What in The World Are you Taking Into the Parks???

[Grumpy92]

Pockets - Phone, mini wallet, lip gloss, sunglasses
Belt clips - small anti bacterial and ring clip for a bottle of water. We usually buy one inside and then refill it.
If it looks like rain we carry an umbrella.
We always avoid the bag check line at the entrance.

Never in my 40years of visiting WDW have I brought a change of clothes. For a baby ok, but after a certain age that is needless bulk to tote around.

 

[3PrincessesAndaFrog]

4 fair skinned people and one small backpack to share for daytime at night just a purse with meds.

Sunblock for face
Sunblock for body
chapstick
Meds
Bottled water
Snacks
Pins for trading
rain ponchos
Band aids....some one always needs one

We usually go in August and it always rains around 3.

 

[Dis703]

We are a family of 5 and normally we have 1 back pack, 1 purse, 1 soft cooler and maybe occasionally an extra bag.

Things we may be carrying:

Food for all three boys (they can't eat QS usually-food allergies)
water bottles, disposable placemats, bibs

Diapers, wipes, disposable changing pads

Ponchos, jackets if it's going to be chilly, possible souvenirs purchased that day, one change of clothes for the youngest ones, sunscreen

Sometimes toys to keep them occupied in lines or restaurants, maybe an Ergo carrier for later use

In my purse it's the usual, makeup, hand sanitizer, chap stick, feminine products, ID, camera, meds

 

[Gymbomom]

We are usually travel to Disney in September, November/December and now March for the first time. We have teenagers, so no strollers.
We carry a backpack for the family. Based on weather reports it will hold ponchos or our sweatshirts, water bottles and a few mugs if we had coffee on the way to the park. Small change purse with cash and drivers license - credit card is linked to the room. An external battery and iPhone cords to charge our phones - we only use memory maker and iPhones for our cameras.
DD brings her own sling backpack with her autograph book and whatever else she wants.
We don't eat in the parks, just bring in water.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Normally we would take a backpack that each of us would take turns carrying. However, it will be DD13, DD11, and myself only on this trip so we all decided to forgo taking the backpack and instead we will all be wearing small messenger type purses (the ones that go across your body). We only need them to put the small camera, autograph books and pens, IDs, and any other small items that we may need. Each of us are responsible for our own bags so I don't get stuck carrying all of them .

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Last trip we had a 2 and 4 year old with a double stroller. I had a backpack which had ponchos, sunscreen, autograph books, the camera my reservation and fp printouts with the ressie numbers (in case they didn't show up) and maps. My son had the bag with the snacks and water. My DIL had the diaper bag. Besides that, no one carried anything; no purses. We all had small, flat over the shoulder "wallets" for any cash.

ETA: and coats or sweatshirts we thought we'd need we put in the bottom of the stroller.

 

[mom2rtk]

Weather this time of year is very unpredictable. I would imagine a lot of space is taken up with jackets, blankets, food, that sort of thing.

My bag usually has several camera lenses, and on days we're staying for fireworks, I'll have my tripod.

 

[mombrontrent]

Family of 5 here and all we carry into the parks besides our phones and DH's wallet is a few bottles of water. We each carry a water or my DS and DH usually have cargo shorts with pockets big enough to hold them. It is so freeing not having to worry about a stroller or backpack that I don't think we would ever carry one again.

We always have a car out in the parking lot and we will head back there for a mid-day break (sometimes going somewhere else for lunch or dinner, other times just a quick break in the car). We keep a cooler in there with snacks and drinks. Plus we keep sunscreen and sweaters if needed in there as well. Grab some new water bottles and back to the park we go.

 

[holden]

Most days, just a phone in case we get separated. If it might rain, we'll take the backpack with disposable ponchos. We try to carry as little as possible.

 

[RustManFan]

I take a camera bag with camera and 2 lenses, wallet, car keys, cell phone, a couple bandaids, comb...it has a mesh side pocket where I can carry a water bottle.

Bag can also hold park maps and spare napkins that we save for tissues if we need them.

We many trips ago gave up on the backpacks and carrying ponchos around.

Would never have gone with kids that were too young to walk or that needed a stroller or baby supplies. I wanted them to be old enough to remember the trip before spending all that money!

 

[nighttowll]

We take very little with us, and I'm not a pack mule, so the kids get to carry and keep up with their own stuff. With the exception of tickets and when they were toddlers / preschool age, the rule has always been that I am not carrying, keeping up with, or looking out for their stuff. They have the choice to leave it behind in the car, hotel, or at home, or to deal with it themselves. They also know that I won’t go looking for anything they leave behind or lose except for maybe checking with Lost and Found on the way out. Because of this, they usually decide they don’t really need whatever they wanted to bring after all.

We stick to one small cross body bag or lanyard per person. This is for phones, money, tickets, a small snack like a granola bar, an autograph pen and book, trading pins, etc. Only the items we will actually use and need that day at the park.

