Can You Bring Your Own Food to Six Flags St. Louis?

EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2026, Six Flags St. Louis was purchased by a new owner, Enchanted Parks. This post reflects the new owner polices, which are more or less identical as the old owner policies, including much of the same policy language.

Going to a big theme park costs money. You’ve got to pay for park admission. You may also have to pay for parking. And there are, of course, the other costs that can creep up, like souvenirs.

And food. It’s no secret that theme park food isn’t exactly cheap. Try feeding a family of four for one or two meals at a theme park, and your credit card bill will have a thing or two to say about it.

Six Flags St. Louis, like all theme parks, sells food. And yes, it’s not cheap.

Still, you might not want to eat at the park. Maybe it’s price. Maybe it’s because your doctor told you to cut back on saturated fat and sodium. Maybe it’s just because you don’t care for theme park food.

Whatever the reason, there is an alternative to buying food in the park.

Does Six Flags St. Louis let you bring food in?

Into the park itself? No. On the park policies page, the park says: “Food, beverages, coolers and grills may not be brought into the park. All bags brought into the park are subject to security screening by park personnel.”

There are a couple of exceptions. One is allergies. A second is baby food. The park policies page explains:

No outside food, beverages or coolers are allowed to be brought into Six Flags St. Louis. However, exceptions are made for Guests with special dietary needs to include food allergies and baby food/formula. Guest should contact Park Security or Guest Relations when they arrive at the Park for approval to bring in special dietary foods. The special dietary food containers will be marked and dated to clearly show that they have been approved for entry into the park.

What about bottled water?

There was a time when you could get free cups of water from almost any vendor in Six Flags St. Louis. After the Cedar Fair merger, the policy trimmed that down significantly, and there aren’t all that many water fountains in the park. This being St. Louis, with its toasty summers, water is kind of important. We don’t yet know what the new Enchanted Parks ownership will do.

We couldn’t find any language in the park’s FAQ about bringing in water. In the past, we’ve brought individual disposable plastic water bottles into the park and to date have not gotten any problems. We haven’t tried stainless steel water bottles or reusable plastic water bottles, but we could imagine that metal water bottles are more likely to attract attention in security, so we’d probably avoid them if we could.

What other options do I have for places to eat?

The parking lot offers a surprisingly good spot, if you use it right.

There are grassy medians set all over the lot, including along the ends and in between the General Parking and Preferred Parking sections. You’ll find scattered trees there, too.

Tailgating on the medians is a time-honored tradition at Six Flags St. Louis. When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, I’d see families all the time spreading out blankets under the trees outside of what was then called Six Flags Over Mid-America.

That hasn’t changed. While it’s not a crowd, you’ll still see families gathered under the trees along the medians, eating their lunches in the shade. We’ve brought blankets and lawn chairs and had a nice time out there eating.

Bear in mind that, per the park FAQ, “grilling and/or open flames are strictly prohibited on park property (including the parking lot).” Coolers in the parking lot are okay, though.

Bonus: if you eat out of a cooler, you get to watch the trickle of people headed into the park.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re looking to buy food in the park, you certainly can. You can also bring limited food into the park if you have serious allergies or are bringing infants with you. For most people, though, the park prohibits you bringing outside food or drink. We’ve been able to bring in plastic disposable water bottles, but anything more than that and you risk security turning you away.

Fortunately, you are able to eat your own food out in the parking lot, and there are even grassy spaces where you can drop a blanket or some lawn chairs. We’ve done it many times, and we’ve seen others do it, too. You can’t bring a grill or open flame, but you can definitely haul a cooler onto the grass and have a nice picnic.

However you eat at Six Flags St. Louis, we hope it’s a great day at the park.