Disney without a stroller

[aprilfoolwed]

This trip will be our first without a stroller - I don't know what we are going to do with all of our stuff!!! I realize its not in the middle of the summer, so it shouldn't be terribly hot, but they do like water bottles. I refuse to be the pack mule on the trip, so kids will need to help shoulder some of the load.

Do you have older kids carry backpacks? Water bottles on straps?

Give me some great solutions!

 

[Dolphindee]

Last year, I traveled with a Patagonia atom sling bag and it was perfect. First, the straps on the bag held all of our rain poncho's and I could strap a water on the side. I did not feel like a pack mule like other times. We also had a water bottle strap for each boy so they could carry them or I could throw the straps in my bag. I also love the little card holder that can carry your credit cards or money in the front.

The bag holds a lot but does not bog you down.

http://www.rei.com/product/869778/patagonia-atom-sling

With some vacations, I give my boys a cinch bag to carry. I really did not find it necessary at Disney however if they want autograph books and other stuff to carry, I would use that.

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

I have a similar problem/question. Our first without a stroller too. We leave in two days and I put our park backpack together and it's huge and heavy! All I did was put in a change of clothes for each of our two kids, a sweatshirt for everyone, a few snacks and a small bag of bandaids, medicine, etc.

Do you bring coats and stuff with and changes of clothes for kids, or just skip it and hope for the best? They're 8 and 5.

 

[disney world dreamer]

once they no longer need a stroller in the parks this should mean you don't need all that much stuff.

dress them in appropriate attire and have them tie a hoodie around their waist if you are going during a time it could be chilly in the mornings and evenings.


and just bring a backpack for yourself to use with just the essentials like your wallet, cell phone, bottles of water, sun screen, autograph books if you want, tissues, medications if needed....

i wouldn't bother with a bunch of first aid stuff or anything cuz there are first aid buildings at each park.

if you really feel like you have to bring the whole house to the parks then rent a locker but you really shouldn't need to bring much.

 

[kalc12345]

When we were done with strollers I thought I would miss it at Disney. They are great for holding all your stuff! I can say it is SO much better without a stroller. You can get around the parks so much easier without it! I take one small bag to hold my camera and a few other things. As far as water you can get free ice water at pretty much any counter service.

 

[maxiesmom]

Once they are not babies, skip the change of clothes. Rent a locker for the sweatshirts and some of the snacks. You don't need to carry a ton of stuff around, that is no fun! Also, each child can carry a small bag with a few granola bars and and autograph book, or whatever they may want.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Don't carry it. We carry a very tiny cross body bag because we carry epi-pens. Sometimes, if someone has on cargo pant,s we just carry those in there. We carry our phones and use that for our camera, a bit of cash and until micky bands, tickets in DH wallet. We use DDP and that's plenty of snacks and if we want more water, we ask for free cups. Jackets around waist. If weather is bad or we expect big changes and clothes changes, we can rent a locker, but we have only done that a few times. DS gave up the stroller by the time he was 5 so we pretty much have traveled like this since then. In a true emergency, there is little you can't get in the parks except personal medical stuff. Most gift shops have lots of necessary items in stock behind the counter if you need it, just ask.

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

What about if they get wet on splash mountain or kali river rapids? That was my only concern. My kids are soooo whiny if they have wet clothes. Totally unmagical.

 

[maxiesmom]

What about if they get wet on splash mountain or kali river rapids? That was my only concern. My kids are soooo whiny if they have wet clothes. Totally unmagical.

Dollar store rain ponchos.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Thanks for all the good tips. I have a crossbody bag that I like that holds one water bottle (for me!) and enough room for a wallet, keys, phone, a few snacks, small thing of sunscreen, and probably the ponchos. Maybe we'll take a backpack too. But I dislike how heavy it gets.

I do not pack extra clothes for the kids - but then they don't need it at 13, 11, and 8. They need to think long and hard before getting on a water ride though (I don't like being wet, so I don't do them).

