What you can and cannot take in to the parks?

[dsjmeadors]

Is there a sticky thread, or list SOMEWHERE, that im missing.

Dh wasnts us to pack our lunch each day, we have a small softsided cooler to put into a locker. Can that go in? And what can go in as far as food? Any restrictions.
Thanks so much!
We will be there Dec 22 through Jan 2 if that makes any difference.

 

[bicker]

This is a very common question on the DIS, so much so that I wrote to Disney and got their official answer:

Dear Brian,

Thank you for contacting WALT DISNEY WORLD!

With the exception of food items for guests with specific dietary restrictions, we do not permit guests to bring food and beverage items into our theme parks.
Generally, however, plastic bottles for water, juice, etc. are allowed.

We hope this information is helpful, and we look forward to future opportunities to entertain you.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Please include your full name, E-Mail address, and reservation number if applicable on all correspondence, and allow up to 80 hours for response to E-Mail.

Thank you - and have a DISNEY day!

Sincerely,

William Ferguson

On Line Guest Service
WALT DISNEY WORLD Reservations
P O Box 10,100
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0100

Disney requests that guests voluntarily comply with their policies. You'll essentially be on your honor, since security is looking for dangerous things (like hard-sided coolers or glass bottles), not violations of operational policy.

 

[dsjmeadors]

Great thank you. I would have hated to throw away turkey or anything at the gate!

 

[karenbtx]

On our last trip we took lunch in our back pack. Non perishable items of course. We never had any problems getting through security. It saved time and money. Some people think it's being cheap but I don't care. This trip we have the dining plan. I'll find out if it is worth it.

 

[minnierocks]

We have always taken snacks and water into the park. Each of us have our own little bag with snacks and drinks. It saves a lot of money and stops our kids from constantly asking for snacks. Their snacks are for them to dig into whenever they want. It was a lifesaver when they were younger and had trouble waiting in line...they would pull a little something out of their bag and munchaway.

 

[dsjmeadors]

Thanks again,
I do plan on bringing bagged snacks and water. ,maybe then we can just grab a hot dog at a counter service or something.

 

[disnut8]

As long as you are not bringing in a full size lunch in a hard sided cooler, you will probably be fine. Although I recommend another bag than an obvious cooler. I always take snacks and a water bottle in. Two sandwiches should be fine. I have taken Uncrustables in with no problems (you might want to check those out for PB&J). I would suggest that you eat your lunch on a bench and not at a seating area of a counter service restaurant.

 

[officer tigger]

for the last five years we have taken our lunches into the parks everyday. I never knew what the policy was on bringing food inside.
We always pack sandwhiches, drinks, and snacks for all four of us. The cooler fits under a stroller easily and security never said anything.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The following is a clip and paste fromk the Guest Policies section of the Cast Portal:

Disney Theme Parks

* Full-size coolers, with or without wheels, are not allowed.
* Coolers smaller than 24" length x 15" width x 18" height (which mirrors the large locker size) are allowed.
* Coolers will be inspected for glass and alcoholic beverages which are not permitted.


-- Disney Water Parks

* Coolers are permitted including wheeled coolers
* No wagons are allowed
* No glass containers or alcoholic beverages allowed
* No storage area for coolers is provided

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

Guns, plastic explosives I have seen alot of people taking food in to the parks. I seen one guy driking out of a 2 liter when i went in 04.

 

[drag n' fly]

I think the parks are pretty tolerant. We always take a packed lunch into the park at DL and find a nice shady spot and eat it and they have never said a word once to us. We do however never take seats from food paying customers within the park.

 

[Gdad]

My kids have food allergies and we regularly bring in their own food & drinks. No one has ever questioned us at all- even when they check the bags and see the contents.

 

[blessedby3]

We always bring lots of food/snacks and drinks also and have never been told we cant. We even had one CM say last year "wish I could hang out with you guys today" after he checked our bags.

 

[mickaholic4077]

I have been bringing in my own food and drink for over 15 years and have never been stopped by anyone. The only things you aren't allowed are glass containers and alchoholic beverages.

 

[marciemi]

On our last visit we saw a family passing around one of those gallon sized orange juice containers. I was thinking, if you're going to go to the hassle of carrying that, would a few dixie cups take up that much more space?

 

[jensen]

Here's an interesting story about people bringing soft-sided coolers into the parks... I was waiting to see the Incredibles and they were taking a long time to come out, so I walked up to a CM guarding the rope line to ask about when they may be coming back. He wasn't rude, but didn't really want to talk to me - he was acting kind of weird. As I continued to stand there waiting, I noticed another man dressed as a tourist standing on the other side of the rope line and I wondered why he was lucky enough to wait there. A few minutes later two police officers in uniform showed up with a dog and the man in "tourist" clothes motioned them over to a soft-sided cooler. The dogs sniffed around and then they opened up the cooler. I could see that it was filled with food. Apparently some family had walked away without their lunch and Disney feared it could be a bomb or something dangerous. I had heard that Disney has lots of cast members around the park dressed as tourists doing "security" work and I saw it first hand. Based on this experience, I was really surprised by how much they let people bring into the parks, but I guess they have't had a bomb come in, yet. So, until the worst happens, we can still take in pretty much whatever we want.

 

[bicker]

I wouldn't be surprised about what they let people do. Disney's perspective is that they rely on the integrity of their guests to comply voluntarily with most of their policies, rather than relying on draconian enforcement. They're all about customer satisfaction and confiscating things isn't the way to satisfy a customer. If you ever have a chance to talk with the security guards they'll tell you that they're there only to worry about safety, not policy.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

At the water parks the Greeters, and not Security, will inspect coolers. When we find nacceptable items, most of the people had not realized the potential problem.

Starbucks (from grocery stores), Snapple, Pickles, Salsa, some Mayonaisse and other things come in glass. We are a beach and people are barefoot. And do you know how hard it is to get broken glass out of sand!

Also, we have an on-premises liquor license, so it is illegal to bring in your own alcoholic beverages and not just Disney policy.

Normally we will give people three choices. One is to return the item(s) to their car. Two is the nearest trash can. Three (but not for alcoholic beverages) is we will get them a couple of large plastic cups to transfer the tiems to.

I have seen people drink their Starbucks right away and then throw out the bottle. We will not allow this for alcoholic beverages since that would involve consumption in the park and a violation of our liquor license.

And, of course, we cannot accept any items for safekeeping as (a) there is no place to store them and (b) we are not allowed to accept reesponsibility. Also, we may be somewhere away from the gate when the people return.