Taking food in the parks

[Tinkitude]

Just what exactly are you allowed to take into the park as far as food goes?:confused: Kids are always wanting snacks and drinks. It gets very expensive. Is it okay to take in your own?:confused:

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

I don't think you're "officially" allowed to take anything, but we carried some goldfish and a mandarin oranges in our stroller last week.

I did see several families carrying those coolers on wheels, so I don't think Disney enforces their policy at all.

[Tinkitude]

I suppose the worst they could do would be to have us throw it away before we went in. I wouldn't want to take in a whole cooler. Who wants to lug that around! I was just thinking some small things, like Goldfish and maybe some water. :mickey:

[iluvdizney2]

We took in some frozen water bottles and let them defrost over the day so we always had cold water. We also have to bring in snacks do to sugar issues, but we carried a letter of medical necessity jut in case. We didnt have a cooler, we simply had a insulated back pack that hung on our wheelchair. I know people were bringing in lunchables for little kids, because we saw it, but no one really stopped anyone. We did see one group try to bring in a rolling cooler and was told no coolers allowed. They had to return it to the car somehow...glad I was not them. I think the rule of thumb truly is, if you can carry it in a normal backpack, no one is going to stop you.
As for drinks No one was going to stop water from coming in that we saw.
HTH

[Katlyn]

We also froze water last year and put a couple of juice boxes in with it for our granddaughter. We also had a few snack items for her. Everything was checked out and nothing was said so we were happy and our granddaughter was too.

[Darbylew]

We always take snacks in the parks. We carry
a backpack with lots of snacks and water. I
really don't think WDW minds at all. They do
check your bags as you enter the parks but
nothing is said about the snacks or drinks that
you are bringing in. Have a great time. :mickey:
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT AND GOING BACK IN
NOVEMBER. :D

[crazypoohbear]

We usually bring our own water, soda and snacks.
What ever any one wants to carry or put in their own fanny pack/backpack.
I bring down the individual snack packs that I usually pack in lunches, very portable and easy to carry
Disney is very good about looking the other way.
You are NOT allowed to bring any alcohol, glass, or anything else that Disney would prohibit for safety reasons.

We were at Lights motor action one year and the woman in front of me took out a HUGE salad, I'm talking the size my mother would make for 10 people!! She sat there and ate the whole thing during the show!

[January-2007]

No glass containers or rolling coolers. They don't seem to mind if you bring regular drinks and snacks though.

[Belle619]

I've brought in granola bars and small packs of crackers before and no one ever objected. I would think that as long as you aren't packing a whole meal, then you'll be fine. I'm sure WDW realizes that people will probably pack snacks, but still end up spending money on food in the park at some point during the day.

The frozen water is a good idea, we've only packed empty bottles and filled them at the water fountains - but I like the idea of bringing our own (hopefully better tasting) water. I'll have to remember that for our October trip. :mickey:

[MsMin]

When mine were little I used to bring in frozen juice like the capri sun/HiC etc. I made a trail mix of dry cereal like cheerios, dried fruit and colored marshmallows. I brought fruit roll-up type snacks. I also made PB&J finger sandwiches which the kids loved more than a burger and fries and you don't have to worry about meats spoiling in the heat. I think they want you to be discrete about it. We used to bring it in the diaper bag b/c someone always had a little one. When mine were old enough to complain about wanting to buy cokes(or not wanting to share one) or lunch there I would tell them they could spend their souvenir money on souvenirs or food (most of which didn't get consumed b/c they were in a hurry to go on another ride) We would eat one meal in the park.

[Lizzie]

We always bring snacks. Crackers, granola bars some cookies. And last time when we stayed at a house we would fill a small sports bottle up with ice and something to drink and have one more thing to refill it.

[MNDisney Dad]

No alcohol or glass. Anything else can be brought into the park. Coolers are allowed as long as they fit in the Disney lockers. This is according to the Disney "insider" site offered here on Intercot.

[DessertDivaFL]

Don't worry about bringing the basic drinks and snacks. Everyone does it and everyone still buys things in the park so they don't mind.

(Previous post comment) I think it is pretty funny that someone brought a large salad and ate it while watching the Lights, Motor, Action Show! :funny: That was her dinner and a show.

[pamcastle]

I see it all the time. Although I think it's not the way to spend the day in the park. I always have a reservation to one of Disney's Restaurants for the day.

My kids are grown. I would imagine that those who have small kids need to have snacks with them. Disney doesn't enforce people to bring any food. And they shouldn't either. Disney makes their money on us spending our money in the food pavilions and the gift shops. I feel if I am going to spend the day at Disney, then it wouldn't be any fun to bring my own food in the park.

[mdearmas]

i've brought everything from snacks to fried chicken and potato salad. we always take a lunchbox and leave it in a locker until lunchtime. lol :goofy:

[IloveDisney71]

We have always taken bottled water (I hate the taste of Disney water fountains :() and individually sized cookies, granola bars, etc. The security guards have never said anything about bringing our own snacks into the parks. Even though we pack our own snacks, we still purchase ice cream and additional drinks when we run out of water, so Disney is still making money off of my families snack habits. We are on vacation after all. :)

[pixiesmimi]

As MNDisney Dad said, the ebook I bought here on Intercot, Disney Insider, written by a former CM, said soft coolers that will fit in a locker or your stroller are allowed and food and drink are also allowed. She even said that you can eat at the outside tables and some restaurants let you eat your own food inside. We took frozen water and snacks on our last trip in June and saw a lot of others doing the same thing. We used a small insulated diaperbag as our cooler and put it in our stroller. I think the water in the DW fountains tastes nasty so we bring our own and just freeze several bottles and they thaw through the day. This doesn't keep us from eating at the restaurants though during the day for at least one meal. Just saves us some money for the smaller kids. We use the drink packets and put these in the water bottles if we want a change.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We have always brought in a few snacks and juice boxes for the kids with no problem. Since we are staying at Saratoga Springs this trip we are planning on bringing in a few sandwiches. The kids are not big lunch eaters in the parks and I know they will eat a PB&J. We are just going to bring a small soft size cooler and keep it in the stroller that we have decided to bring for one more year. ;)

[CleveRocks]

Yup, you are NOT "getting away with anything" if you bring food in, and Disney isn't "looking the other way." It's totally permitted. When I've brought in lunch for 6 of us, the security CMs doing the bag check sometimes commented that I was mnaking them hungry, and one asked if he could trade lunches with me.

No glass (except baby food jars), no alcohol, no rolling or hard-sided coolers. Everything else is kosher ... uh, so to speak.:D

[kakn7294]

When they search your bags, they are not looking for contraband food items (except for alcohol and glass bottles like previously mentioned), they are looking for contraband items like guns, knives, and other items that pose a security risk. It is perfectly acceptable to take snacks and non-alcoholic drinks into the parks with you.

[Daun]

Good ideas
Thanks !
:party: