There are a lot of rules surrounding entering Disneyland, and it’s hard to remember them all, especially when it comes to what is and isn’t allowed in the park. No matter your reasoning for wanting to bring in your own food, you need to know the rules so you aren’t caught unaware.
Thankfully, Disneyland has only a few rules surrounding food and drinks in the park, and they’re pretty simple. Read this article to find the answer to the question, “Can you bring food into Disneyland?” as well as some tips and tricks to make your day easier.
Can You Bring Food Into Disneyland?
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Disneyland doesn’t have any problems with letting its guests bring food into the park. Though they push people to try their restaurants, they also don’t turn away those that have food. There are a few rules you have to follow though.
The basic guidelines are as such:
- No glass containers except for baby food jars
- No alcohol
- No knives, even butter knives usually
- Coolers have to be soft-sided and fit the size requirement
- No drag-behind coolers or hard-case coolers allowed
- Loose ice and dry ice aren’t allowed
- No strong odors are allowed
- No foods that require refrigeration or heating are allowed
- Reusable water bottles and hydration packs are permitted
- Any non-alcoholic drinks are allowed, including sodas, water, and sports drinks
- If security believes your drinks contain alcohol, they have the right to toss them out
Besides these rules, the rest of the rules are fairly lax. There’s no limit on how much food you can bring into the park, so long as you follow Disneyland’s bag guidelines.
Overall, it’s pretty simple and uncomplicated. Disneyland focuses on making sure people are happy and enjoy themselves, while not causing inconvenience to others with things like potential broken glass, unpleasant odors, or coolers that get in the way.
Since there’s no limit on the kinds of foods you can bring besides an unpleasant smell, you don’t have to worry about security tossing out your homemade snacks or meals. Whether you decide to go with pre-packaged foods or homemade ones, you can rest assured that your carefully planned meals will get through security in one piece.
4 Tips For Bringing Food Into Disneyland
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So those were the rules, but what about tips to make life a little easier? If it’s your first time to Disneyland, you don’t want to be caught unawares or lost on what to do or pack. Here are some tips to make your trip even more enjoyable.
1. Eat at the Picnic Areas
If you did bring a hard-sided cooler or one that is too large, you don’t have to necessarily leave it behind in the car. Just after security, there is a picnic area with lockers. You can rent a locker to leave your food behind. Then, you just come back for it when you’re hungry.
The lockers do cost money, but not nearly as much as it would be to feed your whole family at Disney, and this way, you don’t have to worry about going through security several times whenever your kids need snacks.
If you don’t have enough stuff to need a locker, you can use any of the picnic benches or shady areas throughout the park to sit and eat, especially if you bring a small picnic blanket.
2. Break Up Your Food
If you have kids that get hungry every few minutes, and you don’t want to waste time in the park running to the lockers and back every time they need a snack, it’s a good idea to break up your food.
Put the actual meal items, like sandwiches, chips, salads, or whatever food you brought in the cooler. Bring along a soft-sided cooler bag as well and fill that one with easy-to-eat snacks like fruit snacks, pre-cut fruit, cheese sticks, and so on.
When you stop for lunch, refill your snack bag. This reduces the time you spend traveling back and forth through the park and makes it easier to convince your kids they don’t need all the delicious snacks located throughout the park.
3. Bring Frozen Water Bottles
Since you aren’t allowed loose or dry ice in the park, you have to do something else to keep your food cool. Ice packs are a great option as they last a long time, and keep your food cool without releasing too much condensation that will get everything soggy. The downside of ice packs is that they’re usually bulky and take up a lot of freezer space that could be used for food.
Another solution is frozen water bottles. Take your reusable water bottles, or go buy a pack of water from the store and freeze them. Then, put these in your cooler to keep your food cold. These will pass through security and keep everything the temperature it should be.
As the water bottles melt throughout the day, they also provide a nice and refreshing drink. This way, you make sure you stay hydrated and cool, and so does your food.
4. Focus on Easy-to-Eat Food
While you might want to show your family how much you love them by bringing a whole meal with entrees, appetizers, and side dishes, you want to be practical. You’re likely not going to sit around and enjoy a meal.
With the park being so expensive to visit, you want to make the most of your trip and not waste precious time setting up a meal, eating, and breaking everything down afterward. Instead, pick quick meals and snacks that are ready to eat, preferably with your hands.
As for snacks, you want the same. Pick snacks that are easy to eat with your hands, but don’t leave much of a mess, like crackers, trail mix, cheese sticks, carrots, celery, beef jerky, and fruit snacks. Chips like Cheetos and Doritos might sound like a nice easy snack, but they lead to messy orange fingers that stain your fingers and all your clothes.
Sandwiches and meat and cheese roll-ups are classic options. So are meat, cheese, and cracker trays, whether you make them yourself or buy them at the store. It might not be the healthiest lunch, but for one day it’s a great and quick option to let you get back to the rides as soon as possible.
Plus, meals with a lot of mess like soups or pasta with a sauce make for a messy cooler and stinky tupperware at the end of the day. Sandwiches only leave a few crumbs, or can easily be placed in a disposable bag and thrown away when done.
