What does everyone do about water?

[dizprincess27]

I need some advice here since we're leaving soon and my head is so clouded with everything I have to bring, etc., etc.

Is it better to buy a Brita Water bottle and get free ice and water refills throughout the parks or can you get ice water from some of the stands for a minimal fee (say for the cup) I know the water bottles are $2.50 a piece and I don't want to be spending $15.00 a day on water between my dd and myself although the little bugger will want soda and there is no way around buying some of that.

So what should I do for cold water? I'm leaning towards buying the brita water bottle and asking for refills. What does everyone do?

Thanks for the help!

 

[oogieboogie]

Here's what I did when I was still carrying Brita around (I left it on the bus one day )

In the morning, fill up Brita with just ice and very little water at the food court.
As you walk around the park, refill from water fountain. The ice will keep it pretty cold.
Lunch time, go to counter service and ask for cup of ice & water. Refill Brita with the ice and water.
Just keep repeating.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

dad - thats me is the pack mule - I will have three britas on me

 

[GEM]

Honestly, I just suck it up and buy the bottled water. I'd rather do that than have one more thing to lug around. I know not everybody feels that way, though.

 

[SCOTTOHIOCPA]

I buy some waters at the store when we get to Orlando. We freeze them overnight in our hotel and then take a few into the park, and leave a few in the car in our cooler. When we go back to our car to park hop, we get the other ones out of the cooler. We save the bottles and refill them at the hotel for the next day. If you are particular about your water, you could run the hotel water through a Brita before refilling.

I am always amazed at how fast the ice turns back into water in Florida.

 

[loriandmatt]

we do the same as SCOTTOHIOCPA.

i by a case of bottled water before leaving (we always drive) and freeze those suckers solid. throw them in the cooler for the trip down. (with these in there i don't have to add ice to keep the other things in the cooler cold)
when we get there (either camping or in our hotel room) we put some in the freezer area of the fridge. (ok that is tiny and holds about 2 or 3 smaller bottles, but it's something.) each day those frozen ones go with us and i put 2 or 3 more in there.

each of us has a nifty water bottle strap (we got them at disney) or in our own bag of choice. (that way mom isn't the pack mule for the bunch - 3 bottles of water is a lot of extra weight when you are lugging them all day.)

correct - they do melt quickly in the florida heat, but we fill them at the water fountains about mid day. (the water there never bothered any of us.)

we chuck the bottles in the recycling when we are done with them that day as we have a entire case waiting for us in our room/camper.

i get the entire case for less than 7 bucks at WalMart. we save tons of $ on drinks/water that way.

- lori

 

[Gluman11]

Um................we usually stop at the closest water fountain when we get thirsty.....they're all over the place.............

 

[Msslaydbug]

So if we go to a stand or counter service is a cup of ice water free ? Do they give you an itsy bitsy cup or a real regular size cup ?

 

[lab_girl]

Um................we usually stop at the closest water fountain when we get thirsty.....they're all over the place.............

Through ALL of the parks?? This is GREAT news as the thought of lugging multiple water bottles (yep I'm the carry-all) all day is sad.

 

[WillCAD]

There are water fountains at every set of bathrooms, but the water isn't terribly cold and it has a metalic tast that many people dislike, hence the popularity of botled water and Brita bottles.

My preference is to get a Brita bottle, though they are hard to find these days. I typically don't bother with ice unless it's a really hot day, because I have an insulated carrier that keeps the water cool for a while. But ice is available free from any food place, restaurant, or drink cart, and water is available at the food places and restaurants, as well as the drinking fountains.

If you can find a Brita botle or two, grab them up!

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I need some advice here since we're leaving soon and my head is so clouded with everything I have to bring, etc., etc.

Is it better to buy a Brita Water bottle and get free ice and water refills throughout the parks or can you get ice water from some of the stands for a minimal fee (say for the cup) I know the water bottles are $2.50 a piece and I don't want to be spending $15.00 a day on water between my dd and myself although the little bugger will want soda and there is no way around buying some of that.

So what should I do for cold water? I'm leaning towards buying the brita water bottle and asking for refills. What does everyone do?

Thanks for the help!

Personally I love the Brita bottles and will be getting some extras for the rest of the family when we go in November! And as for the soda, there IS a way around buying it if you truly don't want to...JUST SAY NO! LOL, easy for me to say since we are a 100% soda-free home, but seriously, if it's something you honestly did not want her to have (for health or just money reasons during the trip) you could always put your foot down! She will survive! Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[tc]

I have the Brita bottle and love it. I fill it with ice all day (I've never been charged anywhere for a glass of ice.) To make it easier to carry, I purchased an insulated, spandex like bottle carrier that had a plastic bottle in it at WDW (I threw that one out). It's blue with the fab five on it, and fireworks and stuff. It's a little stretchy and the brita fits wonderfully in it. It has a long strap on it. I just put it over my shoulder and off we go. It's the only thing I carry in the park. I drink a ton of water, and this is a life saver.

 

[webprinter]

We buy bottled water and freeze it. That way it is usually fairly cold all day. Our backpack has a water bottle pouch, my fannypack has a water bottle pouch and we have some water bottle holders that hang around our neck if we don't have the fannypack or backpack with us. Debby

 

[ladydancer]

We are leaving on Monday and this is what we are doing. When we make our store stop on the way to Pop I'm buying bottled water. We will have 3 strollers in our group. So having a couple small coolers isn't a problem because we can put them in the bottom of the strollers. If they get empty we will just refill them through out the park.

I bought some of those little packs of Crystal Light. You add just one pack to a bottle of water and shake. I bought Raspberry Ice, Fruit Punch and lemonade. Just to give it flavor incase the water in the park has a funny taste.

I know on our last trip in Oct. I spent a fortune on bottled water in the park. Also one of the kids I kept buying water for would only drink a few sips then refuse to drink it later because it was warm.

 

[mommykds]

Kelli, I LOVE that picture of your baby with the Disney magazine!!!!

 

[dizprincess27]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will look for the Brita bottles and as a matter of fact I think they had them at our local CVS so I'm going to pick up one or two of them. If I don't do that I guess I'll just have to buy water b/c I won't be bringing a cooler due to the fact that we are doing the land and sea vacation and have enough stuff to bring

 

[Stitchfans]

Here's what I did when I was still carrying Brita around (I left it on the bus one day )

In the morning, fill up Brita with just ice and very little water at the food court.
As you walk around the park, refill from water fountain. The ice will keep it pretty cold.
Lunch time, go to counter service and ask for cup of ice & water. Refill Brita with the ice and water.
Just keep repeating.

This is exactly what we did. The water from most of the water fountains is usaually pretty cold if you can't get your hands on any ice. Sometimes standing in line just for ice can be tiresome for us.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I do a combination. We take a case of water that we have in our room to drink and often will grab one on the way out the door. We also try to keep a gallon of bottle water in the room for drinking teeth brushing etc. In the parks we just buy the bottled stuff there. The bottles are pretty big and often we just share one and buy another when that one is gone or we are thirsty again. That way it does not get so warm.

Jordan's mom

 

[Briarmom]

I guess we are the odd people out! We use a camelpack. They are big 'water bags' that you fill with water (and ice) and I think they are usually used by atheletes during long runs or bike rides etc. It usually lasts us (4 of us) through most of a day, but is hard for very young kids to use since you have to bite and suck on the straw at the same time.

 

[cheerdancer11]

I just bought it, its easier than carrying it around all day. Its like 2.50 for a big dasani water bottle which was good for me