# "no outside food allowed" policies?



## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

I can't stand when places do this -- when they say you can't bring in your own food. I'm talking about places like ball parks, movie theaters, amusement parks, etc. where they even search your bag for food when you enter. We actually only visit places like this maybe once or twice a year but still, it drives me crazy. I especially hate how they say it's 'for the safety of our guests' when it's really because they want to charge $15 for a hot dog.

ANYWAY... so these places never have anything healthy or nutritionally balanced, and forget about anything vegan! Standard fare is hot dogs, nachos smothered in fake cheese, etc.

So what do you do in places like this? Assuming you will be there long enough to require food at some point (for me, that's anywhere I spend more than 2 hours). I will admit I always smuggle food in. I stuff sandwiches in my coat pockets, carrot sticks in a disguised container at the bottom of my bag, etc. We do allow "treats" in our house but honestly, I consider amusement-park-fare more 'poison' than 'treat.'

Just wondering if I'm the only smuggler







and if this policy drives anyone else insane!


----------



## lness (Jul 14, 2009)

Another smuggler here! I'm like you - that blood sugar needs to be kept up, and I usually bring water too since I'm prone to dehydrate myself into a migraine otherwise. I've never had them check the bags all that thoroughly though, just a quick peek in the top and move on, so it's never been a problem to have a baggie of snacks or something plus my water bottle tucked in way down at the bottom, under everything else we've got with us.
No guard or employee or anything ever said anything when we were walking around nibbling & drinking either, so I think it must not be that rare.


----------



## Masel (Apr 14, 2008)

My DD has allergies and even though everyone has been good about us bringing in food I always stress about getting that one hard ass employee who will give us trouble.


----------



## junipermuse (Nov 1, 2006)

If its really important to me to get in outside food because there isn't another healthy alternative, I bring my own food in and I lie or embellish the truth by saying I'm on a very strict diet doctor's orders and I can only eat my own food or I could get sick. Or I say the snacks are for my toddler because she's really picky or she has allergies (only a half lie because she does have allergies, but she can and does eat ballpark food anyway) I've never had a problem with that reasoning. I think they would get upset if you were bringing in your own hotdogs and popcorn and obviously just trying to get around their whole charge-a-fortune-for crap-food scheme. But if it's obviously stuff you can't get inside they can't really argue. If someone got sick eating their food it would cost them a whole lot more money than losing out on a the sale of a couple of hotdogs and nachos.

That being said there are a lot of places like amusement parks and such that have picnic areas and lockers right outside the park and you can always just bring food, store it in the locker, and eat it outside. So that's another option.

Also some places do have healthier options now, even if not 100% healthy. When we were at Disneyland last Feb, they had a bunch of stands that sold a huge variety of fresh fruit and maybe some cut up veggies too. When I go to the ballgame with my parents we go down to the bbq stand and have real meat (chicken or ribs) instead of a hotdog filled with nitrates and who-knows-what. For me I like to bring in healthy snacks to supplement whatever I might buy from the amusement park/ stadium. So if I'm hungry I'm not stuck feeeding myself a constant stream of junk, but I usually don't mind a bit of junkfood either.


----------



## catnip (Mar 25, 2002)

Even though Disneyland has an official "no outside food" policy, I have never had a problem bringing my own food and water through the gates (lara bars, fruit, nuts, fruit leather, even wrapped sandwiches).

For my birthday, we splurged on a lunch at the FANCY FANCY restaurant in the park, they were easily able to accommodate a vegan meal and salad, but there wasn't a vegan dessert (and c'mon? Birthday!). So I pulled out the Alternative Baking Company cookie in my backpack, and the waiter chuckled and brought me a clean plate to eat it off of.

A movie, if the popcorn isn't vegan, I usually just cope.


----------



## kjbrown92 (Dec 13, 2007)

I bring food in for my kids and me because of food intolerances. Have you looked at the prices of the concessions at those places? That's where they earn a ton of their money! I haven't had a problem yet with our explanation, when they search our bags either.


