When you bring a 'cooler' to the parks....

[SDSorority]

I have never been to Disney in September. It's going to be hotter than I have ever experienced there. We have pretty crazy food restrictions, and so I'm going to be carrying a backpack with a small soft side cooler inside it. We'll have things like fruit, veggies, yogurt, cheese, gluten-free bread, and our multi-vitamin supplements. I'm worried about my yogurt and cheese getting too warm. In your experience... should we:

1- fill the cooler with ice cubes (in baggies) and keep it on us at all times?
2- fill the cooler with ice cubes (in baggies) and rent a locker to keep it in?
3- fill the cooler with ice cubes (in baggies) and keep it in our car?
4- fill the cooler with ice cubes (in baggies), and refill with ice cubes from a CS place before lunch?

Does it get so hot that all of our ice will melt and our milk products will spoil if it's packed in ice around 8am, and eaten around 12pm?? This might be a dumb question....

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would eliminate choice #3 immediately. The temperature inside a car, in the sunlight, gets over 120.

The lockers are all in shaded locations and they do not get hit by direct sunlight. And since the locker is closed, you don't have to worry about warm air circulation, so I would think #2 is your best choice.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

If you can find the little refreezeable ice squares those are good to have for soft side coolers. Ours lasts for hours and can get down in between the food. I would also put it in a locker then have food breaks throughout the day.

 

[krisnme]

We have carried coolers on many WDW trips and so far have found that freezing water bottles is what works best, they keep foods cold a really long time and as they melt you have nice icy cold water and no wasted space on cooler packs. we carry a small cooler around with us and stash a larger soft cooler in the lockers for refills or at MK for a snack when we wait on the top floor of the railroad station for the fireworks.

 

[Bete]

in your room then freezing the plastic ice cubes or water bottles will work pretty good.

If not, get insulated refillable bottles that work with ice and that will fit in the cooler bag(s). I would sugeest two smaller cooler bags or one larger one. If you go with two smaller ones have an ice bottle in each cooler bag. Refill the bottles as necessary.

If you don't want to go back to the locker areas all the time then just keep refilling the bottles with ice as they become pure liquid.

Keep in mind if it gets too hot for you you can always take a rest somewhere were it's air conditioned.

Also, have a touring plan were you alternate doing rides, shows, eating, and so forth. That way you will have some rest times.

 

[rillsung]

I would think you'd be OK between 8 and noon. We did a cooler lunchbox thing when we had DD's formula for her g-tube. We could get ice pretty much anywhere by just asking. You can also get ice from the first aid station. We always kept it in the bottom of the stroller but we had a stroller to do that so it was easier hehe. My FIL wraps ziplock bags with towels and carries a massive thing in his backpack all day!

 

[dvcterry]

as prev poster indicated car is not a good idea. food safety--the car will be too hot. we used an insulated backpack cooler with small gel-like ice packs. the zipper baggies with ice cubes worked fine too & could be reloaded when melted. we did the same, fruits, yogurts and snacked throughout the day, the food stayed cold. kept the pack with us, only rented locker on occasion.

 

[dzorn]

We always do a frozen water bottle also.

Then you also have nice cold water to drink.

Denise in MI

 

[travelitis]

We do frozen water bottles, juice boxes or frozen gel pack, with water being the first choice. We put the cooler on DS's floorboard of his scooter. He still has room for his feet, and the cooler is always available. The immediate access is important and a big reason why we take a small cooler.

I don't remember what you are taking, but you can also freeze grapes and raisins. Frozen raisins are a regular summer snack at our house. They don't get real hard, but they will help keep other things cold. Individual apple sauce can freeze, too.

 

[SDSorority]

We do frozen water bottles, juice boxes or frozen gel pack, with water being the first choice. We put the cooler on DS's floorboard of his scooter. He still has room for his feet, and the cooler is always available. The immediate access is important and a big reason why we take a small cooler.

I don't remember what you are taking, but you can also freeze grapes and raisins. Frozen raisins are a regular summer snack at our house. They don't get real hard, but they will help keep other things cold. Individual apple sauce can freeze, too.

We're going to do frozen grapes for the plane ride to Florida, but our Pop fridge won't have a freezer I don't think. I think ice in ziplocks might be our best bet.

 

[ColoradoDisney]

The refrig at Wilderness Lodge did not have a freezer section. I used a Camel Pack and filled the water bladder with ice from the hotel ice machine. I put anything that needed to stay cold next to the bladder.