Collapsable Rolling Coolers instead of Fridge

[stackyallred]

I just found a good-sized rolling cooler at Walgreens for $19.99. I have opted to use this instead of buying a fridge. This particular cooler says it fits 42 cans. I was glad to find a tip on the Dis to use this instead of a fridge. You can roll it to the ice machine and back to your room and it fits into your luggage since it collapses nicely. I just thought I would pass along the info and good price!

 

[Debi]

What a great suggestion! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[kg66]

We have one too, and the only concern I have is them leaking/sweating (because they do) and soaking the carpet in your room I was thinking of bringing ours, not sure yet!

 

[VWB]

We brought a cooler last time and used it in the room instead of a fridge. It did leak but not very bad. We had a smaller cooler that we would pack for the park and put it under the stroller each day. It was very handy to keep drinks and snacks in instead of the backpack that can get so heavy. We have outgrown the stroller now so I am not sure what we will do this year.

 

[stackyallred]

We have one too, and the only concern I have is them leaking/sweating (because they do) and soaking the carpet in your room I was thinking of bringing ours, not sure yet!

I didn't think of that... I guess we will just plan on getting some towels underneath it to keep it from being too much of a problem...

 

[Kies99]

We did this at POP last year. We filled it with ice in the morning and then when we got back to the room. Worked great. We kept milk in it with no problems.

We used this cooler:
http://store.bowlbound.com/n2310-pts.html

We got it at Target for around $20. What's really nice about it is there was a clear, plastic liner that zipped in. This kept it from leaking/sweating.

We were then able to fill it with stuff we bought at Disney for the trip home.

 

[tjmw2727]

Good luck, I hope you do better than I I have never found a soft sided rolling cooler that didn't leak like crazy. FWIW we use a softsided colapsable cooler but not a rolling one.

For ice runs we get one of the medium size bags from the gift shop for ice runs, they are easy to fill, easy to carry and they are pretty sturdy, usually one lasts a trip. IMHO spending a bit more for a nice colapsable cooler that dosen't leak is worth it.

If we do find ourselves getting leaks the cooler stays in the tub most of the time and gets moved to the sink area when we are showering.

If we are stopping at a grocery store or using a delivery service we usually purchase a cheap styrafoam cooler and pass it on at the end of the trip.

TJ

 

[sardanem]

I think the cooler idea is great and if you are worrying about it leaking, why not leave it in the shower? Then who cares. I like this idea. I don't think we would use fridge enough to justify the cost, but if I could find a cooler to fit in the luggage, I may do it. Thanks for the tip.

Lisa

 

[froglover2]

We bought a back pack cooler it has been on all our trips it makes a great carry on too! It has never leaked and has outer pockets along with a mesh zip out bag that is handy fo the beach!
Bought at Zehrs in Canada

 

[sueh]

I bought one similar to yours at Walgreens for our day trips in the summer.
I was thinking about bringing it to Disney as well.
I was also thinking about getting gallon ziplock bags and putting ice in them so when it melts I can just dump it out in the sink and refill it again.

 

[Millie12591]

We did this last year, and I didn't find any sweating, and if there was any leaking it was minimal. I just put a towel under it. We stayed at the POP and so the area where the sink and the closet is where we set ours, it was kind of under the sink more towards the closet so it was out of the way, we never had an issue. We just rolled it down to the ice machine after dumping out the water every evening and morning before we left for the parks. It was great! Also, I bought ours at Wal-Mart, don't know if that has something to do with it, but fill it up while your at home to see if it's a problem, if it is then maybe find another one to see if it works better, you can always put it in the bathtub, it's not like the tub is used so much that you would have to really worry about the leaking in the mean time. JMO

We have one too, and the only concern I have is them leaking/sweating (because they do) and soaking the carpet in your room I was thinking of bringing ours, not sure yet!

 

[vellamint]

Does anyone know if these rolling backpack coolers would be able to be considered a carryon? I have one and it does have that clear plastic insert and have brought it on quite a few trips but with the new restrictions of only one checked bag per person.......I would need it to be a carryon.

 

[stackyallred]

Does anyone know if these rolling backpack coolers would be able to be considered a carryon? I have one and it does have that clear plastic insert and have brought it on quite a few trips but with the new restrictions of only one checked bag per person.......I would need it to be a carryon.

I am pretty sure that I have read on these boards that people have uses these types of coolers as a carry-on. I wa thinking of doing just that. I figure that as long as it meets the dimensions that your airline has for carryons, I don't think it would be a problem. But, if they let you carry-on and then store it under the plane right before take-off (I know that Southwest does this when a carry-on is bulky), you would want to make sure that it is the kind of cooler that zips, not just snaps shut.

 

[Millie12591]

Does anyone know if these rolling backpack coolers would be able to be considered a carryon? I have one and it does have that clear plastic insert and have brought it on quite a few trips but with the new restrictions of only one checked bag per person.......I would need it to be a carryon.

I don't have a backpack/roller cooler, so I wouldn't know this for sure.
Mine is a softsided cooler that zips along the top and has an extendable handle to be able to roll like luggage, it can also fold almost flat because it's a soft sided material cooler, I've spoken about the one we've taken many times on the board, especially on the tips and what to pack threads. I fold it as flat as possible to put in the botom of the suit case and then pack over it with all that we take in one of the kids suitcases. It never had the plastic thing that I see in the soft sided roller coolers now days. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem to take it on the plane as long as you know the conditions for size, but your pack probably isn't that big to have to worry about. I've seen people on the tips boards taking their coolers and checking them like luggage, so I don't think you'll get much static about bringing your pack with you.

 

[ashbradnmom]

I am going to look for coolers tomorrow thanks for all of the tips.

 

[my3princes]

We've done this several times. We use it as our carryon on the plane then have it as a cooler at WDW. We put ice in gallon zip lock bags. Just take the bags to the ice machine to fill. Easily dump out the water and refill with ice No mess no fuss.

 

[pooh2001]

We did the same thing.
We shipped via UPS a colapsable cooler to ourselves when we stayed at the Dolphin (no refigerators). It held about the same 48 cans of soda.

We bought milk the night before in the gift shop and stored it in the cooler with ice overnight - great for breakfast in the room.

At the end of our trip - we threw away the cooler.

So for a ten night stay at the Dolphin - the cooler cost us $2 a day - a major savings over the $25/day refirgerator rental free