What is your not so normal item to pack, which is helpful while at WDW ?

[tchescat]

Rain gear. Is that abnormal?

 

[deniden]

My Mil recently was in a car crash, and thankfully she is ok, but I was impressed that she carried with her in her pocket book a notebook with exactly what medications she takes/recent surgeries, her drugstore information, (prescription numbers) etc. This was invaluable to the doctors. Her medications were not in her handbag, they were in the back of the car, which had been towed - since she had the information, and I remembered to ask about them, the doctors at the hospital were able to give her prescriptions of her medications prior to sending her home with us, and since she is on a number of medications, and she was somewhat stunned, this really, really helped. There are a few medications in my family, and I will be copying down all the information into my little book and carrying it with me in the parks. Just in case.

I work in Emergency Services. This is something *everyone* should do if they have past medical history or take daily medications. Keep 1 in your wallet and 1 on your fridge.

 

[spireview]

I take lysol spray and spray everything that my hand will touch, including the phone, remote, faucet in sink and tub, and handle on toilet, door knobs all doors actually just about everything in the room

I go one further and bring Clorox wipes and wipe EVERY hard surface down

 

[melnbil]

bump!!

 

[tjmj9801]

My first post!

This thread is awesome!

My own tip to add: Don't remove your clothes from the hangers to fold, unpack then rehang in your room. Leave them on the hanger when you put them in the suitcase then just hang up when in your room. We just implemented this our last trip and it was such a time saver! We use the white and black plastic hangers from Target or Walmart.

 

[LaughingSphinx]

All of these tips are so useful! I only have a couple to add, and they may not be that bizarre, but I do it anyway.

Technically its not packed, but I always leave the phone number and address of the vet & emergency clinic for our cat sitter. (I also leave copies of vaccinations) Useful; we recently went on vacation and one cat got sick, luckily sitter had all the information necessary!

When in the parks or at home, I also won't post what I'm doing or where I am on facebook or twitter; I also turned off the geo-tagging feature that is the standard setting on most smartphone images. No reason to advertise to anyone who knows where you live that you're enjoying the magic far from home, right?

Old-fashioned film canisters are the perfect size for pills; allergy, ibuprofen, acetaminophen-I always keep some on me just in case.

I also carry eye drops since somehow I always wind up with something in my eye and I don't want to scratch my lenses. Can't enjoy the Disney magic if my eye's squinched shut all day!

 

[Jade's Mom]

I know this was listed somewhere before, but I buy the little bottles of bubbles (I think 24 in a box and I buy 2) from either the craft store or Oriental Trading Company. I take a couple bottles everyday to the park and let my 13 yo daughter hand them out when she sees a child that needs some cheer. Of course, sometimes she uses them herself!

 

[sapereaude]

We bring a small box fan, I can not sleep with some kind of air movement, and it creates white noise to help cover the sounds of our neighbors flushing at pop.

I absolutely have to have white noise when I sleep, at home I have a HEPA filter in my room, but when I travel I never go anywhere without this: http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-SleepM...HFGM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1295222615&sr=8-3 It's not cheap (though you can get it cheaper than listed there), but its small and makes real fan noise (electronic noise doesn't cut it for me) - great for use with kids to mask other noises in unfamiliar places.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but I pack all my clothing in Ziploc bags when I'm packing my suitcase - just roll the clothes and pop them into quart sized bags and push out the air, then zip. I can get more clothing into my carry-on and not pay the extra fee for checked luggage. As well, if the suitcase is opened at security, my un-mentionables are not out on display.

I've seen this recommended before as an 'organization tool' - pack outfits in ziploc bags, etc. We did this the last trip to disney and I'll never do it again. Maybe fine for a carryon, but we did it for our checked bags. After much searching we never could find the brand new Tinkerbell PJs I packed for my daughter, we thought maybe they got left at home, but they weren't home either, best I can figure is security opened my bag and since all the ziploc bags were slippery together the PJs fell out and they didn't notice.

 

[nkereina]

For those who use the packing cubes, do you fold your clothes and lay them flat in the cubes or do you roll them and put them in the cubes? I've seen several people recommend rolling clothes to save space and prevent wrinkles, but think it would take up too much space if using cubes.

 

[AintGonaGrowUp]

Insted of using ice packs, I freeze caprice sun packs or juice boxes over night and use them. even before they melt, its "entertaining" it squish and try to drink while waiting for a parade or in line... I'm 22 years old and i still find it "entertaining"

 

[shefrn1]

great thread.....subbing!!!!


love the drink lid popsicle dripping catcher thingy idea!!!!

thanks for adding to my disney tirp planning obsession

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

I didn't read all the posts. I will, I'm just too lazy now! We are bringing purell and baby wipes. The padding on the seats for Splash mountain was really stinky in October. Even after we washed our hands, you could still smell it. We love the ride though, so we will take precautions not to be stinky.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

For women/girls. Sometimes "Aunt Flo" comes when you lest expect her. Feminine products are outrageos at Disney! I bought a box of 20 "colapsed" products for my suitcase. I'd rather have that little bit of room used up in my suitcase than pay as much as I did for a 10 pack in December!

 

[Disny4girls]

I am bringing a HUGE back we bought last time from WDW to bring home souviners! It is a big vinyl bag that we bought at the Contempory our last night! It is as big as our suitcace. Last time we brought boogie boards and a HUGE shamou home in it!

 

[Disny4girls]

AWESOME thread BTW!!! I also pack bottles of water in my suitcase but make sure I don't go over the limit. The bag that I am bringing my blanket and shoes in I put the most bottles of water in. But other than that I divide them amongst the bags!!

 

[Disny4girls]

Oh and we bring little square terrycloth towels you can get for a $1. perfect for the bag after the wet rides for faces and hands!! Or I just used mine for sweat and glasses!

 

[gabriellyn]

Oh and we bring little square terrycloth towels you can get for a $1. perfect for the bag after the wet rides for faces and hands!! Or I just used mine for sweat and glasses!

We like to pack the Shamwows - they work pretty well wiping down wet strollers!

 

[Pooh65]

I am loving the suggestions on this thread and have a nice little list going. Thought I'd add one. On our first trip our daughter was 3 and scared to death of the automatic flushing toilets ... which are of course the only kind in the parks. She was too little to block the sensor. Someone on a list like this suggested keeping a mini-post it pad in your pocket. The little squares are the perfect size to put up on the sensor then pull off when shes done!

We also did this when my son was 3. Worked perfectly.

 

[Disny4girls]

oh also I know the water mister bottles with fans are HANDY! but last time that is how my big camera got ruined because when they weren't used I want the holder of these. So wiht those we got, form family dollare, the little handheld disney fans and they also glowed in the dark! Perfect for night time and the heat.

 

[disneygirl95]

i am thinking about doing this, let me know your thoughts. instead of the misters that are out there as i can't find one with good reviews, i'm thinking of freezing water bottles, wetting a couple of wash cloths with cold water and squeezing them out, to carry in a zip lock bag with one frozen water bottle to keep them cold. this might be a good way to cool off while walking around the park. if my husband or kiddos get too hot, they can take out their own wash cloth and refresh their faces/neck with it to cool down. we are staying in a condo so we will have a freezer.

thoughts?

note to everyone! be really careful when freezing water bottles. I was on a class trip several years ago and froze a disposable water bottle so it would stay cool for the whole trip, but when i went to open it the water shot straight up and hit the roof of the bus! i got soaked and so did everyone around me! heres a tip: if you're going to buy those disposable water bottles and freeze them- OPEN IT FIRST!! this will prevent the pressure in the water bottle from building up after being frozen to avoid quite the big mess.