Best way to keep things cold in room?

[tiger5]

I'm wondering what is the best way to keep things cold in the room. We plan on eating breakfast in the room. That will mean plenty of milk and OJ for our family. I wanted to get some thoughts on the best way to do that. Here are some ideas I had.

1. Rent a fridge for $10/day. We plan on staying 10 days and I didn't want to spend $100 on renting.

2. Buy a plug in type cooler. Not bad, but that takes room in the car that we don't have. We will be driving down.

3. Buy collapsing cooler. Not sure if we will have access to ice machine everyday.

So you see my dilemma. We are staying at All-Star Sports in July. Keeping cool will be VERY important that time of year. Any suggestions you have would be great!

 

[dandave]

tiger5, I would never pay $10 a day for 10 days to rent a fridge, but that's just me. I'm kinda cheap.
We always take a small cooler. We "make" room for it, as we consider it as important as our suitcases. We take bottled waters, cream for my coffee, etc.

If you're really limited on space, then a collapsible cooler would probably be a good idea. They have ice machines at the Value resorts.

 

[HaleyB]

If you have space you can buy a small fridge for less than $100.
If not bring a cooler or buy one at Walmart when you get there.

 

[safetymom]

I would use the cooler. There are plenty of ice machines. We have done this many times with no problems.

 

[Lewisc]

You can always get ice for soda. For less than $10 a day you could go to the gift shop and buy milk and juice. I'd go with the cooler and ice. Even if you have to throw out spoiled milk you'll still come out ahead.

If you're planning on a lot more than juice and milk (cold cuts and the like) I think I'd spring for a refrig.

 

[tiger5]

Thanks for your help. My main concern in using a cooler was access to ice. From what I've heard that is not a problem. I think we'll be purchasing a collapsable cooler.

 

[Kapp]

that the collapsable coolers really don't keep as cold as the more "rigid" plastic coolers. Bring on along and pack it full with drinks, clothes so that you can use it for storage. Or, get one when down there at Wal-Mart/Target. We always fill and drain our cooler everyday (don't miss a day!) with the hotel ice machines. Sure is nice to have your own bottled water, drinks, milk, etc.

Have a great time!

Kapp

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We buy a cheap styrofoam cooler, that way we don't have to pack it. We found that they keep things colder than our collapsable cooler too.

 

[KristiKelly]

I would definitely make room for the cooler, even if you're taking it empty, use it to pack misc. things in. We took ours stocked, that way everytime we stopped for gas the kids would beg for something, we had snacks, juice boxes, Sprite, etc. already - no need to spend extra $$. We used it @ Animal Kingdom Lodge 2002 trip, kept it on the balcony, drained it daily in tub and refilled with ice, took it down this past fall to Beach Club Villas even though our studio had a small refridgerator, the extra cooler was good to have. Have a great trip, I'm sooo... jealous, I have no trip in sight.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by tiger5
2. Buy a plug in type cooler. Not bad, but that takes room in the car that we don't have. We will be driving down.

I'd vote for the plug-in cooler. Space in the car isn't an issue. Just use the cooler as a suitcase coming and going. Pack it full of clothes or whatever instead of a suitcase. They go for about $90 at Target and they are great to have if you do much traveling. We've had one for years and have taken it everywhere from Canada to Florida and many points in between. We've even used it at home on occasion when we were entertaining to keep drinks cold and available in a room other than the kitchen.

Steve

 

[tar heel]

I would "make room" for the cooler. Do you realize how much $ you will save if you do not purchase drinks/snacks from convenience stores and gas stations on the trip down? We never travel anywhere that's more than a couple hundred miles without a cooler. I put 12-packs of sodas and bottled water under the van seats and refill the cooler as needed.

 

[jekjones1558]

Before we started staying in the villas, we brought a cooler on our flights! We just used it like a suitcase coming and going. Now there are restrictions on size, but if we needed to stay in a room without a frig, I would definitely bring a cooler.

 

[dsanner106]

Definately the cooler is the way to go. Coleman's new silver long term coolers keep ice 5-6 days with no problem and sell for about 20.00. Pack it with clothes coming and going. If you really dont have room, rather than rent a fridge and lose 100.00, buy the cooler for 20.00 and give it to goodwill when finished and take the tax deduction. I did know a college friend who did something like this, but cleaned , and returned it to walmart for a refund. I wouldnt, but some would.

 

[tonysgal34]

We hit the winndixie when we got there and grabbed milk, juice, etc. and a styrofoam cooler. Plenty of ice available at All Stars. I would definitely do it that way.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We used our plug-in cooler to store non-perishable food on the ride down. We then bought perishables in Orlando. Like others have said, you could always store clothes, etc in the cooler if space is at a premium.

T&B

 

[Pembo]

Another vote for bringing a hard sided cooler or buying one at Walmart once you get there.

Our collapsible worked great keeping everything cold but after a day or so of continued use it leaked! The floor was wet. Also our styrofoam cooler this time leaked. Once that carpet gets wet, it just doesn't dry. My suggestion~put a towel under the cooler. We did that after the 2nd day and housekeeping didn't touch it.

As for access to ice-no problem. We just made that part of our daily routine.

 

[Susie Bee]

I vote for the AC/DC plug in kind... I asked for the Coleman 40qt Thermoelectric Cooler for Christmas... I plan on checking it as luggage at the airport. Like one of the previous posters suggested, if you're tight on room use it as a suitcase--it will hold quite a bit of clothing... I just couldn't see paying $10.00 a day plus tax for ten days also--this cooler only costs $62.77 and you actually get to keep it. I use mine when I go get groceries and plug it into my SUV and it keeps my frozen things frozen, especially handt when I have 100s of thing to do... Here's the link to the Wal-mart site...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/prod...=4125&product_id=895623&path=0:4125:4128:5164

You could also just pick one up when you get to Orlando and then for less than $15.00 via USPS Parcel Post ($22.00 Priority mail) have it shipped back home when you leave if you're that tight on space. And NO ice, NO mess!!!

It will be perfect for soccer game tailgating too!!!

Have fun!

 

[m_dotres@yahoo.com]

Easy way and low cost. 30 gal trash can. you can pick one or two at a dollars store. load the bottom of it the things you want to keep cold. top it off with ice should hold for two to three days. on the third day load your back up one. and empty the first one two or three days later repeat.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Susie Bee
I vote for the AC/DC plug in kind... I asked for the Coleman 40qt Thermoelectric Cooler for Christmas... I plan on checking it as luggage at the airport.

I would not recommend checking the cooler as luggage. The thermoelectric coolers are not all that rugged. The way luggage gets bounced around, I think you are really taking a risk that the thing won't work when you reach your destination.

Steve