Silly question, but free water...

[mlktwins]

...at the parks! How big are the cups usually? Trying to decide if we can just make do with that, should we bring our own bottled water in, or maybe gets some water bottles (i.e. Klean Kanteen) to put the free Disney water in. We leave Friday and I'm doing last minute stuff.

Any suggestions? We are a family of 4 with two 11 year olds.

 

[AngiTN]

Size varies by location in my experience. Some use the small cups, others the big ones. You can ask for whatever size and for however many you need though. Bottles to put it in is a good idea no matter what if you want it to #1, stay cold longer and #2, not get drippy with condensation while you carry it.

 

[Gina Starr]

Depends where you go. I usually ask for "a large ice water" and some places will actually give a large or some will give whatever they have made which is usually small like maybe a 12-16oz cup? If you go to Starbucks you can get a large which I think is 30 oz. No matter what size you get they are unlimited so you can always get more. What worked for us last trip was taking our refillable resort mug and putting the water in that. It's leak proof so we could just throw it in our bag and not have to chug it before getting in line.

 

[kappyfamily]

FYI in my opinion Florida water doesn't taste very good. I know some people bring the rystal light or water flavor stuff to add to it.

 

[yulilin3]

If the quick service has a self serving soda station they will most likely give you a smaller cup
If they fill up the drink for you they will most likely give you a larger cup
Starbucks water goes through 3 filters, if you can wait in line that's the best tasting free water at WDW. All parks plus DS have a starbucks

 

[AngiTN]

FYI in my opinion Florida water doesn't taste very good. I know some people bring the rystal light or water flavor stuff to add to it.

Water they provide at the QS locations is not tap water. It's from the water spout on the soda machine and is filtered

Otherwise, this is very accurate, FL tap water is awful, though slightly less awful now than it was a few years ago. No idea why, I assume their treatment systems have changed in some manner maybe?

 

[mlktwins]

I LOVE the Dis so much! Thank you!

 

[Klayfish]

Size varies by location in my experience. Some use the small cups, others the big ones. You can ask for whatever size and for however many you need though. Bottles to put it in is a good idea no matter what if you want it to #1, stay cold longer and #2, not get drippy with condensation while you carry it.

Yep, exactly. We've had various sizes. I also agree that it may be easier to bring something to carry it in if you plan to hold onto it for a while. Other option is to get a smaller cup and drink it all before you reach your destination. We did that a lot, to the point where we stopped bringing our carrying bottle. We'd stop for water when we knew we had a decent walk and/or time between rides and get the free water. You can bring it in the queue and drink it. So for rides we didn't have FP+ and had to wait 10-20 minutes (we won't wait in lines much longer than that), we had plenty of time to drink.

And yes, the water they serve is filtered. Though not sure about the ice. I rarely have issues with tap water "taste", so it doesn't bother me anyway.

 

[yulilin3]

Yep, exactly. We've had various sizes. I also agree that it may be easier to bring something to carry it in if you plan to hold onto it for a while. Other option is to get a smaller cup and drink it all before you reach your destination. We did that a lot, to the point where we stopped bringing our carrying bottle. We'd stop for water when we knew we had a decent walk and/or time between rides and get the free water. You can bring it in the queue and drink it. So for rides we didn't have FP+ and had to wait 10-20 minutes (we won't wait in lines much longer than that), we had plenty of time to drink.

And yes, the water they serve is filtered. Though not sure about the ice. I rarely have issues with tap water "taste", so it doesn't bother me anyway.

the ice is filtered if it's coming from a soda machine or the CM scoops it into your cup. The ice they use to keep bottled drinks and the spraying fans cold is NOT filtered (the ones in the huge silver and black buckets)

 

[tamerbelles]

I tell everyone to definitely bring their own bottles (especially if you have kids who get thirsty, like my daughter). We bought insulated bottles (so they wouldn't get wet with condensation and kept the water cold pretty much all day). My husband would chill them every night in the resort mini fridge so they were ready for the morning. Then we'd refill and add ice during our mid-day breaks (in our room or wherever we were eating lunch).

It was soooo nice to have a cold drink no matter where we went, and we didn't have to worry about stopping/waiting at a quick service. Same goes for snacks, in my opinion. Having a few Clif bars, crackers, etc. in our backpack kept everyone much happier because we could grab something no matter where we were in the parks.

My husband and daughter weren't bothered by the water flavor ... But I liked using Nuun tablets to make it taste better ... plus, Nuun is like Gatorade but without all the sugar, so it helped me stay hydrated in the humidity.

 

[bumbershoot]

Water they provide at the QS locations is not tap water. It's from the water spout on the soda machine and is filtered

Otherwise, this is very accurate, FL tap water is awful, though slightly less awful now than it was a few years ago. No idea why, I assume their treatment systems have changed in some manner maybe?

Tap water run through a filter is still tap water. I can put our water through a brita, or put a house filter on so its filtered before it comes through any tap, but it's still tap water.

