Cracking down on outside food?

[Mac30188]

This is Universal's policy, seems reasonable, not sure how it compares to WDWs


We offer a variety of fresh, delicious food for our guests to enjoy at restaurants and concession stands throughout our resort; however, we understand that guests may need to bring outside food and drink into our parks. Please note the following guidelines for bringing food and drink into our parks:

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
• Folding chairs

Honestly this is a great set of guidelines and completely reasonable. No reason for Disney to allow a cooler with full picnic, however I also don't want them taking away a hungry toddler's snack as they sit through a never ending series of long lines. This not just to the benefit of the toddler, but to every human being in earshot of said tired and hungry toddler. IMHO, the directives to cut staff to elongate all lines (including food lines) combined with a directive of take away pacifying snack food would be a bad combination that in no way will make it the "happiest place on earth". I am going to give Disney benefit of the doubt that they would not shoot themselves in the foot that way.

 

[HopperFan]

Came up before, there was a time when Magic Kingdom opened, no outside food was allowed.
There was a picnic area by the TTC to keep folks from sitting in the parking lot eating.
I believe they figured they would make more in the long run if you weren't planning an exit,
at least folks would buy drinks inside and probably spend the rest of their money on snacks if you were only carrying a light lunch.

But honestly I don't think it's even enough people to even start this fight and where do you draw the line?
Cheerios okay but not sandwich, formula okay but not water ....
I would completely object to a child bringing in a bag full of snacks but I can't have a sandwich.
It should be all or nothing! because Disney sells plenty of little snacks for the little ones.
With all the allergies and GF folks and all that, why would Disney want to start this fight?
Not like you can hurt someone else with your sandwich or fruit rollups....

IF they only enforced the current rules on "carriers" there would be much less food in the park.
And refusing me bringing my sandwich doesn't mean I'm going to spend much money eating, there are alternatives.

 

[bookgirl]

I use a refillable water bottle and get free ice water so wouldn't bother me not to have bottled water but if they put a kabosh on my empty bottle I'd be annoyed.

I have occasionally brought in a small snack but even then don't tend to eat it so wouldn't bother me there. I'm usually too busy to snack but I have been known to buy a snack and it in park, like fries or corn dog nuggets.

I did buy a QS meal at my resort and bring it in with me during the Halloween Party so I wouldn't have to waste party time on getting food. I have eaten in the parks occasionally and wouldn't bother with packing in a sandwich, I just plan on buying a meal. Usually I plan my days and go hit up a resort QS or TS restaurant as a break from the parks. Or I head to the room for a break and eat a snack there.

However as someone with allergies and being a picky eater in a family of picky eaters, I do understand bringing in safe food or snacks so I would probably be annoyed at the policy on principle.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Currently, Disney is pretty lax about guests bringing food in from outside the parks. No matter whether you are packing a full meal that includes sandwiches, chips and water for a mid-day picnic, or just a bag of cereal for a hungry toddler, Walt Disney World has historically been A-OK with guests bringing almost anything food-related into the parks.

There was a blog somewhere where somebody brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner into the MK, sat down and ate it in the park. Pilgrim costumes included. I guess the costumes would be out now. I don't think that was more than a couple of years ago.

The rumor includes that there will be an "exemption" for special dietary restrictions. Which means a lot of folks will just be going up to the bag search and claiming dietary restrictions to get their stuff in. Whether they actually have them or not. Would the security personnel be required to interrogate the guest about their dietary restrictions? Probably not.

 

[prestoncaldwell]

This is from a an undated travel tip in a major news outlet:

"The Magic Kingdom theme park, Epcot theme park and Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park all permit small coolers that one person can easily carry. Disney defines "small" as 24 inches long by 15 inches wide by 18 inches high, which corresponds to the size of the large lockers under the train station at Magic Kingdom. Any coolers larger than that -- including those with wheels -- are not allowed inside the park. Disney searches all coolers (regardless of size) for glass containers and alcoholic beverages, neither of which are allowed inside the park."

Of course, AK doesn't want you to bring food in as a means of protecting animals. Coolers are banned inside that park.

24"X15"X18" is a pretty big "small" cooler.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I have been in the parks on a number of occasions and seen people with coolers much larger than that, and some coolers on wheels. Also, suitcases. I saw somebody in the security line at Epcot with two kids sitting in a wagon once. Wagons are on the "no" list. I thought about sticking around to see if they got that wagon into the park, because it appears they'll let pretty much anything in rather than tell the guest "no."

