What do you carry in your DLR backpack?

[DYOBL0305]

10x Disposable Water Resistant Poncho's (we'll use 5x of them on Splash and 5x of them on GRR)

Curious about the ponchos, do they work very well in keeping you dry for the most part? I've gone back and forth between purchasing ponchos for those rides or just taking a change of clothes for my kids as I worry that ponchos may only keep them a bit dry but not enough. We'll be there in December, so although being a bit wet in the summer wouldn't be an issue for them, if it's a little chilly that day, it might make for an uncomfortable rest of the day for them.

 

[Matrixleos]

Curious about the ponchos, do they work very well in keeping you dry for the most part? I've gone back and forth between purchasing ponchos for those rides or just taking a change of clothes for my kids as I worry that ponchos may only keep them a bit dry but not enough. We'll be there in December, so although being a bit wet in the summer wouldn't be an issue for them, if it's a little chilly that day, it might make for an uncomfortable rest of the day for them.

Ponchos work really well, plus they only cost 54 cents at Walmart, so once we're done we can dispose of them.

For Splash, ponchos will keep your clothes dry and your feet don't get wet much from what I remember.

For GRR, you will get soaked head to toe but it's a ton of fun. GRR has lockers right next to the ride and they are free for 2 hours (currently the lockers are closed and hope they open up after Disney removes social distancing). So use those lockers for you backpacks and anything else that you don't want to get wet.

 

[avalon451]

For GRR, you will get soaked head to toe but it's a ton of fun. GRR has lockers right next to the ride and they are free for 2 hours (currently the lockers are closed and hope they open up after Disney removes social distancing). So use those lockers for you backpacks and anything else that you don't want to get wet.

Ahhh thank you for the GRR lockers update. I was just wondering if those were open. I would be glad if they open up on the 15th, since we’ll be there the following week!

 

[Marcus A. Jordan]

FYI. You don’t need to pack Advil, Tylenol, and bandaids. Those items are available for free at the first aid stations in the parks.

 

[avalon451]

FYI. You don’t need to pack Advil, Tylenol, and bandaids. Those items are available for free at the first aid stations in the parks.

However, it’s a lot easier when somebody in your group says, “Man, my head is killing me,” or “Whoops, there’s a nasty blister starting on my heel,” and you can just reach into your backpack for what you need, wherever you are (in line or at a meal, or waiting for a parade to start etc) without stopping and finding out where the nearest first aid station is, and trailing over there.

 

[gpjacobs]

However, it’s a lot easier when somebody in your group says, “Man, my head is killing me,” or “Whoops, there’s a nasty blister starting on my heel,” and you can just reach into your backpack for what you need, wherever you are (in line or at a meal, or waiting for a parade to start etc) without stopping and finding out where the nearest first aid station is, and trailing over there.

And if your kiddo FREAKS OUT at the sight of blood ... quickly cleaning the ouchie up and putting on a cute Disney Band-Aid (featuring their current fav character) is a lot less stressful than potentially carrying them across the park. Mid-day, in 90-degree weather.

I speak from experience.

 

[DizMe]

I'm in the minimalist group. I have a backpack purse. In it, I carry:
phone
portable charger
lip balm (Burt's Bees, to be specific)
vacation wallet (minimal flat thing with only the necessary cards and a bit of money)
Kleenex travel pack
some kind of mints, like those little Listerine flat strips you can put on your tongue
sometimes a couple of ziplocs
*and my important item that others probably don't need--a very thin and light zip-up jacket that takes very little space. I can get cold anywhere, at any time of year, and at places like DLR there is often an abrupt shift from hot outdoors to freezing (to me) indoor temps. I'm the one you'll see in restaurants or Pirates etc putting on a jacket when it's 95 degrees outside--my body especially hates extreme contrast in temps.

Edited to add: almost forgot to list my glasses. I have bifocal sunglasses and regular glasses, and it's a real hassle but what can you do when you're blind as a bat. I keep the ones not in use in a pocket in the purse.

 

[DYOBL0305]

Ponchos work really well, plus they only cost 54 cents at Walmart, so once we're done we can dispose of them.

For Splash, ponchos will keep your clothes dry and your feet don't get wet much from what I remember.

