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

[MinnieSkis]

....

 

[goofy Jr. 88]

NJ Sherry Wine,
Just reading your post... was a lot of fun.

Gonna have to steal the pin idea

 

[mcc63303]

If using a digital camera, first photo should be of a piece of paper with your name and a note saying "if found, please call ..... "your cell phone number. If camera gets lost you might get lucky and get a phone call.

 

[epsmith921]

Not sure if anyone's posted this already but if you're doing laundry, shout color catchers are one of the best inventions ever! You can put everything together (even new stuff, just use more than one sheet in that case) and everything comes out perfectly!

 

[craftychick]

Great tips everyone! Stuff that never gets unpacked from my suitcase, since I travel for work frequently: Night lights (2 small round led ones with the turnable shield, since you never know which way the plugs are pointing in a room), scissors, binder clips, clothes pins, flashlight, travel-sized manicure set, lint roller, travel Lysol spray, travel Febreeze, travel Static Guard, small power strip, moleskin, small first aid kit, and a cell phone charger (my Nook and cellphone use the same type, so one stays at home and one in the suitcase!), every size of Ziploc bags, and plastic grocery bags.


But a couple of things I haven't seen mentioned:

I never travel without Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel. Sometimes hard to find, but have had good luck finding it at Target. (It's stocked in the women's hygiene area near the Midol.) Both DH and I apply it at the start of the day, and again after our midday break. Use it anywhere you might chafe, like your upper thighs, and under my breasts. It goes on like a gel, but turns into a powder. Truly remarkable stuff!

Another must have is Gold Bond Pain Relieving Foot Cream. Quite a few of the drugstores in my area carry it. After a long day at the parks, nothing beats this! In the morning, your feet feel like doing another 10 miles, no problem! It's mentholated, so fair warning, it can be stinky, so I pack an older pair of socks to put on after the cream, and use them only for this purpose. When I pack for the trip home, I make sure to put these socks in their own special Ziploc so not to smell up the entire suitcase!

 

[joeyrose]

my ocean waves digital white noise machine...can't sleep without it.

 

[happymommy]

My DH is a germ freak, but I do think that since he travels a lot he should be! Hotel rooms are filled with so many icky germs. He has a tub of Lysol wipes in his carry on backpack, and the second we get into the rental car, he wipes down the steering wheel and anything readily touched. It is amazing how much dirt comes off - gross really! Then when we get into a hotel room or condo, we wipe down anything you touch a lot like the tv remote, door handles, inside of all the drawers, etc. It only takes a couple of minutes really.

I also agree about liking to have a soap pump for hand washing. I dislike bar soap for that, and don't use it at home. I don't pack that unless driving, though, so that's one thing we pick up once we arrive.

I also bring at least one white noise machine, two if we have a condo. I cannot sleep without one! They can be purchased very cheaply, or if you have an iphone, I think it's a free app - just be sure to keep it plugged in!

We bring lots of medicine that we may need. DS has asthma and food allergies, so in his backpack that he goes everywhere with, he has a sheet with his allergy action plan (in case he ever couldn't speak for himself it even has his photo and all info) and epipens, liquid benedryl spoonfuls, and an inhaler. Plus I bring a portable nebulizer, antibiotics, motrin, motion sickness pills, anything we possibly could need. One thing to note, is that sometimes I've put all medical things in a separate carry on bag; this does not count toward a carry on limit.

I've tried Purex sheets, and didn't like them. Some clothing ended up with grease spots.

Since we usually stay in condos now, I do bring quite a bit. Plus I'm a couponer, so have a lot of things I get for free, like cereal and snacks, plus toiletries, so I try to bring what I know we'll use. I like bringing the Nescafe instant coffee packets (similar to the Starbucks ones but these I got for free with coupons so free is always better!), and we use them in bottled water for iced coffee, just pour one in and add a packed of Splenda, which I also bring. I usually bring one suitcase full of snacks, ziploc bags, Reynolds Wrap nonstick, food storage containers (like tupperware but the cheap kind or even the kind that carry out food comes in so I don't mind if it doesn't come home), my own tongs (I do a lot of grilling at condos and hate their tongs), spices, pancake mix, nuts, etc....

This is nice to do if you fly Southwest. If not, I don't think it's worth paying a fortune to check a bag just for snacks. Years ago, I used to ship a box of snacks down ahead of time. That way I didn't have to check anything, since we packed kind of light.

 

[Drew9780]

Bumping

 

[niknakk]

Great tips!! Thank you!

 

[Jungle mansion]

Thanks for the tips I will be using some of them!!

The only thing I bring that's not so normal is ice makers. You know the ones you fill with water and then put in the freezer.

 

[winnieatepooh]

Thanks for the great list, everyone! It took me two days to get through it, but I managed to get quite a few things on my list that I would have never thought of, including the retractable ID clip, extra pair of eyeglasses, moleskin, and Body Glide (which I have since purchased and love!).

