Beverage Cooler Replacement Idea?

[erinch]

I get to do a solo trip Sept 14-18!
I’ll be at AKL Jambo, which has a beverage cooler.
The only 2 food items I will need is real milk for my coffee and a CHILLED bottle of white for my own happy hour. What do you bring in luggage as a doesn’t leak ice receptacle? Or any other suggestions?

 

[Genie+]

I’m pretty sure all onsite rooms have an ice bucket and plastic bags, along with access to an ice machine (Jambo has one on every floor near the elevators).

If for some reason your room doesn’t have them or you need more supplies, housekeeping will bring more upon request (use the in-room phone).

 

[Jodo98]

the beverage cooler was good enough for the milk and you can get/ask for ice bucket for the white

 

[CarolynFH]

I've read multiple reports here that the beverage cooler was cool enough for milk. I've also read reports where it wasn't. Many guests seem to solve that issue by filling a plastic bag (many bring ziplocks for this purpose, although many use the bag in the ice bucket) with ice and placing it in the beverage cooler. That seems to work quite well.

Confession: We book DVC 1BR villas, which have real refrigerators with freezers, so I have no direct experience. But I have a lot of experience reading posts on DISboards!

 

[leebee]

I've never had an issue with the beverage coolers keeping things cold enough; milk, soda, water, yogurt, ricotta, etc., have always been fine. I don't chill wine but my sodas and waters are always cold, so... You can always use the ice bucket for the wine!

 

[tguz]

Our milk was fine in the beverage cooler as was the water.

 

[Mle8308]

The beverage cooler is perfectly fine for keeping things cold. Frozen, no, cold enough so they don't spoil, yes. Disney knows people use them for milk, etc., they would not put something in rooms that would not keep items in the recommended safe temperature zone. I recommend checking the cooler to make sure the back is not too close to the cabinet wall, that it has some air circulation around it. I also sometimes leave the cabinet door open (not the beverage cooler door) to allow air to circulate. It helps!

 

[jec6613]

real milk for my coffee

I also have this requirement, and am very sensitive to when it starts to go off at all so if the fridge isn't up to par it will last maybe 12-24 hours, and the answer is simple: shelf stable milk (or half and half, as is your preference). They sell it mostly for children in individual cartons to take in for school lunch, but even once opened it keeps longer in the fridge and doesn't require the same temperature control.

As for wine: you have an ice bucket and ice, adjust temperature to your taste. After all, temperature only matters for the first 3-4 glasses and after that you won't notice.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

I was also going to suggest shelf-stable milk, preferably the little cups that many coffee shops and restaurants use. Maybe not so environmentally responsible, but safe for use. As a fervent believer in private or shared hotel room happy hours, I have many, many times loaded a plastic bag with ice cubes, tucked my bottle inside and tied up the top. I place it inside a hotel room garbage can, if you have a spare, or just sit it in the sink, maybe resting on a towel. It works beautifully. Wine in an ice/water bath will chill very quickly, and to be honest, depending my arrival schedule, I have been known to ignore my preference for chilled wine for that first glass. But don’t tell anyone.

 

[jec6613]

the little cups that many coffee shops and restaurants use.

These are at most grocery stores as mini-moos by Land-o-Lakes.

 

[bluezy]

The beverage cooler is perfectly fine for keeping things cold. Frozen, no, cold enough so they don't spoil, yes. Disney knows people use them for milk, etc., they would not put something in rooms that would not keep items in the recommended safe temperature zone. I recommend checking the cooler to make sure the back is not too close to the cabinet wall, that it has some air circulation around it. I also sometimes leave the cabinet door open (not the beverage cooler door) to allow air to circulate. It helps!

The "safe zone" for milk is 33-38 degrees. The sticker on the front of the beverage coolers at Disney indicates the beverage cooler cools to 41 degrees and above. Some people get lucky and get a beverage cooler that gets colder than that (our cooler in a Pop room froze our water overnight), but there's no guarantee. I've definitely seen people post that their yogurt and milk spoiled in the beverage coolers. Best thing to do is bring a refrigerator thermometer so you know for sure what the temp is (we've traveled with one for the last few years because hotel refrigerators/beverage coolers are so random in their cooling abilities.) and then use the bags of ice trick if the cooler isn't cooling to a safe temperature for the items you have in it.

 

[pooch]

My DD bought me a stainless steel wine tumbler a few years ago. I fill it with ice & place it in the cooler with the wine. When I’m ready to drink, I dump the ice & the tumbler keeps the wine nice & chilled. And I’ve never looked but doesn’t the CS on property carry whole milk in, likely, half pint containers?

 

[jec6613]

The "safe zone" for milk is 33-38 degrees.

It should be noted that this is a sliding scale depending on temperature - 33-38 will give 2-4 weeks of shelf life for your typical container, while room temperature is closer to 2-4 hours, and temperatures in between and temperature changes give times in between, such as storing it in your refrigerator door which shortens life from 2-4 weeks to 1-2 weeks because it's exposed to warmer temperatures. That being said, anything above 40 causes the milk to spoil much more rapidly than anything below.

Additionally, different pasteurization processes can give different results as well, such as most half and half or other cream products having much longer lives at any temperature, or shelf stable until opened milk products.

So even in a beverage cooler in the low 40's I'd expect at least 2-3 days of life out of most dairy products. But I'd also not want to risk it beyond 24 hours in the fridge while on vacation unless your nose is good enough to detect spoiled milk reliably. Fortunately, you should be able to buy milk at the resort on a daily basis if required.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

We used Horizon shelf stable milk for our toddler when we stayed in a room with a cooler. It comes in little boxes, probably too much for one cup of coffee but maybe if you brought a cup with a lid that screws on you could get by with just a couple little boxes?