Thursday's Tip

Let's talk hydration. It's pretty important in general, but especially in the Florida heat. At its worst, dehydration can contribute to serious health problems such as heat stroke. But even mild dehydration can cause fatigue or--worse?--just general grumpiness. Bottled water can cost upwards of $3 or more at the Disney theme parks. In the past, we've carried in several bottles of our own to off-set the cost. In addition, we would bring along flavor packets (Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, etc.) to use in water from counter service restaurants, due to the sulfur taste that often accompanies Central Florida tap water. Most recently, we have begun using a filtered water bottle, which allowed us to drink freely from any water fountain or tap without worry of the taste or quality. We loved this on our last trip: it meant we carried only one bottle (we took a couple of extra plastic cups to share from the one filtered bottle) and we always had fresh, great-tasting water at our disposal.

But here's the thing--my new Thursday's Tip: Disney now filters its tap water, so you can now drink water freely (both without cost and without reservation) from most any Walt Disney World restaurant without worrying about the taste of the water. That essentially means that there's no real need to carry water or even a water bottle into the Parks, since you can get a free cup of water at any counter service location.

That said, I don't think we'll be retiring our filter bottle anytime soon. It's still great to have the convenience of stopping at any water fountain and grabbing a quick drink, instead of having to stand in line for a fresh cup from a restaurant. And we always like to have a little in our bottle, in case someone gets thirsty while we're standing in line. Still, it's great to know that there's one less item on our "must pack" list, for those times when we want to travel light in the Parks.