Easiest way to carry items to parks?

[lyndlou]

We are leaving for Disney World in 2 weeks. Yes, I know I'm crazy, it just worked out that way. My question is, what is the best way to carry items in the parks? We plan to make sandwiches and pack them for lunch to cut down on cost of eating in the parks. Also, we will need to carry water bottles, camera, sunscreen, etc. I was thinking a backpack would be good but what do you do with it while on a ride? I was also thinking water bottles will sweat and get everything else in the bag wet.

Please help.

 

[tubachick]

We use one back pack, and put things into baggies that will get ruined if they are wet. We also have any packages sent to our room rather than try to carry everything in our packs. the backpack fits nicely under seats when on rides or at resturants. I hope this helps.

 

[pennyplanner]

Be very careful with food in the high heat!

--penny

 

[melaniemiller2002]

I use this pack when we go out for day hikes and the last time we went to Disneyland...

http://www.ebags.com/mountainsmith/...fm?modelid=3146

It's a terrific bag and it doesn't look too "dorky" like a regular fanny pack... There is room for everything I need for my family of 4 and is very comfortable. It also does well on the "wet rides". I still bring a plastic Ziploc or two just in case. When we went to MarineWorld in San Francisco a few weeks ago, I put a TON of stuff in it, walked around from 9am until 8pm or so and it was no problem. I really enjoyed this pack over a backpack (we've always done backpacks until I bought this).

Here's a few things we put in it:

A full size bottle of sunscreen (my stepkids are VERY fair and we reapply every 2 hours)

Digital camera

Disposable camera for the kiddos

35mm camera (okay, okay..we overdid it on the cameras...LOL)

Snacks for the kids (granola bars, goldfish, gummi bears, energy bars)

My wallet

Wallets for the kids

Wet wipes

Ibuprofen

Water bottle on each side

Band-aids, alcohol wipes

I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out, but the pack wasn't even full, nor was it a pain in my butt (literally... ).

This next April/May, I will be using this pack for our 8 days at WDW, my hubbie will have his water hydration pack on, we are getting kid-size hydration packs for DS9 and DD6 so we aren't dragging out their water bottles every 5 minutes, plus each kid will have a travel wallet around their neck that goes under your shirt. I wore one when I backpacked around Europe and they are great for keeping stuff safe. Now if I could just figure out where I'm gonna get my water from.............

Melanie

 

[kizmac]

Get a nice size back pack and use it for everything! I take our big one and it holds everything in it. It acts as a diaper bag, camera bag...etc. I used to take separate bags for everything and it was just too cumbersome. Plus the less you have the faster you get through security! If you are taking food, you really should have a separate insulated cooler tye bag, and don't wait too long to eat it! Food+heat=bad tummy

For our water bottles. We usually freeze ours and then put it in a heavy duty plastic shopping bag and I put that in the bottom of the stroller. I don't know if you will have a stroller or not. As for what we do with our backpack while on rides, it usually sits in the bottom of the stroller. Occaisionally I carry it with us on rides that it can be carried on. Hmmmm, don't know what I will do when we don't have three strollers to put things in.

 

[we3disneygo]

Our first trip we stayed at Westgate lakes and had a full kitchen, so we froze water, froze turkey sandwiches.....we ended up eating half frozen turkey sandwiches....a CM came around the corner and said to us "Oh you broght your lunch". That was the last time we took our lunch! Just wasn't worth carrying it around and our dd6 didn't like frozen sandwich. but we put our water and sandwiches in big zip lock baggies so they wouldn't leak on everything else in backpack. good luck and have fun!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Leave it all at home and don't be a packhorse. Buy water, eat food from the parks. Bring one camera. Put the sunscreen on before you leave. Leave if the kids get their clothes wet or wait for them to dry. Etc.

All you need are your tickets, your room key, your Drivers License and a little bit of cash. Okay, maybe a camera.

