What food can I take into Disney/universal parks?

[emmamc252]

Looked on website and says "snacks and food that doesn't need to be heated. We have a family of 7 and was planning to bring a big cooker bag with sandwiches, drinks, crisps, pasta salads for lunch.
Quite frankly I wouldn't want to eat the counter service options even if they weren't so expensive but someone has told me we are "limited to a 6pack cooler" ie can't bring a big cooler bag into the park, so would have to eat at the counter services?
Surely this can't be the case?

 

[pixiewings71]

You can't take big coolers into the parks, you are limited to a small 6 pack size cooler. This is the case at WDW and DLR. You can bring in ready made sandwiches, chips, drinks but you can't bring in stuff to make the sandwiches. Also, no glass. Chips, fruits and drinks are fine, just don't put them in the cooler, put them in a different bag. Also, at DLR (I don't know about WDW but imagine it's the same) there are large lockers outside the parks that you can put larger coolers in. Also, inside the parks are lockers that you can put the smaller cooler and your chips etc in.

 

[Nayan]

A small 6 pack cooler (one that would fit into a locker) is allowed. Anything bigger is not.

 

[emmamc252]

Could we bring a few of them? I'm talking about the soft sided cooler bags? The one I was thinking of bringing is soft sided do just like an insulated bag, I would normally put ice packs in it but could manage without these?
What a nightmare! It's not just the cost but there's just nothing apart from in Epcot that I would give my family for lunch. I would rather buy a few smaller cooler bags and not come home 20lbs heavier!

 

[emmamc252]

The unicellular site sounds. Much stricter and actually has the dimensions of what cooler bags are allowed and specifies no picnic lunches.
Oh dear. I might be getting hubby to rethink our plan !

 

[marie1203]

Here it is from universal website

"Acceptable items:

Bottled water
Small snacks that do not require heating
Any food required for medical purposes and medically–indicated nutritional supplements
Any food required for special dietary needs
Baby food/baby formula
Soft-sided insulated bags no larger than 8.5" wide x 6" high x 6" deep


Prohibited items:

Picnic lunches
Food that requires heating or refrigeration
Alcohol and glass containers
Hard-sided coolers
Soft-sided coolers larger than 8.5" wide x 6" high x 6" deep
Coolers, suitcases, and bags with wheels
Please be advised that all bags and personal items are subject to inspection. "

OP it seem that you been to Disney a number of time what change that now you won't eat CS food? To be honest we are not big fan of CS so we do TS and the break it is actually nice.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

This is from the Disney website:

Are there any personal items I should not bring with me into the theme parks?


Items that you may not bring into the theme parks include but are not limited to:

•Items with wheels, such as:
•Wheeled Mobility Devices: To promote the safety of Guests across our parks and resorts, the following guidelines are currently in place. All wheeled mobility devices must have three or four wheels and maintain stability and balance when stopped, unpowered, or unoccupied. Training wheels or similar modifications are not permitted.
•Wagons
•Skateboards
•Scooters
•Inline skates
•Shoes with built-in wheels
•Strollers larger than 36" x 52" (92 x 132 cm)
•Suitcases, coolers or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" (61 cm) long x 15" (38 cm) wide x 18" (46 cm) high. (Coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations.)
•Any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller
•Alcoholic beverages
•Weapons of any kind
•Folding chairs
•Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)
•Pets (unless they are service animals)
•Balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park for the safety of our wildlife.
In Disney's Animal Kingdom theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted.

ETA: You can take food - sandwiches, chips, drinks not in glass bottles. Lockers are available in 2 different sizes near the front gate of each park. There are no picnic facilities - you have to find a bench or out-of-the-way location.

 

[runwad]

We've taken food into both parks in a backpack cooler then I bring a 6 pack cooler to hold our water bottles. I then roll them around the park in my stroller I've had more then one person stop to look at my baby, who is 11 by the way. So much easier to roll it around than carry it. And yes it's my own personal stroller I've saved all these years just to carry our food around theme parks

 

[swilshire]

I've carried all sorts of food into WDW, including the makings for sandwiches. Nothing was ever said other than a joke or two from the guards searching the bags. I probably haven't taken a cooler larger than the dimensions shown.

