Can You Bring Outside Food Into Disney World?

Food can be one of the biggest costs when planning a trip to Walt Disney World! While we love to grab something from one of the many restaurants and concessions, it’s not always friendly to the budget, especially for large families!

Let’s talk about bringing outside food into Disney Parks!

To answer your question, YES! It’s allowed. You can actually save a TON on food and snacks by bringing your own food.

A great way to see how much you’ll save is by checking restaurant menus in the My Disney Experience app ahead of time. Things like single bananas and croissants can whittle away at your vacation funds if you’re not careful, so it’s nice to bring easy grab-and-go things along.

Packing a Lunch at Disney World

There are some things to consider when packing in your lunch, though. For example, only soft-sided coolers are allowed into the park. Similarly, you cannot bring a rolling cooler into the park.

When keeping things cool, all ice must be contained in a plastic bag. This helps breeze through the security screening, as they do not allow “loose ice” in a cooler. This is especially helpful to remember if you are using the ice machines at the resort when preparing for the day. We always like to pack extra zip-top bags in our luggage and park bags anyway- this is one of the reasons why!

What Food Can You Bring to Disney?

When deciding on beverages, please remember you are unable to bring outside alcohol into the parks. You’ll also want to refrain from bringing glass bottles. You can bring plastic bottles and closed cans. If you have access to a freezer during your stay, frozen water bottles make great ice packs that you can drink throughout the day.

We absolutely love to budget in a few purchased treats throughout the day, but snacks, especially, are a lifesaver to bring with you. Fellow parents can imagine the power of goldfish over a hangry toddler. Fellow spouses can imagine the power of a granola bar over a hangry spouse.

Keep snacks and other food tidy, ideally being able to be eaten with minimal touching or cleanup. I mention the touching bit because you’ll find your kids touching every surface imaginable- handrails, walls, rides, merchandise… I put a lot of faith in hand sanitizer, but the more I can keep food contact to a minimum, I do.

Can I Have Groceries Delivered?

You betcha! We get groceries delivered to the hotel using our Walmart+ account from back home! We have also used Shipt, Instacart, and UberEats! You can pay for your groceries and tip your driver right in the app.

If you are at the parks or not yet arrived, bell services can receive your grocery order and hold it for you. On one occasion, they had even delivered it to the room and stocked cold items in the cooler. That was years ago, and it’s never happened again. Pixie dusting, perhaps? If they receive and hold your order for you, don’t forget to tip!

Pro tip: If you have a stroller available, bring it with you to pick up your groceries- it makes the walk back to the room far more manageable! I even use my giant carabiner to consolidate grocery loads or clip them to the stroller handlebar!

Can I Have Beer, Wine, or Alcohol Delivered to Walt Disney World?

Absolutely! We love a good cocktail at the end of a long Disney day. We save a ton on our “bar tab” by having a bottle delivered to the resort with our groceries. On our most recent stay, we were able to order it with our grocery order.

Things to keep in mind: Watch the delivery time. Not only do you have to present your ID to receive the delivery, but deliveries containing alcoholic beverages cannot be delivered late into the evening. Bell services can receive a grocery delivery, but they cannot receive a delivery with alcohol on your behalf.

In Summary

You can save a ton on food during your Disney trip with a little bit of planning! Bring all the (allowed!) things that make your stay enjoyable and a little more budget friendly!

Food can be one of the biggest costs when planning a trip to Walt Disney World! While we love to grab something from one of the many restaurants and concessions, it’s not always friendly to the budget, especially for large families! Let’s talk about bringing outside food into Disney Parks! To answer your question, YES!…