saving $$ on drinks

[ALostBoy]

Hi all,

The best tip I have recieved from this board is to ask
for cups of ice water at the counter service resturants.
At lunch time my wife and I would usually drink water
with our lunch. I would ask for extra cups of "ice water"
and refill the quarts in the cooler. The water from the
resturants does not have a bad taste at all. In fact it
taste like the water you buy in the bottle, to me. The
water from the fountains around WDW does have a
bad taste and I don't care for it.
Good luck

 

[bubba's mom]

we are going in 3 weeks and plan to use ice from vendors and water from fountains/restroom sinks in our brita bottle. we are trying to save on food/drink to spend elsewhere......

 

[disneyjunkie]

Before leaving the room each morning, I fill our water bottles with ice and water. Once we are done with those, we buy water from the carts.

Those bottles are so COLD, nice and refreshing. When we were there in April, they had the smaller bottles for about $1.50.

 

[MemphisDad]

We always bring water in with us, because staying at OKW we have a freezer and can freeze it overnight. If you do this and carry a bottle or two in a backpack or bag, wrap the bottles in a hand towel. The extra insulation assures you will still have ice in the bottle even by 3:00 in the afternoon (if you don't drink it all by then.)

 

[Ilovestitch]

Originally posted by Mom2R&D
We would stop at the carts for bottled water and rarely had to wait in line (we went in June). And if we did have to wait it was minimal.

To me it's worth the money to buy something cold to drink and not have to lug around water bottles.

My thoughts exactly!! I tried bringing drinks and it was a pain trying to keep them cold and carry them around just to save a few bucks. We didn't have a fridge in our room so it was impossible to keep them cold for any amount of time. It wasn't worth all the trouble. -Steph

 

[Amirah95]

DH read this thread and said that we are buying drinks in the park this time because we had such a horrible time with keeping the bottles cold, keeping the bottles from slipping out of the bottle holder, etc. It's just not worth the headache out in the heat.

 

[NALA 24]

We always buy our water at the parks. However, once it gets warm, the kids want a new bottle. Someone mentioned that smaller bottles were available for $1.50. Did anyone else purchase these? I think I also read on the boards, that disney lowered the price of water to $2.00. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[BoCat]

Hi guys!! My boyfriend and me stop at the Walmart from the airport to the resort we'll be staying at and buy 16oz bottles of water and use our bottle/shoulder straps-we also buy pepsi products since my boyfriend is addicted to it and Disney doesn't sell it--Diet Coke is my favorite.

 

[bubba's mom]

we drink ALOT of water, and we'd go broke buying it there! by chance, our 2 brita bottles happen to fit into a small, softside lunchbox that's insulated....also, going to DOUBLE bag ziplocs and keep refilling them with ice to keep in lunchbox...i do this very often at home, so i don't mind doing it there...plus dh will help!! i have heard of people wrapping bottles in tin foil and then putting them in a clean sweat sock for insulation....we are only there for 1 and 3/4 days and aren't getting fridge in ASMo

 

[stacy2197]

Water was $2.00 in June but on July 1st it went back up to 2.50. When it was 2.00 we bought alot of water. When it went up to 2.50 I refilled my water bottle more. I know .50 isn't much but for some reason it made a difference. I also bought some of those crystal light packs that was a big hit with the kids.

 

[Bellerina]

Before we had kids we would have been buying the drinks in the parks because we didn't carry anything with us. Now that we have 2 kids who we try to keep topped up with water all day, buying it for all 4 of us can be expensive.

We have a freezer in our accommodation so I buy the big gallons of water and fill up sports bottles and freeze them. 2 get the full bottle frozen, 1 3 quarters frozen and 1 half frozen. You top the 2 partially frozen up with water before you leave and have ice cold water all day as the bottles melt.

Mind you we take a stroller so have no problem lugging all this around with us. I wouldn't bother if we had to carry the bottles

 

[Julia M]

Originally posted by bubba's mom
we drink ALOT of water, and we'd go broke buying it there! by chance, our 2 brita bottles happen to fit into a small, softside lunchbox that's insulated....also, going to DOUBLE bag ziplocs and keep refilling them with ice to keep in lunchbox...i do this very often at home, so i don't mind doing it there...plus dh will help!! i have heard of people wrapping bottles in tin foil and then putting them in a clean sweat sock for insulation....we are only there for 1 and 3/4 days and aren't getting fridge in ASMo

Oh, I'll try that trick, wrapping our water bottles.

