I probably stressed more about packing for this trip than any other trip I’ve taken. I’m glad I put a little thought into it, considering my usual approach is to throw things together 2 hours before we’re supposed to leave for the airport.
Here are some items I’m glad I brought with us:
Glow stick bracelets (more about those in this post)
Disney trading pins and lanyard (more in this post)
Mickey bandaids and moleskin (for festive blisters and such) – Don’t forget to precut the moleskin!
Refillable water bottles
Temporary tattoos that I could write my phone number on for Kendall to wear
External, portable charger for my iPhone
Breakfast bars and fruit snacks
Goddess Garden continuos spray sunscreen
Hand sanitizer
Chapstick
Baby wipes
Sunglasses for me, ball cap for Kendall
COMFORTABLE, broken in tennis shoes
A roomy backpack + a large tote bag
Packing for the park
We didn’t bring our own stroller. Instead, my mom rented one from Orlando Stroller Rentals. I can’t say enough great things about them. I am SO GLAD we had a stroller, even for our 6 year old. I almost feel like it’s worth having a stroller no matter how old everyone is just to have something to tote your stuff around in.
Since our time was limited, we planned to spend the entire day at the park. This meant we had to bring a lot with us. What wound up working for us was putting everything of value and everything we would need to access frequently in a large backpack- camera, chargers, snacks, sunscreen, etc. We took this bag everywhere with us, even on rides.
When I didn’t have my DSLR around my neck, I kept it in a padded cube in the middle pocket of the backpack.
We kept everything else in a large tote bag in the basket of the stroller. This included a change of clothes for Kendall, extra socks, even saline solution and an extra pair of contacts. Just in case. Dividing it up this way helped lighten the backpack, and if someone did run off with our stroller while we were on a ride, they wouldn’t get anything we’d miss too much. Next time I’ll be sure to bring a tote bag I don’t care very much about instead of my Feed Projects bag. I would have been sad if someone got off with that.
Getting souvenirs home
One cool thing about staying at a Disney property is you can have anything you purchase at the park sent back to your hotel, as long as you’re able to pick it up after 1 the next day (so not something you can take advantage of if you’re flying out early the next morning). Buy whatever you want, no matter how big or valuable without worrying about toting it around with you all day. You can also have them ship it directly to your house.
If you don’t have enough room in your bags, you might have to have them ship some stuff home. So just in case, pack something like a large duffel bag that you can easily fold and fit into your suitcase on the way there. Even if you have to pay for an extra checked bag, you’ll likely spend less on that than shipping souvenirs home.
4 down, one more post to come in my Disney Tips Series!
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3 comments
is it pretty easy to leave the strollers unattended somewhere while you wait in line/ ride rides? I’ve never been to Disney with a kid (hope to soon though and these posts are so helpful!), but I’ve seen photos of Disney stroller corrals that look like a giant cluster @#(*& if you want to get your stroller out. also my son hasn’t been in a stroller since he was 2 so I don’t know how he’d feel as a 6 year old riding in a stroller. I imagine him whining about that MIGHT be a little less annoying than him whining about walking around everywhere.
and it looks like you only took Kendall? is that correct- i scanned through the other posts and didn’t see mention of the other kids. I wonder how young they could be to have fun without it being too much. I’ve seen some friends take a 6 year old with a 1.75 year old and they didn’t say too much about the younger one having a difficult time, but I’m not sure.
It was pretty easy for us. The stroller parking areas can get crowded, but they have people working them, so they keep them organized. We never had an issue getting in and out. I STRONGLY encourage getting a stroller for your 6 year old. Yes, we just had Kendall, also 6 years old. We hope to go back later this year with Leyna (3, almost 4 then) and Kendall. I think there is something to do for kids from about 2 years and up. For me, I don’t think I’d bring a kid younger than 2.
cool! thanks for the follow up. the whole Disney series was very helpful. I haven’t been since I was a kid, but hope too soon!