Can you take outside food into the parks?

[GRUMPY D]

we bring a lunch and snacks to save some money so we can go to a nice dinner at night plus if your kids are picky eaters like mine its hard to find food that they'll eat

 

[Yoshi]

We also bring snacks with us, even a few dollars adds up and I'm glad Disney allows it. I have seen people stopped from entering with food at Six Flags parks (I just leave a snack in my pocket and never had a problem) and they get annoyed. We usually eat in the parks, though at Disney. I actual find the prices reasonable compared to other parks. A burger and fries at Disney is around $6.50 I think, at Six Flags it is $10.99. A large soda at Disney is I think $2.39, Six Flags is $3.99! Needless to say, I never eat at Six Flags unless it is something I brought with me like a soft pretzel or bag of chips.

 

[captinhookedondisney]

A Sandwhich should be fine fruit nothing crazy like Chicken Parm!

Have Fun!

 

[meatball77]

if it comes down to taking PB&J's so you can eat regular then you probably should not be there at all. in other words these trips cost between 4 and 6 grand for most people, if you factor in everything. if that extra 40 bucks a day for lunch is a deal breaker it makes the whole thing not add up. think about it."i have 5000.00 to go to WDW but we cant afford lunch" doesnt make sense does it?

Our trip to WDW for a week in late Janurary will be costing us less than a grand. We're using frequent flier miles for the flight and AFVC for the condo and the military rates for the tickets. We'll be bringing our own water and snacks because we don't feel like paying theme park prices. Keeping our meal prices down helps us be able to afford the trip and helps us afford another vacation a couple months later.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, but I was under the impression that rolling coolers weren't permitted. (I don't think they should be)

You will not be permitted to bring in glass containers (they may make an exception for baby food but I am not sure) or alcoholic beverages.

 

[catne]

At one time, there were signs outside the entrances that said no wheeled coolers, no wheeled backpacks/luggage/totes...but we saw them fairly often anyway.

As for food...security has been known to joke with people "you can only take that in if you plan to share...did you bring enough for everyone?" I saw that one - boy did the woman splutter & hmm & hah until she realized the guy checking her bag was joking with her.

 

[codimouse]

They do allow it. Never been a problem for us.
To help our dollars go farther (each trip is about $3000) we take in small snacks like PB and J sandwiches and juice bags to tide us over until we get to our sit down dinner. I have a soft sided cooler that looks like a large handbag. Insulated and such.
Use it each time we go and even ask for permission out of common courtesy.

 

[JoanneGreco]

Can you take outside food into the parks?

We take lunch in with us every time we go. We have season passes and go at least once a week and have never had a problem. We're a family of five and all of us take our lunch (sandwiches, drinks, salad, snacks), put it in soft coolers with ice packs and store it in a locker until we're hungry.

We save a considerable amount of money, especially with how often we go.

 

[Goofy Guy]

if it comes down to taking PB&J's so you can eat regular then you probably should not be there at all. in other words these trips cost between 4 and 6 grand for most people, if you factor in everything. if that extra 40 bucks a day for lunch is a deal breaker it makes the whole thing not add up. think about it."i have 5000.00 to go to WDW but we cant afford lunch" doesnt make sense does it?

Wow. I'm sure you don't mean to sound condescending to anyone who doesn't have money to burn but you should probably know it sure comes off that way. At least to me. I understand your point and you are definitely entitled to your opinion, but I think this might fall into the subjective category and probably depends on your situation. I'm glad you don't have to worry about spending money and I feel fortunate that we were able to enjoy our week long vacation without being overly concerned about money. However, I think empathy goes a long, long way. Even if you have money.

As a side note, the three of us enjoyed a lovely PB&J dinner at a cozy little table at the train station while overlooking Mainstreet. We didn't have to but it was nice. Like others have said, we saved at least $60 by skipping a sit down restaurant and most likely spent that money elsewhere.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I've brought small amounts of food and drink into WDW and DLR without any problems. In fact, I've been known to even bring one of those smaller soft sided coolers into DLR with cans of Diet Coke and water bottles, again without any problems.

I don't bring in meals, just snacks. Cuts down a little on expenses but doesn't keep us from buying a snack now and then. Dole whip, ice cream, popcorn, etc.

 

[photobob]

I've brought small amounts of food and drink into WDW and DLR without any problems. In fact, I've been known to even bring one of those smaller soft sided coolers into DLR with cans of Diet Coke and water bottles, again without any problems.

I don't bring in meals, just snacks. Cuts down a little on expenses but doesn't keep us from buying a snack now and then. Dole whip, ice cream, popcorn, etc.

