Can you Bring Food into Disney World?

Ever just have those burning Disney questions at the top of your mind? Well, we are here to help answer them! The good news is, yes, you can bring food into Disney World. Totally allowed though just with everything else there are some rules that surround this policy. We have even covered a perfect park picnic you can have with your family.

Disney World Food Policy

You are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption. However, the food may not be in glass containers.

You should also keep in mind that the food you bring in should not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration, or temperature control. Of course, as a courtesy, Disney also specifies the food should not have pungent odors.

And one more restriction if you are headed to the Animal Kingdom, be aware that balloons and plastic straws are not permitted for the safety of the animals.

Why Bring Food to Walt Disney World?

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You may be wondering why you would even want to go through the hassle of bringing food to Disney World. I mean what about all those yummy snacks that Disney is famous for, right?

Well, the cost of a Disney World vacation really adds up fast. If you opt to bring in your own food you could easily be saving $10 per snack (snacks run $4 – $8) and then once you add a drink you will find yourself well over that.

If you or someone in your party has food allergies or sensitives bringing your own food or snacks also has a ton of perks. For years I had a dairy intolerance and bringing my own dairy free granola bars not only saved me money but it was a quick snack that I knew wouldn’t make me sick and ruin my vacation.

Types of Food We Recommend Bringing into the Parks?

I think it’s important that you remember the Florida heat when packing food. Not only for what will sit well in your stomach running around on a hot summer day but also what will keep well in a cooler.

First off, don’t bring things what will easily melt, trust me I have made this mistake and cleaning out my bag after was no fun. So this means leave the candy bars at home.

Small snacks are one of my park bag must haves. Not only does this save me a ton of money, it also fuels me whenever I need it. The light snacks I typically go for include:

• Goldfish
• Granola Bars
• Pretzels
• Go Go Squeeze
• Popcorn
• Pop-Tarts
• Gummies
• Trail Mix
• Whole Fruit
• Gum (it’s not sold anywhere on Disney property)
• Bottle water and drinks (HUGE $$ saver)
• And more!

What to Bring Your Food In

Now that you have some idea of what sort of food to bring to Disney World with you here is some suggestions for what to put it in. First off let’s cover what is NOT allowed.

Again there is no glass containers allowed in the park. So any beverage or food should be in a plastic container. If possible I stick with ziploc baggies since they take up so little space and can be tossed when you are done using them.

Now for coolers, you don’t want to go to extravagant with your cooler selection. Stick with a small soft-sided cooler and you will be good. You are limited to a cooler smaller than 24″ (61 cm) long x 15″ (38 cm) wide x 18″ (46 cm) high.

Large coolers like the kind that have wheels and roll behind you are prohibited. This means any cooler, bag, stroller that you pull behind you like a wagon is NOT allowed into any of the Disney theme parks. It was a change bag in 2019 that made big waves.

Another important packing tip is that loose ice is also not allowed into the parks. Why? It makes things difficult for security check. So if you forgot some ice packs just make sure you put your loose ice into a ziplock baggie to contain and that will be allowed.

Where Can You Eat Food You Brought into the Park?

Now that you have your tasty treats packed along with you where do you eat? The park is your oyster there aren’t too many restrictions here. You are even free to take your food and go to one of the quick service locations in any of the parks and enjoy your meal in some air conditioning.

Also, be on the lookout for park benches that they scatter about. There are some fun spots that even have small tables. Think right outside the plaza and ice cream parlor in the Magic Kingdom. They have tons of tables set up and you can take in beautiful views of Cinderella’s Castle. Over in the Animal Kingdom, the Harambe Market is another great spot and even has few great spots for photos. Epcot I don’t even know where to start all the countries of World Showcase have great spot to stop and enjoy a bit, especially during festival season. Lastly, I would head down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood Studios. They have tons of covered outdoor seating and there are always open tables available.

Do you bring in your own food or snacks to the parks? Let us know your favorite things to munch on at Disney World in the comment section below. Also if you have a great spot to stop and eat we want to hear that too!