Supply of Food & Snacks in Hotel Room

[2BoysMum&Dad]

In the UK, keeping a supply of food & drink in your room in a hotel is frowned upon or not permitted by the hotel. Although they often turn a "blind eye" to this practice.

What is "the norm" at Disney on-site hotels? Are we able to keep a supply of bread, cereal, snacks etc without being in trouble with the hotel?

2BoysMum&Dad

 

[dizneykid]

Hi,

The last time we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge we brought alot of snacks. We also brought cheese, crackers and water and soda. We rented a little refrigerator and it was great. From reading the boards here many families bring snacks, especially ones with small children. Disney never frowns on that stuff. I have never heard anyone complain.

Have fun, bring snacks and enjoy.

 

[liznboys]

We brought a bag full of snacks on our last trip, mainly for our then 3.5 yr old and 17 month old. We also brought a couple of boxes of dry cereal, disposable utensils and bowls, and every morning my husband would go to the resort store and get us some milk. We'd eat breakfast right there in our room everyday-saved time and money! We also had juice boxes and granola bars for the kids. With little ones, I think bringing your own snacks for the room is a great idea! And it's certainly allowed in the resorts. We had our little "kitchen" set up on the table in our room, so the maidservice saw it every time they cleaned up in there. Sometimes they'd set it all up nicely for us, even though we kept it pretty organized.

 

[Funkyzeit mit Bruno]

We always bring lots of food. Not just snacks but also bread and cold cuts and stuff like that, and beverages of all kinds. We bring a cooler and refill it with ice when we get in at night and before we leave in the morning. I don't think it is frowned upon in U.S. hotels.

 

[CarrieAP]

We make a grocery stop and arrive at the hotel with bags of groceries, which they happily hang from the luggage cart. This is a very acceptable practice at WDW, so feel comfortable taking whatever you like.

 

[Tina26]

When we stayed at All-Stars a couple of years ago, we made the mistake of not bringing snacks. We spent a fortune that year running down to the food court everytime we wanted a little snack. We will definitely bring snacks from now on.

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

Is there an off-site grocery store near the Epcot area? We are staying in the Caribbean Beach Resort hotel and hope there is somewhere not too far away where we can make regular visits.

2BoysMum&Dad

 

[susy]

Bring food!!! DH had to brave the rains to get us dinner one night at PC!

 

[keswick1uk]

Are we actually allowed to bring food from the UK into the USA? I can remember being asked at immigration if we had any food in our luggage. We didn't, so it wasn't an issue, but they must have asked for a reason> Does anyone know the score?

We were intending to do a grocery shop on the way to the hotel in orlando.

 

[otownguy]

Yes there are off site grocery stores in Lake Buena Vista. In the crossroads there is a Goodings grocery store (expensive). A little farther down Apopka-Vineland Road (turn left coming out of disney property), there is a Winn-Dixie grocery store that is a lot more reasonbly priced. There is also an ABC liquor store next to Winn Dixie for Adult beverages. As stated before at Disney hotels you can rent a refrigerator for your room, so you can keep whatever you like in your room. Enjoy your visit.

 

[s&k'smom]

Oh I highly recommend bringing some snacks. We actually mailed a package to our hotel last time we brought DS. It was invaluable as he is the pickiest eater ever created. I plan to use www.netgrocer.com to order some things online to have mailed directly to our hotel in October.

 

[CEDmom]

As others have posted you can have snacks in your room and I would highly recommend it. There are several grocery stores around WDW as well as a huge WalMart. I know we've brought packaged food home from Ireland so I assume you can do the same from the UK. Customs normally frowns upon fruits, veggies, and most meat/cheese products. That still leaves crackers, chips, candy etc. If you're going to be in the states for a while I'd even recommend bringing some of your favorite snacks since you may not be able to find them here (except perhaps in the Epcot UK pavillion). Several years ago we were in China for a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I was dying for a familiar snack like pretzels or popcorn and couldn't find any.

 

[ahutton]

I don't know if it is just me, and I get the convenience factor, but the prices on NetGrocer seem pretty high... It looks like soft drinks are about $3.85 a 6-pack for brand names. 20 ounce bottles are $1.55, maybe less than inside a park but the hotel store might be right around that? Anyone have any experience or can they confirm?

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, you can bring food from the UK to the US, I do it all the time when I return from visiting family. There are restrictions, mostly involving meats, dairy products and fresh fruits/vegetables, but most cooked, processed package items are OK as long as they are still factory-sealed. I've even carried tinned fruit back home.
See this link for the FDA restrictions: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/travel/usdatips.html

You can bring items like biscuits and crisps, or breakfast cereals, with no trouble at all, just keep the packages sealed until you are through customs. Bottled sauces, preserves, pickle, etc. are also fine to bring in, though if you are flying a UK carrier, it's probably not worth using your baggage allowance on such heavy items. (US-based carriers don't weigh cabin baggage, so I can get away with bringing back quite a few of my favorites at no charge!) If the item is something that might spill en route, be careful to seal it in something leakproof with an absorbent filler.

 

[keswick1uk]

Great, thank you. I knew there had to be a reason! Now I don't have to make sure I eat all the choccies I take on the plane in the last hour of flight )

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

When taking food from one country to another, a bit of common sense has to be used. And, if I'm in doubt I will check beforehand, especially before getting into those long queues when we arrive at Sanford Airport! Thanks for the link NotUrsula, I will now go and check it out!

2BoysMum&Dad