Favorite Tip - Camelbaks

My friends and family are always asking me how I can afford to go to Disney World so often. Well, there are several things that make that possible, but they all add up to one thing, getting the most out of Disney while spending the least amount of money. My family and I went to Disney World in September of 2007. We stayed on site at Shades of Green, the military resort at Disney World. We ate all of our meals in the park or hotel and, as it was fairly hot that week, spent a fortune on drinks. When we got home, we added up the cost of buying drinks everyday and realized that we had spent approximately $70 per day for drinks for our family of 4. We were shocked. When you're in the parks, you don't always realize how much you are spending on the little things. So, we decided that, before we made our next trip to Disney World, we had to find a way to get the cost of drinks down.

As an Air Force family, Camelbaks were the obvious choice. They come in several sizes and styles, including one that is appropriate for small children. The adult packs hold 2 liters of water and the child's pack holds 1 liter. For my sister and Bean, who don't really like to drink water, we add Kool-Aid singles, Crystal Light singles, or Lipton singles. They last most of the day without needing to be refilled and keep everyone well hydrated. Bean loves her small pink pack, and we've added Disney patches and pins to dress it up. Inexpensive carabiners are a great way to clip items onto the packs, although you'll want to keep it simple as extra stuff can get caught in the bag bins on most rides. The various styles of adult packs have multiple pockets for holding whatever you need to carry. My pack has one large pocket, great for storing rain gear, snacks, extra napkins, etc, and one small pocket just the right size for park maps, autograph books, pens, extra pins, pressed pennies, and other small items. I have carried the pack for the last 5 trips and love it. I rarely run out of water before the end of the day but it's usually empty by the time I get back to the hotel. When using Kool-aid or another powdered drink mix, we rinse each pack out at the end of the night and allow it to dry. For water to fill the packs, we pick up gallons at Wal-mart and then just refill them at Wal-mart as necessary. It's a very economical way to keep the whole family hydrated and no one really misses the soda that we don't buy. The packs themselves aren't super cheap, (sometimes you can find other brands of hydration packs on clearance at the end of the back to school sale and they work just as well), but they are a great investment in your family's future vacations. So, when you start planning your next Disney vacation, consider purchasing hydration packs. They're fantasmic!