How much to carry into parks? Ok brita filtered bottles it is!

[jessg]

Oh folks so I have determined every one will be carrying in a filtered water bottle as to not have everyone carry around a bunch of liquid and get free ice water throughout the day. Snacks and food we cannot leave in lockers as my family are a snack throughout the day family and we will not be heading back and forth throughout the park to lockers everyone someone wants a snack. I figure on the first day everyone decide what they think they will eat throughout the day and everyone carry that. And for the rest of our stay they will have an idea if they need to carry that same amount each day or more/less. It will mostly be fruit, crackers/chips and a sandwich or 2 that's it nothing too heavy.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

6 waters, but freeze at least 4 of them.

You don't need Gatorade or electrolyte packets, that's waaaaaaay overkill. You're not running an iron man, you're walking around a theme park.

 

[Anna131517]

I would give everyone their own water bottle and fill it with ice before you go to the parks. You can get a little pedialite powder packs if you’re worried about electrolytes. Given FL summer heat I think that’s actually a good idea to consider. Where are you going to put all these bags when you go on rides? Are you going to get a locker? If you eat breakfast and dinner at your hotel you won’t have to carry as much. You could also bring a stroller to keep everything in.

 

[JoyfulHeart]

I think I would get a locker. That is a lot for a 9 year old to carry. I don't know the ages of your other kids, but anyone on the small side it will be tough. I would have a hard time carrying lunch, 5 water bottles, soda, 2 gatorades PLUS all the normal park stuff. Have you thought of the refillable filtered water bottles? I don't know if they will filter out the sulfur, but I would look into it. Its one bottle to cary instead of multiples and you can get the free water ( or your locker) to refill it.

 

[JoyfulHeart]

Let me add this. I have two small girls, 8 & 11 and they both weight 50 lbs. So this would not be an option for them. BUT both my girls do wear a crossover bag with a few snacks, activities for the lines and a water bottle ( although we do just do the disposable ones). and they both lasted fine in the parks with them.

 

[tinkerjo]

We have always carried our own bags but that’s a LOT of stuff to carry!!! We carry a few snacks, a water, a pop (yes we drink pop too) and I usually throw in a couple juice pouches. When we run out( and we do) we resort to drinks from quick service (free water or share a soda) I also have everyone pack their own rain poncho, sunscreen, chapstick, autograph books, medical supplies (I have a type 1 diabetic) there was a time I carried everything and was miserable . Save space and money and eat breakfast in the room. We also usually stay where we can eat most dinners in the room too. It lets us splurge on signature dining a couple times!!!

 

[krissynina]

I would not enjoy carrying that much around all day. Even a light bag starts to feel heavy by the end of the day. If I pack water bottles, I always make sure I have 1 refillable one so if I do run out, I have the option of refilling.

If you really want to know, do a test run. Pack what you think you will need for a day, go for a walk around the block a couple of times or walk to a nice picnic spot and see how it feels.

 

[loves to dive]

Just an aside about the free water. It comes from the filtered water in the soft drink machines so it doesn't have the bad Florida water taste. I would bring a refillable water and go that route instead of carrying all those water bottles. Frankly, I would carry all that food either but to each his own where that is concerned. If I were going to carry all that food, I'd probably just do one bigish cooler and put it in a locker then maybe dole out some snacks to each kid and go back to the locker for lunch time. Given the time of year you are going, everyone is going to need some sort of rain gear.

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

Are you planning on going open to close not back to your resort at all ? There is no way my kids even at 16 would carry that much all day. I can see a couple of bottles each and a Gatorade . Definitely bring a refillable water bottle to use to fill up with free quick service water . I agree a locker would be best. Especially with the heat it is uncomfortable carrying a bag . Maybe 2 people carry a bag and switch off .

 

[Lilsia]

I would not enjoy carrying that much around all day. Even a light bag starts to feel heavy by the end of the day. If I pack water bottles, I always make sure I have 1 refillable one so if I do run out, I have the option of refilling.

If you really want to know, do a test run. Pack what you think you will need for a day, go for a walk around the block a couple of times or walk to a nice picnic spot and see how it feels.

Forget at the end of the day, about 2 hours in, any bag starts to feel like they weigh 50 pounds in the heat and humidity. I refuse to be a pack mule, especially on my vacations. OP, I would get a locker for all of that stuff, especially all of those drinks. So you want to carry around 56 bottles of drinks every day, plus the food? That does not sound realistic. If you make your kids carry all of that around, that is what they are going to remember from their trip.

