What do you do with your backpack when...

[daughertyk]

I have plans to carry a drawstring backpack to DW. I'm wondering what I will do with the backpack while I am riding rides, such as Space Mountain, or Rocking Roller Coaster, because I will have the camcorder and camera in it. Also will it be a pain to get our tickets out of all the time for fastpasses? Can you tell it's our first time?

 

[DiznEeyore]

We always just stick our backpacks between our feet, and use our feet to hold them in place.

You will have to get your tickets out each time you want to get a Fastpass, and I guess it is sort of a pain. But if you keep them somewhere relatively accessible, it won't be too bad.

Have a fun trip!!

 

[Jim5150]

This January will be our sixth year in a row. Believe it or not we always leave our backpack in the stroller we use for my son. This year we will not have the stroller and I plan to just leave it in the stroller parking area. Not once have we lost anything.

 

[DiznEeyore]

This January will be our sixth year in a row. Believe it or not we always leave our backpack in the stroller we use for my son. This year we will not have the stroller and I plan to just leave it in the stroller parking area. Not once have we lost anything.

Then you have been *extraordinarily* lucky. In a million years I wouldn't leave my valuables unattended. Disney may not "feel" like the real world, but thieves exist there, too.

 

[Jimdamedic]

I watched a poor couple from England cry because someone had taken their stroller with $1000 worth of cameras into the bathroom and take everything. Not a good idea to leave valuables in unattended strollers.

 

[matthewpaul939]

We just got back 2 weeks ago, we carried around a HUGE backpack, and I had no problem taking it on the rides. Even RnRC.

 

[4fireworks]

We just got back, and even though we had a stroller, we always took everything in with us, no problem with room at all. At Space Mountain, and others I just put it between my feet making sure to keep it tight.

I found it a lot more convienient to keep our tickets/room key in my back pocket. They should give you a paper holder, for your tickets when you get them, that way they are all together right there. It was so much easier than to dig through everything in my pack to find my wallet!!
It may sound like a "duh" answer, but I didn't realize it til the 2nd day at the parks!
Have a magical time

 

[munchkinsmom]

I watched a poor couple from England cry because someone had taken their stroller with $1000 worth of cameras into the bathroom and take everything. Not a good idea to leave valuables in unattended strollers.

Oh yes, I'm going to have to second this. We had our stroller stolen when it was parked in a designated stroller parking lot in front of The Small World this past Labor Day weekend. We never got it back. Thank goodness we didn't have anything of significant value in the baskets.

Back to respond to the OP. We take backpacks with us on all the rides all the time with no problems at all. Sometimes we'll place it by our feet, on a seat next to us, or place it on our lap. Not a big deal.

Have a great time!

 

[Jim5150]

I'll just consider myself extremely lucky I guess. I don't carry $1000 worth of cameras around in my backpack usually just food/grinks/etc. We usually carry our digital camera with us on rides. If I had that much in a bag I wouldn't leave it in the first place.

Sad to hear about strollers missing also. The only times we've lost ours is when the Disney crew moves it to keep them organized.

 

[tinkerbellchick52]

We carried a backpack too. It was fine, just keep it between your knees. We put money tickets and cards of other sorts into a small front pocket. Youll be fine. I think backpacks are definetly better than things like fannypacks or stuuf like that!

 

[justplaingoofy]

each park has lockers that you can rent ?$5. If you need to carry it you should be able to put it between your legs. Depending on the time of year you go, you may not even need fast passes. We just got back and never needed them. (walked onto everything).
Personally, I would NEVER leave anything of value (autograph books included) unattended.... It is way to easy to walk away with someones stroller! Quick job for a dishonest person to get an annual pass and take things and sell them.
I've heard many times of people bringing their valuables with them and leaving behind their autograph books only to have them stolen and the kids are heartbroken

 

[kimbac3]

DH and I will both have back packs so it's good to know. I was worried about rides like Big Thunder and Splash. Glad to hear it won't be a problem!
Kimba aw:

 

[bigmac5]

We always just stick our backpacks between our feet, and use our feet to hold them in place.

