Anywhere to keep breastmilk frozen at Disney resorts?

[mfulk]

We are staying at the Polynesian and I need to bring frozen breast milk for our youngest. I know they have the fridges with the colder part in it but it's not actually a freezer and not big enough to keep 10 days of frozen milk. Do they have actual freezers anywhere that can be used?

 

[DannysMom]

Is this a child you are lactating for? Could they just get fresh milk for the duration of the trip? Or if you have stopped lactating and only now use frozen milk you may want to introduce some formula in case you run out of frozen milk or have a power outage and lose your stash.

If using the frozen milk is a priority consider switching accommodations to one with a full kitchen either a DVC resort 1 or 2 BR or the cabins at Ft Wilderness they would have a full size fridge with freezer.

 

[Karenj2]

I tried to look up how long frozen milk could last in the fridge, but all I found was that refridgerated milk can last 6-8 days, frozen up to a month...

I think that the milk would probably still be good for your entire trip even if it ends up thawing. Also, you might be able to adjust the temp of the fridge, and could put it on the coldest setting... We once made that mistake at PopCentury, and froze a bunch of food.

 

[cpster]

Thawed breastmilk is only good for 24 hours.
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/

I'm not sure if even a cooler refreshed with ice a few times a day would work. Maybe you could do a test run at home with one bag? I've personally never had great luck with hotel mini-fridges keeping even cow's milk cold enough to my liking. We find it colder doing ice in a cooler changed out several times a day.

 

[Mama Who]

I tried to look up how long frozen milk could last in the fridge, but all I found was that refridgerated milk can last 6-8 days, frozen up to a month...

I think that the milk would probably still be good for your entire trip even if it ends up thawing. Also, you might be able to adjust the temp of the fridge, and could put it on the coldest setting... We once made that mistake at PopCentury, and froze a bunch of food.

No, no, no! 24 hours max once it thaws after a freeze.

OP you will probably need to look into accommodations with a real freezer if you need to store frozen milk for 10 days. I considered suggesting dry ice, but I'm not sure about the specific logistics of that, so do some research before you try it. I believe milk donors use dry ice for shipping, so it should be a possibility.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC villas have refrigerators with freezers. But if you are staying at the Polynesian you may need to check with the resort if they might have someplace where you can store your frozen milk.

 

[Schmeck]

Just keep using whatever you're using to get the supply to WDW - a cooler, I'm assuming? You can get free ice at the resort ice machines.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I imagine they would have some sort of fridge/freezer available that you could use. It might not be convenient, though. I know that before fridges became common in hotel rooms, my sister used to have to ask ahead of time if there would be a fridge available for my nephew's insulin supply. Does a club level lounge have a full-size fridge or is there one in the prep area? Maybe they could give you CL access to use it. They store grocery deliveries in the Bell Services area, so surely there's a freezer there. You'd have to label everything very well and probably keep it in a separate bag to keep it all together, and then you'd have to go to get what you need every day. May be easier to just use a soft-sided cooler and stock up on ice at the ice machine a couple of times a day.

 

[tyzzle]

Is this a child you are lactating for? Could they just get fresh milk for the duration of the trip? Or if you have stopped lactating and only now use frozen milk you may want to introduce some formula in case you run out of frozen milk or have a power outage and lose your stash.

If using the frozen milk is a priority consider switching accommodations to one with a full kitchen either a DVC resort 1 or 2 BR or the cabins at Ft Wilderness they would have a full size fridge with freezer.

I know two women who strictly pumped for their children for a year due to cleft palates, and neither wanted to use formula. Since pumping consistently in the parks can be a daunting task, it is only logical that you would need to bring along frozen milk as well in such a situation. Without knowing the poster's circumstances your comments could come off as a bit rude. She is just asking a question, not for advice on how to feed her child.

 

[DannysMom]

I know two women who strictly pumped for their children for a year due to cleft palates, and neither wanted to use formula. Since pumping consistently in the parks can be a daunting task, it is only logical that you would need to bring along frozen milk as well in such a situation. Without knowing the poster's circumstances your comments could come off as a bit rude. She is just asking a question, not for advice on how to feed her child.

I did address the question in the next paragraph.

I have exclusively pumped for two of my children as well. What you read as rude is really just me trying to be short and concise. I have 2 1/2 year old twins who often keep me busy & distracted and my posts short.

Furthermore if one is exclusively pumping you MUST continue to pump on a daily basis inconvienient or not or you risk losing your (hard won) milk supply and/or mastitis (a painful breast infection.) So fresh milk would be easier (if possible.) And the formula was merely a suggestion, since if you are reliant upon a frozen milk supply either your own or donor milk, loosing your stash is a very real worry.

