Save Money And Time With These Universal Studios and Disney World Laundry Hacks

Planning a getaway to Orlando, Florida? You need our Universal Studios and Disney World laundry hacks! Our theme parks, beaches, and amazing food will be happy to welcome you to the Sunshine State, but the problem is, when you’re vacationing, there’s a good chance you’ll have some kind of wardrobe malfunction.

While that extra-large corn dog sounded like a good idea while you waited in line at It’s A Small World After All, the mustard stain on your new shorts says otherwise.

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There are so many reasons that you might need to do laundry at Disney or Universal Studios, like:

• Your kids throw up after a particularly dizzying run on Space Mountain.
• You want to travel light, instead of paying an arm and a leg for airline baggage fees.
• You soaked your clothes at Splash Mountain or you don’t want to put a sopping wet bathing suit into your luggage.
• You plan on enjoying Universal Studios for more than a week and don’t want to smell funky the whole time.

You get the idea. Whether you plan to or not, you’ll probably need to have a plan for doing laundry at Disney so you can enjoy everything Orlando has to offer. From chilling at the Hard Rock Cafe Resort to cuddling up with the fauna at Animal Kingdom, you want to enjoy your vacation, not worry about your clothes.

While a lot of folks skip laundry until they get home, you might need to wash your clothes before your return flight. So what do you do?

Fortunately, you’ve got options. Dig into the 3 Disney laundry services, what to expect from them, and the most cost-effective option for doing laundry at Disney World and Universal Studios.

Your 3 options for doing laundry at Disney World and Universal Studios

Okay, so lots of people need to do laundry at Disney. But how in the world do you get your clothes clean? How much is laundry at Disney World, anyway? Vacationers have 3 options available through Disney and Universal Studios resorts. 

1 – In-room washer and dryer

Obviously, this is the most convenient on-site option. However, Disney doesn’t put washers and dryers in every room. The studio-style and standard rooms won’t include washers and dryers; these are only available in Deluxe Villas. You do get a box of detergent included, too. If you want extra, you have to buy it from the front desk.

Of course, with the word “Deluxe” in its name, you’ll pay a pretty penny to have unfettered access to a washer and dryer in your hotel room to do laundry at Disney. But if you want to vacation in luxury and not worry about where you’re doing laundry at Disney, it could be worth the extra money.

2 – Valet laundry

Your second option is more hands-off, but it comes at a very steep price. Valet laundry is available if you need standard laundry or even dry cleaning at Disney. Here’s how it works:

• Call the front desk to request laundry pickup service (at most resorts, you’ll need to do this by 9 am for same-day service).
• Drop your dirty clothes into the laundry bag.
• Housekeeping will pick up your laundry when they do their rounds.
• You can pick up your laundry at the front desk at the specified time and pay your bill then.

This might not sound so bad, but wait until you hear the prices. Curious how much laundry costs at Disney? A single shirt costs $6, pants are $7, and underwear is a whopping $2.50 apiece. With a $10 minimum and a 50% surcharge on ironing, you pay dearly for this service. Yikes!

Unless you’re really hard-up on time, we recommend steering clear of valet laundry just because of the pricing. You can easily burn through $100 washing your entire family’s clothes. 

3 – On-site laundromats

The final option available on-site is the most cost-effective, but it costs you more time. Every single Disney resort has an on-site laundromat. For Universal Studios, you have laundry facilities available at:

• Sapphire Falls
• Royal Pacific
• Cabana Bay
• Hard Rock Hotel
• Adventura Hotel
• Surf Side Inn and Suites

The laundry facility at your hotel will be on the hotel map, but if you have trouble finding it, just as the front desk. They’re usually near the hotel pool. For example, Disney’s Beach Club Resort laundry area is tucked away in a cleverly branded nook near the towel area.

Laundry works the same at both Disney and Universal Studios. Every laundry room has 3 – 7 washers and dryers available for use. It costs $3 per machine, per load.

The resorts are doing away with coin laundry, so you’ll need to pay with a debit or credit card at the self-service kiosk, which is typically located on the wall of the Disney laundry room. You can’t pay with your MagicBand, either; you need to use a card.

If you didn’t bring your own detergent (and why would you?), it costs $1 for a single-use packet. All in all, that means you spend $4 per load when you do laundry at Disney’s laundry rooms.

And let’s talk about the time. Sure, this is faster than sending your laundry out with valet service, but unless you want someone to walk off with your clothes, we recommend watching your washers and dryers.

That means you’re sitting in the laundry room for 2+ hours while you’re on vacation. Some folks use the LaundryView app to see their machines’ status, but it still means you need to be at the resort to finish the load.

The alternative: The Laundry Room’s Disney laundry service

People often choose Disney and Universal’s on-site options because they don’t think they have an alternative. But you actually do!

It’s cheaper and faster to just outsource your laundry to The Laundry Room. Just tell us your Disney or Universal Studios hotel and room number and we take care of the rest. Our Disney laundry service saves you:

• Money: Are you seriously going to pay $4 for one load of laundry at the resort? For just $1.50 per pound (with a 15-pound minimum), The Laundry Room will get all of your clothes sparkling clean. We won’t nickel and dime you like Disney, either. Pickup and drop-off are always included for free.
• Hassle: Wouldn’t it stink to pay tons of money for clean clothes, only to still see a horrible stain on your favorite shirt? Thanks to our commercial washers, we’re able to kill stains, germs, and odors more efficiently than any machines at Disney World or Universal Studios.
• Time: We’re able to turn around your laundry in as few as 24 hours. Instead of chaining yourself to a Disney laundry room or paying out the wazoo for valet service, outsource your Disney laundry services to The Laundry Room to save time.
• Convenience: The Laundry Room picks up and drops off your laundry right at your Disney or Universal Studios hotel room. We even offer contactless delivery, front desk delivery, and online payments.
• Stress: Let our laundry experts obsess over your kids’ stained clothes. You focus on enjoying the theme parks and making memories.

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The Bottom Line

Nobody wants to think about the unglamorous side of travel, like doing laundry at Disney, but it’s important. Save money on luggage fees, quickly clean emergency stains, and save yourself time when you get home by doing laundry at Disney. But instead of losing time and money with on-premise laundry, use The Laundry Room’s Disney laundry service. We’ll get your clothes cleaner, faster, and cheaper than the resort can.

Want to give it a whirl? Schedule your Disney laundry service online now.