Now I'm confused...Bringing outside food into DL

[CassieScraps]

We are heading to DL in a few weeks. I am again doing this on a budget since I am not footing the bill and I'm not about to bleed my fairy godmother dry.

There are contradictions in the FAQ's. Here it says coolers larger than a 6 pack size are restricted from inside the park and must be stored in lockers.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/parks/permitted-items/

Here it says no outside food and beverages are permitted inside the park:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/dining/outside-food-in-park/

So which is it?

Last time, we packed lunch stuff into a couple of bags and rented a locker to store it. But that was a pain rounding up 4 teenagers to get them all in one place when the 3 year old wanted to eat. We were able to bring small snacks and water bottles into the park. But, if a small cooler is permitted then they can each carry a sandwich, chips, some snacks and a couple of water bottles and I don't have to worry about it or spend that extra $10-$15 for a locker. Ideally, I'd like them each to carry a backpack with all their stuff so I don't end up playing pack mule, lol.

 

[Lionsy]

HI

I don't think you'll have any problems bringing food into the parks. We did it everyday- the 3 of us each had a backpack. In each, there were bottles of water, assorted snacks, bagels, etc. The CM's that search your bags are not looking for packed lunches...

 

[Gisele]

True. Small soft sided coolers are allowed. As is food from outside. No glass containers. No ingredients to make sandwiches with. So a premade sandwich, a drink, salad, crackers, chips that sort of thing is no problem. Even a big honkin burger from say Mcdonalds, is allowed.

 

[SMD]

There's a picnic area outside the security check point with lockers. If you have a suit case or large cooler they'll direct you there. It's on the DTD side of DL.

 

[disneyfirsttimer18]

We took a bunch of snacks for our kids and several bottles of water in everyday in plain view in our backpack. None of the CMs cared. A few did ask if we had any glass containers, but that was it.

 

[Lionsy]

We took a bunch of snacks for our kids and several bottles of water in everyday in plain view in our backpack. None of the CMs cared. A few did ask if we had any glass containers, but that was it.

Forgot that one- when we were there, a CM pulled aside a lady with a bottle of fruit juice. He actually got her a plastic cup, and got her to pour the juice into the cup, and then discarded the glass bottle.

 

[CassieScraps]

Awesome, thank you! Maybe it was not allowing the stuff to fix a sandwich that had me confused. That makes total sense. I'm sure we'll be eating dinner in the park every night and that's fine, but I couldn't afford 3 meals a day on the inside, hahaha.

 

[figment_jii]

As others have said, for the most part outside food is permitted, as are small soft-sided coolers. However, I've always thought they had the "no outside food"-rule in place so that that they could prohibit food if they wanted or needed to (kind of like a fallback/safety net). I suppose by the same token, allowing a soft-sided cool doesn't automatically mean all foods are permissible. It could be allowed so guests can buy food in the park to take home...

Either way, as long as you avoid bringing in glass containers/jars/bottles, sandwich-makings, and knives, you should be okay.

 

[offwithyourhead]

We brought in subway and even styrofoam containers of Chinese food.

What they're really looking for when they say no outside food (and I watched this happen and laughed my butt off at the person bringing it in) is water bottles full of alcohol and the like, which they will confiscate. The glass thing is less about the food item and more about the glass. It's a safety hazard, imagine if someone dropped their Snapple bottle and it shattered all over the ground. That and a park full of people in flip-flops sounds like all the makings of an instant lawsuit against the park.

Disney is a yes-man kind of place. They strive to make the guests happy. They're really not going to turn someone away because they have outside food and sour their day and make them think and feel negatively towards the park, vacation and experience. They say no outside food and drink just to cover their butts should they need to refuse someone for some reason.

 

[RRK15]

Any advice on what kind of food to take in? I'm not sure what I can take in thats easy and convenient for lunch.

 

[starshine514]

Any advice on what kind of food to take in? I'm not sure what I can take in thats easy and convenient for lunch.

