One day they were here, the next day they were gone. What happened to the Enjoy Life Brand rebranded ‘Snacks with Character’ treats at Disney?
MouseEarMemories reported back in January of 2021 that the Allergy Enjoy Life Brand snack line was becoming hard to find, before it vanished off the shelves by February. Several locations still had the price tabs up through the fall, but as of the holiday season, many of those price indicators have been replaced and the shelves covered up with other items.
For those familiar (and those not) the line included several options by Enjoy Life Brand. There was Disney Brand and Allergy Safe Chocolate Bars, Cookies and Breakfast Ovals. You can see all of the previously available Enjoy Life options, but note that most of them are no longer found in any of the American Disney locations including Disney Cruise Line.
The super sleuths out there will be sad to learn that there isn’t much news when it comes to the Snacks with Character Line at Disney. While we’re always looking for the next best thing at Disney when it comes to snacks and treats in the Allergy and Gluten Free Community, the Snacks with Character Line was a staple.
Here’s our best guesses as to what happened with Enjoy Life Foods Branded Snacks with Character Line
Speculation 1: Disney Canceled their Partnership with Enjoy Life Products
In what would be a surprise to no one, it’s possible Disney World canceled the Enjoy Life partnership. This could be for any number of reasons, the top of which is cost.
Disney has gone through many cost cutting measures and drama with CEO’s and Executives over the last few years, and it would be entirely possible that the Enjoy Life Partnership to supply items for the Snacks with Character Line didn’t make the cut.
More reports are coming out about the Cost Cutting Measures planned for 2023 before Bob Chapek was removed as CEO. It would surprise no one if Disney cut an allergy friendly line in early 2022 thinking that it would go unnoticed.
But, if that was the case, then it would make sense that all of the Price Tags were removed. While we have seen some price tags and staging areas removed for other merchandise, not all locations have removed tags.
At Magic Kingdom, in the Confectionary, the Price Tags for Enjoy Life Snacks with Character Items are still listed. This was taken the second week of January 2023.
Speculation 2: Enjoy Life Products had a back order and Disney got moved to the back of the line
The supply chain issues of 2020 are the gift that keep on giving! It’s still common to hear in the news that there are recurring issues with supply and demand, especially when an area has been hit by one of the current viruses.
Enjoy Life has been somewhat candid online about temporary closures and issues with one or more of their factories in 2020 and 2021, and even voluntary recalls as they face issues with production.
It’s possible that with several backorders, the Snacks with Character line was moved down in the production order and we might see it again in 2023.
This is my guess, as Enjoy Life Food Products are slowly trickling back into my local grocery stores after being gone for months. (And the locations that carried Enjoy Life Seasonal products prior to 2020 still didn’t have Enjoy Life items in 2022 giving further support to a supply issue).
Speculation 3: Enjoy Life Discontinued the Mini Cookies- making the partnership void
The most curious of speculations has to do with the news that Enjoy Life Foods would be discontinuing their Mini Cookies. These were a flagship item offered under the Disney Snacks with Character Line, and a best seller. It’s possible that with the discontinuation, that the partnership was no longer viable.
See here Enjoy Life’s Website Statement
And the Snacks with Character Enjoy Life Mini Cookie option for purchase at Disney
Enjoy Life products (cookies and chocolate bars) are still found at Disney, just in their original Teal Packaging we find in the store
We can still find Enjoy Life products at Disney World, but not in the volume that we previously expected. Now Enjoy Life Products are seldom in stores or even Quick Serves (Home Free Cookies have been seen more often) but common at Table Service locations as a dessert option.
It is most unfortunate as the Breakfast Ovals, the Cookies and the Nut Free trail mixes were fantastic quick snacks that could be purchased and eaten around the parks. They were great for breakfast or late night snacks, and so inclusive with Mickey Mouse and Friends on the packaging. You can still bring them into the parks, and find them at local Whole Foods or place an order through Amazon for pickup or delivery, or order them directly on Enjoy Life Foods.
Regardless of why, we hope that Disney works with other suppliers to have more Top 8 Allergy items available for easy purchase in the stores, especially items that could be used as meal replacements. This is lacking as the current remainder of the Snacks with Character line contains items with the top 8 allergens.
The top 9 allergens as recognized by Disney are: Wheat/Gluten (mixed together, ask in person for specifics!), Dairy/Milk, Soy (typically soy protein, sometimes leaves out lethicin and oil from menus), Egg, Peanut/Treenut (mixed together, ask in person for specifics!), Fish/Shellfish (mixed together, ask in person for specifics!). As of 2023, they are adding Sesame to new menus and menu updates.
We reached out to Enjoy Life Foods and did not receive a response.