Tips for Staying Hydrated

One of the most important things to do at Disney World is to STAY HYDRATED.

However, you need to be careful not to break the bank in doing so.  A couple years ago, my husband and I had spent close over $125 on beverages alone.  A 20 oz Coke or bottled water will cost around $2.50, which adds up quickly.  The two of us average about 5 beverages a day when we are at Disney World- breakfast, lunch, dinner and a couple throughout the day. Let me break it down for you, excel style, on how the beverage bill can add up:

• Scenario #1 is buying every single drink on Disney property, assuming 2 people drinking 5 Cokes or waters a day.
• Scenario #2 is buying a bottle of water every morning, then refilling the bottle throughout the day.  There are water fountains located throughout the parks, so it is very easy to refill and best of all, refills are FREE!
• Scenario #3 is BMOW- bring my own water.  My grocery store is always running a 3 for $10 sale on 24 packs of water, which averages to $0.14 a day.  If I'm driving, I just throw a couple cases of water in the back seat and have all the water I need for the week at for less than $10.  If flying and you rent a car once you get to Orlando, you can always hit up a grocery store once you get there instead of trying to fit 50 bottles of water in a suitcase. 
• Scenario #4 is a smaller version of BMOW.  If I'm flying, I just pack 1 bottle per day, then fill up the bottles at water fountains.  It is by far the cheapest option,, leaving you $123 to spend on food or souvenirs!

The only problem I personally have with water fountain water is it has that Orlando swamp-water taste.  On our last trip, my husband and I went with scenario #4, packing 10 bottles in our suitcases, but we also packed several Crystal Light on-the-go packs to cover up the tap-water taste.  With the Crystal Light packs, it still was only about $10 for a week of beverages.

If you must order fountain drinks at the quick service restaurants, ask for little to no-ice. You’ll end up with more beverage for the same price.  I’ve also read that you can ask for a cup of ice for no charge, so two people could share one fountain drink.


 One other FREE way to cool down is to head over to Ice Station Cool at Epcot.  It is like a mini-World of Coca-Cola, featuring carbonated beverages from around the world.  The entrance to Ice Station Cool is right past Innovations West in Future World.  Once inside, you can help yourself to tiny little cups of Coca-Cola products from around the world.  There is even a Chinese soda flavored like watermelon!! Under no circumstances what-so-ever should you try Italy’s Beverly, which is extremely bitter.

So keep those cold beverages flowing and don't let yourself get 99.9% parched!