 

[HopperFan]

There was a blog somewhere where somebody brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner into the MK, sat down and ate it in the park. Pilgrim costumes included. I guess the costumes would be out now. I don't think that was more than a couple of years ago.

The rumor includes that there will be an "exemption" for special dietary restrictions. Which means a lot of folks will just be going up to the bag search and claiming dietary restrictions to get their stuff in. Whether they actually have them or not. Would the security personnel be required to interrogate the guest about their dietary restrictions? Probably not.

Well you had me googling .............. those kids must have been mortified .......... and now they are on the internet forever ... at WDW .... dressed as pilgrims.

But they wouldn't be able to do this anymore ..... no costume rule

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-magic-kingdom/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

How does Costco package their produce? I've only been to Sam's (Our business has a membership.) and smallest sizes are always far too big just for me and DH thinks veggies are a Commie plot.

ETA: About the beer: I accept the fact that stuff is pricey anywhere a business has a captive audience. I don't mind paying the upcharges quite so much when I know what I'm getting.

For the most part Costco is just like Sam's bulk packaging and that's why I shop at 3 different places since certain items for my husband and I don't work out buying in bulk. As someone else pointed out the amount purchased for all items isn't the same as for a serving of said items.

I mentioned earlier on in this thread about getting a 40 pack of bottled water at Costco for $3.70 which includes tax or $3.39 without tax. This amount is for my local Costco near me and thus is going to be different than someone else's though I mentioned that part to someone else in the thread to agree that water costs a lot the parks in comparison to buying at the store (something I completely understand and expect; I mean there's no way I can buy bottled water for $0.09).

Don't get me wrong I totally understand your point but my point was the cost of a meal when done yourself will vary a lot from

 

[ArwenMarie]

There was a blog somewhere where somebody brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner into the MK, sat down and ate it in the park. Pilgrim costumes included. I guess the costumes would be out now. I don't think that was more than a couple of years ago.

The rumor includes that there will be an "exemption" for special dietary restrictions. Which means a lot of folks will just be going up to the bag search and claiming dietary restrictions to get their stuff in. Whether they actually have them or not. Would the security personnel be required to interrogate the guest about their dietary restrictions? Probably not.

This one?

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-magic-kingdom/

 

[momof2n2]

With a son with food allergies I always like to have a snack or two specific to his needs. That said, many places only allow a 6 x 8 soft sided cooler at most. There is one park here that doesn't allow a single iota of food to be brought into their park. It's not too bad as it is a smaller park nestled in an area with at least a dozen or two easy to access restaurants AND the offer a picnic area just outside their gates. I think this could pose a problem at WDW with food allergic people. It's not at all easy to pop in and out of there to eat. I hope they don't go that route. With the way things are going around there lately, I won't be shocked, however.

 

[MrPTato]

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

That about sums it up for us. Maybe a bottle of water but that was purchased somewhere on property.

 

[HopperFan]

This one?

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-magic-kingdom/

 

[lovethattink]

Moving this thread to the Rumors/News board.

 

[Misha72683]

Other theme parks have similar rules. The one near where I live doesn't allow outside food (but they do allow water, but no coolers) in the park. Instead, you can eat it at picnic tables outside the gates, so people keep coolers in their car and then go back for midday breaks. Most people just eat in the park though (or leave and go to the mall across the street which has cheaper options).

 

[Robo]

Gorsh!

We're on the
Rumors
Rumors
Rumors
Board!

 

[AllieBoo]

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

Totally agree with you on this, we have never found any of the food at Disney to be that good.

 

[Btc0078]

I did not even know you could bring anything into the parks, I'd see it as a hassle to carry around foods stuffs. For now on though I may take a bottle of water.

 

[missbrooke06]

When I read this rumor, it sounds more like a warning of "No, seriously. We're going to start cracking down on your Yeti Tundra so be ready". I mean, if they're still allowing food for special dietary needs it's going to be difficult to really crack down.

 

[tarak]

Well you had me googling .............. those kids must have been mortified .......... and now they are on the internet forever ... at WDW .... dressed as pilgrims.

But they wouldn't be able to do this anymore ..... no costume rule

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-magic-kingdom/

Wow.

 

[mom2rtk]

This one?

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-magic-kingdom/

That is freaking hysterical. I can't believe I had never seen it. Thanks for posting it! I was able to share that with my family to convince them I'm not nearly as crazy about Disney as some......