No outside food and drink in WDW parks?

[Nick Pappagiorgio]

Some of these response truly show how entitled people have became. It not like we are talking about a state or national park we are talking about a private company. Yes it been nice but it not like its our right to take outside food in. Heck movie theaters even ban this along with about every other amusement park I have ever been to.

I don't see anyone declaring they have a right to take food in. Most people understand that Disney can make up whatever rules they want. That doesn't mean that people have to like it when they make these changes to the rules. It also doesn't mean that people are not going to complain about it on a discussion forum. There is a difference between entitlement and disliking a policy.

Edit: typo

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The only parks that I know of that still allow people to bring in coolers of food are regional amusement parks like Kennywood.

 

[xdan0920]

They could have various kiosks featuring troughs of baked beans garnished with dead dogs for the rabble. I'd say $12.50 for an RFID enforced 12 minute period of shoveling protein into ye olde pie hole should be affordable for most.

I hope they tuck these away out of sight. I don't want to have to explain to my son why, Poory McPoorpants has to stand shirtless eating from a trough.

 

[Nick Pappagiorgio]

Can someone distill why other people brining in food harms them or their enjoyment of the park? I don't have a strong opinion either way, just curious why this is such an issue for some people.

 

[olie64]

I don't see anyone declaring they have a right to take food in. Most people understand that Disney can make up whatever rules they want. That doesn't mean that people have to like it when they make these changes to the rules. It also doesn't mean that people are going to complain about it on a discussion forum. There is a difference between entitlement and disliking a policy.

You are correct. Some are every close to that though in my opinion. Forums are to complain and we should state if we dislike a policies. I was just calling it how I saw it when I posted that. They have came more around where common sense has won out.

 

[alissafalco]

Is this really a problem in the parks? I've never even noticed anyone with their own food besides the usual baby milk/baby food for a baby.

 

[asianway]

Can someone distill why other people brining in food harms them or their enjoyment of the park? I don't have a strong opinion either way, just curious why this is such an issue for some people.

Kind of like the scene in Blues Brothers where they go get Mr Fabulous

 

[Tay]

If you're talking about Mary Jane, they already have. I learned that the hard way thanks to "Mr. Holier Than Thou Just because I Control When the Barnstormer Starts and Stops".

They allowed that? I was talking about cigarettes. Something that actually affects people unlike something stupid like other people bringing in food.

 

[No Name]

Can someone distill why other people brining in food harms them or their enjoyment of the park? I don't have a strong opinion either way, just curious why this is such an issue for some people.

I don't get the issue with it either. If someone wants to sit somewhere that they can find a seat these days and eat a sandwhich or some snacks, that's absolutely fine by me. I would be bothered if they set up a blanket and ate in the middle of a busy path or decided to have lunch while on a ride (other than the train or riverboat) or something obtrusive like that, but otherwise it doesn't bother me one bit and there's no reason why it should.

By the way, could this be a reason for the removal of benches or is that a stretch?

 

[llrain]

Last year we sat at Donalds restaurantasourus and a family of 4 who appeared south American did just that, they sat down and proceeded to pull out their home made sandwiches, chips and drinks to eat their lunch..at the time I told my wife how dare they bring in outside food basically with some other thoughts thrown in but then after we got home it dawned on me...this family is in the minority who do this...they weren't bothering me or my family when they were doing this and the bigger thought I had was what if this were the only possible way this family would have been able to afford to take this vacation and they have do this day after day in order to give their two young children a disnry vacation..so now I wished I could go back to that day and not be so judgemental the second time around...
I for one feel that in the grand scheme of things it's not bothering you ir me nor honestly is it putting aNY real kind of dent in dis bottom line, just let it go..it hasn't been an issue inthe past for disney why now? Like another poster said, they are acting like it's their going out of business and they are teying to salvage any last penny, literally cause if they are concerned about a handful of guests bringing in their own food each day there must be something going on it just sickens me that they are doing this to people whose only way to give their children a family trip is to byof

 

[Goofyernmost]

As for whether to ban people from bringing their own in? I say, don't make them angry. Sure, you could tell them they can't bring their own food in, but then do you think they'll be inclined to buy desert? Or to buy souvenirs? It would truly be chasing pennies while losing dollars.

