Disney with no stroller...

[slbgnb]

This will be our first trip where my kids are old enough to not need a stroller. How do you carry all your stuff around? Purse, camera, drinks, autograph books...is there a fabulous bag out there, that makes carrying everything nice and compact...without being too heavy? Thanks!

 

[calismic]

Jansport =)

 

[kj2mom]

This is the bag I love. It has two side drink holder pockets. I put a medium sized Dunkin donuts coozie in each side and carried two Brita bottles. It held everything I needed and never seemed heavy. We went in July so we didn't need an extra layer. I recommended the bag to a friend who is going in November and she asked about sweatshirts (I had never even thought about it because of our summer trip) so I tested it for her. It held our umbrella, ponchos, snacks and two adult 2X sweatshirts with no problem. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8UEABW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

[cmarsh31]

We ditched the camera bag - went with the MM instead - which made my DH much happier. He was always stressed about leaving the expensive camera under the stroller while we went on rides, etc. We tried carrying water bottles but after 2 days DH was frustrated with the weight. Instead, we got cups with water & ice at QS and just collected water bottles from meals as we went.

Ended up using our regular day hiking backpack - couple spots for water, plenty of places to hook our ponches in their pouches, etc.

 

[rwdavis2]

Medium sized backpack. Similar to this(mine is from LL Bean):

We don't take a lot into the parks except snacks, water, and camera. Has ample room for souvenirs. The multiple compartments make it easy to keep stuff organized.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Prior to twins we were always bag free. Now with two infants we will be bagged for many years to come.lol Cant wait till we are bag free again! Get each kid a small bag and make them carry whatever they want in the parks such as their autograph books and snacks.

 

[thr33boys]

This will be our first trip without a stroller as well. I'm leaning towards renting a locker on the days where we may need to bring layers. Carrying 5 hoodies in a bag will be a challenge. We may even just leave them in the rental car and get them out when we hop. I'd love to go bagless this trip but I think I'm dreaming.

 

[china mom]

I am still waffling on taking a stroller for our November trip. I know we will need jackets, we like to bring a small cooler, various small items.... daughter - she's ten now. If the stroller gets too flu, she can walk.

 

[slbgnb]

Thanks - I'm guessing one of those backpacks will have to do. We don't bring a lot - but camera and autograph books alone can be cumbersome! Maybe since they are older now....they can share 1 autograph book too. NO way could I not bring my camera. Love photopass, but they aren't always there and I LOVE pictures.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We divide it up - everyone carries their stuff. No one gets elected pack mule when we vacation.

 

[slbgnb]

We divide it up - everyone carries their stuff. No one gets elected pack mule when we vacation.

Oh - this will definitely be a shared responsibility!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I usually buy a smaller book bag of disney themed for my kids to keep their stuff in. Usually the autograph books and markers, hats if needed. We have our phones for quick photos and we also got MM for all the other photos (we love MM). As for wallets, we have phone cases that are also wallets so that saves room in carrying around a wallet. We still have 1 in a stroller and I was like I don;t know how we would do it bc we have a heavy diaper bag, lol, then I thought by the time he is out of the stroller he will also be out of diapers, lol. Then the only bag we would have left is our drink bag. We usually get the deluxe dining plan so thats 3 sit down meals a day plus 2 snacks a day (the snacks can be redeemed for drinks as well). We usually never use all our snack credits, but I think I would most likely end up using snack credits for drinks bc with 3 meals a day usually no one is hungry for snacks, so we wouldn't need to carry a drink bag as well.

 

[Disney Mom 7272]

This will be our first trip where my kids are old enough to not need a stroller. How do you carry all your stuff around? Purse, camera, drinks, autograph books...is there a fabulous bag out there, that makes carrying everything nice and compact...without being too heavy? Thanks!

This was our first year without a stroller and it was wonderful. My husband carries a backpack and it has all of our stuff that we need in it. We don't pack much to the parks (ponchos, autograph books, snacks, Tylenol, and that's all that we pack). I stopped taking my big camera this year because it was a bigger hassle to keep getting it out. We purchase memory maker and then use our cell phones. When I come home I always have around 400 pictures on memory maker to download and it captures all the pictures that I want. I use my cell phone for ride pictures. The bus is so much easier without a stroller and it's nice to just walk up to a ride without having to figure out where to park the stroller!!

 

[slbgnb]

This was our first year without a stroller and it was wonderful. My husband carries a backpack and it has all of our stuff that we need in it. We don't pack much to the parks (ponchos, autograph books, snacks, Tylenol, and that's all that we pack). I stopped taking my big camera this year because it was a bigger hassle to keep getting it out. We purchase memory maker and then use our cell phones. When I come home I always have around 400 pictures on memory maker to download and it captures all the pictures that I want. I use my cell phone for ride pictures. The bus is so much easier without a stroller and it's nice to just walk up to a ride without having to figure out where to park the stroller!!

I could see the "freedom" part being nice - and I totally forgot about always having to find the "stroller parking"! That will be nice to be rid of! I just don't think my iphone is that great for indoor pics (like at character meals where there is no MM) and I print my pictures and scrapbook, so as much as I'd love to not bring my camera....I will have to. And it's kind of big so that will kind of suck. But, hopefully a backpack will work out well. We will certainly try and pack quite light this trip!

 

[AggieBeth]

We go with a clear backpack...it is water resistant and easy to get through bag check. They usually give it one spin on the table and we walk on through.

 

[EpicRain]

No kids here, but my husband and I like using a backpack. This is probably a habit I developed as a kid because by our second Disney vacation (I was 10, my brother was 8) my parents had us both wearing mini backpacks to carry a lot of our own belongings. I think on our first trip (we were 6 and 4) just my parents rocked the backpack. We're clearly a backpack family.