Best park bag with a toddler

[DisneyLover83]

I am torn between a regular backpack (we already own a regular sized North Face) or a sling Kavu style (I'd need to purchase). We will be carrying all the normal toddler junk:diapers, wipes, change of clothes, sippy cup, small snacks... etc etc.

We are bringing our Britax stroller and the backpack will not fit in the underneath storage basket. I think the Kavu would, also concerned about taking the regular backpack on the rides? It will need to be removed to sit down. The Kavu can be rotated around from what I understand?

Will also be traveling with jackets due to it being February. I do not plan on leaving anything in the stroller unattended so no extra bag with diaper or wipes.

Opinions? What worked for your family?

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

I say use the backpack. I'll admit I spent a lot of time thinking about this one before our trip, and I brought several options for us to try out. It was our first trip with kids and before that we were dedicated no-bag-line frequent fliers so it was an adjustment! Here is what we ended up doing after some trial and error the first couple days:

• I carried a small crossbody bag (vera bradley mini hipster) that had my phone, a few cards and ID, and baby wipes (cannot live without baby wipes). Hubby had a wallet. Both had ziplocs in case of water rides. These came with us everywhere.
  
• We switched off carrying a backpack, and inside was:
  • a diaper change kit (skip hop pronto) to make diaper changes grab and go convenient.
  • a ziploc for each kid with a spare outfit inside
    
  • a ziploc with meal stuff for the baby (placemat, bib, sippy, sippy leash (he was a thrower at the time), etc)
    
  • a ziploc with snacks and pacifiers
    
  • it ended up carrying the 4-yr old's chosen toy of the day that she absolutely could not live without, and any purchases made, half-drunk water bottles, and all the other misc stuff you accumulate with kids.

It worked very well for us. It was a full size backpack (I normally carry my laptop and work stuff in it) and we could bring it on most rides, it was really never an issue to just swing it around and put it at our feet most places. The only times we didn't have it on rides were when other family members were watching the kids, so the backpack with kid stuff naturally went with them. I know you can ride Soarin with it (you just place it on the ground before the ride goes up since it won't fit in the bin underneath). I am unsure about some of the other thrill rides though, especially the coasters. We were always switching off then with family so someone else will have to chime in. But for your Dumbo/Peter Pan/Small World/Jungle Cruise/Pirates type stuff, you're fine.

The backpack worked so well because it left both hands free for pushing strollers, chasing kids, picking up stuff, whatever - and everything was in one place. Also, the parent wearing it could be herding kids while the other parent rummaged for whatever we needed asap. The first day or two, we tried just leaving the diaper kit and spare clothes under the stroller and taking a midsize bag with the other items with us, and we ended up forgetting which place had which things, or inevitably needing something when the stroller was parked - it was just too much. And the darn stroller will inevitably be parked pretty far away when you urgently need something in it. (Lesson from AK when baby needed a diaper and outfit change ASAP and we had just parked the stroller five zip codes away for the Nemo show).

With just one toddler, you might be able to get away with a pretty small squishable drawstring-like pack that you could cram next to you in seats or something. Even Space Mountain has a little pocket for stuff (not that it's big, but it's there).

 

[epsmith921]

I have to say the previous poster echoes exactly what my husband and I did for our first trip with kids. This way either of us could take the "diaper" bag with the kid/stroller and I could still have my phone, wallet, etc.

Our bag was a larger messenger bag that is quite lightweight. I almost cried that the strap started cracking last week. It's such a good park bag and I don't want to pay to replace it as I won't have a diaper bag much longer. Neither of us likes wearing a backpack and I like having things handy to get out from the messenger. We do bring a backpack for the airport/plane though.

 

[AspenLL]

We bought the Fisher Price Backpack for our last trip and it worked great!

 

[kayemgi]

Ditto everything @MNDisneyMommy said! We did the same and it worked great for us. Another thing that was invaluable was a few stroller leashes to help snack cups, water bottles, and toys stay attached to either the stroller or the backpack. We picked up this set from Amazon.

 

[meggiemouse]

We used a regular backpack to carry our things. We we able to lighten the load somewhat by using a plastic shopping bag to hold diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes. We kept the backpack with us at all times and just left the plastic bag in the stroller basket unattended. We figured if someone swiped that stuff, it would be cheap and easy to replace. No one ever messed with it. It worked well for us!

 

[jmccoy18]

I've done both types of bags, and depending on how young your toddler is and how much stuff you are planning on bringing, either bag could work. If you need more than just diapers/wipes, a couple bottles of water, and a few snacks I would go with the regular backpack.

Our last trip when DD1 was 2, we did a regular size backpack and it held my planning notebook (touring schedule, reservation #s etc.,) a small bag with diapers and wipes, a bunch of snacks (peanut butter crackers, granola bars, etc.,) sippy cup, a blanket (it was the end of December,) and a change of clothes for DD1. It all fit nicely and wasn't a bother to wear.

 

[BabyHabs]

We have a Nike sling bag that we always bring. I find it much more comfortable and less bulky than a book bag. DH and I both take turns wearing it and love it.