Minimalist guide to Disneyland

[cari12]

One of the things I can't fathom is the need for people to bring so much damn stuff to Disneyland. Backpacks, huge camera's, big bags, strollers loaded the hilt, you name they have. I am more of a minimalist traveler, especially in Disneyland where I never feel the need to take anything really. Here's my quick guide on how to be minimalist in the park.

Some suggestions to make your trip less onerous:

1) Pack essentially nothing, you need a wallet or small travel purse to carry your pass, credit cards, cash, ID, camera and any medication/feminine supplies you might need, that's it really.

2) If you have kids in diapers, add a very small diaper bag with basic change of clothes, kids sunscreen and diapers in it. A small single strap sling is often enough for this. You'll need your stroller too obviously.

3) Don't bring water, don't bring snacks, don't pack a lunch, don't bring 9 layers of clothing. Eat in the parks, snack in the parks. It doesn't cost that much more to do this, to me the extra grocery trip is a waste of time and money.

4) Limit yourself to 1 souvenir, make it a wearable and bonus something that you under packed for. I usually buy a hat for example that lasts me until the next trip or a shirt. Kids buy a toy for hotel entertainment and a shirt and they are happy. Lets face it, that cone shaped souvenir drinking cup wasn't overly practical when you got home was it?

5) If you need anything unexpectedly, they sell it. Anything really! The rest you can stock at your hotel if necessary.

I find that people limit their mobility and enjoyment by carting around so much crap all the time and I quite frankly don't get it. I supposed you save a couple bucks, but why bother if it's an inconvenience.

What do you think, are you a stuff person or a minimalist?

We are definitely minimalists. We do buy a case of water for in the room and bring probably 2 bottles with us each morning for the 4 of us to share. We have breakfast in the room (fruit/muffins) so only eat 2 meals in the park. Those come with beverages. If we get hungry between meals, we grab a snack/drink in the park.
I have basically a wallet with a strap that holds credit card/ID/hotel key/park tickets, phone and a little cash. DH has a fanny pack for his wallet, phone and a small sunscreen and he puts his water in there in the morning.
We will look in the shops at various time throughout the trip but usually wait until the last day to buy so the kids can pick the thing they liked best. This is usually done in a specific souvenir buying trip to World of Disney in DTD.

 

[tdhickey]

We are definitely minimalists. We do buy a case of water for in the room and bring probably 2 bottles with us each morning for the 4 of us to share. We have breakfast in the room (fruit/muffins) so only eat 2 meals in the park. Those come with beverages. If we get hungry between meals, we grab a snack/drink in the park.
I have basically a wallet with a strap that holds credit card/ID/hotel key/park tickets, phone and a little cash. DH has a fanny pack for his wallet, phone and a small sunscreen and he puts his water in there in the morning.
We will look in the shops at various time throughout the trip but usually wait until the last day to buy so the kids can pick the thing they liked best. This is usually done in a specific souvenir buying trip to World of Disney in DTD.

Good call on the last day souvenir, I usually follow the three mention rule so I won't buy it unless on three separate occasions they mention it within a budget of course and on a separate WOD trip so we don't have to carry it around.

 

[LizzyS]

I've never noticed the SoCal tap water being awful and I know I've definitely drank from the water fountains when I've been in the parks. Is it because I grew up drinking straight tap water or what? I grew up in Tennessee and now live in Southern Nevada and I don't seem to notice anything odd. Of course, maybe the "treated" taste is more bothersome to some people that it is to me.

