Is it just me?

[SaraMc]

But when we go to WDW, we go to have a great time. And one of the things we do is we unplug our selves from the real world. They have all known for at least 6 months we were going, whatever emergency has happened it can wait till we return.
We lock our cel phones up, turn them off, we only carry some cash and our key to the world car and our diaper bag that fits in the bottom of our stroller and that's it.
The diaper bag has the essentials but I dont bring spare outfits and 1 zillion snacks. I have a first aid kit, sunblock. Sippy's diapers & Wipes. Extra soother for meltdowns.
Camera fits in the pocket of the diaper bag. Diaperbag has a spot for key to the world cards.

One bag. 2 kids ( 4 and 1.5) and DH and myself. Stroller. If I could carry less I would.

Anyone else with kids try to travel as light as possible.

 

[mom2faith]

But when we go to WDW, we go to have a great time. And one of the things we do is we unplug our selves from the real world. They have all known for at least 6 months we were going, whatever emergency has happened it can wait till we return.
We lock our cel phones up, turn them off, we only carry some cash and our key to the world car and our diaper bag that fits in the bottom of our stroller and that's it.
The diaper bag has the essentials but I dont bring spare outfits and 1 zillion snacks. I have a first aid kit, sunblock. Sippy's diapers & Wipes. Extra soother for meltdowns.
Camera fits in the pocket of the diaper bag. Diaperbag has a spot for key to the world cards.

One bag. 2 kids ( 4 and 1.5) and DH and myself. Stroller. If I could carry less I would.

Anyone else with kids try to travel as light as possible.

Hmm...food for thought....

We do have our cell phones, but do not use them. We checkthem in the evening to ensure that there are no pressing messages. I call my parents once to say we arrived, and once to say all is well (if they could text, I would just text them). When we hit the outlets, if there is a super great deal, I may call or text my sister - but keep in mind we are from Canada, and there are some things we actually "cannot" get at home.

I have NEVER used my cell in a park!! I hate that so much!! Less texting more walking people!!! You cannot pay attention to both!! You may think you can, but you are really blocking other people and holding up lines. (Sorry for the mini-rant!!)

We are the same with the packing light too - couple of bottles of water in a cooler at the bottom of the stroller and either my pruse or our small backpack for other essentials. No need to drag it all!! (Did that on our first trip for the first few days and it was a nightmare!!)

This will likely be our last year with the stroller, so next time it will be even lighter!!

 

[r&kmommy]

We carry and use our cells in the park, they are especially handy for dividing and conquering, fast pass running, etc... I like having my cell in my back pocket to play a hand of solitare, check in on my facebook friends (status updates only, I dont post) or text with my desk bound sister while waiting on a long line solo. I also like to snap pictures here and there of the kids and zap them onto FB =o)

I travel as lightly as possible. I like to take snacks and water bottles, since I refuse to spend $3.50 for h2o and my kids are huge grazers - pb crackers and dried fruits are healthier than grabbing a snacky snack every time they're hungry. VB backpack holds: snacks, extra outfit for dd, sunscreen, video and still camera (packed into one camera case), small first aid kit w/ bandaids and body glide, chapstick, eye drops, eyeglasses, gum, glow sticks/bracelets/necklaces, purell and baby wipes.

Our next trip (whenver that may be) dd will no longer be in a stroller and we'll have to rethink our water bottles and she will not need an extra outfit but other than that I can't see anything that I can take out of my bag -- we use it all.

ETA - ponchos - we also carry ponchos. I have 'side saddle' mesh bags on the stroller and they stay in there until it rains.
ETAA - I totally forgot to mention that like a poster after me, my kids have slips of paper w/ my cell phone # on them in their pockets, so that's another reason I carry it

 

[Peanut Giggleface]

I would caution people not to turn off their cell phones because they are on vacation. On our second trip to WDW, we got a call from my friend who had agreed to watch our animals while we were gone. She called to say we had gotten like 3 ft. of snow and she wouldn't be able to make it to our house to feed the animals. I had to call a close neighbor and ask if she would be able to help us out. Turns out our power had also gone out and all our fish in the aquarium were dead. Our neighbor was nice enough to fish out the dead fish and flush them for us. She also turned the water on in a couple of our bathrooms so our pipes wouldn't break.

