Tap Water Quality in Disney World

[afwdwfan]

Tap water in America is always at least as safe to drink as bottled. There are far more safety requirements for tap water than bottled. There are also more arms of enforcing those requirements for tap than bottled. Americas obsession with bottled water is purely mental, there is no basis in safety. But feel free to waste money and resources on it if you desire.

If only I could get my wife to see it the same way.

 

[minnie mum]

I have absolutely no reason to dispute the fact that WDW water is safe to drink. I am totally sure that it is.

HOWEVER for many, many people the taste of the tap water is more than just 'unusual', it's downright unpleasant compared to their water at home. There is a reason for so many threads and posts on the other forums about shipping or buying bottled water, using water bottles with built in filters, or using flavor additives to disguise the taste. And given how important it is to stay hydrated in the Florida heat, I'll do what I have to do in order to have PALATABLE water to drink.

That being said, given that your average dog will happily drink out of the toilet and eat out of the garbage can, I wouldn't be too worried about giving him tap water.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Ok you must be an alien.

While its safe to drink its far from top notch.

I hate to burst the Utopian fantasies of crisp icy glaciers, polar bears, and trickling mountain streams, but it’s mostly just the same stuff. According to ABC News, most bottled water is just reprocessed tap water:

Big-selling Dasani and Aquafina are just reprocessed tap water from cities around the country. One of Aquafina’s sources is the Detroit River!

So, to those who are interested in drinking reprocessed tap water from sources such as rivers around Detroit, please buy bottled. It helps the economy.

 

[chartle]

I hate to burst the Utopian fantasies of crisp icy glaciers, polar bears, and trickling mountain streams, but it’s mostly just the same stuff. According to ABC News, most bottled water is just reprocessed tap water:

Big-selling Dasani and Aquafina are just reprocessed tap water from cities around the country. One of Aquafina’s sources is the Detroit River!

So, to those who are interested in drinking reprocessed tap water from sources such as rivers around Detroit, please buy bottled. It helps the economy.

Where did you see a bubble to burst at all in my post.

Yes I know most mainstream bottled water is from a Municipal source.

Your use of the word reprocessed makes it sound like there is a guy with a garden hose filling up bottles.

Its filtered and processed to a much higher level than the "water" that comes out of the tap at WDW.

If you are OK with drinking it fine but I'm still wanting to know how you can say the water is "Top Notch". Top notch means the best of the best.

Most people here (those that live in and out of Fl) post that the "water" is barely drinkable as it comes out of the tap.

 

[dmccarty]

Many areas in FLA have sulfur in the water. Our water in NC has a bit of it from time to time especially a week or so after heavy rains. There are filters on the ice machines at AKL/AKV. The water out of the faucets there has not been "bad" the last few visits but on our first visit it was sulfurey. I get ice for our water but I will also drink the melted ice water.

People used to pay big bucks to take the waters. There used to be a spring along side a major road in Altamonte. There was a pipe alongside a ditch with free flowing water and people would stop and fill milk jugs. I wonder if it is still there? Likely not.

Given that my dog eats what the deer drop in the yard, , sometimes she rolls in it first, I would not worry about a dog drinking FLA water.

Later,
Dan

 

[TDC Nala]

The tap water is not the greatest, but I can't call it "barely drinkable." Not enough for me to run out and spend a bunch of money on bottles of some other municipality's filtered tap water.

 

[chartle]

The tap water is not the greatest, but I can't call it "barely drinkable." Not enough for me to run out and spend a bunch of money on bottles of some other municipality's filtered tap water.

Ok I guess "barely drinkable" is a bit much.

But its bad enough that I won't drink it unless its filtered then its passable.

 

[disnut8]

The water is absolutely safe to drink for you and your dog. I think of Florida water as having a "tinny" taste so I take my own gallon jug filled with nice "fresh" Georgia water with me. Just because I'm used to it, that's all. Your dog will be fine, you will be fine although humans can wrinkle their noses and express their feelings. And I highly doubt wherever you are boarding your dog will not make sure he/she is getting enough water and $5/day seems very high. I'd ask about a less expensive alternative if you are concerned.

 

[cns01120]

I'm boarding my dog at the Best Friends Pet Center in Disney World. I'm not worried about him getting enough water. We have well water at home from an underground spring. It's not heavily chlorinated and tastes different than tap water.

Part of the reason that I'm concerned is because he has a sensitive stomach. Often a table scrap or sip out of a stream or lake will give him a serious diarrhea problem. I don't want this to happen while he's in a kennel largely unsupervised. We're from up north and rarely get temperatures as high as in FL. I'm worried that the combination of an extreme temperature increase with diarrhea could easily and quickly cause severe dehydration.

I wanted to just bring my own water in gallons, but they don't allow that. You have to purchase bottled water for $5 per day. I still haven't decided if I want to do this. The price seems high and there is no way to verify that he's even getting the bottled water.