Then we do one big beach bag for the whole family that stays in the locker for all those just-in-case scenarios. This bag has the first aid, medication, blister Band-Aids, sun tan lotion, rain ponchos, extra clothes/shoes/bathing suits if needed, possibly a towel, zip lock bags, paper towels or wet wipes, glow in the dark toys, Disney accessories or costumes for the parks, etc. Anything we feel we might need on a one time or emergency basis or something we need for a special event or meal for that particular day. Sometimes, we skip the big bag altogether, but that usually ends up turning into the day it rains or something happens, and I wish I’d brought it.

As far as the people lugging duffle bags around, I’m thinking baby stuff, kids with special needs, food, clothes, shoes, blankets, jackets, folding chairs or matts to sit on, umbrellas, rain ponchos, water bottles, toys for the kids, stuffed animals, iPad, iPod, laptops, first aid, medication, Disney merchandise, Princess dresses and accessories, coloring books, and guide books. It could even be just plain luggage. Some people go straight to a park and take it with them. Others don’t realize you can have packages sent back, so they carry everything they buy around.

 

[Jennasis]

We have a small cross-body bag that we use as our park bag. It's in a khaki color and is very unisex (which is good, since DH carries it 99% of the time). In it we keep our necessary ID, credit cards, lip balm, small tube of sunscreen, wet wipes, autograph book, band aids, hand sanitizer, camera etc.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Me I carry a wallet (license, credit cards, park tickets, money), a comb, a pen, my cell phone and all fits nicely in my front pockets.

 

[disndatworld]

DW makes me carry everything. It cramps my fashion-style requiring cargo-pants.

But we are minimalists - phones, id/credit card, chapstick, sunblock.

We are going in January, so I imagine a light jacket may be in order. That will complicate things. I can see it cold in the a.m., warm at 1pm, and chilly at night. I can handle big swings in temp without even noticing. I bet she has me buying new clothes, and going to the car/locker at some point

 

[hops&dreams]

I carry a small cross body bag with lots of pockets. Inside is:
-pen
-wristlet wallet
-drivers license in case I get carded when buying an adult beverage,
-1 credit or debit card,
-a small amount of cash- $20-40,
-insurance card,
-emergency contact card,
-epi pen,
-phone (this will be my first trip with an iPhone, so I'll probably bring an extra charger or extra battery charger thingy),
- point and shoot digital camera
-ziplock bags - to put phones and cameras in for rain and/or water rides
-Wet wipers- aka travel pack of Cottonelle wipes, because it's always best to feel fresh and clean.
-travel pack of Lysol wipes- I case we need to wipe down a table. (Do NOT get these mixed up with the Cottonelle ones!)
-a small bottle of "rub-rub" - aka antibacterial gel from bath and body works. Use it fairly often. We use one scent and every time we use it when we get back it smells like Disney.
-Bobble - (refillable water bottle with filter) refill it during the day with water from restaurants. Has the filter, so I won't taste the "Florida" in the water.
-park map- goes in the back pocket for easy access. Might also carry a piece of paper to journal on during a spare moment while waiting.

I think that's all. Sounds like a lot, but would all easily fit in a quart sized ziplock.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I thought the EXACT same thing when I was there in November! I saw a number of people with rolling duffles, I saw one person with a duffle that was probably a good four feet tall, plus people everywhere with backpacks stuffed to the max. I don't take that much when I go backpacking for a weekend!

So we were not the only ones to notice that.

 

[PrincessDaisy96]

We are first timers.
But so far we plan to bring our Camelbak's even DD5 has her own.
They are basically close to back pack size. We plan on putting ponchos, sunglasses and a light hoodie in each of our bags. DD will probably bring a small 5x7 autograph book
DH will probably wear our Nikon around his neck
and we'll both have our phones in our pockets

DH and I will split up the necessities, baby wipes, Sunscreen..etc between our bags.

I dont anticipate our bags being anywhere near full or heavy

 

[JanaDee]

My mantra is I am not a pack mule. If my kids want to bring something along, they need to figure out a way to carry it. I carry a small crossbody purse for my own stuff, which holds my chapstick, phone, small amount of cash, license and usually a comb (easier to carry than a brush).

Sunglasses on my face and I'm ready.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Originally Posted by teller80 View Post
I thought the EXACT same thing when I was there in November! I saw a number of people with rolling duffles, I saw one person with a duffle that was probably a good four feet tall, plus people everywhere with backpacks stuffed to the max. I don't take that much when I go backpacking for a weekend!

Yes, it's probably full of backpacks and other things unsuspecting people set down. (I know whoever took my backpack had a way to disguise it because it was very distinctive).

 

[DanieD0909]

Eek! I'm one of those people with a backpack stuffed to the max!! I have a 2 year old who will not eat ANYTHING from Disney...I literally mean nothing!!! No nuggets, no fries, no popcorn, no ice cream, nothing!! I have to bring everything for her to eat from the room....so that means granola bars, raisins (lots of these), pretzels, graham sticks, veggie sticks, the list goes on and on. Ugh! And at least two extra changes of clothes. I always need to have a backup for the backup and have used it more times than I can count. I always think if I need another outfit after that for her then I'm buying something but it hasn't come to that yet!