This week, we’ll be covering my top 10 hydration tips to help you stay energized all day at Disney.

And I think you’re gonna be surprised at tip number seven.

Okay, here we go.

So, hydration is one of the most overlooked and most common mistakes when it comes to a Disney World vacation. I recall fondly on this memory of a Disney World vacation that I went on with my family. We were in the parks for I think it was three days. And I was just doing really good at ignoring the signs.

Ignoring the signs, that is, of being dehydrated.

So, but basically, fast forward to day three and I was falling asleep on Carousel of Progress in the middle of the day at Magic Kingdom. Now granted, okay, we were running on less sleep. We must have been a bit fatigued because it was day three of a back to back to back park vacation. We may have had a few adult beverages when we were at Epcot. Our eating habits might have not been as ideal.

But in terms of those symptoms and those signs that I ignored that I was dehydrated, really just ignoring the fact that I was thirsty and not drinking until like last minute, was a big contributor to how I felt on day three.

For sure, no mistake, hydration played a major role.

Why Hydration is Important at Disney

Hydration is so important for quite a few things.

Several of those reasons being, it is a contributing factor to muscle cramps, which by the way, I do talk about on episode three of the Happily Ever Active podcast. But also, hydration helps you stay cool, and that’s super important, especially here out in Orlando, where it’s hot, it’s humid, especially in the summer. And then finally, water is one of the biggest, most essential things we need to take in to make sure our body functions optimally.

Really, in the end, it’s one of the most easiest ways to stay energized all day, so that you can take on all that walking and standing that you do at the theme parks.

So without further ado, let’s go over my top 10 tips on how to stay hydrated and energized at Disney.

Stay Hydrated Before Your Trip

This is key.

Too many guests show up to the Disney parks dehydrated from simply traveling out to Disney. A lot of people fly in and they forget to take in enough water while they’re flying out here. Let me tell you, I’ve learned so many times in the past how easy it is to get dehydrated when you’re flying.

Especially when you have to, I mean, everyone has to do it. Go through TSA security. They have to empty their water bottle. So even if you do bring a refillable water bottle, you have to empty it before you go through security.

And it’s really easy to forget to refill it before you get on the plane. And before you know it, you’re on the plane and all you could do is ask for those eight ounce cups of water. So you can’t adequately get enough water back.

Before you know it, you’re on a five or six hour flight to get to Orlando and you’re starting your trip on the wrong foot, so to speak. So really, in the end, it’s a lot easier to stay hydrated when you’re at Disney World than to show up dehydrated and try to catch up.

And I was just talking with my good friend Stacy about this over at Disney Hotel Lady.

And while it is possible to catch up on hydration, it’s a lot harder to do so when you’re dehydrated, you’re planning to walk 10, 20, 30,000 steps at Disney World in the hot, humid weather. It’s hard to catch up when you’re active, you’re walking in that hot, humid weather. It’s much easier to stay hydrated before you come out and then stay hydrated during your trip.

Don’t Rely on Thirst as Your Signal to Drink Water

So the benchmark that I give people when it comes to how much water you should be taking in each day you’re at Disney is 152 ounces of water for men and 100 ounces, about 102 ounces, excuse me, of water for women.

That is the equivalent of about almost 10 16 ounce water bottles and almost seven 16 ounce water bottles.

Sorry, almost 10 for men and almost seven for women. It sounds like a lot, but when you think about it, think about one, how much you’re sweating on a hot day. Think about two, how much you’re sweating if you’re working out or going for a long walk or even a hike.

Now you combine those two and you get really Disney World.

It’s walking all day in the hot, humid heat for eight of the hottest hours of the day. But of course, you’re walking more than eight hours. You end up losing a lot of water through sweat.

And the numbers tend to vary between people, but you can lose about half a liter to two liters of water per hour if you’re doing some low to moderate intensity exercise. That’s the equivalent to 17 to 68 ounces of water per hour. Now you don’t need to replenish all of that water, but you definitely need to replenish some of that. And that’s why those numbers seem so high because of how much you end up sweating.

Now remember, this is just a benchmark.

So if you know you’re going to be walking more, spending more time in the heat, you’re going to want to drink a bit more.

Now some pro tips to go along with this include making sure that you drink water throughout the day and you’re not trying to catch up on water at certain time points or you’re not trying to drink a ton of water towards the middle or the end of the day to try and catch up.

Another pro tip is make sure you get a good amount of water to drink first thing in the morning, especially after, you know, eight hours of sleep or theoretically eight hours, but you know, after five to seven hours of of sleeping, your body is going to want to refill on some water.

So get that water first thing in the morning.

Keep a Refillable Water Bottle With You

This sounds very intuitive.

You see a lot of people do this at the theme parks already. But I can’t tell you how many times I have personally gone to the theme parks and I forgot a refillable water bottle and I’m like, it’s fine. There is quick service restaurants that I can get cups of water at.