For GRR, you will get soaked head to toe but it's a ton of fun. GRR has lockers right next to the ride and they are free for 2 hours (currently the lockers are closed and hope they open up after Disney removes social distancing). So use those lockers for you backpacks and anything else that you don't want to get wet.

Thank you for the info!

 

[Dmto4]

I love all of these lists! I would only add that I include a small baggie with chewable Pepto, blister bandaids, Rolaids (needed after eating park food for multiple days), mints/gum, individual caffeine flavor packets for water bottles, and of course, the epipen and other allergy meds I don’t go anywhere without!

 

[Piglet99645]

blister bandaids,

try putting moleskin on before you get the blisters if you know where they happen. Maybe avoid the blisters entirely!

Disney is so hard on feet ...

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

FYI. You don’t need to pack Advil, Tylenol, and bandaids. Those items are available for free at the first aid stations in the parks.

You’re correct that you don’t, but sometimes you don’t want to traipse all the way back to the first aid stations to get it. It takes minimal space and is much easier to keep on us.

 

[Jaina]

I just packed my backpack for a solo adult day trip tomorrow. I always have a little first aid bag with band-aids, benadryl, motion sickness, advil, etc, something to help with chafing if needed, a poncho (though I probably won't use it with these temps), flip flops (for Grizzly and maybe Splash), card holder, Kleenex, super lightweight jacket, light fleece blanket (for sitting on the ground mostly if I jump the gun and get to the entrance lines 2 hours early ) , chapstick, battery backup and 2 charging cords (I learned my lesson once), a cell phone lanyard (in case I want to to pics/video on rides without risking dropping my phone), snacks, Minnie ears, sunglasses, a lightweight umbrella, (I have low tolerance for standing in the heat/sun), a water bottle, electrolyte drink solution, and a neck fan.
When I have kids with me (I don't have babies anymore) multiply the snacks by like 25, include an emergency clothes change that will fit several of the youngers if needed, extra sunscreen and hats, more first aid stuff, games we can play in line, and wet wipes.

 

[gpjacobs]

With two full days in the parks, arrival day/night will be our only time to explore Downtown Disney and we're excited about that

This brings up a great point ... in-line entertainment for little ones. We really try to minimize our kiddo's screen time, esp. in the parks. Any recommendations for small, easily packable things to help pass the time?

 

[Matrixleos]

This brings up a great point ... in-line entertainment for little ones. We really try to minimize our kiddo's screen time, esp. in the parks. Any recommendations for small, easily packable things to help pass the time?

When waiting on lines, it's a perfect water/snack opportunity for the kids, especially in hotter temperatures. Also good time to look at Disney maps (do they still have physical printed maps or everything is virtual?) and plan as a family what our next ride/attraction targets will be. In addition, good time to check the Disneyland app and check on ride times. Also good opportunities for pictures, especially if the ride que is heavily themed. Plus if I know that a few certain ride ques have hidden mickey's, I'll have them keep an eye out for them. They love trying to tack them down.

 

[Piglet99645]

When waiting on lines, it's a perfect water/snack opportunity for the kids, especially in hotter temperatures. Also good time to look at Disney maps (do they still have physical printed maps or everything is virtual?) and plan as a family what our next ride/attraction targets will be. In addition, good time to check the Disneyland app and check on ride times. Also good opportunities for pictures, especially if the ride que is heavily themed. Plus if I know that a few certain ride ques have hidden mickey's, I'll have them keep an eye out for them. They love trying to tack them down.

Yes. All of this. We plan our strategy for the next ride or food.

 

[Marcus A. Jordan]

However, it’s a lot easier when somebody in your group says, “Man, my head is killing me,” or “Whoops, there’s a nasty blister starting on my heel,” and you can just reach into your backpack for what you need, wherever you are (in line or at a meal, or waiting for a parade to start etc) without stopping and finding out where the nearest first aid station is, and trailing over there.

I understand that, but I don’t think most guests realize the service is available. For all of us who tend to go to a park on a whim and don’t wish to carry a hiking backpack, it’s really helpful

 

[Lm3js]

Minimalist here too but sometimes DH carries backpack for the family and here is what we carry.

