Cracking down on outside food?

[Dis703]

But people who bring food into the park take up seating in all of the restaurants. Maybe Disney should have picnic areas in all of the parks for people who choose not to purchase their food in the park.

Sometimes but not always. Most of the food we bring in is for our kids so we are still buying food for DH and myself. The kids will often eat on the go while in their stroller and we also tend to plan mealtimes when we can eat and watch a show. For example, at HS I grab food from a QS location and we go watch Beauty and the Beast and I feed the kids what we brought for them. No tables necessary. We also fed them in the Baby Care Center on several trips.

But it would be nice if they offered some sort of seating outside of the restaurants. Even when purchasing food at snack stands I'm sure it would be appreciated to have more places to sit down.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Sometimes but not always. Most of the food we bring in is for our kids so we are still buying food for DH and myself. The kids will often eat on the go while in their stroller and we also tend to plan mealtimes when we can eat and watch a show. For example, at HS I grab food from a QS location and we go watch Beauty and the Beast and I feed the kids what we brought for them. No tables necessary. We also fed them in the Baby Care Center on several trips.

But it would be nice if they offered some sort of seating outside of the restaurants. Even when purchasing food at snack stands I'm sure it would be appreciated to have more places to sit down.

You're more considerate than some. There are definitely some people who bring in outside food, then think they're entitled to sit on tables designated for Disney restaurants and eateries. Those people are really pushing it.

Generally speaking, though, there is a scarcity of seating in Disney parks. There were threads a couple years ago by people who've noticed that Disney has just taken some benches away. I guess Disney figures they're not making enough money off of you if you're just sitting to rest or people watch.

 

[Minniesgal]

I do hope they clamp down on the massive wheeled coolers as they are a real nuisance in the parks

 

[beer dave]

I don't think it matters what anyone else is doing frankly. If the standard in other theme parks was to spit on guests as they arrived, would we argue that... hey everyone else is doing it so it's about time Disney caught up!

The comparison should be with Disney's previously customer friendly policy. Clearly it's not an improvement for the customers to take this option away.

It is for the ones looking for a table after buying their counter service meal.....

 

[Eoghann]

It is for the ones looking for a table after buying their counter service meal.....

Might as well fuss about people buying one item and then sitting their whole family of 8 down or people sitting down just to sit without having bought anything at all.

Disney ought to provide sufficient places for people to sit whether they are eating or not. I think my $104+ ticket really ought to cover sitting.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Disney ought to provide sufficient places for people to sit whether they are eating or not. I think my $104+ ticket really ought to cover sitting.

I completely agree! We noticed during our recent trip that when we wanted to sit down and eat some ice cream, there was no where we could do that. We are planning to allow our kids some time to do Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom next trip, and I'd really like to be able to sit while I wait for them. And I can report based on my experience that the lack of a nice place to sit and relax for a bit (without having to plan it 180 days in advance) impacted how long we stayed in the parks.

 

[TwoMisfits]

It is for the ones looking for a table after buying their counter service meal.....

This is an issue with Disney's lack of seating...if guests stopped bringing any food, they would likely buy something to eat and would still need the exact same seats and you would still struggle with the exact same issue. In fact, it would be worse, b/c many people do find alternate places to eat if they bring their own food not near these restaurants, which would become the sole focal points of all eating with a major change.

If you think finding a seat to eat your CS meal or snack is hard now, wait til they change the eating policy - it will be 10X worse...

 

[Davey Jones II]

I completely agree! We noticed during our recent trip that when we wanted to sit down and eat some ice cream, there was no where we could do that. We are planning to allow our kids some time to do Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom next trip, and I'd really like to be able to sit while I wait for them. And I can report based on my experience that the lack of a nice place to sit and relax for a bit (without having to plan it 180 days in advance) impacted how long we stayed in the parks.

Didn't you know that the benches are a FP+ option now? But make sure to book 60 days in advance. The spots go fast.

Sarcasm aside, it is extremely discurteous and shabby for Disney to provide so little seating in their parks.

 

[Jake]

I don't take food in but we are adults. I can see it affecting families with small chrildren. Who don't want to spend more on junk then the price of tickets. there is nothing under $10 in the parks.

 

[buzznina]

I would not mind banning the coolers, I am still surprised they have not done this already. We bring a bag with "line snacks" in it, and the rest we get at the parks.

 

[RedSox68]

All we ever bring in is a bottle of water each and some granola bars. If they stop us from bringing in water, that will be touch since their bottled water prices in park are nuts!

We like snacking around the parks -- hot dogs, soda, popcorn, churros, etc.

 

[RedSox68]

Might as well fuss about people buying one item and then sitting their whole family of 8 down or people sitting down just to sit without having bought anything at all.

Disney ought to provide sufficient places for people to sit whether they are eating or not. I think my $104+ ticket really ought to cover sitting.

