Limit to Taking Food & Drink into Parks?

[Fankle]

A different post mentioned that you’re allowed to take in one bottle of water in per person. Has anyone been prevented from taking more than one bottle per person?

Eating out three times a day would be too much for us. We plan on eating a leisurely TS meal most evenings. Breakfast in the room. There will be 8 of us. Lunch will cost c. $100 per day care. I’m debating between CS lunch or bringing snacks with us - both to save money and to save our appetites for the evening. However I’m reading that security can be a real drag if you have a lot of stuff. I was thinking tortillas/flat bread, cold meat, salad leaves. chips etc. Is this now more trouble than it’s worth given the time it takes to get through bag check at security?

 

[dreamfinder912]

You can definitely take more than one bottle per person, but physically carrying more than one can be a pain (literally) you can get cups of water for free at any location that has a fountain (not like kiosks where they only have bottled everything)
since youre a party of 8 you'll take a while getting through security anyway. those lightweight string backpacks are pretty ideal, you can shove a water bottle, umbrella, and some munchies in there without difficulty and since theyre really just one giant pocket security can sift through the contents easily (as opposed to a giant backpack with 800 pockets)

 

[Fankle]

Thanks - that’s helpful. We have tended to pack day-bags for all eventualities in the past, taking turns to carry a couple of rucksacks. Light-weight rain jacket, first-aid kit, sunglasses, sun-cream, spare contact lenses, cameras, spare batteries/fuel cells, water (one in hand, one frozen for later), snacks.....

I love the ideas of travelling light and no-one needing to carry anything but we have always used everything we’ve taken...

Bringing just one botttle of water each and filling them at water fountains would definitely cut-down the weight.

I guess we’ll play it by ear - see how we get on on the first day.

 

[John park hopper]

If I am not mistaken once in the park you can rent a locker to keep non refrig lunches so you are not lugging them around if you are looking to cut costs

 

[Legendary]

The only limitation is that they don’t allow rolling hard side coolers. Any counter service will give you free cups of ice water. We usually bring some Crystal Light to add to the water. We typically bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix, fruit and other snacks. We bring breakfast from home and eat in the room while getting ready. Eat our packed lunch in the parks and then buy dinner in the parks. Buying only one meal saves us a ton of money. With the money we save on food we can have a slightly longer vacation.

 

[Fankle]

Thanks everyone,
I think we'll let everyone carry their own rain jacket and one bottle of water through security. We'll bring concentrated flavour to counteract the taste of the Florida water (if it's an issue) and fill the bottles in the park. That way we only need bring a basic lunch/snacks in a small-soft-sided cooler in a back-pack to keep us going. Sounds like a workable compromise.

Think we'll try to avoid renting a locker - not so much because of the cost but because it will save back-tracking to fetch everything at lunch time. We don't need an elaborate lunch. It'll encourage us to keep it simple!

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Just go to the around the world Coke fountain at Epcot when thirsty.

I hear the Beverly is delicious.

 

[tampabrad]

Not to sound negative, but carrying all of that stuff all day just sounds miserable. And $100 for 8 people at QS is a low estimate. That's about $11/pp before tax. I would budget closer to $125-$150 for QS and double that for TS.

 

[drizgirl]

Not to sound negative, but carrying all of that stuff all day just sounds miserable. And $100 for 8 people at QS is a low estimate. That's about $11/pp before tax. I would budget closer to $125-$150 for QS and double that for TS.

I'm sure they don't carry stuff around because it's fun. For some people just getting into the parks is a stretch. That extra $100 (or more) per day might make the difference between going and not going.

 

[larryz]

I'm sure they don't carry stuff around because it's fun. For some people just getting into the parks is a stretch. That extra $100 (or more) per day might make the difference between going and not going.

This will sound harsh.

Maybe it's time to block all outside food and drink. Again.

 

[drizgirl]

This will sound harsh.

Maybe it's time to block all outside food and drink. Again.

Why?

It wouldn't bother me. I never bring food or drink. But I don't care if others do.

 

[Fankle]

it’s not a question of being able to afford to eat in the park. It’s a question of what we choose to eat when. I’ll be setting a budget of about $3,000 for eating out for the whole trip. We prefer to spend that on more leisurely TS meals in the evening. We don’t have big appetites and the CS portion sizes are generous. We don’t want to fill-up at lunch time to the detriment of our evening meals. (Sharing lunches etc is why I estimated the CS cost to be c.$100 per day.)

Bringing snacks and water would suit the way we eat. However, since we last visited, it sounds like the security bag checks have stepped up a gear and @tampabrad is right, zipping around the parks unencumbered would be more fun..... Could hire a locker but that means returning to fetch stuff..

Just debating the options (and I appreciate your input). What I definitely don’t want to do is to have this debate with my party each morning when we should be hitting the rides....

 

[correcaminos]

This will sound harsh.

Maybe it's time to block all outside food and drink. Again.

I hope not. Until Disney carries better snack assortments, I do not want to rely on therm if going with a diabetic or small child. Heck baby food would also not be allowed.

Not to mention how snobby your content seems to me.

Though bringing food for meals I to a hot park doesn't appeal either. I would rather split meals or do kids meals or something like that if I didn't want to spend so much money.

