Go Ahead....Use a Snack Credit for Water and Stand Tall! :)

[scrappinginontario]

I will sadly admit to being of the mindset to never, ever use a snack credit for a bottle of water...until this last trip. And now I'm pulling myself up to a big ole helping of humble pie!

We were at WDW the last week of August and it was (as expected) melt-your-face-off hot with temps over 105o and 93% humidity by 10:30 in the morning.

We had eaten breakfast and were on our way to play mini-golf (quieter day for us as we were going to MNSSHP in the evening). When we got off the bus at AK my daughter immediately talked of her head hurting. It was easy to see the heat was the problem and she needed more water. Since I had forgotten to grab a couple of bottles from our fridge in the room we quickly made our way to the store outside AK and purchased bottles of water using snack credits. I will admit to feeling a pang of guilt in doing so until within minutes of starting to drink it my DD began to perk up.

I want to share, regardless of what people may tell you, if you want water, get water using a snack credit. I can't tell you the number of times I have heard people preach (myself included) not to use snack credits for water but I stand corrected! If you want to use every single snack credit for water then go for it! Keeping our bodies properly hydrated is far more important then using snack credits for the biggest and most expensive snack in the park!

 

[GillianP1301]

Whether you use a snack credit or not, you should be almost constantly drinking water during the summer months. I tend to pay for my water at the beginning of my trip and as my snack credits pile up towards the middle to end of trip, I start to use snack credits for the water.

 

[cobright]

It happens to all of us once in a while. No shame in it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Whether you use a snack credit or not, you should be almost constantly drinking water during the summer months. I tend to pay for my water at the beginning of my trip and as my snack credits pile up towards the middle to end of trip, I start to use snack credits for the water.

You're missing the point! It's not that I said NOT to drink water it's that I said I FORGOT to grab water out of the fridge.

There is a lot of chatter on these boards to use snack credits for anything except water. My thread was to say hey, I used to think that way too and now I've changed my tune. I was not looking for a 'drink water' lesson. I'm an adult and know the value of drinking water, as does my child.

PS - When I was at Guest Services one of the CMs beside me was almost pleading with a guest to use her snack credits for anything except water. I'm just saying it's a common thought that I think we need to consider changing, especially now that people have double the snack credits they had in the past.

 

[EdmondD]

But if you're definitely going to be getting snacks, wouldn't you be better to pay OOP for water and use the snack credit for a snack, because of the difference in cost? What is water....$3? And the plan covers snacks up to $6 or so, right?

 

[TeresaWen]

Bette to use it on something you need & want rather than on something else just because it is $6.00

 

[bumbershoot]

I still wouldn’t use a snack credit, because it’s dasani.

Dasani is extra-filtered municipal water.

Water from the taps at Disney is extra-filtered municipal water.

I’m not paying for what I can get for free.

The bottled water I buy at Publix is spring water, not municipal. If I forgot that at the room I’d just get free tap water.

Glad your daughter felt better.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We go bagless to the parks. We don't carry water into the park. We may take one on the bus or monorail and we usually throw it away before we hit the park.

When we did use the DDP I used credits on water (I don't think I knew about free ice water back then). I would rather do that than have 30 credits left at the end of the trip and taking home a bazillion rice krispy treats for later.

We haven't done the DDP since 2011. I'm buying to buy bottled water for the room and we get free ice water in the parks. When it's surface of the sun hot I don't care how the water tastes. I drink it to save myself from getting ill and because I'm HOT!

 

[scrappinginontario]

But if you're definitely going to be getting snacks, wouldn't you be better to pay OOP for water and use the snack credit for a snack, because of the difference in cost? What is water....$3? And the plan covers snacks up to $6 or so, right?

Yes but I think that majority of people don't use all of their snack credits. I'm further ahead using a credit to buy a $3 bottle of water than to pay OOP for it (having already paid for my dining plan) and then trying to use up extra snack credits at the end of our trip.

 

[EdmondD]

Yes but I think that majority of people don't use all of their snack credits. I'm further ahead using a credit to buy a $3 bottle of water than to pay OOP for it (having already paid for my dining plan) and then trying to use up extra snack credits at the end of our trip.

Yes, better to use on water than not at all.

For the life of me, I can't understand not using your snack credits! I never have enough!!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yes, better to use on water than not at all.

For the life of me, I can't understand not using your snack credits! I never have enough!!

I think I'm one of those people that at the beginning of our trips I normally watch our snack credits too closely. Because of this, we have some left. This year we also have double the snack credits which has made a HUGE difference. So thankful they made this change!!

Also, my daughter and I share many of our quick service meals as we find between the portion size and the heat that we're just not hungry enough to eat an entire QS meal a lot of times. This also adds to our snack credits as we exchange them for snacks at the end.

