How do you carry it without a stroller?

[Runnergal]

Once we are out of stroller age I can't see the need for a large bag anymore. The only thing not baby related in our stroller were sweatshirts or rain slickers. If kids are old enough to walk they can tie their sweatshirts around their waists. I carry a smallish cross body bag for camera, phone, small sunscreen, Chapstick. I don't bring snacks, and would never lug around water bottles when I can get free water in the parks. I am looking forward to when we can ditch the stroller!!

 

[RainbowWit]

Cross body backpack. Only essentials. Our battery back phone chargers. Lightweight dslr. Zip locks for phones if it rains or water ride. Garbage bag for bag if it rains/water ride. Small first aid bag. Standard for staid stuff in there and moleskin and small body glide to reapply to feet and thighs if needed. Small pill bottle with pain meds allergy meds etc. small snacks for the diabetic and hypoglycemic. Just in case.

 

[vicb]

When our kids were the same as the OP's we used one smallish backpack that we could take turns wearing for personal items and the camera. If sweatshirts were needed everyone tied them around their waist. DH and DS wore cargo shorts (or pants is weather was colder in Feb) for the pocket space.

Best tip was: carry in a zip lock bag a stack of small 7oz plastic cups. We used those to share everything! We didn't have to carry water bottles because we could buy just one or two cold ones when needed and share with the disposable cups. We could buy one popcorn or other treat and share between all of us in the cups. I always carried a small bag of treats like fruit roll ups or granola bars in case of a hunger melt down in a line or something. The other great food thing we did at that time with those cups was we could buy fruit from the fruit stands in the parks and divide them up in the disposable cups.

Good luck, just pack light in the backpack it will make your day more enjoyable!

 

[AmyB2006]

Oct will be our first trip with no stroller (DD 7 and DS 10). We have always put all our stuff in the bottom of the stroller.

What do you find that you need to bring with you to the park, and how do you carry it without a stroller?

Bag recommendations appreciated

Didn't read other responses, but we were worried about this too. Thing is, we discovered we brought way more stuff than we needed when we had the stroller, just because we could.

Our last two trips were the first ones without our stroller. It was great!! My kids are 5 and 7. It was so awesome not having to push around that giant monstrosity, LOL, parking it, etc. Really it was liberating.

But we did have to figure out how to downsize. I love to bring all my camera equipment, as I am an amateur photographer. I bring my DSLR, a few different lenses and my flash. I purchased a larger backpack that holds all the equipment in the bottom and has a large enough pouch up top for incidentals. It holds a lot more than I though it ever would. LOL

But we stopped bringing in coolers with food/waters, we stopped bringing in other items for the kids that we thought they "needed" (which they never noticed btw) etc. If it's going to be really cold and we need jackets/gloves/hats, my DH carries another backpack with all that stuff in it.

But basically, we just had to downsize.

 

[tina.tina]

We purchased a backpack in the camping section at Walmart. It condenses down to the size of a fist but it holds a lot. In it, we carried an extra outfit for DS in a ziploc bag, travel size container of sunblock, ziploc bag of wipes, 2 bottles of water, extra cash in a ziploc bag, hand sanitizer, bandaids, antibacterial ointment (lots of skinned knees), a flashlight, a couple of wash cloths to wipe off benches (and 1 served as a puppet with Sharpie eyes to entertain grumpy DS(5 then) before Fantasmic!), 2 cameras, waterproof camping bags, a tiny bottle of bug spray, extra ziploc bags, pens & a piece of paper, and glow in the dark bracelets for the kids. It was also a good place to store the maps we picked up along with extra napkins & small purchases. DD(10 then) carried a waist pack with an autograph book/sharpie and a small bottle of water. Sometimes, we stuck her waist pack and mouse ears in our backpack.