 

[Annadesu]

Honestly, I can somewhat understand this. Last time I was at Disney, I saw a lot of giant food and drink filled bags/coolers. I can understand wanting to bring your own snacks and such, but when you have a 20lb rolling cooler, and leave your trash and such all over the place, I can understand why this would annoy Disney staff.

 

[Hikergirl]

I can see banning rolling coolers full of food. With the crowds, ECV, and all the strollers its just too much. I remember when I was young and we'd go to the local amusement park, we would bring a cooler but we left it in the car and would eat lunch in the parking lot. It was not allowed into the park. I think it should work the same at WDW, is not a picnic spot its a theme park.
If you don't have a car, go back to your resort and eat. People don't want to be inconvenienced, but convenience comes with a cost, so pay up for food in the park or pay up with added time to eat outside the park.

 

[rkwier]

Bringing in food itself, especially water, would impact us. We bring in water that we freeze and then wrap in hand towels. The water melts gradually through the day, so we always have cold water to drink and the cool towels are refreshing in the heat. (Also great to clean up messy kids.) We also bring in our own snacks, especially when traveling with kiddos who are very picky eaters. We divide everything up into backpacks, so the size is not a problem for us.

 

[jkh36619]

There is a much larger scooter epidemic than a cooler epidemic. But that's another topic all together. They should at least ban scooters pulling coolers.....

 

[book_junkie]

Moreso now that we're local, but we've always brought food in- some days it's been what some call snacks (cereal bars, fruit, etc.) while other days it would be a "sack" lunch, especially in the early days when we were struggling with what my husband could and couldn't eat. Never did we bring more than what would fit in a normal lunchbox.

I can see stopping the large coolers, or anything larger than a backpack because that's already insane. Pack smaller, and use more backpacks or bags in your party.

I can't see them stopping all food due to allergies, just like we've never had a problem at Universal security going through with the same type of stuff we do at WDW.

Then again, we've never had an issue sitting at a QS in either park to eat, but we've purchases drinks or something else. And while I've seen the CMs stop people from getting tables at high volume times in QS until they have their purchase, they've also helped find seats after, and relaxed after the peak times. And while I'm sure it's happened (especially around Casey's and the Ice Cream Plaza and Starbucks), with the larger QS if the CMs see people circling for spots with trays they usually help find spots. The bigger problem I've seen has been people holding 10+ chairs while everyone is on rides, using it as a base. YMMV.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Hardside coolers are technically already banned, but it doesn't surprise me that they're slipping through with the new "turnstiles" at WDW. At Disneyland they just direct you to the Picnic area (and its oversized lockers).

This might be the best solution for WDW to adopt: adding a picnic area at each park for those who choose to pack their meals. It's not at all unusual for theme parks (or any privately owned entertainment venue) to ban outside food, nor is it inappropriate. Particularly somewhere like Disney where they are so meticulous and accommodating of food allergies (this coming from a family of many weird and life threatening food allergies).

The seating issue I find interesting, because I've never had a problem finding somewhere to sit in the park, and this is often how I spend my time... I love to people-watch. I'm honestly trying to come up with a time when I bought a meal and couldn't find somewhere to sit, at least within a few moments of getting my food. Even Disneyland's Bengal BBQ, and it's 6 tables usually turn over quite quickly. I feel like, if anything, WDW's newer restaurants have almost too much seating. BOG Restaurant is so massive and table filled it removes any opportunity for a peaceful, quiet meal.

 

[Susan Doeberl]

We bring in a bottle of water and trail mix. In the beginning Disney did not allow food brought in. I went with my Aunt and Uncle in the 70's and they brought in baby food in a thermos and the CM was not going to let them bring it in. They got a supervisor and they let them bring it in.

 

[beer dave]

Hardside coolers are technically already banned, but it doesn't surprise me that they're slipping through with the new "turnstiles" at WDW. At Disneyland they just direct you to the Picnic area (and its oversized lockers).

This might be the best solution for WDW to adopt: adding a picnic area at each park for those who choose to pack their meals. It's not at all unusual for theme parks (or any privately owned entertainment venue) to ban outside food, nor is it inappropriate. Particularly somewhere like Disney where they are so meticulous and accommodating of food allergies (this coming from a family of many weird and life threatening food allergies).

The seating issue I find interesting, because I've never had a problem finding somewhere to sit in the park, and this is often how I spend my time... I love to people-watch. I'm honestly trying to come up with a time when I bought a meal and couldn't find somewhere to sit, at least within a few moments of getting my food. Even Disneyland's Bengal BBQ, and it's 6 tables usually turn over quite quickly. I feel like, if anything, WDW's newer restaurants have almost too much seating. BOG Restaurant is so massive and table filled it removes any opportunity for a peaceful, quiet meal.

Disney inn't going to build something that will lose them money by design.