We enjoy using our snack credits at the end to purchase fun things like caramel, peanut apples; fudge and English Toffee to take home as souvenirs to family and friends.

 

[EdmondD]

I think I'm one of those people that at the beginning of our trips I normally watch our snack credits too closely. Because of this, we have some left. Also, my daughter and I share many of our quick service meals as we find between the portion size and the heat that we're just not hungry enough to eat an entire QS meal a lot of times. This also adds to our snack credits as we exchange them for snacks at the end.

We enjoy using our snack credits at the end to purchase fun things like caramel, peanut apples; fudge and English Toffee to take home as souvenirs to family and friends.

Sorry, it wasn't directed at you, per se, but in general.

So you eat reasonably and responsibly...that would explain the difference between you and me when it comes to snack credits. Very nice of you to take snacks home; my philosophy is my friends and family can have Disney snacks when they go to Disney World.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Yes, better to use on water than not at all.

For the life of me, I can't understand not using your snack credits! I never have enough!!

I did this the first time we had the DDP. I wanted to squeeze out and maximize our profit that we ended up with extra at the end of our trip. After that trip, if we had the DDP, I would get whatever we wanted with credits first and pay OOP later. Well we never ended up paying OOP for anything except on TS meal that we planned to pay OOP for anyway. Towards the middle to the end of the trip we are so full we end up grazing with snacks and sometimes skipping some QS meals so it all evens out. Even then we ended up with a few extra snack credits on our last day.

We don't do the DDP anymore (I may do it again if we get it "free") since lately we've either been doing the Labor Day exclusive through a TA and we can't get the DDP or renting points and I just don't see the value in buying the DDP.

 

[MomOTwins]

I still wouldn’t use a snack credit, because it’s dasani.

Dasani is extra-filtered municipal water.

Water from the taps at Disney is extra-filtered municipal water.

I’m not paying for what I can get for free.

The bottled water I buy at Publix is spring water, not municipal. If I forgot that at the room I’d just get free tap water.

Glad your daughter felt better.

You can also get a smart water with a snack credit ($4.50) instead of Dasani.

We bought plenty of waters with snack credits on our august trip. We had 8 snack credits per day for the four of us, and we just don't need 8 snacks per day.

 

[WildernessMickey]

I got a bottle of Smart Water as my beverage at one of my QS meals rather than a more expensive drink. I was really glad I did. I had had enough pop and alcoholic specialty drinks that week, and the water was so refreshing! Logic says you should get the most expensive beverage, but if you are craving water, then that is what you should get. It wasn't a waste at all. We ended up with about 20 snack credits and 2 extra QS credits on our last full day, so we bought other people some snacks at the park, and then took some home as well. I wish I had gotten more water during the week.

 

[GillianP1301]

But if you're definitely going to be getting snacks, wouldn't you be better to pay OOP for water and use the snack credit for a snack, because of the difference in cost? What is water....$3? And the plan covers snacks up to $6 or so, right?

Definitely, but if you are going to end up with unused snack credits, than the $3 water is better than not used at all. That's why I tend to only start using them when it's looking like I'm going to have some unused at the end. But given the choice of water or something like a Lefou's Brew, I'm going with the later every time.

 

[buzzrelly]

Any of the QS locations with fountains will give you water for free. I would never purchase or use a snack credit for water.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Any of the QS locations with fountains will give you water for free. I would never purchase or use a snack credit for water.

That was always my thought too until we were not at a location where water was available. We were outside of AK and there weren't any places to get a glass of water.

I would still prefer to use the majority of our snack credits for snacks and cold drinks but there are also times when using them for water can be a good option too.

Just sharing our experience and why I changed my tune about never using a snack credit for water.

 

[GillianP1301]

You're missing the point! It's not that I said NOT to drink water it's that I said I FORGOT to grab water out of the fridge.

There is a lot of chatter on these boards to use snack credits for anything except water. My thread was to say hey, I used to think that way too and now I've changed my tune. I was not looking for a 'drink water' lesson. I'm an adult and know the value of drinking water, as does my child.

PS - When I was at Guest Services one of the CMs beside me was almost pleading with a guest to use her snack credits for anything except water. I'm just saying it's a common thought that I think we need to consider changing, especially now that people have double the snack credits they had in the past.

No, I got your point and I was agreeing with you. We travel to WDW every August and know how easy it is to be affected by heat if you don't stay hydrated. I've also seen a lot of the "don't use a snack credit on water" and like you, I don't see any reason why not to, unless you have other snacks you are planning that are more expensive, in which case water is the easiest/best option for OOP.

 

[frannn]

I hear you.. but I had trained DH so well before the snack credits doubled that he not only paid OOP for water but also DD15s cotton candy. It hurt even worse when we left without using 17 snack credits cause we wanted to get to airport and DH didn't want to stop in Epcot for candy to take home. We should've used them for lots of water