 

[disneygeek90]

it’s not a question of being able to afford to eat in the park. It’s a question of what we choose to eat when. I’ll be setting a budget of about $3,000 for eating out for the whole trip. We prefer to spend that on more leisurely TS meals in the evening. We don’t have big appetites and the CS portion sizes are generous. We don’t want to fill-up at lunch time to the detriment of our evening meals. (Sharing lunches etc is why I estimated the CS cost to be c.$100 per day.)

Bringing snacks and water would suit the way we eat. However, since we last visited, it sounds like the security bag checks have stepped up a gear and @tampabrad is right, zipping around the parks unencumbered would be more fun..... Could hire a locker but that means returning to fetch stuff..

Just debating the options (and I appreciate your input). What I definitely don’t want to do is to have this debate with my party each morning when we should be hitting the rides....

Another solution to the large QS meals is ordering a kids meal. Many times it's just enough for a light lunch, and run about $6-7.

 

[Lets Respect]

Why would folks want to see outside food banned? I know why Disney would want to ($$$)

 

[CaptainAmerica]

it’s not a question of being able to afford to eat in the park. It’s a question of what we choose to eat when. I’ll be setting a budget of about $3,000 for eating out for the whole trip. We prefer to spend that on more leisurely TS meals in the evening. We don’t have big appetites and the CS portion sizes are generous. We don’t want to fill-up at lunch time to the detriment of our evening meals. (Sharing lunches etc is why I estimated the CS cost to be c.$100 per day.)

Bringing snacks and water would suit the way we eat. However, since we last visited, it sounds like the security bag checks have stepped up a gear and @tampabrad is right, zipping around the parks unencumbered would be more fun..... Could hire a locker but that means returning to fetch stuff..

Just debating the options (and I appreciate your input). What I definitely don’t want to do is to have this debate with my party each morning when we should be hitting the rides....

You're going to get looks. Busting out a loaf of bread and a pound of deli ham in the middle of Epcot is extremely tacky, like a grown man wearing basketball shorts to a nice dinner. I would recommend skipping the TS dinners and doing CS for both lunch and dinner. It's one thing to bring granola bars and bottled water, it's another thing to bring sandwich ingredients and assemble entire meals for a family of 8.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I hope not. Until Disney carries better snack assortments, I do not want to rely on therm if going with a diabetic or small child. Heck baby food would also not be allowed.

What? That's not even close to accurate. Airports ban liquids through the security checkpoints but you're still allowed to bring breast milk, formula, water for children, medicine, etc.

Not to mention how snobby your content seems to me.

He's right. People lack class and it affects others around them trying to enjoy the environment. There's a line, and people abuse it because social norms and behavioral standards have decayed.

Though bringing food for meals I to a hot park doesn't appeal either. I would rather split meals or do kids meals or something like that if I didn't want to spend so much money.

Agree.

 

[GlassHalfFull]

OP.. you do you.. make sandwiches if you want, or just carry a few drinks in and small snacks, there are plenty of quiet places throughout the parks to enjoy your time(thinking the side alley on Main Street, the patio behind flame tree in AK, the seating behind fairfax fare in the studios, and plenty of spots around the park in Epcot) so you don't get people who tell you that it is equal to wearing basketball shorts to a steakhouse..

We usually eat a breakfast at the hotel/in the room and then bring a small snack/single sandwich/drinks/bag of chips to share to get us thru the morning followed by shared CS meals as well. I have never felt like people hate me for busting out sandwiches, or snack food, or honestly worried if they thought anything like that.

You do you! I am well aware that not everyone can afford, or even wants to eat all Disney food all the time and I am with you on that!

 

[correcaminos]

What? That's not even close to accurate. Airports ban liquids through the security checkpoints but you're still allowed to bring breast milk, formula, water for children, medicine, etc.


He's right. People lack class and it affects others around them trying to enjoy the environment. There's a line, and people abuse it because social norms and behavioral standards have decayed.


Agree.

They said all food from the parks. We're not talking TSA.

I say again, until Disney has better snacks for diabetics and small children I wouldn't want ALL food banned. This is as someone who has not brought food into the park since their youngest was three or four years old. This is including bottled water. So it's not for me, it's for other people that I know really do have a near need to bring snacks into the park

 

[nickys]

They said all food from the parks. We're not talking TSA.

I say again, until Disney has better snacks for diabetics and small children I wouldn't want ALL food banned. This is as someone who has not brought food into the park since their youngest was three or four years old. This is including bottled water. So it's not for me, it's for other people that I know really do have a near need to bring snacks into the park

Exactly. If you are diabetic, you need things like dextrose tablets, to get the blood glucose levels up fast from a hypo. But some use jelly babies, cartons of juice. And you need snacks of 10-15 g of carbs typically. And everyone will have their own particular things that they like. The last thing you need to be doing is queuing to get snacks that they may or may not actually eat all of.

So if you allow those things through, how do you screen out other people,bringing in snacks? Only diabetics and children under 1 can have food/drink items? What about those on a restricted diet?

It would be a minefield to try and restrict it on medical grounds, especially with the US laws on what they can and can't ask for by way of proof.