Here is a strategy: Dont bring all of your belongings into the parks

[mamaofsix]

One thing that people going bag-less may not be thinking of is financials. Generally, if you are lucky enough to go without a bag, it means you may have more $$$ available than the person lugging in bags. Going without a bag means either:

a) You are lucky enough to be able afford to stay on-site (and therefore go back to your resort for breaks)

or

b) You are lucky enough to afford the high cost of Disney food and drinks and therefore don't need to bring your own.

Believe me, if our large family could afford to buy all of our food & drinks at the Parks, or if we could afford to stay on-site, then I would love to go bagless. But that simply isn't a financial reality.

Should my family be penalized by a longer wait in the security line and nasty looks from those with smaller bags simply because we don't have as high of an income as the next person?

Disney is already nearly impossible for some of us to afford. Barring people from bringing their own gear would probably make it even more unattainable.

 

[Jennasis]

One thing that people going bag-less may not be thinking of is financials. Generally, if you are lucky enough to go without a bag, it means you may have more $$$ available than the person lugging in bags. Going without a bag means either:

a) You are lucky enough to be able afford to stay on-site (and therefore go back to your resort for breaks)

or

b) You are lucky enough to afford the high cost of Disney food and drinks and therefore don't need to bring your own.

Believe me, if our large family could afford to buy all of our food & drinks at the Parks, or if we could afford to stay on-site, then I would love to go bagless. But that simply isn't a financial reality.

Should my family be penalized by a longer wait in the security line and nasty looks from those with smaller bags simply because we don't have as high of an income as the next person?

Disney is already nearly impossible for some of us to afford. Barring people from bringing their own gear would probably make it even more unattainable.

While I dislike the generalization posted here (because we certainly went back to our resort for midday breaks when we stayed off site), but I can't help adding:

Going bagless means you MAY not have kids...and therefor have more money to spend LOL!!!!

 

[tlmadden73]

I could go without a bag if I was going by myself or with just my wife.
But even when it was the two of us, I would bring a SMALL bag of somesort. Just to carry sunscreen, or ponchos or a souvenir or bottles of water.

Bring kids? We need a giant back-pack filled with stuff . plus a stroller .. plus a bag of snacks (for said kids).


I had a ton of stuff two weeks ago. Travling with infant and toddler with a double stroller.
Stuff in the bag?
Diapers (when traveling with an infant toddler)
Burp rags/cover for feeding the infant
Sunscreen
Change of clothes for both kids.
Tylenol/Aspirins
Noise cancelling headphones (for infant)
Portable charger for phone.

And I am sure a ton of other stuff my wife crammed in there .

Not all was needed, but better safe than sorry, especially when you have a stroller that can carry the load most of the time anyway.
Last time we went to Disney . my son had an accident .. and we thought we had an extra pair of pants .. nope. So he went just in his diaper for the remaining evening. Doh.

And its not just a financial thing. Bringing your own snack/water just means it is readily available to you without having to wait in a potentially long line JUST to get a snack. To me it just makes sense AND save TIME and money.

And it hardly took any time at all to go through bag check .. because I was ready. I know the drill. A lot of it is just common sense.
I took everything out from under the stroller (the snack bag and the cooler bag) .. and had every pocket on my backpack unzipped.
Nothing in my pockets (everything was in the bag UNTIL we get through bag check where I redistribute things).

 

[Mom2Stitch]

to your last sentence, do any of you remember the picnic tables set up where the guest drop off and off site bus loop is now at the TTC and also picnic tables by the bus loop at Epcot? those were put there for families with the same situation.

I can't speak to anywhere in Disney, but I do know that King's Island in OH use to have a picnic area set up outside of the gates. Our local zoo use to also have a very nice area by a pond, nice to sit there if you didn't mind arguing with the ducks over who's food it really was. This was in the "way back when" era, so I can see Disney having something similar set up.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Being proud to be selfish is nothing to be proud of.

This is exactly why I deleted my post. Responses like this. There is nothing selfish about bringing what I feel my family needs for our situation. There is nothing selfish about taking the turn I waited for. We all can patiently wait our turns.

If I had a small bag (which pre-kids I brought a very small cross body on our countless visits, and while I lived and worked there) I never expected a family with gear to let me ahead of them. It simply never bothered me.

I am not selfish. I don't let things that aren't important like waiting in a line to get into the Magic Kingdom bother me. I actually think the selfish ones are the ones who are complaining about how much stuff people bring, how big their strollers are, and who think other people should let them ahead in line for having a smaller bag.

 

[Minnesota!]

I have carried the same size bag each time we have gone to WDW. From pre-kids, through infants/toddlers, and now that they are pre-teens.

Just a back-sack, with a small coin purse in with my ID, credit cards, cash. A gallon zip-lock with my phone, brush, lip gloss, face powder. And then when the kids were little, a gallon zip-lock with diapers and wipes and a change of clothes, and another one with bottles/bottle of water/formula pre-measured. Plus smaller zip-locks with snacks (usually trail mix, peanuts or cheezits) for when the hanger hits mid-line. I used to squeeze a blanket in there, too. And still have room.

It is VERY possible to travel with kids and have a small amount of things to bring in. Just gotta pack smart That kind of organization is about the only thing I am good at some days

 

[jerseyjersey]

Reading this thread, I can't help but wonder if I should invest in some sweet MacGuyver cargo pants for my next visit.

 

[danielocha30]

The day I go bagless is the day my kid who has been potty trained for 3 years will pee her pants and I'll have to buy $20 Disney underwear at a gift shop

That's exactly what did happen to us the very first time we decided to go bag less, heck a 8 and 9 year old, pfff we can survive, OH BOY!!! my daughter got sick and threw up all her clothes and there I was without a single wipe to help my child, and my husband kept asking afterwards WHY? I didn't bring my "magic" backpack, Lol

 

[Klayfish]

You haven't read the thread, but you're going to give your uninformed opinion anyway. Um, thanks?

