Cracking down on outside food?

[monorailrabbit]

Take this with a grain of salt, as always, but according to an article I read this morning (Edited to add: per mod request, link and name removed) there is speculation that Disney will be cracking down on food and drink brought into the parks. Thoughts on this? Do you bring a lot of food in? We usually only bring in bottled water, but we don't have kiddos. Will this have a major impact on your family's vacation?

 

[Robo]

I'll not get agitated about it until more info is known.

 

[L&Lfan]

We never bring anything to eat or drink into the parks. We purchase everything in park as needed. We're on vacation.

 

[pooh4evr]

Maybe they have noticed the coolers getting bigger and bigger. I saw a family in line for the safari with a full sized hard rolling cooler. How did they get in with that and what are they going to do with it on the rides?

 

[mom2rtk]

It will be interesting to watch them try. They are already checking all bags pretty closely.

But I don't think they can do it. Too many specific dietary needs and picky kids.

 

[L&Lfan]

Maybe they have noticed the coolers getting bigger and bigger. I saw a family in line for the safari with a full sized hard rolling cooler. How did they get in with that and what are they going to do with it on the rides?

Just like carry on bags on planes! Some of those things are YUUUUGE!

 

[WEDWDW]

Still very much in the "Rumor Stage".

But with Disney's "mindset" these days anything is possible.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Just a bottle of Coke. It would be interesting if they did not allow in water or Coke bottles. I know Universal does not allow ANY outside beverages brought in during Halloween Horror Nights (any other time they do) but that is because of the nature of that event (they are concerned with guests smuggling in alcohol - apparently on a regular day they are not so much concerned about that.)

I'd also think Disney might overlook something like a bag of goldfish crackers or some granola bars, and crack down on those bringing whole meals and huge coolers in.

Although noting that they apparently intend to give an exemption for "special dietary needs" makes me wonder how they intend to decide what exactly is a "special dietary need." In my mind "picky" is not a special dietary need, but then I don't have any kids.

But none of this is happening yet, so it's no use worrying about it.

 

[Dis703]

Considering how packed their restaurants generally are, I can't imagine they could actually handle it if every single person purchased food there instead of bringing it in. We don't even go peak season and there are still times when it's hard to find a table to eat at QS locations and no tables are left in TS locations.

That said we take our food everywhere for our kids because of their food allergies so this wouldn't effect them. But I'd be upset if I was forced to buy our bottled water in the park instead of bringing our own. I was okay with the ticket price hikes and I get that every year it gets a little more costly but bringing food/drink is also one of the ways we help offset those extra costs as needed. But eventually too many of these changes are going to mean less time spent at the parks and that would be a huge bummer.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

We never bring in food, so it would have no personal impact for me.

I can't imagine how they would implement this. Will they question every guest with a granola bar?

I can see a "no cooler" rule, but not a global ban on all outside food.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't blame them, standard policy at a lot of places. I think a lot of people will claim allergies though to get around it (even people without real food allergies)

 

[ottjdub]

I can see the No Cooler Rule coming into effect but hard pressed to see a full out ban on Snacks. Where do you draw the line??

 

[TexasKiwiPrincess]

I would be really disappointed if they banned outside food and drinks. A significant portion of our budget depends on being able to bring in sandwiches and fresh fruit in our moderate sized cooler. Changing that policy would seriously put the squeeze on those of us that watch nickels and dimes just to afford tickets!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I can see the No Cooler Rule coming into effect but hard pressed to see a full out ban on Snacks. Where do you draw the line??

It would be nice if they would enforce the "no large coolers" rule they already have.

I don't carry much into the parks but I do throw a couple granola bars in my bag just in case we get hungry and aren't ready to stop for a meal yet. Plus I bring in our refillable water bottles. I really think this is a rumor that won't pan out, but given the current direction Disney has taken, I might be surprised.

 

[AllieBoo]

We bring in bottled water and snacks, and we do pack a lunch on some days when we don't feel like eating park junk food. This would make me very angry if it turns out to be true.

 

[mbgrace]

Interesting rumor. We typically bring juice boxes, water bottles, sippy cups, crackers and other dry snacks with us in a diaper bag. Many of these snacks are purchased at whichever on site resort we happen to be staying at for our vacation. So, even though the snack wasn't bought inside the park, it was purchased from Disney...

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Banning bottled water from being brought in says either "We think a great many of our guests are trying to smuggle in alcohol" or "We want to make sure our guests pay $3 for a bottle of water." I can't see it being for any other purpose. Of course there are other ways to get water in the parks, but a lot of visitors insist on commercially produced bottled water. Personally I'd be surprised if an outside food ban included bottles of water.

 

[monorailrabbit]

We never bring in food, so it would have no personal impact for me.

I can't imagine how they would implement this. Will they question every guest with a granola bar?

I can see a "no cooler" rule, but not a global ban on all outside food.

Same with us, no personal impact at all, but I'm really interested how they would go about doing this? As PP said, where do they draw the line? Totally get this is absolutely rumor only at this point, but it's still interesting to think about.

 

[Vernie822]

The only thing I really bring in is water and the occasional crackers/granola bar to snack on. I know a lot of NFL stadiums do this (I used to work at one) but I feel like that's different. What if you're bringing in leftovers from a meal you ate at a restaurant, or a snack you purchased at your resort!? Plus, so many people bring in items for their kids, or maybe they're diabetic or on a special diet. I wouldn't be surprised about the coolers/outside drinks thing, but I'd be surprised at no outside food.

 

[jsmla]

It will make a HUGE difference to me. I spend 4-5 weeks at WDW each year and brownbag it about 1/2-3/4 of the time. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I find the WDW restaurants wildly overpriced for what you get. IMHO, the Disney eats are okay but nothing special. I had the QSDP on my last trip and, by the end of the week, had a hard time facing another "Disney" meal. I also did a couple of table service places with friends. My tab at Wave (food was okay, nothing special) was almost $70. I've had breakfast at Be Our Guest several times and when I think about what $25 gets you for breakfast or $70 for dinner in NOLA (even in the French Quarter) compared to BOG and Wave they're not even on the same playing field.



And, for the record-I never purchase food at stadiums and only rarely in museums, other theme parks, etc.