----------



## Bri'sgirl (Apr 4, 2009)

I have no problem bringing in my own food into places. There was a news story (really, it was a sob story) from a theater owner saying that the concessions were their only source of income...movie tickets didn't make money. That may or may not be true, but my kids are very sensitive to any food colorings and additives, and I'm not going to chance most food items. I do bring in my own EVOO/CO popcorn without any guilt, since the other crap is full of transfats. There is only one theater that we eat their popcorn, since their a hometown theater and use real ingredients.

As far as other places go, most aren't that picky, as long as you're not bringing in alcohol. They may search your bags, but you can camo things.


----------



## mommy212 (Mar 2, 2010)

one time my grandma smuggled fried chicken into a movie theater. It was hilarious







But yes, I too would and have smuggled in food. No reason not to!


----------



## Purple*Lotus (Nov 1, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bri'sgirl* 

As far as other places go, most aren't that picky, as long as you're not bringing in alcohol. They may search your bags, but you can camo things.









My MIL *can I still call her that if I am divorcing her son?!) and I went to a skating event once. They found my 8 oz bottle of water well concealed under a ton of stuff in my bag, so they took it. She, however, got in just fine with a piece of cheesecake *yes, cheesecake* sitting right on top in her bag. Hilarious. I guess a bottle of water is more dangerous to the skaters than a slice of cheesecake


----------



## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

i don't follow the rules.


----------



## kittywitty (Jul 5, 2005)

I ignore the rules most places. Some like concert venues I can't because they frisk you (but usually let you bring in water at least!). Otherwise I bring my own. I've never been in trouble for it, but especially when my little ones had severe dairy allergies, I was not going to risk it. At one all day concert fest in Indy several years ago, they let us leave to go get food and come back since she had food allergies.


----------



## alireb (Apr 17, 2010)

I always bring food with me - snacks for my son and normally some snacks for me. I haven't had any issues with it. We went to a hockey game and the policy is no outside food and they searched my bag, found the snacks for my son but I told them they were for him and they were fine with it. I doubt they'd keep food from a baby/toddler.


----------



## CookiePie (Jan 9, 2009)

I regularly sneak popcorn into the movie theater & no one has ever noticed. Theme parks annoy since they tend to have no good options, so I usually just keep the cooler in the car & go back to the car to eat lunch.


----------



## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

I work for a place that has a "no outside food" policy. I hate it, especially since the only food we offer is deep fried, extremely processed, or coated in sugar.

If I see people sneak food in, I let them be. Or let them know to hide it better


----------



## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

Americans: related question:

We are visiting the states for 3 weeks in June, and now I am wondering how many of the places we are visiting are going to have such a policy? We will be at disney, beaches, san diego zoo, sea world, phoenix, flagstaff, grand canyon, las vegas... Now I don't mind an occasional hot dog or coke or whatever, but if this is day after day I will start feeling ill, and the kids will get crazy (DS for sure will get sugar high and wild and then crash like a zombie). We had planed on buying a cooler when we arrived, and often packing it for the day with some fresh whole grain bread, sandwich toppings, fresh veggies, fruit, eco milk... Will it be possible to bring this to these places? I don't mind buying a soda or ice cream once we are there, but I don't want to buy coke and french fries and burger and cotton candy and ice cream and...


----------



## sunnysandiegan (Mar 5, 2008)

I can speak for beaches, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World....

The beaches are not a problem at all. Bring what you want, except glass containers. Those are not allowed and not encouraged due to breakage issues.

The zoo actually has some decent food for decent prices. Check their website for any policies regarding outside food. We've had annual passes many years and usually brought in our own food (or someone in our playgroup would). I don't even recall any checkpoints....

Sea World is going to be a pain. Their food is crap and way over-priced and they have been very thorough in the past at the checkpoints. We stopped getting season passes and stopped going partly due to food issues. They have lockers, but they are just inside the gates (after security). They also have picnic grounds, but these are intended for corporate parties. A cooler in the car will be fine, except for the heat. Bring things that won't actually spoil or cause illness if not kept below a certain temp. Check their website, also, to see if their policies have changed. I've heard ownership changed, so maybe there is hope!