I'm not advocating texting or neglecting your families by yacking on the phone all day, but you just never know when someone may NEED to get a hold of you.

 

[RMulieri]

I bring my cell phone( I keep it on, but I screen and never really answer it)sunscreen,small camera, small first aid kit, the basics in one small backpack..No stroller, No extra clothes for our 6 yr old, no snacks ..We travel very lightly and we LOVE it that way.While others are trying to navigate the throngs looking like sherpas ascending Everest , we zip thru and get on line.

 

[tricia]

Well, now that we have no stroller, we don't pack anything to go into the parks, Cargo Pockets are enough room.

- 2 water bottle straps
- camera in 1 cargo pocket
- phone in the other (to text other adults in group when we need to find each other)
- KTTW cards in front pocket of shorts.

 

[SaraMc]

We do give the number to our resort to our family. If they really need to get a hold of us they can leave us a message on our resort phone. Im also one has to turn my phone off when Im at work, so people always have my other lines.
Sometimes, its nice to unplug from the real world and not worry about anything.

 

[cheap traveler]

I used to ignore the cell phone for my whole trip - call parents when we arrive to let them know all was well and thats it. Now I'm the VP of a company so I have to keep it on all the time. I only get a call maybe once a day, but I have to take it or return it asap. I also have to let the kids call their father on Wednesday nights (his night to talk to them), so now I actually have to pay attention to what day it is!

As for the parks, I have it pared down to 1 backpack - extra outfit for each kid, ponchos, water and snacks. Inside the big backpack is a little one I can take on rides easily - first aid kit, DD4's inhaler, money and cards, ziplock bags. The kids have to leave lovies in the hotel room, and if they want the spray bottle fan they have to carry it.

This year we are renting a double stroller so we will have a big basket for the backpack. Next year DD6.5 will be too big for a stroller, so I will try and pare down the load even more.

Cant wait until they are big enough to carry their own stuff! I can be FREE!

 

[Duckiedee]

I am totally on board about going at light as possible... But I will be bringing my cell phone because my daughter (5) will have tags on her with my number. I'll want to be notified as quickly as possible if we are separated. You could always just turn it on if that happened.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

lol, it depends on what you use your phone for. No one calls my cell unless they are a friend or family. I don't have a problem talking with them or ignoring them. I also use it to check line times, make reservations, text with my kids who may be elsewhere, or recording ride music. It is part of the fun.

Otherwise I always travel light. Stick a diaper and wipes into my pocket, a mini sunscreen, and we are on our way.

 

[PA Princess]

As others have mentioned, we do not turn off our cell phones. We have a large family and two older and two younger kids, so as a group we will often divide and conquer in a park (I wait in line with younger to meet a character and the olders ride Everest, for example).

We do, however, subscribe to the less stuff in the parks theory. We have been doing Disney yearly for almost 15 years and with all ages of kids. We started with a huge bag of stuff we thought we needed. Over the years I have learned that most of the time we do not need all of that stuff.

It was amazing the difference in what I carried for baby #1 in the parks (think kitchen sink scenario) and baby #4 (couple diapers, wipes, an untra thin blanket {to be used for a gazillion purposes), and a binky. Trust me when I say this change went against every fiber in my being since I am an uber planner and packer.

I just learned all the stuff was a big burden and not needed. We always stay on site, so I only carry what I may need to get back to the room to address any immediate need. Plus, we are not all day commando park type people...we drop in for 4 hours and hop back out to the resort two or three times a day (and especially with an infant or toddler which is when you are most likely to need stuff).