First of all, if they by a desert they are going to be plenty thirsty. Second, the markup for food is probably at least equal with the markup for those precious souvenirs. And third, since food is a necessity and absolutely nothing else on the property is, then shouldn't they be upset about those other things before the need for sustenance?

Is this really a problem in the parks? I've never even noticed anyone with their own food besides the usual baby milk/baby food for a baby.

Sorry, I hate to bust another myth, but, back in the "golden days" of Disney that everyone seem to remember with exacting clarity, I'm afraid that people that brought in sandwiches, etc. were far more plentiful then the percentage of those that do now. Theme parks were relatively new and anyone that ever went to a Carnival or Amusement Park knew how high priced food was in those venue's. Back in the 70's and 80's when admission was seemingly so cheap, it allowed more people to enact a strict budget and therefore bringing in lunch was the normal way of affording a Disney trip.

I had some friends that made their first visit to WDW in the mid 80's. They brought in PB&J sandwiches. In a resent conversation that I had with their Daughter, now almost 40, she still shivers at the pain of sitting on a bench eating a sandwich when all that gooey stuff was being sold at the counter service places. It caused her to be totally embarrassed. I would guess that she was around 8 or 9 at the time. She always wanted to go with us because we didn't bring food in. It was, however, something that you would see all the time. Some didn't know that you could bring it in so they would go out to the parking lot at lunch time and have a tailgate lunch. I always was concerned about the fact that their car sat out in that hot Florida sun. I hope they owned a very well insulated cooler.

 

[jaklgreen]

Didn't take long for the "Disney is a business" crowd to show up. Look- I'm fine with no picnic meals- it's the norm. But the "Disney is a business" Mantra is tired and old and ridiculous.
Disney didn't become Disney by just being a business. They took incredible steps and measures that set them apart from being just "a business". If you're ok with Disney just "being a business", then you're ok with Disney not being Disney anymore and going away from what set them apart in the first place.
Love them or hate them, Google, Apple, Facebook, etc all March to the beat of their own drums. They're "just businesses" yet they say to "hell with shareholders, trust us- we know what we're doing". And the money follows. Most of that is because they are the founders and CEOs and run their companies with passion. That gets lost once the generations go on and businesses are replaced with corporate types.

Your "Disney is a business" Bob Iger and crew care about two things- short term stock increase and quarterly/annual executive bonuses. If you think they care about the long term outcome and legacy of Disney- you're delusional. Wall Street doesn't care if Disney is around in 50 years. Heck, they don't care if they're around in 5. Do you? Yes? Then hold them to higher standards and take the words "Disney is a business" out of your vocabulary.

What part of Disney is a business is untrue? Have you seen any documentaries about Walt Disney? The man was far from a saint. Just because you don't agree with how it is being run now does not make it untrue. Being realistic and knowing that things change(even if I don't agree with some of the changes) doesn't make us ridiculous, it makes us realists. Unless you work for Disney in the corporate offices, you have no idea what is going on behind closed doors. How many Fortune 500 companies do you run? A lot of the decisions the Disney parks make are in response to the bad behavior of guests. Changing GAC, raising the cost of stroller rental to a ridiculous amount(because people would stick their 10 year olds that are too heavy in them and break the tires), RFID chips for mugs because of all of the thieves, list goes on and on.

 

[NearTheEars]

That's a new fetish for me...but yeah, I've seen people eating their Big Mac or $5 Footlong out of the bag.

That's a $6 Footlong now. Kinda ruins the old theme song.

 

[llrain]

Now this is something I am all for

If they actually go through with this they need to ban smoking as well.

 

[Goofyernmost]

If they actually go through with this they need to ban smoking as well.

