Avoiding bag check

[lucyem]

Bag check is not always such a breeze.

I often take a small nylon cross body that can fold up tiny and slip that into my DH's pocket. My phone and money and small sunscreen etc I put into my pockets or my DS's. We only take in one water bottle, if any, and someone carries that. I like having the bag even though most things fit into my pockets. The bag is also handy if we pick up things in the park, add more water bottles etc.

 

[richmo]

Now that the kids are grown up, I try to travel as light as possible. Usually the only time I'll bring a bag in is if I'm bringing ponchos in if rain is forecast. Sometimes my DW will bring a small bag too.

Anyway, I did want to share one tip on the bag check at Epcot. All buses and monorails arriving at Epcot feed into the "right" side bag entrance as you face Epcot and the entrance gates. On a busy day, especially in the morning, this line can get quite long. If it is, just stay to your left and walk right on by. There's another entrance on the "left" side that will likely be completely deserted and will be manned.

 

[Kellykins1218]

The point of the bag is that I hate feeling like my shorts are loaded down with stuff in my pockets, even if it all fits. Ideally, I'd love to find something like a reusable nylon bag that folds up into it's own little zipper pouch when not in use - I don't imagine how I'd get into any trouble for not going through bag check while having something like that it my pocket for use once in the parks. I have found a few that are a cross body or sling style, but they're bigger than I want.

We've done this with those lightweight nylon backpacks with strings for straps. You can fold them up really tiny. I load up all the guys' cargo shorts & then transfer everything once we're in the park.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We were there over over spring break and with the crowds security was a breeze! Just a moment to get it done.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

We were there, too, and the security lines were awful. It took way more than a "moment."

 

[Couchy]

I know of people who just bunch of those nylon drawstring bags and put it in a cargo pocket. They then put whatever they need in that bag once they go through security. Usually its the water bottles they carried in and a granola bar and small travel size sunblock.

Bag lines can be quite long at park opening so I understand someone not wanting the hassle. DH and don't really carry much into the park so we don't need a bag

 

[stenmarks]

For our past two trips, we have taken a gallon sized ziplock bag instead of a purse or bag. We store it in the basket of Dd's stroller, and when we go through security just hold it up for the guard to see. They wave us on and chuckle a bit, but they look a little relieved!

 

[isabellea]

For our past two trips, we have taken a gallon sized ziplock bag instead of a purse or bag. We store it in the basket of Dd's stroller, and when we go through security just hold it up for the guard to see. They wave us on and chuckle a bit, but they look a little relieved!

I love that idea! Thanks!

 

[winterman]

I don't think that I have ever had more than 4 people in front of me in the bag check line. Usually fewer.

 

[tndisneyfan]

I was once stopped because security thought my fleece jacket pockets looked too fluffy. One pocket had an empty plastic bag that I forgot was in there and the other was empty. My DH had the same type of jacket and nothing was said to him.

That reminds me, DH got stopped entering DHS one morning for having "bulging pockets". He had on cargo shorts that were stuffed.

 

[MadameAdelaide]

As you can see, it's really a bit of a crap shoot.
Sometimes you get stopped with no "bag" to be searched and sometimes you can get through with a small case on a string that isn't technically a "bag"--

I carry a very small purse that fits only my cellphone-- so I can be hands free. I have had it across my body and not been stopped many times.
But if the line is short, I go have it checked just in case.

 

[PJ]

First - how long bag check takes also depends on the guard. This Winter we had some who barely looked and others who moved around every item in my (not very big or full) purse. And even though we went on mostly low crowd estimate days, there were times I still found it annoying to wait in the bag check lines.

Second, I was one of those people who couldn't imagine going bagless. We Wintered 20 min from WDW and had AP's so we were able to go a few days a week for 4 months. I decided to try going bagless so we could skip the lines and was shocked to discover I didn't even miss it!

I found a very small wallet that held my ID's, credit card and a little cash. It fit easily in any of my shorts or jeans pockets. My phone fit in another pocket, and I put my sunglasses on an eyeglass holder around my neck.

I actually found it very liberating not carrying anything around. Only exception were the rainy days, when I carried a hobo bag with our ponchos.

 

[disnut8]

Tips for bag check lines.

