Dehydration Prevention

[harleyquinn]

Hi everyone! Veteran summer WDW traveler (DH is a teacher)here! We do everything we can to beat the heat and sun, but with all of the usual things, I end up dehydrated pretty much every day. I’m blond and very fair skinned and I sweat a lot. For me this equals extremely painful headaches every evening. I drink so much water that we typically stop at every bathroom.

I‘m planning on supplementing my water with Drip Drop and Nuun this trip, but I just read about Gatorade chews? They seem to be more about energy and carbs than hydration though. Are there other products?

Does anyone else suffer from dehydration and how do you deal?

For the record here is my list of sun/heat busting products and tips:
1. Take a real break every afternoon (for me I shower and nap or chill. If I swim it’s a short dip if I can find shade)
2. I drink at least 20 oz of water before leaving the room. I go through around 100 oz at least per day.
3. moisture wicking clothing
4. Cooling towels (our favorite are actually the ones they sell at Disney. We’ve tried 4 brands).
5. Fans and misters
6. Walk through ac whenever possible

this trip I’m adding a uv umbrella though I doubt I’ll ever use it and a Mission cooling sun hat that my daughter will probably steal.

 

[trivan]

If your ok with a higher sodium diet have a bit more salt. If you look at all the hydration drinks they all contain a fair amount of sodium. I stay away from straight Gatorade, to much sugar.

 

[kylenne]

I’m also prone to dehydrating easily and water just isn’t enough, you also need to replenish salts etc. I always fill my resort mug with Powerade and chug when I get back for my midday break.

I also use a Hidrate smart bottle that literally glows to remind me to drink water, but there are a number of water tracking apps you can use on their own.

UV umbrellas are also a godsend, don’t let it stay in your bag. Combined with a good neck fan it does so much to keep you cool.

 

[harleyquinn]

I have totally noticed that electrolytes=sodium!

I am also trying to stay away from the extra sugar and I don’t like Powerade, but with all the walking I think I will add that into my resort mug rotation.

Thanks for the ideas and keep them coming!

 

[coolbrook]

You may laugh, but Disney popcorn has a lot of salt and I eat it for that purpose. ( I also like popcorn.)

 

[VandVsmama]

Take some electrolyte tablets.

 

[harleyquinn]

You may laugh, but Disney popcorn has a lot of salt and I eat it for that purpose. ( I also like popcorn.)

Ha! That’s a great suggestion!

 

[trivan]

Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics so avoid consuming too much.

 

[unrequited23]

Make a plan to eat regularly, not just grab something when you feel hungry. When it is hot you may feel hungry but need to eat since your body is using a lot of energy to try to cool off. I make sure our lunch plans are somewhere with AC. If it's a QS, I prioritize ones with self-fill drink stations and powerade. I normally order a kids meal and have 3-4 refills of powerade (kid size cup).

100 oz is a good amount of water in normal life, but at Disney in the summer I'm drinking 150-200 oz.

 

[harleyquinn]

Make a plan to eat regularly, not just grab something when you feel hungry. When it is hot you may feel hungry but need to eat since your body is using a lot of energy to try to cool off. I make sure our lunch plans are somewhere with AC. If it's a QS, I prioritize ones with self-fill drink stations and powerade. I normally order a kids meal and have 3-4 refills of powerade (kid size cup).

100 oz is a good amount of water in normal life, but at Disney in the summer I'm drinking 150-200 oz.

I hear you and I do believe I drink way more than 100 oz, but I’m not sure. I do feel like I’m constantly drinking.

What QS have drink refill stations? I can only think of Sunshine Seasons, but I honestly thought you weren’t supposed to refill there?

 

[Stratman50th]

Take some salt tablets with you and follow the directions.

 

[DisneyFive]

I should probably know this, but with so many QS locations doing mobile order now, is it still easy to walk up somehow and get cups of ice water? How does it work now?

Thx, Dan

 

[shawthorne44]

Get one of those Australian sun hats. Wet it down in the sink every time you use the bathroom. Shade plus it does the same thing as a cooling towel but for your entire head.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Eat fruits and vegetables that contain higher water content. My DW orders fresh fruit from Instacart and has it delivered to the hotel, so that we can eat some berries or bananas or grapes in the morning. Kale and celery have high water content for veggies.

 

[disney_runner]

Pedialyte. Specifically, Pedialyte Advanced Care+. It's sold in the baby section of most stores. It's in powder form, in individual packets, in a black box. It's sold in boxes of 6. You add it to a bottle of water, preferably a nice and cold bottle! Totally worth the $$ buying a cold bottle of water at counter service and adding this to it.

Has more electrolytes than Gatorade or Powerade, and doesn't upset the stomach nearly as much. I use it to recover from running long distances in the heat, and the difference between this and Gator/Powerade is remarkable. No gut rot, and it's fast and effective.

 

[Dug720]

Nuun tablets. Target usually has them, but a running store also would. You drop them in water and they add electrolytes but aren't as cloying as Gatorade or Powerade.

