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

[tarak]

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.

This is my philosophy. I take a diaper bag for the kid in diapers (it's a large messenger bag, basically). Otherwise, if the other kids want to pin trade, they get to carry the pins (same with vinylmation). If they want to play sorcerers of the magic kingdom, one of them gets to carry the cards. Only other exception is I carry sunblock for all because they'd leave it behind and get fried. I carry a small crossbody messenger that has my wallet, phone, lip balm, sunglasses, my son's epipens, sunblock, and a hair tie. If I think we'll be on rides where they'll get wet, I toss in dollar store ponchos.

I think some people just like to be prepared for any emergency. Even with the diaper bag, I carry as little as possible. I don't like schlepping a lot of stuff around. We did have to buy spare pants for our son once when he had a blowout outside Dinosaur. Next time we travelled with one that age, we made sure to have a complete change of clothing. Which we used last January - coincidentally, right outside Dinosaur.

 

[maxiesmom]

I carry only one cross-body bag. In it I have:

Cell phone
Camera
Sunglasses
Inhalers
Kleenex
tiny tiny pouch with tiny tiny tiny pill bottles. Advil, Immodium, Claratin, Tums.
Mole skin pre-cut into various shapes and sizes
Small bottle of sunblock
Note card with a list of my ADRs and their confirmation numbers.
Note card with a list of emergency numbers. I have the same numbers in my phone, but keep them handy just in case
Portable battery charger
ID
Credit Card
Cash
Hand sanitizer
Rain Poncho
Wet wipes
Lip balm with an SPF
Granola bar or candy bar, in case my blood sugar starts to feel out of whack.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

A lanyard with cash and my ID. I also carry my phone.

My kids can only bring what they can carry. DS has his phone. DD carries her autograph book.

This is what we did last trip when the kids were 5 and 11. Worked perfectly.

 

[Dznefreek]

Mixers . . . . . .

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Can I hijack this thread? I have a few questions. One what cross body do you all use? I am looking for one. Also are any of them big enough for a kindle fire? I am going to be carrying mine, and if i find a good one i'm going to make my son carry his own.

 

[tarak]

Can I hijack this thread? I have a few questions. One what cross body do you all use? I am looking for one. Also are any of them big enough for a kindle fire? I am going to be carrying mine, and if i find a good one i'm going to make my son carry his own.

This is the bag I carried last trip. It was the perfect size. Tons of pockets so I could separate things (one for cash, one for lip balm, one for my phone, etc). It could hold a surprising amount of stuff, but also very light if you didn't pack all sorts of things. I just checked and my kindle fire fit perfectly. I guess it wasn't a messenger like I remembered... I've been happy with all my baggallini bags.

http://www.ebags.com/product/baggal...SearchTerm=baggallini+everywhere+shoulder+bag

 

[Schmeck]

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!

How do her teeth handle the raisins? My pediatric dentist said raisins were worse than candy (besides caramel) for teeth, as they are sugary and sticky! I would have my kids brush their teeth right after they ate them. But I guess if she ate a crunchy carrot after the raisins that would work too?

My picky eater ate lots of carrot sticks at WDW when she was two years old. Luckily they had bags of them at every fresh fruit cart back then. I brought in baggies of cheerios and goldfish crackers too.

When the kids were little we had little backpacks for their autograph books and stuff, and they wore them most of the time, or hung them off the umbrella stroller. I bought a mesh organizer to hang off the back of the stroller for ponchos. I had a fannypack (ugh! but that was 17+ years ago) and a tiny diaper bag on the stroller and that was it. We lived!

 

[wezee]

Money!

 

[nessz79]

I have *so* often wondered the same thing while getting my purse checked. At the very maximum, we'll pack a backpack if we have sweatshirts, etc to bring along.

 

[jmenjes]

Wallet, cell phone, a small box with some SotMK cards, and a 3DS to collect StreetPass tags.

 

[Smiling72]

What I take into the Disney Parks:

Backpack or cross body medium bag
Cash
License
Daily Itinerary w/dining reservation #'s
Medical Cards (for whole family)
water bottle
sun screen
pen (I seem to always need one)
Medications (basic ones)
Hand Sanitizer
Small easy snacks (granola bars, almonds etc.....)
Ponchos

As far as I am concerned, the less the better. We always stay in a Disney Resort, so anything that we purchase in the parks we have sent back to the room. It usually will arrive the following day. Works beautifully.

