3. Carry a genius water bottle

Image: Amazon, Katadyn

While free cups of water are great, the best way to stay hydrated at Walt Disney World is to bring your own water bottle. This seems a simple enough trick that it almost isn’t a hack, but there are a few problems with just using the first water bottle you see. First off, Florida has what the Jungle Cruise skippers would call “Premium Water”. It’s nasty—like cabbage-water meets pool-chemicals nasty. If you happen to find the one fountain with filter problems, no amount of lemon can mask it. Most of the water at Walt Disney World is filtered to the point the taste is unnoticeable, but sometimes the swampiness is just too powerful to be defeated. The other issue is that water bottles are often bulky and can leak all over your stuff.

The trick is to hack your water bottle—or purchase one that comes pre-hacked.

Florida’s bog-water can be easily turned palatable by a filtered water bottle. You don’t need anything particularly powerful (Florida’s water may taste gross, but it isn’t full of giardia or anything like that). If you’ll be carrying a backpack, both Brita and Lifestraw have good filtered bottles, depending on your preference and how much filter power you want. For something more portable, you can also try a Bobble water bottle—a nice choice since they are small and the filters are available at many stores (just make sure it doesn’t leak).

If even a Bobble is too bulky for your kit, you can combine filtered water technology with a collapsible water bottle like the Katadyn Be Free or this one from Miniwell. These bottles can collapse down flat, so they take up as little space as possible. If you prefer, you can even get creative by combining a portable universal filter, like this kit available from Sawyer with a fully collapsible bottle of your choice. Whatever bottle you choose, just fill it up at any water fountain in the parks and enjoy fresh, tasty water!

4. Keep up your electrolytes with tablets or with DIY lime soda

Image: Aditi Rao, Flickr (license)

It’s easy to assume that if you drink enough water, you should be fine even in the Florida sun. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems of extended heat exposure is actually your body becoming depleted of electrolytes—important minerals that help carry energy throughout your system.

When electrolytes get drained, you can run into problems with muscle cramps, fatigue, and trouble regulating your fluids. Most of the time electrolytes are replenished from salt in our food, so usually only athletes need to worry about depletion. However, a trip to Walt Disney World usually involves far more exertion than many guests expect. A normally sedentary individual might find themselves walking 20,000 steps under the blazing Florida sun and sweat out too many electrolytes in the humidity.

While you could invest in a refillable mug and sip iced Powerade throughout the day, there are actually two alternative ways to keep your electrolytes up during your trip. First, most drug stores, sporting good, and health food stores sell electrolyte tablets or chews that you can take once or twice during the day to restore your body’s electrolyte count quickly. They’re like an instant sports drink, and they’re most helpful if you tend to sweat a lot. We used to take these while working for a Renaissance Festival where all the performers and artisans had to stay under the sun all day sweating in heavy costumes, and they really did help.

Alternatively, if you want to replenish electrolytes quickly the DIY way but don’t care for sports drinks, you can try a hack that is pretty common in India. A friend from west India introduced us to the concept of whipping up a quick “Cool Lime Soda” using ingredients usually available at any self-serve soda fountain. Just fill your cup with plain soda water then toss in a few limes or lemons. Muddle these up with a straw, then stir in a little bit of salt—not too much. The drink will fizz like crazy. If you want to add a little sugar, you can, but the drink is honestly tasty just as it is, like sparkling DIY-Gatorade. Speaking of tricks from our friends in India…

5. Humidity not too bad? Try a hot drink and some spicy food

Image: Josh Hallett, Flickr (license)

Yes, seriously.

India can get pretty blazing hot in certain regions, yet it’s common practice for the locals to continue drinking hot drinks like chai or eating spicy foods. The reason why is that, despite seeming counter-intuitive, under the right circumstances, hot drinks and spicy food help your body cool down.

Science has confirmed this phenomenon. Hot drinks introduce a little bit of extra heat to your body but ultimately send a signal to your brain that says it’s time to cool down. This kicks off your body’s natural systems to sweat and regulate temperature. As long as you have breathable clothing and the day isn’t too humid, the evaporation of your sweat will naturally cool you down. Spicy food produces a similar effect.

The biggest caveat to this hack is that it works best if your sweat can actually evaporate. Florida can get pretty muggy in the summer, so save this trick for days on the less-humid side. If the humidity is at 100%, stick to that free ice water we mentioned earlier and cooling food choices like cucumbers, watermelon, and pineapple.