks they are packed. So sad a lot of the magic is gone they charge us more for less. Until people stop going it will never change. It’s all about the money now , not family fun.
The top 8 reasons my family is not going to Walt Disney World anytime soon. A very sad list it is.
Magical express
8 reasons to stay off property.
You missed one unfortunately: no parking fee at hotel parking lots for hotel guests.
I used to say I didn’t mind paying what I considered high prices for a WDW vacation because “Mickey made it easy with the perks”. Wow! Those days are gone as guests are getting much less for more money. So disappointing!
Wait, let me get this straight, the cost of going to and staying at a WDW resort has increased, not to mention the new Star Wars experience, and yet the convenience services and best practice customer services are being eliminated? One of the main reasons I enjoyed WDW was because they eliminated the hassles that traveling usually entails. BUYING a magic band so that it’s more convenient to BUY merchandise? Airline check-in gone? Package delivery to your room, gone? Extra hour gone? Why stay on property when the prices are higher and there aren’t are real perks involved? I travel alone and LOVED the all the guest services at WDW. And because I am alone I usually stay at the top tier resorts, but to lose so many perks and to start price comparing, I’m rethinking my future travel plans. What a shame that guest services are being eliminated.
Just curious: are the perks people like Chapek get such as outrageously high salary, huge bonuses, stock options, great health care, golden parachutes, private jets to use, limos to use with drivers, payoff packages if he gets fired, etc, etc: are they gone too? Just wondering. Oh, Gees, what was I thinking: of course they are all still there. Because you have to pay the best to get the best. Guests , on the other hand, are a dime a dozen. You can treat them like a piece of furniture and never pay a price for that. Sad really.
I really miss the merchandise delivery to hotel. I remember when it just showed up in your room. I agree with other commenter, that it has changed how much and what I buy. Hoping they return this as it is messing with their sales.
My biggest miss, other than Magical Express, is Airline checkin. There was unbelievable magic in checking your luggage at airport and it arriving in your room on first day and checking in to flight and luggage on last day. Last day was more enjoyable and you bypass the long line at airport at the airline counters.
I actually enjoy the new way of mousekeeping and hope that continues.
Room service is a big miss as well. Also the resort quick service seem to have more limited hours, so if you come back late from park you are out of luck for food.
I really miss the airline baggage service the most. Orlando airport is crazy and the lines to check luggage add an hour or two at least to the trip … what did the service have to do with COVID ?? I don’t understand why it can’t be reinstated now!
As long as people pay more for less, they’ll continue to do this. I’ve said it before, but I think they’re moving toward you buying a ticket and then using your phone app to auto charge you for everything you do.
In fairness, daily housekeeping is gone across the hotel industry – not just at Disney. I travel a lot and have not been in a mid priced ($90-150 a night) hotel that’s actually doing daily housekeeping. Until they get the workforce back most hotels will not offer it.
They don’t refrigerate items that you transfer with bell services if you resort hop anymore. Tables of Wonderland gone, and so much more really weakens the magic.
Definitely miss the delivery of purchases back to your resort. Losing this changed our shopping to only buy things we could fit in our backpack and carry all day, not wishing to have to remember to get them before leaving the park.
Just returned from my 14th trip and I miss that perk the most. Free parking is missed: We rent a car. Used to have free parking at the resort and the parks as resort guests. Now we pay for the resort but at least don’t have to pay again at each park. That really adds up per day. Free magic bands were nice, too, but I use my old ones.
“Free parking is missed: We rent a car. Used to have free parking at the resort and the parks as resort guests.” This why they now charge to park at the resorts. Parking lots are managed by an outside service. The service started tracking the resort guests using the free parking and found they were losing lots of money.
Definitely agree with the package delivery. We would buy so much more when they’d get it back to our hotel for us. That definitely feels like them shooting themselves in the foot, but I don’t know the logistics costs of the service either.