It's really up to you. Most of the time, I take snacks for my girls. Homemade trail mix is a big hit with the kids, as well as PBJ sandwiches, fruit bites and granola bars. My baby is proving to have food allergies and (since she's still nursing) I've found that she does better (less stuffy/less spit up) when I don't consume her allergens either. So, a sandwich for myself was in my bag (in one of those sandwich boxes) each day last trip (there are only so may meals for which you can eat just a fruit plate). My in-laws take bags of chips (single-serve), oreos (single-serve) and cans of soda as well.

 

[CassieScraps]

Any advice on what kind of food to take in? I'm not sure what I can take in thats easy and convenient for lunch.

I'm going to take things like granola bars, beef jerky, trail mix, small bags of chips, goldfish crackers, applesauce pouches, some kind of sandwich, apples or bananas, and something to drink. I have to hit up a grocery store once we've made it to Anaheim.

My husband reminded me that I was probably getting confused with our local water park. They don't let any outside food in at all. They actually made me throw away a couple of granola bars away once.

I'm very happy DL's rules are relaxed. My 4 year old can be a beast without her snacks, lol.

 

[RRK15]

It's really up to you. Most of the time, I take snacks for my girls. Homemade trail mix is a big hit with the kids, as well as PBJ sandwiches, fruit bites and granola bars. My baby is proving to have food allergies and (since she's still nursing) I've found that she does better (less stuffy/less spit up) when I don't consume her allergens either. So, a sandwich for myself was in my bag (in one of those sandwich boxes) each day last trip (there are only so may meals for which you can eat just a fruit plate). My in-laws take bags of chips (single-serve), oreos (single-serve) and cans of soda as well.

Thanks for the tips! I was hoping to take sandwiches but having anytbing other then PBJ scares me abit - wouldnt want meat out for that long.

 

[RRK15]

I'm going to take things like granola bars, beef jerky, trail mix, small bags of chips, goldfish crackers, applesauce pouches, some kind of sandwich, apples or bananas, and something to drink. I have to hit up a grocery store once we've made it to Anaheim.

My husband reminded me that I was probably getting confused with our local water park. They don't let any outside food in at all. They actually made me throw away a couple of granola bars away once.

I'm very happy DL's rules are relaxed. My 4 year old can be a beast without her snacks, lol.

Great tips! Thanks I'm coming from Canada so wont be bringing too much food wise.. Do u know of a grocery store close to disney?

 

[Gisele]

Cassie...."I'm very happy DL's
rules are relaxed. My 4
year old can be a beast
without her snacks"

Lmao....me too.
Your local park made you toss your granola bars? Man that is one tough crowd! Blah.....
I would have just eaten them there, before going in. Or find a nice grassy area and crumble them up for the birds and other creatures.

 

[starshine514]

Thanks for the tips! I was hoping to take sandwiches but having anytbing other then PBJ scares me abit - wouldnt want meat out for that long.

Yeah, we only do PBJ as well. When we went to WDW in January 2010, it was really, really cold (like highs in the 40's) and we took lunchmeat sandwiches in there, but for DL - we only do PB, PBJ and PB honey!

What is funny, though, is that when I was a kid, we didn't think twice about taking a meat sandwich for lunch - it just sat in our backpack until lunchtime...

 

[RRK15]

Does anyone know of any grocery stores close to Disney?

 

[KeKy4]

We've taken a medium sized soft cooler, as big as the stroller basket, with no problems. It had water, soda and snacks.

 

[wdwfan22]

Thanks for the tips! I was hoping to take sandwiches but having anytbing other then PBJ scares me abit - wouldnt want meat out for that long.

Just pack some ice packs in your backpack ( if that's what you bring your sandwiches in. that should keep your meat cold.

 

[figment_jii]

Does anyone know of any grocery stores close to Disney?

How close are you looking for? I don't think there are any true grocery stores within walking distance of the parks. There is a Vons that's about two miles away, plus several smaller convenience type stores closer to the parks. If you look on Google Maps for grocery stores you can get a sense of what is nearby.