I know I sound whiny, but my water must be cold!!!!

I figure I don't drag snacks around......our kids are older, so we don't have diaper bags, extra clothes, ect, so a couple of water bottles won't kill me!

On the other hand, I like using water bottles we have bought, and can dump when they are empty. I wouldn't do well with Brita bottle myself.

Julia

 

[Blueberry]

We drink Poweraides all while we are in the parks, except with meals as it replenishs lost vitamins from being in all the heat and it energizes you..... ....I think they were $2.50 each in May.

 

[my3princes]

Just back. We brought powdered gaterade (grape) with us and kept it in a formula container (3 compartments). We had a 32 oz bottle that we mixed the powder with water and it worked wonderfully. We asked for large cups of ice water at the counter service places and ran it through our brita bottle. We found that the water tasted worse at some parks than at others (Epcot was better than MK). We did purchase some sodas with meals and you can even taste the crappy water taste through the soda. All and all we spent very little on beverages, were able to get ice water practically anywhere and never had a problem when requesting it. Everyone was very well hydrated and as long as we flavored the water the kids didn't even complain. We tried crystal light a couple of times, but it was very hard to try to measure out 1/2 a container so the premeasured gatorade just worked better.

 

[karemore]

Dh took his sport water bottle, the one he uses when cycling.

I would pack it full of ice at the hotel, and then fill the rest with strong (room temp) tea. When it melted he has cold ice tea to drink....the ice flavor is hidden by the tea.

I don't drink tea, and I like a smaller bottle.

I would carry one water bottle that had been kept on ice all night, and then fill a second water bottle with apple juice and crushed ice. I would drink the juice early in the day before it got warm, and refill my water bottle at the fountains.

This next trip I plan to carry the juice, and a Brita bottle for refills.

We did buy one drink with each meal, and if we got a large one we didn't finish, it could be poured into my extra water bottle.

The good think about DH's large sports water bottle was that ice could be poured into it easily. I just made him keep it inside a zip lock bag when it was in the backpack.

We didn't find it all inconvenient to fix the cold drinks and pack them in the backpack before leaving for the parks.

If I had to buy drinks at 2.50 each, I'd spend over $10 a day just for myself! No way.

Karen

 

[Amirah95]

I have prepared a beverage budget because this topic has become more of a bigger issue than I thought. We are going to buy our beverages inside the parks because DH says that we are not carrying anything with us this time. He said whatever can't fit inside our fanny packs doesn't go inside the parks. I understand his frustration. He told me to figure it out and put it in the budget.

 

[carol9999]

Has anyone taken those rolling soft, collapsible, coolers (not the big hard plastic ones) and rolled them around the parks like the size of a small (maybe 18" high, 15" wide and 12" thick)piece of luggage that rolls with the pull up handle....someone said they saw people doing this and thought it was a great idea.....this would keep drinks and even lunch for 5 people. what do you all think?? i am going in october and want to do the right thing...my plan is to only have to buy dinner at WDW everyday (eat free breakfast at hotel, bring lunch in cooler to park) Comments or advice? thanks

 

[my3princes]

We actually saw a family with one of those large plastic coolers with wheels in the MK. I personally think that any kind of wheeled cooler would be difficult. What would you do with it while you were on the rides? I think that they are allowed (no alcohol of course), but you would really need to think about what you would do with it while the whole family is on a ride together or in a show.

 

[carol9999]

Wouldn't you just leave it like you would leave a stroller and get it after the ride? Also, i dont think i would take the big large plastic coolers, just a little soft one on wheels like a little suitcase like the stewdesses use.... cant i just leave it where the strollers are when i get into the rides?

 

[my3princes]

I've never seen anyone leave anything except strollers in the stroller parking area. Often the strollers are moved around when you come out. I would also be more concerned with theft or tampering with my food. It is probably safe, but with terrorism and crime so prevailant now, I don't take any chances. Maybe someone else on the boards will have experience with this.