What do you with all your "junk" without a stroller?!?!

[Tonka's Skipper]

Easy, don't bring so much junk. You will find that once you don't have *this and that*, you will likely not need *this and that*.

AKK

 

[larryz]

Easy, don't bring so much junk. You will find that once you don't have *this and that*, you will likely not need *this and that*.

AKK

Amen. And if you find yourself without something you "need," you're very likely to find it for sale in one of the shoppes in a single-application package.

 

[NavyDad]

If I may, while we're on the subject of cutting out the junk, how little does everyone think you can get by with? It will be just three adults, 42 year old me and 72 and 73 year old parents who are reasonably healthy and active. We will be taking mid-day breaks, and would prefer to travel light. We'll have Magic Bands (of course) and are on the QSDP, so no need to have a means to pay for meals. I'm assuming we can charge souvenir purchases through the MB to our room too (though we're not likely to buy much, honestly, but one never knows!). So, what else do we really NEED for a 4-5 hour stretch in a park? Poncho? (I'm thinking of getting several $1 ones to use and discard as needed) Are water bottles necessary? Can't you get ice water for free at Quick service places? And aren't there drinking fountains? We can put sunscreen on before heading out.

I originally thought we'd need a "park bag" but the more I read about the waits at bag check and think about hauling around a lot of stuff, the more I like the idea of getting some cargo shorts/pants/capris, putting a few small necessities (phone, ponchos, ??) in my pockets, and strolling around free as a bird!

What do you guys think? Will it work?

YES! It will work for sure. We do this basically every trip. We don't even carry the ponchos anymore unless we know it's going to be an all day monsoon that can't be avoided.

Even before MB's I was able to carry everything I needed for the day in 1 pocket. The freedom is AMAZING!

We usually each hand carry 1 half frozen water bottle in with us in the morning. When my kids get sick of carrying the water bottle I remind them the sooner they drink it all the sooner they can put it in the recycle bin. This last trip we made a point to stop at the table service locations to get a drink in the lobby area. This way we stayed hydrated and got to peak inside some places we had never visited.

 

[moobar25]

so, every time we've gone to Disney, we've had a stroller and the next time we plan to visit, my daughter will be almost 4 and even now, at 2 and a half, she HATES using the stroller most of the time, we asks to walk so i know by then, she'll be fully walking, which is great, BUT, we always bring a snack bag, a small lunchbox cooler of drinks and a bag for her change of clothes, wipes, emergency things, etc...how can I get all that inside the parks without me actually carrying it all like a pack-mule? I'm not going to carry it all, so, what do you guys do when your child no longer needs a stroller, but you need the "junk" in the parks? thanks in advance!

I know you said your daughter doesn't like strollers now - but I would suggest getting the stroller anyways. My daughter is almost 4 and she only uses the stroller at Disney. We only bring one bag with us: change of clothes for her, sunscreen, snacks, autograph book. After half a day at the park she is tired, especially if we're there in the evening, and she hops in the stroller herself to take a rest. To us it is easier than carrying her. Our friends came with us, they have a son who was 6 at the time, and they rented a stroller so that they didn't have to carry him at end of the night. Having a stroller saves time for us because she can eat her snacks while we walk from one side of the park to the other. The last time I actually sat in it while waiting for some characters We have a Baby Jogger mini.

 

[ZoZo]

I'd say rent a locker. Your "junk" will be accessible, but you don't have to carry around the bulk of it all day. For the items you need to keep with you, bring a small cross-body bag.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I have an old backpack of my kids that I use. I only bring in one bottle of water and maybe one granola bar or a plastic bag of trail mix for food and drink. Both turned out to have been handy a few times but mostly I just buy what I need in the parks. Sandwiches in a foldable cooler type lunch bag would fit in that backpack too if needed and as they got eaten, the backpack would get lighter.

I also have sunscreen, my poncho, spare camera batteries and spare portable phone charger and cord in it plus my little plastic container of essentials for me like advil, immodium just in case, rolaids, bandaides, blister block, one or two moleskin. Sometimes I add in a pair spare of socks if it's raining and I'm wearing my tennis shoes or flip flops if I'm planning on riding water rides.

Each trip I try and narrow it down more and more. I think I'm at the bare minimum for me now.

When my kids went they each carried their own stuff if they just had to have something. My son wore cargo shorts so he had plenty of space for stuff he wanted.
The one I really remember was the nintendo DS - my DD who was 10 at the time just had to have it with her so I got her a cross body bag to carry it in - it only lasted one day. She said it got heavier and heavier as the day went on so she decided she didn't need it after all. LOL

I just saw the age of your daughter and I'd suggest a small stroller anyway. You could just park it in one area in each land of MK so you aren't hauling it everywhere but when she finally gets tired of all the walking, you'll have it for her when she does.

 

[cindersmella]

If I may, while we're on the subject of cutting out the junk, how little does everyone think you can get by with? It will be just three adults, 42 year old me and 72 and 73 year old parents who are reasonably healthy and active. We will be taking mid-day breaks, and would prefer to travel light. We'll have Magic Bands (of course) and are on the QSDP, so no need to have a means to pay for meals. I'm assuming we can charge souvenir purchases through the MB to our room too (though we're not likely to buy much, honestly, but one never knows!). So, what else do we really NEED for a 4-5 hour stretch in a park? Poncho? (I'm thinking of getting several $1 ones to use and discard as needed) Are water bottles necessary? Can't you get ice water for free at Quick service places? And aren't there drinking fountains? We can put sunscreen on before heading out.

I originally thought we'd need a "park bag" but the more I read about the waits at bag check and think about hauling around a lot of stuff, the more I like the idea of getting some cargo shorts/pants/capris, putting a few small necessities (phone, ponchos, ??) in my pockets, and strolling around free as a bird!

What do you guys think? Will it work?

Without kids, I can't imagine needing a bag. Dh and I have always traveled to WDW with just other adults and we all go bag free. An ID, CC and phone fit in a zippered pocket. You can reapply sunscreen at midday breaks, as well as grab any little item (like a hair tie) of you decide you need one. As long as you are ok with buying something on a whim in the parks that you feel you need, then you should be all set You can hide out in a restaurant during the afternoon rain, if needed, and just have ponchos ready in the room in case real rain plans to hit. I lived in FL and don't find the rain to be an issue to be prepared for by adults, anymore than a day of storms would be anywhere else. There is no way in heck I would lug a bag around all day.

 

[Keels]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but a cooler backpack for your mother might be the ticket.

We have a combo one we use and it can hold some drinks as well as the other items you mentioned - it's this one from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Rangers...sr=8-2&keywords=cooler+backpack+texas+rangers

 

[ttintagel]

Split it up into several smaller bags - each adult and older child (not sure how many adults/children in your group) carries a small bag instead of just one person carrying one big bag. Fair's fair.