Be prepared yourself. Get your bag off your body and have all pockets unzipped, unlatched, unvelcroed. Please the bag on the table as soon as you can, before you reach the guard. Spread open all the pockets yourself so the guard can easily see into the pockets. If the guard wants to hoist up the bag, no big deal, he'she is checking to make sure nothing heavy in hidden anywhere.

Take notice of who is in front of you. If there is a family of four with one person with a huge backpack, another with a stroller loaded down with bags and neither one has made any move to do anything you've already done, move to another line.

Check out the lines to the far sides - they are usually less crowded.

All that can be do very quickly on your walk up to the lines.

After the lines, move away from the lines. There is plenty of room to put down your bag and redo everything. If someone is attempting to do everything right in front of you, excuse yourself politely and move around them. Then get yourself together and go to the entrance gates.

Personally, I've found the entrance gates to take more time getting through than security lines.

Oh - and smile at the security guards and think "I really wouldn't want to do their jobs but I'm glad they are doing it so I don't have to worry about anything."

 

[Drusilla]

We want to go bagless on our next trip. However, my dd9 is really into pin trading and has a small pin satchel type bag that she uses in addition to her lanyard. We got it at WDW at the pin store at Epcot. Will we still need to go thru the bag check if she brings her pin satchel?

 

[AngiTN]

We are going to attempt bagless on our next trip. Stollerless and bagless. We will put a few items in DH's pockets and one of the small drawstring bags in mine.

We want to go bagless on our next trip. However, my dd9 is really into pin trading and has a small pin satchel type bag that she uses in addition to her lanyard. We got it at WDW at the pin store at Epcot. Will we still need to go thru the bag check if she brings her pin satchel?

DGD carried one of those on our last trip. They checked it each time. I'm going to get her a lanyard this time and put the few pins she wants to trade that day on it with locking backs

 

[hunter1722]

I go through bag check all the time during off season; however, we are going the first time this Christmas week and I have seen the lines to get through bag check at the afternoon parks like Epcot. Yep, going without bags this time.

 

[Drusilla]

DGD carried one of those on our last trip. They checked it each time. I'm going to get her a lanyard this time and put the few pins she wants to trade that day on it with locking backs

Thanks for the info - extra lanyard with DD's extra pins on it or a baggie full of extra pins in DH's pocket - DD would trade 100 a day if she had that many!!! lol

 

[*pixie*dust*]

and another note...Even if you can fit everything in your pockets, it's no guarantee of avoiding bag check.

If your pockets are stuffed, they sometimes will send you back to bag check and request that you empty all pockets. Have seen that happen many times, especially when people are wearing the kind of travel shorts or vest that have multiple button-down pockets. If it's just a wallet in a pocket, that will go through...but multiple pockets, they may want to see what's in them.

ITA
I have seen plenty of people with stuffed pocket cargo shorts get sent to the bag check line.

 

[cvjw]

Yes, usually bag check only takes a few minutes. We have had to wait over 30 minutes one morning trying to get into DHS right at rope drop. Because of the long wait, we weren't able to ride TSM - all of the regular FP were gone until late afternoon when we finally got in (this was before FP+ and we had to leave for home at lunch).

We have started going bagless. I take a small nylon string backpack and fold it up and put it into DH's pocket. We then split up the other things that we need for the day and go thru the no-bag line. After we get into the park, we just reassemble everything into the backpack. Very liberating going thru that line. I would not even take the small backpack if we didn't bring water into the park - I hate to have to hold it all day.

 

[LSchrow]

For our past two trips, we have taken a gallon sized ziplock bag instead of a purse or bag. We store it in the basket of Dd's stroller, and when we go through security just hold it up for the guard to see. They wave us on and chuckle a bit, but they look a little relieved!

DD & i both carry baggalinis (no way we're going without bottled water in fla), with our cells, wallets, mints/gum, and occasionally a camera stored in a gallon zip-lock, in the baggalini.
not only is bag check a breeze (just pull the bag out, and put it back when thru - no chance of things falling out, etc), our "stuff" is protected during the suprise rain showers

 

[DisUniversal]

ITA
I have seen plenty of people with stuffed pocket cargo shorts get sent to the bag check line.

What are they looking for in the bags? Seems like if someone wanted to bring a weapon into a park, it would be extremely easy to conceal without the use of a bag. Sometimes I think they're just looking for drinks and food because that cuts into their profits. Maybe next time we go, I'll ask my GF to put a turkey leg in her bag and see what they say.