Get a bag with few zippered compartments because they check them all. This bag had narrow (but not string-type) straps and it never dug into us. The only issue we had was that it made DH's back sweaty. He said it never bothered him and he didn't notice it because our water bottles were cold and kept him cool. Our bag was so small that when we went on water rides, we put our cameras in ziploc baggies & then stuck the whole backpack down in a waterproof camping bag. We only took one backpack so we could take turns carrying it.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

My daughter and I went on a SWW trip with a friend and her son last year. Since we only had "big kids " (6 and 8 at the time) we obviously didn't need a stroller. Everything I needed I carried in a small backpack...phone, camera, small first aid kit (that fits in a little makeup bag), ponchos, a few snacks, and water. The biggest issue was not being able to carry the amount of water in that I normally carry. We were only able to bring one bottle per person, which for sunny days in June isn't near enough. So, we had to suck it up and buy water in the parks, which I prefer not to do because (1) it's expensive; and (2) I don't like the brand the parks carry.

On our normal week-long family vacation where we still have a smaller kid, the only additional things I take into the park that go into the stroller are more water and a change of clothes for each child. I guess I don't see why you'd need anything more than a camera, phone, and possibly some snacks with older kids.

ETA: SUNBLOCK! That was the other thing we brought.

 

[lmbcdb]

We bought the Swiss Gear vertical travel bag a few years ago off the recommendation of a similar thread. I was able to find it at my local Target!
We love it...

Here's what we carry, and we have a 6 and a 10 year old:

Baby Wipes (5 or so in a ziploc)
cellphone
Chapstick
Sunglasses
Eye Drops (FL gives me dry eyes!)
Kids ID w/Photo
Kleenex
bags of homemade trail mix (son and I have low blood sugar issues, which come on quickly)
Sun block & Face Stick
hard candy (I used to carry it to entice potty breaks, but now just carry it because family expects it! )
ID paper with stats and pictures of kids
my mouse ears
panchos
ziploc bag with a few of each: tylenol, sudfed, tums, tylenol jr


Kids have fanny packs with: autograph books, IDs, cell phone, pen

It seems like a lot, but it's not really. All of these things have come in handy for our family - but everyone is different. It all fits easily in this bag, and super easy to carry as a crossbody!

 

[kitayama]

I use The North Face Recon backpack. I still have one in diapers, so I carry 10 diapers and a small changing pad... I carry water bottles and snacks which consists of four packages of fruit snacks, two packages of gold fish, and four packages of peanut butter/cheese and crackers, along with two Uncrustibles. I carry a spray bottle of sunscreen and a facial sunscreen. We make sure we have one change of clothes for each kid, sweats, and a small jacket for rain or sweater (we go to Disneyland so I usually only carry sweaters). Battery charger/cables and two old iPhones to help in line, and an iPad mini for those times I need to look up something. I do not use my strollers' baskets because I like being able to fold them up quickly whenever I need to. With all of this, I still have room in my bag (but my kids are 2 and 4, so the larger clothes will fill up the extra space). I carry this on my back all day long at Disneyland and plan on ditching the diapers soon and adding a light rain jacket for myself at Disney World.
EDIT:
The all important wipes!!! I plan on carrying these well after my kids are out of diapers. They are darn helpful!

 

[famy27]

We had a brief period of time with no stroller, before DD2 was born. We were bag-free. DH wears cargo shorts and puts camera. phone and autograph book in his pockets. I had credit card and park tickets in my pockets. Now, we wouldn't even need that with MBs. Sunglasses on head. We'd put on sunscreen before we left in the morning. Jackets were worn as need and tied around waists otherwise. It was awesome. I know some people love the stroller for storage, but we didn't like it at all. It gets in the way, is so hard to maneuver through crowds, has to parked, has to be located once its moved around by CMs.

We are doing a trip without our toddler in August. One of the things I am most looking forward to is not needing the diaper bag or stroller.

Oh. And I forgot another huge benefit. No bag check line. Woo hoo!!!

 

[tsme]

I bring just a wristlet for my phone, id, etc. and my DH brings a normal size back pack, which contains autograph books, water bottle, a mist fan, etc. That's plenty for us.

 

[NavyDad]

Oct will be our first trip with no stroller (DD 7 and DS 10). We have always put all our stuff in the bottom of the stroller.

