To bring water bottles or not...

[veggirl]

Anyone want to weigh in? Should we bring our hydroflasks to the park?

- I've read ice water is free, but are lines long to get it?
- Is the water fountain water cold?

I'm thinking hydroflask will keep ice all day and just refill with water from the fountains, but is that worth carrying them around? We may get a stroller on a few of the days, like EP so seems like a no brainer those days.

Thoughts?

 

[Disneylover99]

I like to travel as light as possible, so I vote no. I like the water at the counter service locations. Just go up to the counter and ask for an ice water. They often have a bunch of ice waters ready to go, especially in the summer months.

 

[Alesia]

You can walk into any counter service location, ask the CM at the counter where the serve the food for a cup of ice water, and walk out in less than 30 seconds. Why carry something that you don't need to?

 

[Shoshana]

In December we don't carry our own water. In summer we do. It's nice to have when traveling to the park, waiting for rope drop, and when returning to hotel. We refill our kleen kanteen throughout the day. My daughter and I share so we're only carrying one.

 

[kj2mom]

I carry my Brita bottle. My backpack has the side pockets so it is easy to slip in and out. I always started the day with half ice/half water then when it got empty I would stop and get some free ice water and pour it into my bottle. I am not a water drinker but I force myself when in the parks and it is much easier for me to take a swig every few minutes than it is to try to chug down a cup all at once. Just personal preference and what works for me. I think we may have waited behind one person one time when getting water and several times they had the cups filled and ready to go.

 

[TayjaDanger]

I don't like carrying things if I can avoid it, and the sink water at the resort and park water fountains tasted just terrible to my family (and was none too cold, either!). The cups of free ice water were fine for us some of the time (tastewise), but we did resort to buying bottled water when we just couldn't stand the taste anymore. We had a rental car so we picked up a case of water to have at our resort and would just carry a few in from the car to put in the minifridge to keep cold. It felt very wasteful but we don't use bottled water except when we are travelling, so even though we didn't feel great about it, the *infrequency* of our actions made us feel a little better.
I know some people carry the little drops of fake flavoring and fake sugar to make their water more palatable, but to me that stuff tastes worse than using nothing! But if you like it, it's an option.

 

[veggirl]

In December we don't carry our own water. In summer we do. It's nice to have when traveling to the park, waiting for rope drop, and when returning to hotel. We refill our kleen kanteen throughout the day. My daughter and I share so we're only carrying one.

I forgot to mention it will be July, thanks for the reminder @Shoshana!

 

[Pesky]

I'm carrying just one because inevitably, we'll be in the middle of a line and suddenly DS will be dying of thirst. So I'll carry a refillable one for the kids to share but none for us.

 

[veggirl]

I don't like carrying things if I can avoid it, and the sink water at the resort and park water fountains tasted just terrible to my family (and was none too cold, either!). The cups of free ice water were fine for us some of the time (tastewise), but we did resort to buying bottled water when we just couldn't stand the taste anymore. We had a rental car so we picked up a case of water to have at our resort and would just carry a few in from the car to put in the minifridge to keep cold. It felt very wasteful but we don't use bottled water except when we are travelling, so even though we didn't feel great about it, the *infrequency* of our actions made us feel a little better.
I know some people carry the little drops of fake flavoring and fake sugar to make their water more palatable, but to me that stuff tastes worse than using nothing! But if you like it, it's an option.

Good to know on the water taste, I remember reading that but wasn't sure how bad it was.

 

[SabresFan]

A lot of that depends on how much water you drink, the weather, how much you sweat, etc. This past Wednesday was Evening EMH at MK, along with an 8 AM opening. I spent 17 hours in the park. I personally drank the entire contents of my water bottle eight times that day. It takes 3 of those paper cups of water they give out for free to fill up my water bottle (and I do sometimes use them for that purpose). Plus 4 to 5 glasses of fluid at lunch and dinner. That was the hottest day of the week.