 

[disnut8]

I got a big demin bag from WalMart for $12. It's not a "purse" so my husband will carry it most of the time. We put everything in there. Use Ziplocs to separate your things. Go to your local dollar store and get a couple of plastic, hard sided sandwich containers for the sandwiches. For the water bottle(s), we just take an empty one and fill it up throughout the parks from the many water fountains. One thing you might think about is a couple of washcloths in a small Ziploc. Heavenly to wash yourself off (in the bathroom of course) when you get really hot. We also take an extra T shirt for my husband since he tends to sweat through by the middle of the day. I forgot an extra pair of socks for me and got blisters which was a first.

Just one mention about taking your lunch yourself. Disney doesn't really have a problem with this and I've seen families enjoying their little picnic. Just please don't take up a table at a counter service restaurant that should go to a paying customer. There are lots of benches for your lunchtime. I'm sure you wouldn't but that's they only problem I can see with your plan.

 

[becca011906]

Leave it all at home and don't be a packhorse. Buy water, eat food from the parks. Bring one camera. Put the sunscreen on before you leave. Leave if the kids get their clothes wet or wait for them to dry. Etc.

All you need are your tickets, your room key, your Drivers License and a little bit of cash. Okay, maybe a camera.

this way makes things so much easier if you can do it, just one less line you have to wait in when you get to the parks! I so so so wish i didn't have one in diapers and need my "stuff" LOL

 

[bigmac5]

We are going with our DS 14,13 and 11 the end of Aug. My one son has an NBA bag/backpack. I think I might made a couple as they are lightweight. They are just a draw string bag with the drawstrings going down to the bottom corners so that you can wear it like a backpack. That way they can carry their own water, wet cloth etc. Any other ideas?

 

[foxtrotter]

We use a small messenger style bag. In it I put:

Change of clothes for just potty-trained kid, just in case.
Sunscreen.
Couple water bottles.
Couple small snacks for toddler.
Tiny zip up bag with lip gloss and compact for makeup touch ups.

The cameras have their own compact bags that we carry. The messenger bag hangs off the back of the stroller, we do not take it on rides, there is nothing valuable in it. Tickets & cash go in a safe pocket on each person. Cellphone goes in husband's cargo pocket on his shorts. And that's it. The bag is very light, even lighter when the waters are used up.

Now, when my mother comes with us, she packs just about the entire hotel room in her huge bag. Never needs any of it but she feels better when she has it. She mostly makes my poor father carry it. She's definitely an 'easy way to carry items' don't.

 

[melaniemiller2002]

Put the sunscreen on before you leave.

That would be a great idea, except that sunscreen does NOT last all day. Ideally, it's supposed to reapplied every 2 hours or so. To put it on in the morning and the assume it's going to protect all day negates the purpose of using sunscreen Even stuff like Bullfrog isn't going to last all day if there is the slightest bit of sweat (and we know what FL is like!) or anyone gets wet, wipes their face, etc. Not trying to be a jerk; I just don't people to assume they can put sunscreen on in the AM, then not worry about the rest of the day. We went to DL for a week in August with two VERY white children who burn just being out for 30 minutes with no protection. My husband set his watch alarm every 2-3 hours and we stopped to put on more sunscreen. The kids came home without even any redness on their faces, arms, legs, etc.

Skin cancer has increased at an alarming rate in children and teens , so I'm pretty careful with the kids. I will probably end up with skin cancer (being a redhead with blue eyes and freckles....even though I've got Sicilian blood in my veins) and I don't want to take that chance with the kids.

I actually don't mind bringing all that stuff into the parks, especially with that lumbar pack I have. I hardly know it's there, even though it weighs a ton (thanks to the way the straps are set up). Husband drinks about 2 gallons of water a day, I drink in between 1-2 gallons, and kids each drink at least three 16oz bottles of water a day. We are very big water drinkers and if I recall from the last time I was at WDW, the water was horrible . And I live in an area that has GREAT tasting water (the Sierras of CA/NV) so I'm kind of picky about city water . Our next trip around, our water will be on our backs, or at least on hubbie's back and the kids' backs. They each have hydration packs and will be using them. I won't need to use the side pouches on the lumbar pack for water bottles, so I'll probably find another use for them...