Um, yes. Didn't realize I needed to read each and every last post to have an informed opinion on about the specific comments made by OP. Wow, you sure told me and put me in my place, how ashamed I am...

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm just going to go on record and say don't ever get in line behind me! We stay in the parks open to close, and I carry a fair amount of photography gear. There is little chance I will ever win a "bagless at Disney" trophy.

 

[Texas Mickey]

Maybe Disney should impose a bag size, amount and weight fee like the airlines now do. You get 1 backpack free additional costs $25.00 per bag, an additional $10.00 if the bag weighs more than 10 Lbs.

Just kidding! But people would sure pack less.

 

[maxiesmom]

Being proud to be selfish is nothing to be proud of.

Seems pretty selfish to expect others to pack how you want them to pack. And you are right, that is nothing to be proud of.

 

[CAS239]

One thing that people going bag-less may not be thinking of is financials. Generally, if you are lucky enough to go without a bag, it means you may have more $$$ available than the person lugging in bags. Going without a bag means either:

a) You are lucky enough to be able afford to stay on-site (and therefore go back to your resort for breaks)

or

b) You are lucky enough to afford the high cost of Disney food and drinks and therefore don't need to bring your own.

Believe me, if our large family could afford to buy all of our food & drinks at the Parks, or if we could afford to stay on-site, then I would love to go bagless. But that simply isn't a financial reality.

Should my family be penalized by a longer wait in the security line and nasty looks from those with smaller bags simply because we don't have as high of an income as the next person?

Disney is already nearly impossible for some of us to afford. Barring people from bringing their own gear would probably make it even more unattainable.

Ehhh, not really

We don't stay on site ever, and the most we buy food wise at Disney is beer and maybe a snack. We leave and eat offsite either at like Hooters, McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc, or buying food at Target and heating it up in the hotel.

I've never associated people with bags at Disney by their income.

But this is exactly why we prefer to go bagless. I don't mind what bags people bring because we go through the no bag line, but if I did have a bag I would hate to pick the line to get in and then be stuck while they unpack someones items.

 

[yulilin3]

First reminder of the DIS Posting Guidelines:

Posts and posters are expected to comply with these guidelines at all times.

You may disagree with a poster’s viewpoint, and discuss the issue, but no name calling, being sarcastic or personal attacks.

Thank you

 

[IrishNYC]

One thing that people going bag-less may not be thinking of is financials. Generally, if you are lucky enough to go without a bag, it means you may have more $$$ available than the person lugging in bags. Going without a bag means either:

a) You are lucky enough to be able afford to stay on-site (and therefore go back to your resort for breaks)

or

b) You are lucky enough to afford the high cost of Disney food and drinks and therefore don't need to bring your own.

Believe me, if our large family could afford to buy all of our food & drinks at the Parks, or if we could afford to stay on-site, then I would love to go bagless. But that simply isn't a financial reality.

Should my family be penalized by a longer wait in the security line and nasty looks from those with smaller bags simply because we don't have as high of an income as the next person?

Disney is already nearly impossible for some of us to afford. Barring people from bringing their own gear would probably make it even more unattainable.

Wow, that's quite a stretch. Less baggage = more money. Huh. Would you be offended if someone assumed "that family's got a ton of kids, they must be loaded to afford that many!" Because neither assumption makes any sense.

 

[avviexxx]

I understand the OP's thoughts on this, countless times have i been stuck by the family bringing the whole of Walmart with them. But i also completely understand people needing to bring items which may seem pointless to us. I don't think it's how much stuff people bring being the issue, it's the not being ready for security.

Now what i find annoying is families who bring carts with them. I saw several families last year bringing a rolling cart that they pulled behind them with a handle, filled with items (including pillows), and then trying to bring them in ride queues! How much stuff does one family have if they feel the need to bring a cart!!

I also saw one family last year bring a garden patio parasol (Not just one family, i'm talking one family in SeaWorld and one in Magic Kingdom!)! I understand it is hot and you need to keep covered, but this is ridiculous, buy a small parasol like normal people. I nearly had my eye poked out and several other people were attacked by it. I'm really surprised Disney let this through!!

I've included a photo of the SeaWorld patio umbrella, and noticed they had 2 garden umbrellas and also

had one of them rolling cart things!

 

[Amelia :)]

well said Yullin, but I do feel the original title of the thread (and general message) was quite snarky and sarcastic in itself, which obviously only draws more negativity. I can't quite believe some some peoples intolerance, I'm quite an impatient person, but I don't feel unnecessary anger towards people with diaper bags and strollers.

 

[Klayfish]

My bad, yulilin3.

For us, it's not all about money, though that certainly factors in. We could afford to eat in if we wanted. DW and I are just very, very picky about nutrition (especially her, I relax it some on vacation) so eating in the parks literally wouldn't work for us. Since we're packing our own dinner/lunch anyway, may as well pack for the kids. We really do everything we can to make it as quick as possible for the people at security. Trust me...we don't want to stand there any longer than the person behind us wants us to....we want to get in the parks.

At least from our experience, it's a bit of "much ado about nothing". 90% of the time, we're through security in less than a minute, even with all of our bags. The 10% of the security guards who are ambitious or even overzealous still don't take a ton of time, and we usually joke about it with them.

 

[yulilin3]

It was more in general, not directed at a specific poster @Klayfish . It's fine to point out and share ones opinion but no need to be rude or sarcastic.

 

[Conno]

I find it ironic that sarcasm isn't allowed on a forum owned by Pete (and I say that with love!)