Part two of two on Orlando and Walt Disney World This is part two of a two blog series on Orlando. Check out the first post here.

In preparing for our trip to Orlando, it was the first destination where I was presented with more earth-friendly options for the trip. From the car rental companies proudly displaying their eco-logos on car options to the Florida Lodging program that I wrote about previously, there was a visible effort by numerous companies to showcase their efforts. With so many families making trips to both Disney World and the Orlando area, these programs certainly help lessen our impact while we are visiting the area.

With over 50 hotels offering Green Lodging certification, this is certainly a destination where you can easily have both environmentally friendly practices at all lodging price levels. I wrote about a great luxury product in the first blog, and there are a number of other high end hotels to choose from, but in this city there are also a number of Courtyard and Holiday Inn level hotels as well.

As we look at car rentals, I am not as interested in their eco programs. A few of the car companies offer hybrid car rentals for about $25 more per day than the smallest vehicle. If you need a larger car and are driving quite a few miles in your destination, a hybrids a great choice. For us, we can get by with the smallest car, so the gas mileage on the smallest vehicle is actually better than the mid-sized hybrids. It is important to pay attention to the “offerings” a company is providing, because they aren’t always a better choice.

The biggest impact we make as travelers is the time we spend in the major theme parks in Orlando. Although there are efforts being made, especially by the Disney World resorts, there a number of simple things we can do as travelers to help in their efforts. One of the areas I was thinking a lot about while we were there was water. It was hot and fresh water is a limited resourse in Florida. The theme parks and resorts already understand water conservation. For example, every day Disney World Resorts reclaim 10 million gallons of waste water to use for irrigation. Think about what can we do in relationship to water especially in the warm weather. A lot of people use portable spray fans filled water from the drinking fountains to cool off with. Not only do they take fresh water, a lot of them use batteries as well. Instead, why not take advantage of all the water spots in the parks (see photo above). This water is already being used so overall we use less fresh water. And, it’s fun. Or if you need water, carry a reusable water bottle. Not only does water cost $3 per bottle, so you save money, there are no recycling cans at the theme parks. If you don’t like the taste of the local water, use one of the small packets of mix-ins, which is a much smaller item to throw away.

Another area that is an easy switch is from glass bottles to plastic or tap products. In the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which encompasses the whole Disney World properties, they do not recycle glass bottles. They throw all bottles into the landfills. So, when ordering a cold beverage on a hot day, your choice can make a big difference in trash. A tap beer is going to use less resources. Brewed Ice Tea is much better than the product in the bottle.

This trip to Orlando was a big reminder of how it really is about small choices – what car, what drink, what hotel – that collectively protect things that are important like water.