Not all water is created equal.
Journey of Water
Face it — we all have our favorite bottled water brands. There’s just something about our favorite brands that tastes better. We’ll sometimes even pay for more expensive water just to get that special taste. But does water even have a taste? That age-old debate not only has an answer, but the general consensus also seems to be that Walt Disney World sells the worst-tasting water.
Rest assured, Disney does not use a laboratory to concoct foul-tasting water that they, in turn, sell to you with an evil grin as they curl their handlebar mustaches. No, the reason behind Disney selling less-than-favorable water has more to do with brand partnerships. Disney has had a longtime partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and with that comes Coca-Cola products. It’s really that simple.
So which kind of water that Coca-Cola sells is making people spit it out in disgust? The answer to that, resoundingly, is Dasani.
Dasani
One of the cheaper options for bottled water, Dasani has many people second-guessing themselves and debating ponying up for a more expensive brand. Unfortunately for guests at the Disney Parks, this is the prime option you get for your water-purchasing needs. But why is the general water-drinking population so sour on Dasani? Many people have done their research and the results are alarmingly uniform.
Nearly everyone we referred to had Dasani at or near the bottom of their bottled water rankings. The most condemning review came from USA Today. In it, they had Dasani ranked 17th out of 17. Ouch. They did call Dasani “a step up from tap water” — but followed up with a “depending on the city”. Double-ouch. USA Today said the water smelled horrible and described it as sulfuric. They suggested sticking your head under a sink for water instead and only drinking Dasani in desperate situations. If you’re Dasani, how do you recover from that?
Stay hydrated at your own risk!
Mashed was also rough on Dasani. They ranked Dasani 15th out of 16 water brands. Just slightly ahead of Aquafina, a water brand from Coca-Cola rival PepsiCo, Dasani was called out for being nearly undrinkable. Mashed remarked that the only time you will ever see an empty Dasani bottle is “maybe the finish line of a 5k”. They labeled Dasani as the kind of water you drink until you’re no longer thirsty and that it’s akin to drinking fountain water, albeit with “fewer germs”.
Mashed added that Dasani water isn’t terrible, but that it tastes bitter, and you’re better off buying generic store-brand at a better value. As it relates to Disney, this suggestion would be the equivalent of bringing your own bottle or suitable container of water with you to the parks.
This Is the Water Bottle That Literally Everyone Takes to Disney World
In their “Best (and Worst) Bottled Waters of 2023” list, Brit+Co asked Belinda Chang, a water sommelier, to rank the water (yes, there are people whose job it is to taste water — go figure). Chang gave Dasani a 70/100, good enough for ninth place out of 10. Her notes were less about the taste and more about the smell, describing it as stinky. She equated the stench to something like “a wine that’s been dosed with sulphates.” Yuck.
Here’s the Dasani over at Galaxy’s Edge!
The kindest review we saw definitely belonged to Thrillist. In their article, they used a panel of ordinary people to rank the water. Dasani finished sixth out of eight, which has been the ceiling so far. Thrillist described Dasani water as “buoyant”, with a flavor that the tasters “didn’t fully embrace.” They did note that the water was “clean and fruity”, but that it exuded hints of “unchanged Brita filter”. Ok, so not the most glowing endorsement.
Example Dasani Screen
It’s important to note that all of these reviews and rankings were done of the basic Dasani water, and not of the different flavors of Dasani that are also available. Still, whether or not you actually like Dasani, it’s hard to argue against the general consensus that it’s hardly anybody’s favorite. What do you feel about most people dragging Dasani water? Do you personally avoid it while you’re at the Disney Parks and opt for fountain water or a different beverage? Let us know, and continue to follow us at DFB for all the latest Disney news!
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Surprisingly, Dasani is actually better tasting that Anaheim city water. Orange County, CA, in general, does NOT have great tasting tap water.
Maybe Dasani is not the best but it is so much better than Disneyworld tap water. I asked for water at a restaurant and I couldn’t drink it
I come from a city that had the BEST water in the state at one point, but alas that’s no more! Would I drink Dasani – maybe!? I’d have to be really thirsty because I’m spoiled when it comes to good water.
I like both aqufina and dasani, but then I live in a city where I drink the tap water which is probably considered really bad. The tap water in my city actually killed my pet turtles.
I like Dasani. Not sure why the bad press. Experts, right? I don’t need trendy smartwater or designer brands. We have lived in Central FL for three years and the absolute worst bottled water I’ve tasted is the Florida-local Zephyrhills; it tastes like Orlando tap water, which tastes terrible to me – like Myrtle Beach water tasted in the 70’s. We used to put a splash of OJ in it – which was before the bottled water craze. Then you went to the grocery store with jugs and filled them with filtered water for a quarter if you wanted good water near the coast. Maybe good water tastes bad to a person who grew up drinking bad water. Maybe my tastes aren’t high-strung enough.
The best drinking water in my opinion is the softened, carbon-filtered tap water at our house! It’s second only to the Western NC spring water that came from the pipe sticking out of my grandparents’ milk house, which we drank from the tin dipper that hung on a nail near the pipe!
I know – three people just passed out thinking about such unrefined living…