Melanie

 

[bigmac5]

Thanks for the sun screen lesson. I think people take it to lightly. I have precancerous lesions and sure don't want my kids to go though sunburns like when I was a child and then pay the price later. Kids won't ask to have it put on so it is up to the parents to do it. Lets enjoy our time--sunburn free

 

[irish dancer]

I completely agree with everyone on the re-applying sunscreen. When I was down in May after a couple of hours I could feel the sun burning my fair freckled skin. Nothing ruins a vacation more than sunburn especially for kids. I can still remember the horrible Florida vacations from when I was a kid pre-sunscreen.

Question, what is a hydration pack? I feel like I should know this as I've scoured these boards for info on travelling in the summer heat but I'm lost.

 

[DISNEY'03]

it is a backpack, but on the inside of it, it has a plastic container, and with the container, there is a tube that runs from it, to the outside of the back pack for you to drink from. it is sold in the sporting goods section in wal-mart, and if i am a little bit more familiar with "what it is" , i believe it is very popular with bike riders. this way they don't have to stop to get a drink. they just put the "tube"/"straw" in there mouth, and drink, and they can continue to ride. i know here in Tn where i am, they run around $30.00 for them.

hope that helps, and if i am mistaken, i am sorry. this is the only thing that comes to mind when seeing "hydration pack"

dina 68 more days to go!!

 

[irish dancer]

Thanks Dina. I'll have to look into one of those. My DH is a big fluid drinker and we could save $$$ and have to carry less water bottles.

 

[DISNEY'03]

i hope it helps you out. i would also suggest that if you can't find them in the sporting goods section, try with the bikes, or with a bicycle shop in your area.

have a good night,

dina

 

[melaniemiller2002]

Here are the hydration packs we have:

Hubbie's is a 2 liter, but we are thinking of upgrading to the 3 liter bladder because he drinks so much damn water. This is his and we actually bought it at Costco for around $24.

http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/drench/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=18370

These are the ones we got for the kids. They are actually made for kids so they are lighter and hold less fluid.

http://www.ebags.com/camelbak/skeeter_153/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=7781

And I'm going to be using my old one, which is a Camelbak, although I would love to upgrade to a bigger size. My husband has an awesome one from his days in the Army, but it's buried 3 feet deep in all of his old Infantry stuff and I'm not about to go digging around for it. It's so nice not to have to carry around water bottles. And really convenient. I use mine when I'm snowboarding because I hate taking time away from the slopes to go get a drink of water/gatorade/etc.

Melanie

 

[okapi]

Another option:
They have lockers at the entrances to the parks. So if you don't want to lug all that stuff around, consider renting a locker.
Be sure food is extremely well sealed ("Ziploc" tight).
I think it costs about $5 + $2 key deposit for the day. Keep your receipt, if you plan to park hop, let them know when you turn your key back in and they can tell you what to do when you get to the next park - I think it's a matter of showing your receipt OR getting some type of card from them - I'm sorry, I don't recall exactly.

As for water, I went to a sporting goods store and bought a velcroed lightweight water bottle holder that looked more like a small pouch that tied at the top. Attached it to the pouch around my waist and off I go and as an added benefit once the water's gone I can use it to carry other small items, or replace it with another water bottle.
Good luck.

 

[okapi]

I understand what Deb&Bill were trying to say,
"Lighten the load" if you can (hard to do if you're at the diaper lugging stage).

Keep in mind that in the heat of the day, lugging "Luggage" isn't much fun.
Everytime we go down there we keep devising new ways to carry less and less weight and "stuff." We've come to love shorts w/ deep pockets and zippered pockets.

If you're staying at Disney resort - consider going back to the rooms for lunch and to cool off instead of lugging food.

I don't know how many kids and ages...that obviously changes the dynamics of what needs to be lugged and the costs of eating in the park v. bringing your own food.