Free ice water in parks??????

[yankeeslover]

im sorry, just posted thread about pre-purchasing water, i have heard that we dont need to do this and can find any Q.S restaraunt and get free water?? how does this work? if there are 4 of us, will they give us 4 cups? do we need to bring our own cups to do this? and do they usually get upset when guest come up and ask for water? gonna be real hot in August... i dont mind buying bottled water from garden grocer or another place, but if we can get water thruout all the parks then i can save a few bucks there..thanks

 

[PJHuntleyCO]

We have always been able to get ice water for free. We usually take our refillable mugs with us to the parks and have them fill those, makes it easier all around, and greener but, I am fairly sure they will give you a smaller water cup vs the standard cups for your "free water" too. The other thing is if you don't like the taste of Florida water, you can pick up water bottles from a local store or order them and have it delivered. We do that too, since I do have a couple of picky children who hate the taste the "tap water taste". Have fun!

 

[extremesoccermom]

I have never had any trouble getting free water from any of the CS type restaurants. However, you do need to stand in line and order it. Ask for a large cup of ice water. Some places will only give you the small one but you can keep going back. They also have water faucets all over but those are not always cold and to me they have an odd (chlorine) taste.

 

[bettymae1121]

Not the biggest money saver in the world, but DH and I will just buy a bottled water on our 1st day in the parks and keep refilling it at water fountains (we don't mind FL water). We'll buy a new one every few days either because we lose the 1st one or we just want to keep it from getting gross. If you aren't opposed to sharing I'd get one bottle for every two people. Or of course you can always bring plastic bottles from home too, but we like to pack light and that's just more stuff we have to lug around.

It saves money vs. buying a drink every time you want one, but without the hassle of having to wait in line at a QS place or ordering a case to be delivered or whatever.

 

[dtauer]

One of the previous posters mentioned a chlorine taste/smell. To us, it seems more like a Sulfur smell. However, we've noticed that the water seems to change based on where you are on property.

For instance, to us, the Magic Kingdom water has such a strong smell we can barely drink it. Same with the resorts at that end of the property such as the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge.

However, we don't notice the smell at Saratoga Springs or Typhoon Lagoon, it almost seems like based on where on property you are the water is different.

To save money, and avoid the smell/taste of the water we don't like, we started each day with a fresh bottle of water and refilled it throughout the day. To avoid the smell/taste I had a bunch of single serving packets of Crystal Light in my pocket that we added to the water bottle after filling at a drinking fountain. Hides the smell/taste, doesn't cost anything to refill (except a little for the Crystal Light packet), and avoids standing in line to get water. Even if the Crystal Light packets are .25/each it's a lot cheaper than a new bottle of water, and faster than standing in line for a cup.

 

[got2sammies]

We go every august and we have NEVER had a problem getting free ice water from any qs resturant. Yes you have to stand in line but each time they gave me a medium (regular) I guess size cup with lots of ice!! Cast members understand its hot as Hades and everyone needs to cool down.. And yes I have even taken my refillable cup for ice and then when it melts the water is cold!!! I also get a cup of ice water to refresh my cooling neck thingy (those things you place on the back of your neck with the little beads in it)..talk about a lifesaver..whoop whoop! ( I even found one made out of mickey mouse fabic at one our home town festivals, best 5 bucks!)

 

[davmill]

Most of the parks give free water if asked. I also know Legoland does too.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

we always ask for large ice water and they always are happy to give it to us. We take crystal light to put in them. They'd rather have you get free ice water than have people passing out from heat!

 

[princessmorgan]

I just discovered this on my last trip in May! At the QS locations they will give you ice water and it usually comes from the Soda Machine, so it has a better taste than the water fountains (I think). I was so tired of drinking soda when it was so hot. Plus I liked it better than the bottled water, because it was so much colder!

 

[buzz2400]

We always get free ice water at the parks. Like other poster said, you do have to stand in line and then request it. Some places do give you small cups. I then request a few more cups right there so I don't have to wait in line again. I would highly recommend bringing flavor packets. Some places do have water that doesn't really taste that great (MK is the worse). Another thing I like to do when it is really hot is you suck on the ice.

They will not charge you at all for the ice water.

