Travel Guides Family Friendly Disney
Sarah Gilliland
Disney parks vacations are known to often come with a hefty price tag. It is possible to plan a Disney vacation without busting your budget. One way to save money during your trip is to bring your own food for meals or snacks. For large families or families with picky eaters, having familiar foods available to eat cuts down on time and money spent in restaurants, and it helps ensure finicky eaters have something to eat. The ability to bring your own food and drink into Disney World may sound appealing, but there are some rules to follow if you choose to bring your own food.
Walt Disney World states, “Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption … ” It also says that guests should let a Security Cast Member know if they intend to bring food or beverages through security and into the theme parks.
There are some rules for bringing food to Disney World
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Like other rules for their theme parks, Disney parks want to ensure their guests enjoy their visit safely and without interruptions. Informing Security Cast Members of food and beverages in a backpack or cooler will speed up the security screening process. Additionally, knowing the resort’s rules and regulations before your visit will ensure you comply with them correctly.
Disney World lists prohibited items that apply to their theme parks, water parks, hotels, and Disney Springs. Glass containers, with the exception of small containers such as baby food jars, are not allowed on the property except at Disney World hotels. Alcoholic beverages are also not allowed unless they are being consumed at your hotel. Certain restaurants at Disney Springs allow guests to bring their own wine, but corkage fees will apply.
These same rules apply to Disneyland visitors in Anaheim, California, and its shopping and dining district, Downtown Disney. Disneyland also offers guests a picnic area with tables, chairs, and umbrellas located just outside its theme parks. The picnic area is free for anyone who needs it.
How to pack food and drinks for the theme parks
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Disney parks will not provide guests with refrigeration, heating or reheating, or other forms of temperature control for personal food and beverage items. The best way to control your food’s temperature is with a cooler of some kind. Disney World states, “Suitcases, bags, coolers or backpacks, with or without wheels, larger than 24″ long x 15″ wide x 18″ high … are not allowed in any theme park or water park.” These measurements are slightly larger than the most common size allowed for an airplane carry-on for size reference.
Also, dry ice and loose ice are not allowed, but reusable ice packs are acceptable. Additionally, over the past few years, Disney World has transitioned to paper straws throughout its resorts and theme parks, and plastic straws are prohibited at Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. We recommend packing reusable straws if you dislike paper straws, as we do.
