Taking food into the park

[mth1993]

I am planning on taking my family (Wife, 5.5 year old girl and 2.5 year old boy, and Me) to Disney world 11/13 (arriving after 6 p.m.) - 11/16. We are staying at the all-star music review with a refrigerator in our room.

I have heard mixed messages about taking food into the parks, MK and AK. I would like to take s cooler with yogurt and sandwiches for the day. What have others experienced?

 

[melk]

I don't think you'll be able to bring a cooler into the parks because technically you're not supposed to be bringing in food. But we brought a backpack as well as a diaper bag and both had food in it. You could even put a small insulated bag in the backpack with an ice pack or something if you're worried about spoilage. We went in with juice boxes, snacks, water, and peanut butter and jellies on occasion and never had a problem but the point is, don't be obvious about it. Have fun!

 

[Limmer]

I brought carrot sticks and celery sticks in a little plastic baggie (got the veggies from our food court at PO Riverside) and the lady who checked our bags going into Animal Kingdom said she thought that was a great idea and wished more people brought something other than sugary snacks. I think they might draw the line at coolers though. If you are driving you could leave the cooler in the car and have a little picnic there then go back in.

 

[KJMAX1]

My sister just returned on Nov 2nd and when she and her son took food in for the day they were made to toss it out. She said a guard would open up their backpack and tell them they could not bring the food in, and she was forced to take it, and throw it in the garbage can. They were then able to enter the park. We have a friend who is leaving this week for DL and her daughter is deathly allergic to peanuts, so she has to bring her food in but we dont know if she will make it through or not. If its a big issue, you might want to call first.

 

[hercamore]

Wow, disney must be getting strict with food being brought in...We have been 2x since April and have seen many families snacking on homebrought food in the parks.

If you're looking to save some $ by not eating in the parks, I would recommend eating breakfast in your room and eating luch at the parks. There are some bargains to be had at lunch. Meals can be shared at both the counter service and sitdown restaurants are portions are usually big.

I would still bring in my own water, as disney water costs $2.50 a bottle.

 

[PCgal]

this is the first i have heard of any one having a problem bringing food in , my sister is on a strict diet to loose weight how she will do it in disney i dont know lol but im sure she will want to take her own food, any one know for sure if we can take snacks or what i mean a full meal i can understand them makeing you throw out but a little snack i think might be ok.

 

[we3trees]

I was abale to get into the part with some food and drink. I had a lunch size collapsable cooler full of bottled water. I had a book bag full of suppplies (camera, camcorder, sunscreen, etc. In the bottom were crackers, raisins, grapes, and Power bars. The inspectors at the gate did a cursory look through our bags. They did not care about the H2O. Plus you can fill your pockets if need be. Once you are in the park, pull out what you want to keep cold and put in the cooler.

Sandwiches, for some reason, have a hard time of making it into the parks, but snacks seem to have no problems.

 

[jillhou]

Unless things have changed - you can get ice water from any of the counter service places and not have to carry in the bottled unless that is all you drink. The counter service glass of ice water is free.

 

[we3trees]

Jillhou has a cost savings point, which I had planned on doing, too. However, when my family vacationed in the World last month, we encountered a not so fond memory of when we had lived in Orlando in 1992 - the water has a very distinct smell and taste. I say distinct because some don't seem bothered by the smell and taste. However, my family and I found it less desirable. Bottled water in the parks is around $2-3 dollars a bottle.

If you want to chance it, you risk the chance of paying $$$ for water that tastes good. I found 16 oz spring water at Publix grocery for about $0.30 a bottle.

Again, from a cost stand point Jillhou has a good idea. Unfortunately, I found bottled water satisfied my taste buds better.

 

[wondermom]

We just arrived home from WDW for 11 days. We have two DG's ages 10 and 13 and each brought their own string backpack into the parks, plus DH carried a regular backpack each day. We filled all our backpacks with lots of snacks like, pb & j sandwiches, cheese n crackers, rice krispie bars, power bars and more. We had absolutely no problem bringing in our food. The security checks aren't for food. They are for weapons and for alcohol. One person had to dump his rum into a trash bin. The last two days, we only took one backpack and really stuffed it with snacks and food, still no problem getting through. I don't think you'll have problems carrying food in your bag, but not sure about cooler. I didn't see a problem with any one else bringing in their own food either so hopefully it was a one time problem.

 

[cdntowdw]

We had no problem bringing in a small insulated bag with two cokes, granola bars and carrot sticks into the parks last week. I highly recommend just asking for iced water when you buy your lunch (without the added cost of drinks). I simply added a little Crystal Light Iced Tea mixed and had a refreshing drink (covers up the taste of the plain water).

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says............................................................... We only bring in snacks and water and have never had a problem. Here is what I saw at Fantasmic last week, I thought it was cute. Mom with four sons, probably 3,4,5,6! Out of a cooler she pulled out cookies , juice boxes and four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The kids had a feast, the oldest was even swaying to the music and kicking his feet to the beat! There is no way she"hid" that much food, and it was in a cooler. It probably depends on who checks you and how strict they are. I would bring it!