 

[hops&dreams]

Can I hijack this thread? I have a few questions. One what cross body do you all use? I am looking for one. Also are any of them big enough for a kindle fire? I am going to be carrying mine, and if i find a good one i'm going to make my son carry his own.

If you search "park bag" on the boards, there are quite a few threads about bags. Popular ones are Overland Donner and ebags piazza day bag.

I happened to pick up a great cross body at target for $20. It's by Swiss army and is wonderful. Sadly, they don't carry the same style anymore. Had I known they were being discontinued, I would have picked up a (at least 1, if not more ) spare. MIL has borrowed it to go to Europe many times, Hawaii, and Alaska.

 

[pigletto]

There was someone ahead of me in the bag check line at MK last month. They were absolutely loaded down. The bottom of the stroller was full, they had a giant full diaper bag, a large camera bag and a stuffed full medium size backpack.

I only noticed because they were of course right in front of me so I had to wait. They had ONE baby. I don't know, maybe they were meeting up with 15 other babies inside the park or something

 

[ConnieB]

Bottled drinks also weigh a lot, so I would have considered an additional bag for those, but we made do with the one bag.

.

Remember that you can stop at any CS restaurant and ask for a cup of ice water....so lugging heavy bottles around. If you or the kids don't really like plain water, grab some of the flavor packets...they're small and lightweight.

 

[maramarrie]

When we were traveling with at least one child under 3, we took a lot more; that included a bag strapped to the stroller (an ex-diaper bag chock full of snacks, drinks, and extra clothes/jackets). This was in addition to my small backpack where I kept my valuables and camera, which was carried into every ride. I don't take my wallet so it lightens the load; only the essentials from my wallet like ID and medical info, plus a little cash.

Now that the kids are a little older, I still pack my light backpack (roughly the size of a camelbak daypack), but we don't pack any other bag for the stroller. Mine are 4 and 5, so we still rent an off-site stroller so our day can last longer and they have somewhere to crash. If the weather is typical FL "iffy," we take the stroller rain cover and ponchos in the backpack. I pack extra clothes for the kids if I think they'll need it (I don't let them get wet in the splash fountains if I don't have something for them to change into or if their clothes aren't "active wear"). If it's not summertime I'll bring a light jacket for myself and the kids. Lastly, we always pack water bottles for everyone and a few dry snacks.

 

[MiniGooMom]

I personally take a small cross body bag. I have a Kate Spade and a LuckyBrand bag I switch between.

In it, I bring my ID, my CC, sunscreen for body and face (I get travel size bottles to put the body one in and refill as needed), poncho (when in Florida, although it rains for such a short period this seems stupid, but I grew up with it being packed and is now out of habit), sunglasses (and case) and a few random small snacks (lara bars, almonds, gum). Oh and my iPhone. Of course!! (sometimes a small PNS) That is all.

I have one 6 year old.

 

[lustergirl]

Next trip I am carrying a small wallet with a handle that goes around my wrist and no camera. I will be using my IPhone to take pictures. Having my first grandbaby soon so when we take him to Disney my world is about to inundated with a diaper bag and strolelr

 

[JRawkSteady]

We switch off backpacks. One day my fiancee holds it, one day I hold it, etc. Inside the backpack = water, video camera, notebook/pens (in case inspiration strikes), a book (to read if we are taking a short break in the parks), cell phone batteries, and our "Disney Bible" (a book with all our plans, ideas & reservations in it)..oh and a hoodie each if it's one of the months where it gets cold in the early AM and late PM. Nothing too crazy.

 

[lovethattink]

We carry way too much with us. 3 bags. One bag is filled with the coolant packs for ds's cooling vest. Bag 2 is a cooler bag with foods and drink for special diet. Bag 3 is my backpack stuffed to the rim with sensory toys and gadgets to keep ds occupied, camera, pulse oximeter, medication, wet wipes, Chlorox wipes, etc.

 

[JanaDee]

Can I hijack this thread? I have a few questions. One what cross body do you all use? I am looking for one. Also are any of them big enough for a kindle fire? I am going to be carrying mine, and if i find a good one i'm going to make my son carry his own.

I carry a Vera Bradley Mini Hipster.