Still, it was a very big mistake.

So it’s really, really important to keep that water bottle with you. Of course, you want to make sure that water bottle is insulated.

But the real big takeaway from this tip is the bigger your water bottle is, the more weight you have to carry throughout the day.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen guests carry 32-ounce water bottles. You know, those big, they look like jugs and they’re just hanging off their crossbody bag. Even 16-ounce water bottles can be a lot to carry in the day.

So I highly recommend a 12-ounce refillable water bottle.

That’s what I take with me to the park. It’s small, it’s handy. The Yeti brand 12-ounce water bottles are great because they’ve got a big handle, which you can put on to a carabiner and use that carabiner and put it on to your bag.

I love it because it’s light, but also when you combine it with the fact that there’s a ton of water refill stations out there at the theme parks, it makes it really easy to just refill that water whenever you see one.

Which by the way, I do mention exactly where those water refill stations are in my pocketbook guide, Disney Ready, Your Pain Free Parks Survival Guide.

So some pro tips to go along with this.

Set phone reminders for you to finish whatever water you’re drinking. That way you’re drinking throughout the day constantly, as opposed to drinking a ton at lunch and a ton at dinner.

And then to make it even easier to make sure you’re taking all that water. Combine drinking a little extra water with taking rest breaks throughout the day.

We all know how much walking we do throughout the day and how taxing it could be on the body, so it’s important to take those rest breaks throughout the day. So why don’t you combine the two whenever you take a rest break, get a few sips of water in there.

Waiting in line for a ride, get some water. Waiting, sitting and waiting for the parade to go by, get some water in. Sitting down to eat a snack or you’re at a quick service restaurant, get some water in.

So really easy ways to make sure you’re getting water in throughout the day.

There’s More Water Refill Stations Around Disney World Than You Think

And this goes along with what I said earlier, but there is a lot more water refill stations around not just the Disney theme parks, but also the resorts and hotels.

There’s a lot more water refill, refill stations out there than you really think. I can’t tell you how many times I personally have walked around the Disney parks, and I’ve got my water bottle with me, and I walk by a refill station, I look at it and I’m like, oh, that’s convenient. I’m going to just refill at the next water station that I go to, or I’m going to just refill at the next quick service restaurant when I sit down and take a bite to eat.

And then I just don’t refill and I instantly run out of water.

Bad news bears.

It’s really important to make sure that you’re topped up on water whenever you’re walking around. That way you have that water accessible to you.

It’s much better to have a full bottle of water while going around than to have less or maybe even no water and realize that you need to go find a refill station and you don’t know where one is because you passed by the last one like half an hour ago.

So again, I mentioned this in my book, where every water refill station is.

But generally, if you’re at your Disney World Resort, there’s usually a water refill station next to the lobby restrooms. There’s one at the gym. There’s one at the pool bar where the soda fountain is. There’s also, like we said earlier, one at quick service restaurants, either a soda fountain or you can go up to the front and just get a cup of water, just a request for it.

At the theme parks, quick service restaurants, same deal there. They usually give you, I think they’re like 10 ounce cups with ice and water. And then, of course, there’s water refill stations at each park, which I mentioned in my book.

Now, excuse me while I take a quick sip of water so my mouth doesn’t get dry.

Monitor Your Hydration

The best piece of advice that I can give to make sure that you’re monitoring your hydration is to look at the color of your urine.

Now, I’m gonna take a step back really quick and talk about a research study that looked at whether or not urine color is actually a good predictor of hydration. This study looked at the salt concentration in urine of a bunch of athletes, and then they also measured the salt concentration that’s in their blood.

Now, they found that more than half of those athletes in the study showed as dehydrated through the urine samples they took, but those same athletes were not dehydrated when they looked at the salt concentrations in their blood.

So what that means is just because your urine shows that you are dehydrated doesn’t necessarily mean you’re actually dehydrated.

So the study showed that urine color isn’t necessarily a good indicator of whether or not you’re actually dehydrated. But given the other options we have for measuring hydration levels, urine color is still a good quick and dirty way of measuring your hydration levels. So I would still recommend using it, especially when you’re at the Disney theme parks.

Like you don’t need anything more complicated at this point. Light yellow or a clear color means you’re more hydrated. Darker color means you’re less hydrated.

Make sure you’re taking action drinking water before you feel the signs of dehydration.

So other than urine color, these following symptoms show that you’re dehydrated. Fatigue, dizziness, headache, you’re urinating less or the color of your urine is more dark. You’ve got dry mouth, dry lips, dry tongue, and then muscle cramps. So all of those are earlier signs of dehydration.

Now, if you let your dehydration get out of control, your symptoms will be a bit different. So you’ll have signs such as irritability, confusion, dizziness or lightheadedness, a rapid heart rate, or even rapid breathing.

