Okay, so if you have been following me on Instagram for a while or have planned your Disney World vacation with me, then you know I am a HUGE fan of free water in the parks. There is no reason to pay $3.75 per bottle of water (geez) when you can get an unlimited number of free cups of water (with or without ice) at any Quick Service restaurant!
What I like to do is take my own reusable water bottle and fill it with those free cups of water (tip: ask for one with ice and one without and pour them both into your water bottle and this way the ice won’t take up too much room but your water stays cold because Florida is hot) and then repeat all day long as needed. Soooo the question is, which water bottle do I recommend you take with you to the parks?
Which water bottles are battling it out?
I am going to be comparing the Simple Modern Summit 22 oz water bottle and the Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw 30 oz water bottle. These are two of the most popular all-day water bottles and are the two that I personally own. So now that we know who our fighters are, what are the categories we will be comparing?
Categories
- size
- ease of carrying
- drinkability
- maintenance
- aesthetics
- price
OKAY, LET’S GET INTO IT…
CATEGORY 1 : SIZE OF THE WATER BOTTLES
SIMPLE MODERN – The Simple Modern Summit that I am reviewing holds 22 oz of liquid. It is also thinner and slightly taller than the Stanley IceFlow.
STANLEY – The Stanley IceFlow holds 30 oz of water and is definitely bulkier than the Summit, but that’s because it holds a full 8 oz more.
WINNER IN CATEGORY 1 → SIMPLE MODERN – Even though the Stanley IceFlow holds 8 oz more, I prefer the smaller size and slimness of the Simple Modern Summit. I know from experience that having two of these on us in the parks when it’s my family of 4 is plenty of liquid to keep us hydrated.
CATEGORY 2 : EASE OF CARRYING
You have to carry a park water bottle around with you for hours (and many miles) so it needs to be easy to carry.
SIMPLE MODERN – Likely my least favorite thing about the Simple Modern Summit is the tiny little handle on top. I can fit three fingers in there to hold it but I don’t like that I can’t hold the handle with my entire hand. However, in the parks I am rarely holding my water bottle and instead carry it in my backpack. The Summit fits so well into my Loungefly Canvas backpack, which is my current park bag of choice, because again it is just so slim. If you will be using a stroller, the Summit also clips onto stroller hooks with no issues.
STANLEY – I absolutely LOVE the handle on the Stanley IceFlow. This thing has a full on big girl handle. I can hold onto this water bottle securely and swing it all around if I wanted (I don’t, but I could). While we are talking about handles, this large handle makes it super easy to clip the IceFlow onto a stroller hook… you could even put multiple on one hook. The downside is that since the IceFlow is bigger and bulkier than the Summit, it takes up more room in my park bag which leaves me less room for my other essentials.
WINNER IN CATEGORY 2 → STANLEY – The IceFlow edges out the Summit simply because of the larger handle. I don’t think the extra room it takes cup in my bag matters more than that big ole beautiful handle. The Stanley IceFlow 30 oz is easy to carry and easy to add to your stroller.
CATEGORY 3 : DRINKABILITY
I’m going to go ahead and declare the winner flat out here. The Simple Modern Summit is so, so much easier to drink out of than the Stanley IceFlow, in my opinion. Both of these bottles have the same concept… they have flip up straws. However, you don’t have to work to suck the water through the straw on the Simple Modern. I truly feel like I have to work to get the water out of my Stanley and it just flows so much easier with the Simple Modern Summit.
WINNER IN CATEGORY 3 → SIMPLE MODERN
CATEGORY 4 : MAINTENANCE
SIMPLE MODERN – The website says that the Summit bottle should be hand washed, while the top and straw a top-rack dishwasher safe. Sooooooo we put our bottles in the bottom of our dishwasher and so far, so good. We have had our 4 Summit bottles for about a year and a half and have not had any issues doing this.
STANLEY – The website says that the Stanley IceFlow is completely dishwasher safe, giving it the slight upper hand to the Summit. We do wash our Stanley bottle in the bottom of the dishwasher and the top of it on the top rack.
WINNER IN CATEGORY 4 → STANLEY – the fact that you can rest easy knowing that your water bottle is safe in the dishwasher is enough to edge Stanley into the winner’s column here.
CATEGORY 5 : AESTHETIC
SIMPLE MODERN – Okay… so here is the thing about the Summit. I would not buy most of the colorways. I am just a very minimal person when it comes to design. I don’t like a lot of fuss. I like white, black, neutral colors, and I really do not (please don’t kill me) like most things “Disney”. What I mean is that I am extremely picky if I buy something (cups, shirts, etc.) that has Disney on it. That being said, these bottles are great for kids and that’s exactly who I bought ours for. There are solid colored ones as well, but only a few of the options have matching tops. I would rather have a Mickey one than one that is plain white but has a black top on it.
STANLEY – Do I even need to waste my typing fingers on this? The Stanley cups are possibly the most beautiful cups to grace us in my lifetime. They are clean… classy… NEUTRAL for the most part. I love the look of my cream Stanley IceFlow.
WINNER IN CATEGORY 5 → STANLEY – mic drop
CATEGORY 6 : PRICE
SIMPLE MODERN – The Simple Modern Summit 20 oz currently retails for $26.99 on the Simple Modern site for a Disney edition and $20.99 for a plain one that does not have a Disney print on it. The price is the same on Amazon.
STANLEY – The Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw 30 oz retails for $31 and I found it for $40 on Amazon (ouch). There are no Disney prints for the Stanley but there are several colorways (if you can find them in stock).
WINNER IN CATEGORY 6 → SIMPLE MODERN – the Stanley, in my opinion, does not justify the higher price point.
SO WHO IS OUR WINNER?! DRUMROLL PLEASE…
Oh shoot! It’s a tie? Are you kidding me?! I literally did not plan this out and didn’t think it would be a tie… so I guess since this is my opinion blog then I am the tiebreaker!
My choice for best Disney Parks water bottle is…
THE SIMPLE MODERN SUMMIT 22 OZ!
That’s right… when given the choice I am going to be taking my Summit water bottle to the parks. It all comes down to personal preference, but how easy it is to drink from, the amount of room it takes up in my park bag (along with how light it is due to being 22 oz vs 30 oz), the price point, and the fact that it’s usually in stock (haha) make this my go-to park bottle. Let me know in the comments which bottle you will be taking to the parks!
Thanks for hanging out… I can’t wait to see you back here next week. Make sure you sign up for my email list below if you haven’t already and follow me over on Instagram for chats, tips, and daily life. Talk to you soon!
This was so fun!
ah, thank you so much! I really enjoyed putting it together!