Kids carrying their own stuff

[amyj1024]

How old/when do you have your kids carry a small bag at Disney? I am debating having my 5 year old carry a small bag, maybe with her autograph book and misting fan?? Just looking for opinions and whether anyone has a good recommendation for a bag for kids.

 

[tina_la]

All mine will have there own bag. I even got a very small one for my 2 yo that will hold a couple of wipes and a few diapers although I imagine it will be thrown in the bottom of the stroller most of the time. Not sure about what to recommend other than a bag that fits her. let her try on a few and make sure they fit her well. I have found many cute ones at the disney store. Currently my youngest has a stuffed Eeyore bag.

 

[MomofKatie]

My DD9 has a fanny pack and a mini backpack- depending on how much she carries and what she feels like using that day, she switches out. The fanny pack is large enough for her autograph book and pen, lanyard (she has one to wear and one to stow in the pack- a trader and a keeper), and other misc stuff she carries around. The backpack is for days when she carries Pal Mickey, H2O bottles, etc. She also brings the larger pack on designated shopping days, so she can put souvies in it.

 

[Schmeck]

My kids started carrying their own stuff at age 5 - the autograph book and pen, some snacks, some money (not a lot!), disposable camera, etc. They used to sell child sized fanny packs at the resorts - red/yellow/blue fabric ones.

 

[Aliceacc]

Each of my kids will have a fanny pack of his/her own. In fact, I was getting stuff together yesterday, and realized that my 8 year old's is just too small, and ordered her another. (www.beltoutlet.com -- they sent me an email that it's shipping today ) WArning: their small bag is SMALL. Take a look at the difference in size between the $4.95 and the $5.95 bags.

They can each carry their own sunglasses, autograph book and pen, and a small snack to nibble on while on line. I'm not sure whether or not I'm getting lanyards, so I imagine their trading pins will be there as well. I also got each of us a water bottle caribiner-- we'll see how that works. The older 2 can probably fit their mistymate mister as well.

I'll be happy to carry the rain ponchos, sunblock, and other stuff.

 

[lady_hlh]

Last year I made my 6 year old DD carry a tiny fanny pack. This year I got her a mini Hannah Montana backpack at Walmart so she can carry more of her own stuff. This size backpack should hold her autograph book, camera, disposable poncho and a few other items.

 

[pednurse]

My kids each had their own fanny packs for their own stuff last year....they were 9 & 5.

 

[Stephres]

My six year old carried her own bag with her autograph book, but I seemed to carry it more than her!

 

[m00k3y]

How old/when do you have your kids carry a small bag at Disney? I am debating having my 5 year old carry a small bag, maybe with her autograph book and misting fan?? Just looking for opinions and whether anyone has a good recommendation for a bag for kids.

At 4 and 6 neither one of my kids would want to carry anything all day. They don't even want to carry PAL mickey that long.

 

[ktkerber]

When we went last year, we ordered drawstring bags for our 2 kids to carry. They were 5 and 8 at the time. The company stitched their names on them. They came in different Disney characters. I found the name of the company here on the Dis boards, but for the life of me I can't think of it now. Anyway they carried them for 10 days without a complaint. They were small enough that they couldn't fit alot of stuff in them. They put their autograph books, pens, any little certificates, and the older one carried her camera. We had a rule. They could bring whatever they wanted as long as it fit in the bag. THEY had to carry their own bag. I even ended up ordering one for myself to carry our camera and camcorder in. The customer service was really good too. There was a coupon code and the website would not accept it. Someone from customer service e-mailed me the next day(I had placed the order at night.) to let me know that the coupon code would be applied and that they would thrown in some disney tats for my trouble. I want to say they were called goody bags or goody paks. Something like that. They held up really good. We will be using them again on our next trip.

 

[ktkerber]

I figured it out. It was goodypak dot com. It was recommended by many fellow Dis'ers here. They have alot more choices now than they did then too.

 

[racetrack18kb]

My youngest 2 were 4 & 6 when we went last year. They did not want to carry much but I did find them cute little bags off of ebay. They were big enough to hold an autograph book, the sharpie, a pair of sunglasses and a couple of single handwipes. If you search on ebay for "disney autograph book bag", lots of them pop up.

 

[Ariel3214]

I never carried any bags when I was a kid and my kids won't either. Especially with the airlines charging for extra luggage these days, the best idea is to travel light. The less you carry around, the less you have to worry about keeping track of and the more fun you can have.

 

[cmul04]

Oh, blegh. My kids would carry it for about 15 minutes and at the first ride, they'd hand it to me. No thanks! Besides, they'd want to load them up with too much and it would just be trouble.

For our next trip, I've got a shopping bag thing that has wheels. It can be pulled along behind me. I think it'll fit water, snacks, wipes, Pal Mickey, maybe a jacket or two, cameras, - everything in one thing. Won't matter if it is a little heavy, I'm not carrying it on my back or shoulder. It's made of a tapestry type material and the pattern is almost a dead ringer for the animal kingdom logo. Found it at an airport shop for $5. Probably not great for rougher rides, but my FIL will be able to keep it for that.

 

[Schmeck]

Oh, blegh. My kids would carry it for about 15 minutes and at the first ride, they'd hand it to me. No thanks! Besides, they'd want to load them up with too much and it would just be trouble.

For our next trip, I've got a shopping bag thing that has wheels. It can be pulled along behind me. I think it'll fit water, snacks, wipes, Pal Mickey, maybe a jacket or two, cameras, - everything in one thing. Won't matter if it is a little heavy, I'm not carrying it on my back or shoulder. It's made of a tapestry type material and the pattern is almost a dead ringer for the animal kingdom logo. Found it at an airport shop for $5. Probably not great for rougher rides, but my FIL will be able to keep it for that.

Wheeled luggage is prohibited from the parks. Here's the official WDW info:

Q. Are there any personal items I should not bring with me into the Theme Parks?

A. Items that you may not bring into the Theme Parks include, but are not limited to:

Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller
Alcoholic beverages
Weapons of any kind
Folding chairs
Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)
Pets (unless they are service animals)
In Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted.


Note: Guests are not permitted to pull items behind them. Any item that requires a Guest to pull it behind them, including a stroller, is not permitted into the Park.

 

[The Disney Bunch]

My kids have had their own fannypack each time we went to Disney! In it there was their autograph book & a pen. Gets them involved!

 

[rt2dz]

Well, I still have a couple stroller age kids, so the stroller still carries most of it. However, when my kids outgrow the stroller, they become responsible with carrying their own stuff (minus tickets and fast passes) in theory. DS7 is actually really good about it.

 

[tr-ray]

Just as a PP said...
When I was younger, I didn't like to carry a darn thing.
I'd swear up and down to Mom that I'd carry it, but after about an hour, it'd end up in her purse, or her backpack.

So, just keep in mind that possibility -- will you have enough room to carry it if your child doesn't want to?

 

[momtomatthew]

DS4 insisted on carrying a backpack ( from Pottery Barn Kids) one day at MK. I was against the idea- I figured I would be carrying it most of the day. We put his autograph book, pen, and a couple of small snack packs in it. He carried it without complaint ALL day. I was pleasantly surprised.