What do you do with your cooler if....

[vellamint]

You get to your room early and want to bus to the parks while waiting for the room of your (hopefully) dreams???

 

[janette]

Just have it stored at the front desk. We used Happy Limo last time and had stopped at the grocery store but our room wasn't ready. They just put it all together and had it brought up once our room was assigned.

 

[suesings]

Janette,
So you flew into Orlando and brought a cooler with you or bought one once you arrived? We will be flying in from California and want to buy food but lugging a cooler from California doesn't seem much fun.

Thanks for any hints.

Sue

 

[danacath]

We brought a soft-sided collapsible cooler in one of our checked bags. It was big enough to hold a 1/2 gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon of juice, fruit, several yogurts, and a block of cheese. It worked great! Another option that some people choose is to buy cheap styrofoam coolers upon arrival in Orlando. Then they just leave them behind at the end of their stay. I've also read on these boards that your resort will put your groceries in a walk-in cooler, if necessary, until your room is ready. I can't personally vouch for that, though, since I've never needed to ask for that kind of service.

 

[dumbo33]

Here is what we did for our cooler. We bought a hard shell cooler that was hard on the inside and soft on the outside. We bought a sports bag that we could pack it in for the flight. We used to to pack certain things for the trip. We used the cooler when we got to the resort, then on the way back, we used it to pack our suveniers.

 

[Traveliz]

Here is what we did for our cooler. We bought a hard shell cooler that was hard on the inside and soft on the outside. We bought a sports bag that we could pack it in for the flight. We used to to pack certain things for the trip. We used the cooler when we got to the resort, then on the way back, we used it to pack our suveniers.

That is exactly what we do - we have done that traveling to NYC as well as Florida and found it works great.

Liz

 

[suesings]

Where would I find a soft-sided cooler? I'm not sure I've ever seen one that actually holds ice (without leaking)

 

[danacath]

Sorry, I can't be of much help for where to find a soft-sided cooler. We got ours for free a few years ago with Pepsi points. Ours is actually a sturdy two-part cooler that you can zip into one large cooler, or zip off one half if you want a smaller size cooler (which is what we do when we fly). It's worked great! Your best bet may be to call around to large sporting goods stores or "outdoors" stores to see if they carry these. As far as preventing ice leakage, we used heavy-duty ziplocs for ice and packed those around our food. We were diligent about checking the bags once every morning and every night before bed to empty out the water and refill with fresh ice. We were close to an ice machine so that was no big deal for our DS to handle.

 

[Disneydenise]

I got a leakproof cooler at Sears. It has a plastic liner that velcroses inside. I also take ziplock bags to put the ice in the cooler. It is less of a mess and the bags are easier to fill with ice.

 

[tink2dw]

Also check out Walmart for Soft side coolers.
Another option is to buy an electric cooler!!

 

[seashoreCM]

You can fetch ice from the machines in the resort even if you are delayed checking in.

Empty out the water from melted ice and replace it with new ice whenever you have the chance. The water, no matter how cold, has very little cooling power compared with solid ice. It is the act of melting, not its actual temperature, that causes the ice to cool the objects surrounding it.

If you prefer to used those blue gel packs, they must be frozen solid prior to use. In a mushy or semi soft condition they too have very little cooling power.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm