Where can I find refillable water bottle stations in Walt Disney World?
In our home, we have one rule written on our kitchen whiteboard: “Be cool”. Rule #2? It should probably be “Stay hydrated.”
When it comes to outdoor adventures and especially Disney park trips, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to stay hydrated. You’ll find yourself walking more than you ever thought you would each day in the parks. With the distraction of the sights, the sounds, the rides, and the food, it’s easy to forget to take a break and grab some water.
I myself am a frequent offender - my husband Christopher has his trusty water bottle with him wherever he goes, but I tend to get focused on so many other things that I have to make that conscious effort (and live in a world of self-imposed checklists) to bring that water bottle with me.
So our recent dilemma: Where are those refillable water bottle stations, again?
Let’s check the map
With my collapsible water bottle in hand and a solo trip quickly coming up, my first thought was just to check the maps. There must be a nice little water droplet icon on the map for me to find, right?
Restrooms, First Aid, Wheelchair Rentals, Lockers…and no such luck.
We could take a guess and say that they’re located at the marked restrooms in the park, but every bathroom? Highly doubtful. During our last trip, we only spotted a couple of stations in-or-near Hollywood Studios: One outside the park near the Skyway station and one in Batuu.
Maybe we just weren’t looking hard enough?
Sure, I could just buy water in the park, but the whole point of bringing a reusable bottle was to avoid constantly buying plastic bottles. Do I really want to buy a $3.50 Dasani to then pour into my own water bottle and toss the plastic bottle into the recycling bin? (Yes, this has happened, and it feels as counter-intuitive as it sounds.)
Or we could always ask for a free cup of water at a Quick Service restaurant. It might involve a short wait to get it, but at least that’s just a paper cup?
Well, if these maps weren’t going to tell me, then it’s off to the internet to find the answer!
To the internet!
Turns out a lot of other folks have run into this dilemma, too. Funnily enough, another Danielle living in MO also had the same question on planDisney. Panelist Amy M. gave us the answer:
Heigh-Ho Danielle,
Staying hydrated and fueled is key when visiting the Walt Disney World Theme Parks. Guests take thousands of steps each day and taking care of your body is important so you can be sure to have a successful and magical day. I am a huge water drinker and am please to see Walt Disney World catching on to the water refill hydration stations. While there are but a few of them Guests need to know where to look because they are not found on any of the maps. I am happy to provide a list from my water-refilling adventures and I can not vouch for all but most were available for Guest usage, on my most recent visit.
Magic Kingdom
Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe- inside (has been closed during COVID)
Epcot
Epcot Experience (former Odyssey building)- by restrooms
Traveler’s Cafe- by restrooms (close to the entrance of World Showcase)
Disney Skyliner- by restroom (before entering Epcot at International Gateway)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Star Wars Galaxy Edge- by restrooms
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run- exit of the ride
Slinky Dog Dash- in the queue line
Disney Skyliner- by restroom (before entering Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
(both of the following are in attraction queues and only accessible if in the queue)
Avatar Flight of Passage- in the queue line
Na’vi River Journey- in the queue line
Expedition Everest- Legend of the Forbidden Mountain- in the queue line
It's, also, good to note Walt Disney World quick-service restaurants are still providing free water for Guests. Simply locate a Cast Member, at the front of the quick-service restaurant, and they will kindly guide you where to go.
Success! Mostly?
So the good news: We know where to find the stations. The bad news: There aren’t nearly as many as we’d hoped.
Looking at the list provided, it’s clear that new attractions and newly built areas like Skyliner stations and Galaxy’s Edge have the benefit of new construction and planning, which involves convenient access to water. Parks that haven’t had any finished construction in a while, like the Magic Kingdom, have one measly water refill station. Maybe we’ll get one near the new Tron attraction in 2022+?
The worst of the bad news is that all stations in Animal Kingdom are only accessible via queue line. If you’re not waiting for Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, or Expedition Everest, it’s Dasani or free-cup-of-water time. I’m also curious if the FastPass or single-rider lines bypass the water refill station in Expedition Everest, but maybe that’s a mystery I can solve on my trip.
One other thing to note: We have heard tell of folks being directed to other locations due to crowd levels when they’ve asked for that free cup of water, so while you won’t be denied it, just be prepared for a cast member to ask you to take a quick detour to another quick service location to get hydrated. This was only in the Magic Kingdom when guests flocked to Cosmic Ray’s for water back in October of 2020, so safety and social distancing were top-of-mind for these detours.
Kudos to EPCOT, though. Three stations and not a single one blocked by a queue line. It truly is the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
What about drinking fountains?
I’ll admit: I did ignore what some of us Northeasterners call “bubblers”. Even after COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, I’m admittedly not as keen to get my water bottle (or my mouth) near a spout that other mouths might have come into contact with. Plus Andy from Parks and Recreation probably solidified that decision for me.
Let’s rank these parks
We can’t leave without ranking these parks from best to worst in regards to water refill station access, so here we go!
EPCOT (The best): As we said - three stations and none are blocked by a queue. We see you EPCOT and we appreciate you.
Hollywood Studios: That station right outside of the park was honestly like finding a beautiful oasis in a vast desert. It was a great way to enter the park with our water bottles topped off and no worries about dehydration. Galaxy’s Edge also got the memo and we appreciate you, too.
Magic Kingdom: One station is really disappointing for this park, but we’ll take the excuse to visit Sonny Eclipse. But could we recommend a nice station in Adventureland? Or maybe near the monorail station?
Animal Kingdom (The worst): I’m honestly shocked that all stations are tucked into queues in this park. I appreciate the effort to keep guests hydrated in longer lines - especially for Flight of Passage, which also requires their own restrooms part-way through the queue, but we couldn’t get one station accessible to all park-goers? This is Animal Kingdom - I expected more from you and you should look to your brother (or sister?) park, EPCOT for some pointers.
I’ll have a quick update after this upcoming trip in July 2021 on the status of the stations. I’d also love to make a custom map of the stations with photos of each one, so if that’s something you’re also interested in, let us know in the comments below.
For now: Stay hydrated, my friends.