No real need to be offended on the OPs behalf. I'm sure she is a big girl and if she (or he) was offended she could have posted herself. Would be happy to clarify or elaborate.

 

[linzbear]

They do have refrigerated & frozen storage at the resorts (we've used it for food when transferring resorts and we had to wait for our room to be ready).

I have no idea if they'll allow you to store frozen breastmilk for 10 days though. Can't hurt to ask.

 

[tms295psu]

Not ideal, but for piece of mind you could buy a mini freezer on Amazon (about $100). Ship it directly to your resort, most ship free. Who knows... you could start a "freezer swap!"

 

[LilyWDW]

I imagine they would have some sort of fridge/freezer available that you could use. It might not be convenient, though. I know that before fridges became common in hotel rooms, my sister used to have to ask ahead of time if there would be a fridge available for my nephew's insulin supply. Does a club level lounge have a full-size fridge or is there one in the prep area? Maybe they could give you CL access to use it. They store grocery deliveries in the Bell Services area, so surely there's a freezer there. You'd have to label everything very well and probably keep it in a separate bag to keep it all together, and then you'd have to go to get what you need every day. May be easier to just use a soft-sided cooler and stock up on ice at the ice machine a couple of times a day.

I doubt this would happen because most likely it would be for holding food for the lounge. This means it would most likely be considered food prep and no outside foods/drinks would be allowed back there. It's a food safety issue.

 

[SweetMissy]

My only suggestion would be to stay at a resort that has a fridge/freezer. Or stay off site at a condo or something. There's no way that a typical resort mini fridge will be good for your milk. Like someone else said, thawed milk is only good for 24 hours, fresh pumped milk is good for maybe a week. This all reminds me, I have 2 bags in the fridge I have to throw away.

 

[robinb]

We are staying at the Polynesian and I need to bring frozen breast milk for our youngest. I know they have the fridges with the colder part in it but it's not actually a freezer and not big enough to keep 10 days of frozen milk. Do they have actual freezers anywhere that can be used?

I don't think that Disney will keep your breast milk in one of their freezers due to food safety issues and the little freezers in the room refrigerators are too small to keep your supply. I think your only options would be to stay in a condo/house off site or to book a 1BR (or bigger) villa at a DVC resort. The refrigerators in the DVC studios are also too small to keep a 10-day supply. You'll be more comfortable in a bigger condo/villa anyway.

 

[Samar]

Can you nurse in the parks and pump & dump while in the room? Either that or look into a fridge rental or stay off site for a full fridge. I have nursed 2 kids at Disney but never had to deal with the frozen dilemma before.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

frig is the cabins at Fort Wilderness are full size with good size freezer. not sure if this will help. different but each night we would freeze6 to 8 water bottles. mighy be something to look at.

 

[Karenj2]

Thawed breastmilk is only good for 24 hours.
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/

I'm not sure if even a cooler refreshed with ice a few times a day would work. Maybe you could do a test run at home with one bag? I've personally never had great luck with hotel mini-fridges keeping even cow's milk cold enough to my liking. We find it colder doing ice in a cooler changed out several times a day.

No, no, no! 24 hours max once it thaws after a freeze.

OP you will probably need to look into accommodations with a real freezer if you need to store frozen milk for 10 days. I considered suggesting dry ice, but I'm not sure about the specific logistics of that, so do some research before you try it. I believe milk donors use dry ice for shipping, so it should be a possibility.

Sorry that I got that wrong - I pumped for daycare, but barely had enough supply for 2 days of frozen BM, let alone 10... Thanks for correcting me!

I doubt, though, that you will be able to use a communal freezer in the hotel (i.e., the concierge) even if there was room, because BM is considered a hazardous body fluid. (And would you really want your BM in a place where others could access/alter it somehow?)

I wish you luck! When we went down to WDW when DD was 9mo, I think I left my pump at home, and just BF her (which I did nights & mornings anyway). It was nice not to have to take a break to pump.

 

[PatsMom]

As others have mentioned, the DVC villas one bedroom and larger have real freezers and full size refrigerators. You might check out the rent/trade board to see if anyone has points to rent at the time you want to go. It can be a real bargain!

Fort Wilderness also has a full kitchen with a full size refrigerator/freezer.

The small fridges in the DVC villas have a freezer compartment - usually it either won't freeze or it freezes the entire refrigerator! I don't think I would take the chance if I were freezing BM. Unless you could pump or feed as a backup and just don't want the inconvenience while on vacation. But as someone warned, not pumping will stop your milk pretty quickly.

 

[Schmeck]

I'm still baffled by the issue - how is the OP getting the 10 day supply to WDW? Wouldn't that same system work for storage during the vacation?