Necessities at the Park

[lesliewitt]

Anyone want to share what they pack in their bag for the day at the park-the must haves (e.g. ponchos, first aid kits, etc.) that someone would not necessarily remember to include, but are very helpful to have?

 

[brightvalleyjrts]

Great idea!! I can't wait to see what everyone suggests.

 

[sdoll]

I will never travel with out butterfly strips for wounds. My DS2 tripped and knocked his forehead on a car in the fountains at POP last year. We could have saved a lot of time had we just had those with us. I already purchased them for our upcoming trip.

 

[CarolinesMom]

We travel with baby wipes. I use them to wipe down chairs at CS, kids faces and hands, get spills off of clothing... just about everything!

 

[browniemtb]

Packed in the stroller we generally have baby wipes, bandaides, bottled water, and extra clothes just in case. With little ones you just never know what or where something can happen.

Brownie

 

[stepnut]

My kids are 7&8. I pack my compact camera, my touring plan details, my license, my credit card, some cash, and some crunchy granola bars. I put it all in my oh-so-fashionable fanny pack.

That's it. I hate lugging stuff around.

No ponchos. No change of clothes. No wipes. No sunscreen. No bottles or sippy cups. No extra anything.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I can't wait until my kids are just a little older and we need less!!! However, once we are no longer toting the stroller, we won't be able to carry all this stuff anyways.

I take a backback filled with WAY too much stuff -

dipes (just 1 or 2 for ds who is not reliably pt)
wipes
a few pckg of snacks for the kids
both kids drink cups (fit on the 2 side pockets of the backpack)
touring plan info (front pocket for easy access)
Kids autograph books (in the back pocket of the stroller)
Sharpies (also in the back pocket of the stroller)
rain ponchos depending on weather (in the bottom basket of stroller)
ID, credit cards, theme park card/room key
Maybe a small sunscreen
Sunglasses for me and kids
Beco - baby carrier for ds (also goes in the bottom basket of stroller

I would love to not carry around the autograph books. They are so darn heavy!

 

[mom2aredhead]

My son is a bit older (4) but this was in my backpack...

A change of clothes, and yes I did need them once...He's been trained for well over a year, but long lines and excitement still may cause an accident. (My apologies to anyone that was in line for Tomorrowland Indy Speedway at the time). I had pants that the legs zipped off and they turned into shorts so I was covered either way...squished in a ziploc it really didn't take up much room.
1 small (travel size) sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and hand lotion
a "tide to go" pen
autograph book with pen
camera
video camera
wipes
rain ponchos if the forecast was for rain, and we used them...I get the super cheap ones from either walmart ($0.88) or the dollar store (2/$1.00) that are folded really small, so they don't take up any room, then we just toss them when we are done.
park maps/tour plans
id-holder with kttw, drivers license, cash and a credit card
sunglasses
My i-pod. Don't laugh. People are always on these boards looking for ways to keep their kids entertained in line or at a more "grown up" restaurant - I have a the new Nano that weighs nothing and takes up no space. I downloaded a few Playhouse Disney shows, (and a Dora and Diego one - shhhh!) and some of his favorite music, threw it in my bag and had instant entertainment. When my son was exhausted and cranky at Brown Derby, (and somewhere else - maybe Tutto Italia?) he sat quietly and watched Tigger and Pooh or listened to some music and didn't disturb anyone else.

 

[Gomez Gang]

when we go to the world, we each have 1 small fanny pack per person and NO LARGE BACKPACK! (you know, the one MOM always got stuck lugging around!?!?) I divide up the following so each person only has to carry 1 "family emergency item" and it is not alot for anyone to carry. Then they put whatever they want in like granola bars, raisins or gum.

These items are our essentials!:

moleskin-sold in squares (I precut small circles and just put a few in my fanny pack) great for any type of blister!

travel pack of baby wipes-my kids are 8,9, & 11 and we still travel with these!

waterproof tape-I am a nurse so I can "get" small rolls of this. It is perfect to cover a small wound, re-attatch the moleskin or fix just about anything.

2-3 zip locks-take NO room in the fanny pack and great to put the camera in or anything else that you want to keep clean/dry.

travel size sunscreen/spf 15 lip balm

mini hand sanitizer

travel size kleenex pouch

camera

 

[SmallWorld71]

Anyone want to share what they pack in their bag for the day at the park-the must haves (e.g. ponchos, first aid kits, etc.) that someone would not necessarily remember to include, but are very helpful to have?

Just so you know, there is no need to bring a 1st aid kit in the parks, they are well equipped at the 1st aid centers.

One thing that I added this year that I found really helpful was gallon sized zip lock bags. We put our cell phones, wallets and autograph books and pens inside one in the backpack and it was great protection in case of the afternoon summer downpours or when we all went on Splash or Kali. Everything was still easy to get to and we didn't have to worry. I think that, plus sunblock, was all I carried. (Mine are all out of diapers though)

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Definately second most of the suggestions above. I always carry a first aid kit...never know when you'll either need it or can help out someone else. Also, we bring hand sanitizer and wipes. Ziplock bags are great to keep cameras dry on the water rides. We also bring bottled water (we have a case shipped to the hotel) and Crystal light packets for when we are sick of water. We also bring goldfish/granola bars/fruit snacks so that we don't spend a lot of OOP money on high sugar/fat/calorie snacks in the park.

 

[minniemaura]

one thing I am bringing that I did not see on anyone elses list is ear plugs for my 5 yr old.

