18 Things You Didn’t Know Were Banned from Disney Parks
Updated: Apr. 02, 2019Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth... unless you had your heart set on bringing your pogo stick.
Pets
This one shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Plenty of Disney princesses might have furry friends, but alas, you still can’t bring yours into Disney parks. However, there is an on-site kennel where your pet can spend the day—and service animals are allowed, of course.
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Musical instruments
Want to start a Lion King sing-along while you’re waiting in line for a ride? Well, you’re going to have to do it a cappella. Musical instruments aren’t permitted inside Disney parks.
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Folding chairs
With the exception of mobility aids and cane-chairs, folding chairs are on both Disney World and Disneyland’s “restricted items” lists.
Drones
The occasionally controversial remote-controlled flying gadgets are not allowed inside Disney parks. Other types of remote-controlled objects, including toys, are not permitted either.
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Wagons
Nope, you can’t pull your young child (or your massive collection of souvenirs) around the park in a Radio Flyer. For that matter, pretty much any item with wheels, including bikes, roller skates, or even suitcases, are banned. Even strollers, which it would be downright silly to ban considering Disney’s large target audience of youngsters, have to be under a certain size (more on them later)!
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Pogo sticks
Sorry, would-be bouncers—the only one at Disney who will be jumping around on springs is Tigger.
Wrapped presents
Planning on celebrating a birthday (or any other gift-giving occasion) at Disney? You’ll have to wrap (or buy) your gifts inside the park limits. All items have to be unwrapped on their way into the parks, so that the employees can see what they are.
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Containers (of a certain size)
You can’t take suitcases, bags, or backpacks into Disneyland if they’re bigger than 18″ wide, 25″ high, and 37″ deep. Wouldn’t you know, that’s the exact same size as the parks’ big rentable lockers. We see what you did there, Disneyland. Coolers larger than that size aren’t allowed either—but yes, you can bring small coolers into Disney.
Selfie sticks
If you want to take a selfie in a Disney park, you’re going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. “Hand-held extension poles for cameras and mobile devices” are not allowed.
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Ashes
Yup, you read that right. No matter how big of a Disney fan you are, you can’t have your remains scattered in one of the parks. In the past, some people did bring ashes to Disneyland, leaving them in some of the parks’ creepier attractions like the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
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Self-defense items
“No weapons in Disney” is definitely a no-brainer. But you also can’t bring items like pepper spray or mace. You also can’t bring anything that looks like a weapon, even a toy like a Nerf gun or a water pistol.
Sports equipment
Leave your helmets, baseball bats, golf clubs, and even Frisbees at home.
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Balloons and straws
This seems like the most random rule of all, but it actually makes a lot of sense. These plastic items are only forbidden from Animal Kingdom, since they could pose a hazard to the animals if eaten. So if you’re hoping to reenact Up, keep the balloons out of Animal Kingdom.
Smoking
Yes, Disney parks do have designated smoking areas—but their days are numbered! In March 2019, the official Disney Parks blog posted a few new and updated rules that will go into effect on May 1, 2019. One of them? A complete ban on smoking, which was previously allowed only in designated areas in the parks. As of May 2019, smokers will only be able to light up in certain spots outside the parks (and yes, that includes vaping). Considering that smoking is also one of the three things never allowed in Disney movies, it’s not too surprising that they’ve also outright banned it from their parks.
Large strollers
Disney parks’ restriction on stroller size is nothing new. You used to be able to bring in your stroller as long as it was smaller than 36″ x 52″, but the newly announced rules require all strollers to be slightly skinnier: 31″ x 52.” The new rules also prohibit stroller wagons, even if they fit within the allotted dimensions, in an effort to “ease guest flow” and “ease congestion.” Should you forget the rule and try to bring in a too-big stroller, though, Disney won’t make you carry your kid; they will have smaller strollers available for rent.
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Ice cubes
Considering that one of Disney’s most beloved, successful films of all time is entirely about ice, it might seem a little harsh to outright ban ice cubes from the parks. But the Disney FAQ page assures would-be visitors that its newly enacted ban on “loose and dry ice” is to allow for a more streamlined bag-check process. Fortunately, you can still bring in reusable ice packs and get cups of ice for free inside the parks.
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