Bottled water? Yes or no?

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

I've been thinking about this. We are taking the AT down, so space will not be a problem, but should we take bottled water with us?

It's going to be me, my niece 11 and my 2 kids ages 6 and 8. I'm not carrying in a bookbag or tote. And I'm not planning on a stroller.

So would you bring bottled water with you for the resort only, then when at the parks ask for ice water or should I plan on carrying a bookbag to lug around x amount of bottled drinks?

I'll have enough room in my small purse to carry my camera, cell phone and some of those kool aid packets. But I need some advice on this.

How hard is it to get 4 ice waters for free? I'm not tryin to be cheap, I just don't want to be the one lugging all of this stuff around myself. LOL.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[sardanem]

I know there a a lot of mixed opinions about this, but I hate the taste of the water in Florida. I tried the drink packets and that didn't help. I even have to use bottled water to brush my teeth. I would take them if you can because I think I have spent a weeks salary buying the bottled water in the parks because it is so expensive.

Lisa

 

[3boymthr]

It's definitely cheaper to bring your own water. It's a pain to haul around your own water BUT having a bottle is definitely more convenient because you're not tied to the cup or wasting water because you want to get on a ride and can't take the cup with you. So that I didn't have to haul around youngest DS' (he was 6 at the time) bottle all day we got him one of these:

Sorry it's not the best image. This thing was awesome. It kept his drink cold and he had no problem carrying it around all day. It cost us $10 and it was well worth the money so I didn't have to carry his drink around all day. We bought it at AK but you might be able to find one for less around home.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

We always bring bottled water. We've brought it with us when we drove and had it delivered from Costco when we have flown. DH usually carries some in his backpack but if you don't want to lug them around everyone can be in charge of a bottle. I bought water bottle holders from Walmart last year for $1.oo. They're a carabiner clip and a cord that attaches to the bottle. DD and DS attached the carabiner to their belt loop. They loved being in charge of their own water and not having to ask for a drink. We brought some flavor packets to mask the horrid taste of Florida water when we refilled them.

 

[kimbac3]

We always bring our own. We like the price and the taste much better!!

...or maybe it's the price that makes it taste Much better

 

[coloradodaisy]

Well I'm glad I read this because I was planning to bring our own bottles to refill but if the water is that horrid then maybe I'll just get bottles delivered with our grocery order. It's been awhile since I was there and I have no memory of the water being good or bad!

 

[akcire]

I don't think FL is that bad, it's not the best but not horrible. I live in the Chicago area and have Lake Michigan water which is supposed to be some of the best in the nation. I think many of the people who "hate" FL water have well water at their homes, and are not used to the taste of chlorinated water.

That said, I don't drink any bottled water--all the plastic is horrible for the environment. We take our refillable (Sigg) stainless steel bottles, and sometimes add mix-ins if we need a new taste. We have the bottle holders that disney sells at the parks with blue carbines and our Sigg bottles can be attached and detached nicely.

 

[Planogirl]

I always make a trip to Wal-Mart and pick up what we need after we get there. We can also get the big bottles of water and whatever else we want to drink and snack on.

 

[gr8tdame]

We fly so we order cases of water from Costco and have them delivered to our resort. We have always done this and go through at least 3-4 bottles per day per person.
Water,Zip fizz, airborne and blister block are must haves.

 

[ntink]

You can get free cups of ice water at any of the counter service restaurants. I know it is a matter of taste but I have always thought it tasted fine. Maybe it is just water fountains that do not have good tasting water?

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Having gone to visit relatives in Florida all my life, I have to say that Florida water used to taste horrible to me, but I think maybe with the advent of water filtering things have improved considerably. I know that my kids & I used to not be able to stand the water, but now we are all OK with it, from the tap or water fountains or cups of water from counter service places.

I'm persnickety so I don't think I've changed, I think the water has. JMHO.

 

[ancestry]

All of the Disney owned restaurants will provide you with a glass of ice water for FREE. If you are worried about the taste, bring a full single serving size packets of crystal light, koolaid, ice tea or the like.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Since you are going in August, you will absolutely need to have water with you at all times. Stopping occasionally for a drink isn't going to keep you going in the August heat/humdity..you need to be drinking constantly, especially the kiddos. We saw more people getting physically sick from the heat. We went in June and brought these:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp190602_...nd_fresh/liv_pure_water_filtration_bottle.htm

They were an absolute lifesaver. They have a filter built into the top 1/2 of the bottle. You just twist them open and fill them up. When you drink, the water goes through the filter. We would fill them with ice in the morning before we left the resort, then refill with ice throughout the day at the CS places. You can fill them with water from any of the drinking fountains and the filter made it taste as clean and fresh as bottled water.
HTH.

 

[thej]

Since DS only drinks water, we have kept a bottle in the backpack we lug around on the last few visits. We are going to try aluminum bottles this trip to reduce the plastic waste. We can refill at water fountians and get ice water at meals to add.

You might want to try those nifty bottle carriers.

 

[MEM]

On our most recent trip (August 2009) we brought our Pur pitcher in our suitcase along with four empty water bottles. The pitcher does a great job of making the Florida water palatable. I also noticed that the ice water from counter service tastes much better than from the drinking fountain.

 

[Crystal824]

I would bring water. As others have said, let each person be in charge of their own water bottle or bottles each day. You can refill a bottle. The water in FL is not great, but it isn't undrinkable if you want to just refill your bottles rather than take several into the park each day.

 

[candy0730]

I second the idea of bringing a water bottle that has a filter. When we went to Disney last September we each brought one of these bottles to the parks and they were a lifesaver. They really do filter out the chlorine and the icky taste. We would fill them up in the evening and stick them in the fridge so we had cold water in the morning then just refill at the park later in the day. Someone on Disboards recommended Pure Water 2 Go (I can't copy the link) so that is the kind we purchased. I liked the fact that they are re-usable and I can buy replacement filters.

 

[magik]

I don't think FL is that bad, it's not the best but not horrible. I live in the Chicago area and have Lake Michigan water which is supposed to be some of the best in the nation. I think many of the people who "hate" FL water have well water at their homes, and are not used to the taste of chlorinated water.

That said, I don't drink any bottled water--all the plastic is horrible for the environment. We take our refillable (Sigg) stainless steel bottles, and sometimes add mix-ins if we need a new taste. We have the bottle holders that disney sells at the parks with blue carbines and our Sigg bottles can be attached and detached nicely.

This is what I do as well...take my reusable stainless steel bottle with a holder/strap that keeps the sweat down and allows me to attach it to my belt loops or bag. I refill it in water fountains or ask for free water/ice in quick serves to fill it. I don't mind the taste, but there are always those propel/crystal light/etc. single serve packets to change the taste. No or less waste and no cost since I already have the bottle and use it all the time anyway.

 

[EllenFrasier]

We brought water and then found out that you can get free cups of ice water from the counter service restaurants. It was totally not worth lugging water bottles around. The snacks we brought with us were a necessity though. Otherwise the kids would have been wanting to eat all day long! Have fun!

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

It's a pain to haul around your own water BUT having a bottle is definitely more convenient because you're not tied to the cup or wasting water because you want to get on a ride and can't take the cup with you. .

See I never thought about that. Is there an actual name for the bottle holders that you can with ya? We wouldn't beable to attach them to our belt loops (not the kids anyway).

Keep the comments coming.