 

[becca011906]

subbing to this thread, i was going to start one up... my kids are now past the diaper stages... FINALLY!!! First trip w/o diapers for anyone since our honeymoon! LOL But dh has always HATED HATED hated the backpack i always lug along on our trips... ya know the stuff i say we need that we never usally use, extra clothes, extra snacks, extra this and that... so this year i'm trying to cut back, i mean i think maybe i can leave some of my 'stuff' in the car as my cusion and if major need be we can always get them there .... oh my I'm at a loss!

 

[becca011906]

.... sorry double

 

[GraysMom]

We take a Camelbak backpack to haul our stuff. They come in various sizes and have a water bladder built in so you don't have to carry water bottles. We just pull out the bladder and fill it partway with bottled water at night, then put it in the freezer of the hotel fridge (works with pretty much any size fridge freezer) to make a frozen block. In the morning we top it off with more cold filtered water and we have cold water to drink for most of the day.

We also carry baby wipes
antibacterial wipes
sunglasses/hats for everyone
sunscreen (mini bottle or packets)
gum/mints
snacks
tissues
sippy cup
misty fans
light up fans/glow sticks
camera and extra batteries
Tide To Go Pen
extra outfit
lip gloss w/SPF
ponchos
cell phone (with ADR's saved in the memo section)
restaurant lists (I'm a picky eater so I search through All Ears' menu section before we leave and type up a list of places that have food I like)
ziploc bags (to keep things dry, or for wet clothes/restaurant leftovers)
email addresses (so I can send video postcards from Innovations @ Epcot)
dental floss
quarters and pennies (for pressed pennies)
park maps
nail file
neosporin
jackets (depending on the weather)
lollipops and little toys to keep DS from getting bored

Wow, it sounds like a lot, but so much of it is tiny that it really doesn't take up much room.

 

[angiejg]

I have to say I thought I had too much last time, but the one thing I needed and didn't have was a bandaid. We had reservations at CRT and just before my 4 year old fell and cut his hand. We had to get to CRT, so I asked the CM there for a bandaid. No one had anything and told us where the first aid area was. We couldn't wait so we just went on in to meet Cinderalla for pictures. The whole time we were afraid he would get blood on her beautiful pale blue dress!

I also take wipes, camera, autograph books, pens, room key/ticket, ID. I know there was more, but those things stand out as must haves.

Angie

 

[WantToGoNow]

My kids were 5 and almost 3 last trip (potty trained) and this is what I carried in one of the small backpacks with drawstrings which fit easily in the Maclaren stroller:

Wallet (cash, cards, etc.)
Autograph Book & Pen
Camera & Extra Batteries
Travel Wipes and Hand Sanitizer
Ziplock with Medicines (EpiPen and Benadryl for ds, Tylenol (adult/child), Moleskin, and Bandaids)

 

[becca011906]

My kids were 5 and almost 3 last trip (potty trained) and this is what I carried in one of the small backpacks with drawstrings which fit easily in the Maclaren stroller:

Wallet (cash, cards, etc.)
Autograph Book & Pen
Camera & Extra Batteries
Travel Wipes and Hand Sanitizer
Ziplock with Medicines (EpiPen and Benadryl for ds, Tylenol (adult/child), Moleskin, and Bandaids)

See this gives me hope, we are on the DDP so we'll be able to get snacks in the park, and usally they didn't ask for snacks while at the parks and i ended up never eating them b/c the meals were so filling... Extra clothes i think i could get away with just leaving them in the car as my comfort b/c i think the only time i ended up changing the kids clothes was in Sept when they girls wore dresses, in march it's not going to be near as hot and smoldering! LOL

 

[katiesmom2]

Our kids are 3 and almost 5. We benefit from a stroller to help carry all this stuff. Sometimes we get a locker too, for stuff we won't need until the evening.

tickets
cameras/film/batteries
walkie talkies (we wouldn't be without these - they are so helpful when/if we split up
sunglasses
water
collapsible cooler (sometimes)
snacks for the kids
autograph book and pen
rain ponchos/umbrella
moleskin/bandaids
sunscreen
Kleenex/wipes
extra pullups
change of clothes for kids
jackets/sweaters/blankets
sun hats
antibacterial soap

 

[lesliewitt]

We take a Camelbak backpack to haul our stuff. They come in various sizes and have a water bladder built in so you don't have to carry water bottles. We just pull out the bladder and fill it partway with bottled water at night, then put it in the freezer of the hotel fridge (works with pretty much any size fridge freezer) to make a frozen block. In the morning we top it off with more cold filtered water and we have cold water to drink for most of the day.

We also carry baby wipes
antibacterial wipes
sunglasses/hats for everyone
sunscreen (mini bottle or packets)
gum/mints
snacks
tissues
sippy cup
misty fans
light up fans/glow sticks
camera and extra batteries
Tide To Go Pen
extra outfit
lip gloss w/SPF
ponchos
cell phone (with ADR's saved in the memo section)
restaurant lists (I'm a picky eater so I search through All Ears' menu section before we leave and type up a list of places that have food I like)
ziploc bags (to keep things dry, or for wet clothes/restaurant leftovers)
email addresses (so I can send video postcards from Innovations @ Epcot)
dental floss
quarters and pennies (for pressed pennies)
park maps
nail file
neosporin
jackets (depending on the weather)
lollipops and little toys to keep DS from getting bored

Wow, it sounds like a lot, but so much of it is tiny that it really doesn't take up much room.

Can I ask what the nail file and dental floss is for? Also, does anyone know where to get moleskin? Is it better for blisters than a bandaid? Thanks everyone for such great suggestions.