 

[bmalonef45]

As others have said it is safe to drink but being safe has apparently nothing to do with taste and smell. We've consistently noticed that not only the water from the fountains and water in the showers has a sulfuric taste/smell but also the fountain drinks must be using the same water in the ice or mix because they too have a bad taste.

Sometimes its not as bad as others but it would be hard for me to believe that on the many trips we've made to WDW its only been us that have had this problem. When we can we use drink bottled water. Not for safety reasons but for taste. If I'm thirsty and at WDW in July I'm sure I'd still use a fountain when needed.

For my dog... I think it would be fine. If he can drink water from the curb he can drink WDW water I mean he is a dog!

 

[Art 1]

I drink it everyday.

 

[TDC Nala]

If they won't let you bring your own water, and he gets ill if he doesn't drink well water, the best you can do is pay it and hope they are serious about the bottled water. Then again a lot of bottled waters are actually filtered tap water. When you get there you can ask to see the water in its container, so you can see what brand and type they are using. But I don't know what you can do if it isn't the kind of water you want, since you can't bring your own water.

The average human or dog will NOT get sick off Florida tap water.

 

[Art 1]

You make it sound like Orlando is an undeveloped country or something.


If you're not used to it, it might make you a little queasy. When we used to come here on vacation, we couldn't stand the water, it smelled and tasted gross. Now that I live here, I'm used to it. Something to think about though. I think your dog would probably be fine with the water.

I think the OP is joking, at least I would hope so.

 

[Orlando313]

I think the OP is joking, at least I would hope so.

Ya just never know.

 

[dunbarfamily]

I'm pretty fussy when it comes to tap water taste, but I don't mind Disney's too much. Is it my favorite? No. Would I prefer bottled water? Yep. Does Disney tap water make me gag or feel sick? No. I just drink it and don't think about it. Besides I like knowing I'm saving a ton of money by not buying bottled water! It makes it easier to justify a late night run to the snack bar!!

 

[Rhonna]

Part of the reason that I'm concerned is because he has a sensitive stomach. Often a table scrap or sip out of a stream or lake will give him a serious diarrhea problem. I don't want this to happen while he's in a kennel largely unsupervised.

We're from up north and rarely get temperatures as high as in FL. I'm worried that the combination of an extreme temperature increase with diarrhea could easily and quickly cause severe dehydration.

If you are that concerned, have you thought he might be better off at a kennel at home rather than WDW or have a friend/family take care of him while you are gone?

If your pet is that sensitive how will it fare traveling to and staying in Florida, which as you said, has temperatures and water you don't trust?

Also, once the pet is at the WDW kennels they have A/C there so then your concern is back to just the water, not the weather, unless you plan on taking your pet outside for long periods of time during the heat of the day.

 

[BrerVixen]

If you are that concerned, have you thought he might be better off at a kennel at home rather than WDW or have a friend/family take care of him while you are gone?

If your pet is that sensitive how will it fare traveling to and staying in Florida, which as you said, has temperatures and water you don't trust?

You took the words out of my mouth!

 

[cns01120]

Unfortunately, leaving him at home is not an option. We are in a very rural area and we don't have "kennels." The only option is to board him at a vet in a cage with 1 short walk per day. That will not work for a high-energy dog.

I have decided to go ahead and get the bottled water. For me, it's worth the extra $5 per day.

I looked up some more info and research on Orlando water and here are some of the statistics I found:

http://www.homefacts.com/waterquali...nty/Orlando/Orlando-Utilities-Commission.html

Orlando has a 5 out of 10 water rating with 17 chemicals found above health guidelines.

Here is another story about Orlando's water quality: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/12/21/daily24.html

Orlando was rated one of the worst cities for water quality.

 

[SDSorority]

We drink the water in the restaurants and at CS places and have been fine... but buy BIG JUGS of bottled water at either the DVC convenience stores, HESS Stations, or at the grocery to have in the room and carry around in our refillable bottles with us. It doesn't matter where I am- I do NOT drink out of drinking fountains or hotel faucets .

 

[Experiment_626]

The regular water can be super sulphuric depending on where you are on property.

That shows how much what you're used to plays a part in your perception. Our water here at home, in north Florida, comes from a well. It is far, far more sulphuric, even at the best of times, than anything I've ever tasted in Orlando. At times our tap water here smells strongly like rotten eggs. In all my years of touring WDW and the Orlando area (about 50 trips, give or take, since 1997), I've never encountered anything like that.

But yeah -- I think we are conditioned to expect water -- or any beverage we drink often -- to taste a certain way. If it differs even a little, we notice right away. And it is possible that even if the taste doesn't bother you, it might upset your stomach a little. If it does, discontinue drinking it and switch to bottled water at that point. But dogs should probably be okay either way, unless they are used to being super-pampered.

Scott