What do you find that you need to bring with you to the park, and how do you carry it without a stroller?

Bag recommendations appreciated

A few years ago we made a decision we are just not going to carry a bag into the parks at all.

Our two youngest are about the same age as yours. We make them carry their own water bottle either by hand or on a strap.

DW and I have some nice active wear shorts that have cargo pockets with zippers. That is where we carry a cell phone and/or camera and any cards we feel we need. Sometimes DW will carry a small purse thing on her wrist but that is usually when we go to the park in the evening. If we wear sun glasses we just take them off and hold them or put them in the cargo pouch if we are riding a fast ride.

We used to use lanyards for cards/tickets but now with MB you really don't need most of that stuff anymore.

When our kdis were younger we felt like we needed to carry a bunch of stuff to take care of them...

now that they are older we just decided we are not taking a bag and the freedom from lugging stuff around has been GREAT!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Julylady]

After the stroller years, I made it very clear that I was NOT carrying things for other people. Each kid is responsible to carry around what s/he wants to bring into the park. On our most recent trip we traveled with 9 and 12 year old girls. Each one had a Vera Bradley mini hipster and a Lands End drawstring bag. They alternated back and forth with which one to take depending on whether or not they wanted to take a water bottle, the number of snacks they were bringing, and whether they wanted to take sweatshirts/sweaters and ponchos. It was their decision each morning.

One day, the 12 year old's bag seemed really full and I asked her what she had in there. She had taken one of her favorite stuffed animals to the park because she wanted to get a picture of her Olive with Belle. That was her decision and she carted him around all day. They are also allowed to take as many snacks as they want but they have to carry them all.

I listen to the weather each morning and make a recommendation as to whether or not to take rain poncho or sweater. We also like to tie the sweaters around our waist. (I recommend sweaters over sweatshirts for girls as they seem less bulky). On days where we travel really lite, I will also buy water in the park a couple of times. I also am diligent about reminding them to pick up their bag/purse after meals, etc. "Does everybody have their bag?"

My advice to you, however, is not to set yourself up as the pack mule. Rather, teach your kids to be responsible for their own things. BTW....I follow my advice in all areas of life, not only at Disney so they are all pretty used to it. The only "extra" things that I carry are some bandaids and an emergency inhaler for the 12 year old. I don't think she even knows I carry that with me as she has never needed to use it in the parks.

Have a great trip!

 

[moriaw76]

Our girls are 8 & 10. DH carries a small backpack. We put sunscreen, 4 bottles of water, and a couple of ziplock bags with snacks that we share (trail mix, pretzels, crackers), ponchos and if its cool we roll up our thin jackets and put them in there.

 

[capeseal]

I dislike using the stroller to transport things because then I have to find spots for the stuff when we get on the bus. Last trip, DS (2) and DD (5) carried small Camelbak backpacks. Those contained their snacks, water, and raincoats and then I had a Patagonia Atom sling for other incidentals like the camera, water bottles for DH and I, etc. Worked perfectly and the kids loved being responsible for their own bags.

 

[texasroni75]

Only had one visit to WDW without a stroller (when I was pregnant with our second and our oldest was almost 7). It was awesome! As I recall, DH had a backpack for anything he wanted to bring to the parks (jacket for cool evenings, and somewhere to put his sunglasses), and I had a small crossbody to hold me and DDs stuff (sunscreen, some snacks, etc.). Depending on the time of year, and if you bring any of your own food/drinks, you really need very little if you don't have toddlers or younger with you.

 

[jkc0325]

I usually have a small hipster for things like my phone, camera, wallet. My dh carries a cooler backpack with waters, snacks, etc. If our girls want to bring anything else with them they have to carry it for themselves. I do bring a small packet of tylenol, bandaids, motrin etc for just in case.

Our next trip is with no kids and so I'm hoping we can go bag less. We are onsite so we'll have Magic Bands and I'll just need my phone and camera and a small tube of sunscreen. Most of mine or dh's shorts have large pockets on the side so we should be all set.

Can't wait to be hands free all day!