Must haves for Disney World with Infant/Toddler?

[MarinaD]

We're going next week.. .Here are the things that I can think of I "definately" need ---

• Raincoat/Poncho
• Extra Socks
• Extra Shoes
• Sippy Cups
• Lots and Lots of Snacks

What else would you recommend??

 

[KTMB]

We've done this 3 times now. Here's a short list of what I think was important:

rain cover for stroller
water mister fan (we got ours at the disney store - inexpensive)
clip on stroller fan (one-step ahead)
sippy cups
snacks (lots)
backpack style diaper bag
small towels for drying off
band aids
id badges for the kids

I also put things in ziploc bags inside the diaper bag, in case it got wet. Nothing worse than rain-soaked diapers...

I'll repost if I think if anything else.

 

[PrincessPoohsMom]

We found an extra t-shirt/outfit was a good bet. A few ziplocks in assorted sizes always come in handy. Also, I as suggested by another poster, I made up diaper change kits: Put one diaper, a few wipes, and a disposable changing table pad in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Then when baby needs a diaper change you just have to grab the kit instead of dragging in the whole diaper bag. Plus when you're done everything goes into the gallon ziplock and gets tossed. Made life much easier, not just in the parks but also at the airport, on the plane, etc.

 

[lighttech]

We found an extra t-shirt/outfit was a good bet. A few ziplocks in assorted sizes always come in handy. Also, I as suggested by another poster, I made up diaper change kits: Put one diaper, a few wipes, and a disposable changing table pad in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Then when baby needs a diaper change you just have to grab the kit instead of dragging in the whole diaper bag. Plus when you're done everything goes into the gallon ziplock and gets tossed. Made life much easier, not just in the parks but also at the airport, on the plane, etc.

LOVE this kit idea. I can't believe I never thought of it. I always wind up unpacking half the diaper bag to get at the wipes or diapers at the bottom of the bag. Especially when the bag is under the stroller, this will be a lifesaver.

If you have an infant, two easy cheap stroller toys to keep them occupied are:
a pinwheel
one of those cheap non-breakable mirrors you can find at craft stores. (I got one at AC Moore that had a foam "frame." When DS was about 1yr, the shiny spinning pinwheel attached to the stroller made him giggle all day at Hershey Park, and I caught him trying to feed snacks to the baby in the mirror a few times!

 

[TinkerValkyrie]

My diaper bag came with a changing pad that holds diapers and wipes and it's the best. I just pull the pad out and take that with me. It even has a little handle to carry it with.

 

[wildzootv]

stroller that reclines back so they can fall asleep when you are leaving the parks and one with a tray so they can snack on the way to another ride!!

Have fun guys!!!

 

[amyhughes]

Pack all of your childrens complete outfits seperately in Ziploc bags, makes it a cinch if your husband is like mine and can't dress the kids without everything laid out! Just toss them the bag and they have everything. Also when you go in the parks you just grab a baggie each and they have a full change of clothes.

I would recommend Water Sandals instead of sneakers. Maybe crocs as well. There are LOTS of places to get wet in the parks and I recommend letting your kids play in the water fountains at EPCOT, MK, etc. Also this way you aren't hauling around shoes and socks everywhere. Anything to lighten load is always good.

For snacks Disney Security is fine with you bringing small snacks in for your children and juice boxes. (I had one joke he wanted to hang out with us cause we had good food!) But Goldfish, Raisins, Pretzels, Popcorn, Peanut Butter Crackers etc are great and won't get gooey in your back pack. Again designate a Ziploc baggie per child! This way the boys could see how they were doing on snacks and tended to pace themselves. You can bring juice boxes but I recommend FLAVORED WATER. Juice contains sugar which will only help in dehydration, water is the best thing you can put in your child's body in the Florida sun. Flavored water was the only thing that worked for us, Grape and Strawberry.

If you have a Dollar Tree near by they sell 2 Glowsticks for a dollar. I bought enough for the entire family to wear the same color every night. This way if we were in crowds or on a dark ride my kids knew exactly where we were. Plus this cuts down on the amount of JUNK you end up hauling back home from the parks.

We gave our eldest a small flashlight that could clip on his clothes. He hates severe dark and some rides are VERY dark. So the small light was perfect b/c it didn't detract from the experience or hurt the ride, just eased him into the Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, and POTC.