 

[disney*mom*82]

Ill be the first here to admit, I pack ALOT for the parks. We still have one in a stroller and I think once that changes, so will our packing for the parks, but for now, we park a cooler (water bottles and cold rags for very hot days), back pack and diaper bag. Our next trip will be our LOs first trip without monitor cords and a monitor bag too.
My theory is that I dont want to have to back to the resort for something we have and I do not want to have to pay an arm and a leg to get it at the parks. LO is potty trained now so we will be minus the diaper bag atleast, this next trip.
As for cell phones. Only thing I or the kids use them for while at WDW is to get ahold of each other if we seperate, take picts or a text here or there. DH is the one that talks on it all the time, maybe Ill make a rule for our next trip that he gets to make 2 phone calls a day outside of our group!

 

[kkmcan]

We do bring our cell phones but they are just for finding each other if we choose to separate and take one kid to one ride etc.

Dh tells work buddies that he's going on vacation and they don't call him unless it's an emergency.

It's so nice not to have the phone ringing and beeping from texts.

Our kids are older so I bring a lightweight backpack for our snacks, pins, and sunscreen.

 

[reyn74]

I'm leaving in 8 days, but have already packed my bag for the parks, lol. I am taking a 9yo and a 6yo by myself for 4 days. So far I have... my Passporter guidebook. In years past I have taken that into the park to record everything we do, and I would update it while my DH was in line with the older kids and I hung out with a baby asleep in a stroller. However, no baby this time, so I don't know that I will want to stop in the parks to update every little thing, so that might be relegated to the hotel room after day 1. It also has useful info I've written in like ressies and EMH. I have my 'My Pal Mickey', not sure the kids are going to care, but we forgot him last time, and they were a bit bummed (ok, *I* was a bit bummed, but whatever). Then camera, ponchos, and my phone, which wil be on, in case the kids get separated from me. And I'll have a bottle of water. I think that will be it.

Now, for this trip, I have already let the kids know that they are allowed to bring their Ipods (for the plane and in the hotel room), but nothing else electronic. I will NOT be dealing with DS's or any other video games. I want them to be paying attention to WDW and not to their games and such.

 

[judypriv]

I'm leaving in 8 days, but have already packed my bag for the parks, lol. .

I love it! We are leaving in 22 days and this weekend we are going into the attic to get the suitcases. Then I will start packing in another few days. Glad to see another crazy packer!

 

[ilovepete]

We really try to pack as light as possible as well. My youngest is 2.5 and not quite ready for no stroller for a full day yet but I can't wait for the day!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I am praying we don't have to take the stroller for our October 2011 trip. I am sick of pushing that thing around and people walking in front of me.
I am also praying that I don't have to carry a bag of junk around. Over the years the bag has become lighter and lighter. This is the same for the suitcases. I used to over pack a ton. Now with bag fees I have really reduced my packing and we haver survived.

In June we were at DL and there was a lady there with a double stroller, 2 kids. 1 was maybe around 2 and the other was 5. 5 yo was walking, she was pushing the 2 year old and about 100 lbs of bags of stuff. It was almost like they were moving in for the day. She was sweaty from pushing the stroller already and we were just at bag check. I found it kind of funny.

 

[judypriv]

I think the baggage fees have taught me to pack lighter. We used to bring the maximum baggage we were allotted. Now, I have learned to scale down a lot. I remember when my son was 6 months I brought 3 suitcases just for his stuff! I brought a HUGE stroller and a diaper bag and had the stroller jam packed to the rafters!

Now we bring the minimum luggage and clothing for 3 days and do a wash. Last trip we stayed at WLV and I bought 2 days of clothing and washed every night! I tell the kids no toys since we buy toys there. One blanket for the stroller, etc.

 

[quagmire0]

Don't usually have a problem with people calling during vacay. I guess I'm lucky. I'll definitely have my phone on though because I'll probably be using a few Android apps and GPS to make our way through the parks. These days, when your phone does everything, it's harder to turn it off.

 

[SaraJayne]

I carry very little in the parks. My cell, KTTW card and a camera.

I do keep my cell on and with me, but only friends or family have my number. I use it to check the time (don't wear a watch) and in case of an emergency at home with our families (DH is normally home while I am at WDW).

Computers stay home, as I don't want the hassle of going through security or paying the outrageous Disney internet fee.