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Does anyone else have like 30 plastic Disney World bags in their closet from trips gone by that you just can’t bring yourself to throw away? We know they’re just cheap plastic bags…but they’re part of the Disney experience!

It’s not unusual to spot us leaving the Disney Parks with one too many of these shopping bags when new merchandise has tempted us beyond what we can resist. But soon you may begin to see these bags less and less often — and they might be disappearing altogether from Disney World!

Recently, we’ve noticed that Disney has been handing out some mismatched bags at the gift shops. It’s nothing too crazy — we’ve just seen customers receive bags in unusual sizes or even clear plastic bags instead of the Cinderella Castle ones.

We spoke to a Cast Member at the Creations Shop in EPCOT about this, and they told us that Disney is getting rid of the Disney Parks plastic bags. According to this person, Disney is no longer receiving shipments of the bags, and by 2023 they plan to stop using them altogether.

Once the bags are gone, the only option will be to bring your own bag or purchase a reusable one from Disney stores. A couple of Cast Members at ImageWorks confirmed this news and told us that the medium-sized plastic bags are quickly running out, which has left many shops with just the large or small sizes or clear plastic ones.

Now, this information is coming from just a few Cast Members, and Disney hasn’t recently made any kind of announcement about the plastic bags. So while we can’t confirm absolutely that this is happening, we can report on what we’ve seen so far in the parks.

However, the shift from plastic to reusable bags isn’t totally surprising. Back in 2018, Disney announced their plan to begin reducing single-use plastic in the theme parks, which included getting rid of all single-use plastic straws by 2019. According to Disney, this has already led to a reduction of more than 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers per year.

In 2018, Disney said, “Over the next few years we’re transitioning to refillable in-room amenities in our hotels and on our cruise ships, reducing plastics in guest rooms by 80 percent. We will also reduce the number of plastic shopping bags in our owned and operated parks and on our cruise line, offering guests the option to purchase reusable bags at a nominal price.”

Disney CEO Bob Chapek (who was the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products at the time), said, “Eliminating plastic straws and other plastic items are meaningful steps in our long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. These new global efforts help reduce our environmental footprint, and advance our long-term sustainability goals.”

In the future, Disney also plans to completely eliminate polystyrene cups at all Disney parks. Their long-term goal in terms of environmental sustainability is to “work to achieve zero waste to landfill for our wholly owned and operated parks and resorts by 2030.”

If you’re visiting Disney World soon and would rather not purchase reusable bags in the parks, you can always bring your own! We found a set of 12 reusable shopping bags on Amazon, which come in a variety of patterns and fold down to fit in a small zipper pouch.

The bags are on sale now for $23.99 (down from $34.99)! And the best part is that you can keep using them even when you get home from your vacation to reduce even more single-use plastic waste.

Click here to buy the reusable shopping bags.

We’ll continue to watch for more updates from Disney World about the plastic bags, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news.

If you’re getting ready to visit Disney World and want to do some planning, check out our DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining. 

We’ve compiled all of our BEST tips and tricks from years of Disney World travel into one eBook that you can download to your tablet or smartphone and take with you! We’re offering our readers 25% off with code WDW2022.

Click here to check out 7 Disney World packing essentials on Amazon Prime.

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What do you think about the shift from plastic bags to reusable ones? Let us know in the comments.

The post Are Plastic Bags DISAPPEARING from Disney World? Here’s What We Know. first appeared on the disney food blog.