For passing time in the lines for attractions and ADRs I brought Bubbles. My kids and heck everybodies kids LOVE bubbles and it wasn't an odd occurence that this was an ice breaker and friend maker for my boys and other kids in the parks. I also brought little Magna Doodle pads, flashcards (small ones by Scholastic), Etch a Sketch (again small) and kept those in a Ziploc in the Backpack. So if we had to wait they had something to keep them entertained. The BUBBLES work though, never have seen anything like that. We had adults chasing them with their kids!

If you have a Big Lots near you they have Buzz Lightyear, Ariel and Tinkerbell light up fans. My boys loved theirs and kept them on them constantly! Plus, again a 3.50 investment here would have cost me 9 bucks there!

Depending on how old your eldest is give them a throw away camera to document their trip! It is really a neat view point to see the parks from a 4 year old perspective. I let mine play with the cheaper digital camera at home and we get some neat shots from him! It'll cost at the most $20 including developing and you can make it a cool project if the pictures turn out well!

To P/P:
The spritzer fan is a good idea! We bought our there but there are places on eBay that sell Disney merchandise right from the parks! Great to buy before you go. You may have a bag devoted to that stuff but it will end up saving you some money once you get there!

A plan or outline to your day. Most toddlers do well with SOME structure, not a bunch but some. So we would go on Snow White, but while we were waiting I would prep them by saying "After this we can go on Peter Pan, or the carousel. Which would you like to do?" This kept them in the decision making process (it's their trip too) and also kept us from running back and forth to different rides all over the park.


A word to the wise:
When all else fails just let your kids be kids. Towards the end of the first day we had done plenty of attractions but I am a ride nut and the kids wanted to play in the 100 acre wood. Eventually we calmed down and let them just run and play for a good 2 hours before Wishes! They had a blast and some of our best pics are from that area. It is really a cool play area for toddlers and younger children.

 

[SandrainNC]

Hand sanitizer (they grab all kinds of stuff!) I read they make some now with no alcohol.

Hat and sunglasses
sunblock

We bring a little lunch box cooler so we can bring yogurt and cold juice boxes for a snack.

Sandra

 

[wildzootv]

fantastic tips Amy!!!

 

[amyhughes]

Thanks!

I also forgot something:

Little Post-Its if your child is potty training. Put it over the sensor on the wall when your child sits down. My DS #1 hates how LOUD those toilets are! They literally made him jump and cry when he would go in there! If you cover the sensor you can flush the toilet manually and don't have to worry about it going off while THEY ARE ON THERE! SCARY!

Also Discovery Toys sells toilet seat covers, I think there are other brands. But this is a colorful way to keep your kids on the seat, and CLEAN! They also have food catchers for under your high chairs if you eat at a chracter buffet, etc.

I also forgot to mention Hand Sanitizer! Thanks for mentioning that! We used that by the gallons. People are messy and Disney is no exception! There were plenty of times my kids would try to pick up left behind food or drinks. Also those toilets again, they are public restrooms no matter Disney or not!

I fingerprinted my kids before we left and got a clip of their hair. I am always thinking worst case scenario and there are some sick and dangerous people out there (we were travelling right after Maddy McCain disappeared and I have two blonde haired blue eyed children). You can take your kids to any Sherrifs depot to have them do an Ident-A-Kid, completely free and they will keep their information and send it to the local police in the case of an abduction or missing child. I also took pictures of them from every angle (I am sure they thought they were convicts!) so that if they should go missing I would have everything I needed on me. We put I.D. tags in their clothes and also in their sandles.

Anything can happen in 40,000 people. Disney has not had a listing of child abduction, Urban Legend aside. They will do anything possible to help you find your child. We had a special code to put out when we were alerted to a missing child. It's actually called Lost Parent, so as not to alert anyone seeking such an opportunity. Anyone with a walkie talkie can radio everyone in their sector and home base to check for you.

If a cast member sees a child wandering aimlessly, very young, with no parent, they are supposed to go and initiate conversation and take them to guest services. More than likely if you are seperated you will find your child playing with toys and watching videos in Guest Services.

Sorry if this is long winded! Just alot of advice from trial and error!

 

[NemoMOm]

A good diaper bag. I know this sounds crazy but I have to have a plac e for everything. There is nothing worse for me to try and change a diaper and not be able to locate where something is because the bag is black hole.

 

[lighttech]

Amyhughes-

Thanks for all the tips on keeping kids safe. I don't think you can be too careful, even if it is Disney. You tend to feel safe, but with so many people, so much excitement and so many cool things your toddler wants to go see and do, even the most mindful kid could get carried away and wander off.