You will have to get your tickets out each time you want to get a Fastpass, and I guess it is sort of a pain. But if you keep them somewhere relatively accessible, it won't be too bad.

We had a couple of waterproof plastic card holders on lanyards. (One for DH and one for me) Got them at WalMart for about$1 each. It was so handy to have them around our necks all the time. We kept the kids cards in them as well as any FP we got.

 

[spotdog]

I bought a Mickey drawstring backpack the last time I was at WDW. On the wilder rides I put my foot through one of the strings and pulled it up onto my lap. It couldn't possibly fall because it was around my thigh and I was sitting on the string.

 

[jill9072]

when you are boarding the wilder rides, is there a shelf or somewhere to put the backpacks, like hand it to the cm and then get it when ride is over. this way you can carry it up to the ride and is not left out in the stroller parking and is easier acceable to grab? thanks
Jill

 

[horsegirl]

We always take our backpacks on the rides too, but we brings along plastic bags and put our cameras inside the bags and then into the backpacks. We also keep our money, tickets, etc in fanny pack, or wallet- sometimes both so we don't lose everything in case something gets lost.

 

[foxfire]

We had a couple of waterproof plastic card holders on lanyards. (One for DH and one for me) Got them at WalMart for about$1 each. It was so handy to have them around our necks all the time. We kept the kids cards in them as well as any FP we got.

That's what we use also and they work great! They have a ziplock-type fastener to keep your tickets secure & there is an open pocket on the front we use to keep our FPs in. These are very lightweight so you hardly know you're wearing them.

Backpacks go between our feet on rides. We also keep a large ziplock bag in the backpacks to put them in on wet rides.

 

[CheriePenguin]

I thought I read a comment somewhere about not being able to take bags / backpacks on certain rides (but it didn't specify which rides).
* Has anyone ever not been able to take a bag / backpack on a particular ride?
* And how difficult is it to keep the backpack secure between your feet if you are also holding a toddler? (We wouldn't be on any wild rides in this situation, obviously!)

 

[LaLa]

We just got back and for the first half of our week long trip, we just left our backpack in the stroller outside the rides. We never put our valuables in the backpack. Those are around our necks or on our body somewhere. However, halfway through our trip, our friends who came with us (newbies) had their stroller taken, along with their backpack. They did not have their valuables in the backpack either, but DF was still VERY upset. So much so that it ruined her trip until she got it back at Lost and Found. Yes, she did get it back. We came to the conclusion that someone grabbed their stroller by mistake, thinking it was theirs and when they saw the strange backpack, returned it at Lost and Found, but kept the stroller. Probably figured that since they left their stroller back there somewhere, they would just take the one they grabbed. Needless to say, for the REST of the trip, the backpacks came with us on the rides. No, there is never a problem holding onto it on the rides, especially if you are not planning on riding any wild rides. Just sit it on the floor between your legs and enjoy the ride. Since we are talking about strollers, let me pass along a little tip. Ironically, our frends brought their own stroller thinking it would be less likely to be taken by mistake outside a ride vs. one of the millions of Disney strollers. We actually had this conversation before we left. We rented our stroller at Disney and ours was not taken but theirs was. That may have been one reason DF was so upset. Anyway, before we left, I bought a yard of brightly colored fabric at Wal Mart and everyday as soon as we got our stroller, I tied it onto the handle. We never had a problem spotting our stroller as you simply could NOT miss the bright yellow fabric tied to the handle. Just a little tip.

 

[spotdog]

In answer to the "holding onto the bag and the toddler" question, I had a small backpack, with the strap aroung my leg, a bit to the side on my lap and the 35lb child squarely on my lap. We ended these rides in the same position we began.

On the wilder rides (Thunder and Splash Mountain) he had to sit on the seat beside me anyway. Of course my arm was free to be around him the whole time.