Backpacking drinks into WDW

[mymanmickey]

Hi there, we are anticipating our Disney trip in 9 more sleeps. We are a family of 5. There are 3 kids 10-17, and I anticipate alot of thirst and was hoping to pack water bottles in back paks. Is this allowable? Also we are trying to stick to a budget and am wondering how much those mickey ears cost? We are leaving from Toronto and travelling by car, the current price of gas is $102.5 per litre.
How much will it cost for us to get to WDW.
Any help at all with ways to save big time, would be greatly appreciated. I was hoping to take along granola bars into the park and perhaps some fruit. Anyone tried this?

I would appreciate any insight into any of these questions.

 

[hockey mom]

I have taken a few drinks in my backpack and security never mentions them when they look through my bag. I don't take more than one or 2 though because they get to warm.

The golden Mickey Ears are $11.50 and the regular ones are around $7.

We went over march break and spent around $300 Cdn for our Montana mini van.

Have a great time.

 

[muffy0110]

go to Walmart get a cheap cooler 10.00 and rent a wheelchair 5.00 and
get water 5.00. The wheelchair is useful for the jackets and the things
the kids promise they will hold but will not.

 

[alohamom]

I take drinks too but not too many as they get heavy. I also take fruit roll ups and/or little candies like starburst fruit chews etc...that can be handed out without too much fuss or mess in line ups to kill time. They do sell fruit in areas of the park and by theme park standards it is usually fresh, cold and reasonably priced. I think the granola bar idea is a good one as they travel well, I doubt they will take them away at the entrance. I have taken them in before.Have a great time, it is hard not to!

 

[Manon]

We went in June with 3 young kids, so we had to have water, fruits and granola bars and the WDW security never said a word. We did breakfast in our room, I brought a toaster (2 slices) from home, so that way it's easier in the morning, cheaper and faster!!!

 

[momof2minnies]

What we do is buy a 24 pack of water at Publix then each night before bed I throw some in the freezer. Take them out in the morning and bring them to the park. The ice melts slowly and the water is fresh all day. I wrap them in a plastic bag for the condensation as it melts- but it works every time.

 

[maryliz]

Security doesn't have any issues with you bringing in snacks/drinks in your backback. We do this all the time. And it's nice how the backpack just keeps getting lighter and lighter as the day wears on We use those little individual cheese/breadstick things, raisins, fruit snacks, granola bars etc. They're very handy for lineups!

Have a great trip !

MaryLiz

 

[DisFan2]

Hi MyMan,

Nine days to go and you're just now posting? Don't be shy, you've come to the right place. If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the Budget Board for a lot of great tips. Your three biggest expense areas will likely be, in no particular order:

1) Food
2) Lodging
3) Tickets

1) I don't think Security cares about water and small snacks, so I wouldn't worry - we've always brought those kinds of things in.

I second the cooler suggestion for cutting in to meal expenses. We also bring a rice cooker along to cook rice (duh!), soup, Ramen noodles, vegetables, etc. We bring a couple of cases of soda, sorry, "pop", and bottled water, and other snacks. We make quick stops for fruits and vegetables.

2) Unless you're driving straight through, try Priceline as a way of cutting your hotel expenses, likely by 30-50% if you're careful. Are you staying on or off-site in WDW? Orlando is full of hotel deals at the time of year you're travelling. At the very least, make sure you get the CAA rate, if available (CAA saved us about 15% off the rack rate at Pop Century for our upcoming trip).

3) Try Ticketmania (www.ticketmania.com) for tickets. The latest "mousesavers" rates (www.mousesavers.com - you need to sign up (free) for access to the rates) seem pretty much unbeatable (to me anyway - I plan on buying through them for our October trip).

As far as gas goes, I'm sure you'll get lots of replies from recent WDW travellers - we last went in 2000 and that data is way old now.

I think the secret is in trying to know what you'll need down there, that makes more sense ($ wise and "hassle" wise) to buy here. Check here http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/planning.htm, and more specifically, here http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/forgot.htm. One useful tip I've recently found: buy a clear (i.e. see through) knapsack. Rather than rummaging around blindly in a regular knapsack, you should be able to roughly locate what you're looking for before you open it. It has the added benefit of making the Security check faster.