----------



## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

AllisonR, I would definitely suggest looking into cooler options to see if there is anything that will keep your food cool enough in a locked car on a hot day. I'm on the east coast so I can't say anything about the specific places you're visiting, but many, many places have this policy so you may want to check their websites. Almost all places will allow you to leave & re-enter, so eating in your car is an option (though not a particularly enjoyable one, who wants to eat in a parking lot? plus it's a pain) but make sure you bring stuff that won't spoil if you can't get a really good cooler. The food is not horrible everywhere, some places have OK options (check their websites), but most do seem to be more along the lines of soda/hot dogs/greasy pizza/etc. so if you can't sneak in food, you're stuck...


----------



## sunnysandiegan (Mar 5, 2008)

I had to jet earlier, but now I am back. I read through your list again. Of all the places you mentioned, the only ones you are likely to have a problem are Disney and SeaWorld. And there are probably at least a couple of decent places to eat in each. You'll pay dearly for the food, but those two places are pretty strict about outside food (at least in all-day quantities). The rest of the places should be fairly easy to bring your own cooler/food and/or offer healthy choices in restaurants.


----------



## OkiMom (Nov 21, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AllisonR* 
Americans: related question:

We are visiting the states for 3 weeks in June, and now I am wondering how many of the places we are visiting are going to have such a policy? We will be at disney, beaches, san diego zoo, sea world, phoenix, flagstaff, grand canyon, las vegas... Now I don't mind an occasional hot dog or coke or whatever, but if this is day after day I will start feeling ill, and the kids will get crazy (DS for sure will get sugar high and wild and then crash like a zombie). We had planed on buying a cooler when we arrived, and often packing it for the day with some fresh whole grain bread, sandwich toppings, fresh veggies, fruit, eco milk... Will it be possible to bring this to these places? I don't mind buying a soda or ice cream once we are there, but I don't want to buy coke and french fries and burger and cotton candy and ice cream and...

I can speak for most of those places, no problem bringing food in. You might get a security person who will joke with you (one told me he needed to sample my home made cookies to make sure they were safe for human consumption but as I said it was a joke, we all got a good laugh out of it). Ive brought food into the zoo, sea world, disney and there were no problems. I even brought a cooler into the zoo and Disney with no problems. Especially if you are traveing with children.


----------



## lerlerler (Mar 31, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AllisonR* 
Americans: related question:

We are visiting the states for 3 weeks in June, and now I am wondering how many of the places we are visiting are going to have such a policy? We will be at disney, beaches, san diego zoo, sea world, phoenix, flagstaff, grand canyon, las vegas... Now I don't mind an occasional hot dog or coke or whatever, but if this is day after day I will start feeling ill, and the kids will get crazy (DS for sure will get sugar high and wild and then crash like a zombie). We had planed on buying a cooler when we arrived, and often packing it for the day with some fresh whole grain bread, sandwich toppings, fresh veggies, fruit, eco milk... Will it be possible to bring this to these places? I don't mind buying a soda or ice cream once we are there, but I don't want to buy coke and french fries and burger and cotton candy and ice cream and...


we have year passes to Disneyland (I'm a local. they're fairly cheap)Disneyland checks bags as you enter security... HOWEVER, they are NOT checking for food as there is a picnic area past that point (but before the actual park). So I bring a backpack STUFFED with food and eat anywhere we wish. A cooler may get you looked at entering the actual park, but a backpack? no troubles... and I mean we eat ANYWHERE!!


----------



## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

Haha I was just thinking next time I go to one of these places I am going to hide tupperwares of food inside some pocket diapers


----------



## limette (Feb 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bri'sgirl* 
I have no problem bringing in my own food into places. There was a news story (really, it was a sob story) from a theater owner saying that the concessions were their only source of income...movie tickets didn't make money. That may or may not be true, but my kids are very sensitive to any food colorings and additives, and I'm not going to chance most food items. I do bring in my own EVOO/CO popcorn without any guilt, since the other crap is full of transfats. There is only one theater that we eat their popcorn, since their a hometown theater and use real ingredients.