 

[bearloch]

we too did both we have a larger bottle that opens and we alwasy ask for lots of ice and we fill it up with just Ice and its soo nice as it melts we also do this at epcot at the resturant in the land/sorin they have a self serve machine there are we refill everything! we fill em up at hotels resturants before bed and put em in fridge and are good to go in am! never have pd for a water bottle yet! to make the bottle " festive" I decorate with mickey stickers and made a bottle holder to carry them then i found a insulated carry case on clearance and decorated that too worked wonderfull cause it was all hands free then and perfect for rides just over the shoulder/neck!! !

 

[NotUrsula]

At CS restaurants you do have to wait in line and order it at the register (still free), and around mealtimes that can take up to 30 minutes to do.

What I prefer to do in the interest of saving time is to get it at kiosks, but this only works at the larger fixed kiosks that have fountain drink machines (because it is filtered water from the drink machines.) Carts generally are NOT equipped with fountain dispensers.

 

[brennicksmom]

There are 4 of us also, they have always asked how many we want and never seem to mind when we ask for 4 cups. Like other posters have said, they know how hot it can be and want everyone to have fun.

 

[nettekay]

When I went last year they were keeping cups of water at the end of the counters behind whatever register was closed. One of the cast members who was wiping down the counters was handing them out so there was no need to stand in line. They had them all ready to go. I think they know people will ask and want to make it quicker. I found this at every QS restuarant I went to.

 

[Eeyore98]

I am fairly sure they will give you a smaller water cup vs the standard cups for your "free water" too.

This has almost never been our experience. We ask for a "large ice water" and they give us the same cup as the large sodas.

The only place we have ever been given a smaller cup (same as the small sodas) was the Electric Umbrella in Epcot...BUT their fountains are out in the lobby and can be freely accessed by guests, so we drank it down and refilled it a couple times, then refilled once more to take along as we headed back out into the park.

 

[momof1princess]

yes, you can get free ice water at any WDW restaurant, or kiosk that sells drinks. now, i did encounter a young lady once at a kiosk in tomorrowland who gave me a cup of ice and pointed me to a water fountain, but that was totally okay. i use a water bottle with a filter, so i've never noticed an odd taste or smell.

 

[Local_Girl]

We have insulated bottle holders and each of us takes a fresh full bottle of water into the parks in the morning. We bring along an empty Brita bottle with a filter and use that to filter the water from drinking fountains and QS restaurants (if the water is unfiltered) and refill our bottles. The QS places have been great about giving us large cups of ice water, with or without a purchase. We drive down, so it's easy for us to take a couple of cases of water with us, and we keep the plastic bottles to recycle when we get home.

 

[Zhoen]

We got TONS of free water during our May/June trip. Usually I was going to the counter for a meal or whatever, and would just get a water (or five, yes, five) to go with it. The cups were all big and the CMs were perfectly nice about it. My family was so hot and grateful that they didn't complain at all. They wanted water, not soda, and they didn't care if it was a free cup or an expensive bottle-- it all tasted fine except for one kiosk where the filter wasn't good, and I added flavor packets to that one. We got the refillable cups from Universal Studios and I carried those in all the parks. In Disney they were for water, in Universal, I used the heck out of those $.99 refills

Bonus take-away: I realized that if it's good to save $3 per drink in Disney, it's probably good to save $2.50 per drink in normal life, too, so I have started to order water with my meals when we eat out (sit-down) now...

 

[tzolkin]

At CS restaurants you do have to wait in line and order it at the register (still free), and around mealtimes that can take up to 30 minutes to do.

We also hate to wait at the CS restaurants every time we want a drink (especially when the kids were pre-schoolers and they really just wanted a few sips every hour). We take one (or more) hydration backpacks. We fill it with ice and water before we leave the resort and then refill with ice water whenever we stop to eat something at a CS restaurant since we're already waiting in line for food anyway.

When I went last year they were keeping cups of water at the end of the counters behind whatever register was closed. One of the cast members who was wiping down the counters was handing them out so there was no need to stand in line. They had them all ready to go. I think they know people will ask and want to make it quicker. I found this at every QS restuarant I went to.

That is a great idea. Was this in the summer? This will be our first summer (August) trip and that would be very convenient.

 

[sherreis]

We did this last week when we were at WDW and DH was amazed at the amount of money we saved (thank you DISBOARDS once again). I tried to make sure we would get water before lunch time to avoid the longer lines.