Walt Disney World is widely regarded as the most magical place on Earth—but if you’re hungry after 11PM, that magic disappears fast. As the sun sets and the fireworks fade, thousands of guests return to their resort rooms after a long day in the parks only to find their stomachs growling… and not a single restaurant, bar, or snack stand open to serve them.
A recent Reddit thread has sparked a heated conversation about Disney World’s increasingly limited late-night dining scene. Guests are frustrated, confused, and—in many cases—just plain hungry.
“We Are Just Left Starving”
One frustrated guest kicked off the conversation with a post titled: “What Do People Think About No Restaurants or Bars Open After 11PM”, writing:
“The last few times I have gone to Disney, I end up finding myself leaving the parks and just wanting to eat something. However by the time we get back to the resort or once the park closes it just seems like there is no place whatsoever to eat food or get something to drink. Everything is closed and we are just left starving.
I don’t know how people feel about this but personally I am annoyed by this. We are spending thousands of dollars for our trip and the least thing is there can be more convenience when it comes to getting food at night. Not even the convenience stores are open to just get small items for the room at this point. It all closes around the same time as people are traveling back from the parks.
Sure you can order groceries and get things for your room during the day, but this takes away time from enjoying the actual vacation you’re spending lots of money on anyways. Also the resorts should have refrigerators even for the Deluxe rooms are so tiny that you can’t barely fit many items for one person let alone and entire family.
The resorts should have something dining options open until 2AM. I find it hard to believe that you can’t get anything to eat pass 11pm while on vacation. Even Disney Springs can be an option and have that stay open until 2AM. Disney can afford to hire more staff so people can go home and still have late night shifts.
All I’m saying is that people are hungry and willing to spend the money to eat late at night. So why not accommodate us folks? It’s a Win-Win situation.
What are some other people’s thoughts about this?”
Remembering the Magic of Late Nights
Many chimed in to reminisce about a time—before the COVID-19 pandemic—when Disney Parks were alive well past midnight:
“My one qualm with Disney is that the parks/etc. are not open later.”
“My wife tells me that back in the pre-pandemic days the parks used to be open to midnight, and sometimes later for special occasions. Blows my mind. I can’t even imagine it.”
“On my college program, we had a good number of 3AM EMH closes at MK. It wasn’t super common but they did happen. I remember a lot of midnight EMH closes as well.”
“Yep! Kiss Goodnight would happen at 3AM… wait for people to get out…. collect my backpack in the locker and taxi on to MCO for my 7AM flight!”
“As recently as 2015—the last time I remember doing it—it used to be an occasional, included perk if you were staying in a Disney resort, like you could stay in Magic Kingdom or EPCOT till 1AM on certain nights. It was great to have such short queues and overall just a fun, surreal feeling.”
But now? Those magical hours are mostly gone.
“Now extended hours are exclusive to Deluxe guests and it’s, what, half an hour early entry? Or of course, you can stay till midnight if you’re paying an additional $150–$200 for the Halloween or Christmas parties.”
It’s Not Just the Parks—It’s the Whole Property
The frustration isn’t limited to the parks. Guests pointed out that even Disney Springs, bars, and resort dining options vanish by 11PM:
“I could handle the parks closing earlier if there were at least some Disney Springs or resort bars to go to afterward. Instead it feels like the entire property shuts down at 11PM.”
“My wife and I were spending the weekend at Caribbean Beach to commemorate the ending of Muppetvision. We saw the show then wanted some Pizzarizzo not knowing it closed at 5. We shrugged and said that’s fine let’s hit up Magic Kingdom and grab some food after nighttime Tiana. Love nighttime Tiana. We got off about 8:15 and to our surprise Pecos Bill’s was closed. The night became an unintentional race against time to get back to our resort to get food court food. Absolutely the one drawback of staying on property.”
“It’s not even just the resorts. The last few visits, I feel like they closed most of the food stands and quick service hours before the park closed. We stay by Disney Springs and would definitely stop in to eat/drink on the way back to the room every night if things were open later. Heck, I tried going to the Morimoto street food place at like 8:30PM the other night and they were already closed.”
Guests Offer Creative Solutions
Many Redditors brainstormed solutions, from practical delivery to full-service options integrated into My Disney Experience:
“I’ve been saying for years that they need some sort of ‘Uber Eats’ service for on-property guests that’s integrated into My Disney Experience. Something like ‘Genie Food Delivery’ that’s open 24/7 where the food is brought straight to your resort room (Uber Eats drivers don’t do this—they meet you in the lobby, which is a pain). They can have an offsite location (not accessible to Guests) that makes/stores the food. If they also sold groceries, it could be a huge revenue generator for Guests who don’t want to use Instacart/Amazon on check-in day.”
“Could you imagine a Waffle House at the TTC? I’d watch that livestream! Hell, I might pay to watch that livestream.”
“I think a reasonable solution would be to install refrigerated vending machines for various premade food items, like those you sometimes see in large airports, in/near the lobbies of resorts. Something like an automated version of the grab-and-go coolers at Contempo Café, with cold sandwiches and wraps, salads, fruit cups, uncrustables, yogurt, cheeses, hummus, etc.”
Disney’s Calculated Operating Hours
Some commenters reminded others that the company likely sees limited profit in keeping things running late at night:
“Disney is very calculated in how they manage hours of operation. If the data shows revenue not hitting a threshold after a certain time, then they’ll shut it down.”
“I get why food options in the parks close by 11PM. Disney doesn’t want people lingering over their food as they’re trying to clear the park, and the extra revenue would often be less than the extra operating costs, especially if it was pushing a lot of CMs into overtime.”
A Growing Discontent Among Guests
Whether you’re a night owl, a family arriving back at your hotel late after fireworks, or someone just craving a snack after a long park day—Disney’s limited food availability after 11PM is a rising source of frustration.
As one user bluntly summarized:
“All I’m saying is that people are hungry and willing to spend the money to eat late at night. So why not accommodate us folks? It’s a Win-Win situation.”
Whether Disney will hear the growing calls for 24/7 or extended late-night food and beverage offerings remains to be seen. But one thing is clear—guests are hungry for more than just churros and Dole Whip. They want flexibility, convenience, and a little magic after dark.
The post “We Are Just Left Starving”: Disney’s Dark Food Decision Thousands Want Revoked appeared first on Inside the Magic.