And I guess if the kids dont want to carry their own water bottle, they can just get a drink at a water fountain or counter service place.

 

[disney world dreamer]

What about if they get wet on splash mountain or kali river rapids? That was my only concern. My kids are soooo whiny if they have wet clothes. Totally unmagical.

so either bring dollar sore ponchos for those rides that you can then toss or purchase nice ponchos from disney for those rides which you can then keep and use for if it rains.

 

[kuhltiffany]

We hike a lot so my kids are used to carrying their own water. They each have one of these:
http://shop.camelbak.com/minimule/d/1064

It also has spots for their money, iPods, gum, etc. So handy!

 

[Polishnavy]

I second the Patagonia atom bag. I could have had essentials other than diapers/wipes/change of clothes for little ones. I anticipate it being my long-term park bag.

 

[pinkprincess30]

What about if they get wet on splash mountain or kali river rapids? That was my only concern. My kids are soooo whiny if they have wet clothes. Totally unmagical.

We carry cheap ponchos, like mentioned before. One thing I can't handle though are wet shoes & socks! On our last trip I actually slipped a cheap/light pair of flip flops in my bag (the $3 pair from Old Navy). I would change in to them real quick before getting on the rides where we would get wet. A real lifesaver for me and almost no extra weight to carry around...and kind of refreshing to have the flip flops on for a bit

 

[bigbabyblues]

Our rule is if you want to bring it, you carry it. They usually have a water bottle and sometimes the older one brings his camera (neck strap). DH brings his camera equipment, and he always rents a locker; any sweatshirts or "we might want it" things go in there.

 

[Nztara]

We went to Seaworld this weekend with DS2.5. Part of the reason was a trial theme park run before a week at Disney. The other reason was because we got rained on for two full days when we went in January of this year. I packed the very basic essentials even though we had a stroller. We had a cinch backpack with 4 pull-ups, travel pack of wipes, a lightweight change of clothes for DS, four snack sized ziplock bags with goldfish/pretzels for the kid and a camera. I have no interest in hauling more than needed into the parks.

If he was fully potty trained, we could have eliminated the bag, sucked it up and paid for a few snack and only had a camera to carry. We did carry the backpack the whole trip and found it to be light and no bother because we didn't over pack.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Once they are not babies, skip the change of clothes. Rent a locker for the sweatshirts and some of the snacks. You don't need to carry a ton of stuff around, that is no fun! Also, each child can carry a small bag with a few granola bars and and autograph book, or whatever they may want.

This is what we are doing. This will be our first stroller free trip and I am looking forward to not hauling our entire house around the parks

I'm taking a VB crossbody bag with a water bottle, camera, phone and a few extras.

The kids each have a fanny pack that they can put a small water bottle, a couple snacks and a small toy in.

I think we will rent a locker for jackets since it might be chilly in the mornings and evenings.

 

[MandiC]

When we went in February I carried a small cross body bag. It had the kids autograph books, lanyards/pins, some pages with our plans/tips for the day/pressed penny locations, IDs/gift cards, pennies/quarters and ONE water bottle. Yep, we all shared Honestly it was never an issue. There are water fountains and you can get ice water from QS for free, we just had the water bottle for when we couldn't wait. I brought my filtered water bottle with so I could refill it when needed.
I thought about having the kids take their own bags and maybe next time I will but this trip I just knew if I did someone would forget a bag on a ride or set it down for pictures or something and forget it there and I just didn't want to deal with it

 

[kmb584]

We returned yesterday from our first stroller free trip and let me just say, it was awesome! It was easy to navigate the crowds, and not having to park it then pick it back up saved at least an hour per day. My family used to think of the stroller as a pack mule but with no option view it as such this trip they sent their packages up front and picked them up prior to leaving the park. I did take a backpack so that held our coats, water bottles, and sunscreen.