We always take snacks and a bottle of water or two with us as well with never a problem. We drive and bring a great deal of drinks and food with us to offset some of the overall cost of a trip. We are DVC members so we have a full kitchen most trips. We still have a nice TS meal most days but the other meals are usually in the room.

 

[MrsNikkie]

We usually bring our own bottled water and gatoraide and a few snacks such as granola bars, fruit, and chips and we've never had a problem.

 

[kgle]

Wow. I'm sure you don't mean to sound condescending to anyone who doesn't have money to burn but you should probably know it sure comes off that way. At least to me. I understand your point and you are definitely entitled to your opinion, but I think this might fall into the subjective category and probably depends on your situation. I'm glad you don't have to worry about spending money and I feel fortunate that we were able to enjoy our week long vacation without being overly concerned about money. However, I think empathy goes a long, long way. Even if you have money.

As a side note, the three of us enjoyed a lovely PB&J dinner at a cozy little table at the train station while overlooking Mainstreet. We didn't have to but it was nice. Like others have said, we saved at least $60 by skipping a sit down restaurant and most likely spent that money elsewhere.

I completely agree and I feel like the PP is trying to generalize...I could definitely spend all that money on eating at the park, but I would prefer not to. Not because I can't afford it (I am including a generous food budget) but as another PP mentioned, I would prefer to have that extra money for other things. I am not going to WDW for the food- but for the experience. Having a picky toddler is another reason, but honestly its more convenient for us

 

[mykidsand_i]

We have always brought food into the parks- mostly snacks, pb & J on special bread or roll ups...my dd has celiac disease, so we have to bring stuff with, or it would be crazy expensive!

 

[DSNY4ever]

We always bring in lunch. On our vacations budgets we can only afford one meal in the parks per day. We eat breakfast in our room and bring lunch to the parks. I actually enjoy eating our PB&Js because we don't have to worry about rushing to a restaurant, we pick a nice spot to people watch and we just get to enjoy our food wherever we are- plus is saves us a lot of money! If you are there when it is hot you can pack a frozen water bottle to keep your food cool. With the prices of tickets getting so ridiculous, food is one way we can save and make it affordable.

 

[dalt01]

Wow. I'm sure you don't mean to sound condescending to anyone who doesn't have money to burn but you should probably know it sure comes off that way. At least to me. I understand your point and you are definitely entitled to your opinion, but I think this might fall into the subjective category and probably depends on your situation. I'm glad you don't have to worry about spending money and I feel fortunate that we were able to enjoy our week long vacation without being overly concerned about money. However, I think empathy goes a long, long way. Even if you have money.

As a side note, the three of us enjoyed a lovely PB&J dinner at a cozy little table at the train station while overlooking Mainstreet. We didn't have to but it was nice. Like others have said, we saved at least $60 by skipping a sit down restaurant and most likely spent that money elsewhere.

your right of course, i may have come off sideways. you see i am in the financial end of the auto business and sometimes, nay, almost all the time customers will say something like, i cannot afford 220 a month but i will take it for 200 a month. my feelings have always been logical, if 20.00 a month breaks your bank then you have no business adding 200.00 to that budget either. that is what i am trying to get across. if you are sitting around the kitchen table and trying to figure out how to make the trip doable and it comes down to taking most of your own food and drink then maybe your planning the wrong vacation. i dont mean people who are fine with the budget but choose to be frugal, thats just tight, and there are a lot of people who have their first dime. in other words bringing your own chow cause you "have" to is different than bringing cause you "want" to. i love both kinds of people i just would not do it.

 

[codimouse]

well sometimes we HAVE TO in order to get other things for our girls.
one meal a day that we bring in ourselves affords us to do that for them.
they dont care nor do i that we eat pb and j sammies and box juice.
they know that $60 we saved goes to something they can buy at the gift shops.

 

[ntsammy5]

I'd like to bring in a keg, but they won't let me!

 

[cymbaldiva]

I'm taking this moment to feel fortunate ... if way back when I had used the logic "if you have to pack your lunch then this isn't the vacation for you" I would have missed out on several wonderful trips to WDW - I wouldn't trade those trips and those memories for anything. Fortunately I didn't have some of the people that are posting on this thread to advise me back then.

Fast forward to now - I can find far better things to spend my time and $$ on than Disney food, so I chose to bring snacks and sandwiches so I don't have to. My choice.

 

[codimouse]

I'd like to bring in a keg, but they won't let me!

sippy cup??
j/j .. cute.
i dont drink but maybe my dr pepper in a sippy cup?