 

[Autumn12]

Love the minimalist approach! Less is always more when it comes to schlepping "stuff" around, especially if you plan to actually get on a ride or two! We do go to the store when we arrive at the hotel, to buy water, snacks, beverages and convenience meals. (EasyMac, SpaghettiOs, sandwich fixings)We eat breakfast, a late afternoon snack/meal and an "after closing" snack/meal in the hotel. We like to make reservations for sit-down lunch in the parks, to splurge one meal a day. We buy a bottle of water to share, a couple times a day. (I do pack a collapsible drinking cup in my small cross-body purse for my 1st grader who has not yet mastered the art of "sharing a bottle of water". Bleh.) Other than that, a few cards (tickets, credit, ID, hotel key), some small bills and a little change (for waters/ice cream, and the penny presses DD loves), my phone, a travel-sized sunscreen for touch ups, a chapstick, and 3 or 4 Band-aids with a "wound wipe"—skinned knees are a near daily occurrence in our family—is plenty to get the 4 of us through the day! My thoughts are: we are on vacation! We scrimp where we can, but it's the splurges (lunch with the Princesses, a Mickey-shaped ice cream bar, etc.) that we will all remember!

 

[HappyGrape]

Minimalist now, but first trip to WDW we weren't. We had buggy and a todler who can decides he is hungry NOW after 20 minutes waiting in line, so little snacks in my handbag and a bag pack left in the buggy was helpful

With older child we are minimalist and often hit WDW parks without even handbag! Money & phone & keys in pockets

 

[smartlabelprint]

Cool old thread. Wonder if I posted back then! When it was just two of us we often took no bags with us. Loved it! The parks are way better without kids.

Now that we have babies with sensory needs we have a few extras-headphones, lots of snacks for transitions, etc. We try to keep our stuff to a minimum. Often we only go a couple of hours at a time so no extra clothes but a diaper or two just in case.

Sometimes we take a stroller but SSC (ergo, tula) are nice for us. We hesitate to bring the stroller BECAUSE OF MY FAMILY! They're buying crap at every turn. Food, orange cones, etc! And they have the nerve to pile it on our stroller.

I'm personally not into souvenirs too much. We started getting a pin for each kid each trip (2 so far). They are wearable and don't take up much room!

 

[smartlabelprint]

I've never noticed the SoCal tap water being awful and I know I've definitely drank from the water fountains when I've been in the parks. Is it because I grew up drinking straight tap water or what? I grew up in Tennessee and now live in Southern Nevada and I don't seem to notice anything odd. Of course, maybe the "treated" taste is more bothersome to some people that it is to me.

It's pretty bad. We use purified at home. Now I can't drink the ice cups unless I add flavoring powder.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I guess I in the middle. I carry a bag, frequently nearly empty, unless I am bringing a sweater. As I guy, I can wear cargo shorts that have more pockets than most. I can easily carry my phone in one, a wallet in another, a small pocket camera, the park map/schedule and other items I collect during the day. But my wife gets cool easily, so we tend to bring a sweater for her. It also allows us to carry items we purchase (mainly on the way out of the park).

We also carry an empty water bottle. I am not going to carry water, no matter how cheap, when i can get all the water I care to drink from any TS or CS restaurant. Sometimes the water doesn't taste as good as it could, but it's wet. We frequently carry one bottle, and share. This may not work with some families. Sometimes the bottle I carry is the cheap leftover Aquafina bottle from lunch.

As to buying a sweater/sweatshirt in park. We know they are $60-80 and sometimes we budget for new ones and we buy them on the first day, and tote them as required. Other times, we bring the ones we bought last trip. We stay in park all day but sleep off-site and I am not going back to the hotel unless it's mandatory. it's ONLY across the street but I don't want to burn my day hiking to the hotel.

I always have snacks in my bag. Being GF, I can rarely be sure I can find cost effective snacks that I know are GF and safe for me to eat. If i eat the wrong snack, I am physically sick for 3 days. We tend to carry dried fruit, nuts and fruit gummies we buy at Trader Joe's or Walmart/Costco.

I also like that idea the when we need to strip off for a ride, we can place the hats/glasses/camera... into the bag (out of sight) while we are riding. Some rides, if it's in the bag, CM don't bother you about it.

My kids have so many food intolerances. Good point about snacks. We intended to have some meals in our room & food delivery. Didn't get done. I was shocked at buying food for 3 last trip. We have to pack our lunch. Here's to better organization next time!