So you want to avoid those symptoms at all costs.

Water Can be Found in Food

So we talked about earlier, 152 ounces of water per day for men, 102 ounces of water per day for women.

Yes, it’s a lot of water, and yes, you can get it in your food. And I’m going to add to that even coffee and tea and milk, because those drinks are, majority of it is made up of water.

So examples of food that are high in water content and food that you will also find at the Disney parks. Watermelon, apples, cucumber, tomatoes, mandarins, grapes, all really good options. Notice that they’re all fruits and veggies, but you can also find them at the Disney parks pretty easily.

Now I have this list of foods, and I believe I have more food options. I also talk a lot about hydration in my book, Disney Ready. So really think more foods that are rich with water, and then on the flip side, make sure you’re avoiding excessively salty or fried foods, or at least avoid eating a ton of it, right?

That tends to make you more dehydrated.

Coffee is a Good Way to Stay Hydrated

So coffee, as it turns out, is 99% water.

Studies have shown that coffee is a mild diuretic, even in people who aren’t accustomed to drinking it. That means caffeine consumed in moderation, can provide the same amount of hydration as non-caffeinated drinks.

Now, the caveat here is really just making sure that you’re not going overboard with like cream and sugar, because the more sugars in your drink, the more dehydrated you’re likely to get.

Be Careful What You Drink

Be careful what you do drink.

We mentioned coffee, we mentioned milk, we mentioned tea earlier. Of course, water is a default. Now, electrolytes are definitely essential to be able to handle the Disney parox with more energy. You’re going to need to replace those electrolytes because you’re going to be sweating all day.

Now, too much plain water can flush a lot of those essential electrolytes out, making your body feel more fatigued easier. So making sure that you’re getting some electrolytes in your diet while you’re at the parox through electrolyte patterns or tablets. Even low sugar energy drinks work really well.

On the flip side, really make sure that you’re avoiding excessive amounts of beverages that will dehydrate you. So that includes sodas, that includes any sugary drinks, so especially the sugary energy drinks. And then high alcohol beverages.

And notice that I’m saying not to completely avoid them, but really just limit how much of that you are drinking.

And if you choose to drink a little bit more of that, make sure you’re also drinking water alongside of that.

Make Sure to Limit Water Two Hours Before Bed Time

You want to stay hydrated all day, but you do want to make sure that you limit how much water you’re taking in about two hours before bedtime.

Doing so allows your body enough time to process all the fluids you’re taking in without the need to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. This is with the idea that the more times you wake up in the middle of the night, say to go to the bathroom or what have you, the less likely you’ll have quality sleep.

In fact, when we’re thinking about quality sleep, one of the factors that helps increase the quality of your sleep is making sure that the number of times you wake up in the middle of the night is as low as possible. That’s why it’s really important to drink water throughout the day and not all at once, like towards the end of the day especially.

Like I said earlier, set phone reminders to make sure you’re drinking water throughout the day. Combine rest breaks with drinking water.

Just really find ways to make it easy for you to drink that water.

Hydration is Key to Healthy Skin, but Healthy Hydrated Skin is also Key to Hydration

It works hand in hand.

So don’t forget sunscreen is what that means. Sunburn tends to happen when your skin is exposed to too much UVA and UVB rays that damage skin cells. What happens when your body is exposed to all those UVA and UVB rays is it responds with its own mechanisms to help repair itself, right?

It takes energy to repair itself, which means the more you’re exposed, the more your body has to work to repair itself. That means more energy to repair and less energy to be able to walk in the parks all day.

In the end, you’re likely to get more fatigued, more tired.

You’re also more likely to have a harder time recovering for your next theme park day. So that really highlights the importance of making sure that your skin stays hydrated.

In order to keep that skin hydrated, of course, take in water.

Hydrating through water helps make sure that you’re flushing out toxins and impurities from the skin. It makes sure that it supports your skin’s elasticity. It aids in any wound healing. Like, for example, when you’re exposed to all the rays from the sun.

And we don’t normally think about it this way, but like I said earlier, exposing your skin to the rays of the sun forces your body to repair itself because of the small damages that can happen from those rays, right?

And then finally, hydration really helps to maintain the skin’s barrier function to protect you from the elements. You also want to make sure, like I said earlier, to protect your skin from both ends.

So one is through hydration. The other one is to really make sure that you’re putting it on sunscreen when you’re at the Disney parks. Sunscreen protects you from getting sunburned. It protects you from those UVA and UVB rays. And then as a corollary, it also helps to keep your skin hydrated and stay at its own homeostasis so that it can repair itself and it can recover from all the walking that you’re doing.

So some quick sunscreen tips.

Make sure that you choose an SPF sunscreen that’s at least 30. In general, you want about an ounce of sunscreen for your face, neck, arms and legs. That’s one ounce separately for each body part. Usually that’s about a quarter sized dab of sunscreen.