 

[escriven75]

Hi everyone! Veteran summer WDW traveler (DH is a teacher)here! We do everything we can to beat the heat and sun, but with all of the usual things, I end up dehydrated pretty much every day. I’m blond and very fair skinned and I sweat a lot. For me this equals extremely painful headaches every evening. I drink so much water that we typically stop at every bathroom.

I‘m planning on supplementing my water with Drip Drop and Nuun this trip, but I just read about Gatorade chews? They seem to be more about energy and carbs than hydration though. Are there other products?

Does anyone else suffer from dehydration and how do you deal?

For the record here is my list of sun/heat busting products and tips:
1. Take a real break every afternoon (for me I shower and nap or chill. If I swim it’s a short dip if I can find shade)
2. I drink at least 20 oz of water before leaving the room. I go through around 100 oz at least per day.
3. moisture wicking clothing
4. Cooling towels (our favorite are actually the ones they sell at Disney. We’ve tried 4 brands).
5. Fans and misters
6. Walk through ac whenever possible

this trip I’m adding a uv umbrella though I doubt I’ll ever use it and a Mission cooling sun hat that my daughter will probably steal.

I'm also blond and fair skinned and prone to migraines, and dehydration is one of the causes. I found Liquid IV pouches at Costco and I've been using those all summer even just for mowing the lawn and stuff. They're electrolyte replenishers so they are a bit salty (I don't mind but my kids don't like it). But they are way more handy to pop a few pouches of powder into your bag for Disney and add them to your water vs. bringing or buying Gatorade all day. I like the guava, passionfruit, and tangerine the best. If you're a Costco member you can get some flavors in store and all of them online. When they're not on sale they're a little over $1 per pouch but they basically triple the hydrating effect of a bottle of water. We're going to Disney at the end of July and I intend to put one in each water I drink!!
We always end up in the bathroom a lot bc of me. My kids joke that it's the "ride" we line up for most. But if you're peeing then at least you know you're hydrated. Best of luck. I know vacation headaches are THE WORST. I sometimes find a cool shower before heading to bed (even if I plan to shower the next morning) helps too. That's probably all in my head but if it works then whatever!

 

[bookgirl]

Hi everyone! Veteran summer WDW traveler (DH is a teacher)here! We do everything we can to beat the heat and sun, but with all of the usual things, I end up dehydrated pretty much every day. I’m blond and very fair skinned and I sweat a lot. For me this equals extremely painful headaches every evening. I drink so much water that we typically stop at every bathroom.

I‘m planning on supplementing my water with Drip Drop and Nuun this trip, but I just read about Gatorade chews? They seem to be more about energy and carbs than hydration though. Are there other products?

Does anyone else suffer from dehydration and how do you deal?

For the record here is my list of sun/heat busting products and tips:
1. Take a real break every afternoon (for me I shower and nap or chill. If I swim it’s a short dip if I can find shade)
2. I drink at least 20 oz of water before leaving the room. I go through around 100 oz at least per day.
3. moisture wicking clothing
4. Cooling towels (our favorite are actually the ones they sell at Disney. We’ve tried 4 brands).
5. Fans and misters
6. Walk through ac whenever possible

this trip I’m adding a uv umbrella though I doubt I’ll ever use it and a Mission cooling sun hat that my daughter will probably steal.

My electrolytes go screwy even on a non hot day, but sweating makes it worse.

At home I tend to make sure I do one gatorade type drink per day.

In the parks or when I know I'm going to be outside and sweaty I usually mix gatorade/powerade/or powedered equivelant into my water. Maybe 50/50 in every bottle of water I drink. I find it easier to keep up that way. Once I get low on hydration/electrolyte it's really hard to play catch up. I actually found that Gatorade Zero has the individual sleeves that you can use to add to a water bottle and I tried them the other day and it worked great. I'm not the biggest fan of the flavors of most sports drinks (kind of prefer the classics to all the wild berry things) so being able to control the strength and to get the powder in flavors I like are a plus.

I got one with cherry, orange and glacier freeze (it's the light blue one, don't know what it is but it's actually not bad) Still looking for the classic Lemon Lime.

The one I ordered

https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Pow...cphy=9026247&hvtargid=pla-1266764483703&psc=1

 

[shawthorne44]

Although idea for electrolytes. Salt is easy to get. Potassium and Magnesium, not so much. I buy powdered versions of those two from Amazon. No-salt is a potassium. I prefer Potassium Gluconate. You could get the powders and just add some to a little water.

 

[anjuan]

Pedialyte. Specifically, Pedialyte Advanced Care+. It's sold in the baby section of most stores. It's in powder form, in individual packets, in a black box. It's sold in boxes of 6. You add it to a bottle of water, preferably a nice and cold bottle! Totally worth the $$ buying a cold bottle of water at counter service and adding this to it.

Has more electrolytes than Gatorade or Powerade, and doesn't upset the stomach nearly as much. I use it to recover from running long distances in the heat, and the difference between this and Gator/Powerade is remarkable. No gut rot, and it's fast and effective.

My daughter is a competitive swimmer and her coach advised her to drink this several days prior to her sectional meet to be well hydrated.