At Sea World at Christmas, on the other hand, my daughter saw a lady being turned away because she had a sandwich in her bag. Had that been me, it would have made me mad enough to refuse to buy any food in the park. Even if money isn't an issue, a convenient and pleasing selection can be. We did eat in Sea World and the burgers were pretty awful.

Sheila

 

[clanmcculloch]

What a nightmare! It's not just the cost but there's just nothing apart from in Epcot that I would give my family for lunch.

Have you looked at the CS menus? There's NOTHING you would be comfortable with your family eating? Just what kind of food were you planning to bring that's better quality than what you can find in the parks? I'm not saying that the CS food is the greatest but there IS some decent food around the parks if you look.

Look, if you want to save money by bringing food then that's absolutely something that you can do and nobody would think twice about offering recommendations about how to do it. If you're thinking that the food is all junk though then you really should take another look at the various CS menus before ruling them out from a purely nutritional and taste perspective.

 

[North of Mouse]

Have you looked at the CS menus? There's NOTHING you would be comfortable with your family eating? Just what kind of food were you planning to bring that's better quality than what you can find in the parks? I'm not saying that the CS food is the greatest but there IS some decent food around the parks if you look.

Look, if you want to save money by bringing food then that's absolutely something that you can do and nobody would think twice about offering recommendations about how to do it. If you're thinking that the food is all junk though then you really should take another look at the various CS menus before ruling them out from a purely nutritional and taste perspective.

This A lot of the CS meals are very good and hey, you are on vacation - relax It would be some pain hawling around a big pack all day. There are all kinds of salads, and good choices at CS if you are that picky. I kind of enjoy some "junk" myself and call it vacation

 

[jodifla]

This A lot of the CS meals are very good and hey, you are on vacation - relax It would be some pain hawling around a big pack all day. There are all kinds of salads, and good choices at CS if you are that picky. I kind of enjoy some "junk" myself and call it vacation

Exactly! I prefer to hit the parks with no more than a fanny pack with a camera, brush, ID, park pass and cash!

There are a lot of different things to eat at WDW. There's really no place to sit down and have a picnic at WDW like the OP is describing.

 

[North of Mouse]

Exactly! I prefer to hit the parks with no more than a fanny pack with a camera, brush, ID, park pass and cash!

There are a lot of different things to eat at WDW. There's really no place to sit down and have a picnic at WDW like the OP is describing.

Agree with you, but would you believe I have actually seen big families take up several tables in the CS air-conditioned places and spread out all their picnic food Then when we buy our food there and look around for a table, there are not many to be found sometimes. Wow, the nerve, but doesn't seem to faze them - some people cannot even be embarrassed by their actions they are so entitled Don't even see how they make it through bag-check unless they spread it out amongst the whole group. The CM's really should be allowed to say something, but they probably aren't.

 

[NotUrsula]

Disney is very mellow about the food rules, although they do enforce their rules against outside alcohol &/or glass containers quite strictly. You can bring somewhat larger coolers into Disney parks than the dimensions shown, but the catch is that you have to carry them; no wheelies allowed. I know several people who carry in backpack coolers such as this one because they are on special medical diets:

http://www.keepyourcooler.com/beachcooler.html

The size of that one technically is a 24-can, but WDW will allow it, as it's no larger than the usual daypack that many guests carry. However, once filled with enough food for a family of seven, I think you would find that such a bag would be hugely heavy to carry around all day.

The larger issue inside the parks is not carrying in your food, but finding a place to eat it. Using tables at counter-service restaurants is largely frowned upon unless you purchase at least something there, because you are depriving the paying customers of the table. At MK this is usually not as much of an issue because the restaurant at the bridge to Tomorrowland is usually not in operation, so those tables are often free at mid-day, but in the other parks it can be quite problematic. Benches are fine for snacking, but eating a full meal whilst sitting on a bench isn't the most relaxing experience. You can't do the blanket-on-the-grass thing inside the parks; the grass is roped off.

However you carry your food, don't do ice packs. (You're from the UK with a family of 7, so I assume that you plan to stay somewhere with a full kitchen?) Instead, freeze your drinks, so that they act as ice blocks for the other items. They will thaw sufficiently by the time you are ready to eat lunch.

Universal Parks are MUCH more strict about outside food. They enforce their rules exactly. In that case, better plan to picnic in the parking garage or eat at Citywalk.