No, if you compare it exactly, then what they will need to do is charge for a place to go smoke. You're talking about completely depriving some of a need. There are plenty of places to go buy food, but, I can't think of one that is a "pay to hack and cough" location. Not the same thing at all, but, nice try.

 

[TangledUpInKnots]

The only parks that I know of that still allow people to bring in coolers of food are regional amusement parks like Kennywood.

Off topic but I LOVE Kennywood....and I dont need to bring food there! Potato patch fries anyone?

 

[Eeyore]

Let's leave smoking out of this please. That debate never goes well.

 

[jaklgreen]

I don't like this at all. Have you guys seen the food choices they have for kids meals? Uncrustables, goldfish "bread" for a turkey sandwich, and some sort of weird chicken nugget product. Maybe if they would make an actual sandwich for the kids it wouldn't be so bad.

When I was a kid they had real bread for the kids meals. When you ordered a PBJ it was made fresh instead of being pulled from the freezer.

Don't have to feed them that just because it is labeled "kids meal". We never ordered kids meals just an extra adult meal for the kids to share. Rotisserie chicken from Cosmic Rays, steak and shrimp from Teppan, etc. My kids never ate mac and cheese or PB&J.

 

[No Name]

First of all, if they by a desert they are going to be plenty thirsty. Second, the markup for food is probably at least equal with the markup for those precious souvenirs. And third, since food is a necessity and absolutely nothing else on the property is, then shouldn't they be upset about those other things before the need for sustenance?

Sorry, I hate to bust another myth, but, back in the "golden days" of Disney that everyone seem to remember with exacting clarity, I'm afraid that people that brought in sandwiches, etc. were far more plentiful then the percentage of those that do now. Theme parks were relatively new and anyone that ever went to a Carnival or Amusement Park knew how high priced food was in those venue's. Back in the 70's and 80's when admission was seemingly so cheap, it allowed more people to enact a strict budget and therefore bringing in lunch was the normal way of affording a Disney trip.

I had some friends that made their first visit to WDW in the mid 80's. They brought in PB&J sandwiches. In a resent conversation that I had with their Daughter, now almost 40, she still shivers at the pain of sitting on a bench eating a sandwich when all that gooey stuff was being sold at the counter service places. It caused her to be totally embarrassed. I would guess that she was around 8 or 9 at the time. She always wanted to go with us because we didn't bring food in. It was, however, something that you would see all the time. Some didn't know that you could bring it in so they would go out to the parking lot at lunch time and have a tailgate lunch. I always was concerned about the fact that their car sat out in that hot Florida sun. I hope they owned a very well insulated cooler.

Yes, if they buy a desert, they may buy something to drink as well. It's like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Is that what you were implying or am I not getting it?

And yes, food is marked up high as well, but my whole point is that it's never good to frustrate people into buying things. In most cases that's not a business model that leads to success. Disney could make the same money elsewhere by letting the guest buy things at their own desire. Plus, by keeping people happy, they are more inclined to return and/or tell their friends about their great trip.

The third sentence you said, I do not understand. Could you maybe clarify?

As for the last part, I can imagine people brought in their own stuff back then. Obviously it was less of a money-saver then, but still, when you go to any new place, sometimes you just feel more comfortable bringing your own lunch. Or if you're planning to eat quickly or don't want to wat in line for food... there are plenty of reasons. I'm not siding with anyone's memory here but what you said doesn't seem to hard to believe either.

So those are my thoughts, I just didn't understand a few parts of what you said.

 

[Tay]

No, if you compare it exactly, then what they will need to do is charge for a place to go smoke. You're talking about completely depriving some of a need. There are plenty of places to go buy food, but, I can't think of one that is a "pay to hack and cough" location. Not the same thing at all, but, nice try.

People don't need to smoke lol. They want to smoke. How is it a nice try when you have pompous people in here saying others bringing in food ruins their experience? I guarantee smoking ruins more people's experience than bringing in food.