And the stuff they give you at restaurants still smells and tastes bad in Florida (and Anaheim).

 

[BrianL]

Well, at least the FL tap water is better than the Anaheim water at DL! The first time I was there I was drinking a lot of tap water and wasn't feeling well. I struck up a conversation with a local and they told me to stop doing that. Immediately. The ice water from a QS is filtered though, so at least it's better.

 

[AngiTN]

Tap water run through a filter is still tap water. I can put our water through a brita, or put a house filter on so its filtered before it comes through any tap, but it's still tap water.

And the stuff they give you at restaurants still smells and tastes bad in Florida (and Anaheim).

Ok, sure, technically, water is water. It all starts at a tap somewhere. I'll call it filtered water vs. non-filtered water if that makes it better. Guess we just view it differently. Filtered water and non-filtered water do not taste the same. The water I get from the soda machine doesn't even remotely taste the same as the water I get out of a facet at a sink at Disney. Not even close. I can barely even stand the smell of the straight from the tap, much less drink it but can drink the water from the soda machine ok. Is it great? No. But is it light years better than non-filtered? Yes. And in the end, that's all that matters. Call it all tap water if you want. But it sure doesn't all taste the same. And the taste is what matters, no?

And for whatever reason when we eat at TS restaurant and get water, they don't seem to provide it from the soda machine, in many cases. It is non-filtered and tastes and smells bad. I don't find this everywhere but it does happen. And every time the waitstaff points out that if we'd like better water they do have bottled for sale. I'm left to assume they bring tap water in hopes that you'll buy bottled water but that's just my guess. I avoid it all by just drinking beer instead

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I tried to do the free water thing on my last trip but it got so annoying having to wait in the quick service lines for it that I stopped at the end of my 2nd day unless I was already in line to get food.

At least they had the free water in containers outside of Pinocchio Village Haus in MK so that was one line I didn't have to stand in.

 

[AngiTN]

I tried to do the free water thing on my last trip but it got so annoying having to wait in the quick service lines for it that I stopped at the end of my 2nd day unless I was already in line to get food.

At least they had the free water in containers outside of Pinocchio Village Haus in MK so that was one line I didn't have to stand in.

I found several of the QS locations keep water in cups right on the counter, at least in the summer. No line needed at all. Casey's was particularly good at this.

 

[china mom]

I have been told by CMs and seen it referenced here not to stand in the QS line but rather go straight tot he counter where they give the food out and ask for water there. That is what I have been doing for years and have never had anyone tell me otherwise.

 

[bookgirl]

I rarely buy bottles of water at Disney. I stick to my refillable water bottle for the most part. I usually have a backpack so it's easy to carry around. If I don't have a bag I have some neoprene sleeves that have a carabineer on it that I hook to my belt loop.

I prefer a water bottle as I hate carrying around cups. Most water you get will be filtered through the soda machines. Some places will use tap and most people are able to tell those as soon as they taste it. (I always taste first before I add it to my bottle). I have used flavor pouches but honestly most water will be fine from the soda machines. I have drank tap water when it was super hot and I was more worried about hydrating then taste. Florida water is not bad for you it just has a higher sulfur content and that can affect the taste or smell.

I prefer being able to fill my own water bottle so I just stick to the self serve soda fountains as water and ice are not chipped controlled. Mostly I just make sure to keep it full so I top up the bottle anytime I'm by a QS. That way I never get too thirsty or too desperate to stand in a line.

I have a bottle with a large mouth so that I can make sure not to touch the rim to the ice or spigot. I use a YETI (the thermos not the cup) or a HYDROFLASK so leak proof and no sweating. I just keep it in my bag and I'm good to go.

In the room I will sometimes have a second refillable that I keep in the fridge that I fill at the QS/Foodcourt. I also buy a gallon of distilled water at the gift shop for medical use and to make my coffee with. Florida water will affect the taste of coffee is you use it straight from the tap.

Disney makes it pretty easy to get water without having to pay $3 a bottle for it or arrange to ship a case to your room.

 

[IrishNYC]

Most of the QS water cups were small when we were there last. We brought Brita bottles and filled them with ice and water in our room before we left. I couldn't stomach the tap water in the room enough to even brush my teeth without gagging, but filtered it was fine. After we emptied those, we'd refill them from QS cups.

 

[scrapquitler]

Tap water run through a filter is still tap water. I can put our water through a brita, or put a house filter on so its filtered before it comes through any tap, but it's still tap water.

And the stuff they give you at restaurants still smells and tastes bad in Florida (and Anaheim).

Dasani is, too. It's filtered in the bottling company. Same water that comes out of the tap in the bottling company.

 

[Klayfish]

I found several of the QS locations keep water in cups right on the counter, at least in the summer. No line needed at all. Casey's was particularly good at this.

Yup. Quite often we walked up and they just grabbed several that they already had prepared. No wait, no problem.