For me, a water bottle is an absolute necessity.

 

[Hans Olo]

We carried two reusable water bottles we had bought from academy for the 7 of us (3 adults and 4 kids) last June. They worked great! We would get a bunch of water from a quick service and fill up the bottles then all drink the water till gone. That way we stayed hydrated and had some extra for when we were in line or walking around.

I thought the water tasted just fine at most QS and water fountains. I think the worst ones were in Magic Kingdom and there were really only a few bad ones there (maybe in the oldest parts of the pipes that might have older pipes?)

 

[Amboo]

We like the bottles with the filters, like Brita. We get the iced water from the counter service and pour it in. Some locations the water tastes awful but the filter makes it taste fine. But we also have a stroller with us so carrying it isn't an issue.

 

[Accident]

The park is so much fun if you can not carry anything. It's normal counter service lines and usually they aren't too bad to get an ice water from.

 

[YawningDodo]

When it was just me going alone, my strategy was that whenever I saw a drinking fountain I had to stop and drink from it. Kept me hydrated just fine. Of course, with a group that becomes a much bigger chore, and I was used to the taste because I'd been living in Florida for a few months then.

 

[cdnjason]

We used to bring water bottles to the parks. Not anymore.

 

[EvilQueen2018]

I hate carrying stuff. I have devised little ways to strap everything I need that day to myself or those with me. Because my husband will wear a light backpack, he will carry things like sandals, sunscreen, and frog togs, but I'll wear everything else. On my right side (convenient for right handed me) belt loop you will find a clip with a with a water bottle holder similar to the one below as well as a water bottle, also similar. The park water is awful, and some water fountains are better than others, but I only found one that was even remotely cold in the summer in all of the parks and it still didn't taste great. You can get your cups of ice water, or fountain in a pinch, and filter it on the way to your mouth. You will not drink enough to need a second filter any time soon. I just remove the water bottle, with the holder still on, to drink it then clip it back on when I'm done. Clipping it to my side makes it easy to access, easy to carry, and most importantly, it leaves my hands free to eat.

 

[Jonas_Swe]

I am not much for carrying stuff around, but a water bottle is a must.

I have a bottle holder that I bought from Disney. It's a rubber hoop that fits around the top of the bottle, with Mickey Ears on it (of course).
And it hangs on a locked hook that fits in the belt, or a pack pack or whatever that takes a clip on hook.

*****************
Edit: Found a pic of it!

 

[Lalabubbles]

We took our Hydroflask with us in October and it worked welll! We filled it with lots of ice in the morning and then just added water throughout the day (bottled water). We as a family drink lots of water so it was nice having ice cold water with us. We didnt take it to the parks at night, just when it was hot & sunny out.

 

[jo-jo]

You can walk into any counter service location, ask the CM at the counter where the serve the food for a cup of ice water, and walk out in less than 30 seconds. Why carry something that you don't need to?

I've done that, but my timing must be off. I've waited several mins before anyone helped me. Once the CM had her back to me. She was busy filling cup after cup with ice water , and then putting them on a tray, never turning around. Someone else walking by said "can I help you". I asked for ice water. She grabbed a bigger cup and filled it for me. The first CM.....after that tray was filled , she placed the whole tray under the counter. That must be where your 30 sec request comes in.


To the OP, we always carry a single water bottle. If it's very hot, I'll bring a second bottle and DH and I will drink it within the first 20 mins of the day. The second bottle hangs on a clip from a belt loop. At a CS, I'll ask for a cup of ice when ordering a meal and add the ice to the bottle.

Disney now sells a case of 12 oz bottles in the resorts gift shop. When we get to our room, I empty a suitcase, go to the shop, buy the water and load it into the suitcase. That way I can just roll it to our room. Sometime the distance between a store and our DVC room is 10 or 15 miles (or it seems that way).

 

[sgc]

How much Is Disney charging for case of water at gift shops ?