There’s a weird problem in Disney World you are probably totally unprepared for.

We’ve encountered our fair share of issues in the parks, from unexpected ride closures to evacuations and technical problems. But there’s one little issue with big impacts that you may not even realize you’ll face in the parks.

Lids. Yes, one little word for one tiny thing that is MISSING from the parks and could cause you a massive headache.

You likely already know that plastic straws generally are not available in Disney World anymore, but did you realize that (generally) you won’t find plastic lids for standard drinks in the parks either? It’s all part of Disney’s effort to reduce single-use plastic waste.

Initially, you might think “No problem. I’ll just drink straight from the cup. What’s the issue?” And maybe you’re totally fine juggling 4 lidless cups of soda and water on a tray that’s also holding your fries, burger, ketchup, and dessert.

But for some of us, one misstep while holding that tray or just one little bump on the floor could cause a bit of (or a massive) spill, without any lids to help keep things in place. 😦

Add in the joy of little ones having to hold a cup of water on their own with no lid and you’ve got…a recipe for a potential disaster. Unless you’re looking to constantly pick up spills or change clothes, you’ll need to look for another solution. Don’t worry, we’re here to help.

First, note that while it is generally the case that you won’t find plastic lids, there may be some exceptions.

We did receive a lid with our Starbucks drink recently, so note that this appears to be more specific to standard Disney drinks.

Let’s assume that you’re getting a standard Disney fountain drink which generally will NOT have a lid. What do you do? Well, you have a few options.

First, you could buy a sipper cup in the parks and place your drink inside of that, and just keep replacing it throughout the day. That could provide you with a fun souvenir and the benefit of a lid (as most of these sipper cups do have a lid). You’ll find different sipper cups available throughout the parks, including some seasonal ones at times.

These can sometimes be awkwardly shaped though, so just be prepared to carry them around all day.

If you’d rather not buy a cup in the parks, you could buy a tumbler cup online with a lid and bring it into the parks with you.

If you want a more traditional tumbler design, you could opt for something like these Simple Modern Insulated Tumbler Cups. They have a flip lid and straw lid, are stainless steel, insulated (so they can keep those drinks cold), and have a limited lifetime warranty.

With over 6,000 reviews and a 4.9-star rating overall, these could be a great buy. You could use them in the parks and use them at home too (or in the car, or in school, etc.). You can get a 24-oz water bottle for $29.99.

Click here to buy one of these Tumbler cups!

A water bottle could also be a good option. If you bring your own reusable water bottle, you can toss it in your backpack, pull it out when needed, fill it with whatever lid-less drink you buy, and then close it up and keep it with you all day long.

If you’re looking for a UNIQUE water bottle, you can opt for the ones on our Disney Food Blog merch shop, like our DOLE Whip Water Bottle or some of the other designs shown above!

Click here to see a list of water bottles that are perfect for the parks

If you want to be fancy you could opt for one of the Starbucks tumblers or travel tumblers.

Some of these are available in the parks, but you may be better off buying the one you want online, in case it sells out in the parks.

Click here to see ALL of the Starbucks cups you can get online!

If you don’t want to have to dump your drink into another cup, but would rather just keep it in the cup Disney provides and somehow get a lid onto that cup, there’s a solution for that too!

On Amazon, you can get some drink covers that even come with a straw hole for $9.99.

These come in a 4-pack, are reusable, and are stretchy so they can fit a decent amount of cups. There are two smaller covers which might not be all that useful with Disney drinks, but there are also two larger ones.

You’ll just want to be careful putting these on Disney’s paper cups as the cups themselves aren’t necessarily as sturdy as a hard plastic or glass cup.

Click here to buy these drink covers

There are a few other types of covers like these, including one that comes in an 8-pack with assorted colors and a straw hole.

That pack is $15.99 and has more of a shower cap look to it.

Check out these drink covers here!

If you want to get really fancy just in terms of carrying your cups around, you could pick up this CarryAround Fold Away Cup Caddy.

It can fold away to fit in your pocket and then open up to help you carry those cups to your table. It doesn’t exactly solve the no lid problem, but it might be convenient in at least helping you carry the cups to their final destination and taking them off of an otherwise unstable tray! Grab this caddy for $9.95.

Click here to grab the fold away cup caddy!

The key here is just to go in prepared. If you know to expect cups without lids then you can prepare accordingly — either by picking up that sipper, bringing a cup from home that you can fill with your drink, or even just asking for extra hands to help you carry the drinks to your table at a quick service spot.

Have you ever experienced trouble with a cup that doesn’t have a lid? What have you done in that circumstance? Tell us in the comments.

And stay tuned for more Disney tips, tricks, and news!

Click here to see a HUGE problem Disney needs to fix and what to do about it in the meantime.

What is a random or unique problem you’ve experienced in Disney World? Tell us in the comments.