Tips for staying better hydrated during long days at the park?

[MaC410]

My wife and I are the types of people who run around the parks all day trying to do as much as possible. We have slowed down a little bit over the years but we notice that even though we plan for it we are definitely not drinking enough water. We mostly notice the lack of hydration because we definitely don't feel as hungry as we should for our dining reservations. We never end up eating a lot when we go to Disney World. We will have reservations for our favorite places and then after walking around all day we end up not nearly as hungry as we should be.

Are there any tips out there from other park commandos on how to better stay hydrated? We do bring water bottles into the park but we don't do a good enough job refilling them. Water fountains are sometimes hard to find and the water sometimes kind of bleh tasting.

 

[Mome Rath]

Well, with increased walking sometimes your hunger level can actually be less, so maybe get to wherever you are going to go eat early and just chill before going up to get seated. As for drinking; one of my "rules" is to always have a water bottle in my hand with water in it. If it gets empty I either buy a new one or fill the one I have.

Anywhere there is a counter service, you can go ask for a cup of ice water, or there is a setup with ice water in a container with cups at the entrance. This water is usually filtered. If you look around restroom entrances there are usually water fountains located there if you don't mind filling from a fountain.

 

[Disneypro1]

Water is free at any place that serves drinks. Also fountains everywhere. That’s pretty much what we use.

 

[Upatnoon]

Drinking water is important, but I speculate that isn't why you aren't hungry.
I think the reason you aren't hungry is because you are walking and moving all day and exercise is a natural appetite suppressant.
Also, you are visiting during a hot time, heat will also kill your appetite.
I'd suggest taking a break and cooling off for a while before you go to dinner.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

We carry a backpack of water, usually about 3 bottles each a day. And we freeze 2 of them so they will thaw during the day and still be cold at night. We also take the little flavor packets so if we want something that has a taste we do lemonade or tea ect.

 

[YawningDodo]

This won't work if you're not willing to drink from the drinking fountains, but at one point I'd made a rule for myself that any time I saw a drinking fountain I had to stop and take at least ten sips. It actually kept me pretty well hydrated.

 

[Bjkandma]

The rule of thumb at Disney is one water bottle per 1-2 hours to stay well hydrated in the hot summer sun. Won't explain what happened to me, but we now have water available in a small cooler (yes we carry it all the time, including lines). Less stressful than dehydration affecting your whole vacation!

 

[iheartglaciers]

If you don’t like the taste of the water, I’ve gotten little filter packets (they almost look like tea bags) that can be put directly in your water bottle. They are also reusable, so one is good for the whole week.

 

[rjejdisfam605]

Other than bringing a water bottle and taking breaks, I don't know if there is much more advice...


Last time we went, all 4 of us got fancy new water bottles to take. We filled them with ice water before we went to bed at night and kept them in the fridge at our resort. In the morning, we pulled them out cold and ready so it was one last stop to make. Hooked them on our stroller (had a 4 yr old with us). We would take regular breaks in the shade in places that had enough room for our kids to run around in front of us without needing to have a hand held on to. They were tired of not having freedom at times because we don't want to get separated. Well during these breaks, we would eat a snack and/or drink a lot of our water. Used fountains to fill them. We also gave ourselves a rule that if we hadn't finished at least one bottle (kids had kid sized ones) of water while running around then there was no soda or dessert at dinner....so that was a motivator for our kids and my husband. I only drink water anyway so I sucked the water down like nobody's business.

I guess maybe practice better hydration at home before the trip...like drinking so much water every hour and just stick with it on the trip.

 

[BobbyDukes]

Every Quick Service restaurants by Disney rule has to offer you free water if you go up and ask. THey are usually very good about it. Behind the counter usually someone is filling "to go" cups with fresh ice water.

 

[MichaelWill&Megan'sMom]

My family wears Camelbak backpacks that have water bladders and a tube hanging over our shoulder. They are light weight, compact, and hold just enough stuff- they come in several sizes. My kids started wearing them at 4 (now 13, 14, 17)

the attached picture is old, but a good view of the size of backpack that we like.

 

[bobgobblin15]

We like to bring water bottles as well. But water alone doesn't keep me hydrated, I have to drink a gatorade or powerade. Even at home I have to have them. Maybe try one of those during the day?

 

[Dis Dragon]

Well this isn't a be all end all, you should try liquid IV, it's a powder that you add to your water, flavored. The minerals in it help your body retain more of the water instead of just passing it through. They boast 3x, it helped us cut down on consumption.

 

[Heluvsme]

My son wears a fanny pack that has a water bottle pocket on the side of it, that helps him a LOT! It is right there at his fingertips and he stayed very well hydrated his last trip!

 

[ZZBane]

Powdered pedialyte

 

[BobbyDukes]

Any quick service window has a bunch of pre-filled ice water cups. Go up to, usually the soda fountain spot and ask the cast member behind the fountain for some water.