 

[sheilafri]

I use a travel cross body bag that has pop open sides to hold two bottles. My husband and I share a soda and throw it away quickly, then switch to refilling the water bottle. I put a 1-2 cup bag of trail mix or nuts in the bag with my chapstick, poncho, credit cards, etc. At the end of the day my back is killing me. I think you would be diminishing your family’s enjoyment of the park with what you are considering.

 

[midwestdee]

I just purchased 2 collapsible water bottles with clasps on them. I figured WDW in June would be a good time to try them.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

If you are staying offsite and driving in, just pack a cooler and head back to the car for meals, and only carry the light snacks and a reusable bottle into the parks. It'll keep everyone's loads lighter!

If you are staying onsite, consider leaving the majority of the food at the room and heading back for meals instead.

The drinks in particular are just too heavy to carry around, even with lightening the load by drinking them as you go.

 

[jo-jo]

So we will be going in August I know it's extremely hot and humidity is no joke. I have been in August before so I do know what I'm getting into weather wise. We are a group of 3 adults and 5 kids ranging 9-17 we will all be carrying in water bottles and some food for the day as it is how we are saving money to be able to go on this trip, So with that said instead of having 1 person or 2 people carry everything we are going ti switch it up this time and everyone will be carrying a insulated backpack with their own food and drinks for the day. We know for sure we will be bringing in fruits, sandwiches, chips, crackers ect, my question is how many drinks for everyone I am thinking 5ish waterbottles and 2 of those mini Gatorade bottles each and maybe some kind of electrolyte packets and a juice/soda each? Yes we drink soda as do our kids do you think we need more water? I know Def not less. I'm not worried too much about weight as the weight will be reduced as food and drinks are consumed throughout the day so it won't be a case of lugging a bunch of weight around all day. I know if we run out of water we can always get iced water but in trying to avoid the sulfur water to prevent tummy issues. We will be going all day or most of the day

Am I reading this right?? Each person will carry 5- 8 bottles/cans of liquid? That's equal to 2 1/2 cases of water. Even with a stroller (which isn't a bad idea) that would be a lot. There is/was a family here that would pack almost everything food wise for their family and used a stroller to tote it.

water is about a pound for every 16 oz. So an extra 7-8 pounds plus bag ,plus sandwiches, chips, etc.

Edit to add......That family with the stroller.....would park the stroller in the shade, go on a bunch of rides. Maybe only move it a couple times over the course of the day, not move it from ride to ride.

 

[Meglen]

Each person have there own water bottle. Smaller ones for the littles. And get free water from anywhere that has a soda fountain. Just have to ask for cups of water. This will cut down alot of weight. If you want Gatorade get the packets and put it in the water bottles.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

The stroller suggestion is also a good one if you really feel you must bring all the food and beverages into the park. I did a hike as an adult carrying 5 liters of water, and it was exhausting for me, despite drinking nearly all of it over the course of the 3 hour hike. My daughter attempted to carry 1.5 liters for herself (she was 11 and in great shape), and within 20 minutes it was too much and I had to take her water as well. It will get lighter, but the kids will already be tired quite early on trying to carry that much weight!

If it really is an absolutely must, and a stroller is not an option, train for it. 3 months ahead of the trip start doing walks around the neighborhood with the expected load. When the family can get up to about 10-12 miles without any meltdowns, you'll be ready for WDW with no fears of whether they can do it or not!

 

[tjmw2727]

I would scale that way back! Everyone can carry a sandwich and snacks along with a refillable water bottle and a few flavor packs. No way would I or my kids carry 7 bottles of water. It's very easy to get filtered free water or hit a water fountain. Save the soda for at the room or a mid-day splurge and drink the juice in the am with breakfast

 

[Lilsia]

I would also like to add that the water have become much better over the years. In the past, it was not potable at all for many people. Now, it has a much cleaner taste.

 

[Meglen]

I would also like to add that the water have become much better over the years. In the past, it was not potable at all for many people. Now, it has a much cleaner taste.

The water cups you can get for free are filtered water used to mix the sodas. Also the new filtration stations are filtered.

 

[Lilsia]

The water cups you can get for free are filtered water used to mix the sodas. Also the new filtration stations are filtered.

Yes, but even that water has the "Florida" taste to it and the ice ruined every drink. It really was horrible but has improved dramatically over the last few years. They were filtered years ago too and still had that horrible flavor to it. Those soda machines just have basic carbon filters and they are not even close to being strong enough to have filtered out all of that taste. Saying something is "filtered" doesn't really mean all that much. They are basically there to remove sediment but are not able to remove that taste. You need chlorine to affectively combat that. The pools had better water then what came out of the tap. But like I said, it is much improved from several years ago and the OP might be surprised how palatable it now it compared to years past.