 

[striker3636]

We brought drinks and snacks in every day. At first we brought a small collapsible cooler, but found it a pain, even with a small stroller to put it in. We ended up using a small mesh bag to put frozen bottles in and a few extra drinks. Security appreciated the mesh/see through feature and said so every time we went through. We never had a problem with snacks and stuff - I think as long as it is reasonable there wouldn't be. WDW has a policy about it, but I thinks its the big coolers and full meals they don't want in. We have small kids and they must expect some stuff brought in. Try a mesh bag, and maybe ziplocs too inside to avoid getting wet. Security checks everything, even fanny packs. My friend bought a fanny pack with a mesh bottle holder on it.

We spent $460 in gas for our trip in Feb. We were driving a Suburban and towing a trailer, so a bit higher than average, but not as much as you would think. It really depends on what you drive. It is 2220km from Kitchener-Waterloo to WDW via Windsor and the I-75. We're not far from you, so use that as an estimate for your gas.

Have fun!

 

[LeCras]

It's worth remembering that there are water fountains everywhere in the parks, so there is no need to cart around enough bottles to last you the entire day. We normally stick a 500 ml bottle in the backpack and fill it up as necessary. This also means the water is always nice and cold! If you don't like the taste of the water, why not add some ice tea crystals or similar?

Also, it's fine to bring a cooler to all parks except Animal Kingdom. No glass or alcohol though, and that goes for all parks.

Hope that helps,

Charlotte

 

[Janice B]

Have a great trip. In regards to your questions. We got back from florida on August 6th. We drove from kitchener-waterloo in a montana mini van and the Gas cost was $236us and $55can. The web sited below will allow you to calculate from the state your are entering to the state you are finishing just answer the questions. It was off by only $3.oo When we went to disney we took a insulated water bottles for all of with us(2 adults and 2 teenagers. We drought water from home and filled the bottles up in the morning with water and ice and they stayed cold till at least lunch. We took dried fruit, granola bars, individual snack size pringles and nuts with us to the park. No problem. Also we found it handy to have the kids take a napsack so they could carry their one snacks and water bottle when they were empty. this way it didnt make just one person carry everything.

fuel calculator

 

[griswalds]

It is also very easy to freeze some Capri suns or other juice box types of drinks. My kids love those and think they taste better frozen anyway.

 

[mymanmickey]

Thanks to all of you out there. This has been very usefull information. We will be staying off site in a hotel about 1/2 mile outside of DW. They do have a shuttle service. I have that you should take your car instead( any sugestions) .Someone told me to invest in good shoes for walking all day. I have done so already. Does anyone know what the parking cost is? Is there a weekly special? We are doing the 7 day hopper.

It seems that this trip was well worth waiting for due to all your comments.
Thanks guys,

MYMANMICKEY

 

[ottawamom]

Parking at the Disney parks is $ 8US per day. If you travel between parks your ticket is good for each parking lot that day. If you are staying off-site you should consider taking your own vehicle. The shuttle buses often have a very limited schedule (3 drop-offs in the am and 3 pick-ups in the pm). It depends on which hotel you are staying at. Have a great trip!

 

[CharlesTD]

We never had a problem in May I believe they can go in just not in glass containers.

 

[Jaime]

On our first trip in 2001 we stayed of site and decided to drive most days instead of take the shuttles. We found the shuttle times very limited at our hotel. We would park for free in Downtown Disney or at the TTC and take use Disney transporation which was also free. This let us see more of Disney. Save us alot of money and it was more convienant than our hotel shuttle. We have never had a problem bring snack food into the parks. Once when we went to SeaWorld the security guard wink at me and said he didn't see anything! Have a great trip.

 

[marylou]

Bibo and Koolaid jammers freeze well too. I wrap them in a small towel or washcloth so that everything else would stay dry and then i would use the cloth if we got warm or sticky and for wipe ups. Always used the ones i didn't mind not bringing back. We always brought in small portable snacks , handi snacks, trail mix cookies. etc and used lots of ziplocs in a knapsack