Another tip I read/heard somewhere is, each day, before you leave your room, take a digital pic on your camera or phone of your children. That way, if you do become separated, you have a visual of what each child is wearing that day. If a kid wanders off, I imagine it would be easy in the worry of the moment to completely forget if they had gone with the yellow shirt or the blue that day!

God forbid any of us have to deal with that (even if they ARE just in Guest Services) but its good to be safe.

 

[karliebug]

disposable bibs (those mickey ice cream bars are messy!)
toddler sized silverware

 

[chocovrdmicears]

outlet covers for your hotel room.
straws or sippy cups (especially at Animal Kingdom)

 

[Passions71203]

Pack all of your childrens complete outfits seperately in Ziploc bags, makes it a cinch if your husband is like mine and can't dress the kids without everything laid out! Just toss them the bag and they have everything. Also when you go in the parks you just grab a baggie each and they have a full change of clothes.

I would recommend Water Sandals instead of sneakers. Maybe crocs as well. There are LOTS of places to get wet in the parks and I recommend letting your kids play in the water fountains at EPCOT, MK, etc. Also this way you aren't hauling around shoes and socks everywhere. Anything to lighten load is always good.

For snacks Disney Security is fine with you bringing small snacks in for your children and juice boxes. (I had one joke he wanted to hang out with us cause we had good food!) But Goldfish, Raisins, Pretzels, Popcorn, Peanut Butter Crackers etc are great and won't get gooey in your back pack. Again designate a Ziploc baggie per child! This way the boys could see how they were doing on snacks and tended to pace themselves. You can bring juice boxes but I recommend FLAVORED WATER. Juice contains sugar which will only help in dehydration, water is the best thing you can put in your child's body in the Florida sun. Flavored water was the only thing that worked for us, Grape and Strawberry.

If you have a Dollar Tree near by they sell 2 Glowsticks for a dollar. I bought enough for the entire family to wear the same color every night. This way if we were in crowds or on a dark ride my kids knew exactly where we were. Plus this cuts down on the amount of JUNK you end up hauling back home from the parks.

We gave our eldest a small flashlight that could clip on his clothes. He hates severe dark and some rides are VERY dark. So the small light was perfect b/c it didn't detract from the experience or hurt the ride, just eased him into the Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, and POTC.

For passing time in the lines for attractions and ADRs I brought Bubbles. My kids and heck everybodies kids LOVE bubbles and it wasn't an odd occurence that this was an ice breaker and friend maker for my boys and other kids in the parks. I also brought little Magna Doodle pads, flashcards (small ones by Scholastic), Etch a Sketch (again small) and kept those in a Ziploc in the Backpack. So if we had to wait they had something to keep them entertained. The BUBBLES work though, never have seen anything like that. We had adults chasing them with their kids!

If you have a Big Lots near you they have Buzz Lightyear, Ariel and Tinkerbell light up fans. My boys loved theirs and kept them on them constantly! Plus, again a 3.50 investment here would have cost me 9 bucks there!

Depending on how old your eldest is give them a throw away camera to document their trip! It is really a neat view point to see the parks from a 4 year old perspective. I let mine play with the cheaper digital camera at home and we get some neat shots from him! It'll cost at the most $20 including developing and you can make it a cool project if the pictures turn out well!

To P/P:
The spritzer fan is a good idea! We bought our there but there are places on eBay that sell Disney merchandise right from the parks! Great to buy before you go. You may have a bag devoted to that stuff but it will end up saving you some money once you get there!

A plan or outline to your day. Most toddlers do well with SOME structure, not a bunch but some. So we would go on Snow White, but while we were waiting I would prep them by saying "After this we can go on Peter Pan, or the carousel. Which would you like to do?" This kept them in the decision making process (it's their trip too) and also kept us from running back and forth to different rides all over the park.


A word to the wise:
When all else fails just let your kids be kids. Towards the end of the first day we had done plenty of attractions but I am a ride nut and the kids wanted to play in the 100 acre wood. Eventually we calmed down and let them just run and play for a good 2 hours before Wishes! They had a blast and some of our best pics are from that area. It is really a cool play area for toddlers and younger children.

I have been looking on ebay for "Disney stuff" like you had said in your post...
And I am having trouble finding things that are sold at the parks
I am finding a lot of stuff but not a lot of the stuff that is sold in the gift shops...
Could anyone help?

TIA

 

[amyhughes]

Here is the link for eBay

It goes Disney as keyword, Disneyana, Contemporary 1968-Now, Theme Park Souveniers. Should be able to find many things you need. If not contact a few of the sellers that live in the area. I am sure you can work out a deal with one of them if you need something VERY specific!