Keeping food cold in the parks?

[goofy4wdw2]

DD 2.5 was just diagnosed with celiac disease. I'd like to bring a small soft-sided cooler into the parks with deli meats, cheese, yogurt. She doesn't eat a large variety of foods yet, and we've tried the brand of gluten free mac n cheese and pizza WDW serves, and DD doesn't care for them (yet, I hope!). I figure we won't have a problem finding something for her at the table service restuarants, but I'm concerned about counter service, so wanted to have some things with us....more than just dry snacks.

My concern is that frozen water bottles and ice packs won't keep everything cold for very long in 90 degree weather. I figure we would be fine for lunch, but wouldn't have cold things for dinnertime unless we go back to the resort to get new icepacks. Any suggestions for how to keep things cold in the cooler all day? Does Guest Services have a refrigerator that we could use to keep things cold in the afternoon, or to keep a ice pack frozen that we could switch out mid-day?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The answer to your question is no, there is no place to store the cooler or to get ice packs refrozen (or keep them frozen). First Aid only has a refrigerator, and that is used for the storage of medicines. Logistically, to have such a service available, would be a nightmare.

However, if you rent a locker to put the cooler in, it will basically stay reasonably cool during the day. All of the lockers are inside buildings and sheltered from the sun and heavy airflow; I'm not sure but I think that the areas they are tend to be cooler than outdoors.

Your locker key will allow unlimited in and out access for the day. Yes, it will take some tinme to get back to the locker if you are at the far end of a park, but then also you are not carrying the cooler all the time

 

[Selket]

I like CF's suggestion but I wanted to add that you could also bring some ziploc type bags and ask for cups of ice to dump in those to replace the ice in your cooler. We kept the cooler in the stroller so it wasn't too much hassle to have with us. We kept the food in ziplocs too so it wouldn't get water logged in case the water leaks from the ice bags.

We did this when we stayed on site and the fridges in the WDW rooms don't have ice makers or a freezer compartment. It is possible to turn your fridge up to the highest and freeze bottles on the white middle shelf area but your other items might freeze too.

The worst part is dragging all that onto the bus! (stroller, softsided cooler with ice/food, other bag with his stuff, etc).

 

[LadyEMT]

I have also read where people used a Thermos to keep certain things cool or warm.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have also read where people used a Thermos to keep certain things cool or warm.

people tend to think of thermoses only to keep things warm, but you can also use them to keep things cool. Before putting the food in, 'condition' the thermos by putting some cold water with ice in it for a few minutes. That tends to keep things cooler than just putting your food in.
You could experiment at home to see how well some of these ideas work.

 

[cherylp3]

Also your local super market should have cooler bags that can hold for 3 hours.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Pluse a lot of online camping supply places have the ice packs and such in smaller sizes. Campmor, REI, Sierra trading post, and so on!

Not to mention various sizes of coolers!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My first thought was to make ice bags using Ziplock bags. When they start to thaw, just dump them and get more ice from the restaurants or vendors. This should keep the food nice and cold all day.

Also, you might want to look at the menus on:

http://www.allears.net/din/dining.htm

They have menus for every table and counter service restaurant. You might find a lot of things that your DD can eat and, therefore, carry less with you. Before our trip, I looked at every menu and made a list of places where my picky, autistic son would be able to eat. This saved us from having to run from place to place to read menus. When it was time to eat, I would just whip out my list! Have a good trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

you can also find a list of menus on the DIS dining page right here. Between that and allearsnet's menus, you should have a pretty good idea what to find where.

 

[Schmeck]

They're expensive, but you could buy the chemically activated icepacks (like the ones in first aid kits) so that you could just activate one as needed.

 

[angelbearmom]

Does anyone know how long the cold packs meant for first aid stay cold? This is a good thread as I've been trying to figure out how to keep my son's tube feed formula cold when we're out all day. I plan to get what is called an ïce blanket and just wrap it around both the bag in his pump and the spare bag that we'll always have with us. But having something you can activate just when you need it is a great idea. I just want to know if they last long enough for it to be worth it to pay the extra cost.

Thanks

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I did fine this place:

http://www.coolerconcept.com/

and this place:

http://www.insulincase.com/Injectable-Pen-Travel-C13.aspx

The second one has various brands of coolers.

It seems to vary.