In my pockets (I only bring my pants, skirts or shorts that have lots of pockets) -- we are a family of 4 (2 teen boys, DH and me, a middle aged woman)

• phone
• small phone charger and small cord
• lipgloss
• credit/giftcards/hotel key in plastic size ziplock that I can also put my phone in on Splash/Rapids
• hair tie
• contacts case w/solution inside

I wear wicking clothes and shoes that are quick drying--kind of meshy but have arch support. I tie jacket around my waist and sunglasses on my face which will go in my pockets or when sun goes down.

In backpack:

• sweatshirts and/or light jackets. I'll throw a pair of pants for me that I can slip on in evening because I get cold
• sunscreen stick for touchups
• phone charger and cord
• sometimes flip flops for the kids for the water rides but if they don't want to use them, we just have them take off/stash their socks (and sometimes underwear ha ha) before the rides as those are what takes forever to dry
• empty water bladder (platypus) / bottle that we fill up. Though usually we end up buying a coke, rinsing the bottle out and using water
• extra ziplock bag for phones on water rides.

We used to bring a lot more but found that it just got heavy and we didn't use half of it. I try to avoid going through the bag check line if I can help it so I make hard decisions if something doesn't fit in my pockets.

 

[JWelch62]

Fairly simple...

Phone charger/cables
Sun Screen
dry bag for electronics for wet rides
DSLR if I'm looking to shoot
snacks
advil as I will get sore feet/back

I generally don't carry water. It's not economical, but I just buy it at the park. Water is heavy.

 

[pblack]

However, it’s a lot easier when somebody in your group says, “Man, my head is killing me,” or “Whoops, there’s a nasty blister starting on my heel,” and you can just reach into your backpack for what you need, wherever you are (in line or at a meal, or waiting for a parade to start etc) without stopping and finding out where the nearest first aid station is, and trailing over there.

Absolutely this! I started carrying pepto chewables with my mini first aid kid after a very unfortunate incident involving chicken nuggets in DL. It was not fun trying to find something to help my upset tummy while it was upset lol.

 

[VandVsmama]

Planning a late July visit to DLR and just started getting together my backpack and the items I plan to bring to the parks. I'll be packing for 5 people. So far, this is what I have...

3x Compact Umbrella's by Totes with a SunGuard UPF 50+ (keeps the shaded area under the umbrella 20 degrees cooler)
10x Disposable Water Resistant Poncho's (we'll use 5x of them on Splash and 5x of them on GRR)
5x Water Bottles (Will keep filling up each time we do a mobile order and during our sit down lunch\dinner reservations
5x Small Towels (Soak them all in water and put in our hotel refrigerator overnight to help keep our water cooler and come in handy in 90 degree weather)
1x USB Battery Pack (I'll be on my Disneyland App the enter day, need to make sure my phone has enough juice to last the day)
1x bottle of sunscreen
1x pack of sanitizing wipes
1x hand sanitizer

Snacks - Pending all the long food waits on mobile orders, planning to bring some granola and fruit bars to help with hunger as we wait for snacks and lunch/dinner reservations

Band-Aids
Advil\Tylenol packets

Curious to hear what other people pack in their backpacks when you go to the parks?

We were just at WDW at the beginning of this month. In my park bag, I had:

• cell phone
• ziplock bag with a battery & cell phone cord
• wallet
• refillable water bottle
• ziplock bag with extra masks
• small tiny cylinder of ibuprofen. Like one of those travel packs at the grocery store
• very small container of sunscreen - but should have just left it in the room because we took afternoon breaks each day
• UV umbrella - these TOTALLY WORK!
• if rain was forecasted - a poncho
• handheld battery-operated fan
• fold up human-powered fan

For a DL trip NOT in the summer, I'd probably leave the UV umbrella at home. For a summer DL trip where I knew it was going to be really hot and I knew that we'd be outside in queues a lot, I WOULD bring the UV umbrella.

Usually when we go to DL, it's early summer (like 1st week of June) or spring break (in early March), so I always end up bringing a big sarong with me...it folds up/rolls up to be pretty small and is very very lightweight. I've used it as a wrap, as a scarf, as a blanket, as a place to sit down on when waiting for a parade or for fireworks.