Question of the Week - Can I Bring My Own Food to Walt Disney World? - #WonderingWednesdays

It seems that whenever you visit an amusement park, they do not allow outside food or drinks because they want you to buy their own products. Walt Disney World is not like that. You can bring your own food or drinks into the parks except alcohol or products that contain drugs (they have security dogs sniffing those out). If you plan well, this can save you a lot of money and headaches.

Can I bring water bottles? Soda cans? To-go drink containers? - Yes, yes and yes. You cannot bring glass containers except directly into the resort hotels (like wine bottles, etc).

Can I bring to-go lunch? Can I bring picnics? - Yes and yes.

Can I bring in a cooler full of food? - Only coolers smaller than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (61 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm). Also, loose or dry ice is not permitted in these containers.

Can I bring fruit? - Yes. Keep in mind the Florida sun is not very kind to bananas so keep those out of direct sunlight or you'll end up with a mushy mess.

My personal food tip - I bring fruit in containers (especially washed strawberries and blueberries) or oranges and place them in a bag that hangs on the side of my stroller so they don't get squished. And the kids can reach in and take what they want as we go along. This is the bag that I purchased and since it attaches with velcro straps you can use it on a variety of strollers:

Hope that helped!

Question of the Week - Can I Bring My Own Drinks on Carnival Cruises? - #WonderingWednesdays

Carnival (and other cruise lines as well) are happy to sell you a Drink package which includes certain drink options for every day of your cruise. But, they can get expensive. And they don't always include your favorite drinks. So, the question for this week is: Can I bring my own drinks on board the Carnival Cruise? So I hope I can clear this up with the following answers:

Bottled Water - No

Canned Water - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Bottled Soda or other Drinks - No

Canned Soda - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Energy Drinks - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Juice or Milk - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cartons per person or less

So a family of four can bring four cases.

I've seen people tie these cases to their luggage or bring carts specifically for their drinks.

Keep in mind, I've also seen a lot of people carrying those same cases back off the ship at the end of their trip because they didn't drink it all.

Prefer to buy from Carnival instead? Here are their current pre-purchase drink prices: $11.95 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for a 12-pack of bottled water (16.9-ounce bottle/500-ml bottle)
$4.50 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for 1 large bottled water (50.72-ounce bottle/1.5-liter bottle)
$24.95 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for 8-pack of bottled water (50.72-ounce bottle/1.5-liter bottle)

Hope that helped!

Question of the Week - Do I Need to Dress Up for Dining on Carnival Cruises? - #WonderingWednesdays

I'm not sure why, but people who want to cruise get a lot of anxiety about what to wear. Perhaps it's because there's a feeling of being stuck in the middle of the ocean without a nearby Walmart? Or perhaps because luggage capacity is limited? In any case, a lot of people ask me about dress codes and I hope this post will be able to answer those questions. I'm mainly focusing on Carnival because that's who I've travelled with so I feel comfortable answering with some first-hand experience.

Buffet Restaurant (aka Lido Marketplace), Eateries Around the Pool (such as Blue Iguana, Pig and Anchor, etc), Casual Cafes - Very Casual Attire - Pool clothes are acceptable but please don't come in dripping-wet (you may fall). Adults and teens should wear shirts/coverups. Shoes are required (and honestly the floors are sticky and dirty so highly recommended).

Sit-down Restaurant for Breakfast - Somewhat Casual Attire - I've seen people wearing pajama pants and shirts. Pool clothes that look like normal clothes seem fine. Adults and teens should wear shirts/coverups.

Sit-down Restaurant for Dinner on a regular night - "Cruise Casual" (not quite Business Casual) - I tend to think about golf courses when I describe this look. Nice shorts/pants/capir pants/nice jeans. Most men wear polos but I've seen nice tshirts. No offensive shirts or anything your grandma would look at sideways. Dresses that are appropriate. You will see diners like to be dressy.

Sit-down Restaurant for Dinner on formal night, Steakhouse Restaurant, Fancier Restaurants, etc - "Cruise Elegant" (Business Casual or better) - I've seen both super-formal and more businessy-style attire, so whatever makes you comfortable. No shorts/capris. Higher-quality shirts are fine. Polos or dress shirts and pants or slacks for men. Nicer dresses or pantsuits for women. Suits or evening gowns are not common. No flipflops or too casual shoes. I personally wore nicer sandals and felt fine.

Caveat - if you are planning to buy photograph packages, they often have photographers going around the restaurants (not the buffets) taking pictures. So keep in mind if you want to wear nicer clothes.

Hope that helped!