Food might be as important to the Disney World experience as rides, shows, and characters. Even people who aren't visiting the parks specifically for a culinary experience end up with heavy exposure to the theme park complex's restaurants because, in a long day spent in the Florida sun, you need to eat and drink.
Most people who visit a Walt Disney (DIS) -) theme park, however, see food as part of the experience. All four Disney World parks offer unique eating experiences at all price points.
Related: Disney World makes long-awaited change visitors will love
You can have a fine dining meal at any of the company's Florida parks, but you can also pick up food at a kiosk. Epcot has become the focal point of the Disney World dining experience as there is nearly always some sort of festival at the park which brings dozens of pop-up dining locations.
Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios don't have as many kiosks, aside from the ones selling snacks and desserts, but they do offer a lot of quick-serve restaurants. These are popular choices for people who need to eat but don't necessarily want a dining experience.
Disney World has made its quick-serve restaurants even quicker since the social distancing days of the covid pandemic. They offer app-based ordering where your order can be ready for you as you walk into the restaurant.
That's a wonderful convenience for park visitors, but Disney's latest move is the opposite of that. The theme park giant has made a change that's less convenient for Disney World visitors, but is a money saver and (maybe) a money maker for the company.
Image source: Walt Disney
Disney takes away a key dining convenience
In recent years, food has become an even bigger revenue driver at Disney World. The company has used a mix of smaller portions and price increases to protect its margins amid higher costs.
Disney does not make any change without an eye on the bottom line and its latest unannounced dining update is good for the company and bad for customers. Theme Park Tourist spotted and reported on the unpleasant change.
Walt Disney World has changed its disposable, single-use dining policy once again at its quick-service restaurants, making paper straws and plastic lids only available for guests who specifically request them. These items have been completely removed from self-service beverage areas and now must be asked for when ordering. If a guest forgets to ask for these items, they will have to go back through the line to ask for them, as they are not available anywhere in the dining room.
Lids and straws make it possible for people to take their beverages with them when they leave a restaurant. That's a valuable perk given how much Disney charges for a bottle of water, a soda, or other beverages.
Disney actually began making these changes in 2018 when it eliminated plastic straws, according to a company spokesperson. People have noticed the changes because the theme park giant has added some new signs drawing attention to the policy.
Disney goes green to save money
Disney World has a multi-year plan designed to have its theme parks produce zero waste by 2030. In theory, cutting down on lids and paper straws helps meet those goals.
In practice, making it harder for people to take their drinks with them when they leave a restaurant likely means an increase in beverage sales which increases waste.
This is a double win for Disney. The company gets to save some money on beverage lids and paper straws while also almost certainly selling more drinks.
Disney does have very ambitious environmental goals and some of those also produce revenue opportunities for the company. Disney World is, for example, trying to cut down on paper and plastic disposable shopping bags. To do that, the company is selling reusable bags.
It's sort of a green begets green policy that might be good for the planet, but it comes with real costs for Disney World visitors.
