Is outside food permitted into parks?

[Gales4Goofy]

A friend of mine told me that you cannot bring any food into the parks. The Disney website doesn't say, so I'm thinking its ok.

Does anyone know for sure?

 

[ErinInCT]

We brought a soft sided cooler of bottled water. We also brought snacks for the kids (cheerios, fruit, crackers, that kind of stuff). They inspect the bags & we were never told we could not bring in the food & water. (We were there in Sept).

 

[BCVBRUCE]

Here is what was asked @ the "Ask Anita" site and the subsequent response.

MJ writes:

I have been planning our trip for a year now and we are all on a very tight budget. There are 14 of us going. What does Disney think of people packing their own lunches? Any problems?

Hi MJ!

Disney's official policy is that no outside food is allowed into the parks. For a great way to save money (and time!), I would suggest eating breakfast in your room. You can rent a refrigerator (for $10.00 a day! Yikes!) or pack a collapsible cooler (about $15.00 at your local discount store) in your luggage to keep items cool in your room. All Disney resorts provide ice free of charge.

At lunchtime, table service restaurants feature menus similar to the dinner menus for much less money. Consider eating your "big" meal mid-day and snacking at night.

For dinner, eating at counter service restaurants or snack carts is also significantly less expensive than at table service restaurants. For variety, many of Epcot's World Showcase Pavilions feature a counter service restaurant in addition to their full-service eateries. The food courts at the Value resorts are generally less expensive than the restaurants at other resorts. Try taking a bus from the parks to one of the All Stars Resorts or to the Pop Century Resort to dine. Consult All Ears Net's™ Menu Pages to get some ideas of dining choices and prices. If the parks close early during your stay, and if you have your own transportation, you can also eat off-site for far less money without losing valuable park time.

And finally, my Number One Tip for saving money is: Don't order soft drinks. Drink water with your meals and bring your own bottled water into the parks. Unlike outside food, non-alcoholic drinks in plastic bottles are allowed into the parks. At $2.00 to $2.50 per drink in the parks and restaurants, bringing your own can save significant amounts of money.

Hope this helps you to have a marvelous vacation!

A.A.

Hope This Helps,
Bruce :

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Food and beverages are allowed, however, no large coolers are allowed (if it has to be on wheels or needs 2 people to move it, it's too big), no glass containers are allowed, alcoholic beverages may not be brought into the parks, and for AK, disposable plastic straws are not allowed.

 

[dischick4778]

I always bring snacks in my backpack and have never been asked to remove anything when being searched. I have had granola bars, candy, cookies, etc. Never seems to be a problem.

 

[LovePug]

This is the "official policy" from a CM in MK:

Here's the *official* cooler policy for each of the parks:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney-MGM Studios
Epcot
Magic Kingdom
# Small coolers (that one person can carry) that will fit into guest lockers are allowed. Coolers will be inspected for glass and alcoholic beverages which are not permitted.

Water Parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon)
# Coolers are permitted, including wheeled coolers
# No wagons are allowed
# No glass containers or alcoholic beverages allowed
# No storage areas for coolers

Disney's Wide World of Sports
Coolers are allowed in at Disney’s Wide World of Sports® Complex. However, alcoholic beverages and glass containers are not permitted. (Please be aware that these rules may be different at the various off-site facilities.) The Cooler Policy is subject to change anytime without notice.

 

[BCVBRUCE]

I think "snacks" are ok. However, I do not think Disney promotes guests to bring in a full picnic only to take up tables and space that other customers are paying for when they purchase their meals in the park.

Birnbaums 2003 states on pg 20: "Carry sandwich fixings and have lunches alfresco when possible (keeping in mind that outside food is not welcome inside Disney theme parks)".

I think it is best to use good judgement. Disney wants to make money. So, they probably want you to buy their food.

Hope This Helps,
Bruce

 

[lovethattink]

Food required for special diets that can't be accomodated by Disney is permitted in the parks.

 

[Gales4Goofy]

Thanks everyone -- very helpful!

We''ll be there in 2 days !!!!!

 

[Histosue]

Just got back and they do not allow coolers but just about everyone had a backpack or bag with snacks, I brought PBJ snadwiches once and nothing was said.
sue

 

[isla bonita]

The idea fo just bringing into the park drinks for the day depending on when you go can save you a small fortune. The last time we were there was in June. We had bottles of water and juice boxes. Packes. I can not tell you the money we saved just doing that. I froze the boxes and bottles so they stayed cold all day. I also did not carry any thing I rented a stroller for my 3 year old. When I went without a young one I rented a locker and used it like a fridge. When we needed to stock up one of us would run back and what we needed. I also put our camcorder in there.