As far as other places go, most aren't that picky, as long as you're not bringing in alcohol. They may search your bags, but you can camo things.









It's totally true. My dh's recently acquired a license to show old movies and not only is there a yearly fee but a huge % of ticket sales go to the licensing companies as well. Theatres that show new movies pay even more. Nevermind the equipment expenses. It's crazy.


----------



## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:

There was a news story (really, it was a sob story) from a theater owner saying that the concessions were their only source of income...movie tickets didn't make money.
Yup. True at the movie theatre I worked at. For the first few weeks of a movie's run, nearly all the money goes to the distributor. After 6 weeks or so the percentage gradually goes down, but of course fewer people come to see the movies. So our struggling cinema used to hold onto movies for months, way after anyone was interested in seeing it, because they got a higher percentage of the (few) ticket sales after 12 weeks. Which didn't really enhance the cinema's up-and-coming image.








But yeah... any money we made came from popcorn and frozen Coke. All that said, we let people take food in! We might quibble about hot food, which smells and is distracting, and a few managers wouldn't allow milkshakes because spilled rancid milk is hard to get out of seats... but chips, cookies, ice creams bought from the ice cream shop downstairs? We let it go. It wasn't worth it to offend people.

We did get closed down, though.







Died a slow, grisly death from lack of profits. Soooo, yeah.


----------



## stephienoodle (Jul 28, 2007)

Disneyworld in Orlando has changed their official policy about outside food. We were there in March and you can bring food in as long as it isn't in a large/rolling cooler. Oh, and the security guy joked that red apples are prohibited... a risk for Snow White, you know.


----------



## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

Most zoos will not allow you to bring in outside food. Check their website or call ahead. You can probably still sneak something in if it's concealed well or at least not too conspicuous.


----------



## MamaJenese (Aug 14, 2006)

You are allowed to bring food in to the Sandiego zoo just no big/rolling coolers, they have picnic areas there too.


----------



## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

Wow, thanks everyone for the inside scoop! We will be sure to get a decent cooler that can hopefully take the heat in a locked car, at least for a few hours. And we will bring a decent backpack as well.

OP, sorry about the thread hijack!!!


----------



## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

Allison -- another San Diego native here. We've never had problems with limited "kids snack" foods anywhere, including Disney (though SeaWorld can be iffy). Never had a problem with water bottles. None of the big corporate venues (Disney etc.) will allow coolers inside though and they would a pain to deal with in those crowds anyway.

However, if you aren't completely picky about organic/local/"perfectly healthy" food all of these also have for-purchase options that might work reasonably well. Sort of depends on your standards, but both Disney and SeaWorld sell fresh fruit, fruit juice (actual juice), water and similar at various places in the park. Legoland is even better, if you can fit that in. They all have salads at the restaurants and you can find non-fried entrees. Disney will sub carrots for fries on their kids meals. Again, they won't be organic or local, but at least they will be carrots.

Feel free to PM if you need any more inside/local info.


----------



## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AllisonR* 
Wow, thanks everyone for the inside scoop! We will be sure to get a decent cooler that can hopefully take the heat in a locked car, at least for a few hours. And we will bring a decent backpack as well.

OP, sorry about the thread hijack!!!

No problem, hijack away!!







Hope you have a fun trip, you're making me want to travel!


----------



## CookiePie (Jan 9, 2009)

We went to Disney World last year, we had the free dining plan but did bring in snacks & lots if water bottles Which are big $$ at disney) in a soft sided cooler & they never said a word. I do remember reading somewhere no glass, nothing that could go bad like deli sandwiches, & no hard or rolling coolers. But Disney did have fruit & some other good options. Our local zoo allows coolers & has a picnic area.


----------