My suggestions are beauty ones, but here it goes:

Aveda smooth infusion style-prep smoother: this stuff is a miracle worker on my hair! I've been using it for a couple of years on my hair in the 100 degree humidity/heat and it keeps my hair from getting frizzy and gross.

LUSH no drought dry shampoo: I love this stuff! I've tried a lot of dry shampoos and none of them have worked nearly as well as this one. You just take a little powder on your hands and work it in near the roots of your hair, brush it out, and voila, clean and voluminous looking hair! I have dark hair and it blends right in. I will warn you, it's a little messy though! It's great for a little hair pick-me-up in the afternoon, and it smells nice too. There's a LUSH in MCO if you don't have one near you - consider picking one up on your way to the magical express kiosk!

Another LUSH product - Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask: this stuff is a lifesaver. My skin is very sensitive and really broke out the last time I went to Florida because of the different water, I suspect. However, you apply this mask to your face at night and rinse off when it's dry, and your face will be clearer in the morning! Plus, it is refrigerated so I imagine when you have a little sunburn this mask would feel great. And it's made with mostly blueberries so it smells delicious!

Hope that will help someone! Even if you don't bring those items with you to WDW, check them out for your daily life, they're awesome!

 

[Ariel1977]

LUSH no drought dry shampoo: I love this stuff! I've tried a lot of dry shampoos and none of them have worked nearly as well as this one. You just take a little powder on your hands and work it in near the roots of your hair, brush it out, and voila, clean and voluminous looking hair! I have dark hair and it blends right in. I will warn you, it's a little messy though! It's great for a little hair pick-me-up in the afternoon, and it smells nice too. There's a LUSH in MCO if you don't have one near you - consider picking one up on your way to the magical express kiosk!

I second this! I love their dry shampoo!

 

[raraavis]

finally finished reading this whole thread! lots of great tips, already have a list going for our october trip!

 

[jeepster93]

An extra set of shoelaces for the sneakers.

 

[grumpy&princess]

I love my powerade mix. Goes great in water bottles, especially when the bottle is empty and you put that disney beach-flavored water from drinking fountains back in your bottle. kool-aid mix goes well too. I used to bring a GPS in the park, but I've done all the virtual geocaches.

never knew there was geocaching at disney?

OK now that it only took me 4 hours to read all 60 pages and i think my eyes are gonna bug out of my head.
My things are
1. a crockpot - we are a tight budget family with 6 kids. we will be staying at a suite with a kitchen so it would be very easy to throw something in before we leave and have dinner when we get back.
2. jerky- easy to bring, non parishable and non crushable
3. waterproof case for cellphone and card
4. our own pillows and blankets
5. peanut butter tubes and jelly packets (cheap snack)
6. each kid has their own fanny pack or backpack their choice they get a water bottle, snacks, disposable camera, and a swimmers towel and what ever else they want to carry
7. FAN omg i cant sleep without a fan not even the sound machines or apps help i need the sound and the air blowing to get to sleep.
8. VALIUM LOL with 6 kids any vacation can make you insane
9. Body glide is a life saver for us pooh sized people

Now for a question
this is the first time i will be going in winter what are good ideas of items to bring. i have only ever gone in the hot hot summer months.

 

[maxiesmom]

never knew there was geocaching at disney?

OK now that it only took me 4 hours to read all 60 pages and i think my eyes are gonna bug out of my head.
My things are
1. a crockpot - we are a tight budget family with 6 kids. we will be staying at a suite with a kitchen so it would be very easy to throw something in before we leave and have dinner when we get back.

I'm not sure about the crock pot thing. You may want to call Disney and ask if one is allowed. I know you have a kitchen area in your suite, I would be more worried that housekeeping would see it on and unplug it. And unless you don't plan on spending all day at the parks, whatever you put in your crock pot can easily dry up. What if after 7 hours no one is ready to go back to the room? Someone would have to, to make sure dinner didn't get ruined.

Also, don't confuse kitchen with kitchenette. Big difference.

 

[grumpy&princess]

We are not staying on site

 

[grumpy&princess]

We are not staying on site

The meals that I cook can go a long time in the crock without drying out plus mine auto shuts off we have never had a problem with using one anywhere we go

 

[at227]

We always pack cereal so that we can just eat quick in the room without wasting valuable park time

 

[AngieMouse86]

I never travel without Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel. Sometimes hard to find, but have had good luck finding it at Target. (It's stocked in the women's hygiene area near the Midol.) Both DH and I apply it at the start of the day, and again after our midday break. Use it anywhere you might chafe, like your upper thighs, and under my breasts. It goes on like a gel, but turns into a powder. Truly remarkable stuff!

Ooh, good to hear great things about this product! Picked it up at Wal Mart after I couldn't find the BodyGlide that was recommended.