What do you carry in?

[NovemberBravo]

My family (of 5) is going for 3 days in June. My kiddos are 17, 6 & 4. We are staying at a Habor Street hotel.

Please help me plan what to bring into the parks. I'll have a backpack & stroller. I also plan on wearing my crossbody purse for wallet & camera.

This is my list so far:
Water bottles
Snacks
Sunblock

Anything else to help us stay happy & not spend too much $$

Thanks!

 

[lozzypop]

With kids, you may want to have a minor first aid kit. I carry one (a little larger than a pack of cards) that has wet wipes, band-aids (including special ones for blisters), Polysporin, Tylenol and Tums. Sure - you can get some of this stuff from first aid, but if your 4 year old falls and skins her knee it is much easier to take care of it then and there.

I also take a small purse with quarters and pennies for the pressed penny machines and an autograph book (with clickable Sharpie) for my daughter's encounters with characters.

 

[Lissame]

Band-aids are always helpful. Also lip balm of some sort, preferably one with sunscreen. Sunglasses for everyone.

 

[pinktink83]

hand sanitizer!

 

[Leash]

I think you will be happier if you took less stuff. I think you will feel overloaded and proably hot with a back pack and a purse. If you want easy access to your camera and wallet maybe just put them in a small bag inside or in an pocket outside your back pack. Now I don't have kids so I probably don't need some of the stuff you need but I just bring a crossbody purse (small) to hold essentials. I would say the 17 year old can carry their own stuff so that just leaves stuff for the younger 2.
I know you want to save money but if there is that much you want to bring and that you won't need suddenly I highly suggest renting a locker. They aren't that much (someone else may know the exact cost) and that way you aren't loaded down with random stuff but you still have it in the park if you need it.

My "park purse" usually contains:
Wallet
Phone
Camera
Chapstick
Hand sanitizer
Sunscreen
Nail clippers (I have a bad record of breaking my nails in the park no matter how short I cut them before we leave home)
Tums and Lactaid (DH and I have bad stomachs)
Ziploc bags for our electronics for water rides
Ponytail holder because halfway through the day my hair starts to bug me

Like I said you probably need more since you have kids but I used to bring everything I could ever imagine needing and it drove me nuts to carry a big heavy bag. I started cutting back and got it down to essentials and it is awesome. I made it though 9 days at WDW with just this stuff and the only time I needed anything was a band aid, which I got for free from first aid, when I broke a nail so far down it started to bleed.
I'm sure some people who have first hand kid knowledge will help too, have a great trip!

 

[NovemberBravo]

Thanks for the tips.

I won't be wearing the backpack, I plan on keeping it in the stroller.

If you don't want to wear a purse, do you leave your camera & wallet in the stroller?

 

[furb & dez]

I bring a backpack with:

• bottled water
• snacks (usually dehydrated fruit)
• a small bottle of ibuprofen
• bandaids
• lotion
• camera
• a large ziploc bag (for camera and wallets)
• sunscreen
• several bottles of hand sanitizer
• extra socks (if we plan to get on a water ride)

This sounds like a lot of stuff, but it really isn't. Still plenty of room in the backpack for purchases and other things.

Cannot stress the hand sanitizer enough... people are unbelievably filthy and absolutely careless at Disneyland. I've seen plenty of guys walk straight from a toilet stall and back to their families without stopping. I've also seen people change diapers (in public!) and drop off the dirty diaper in the trash without so much as a handwash. (remember: "wash your hands with soap now, or eat it later!")

If you can avoid touching surfaces with your hands, do it.

Don't forget sunglasses.

 

[furb & dez]

Thanks for the tips.

I won't be wearing the backpack, I plan on keeping it in the stroller.

If you don't want to wear a purse, do you leave your camera & wallet in the stroller?

Don't leave anything in your stroller you ever want to see again.

 

[Cagirl767]

Ditto on having seen people changing diapers in public. I've seen it many times in strollers. Eeeeewwww is all I have to say.

DH wears cargo pants and can put my wallet into a pocket and also a small camera if we don't want to carry the backpack onto a ride. We will leave the backpack in the stroller without anything valuable in it: nothing we can't afford to lose.

Also add to the list to bring: hats or sunglasses and some Tums

 

[NovemberBravo]

Ditto on having seen people changing diapers in public. I've seen it many times in strollers. Eeeeewwww is all I have to say.

DH wears cargo pants and can put my wallet into a pocket and also a small camera if we don't want to carry the backpack onto a ride. We will leave the backpack in the stroller without anything valuable in it: nothing we can't afford to lose.

Also add to the list to bring: hats or sunglasses and some Tums

Cargo Shorts for the hubs=GENIUS!

I won't need my crossover purse afterall. The husband can wear his cargo shorts & carry the camera in a ziplock. I don't need a wallet, I can put my id in his. Thanks!

 

[bnbheartdisney]

I try to limit what I take into the parks, but with a 2 1/2 year old it can be a little challenging.

In the stroller, I keep frozen bottles of water/SoBe Lifewater (to mix it up), snacks, bandaids, DD's blanket at night and mini Mickey fan during the summer.

In my bag, I carry my wallet, camera, small video camera, diapers, wipes, travel size sunblock, hand sanitizer, lotion and sometimes a change of clothes for the lil' one.

And as others have mentioned, don't leave any valuables in your stroller. You'd be surprised - even at The Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[RedRosie]

Glowstick bracelets or necklaces for nightime fun for the kids. target usually has them in the dollar bins - 15 bracelets for a $1.

 

[lapdwife]

Thanks for the tips.

I won't be wearing the backpack, I plan on keeping it in the stroller.

If you don't want to wear a purse, do you leave your camera & wallet in the stroller?

Never leave anything in your stroller you would miss. Even strollers have been stolen lately.

I carry the least amount I can. I use my Disney Dooney messenger and that puppy doesn't hold much. I never carry sunblock. If it's the middle of summer and we feel we need it, it's done before we go in. Hand sanitizer is great, you can get the little ones. We usually will bring sweatshirts in. That's one of those as needed things.

 

[DahliaRW]

We always leave our non-valuables in the stroller and have never had anything taken. Of coruse, if it was it's nothing important (usually just changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, food, water bottles, sunscreen, etc).

 

[DisSarahK]

Do not leave ANYTHING in the stroller--ever!! (Well, sometimes we would leave our water, but that was it!)

I don't carry a purse in Disneyland. My husband carries his wallet and the tickets and I just do without my purse. My absolute essentials go in the backpack...which he carries. I carry the camera (a DSLR).

Definitely make sure you have stuff like wipes, bandaids, neosporin, advil (for you!), tylenol/advil (for the children), chapstick...basics like that.