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

[Ryan8107]

I bring a bottle of Clorox wipes! I wipe down everything before we do anything.

 

[JandD75]

Best. Tip. Ever. I had to laugh as this is so me! I will definitely use this!

Yup--me too! When you see the old lady with twelve Mickey stickers on her shirt, that'll be me!

 

[SuzaBanana]

white noise app for the kids
ear plugs & eye mask for the adults
Emergen-C vitamin packets (keeps you healthy & tastes nice)
black trash bags & painters tape (for putting over the windows to make it pitch black in the kids room - helps them sleep)
pack 24 hours of clothes & swimwear for each person in a carry-on - including PJs!
rental car & stay in a condo (no over packing - just buy what we need when we get there)

For footwear, I ONLY wear serious running shoes, every single park day. I see people all over wearing thongs and sandals, but not sure why anyone would do that to their legs. A day at Disney is a 10-mile day. Running shoes only. Never had a blister yet, and never been dragging as badly as I see most people dragging at nightfall. It just doesn't make sense to do endurance work in flip-flops.

I don't own sneakers. Hate them. But I LIVE in flip flops - good ones with arch support & the whole thing, mind you. Wearing sneakers at Disney for me would yield the same results as you wearing flip flops all day: sore feet!

It's all about what you're used to rather than the "right" shoe for everyone. Heck, in high school I did Disney in heels & was just fine

 

[a1tinkfans]

Prepared tip envelopes with something ( stickers) on the outside to represent our state/hometown
Roll of qtr for laundry room n those tide liquid detergents found at target
Nite lite for bathroom area
My used/ older make up that I then discard at end of trip ( mascara especially)
I buy cheapo toothbrushes n do the same ( leave our good ones at home)
Quart n gallon ziplock ...qts for cells that don't get wet on rides, and gallon for whomever changes their shirt cause they spilled something ( they know who they are in our family, lol)

 

[Cassarye]

We are definetly pro back-pack leash. Different children need different things. DS11 never needed one, he would always stay by my side no matter what (still does), DS4 is a wild man and will bolt at the first opportunity. DS2 has non-verbal autism and does not respond to his name when called-talk about scary! To be honest, I double-dog-dare anyone to give us snide looks/rude comments for protecting our children. People need to mind their own business.

Wow-didn't mean for that to be grumpy-it just came out!

I completely agree. We are going in April and my son is 4 1/2 and has ASD, SPD. I will definitely be using the leash back pack.

 

[WMorganS]

A gold Magic Kingdom coin.

DD lost a tooth while we were staying at BLT last year. It took me a few hours to find a shop with the theme park coins in stock, so now we pack one just in case. The look on her face when she found it under her pillow was priceless!

 

[Cassarye]

Okay, I read through 61 pages and I don't think I saw this tip -

The first time we took our girls to Disney, the our DD was 4 years old and was very attached to 'Dreyfus', her lovey (a well-worn stuffed sheepdog). I was very concerned about him getting left behind in the parks, so I went to a pet store and bought a dog collar and one of those dog tags you can have engraved - ours said "I am loved! If found, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx"


Thankfully, we never lost Dreyfus, but it gave me peace of mind that if we did, he might get back to us.

That is a FANTASTIC idea! My DS is 4 and has autism and if ANYTHING happened to Mr. Bear......I am not sure what we would do.

 

[Cassarye]

I am finally done reading all the tips! And now I have to re-do my packing list.

One thing I wanted to mention that I didn't see (unless I missed it) was if you are bringing necklaces and don't want them to get tangled is to put one end of the chain through a plastic drinking straw and then close it. No tangled chains!

 

[candacewi5]

I haven't read all the pages yet, so I'm sorry if these are duplicated.... I always bring ear plugs with me when I travel. That way I'm prepared if we are next to any noise at night. Also we get a bright neon colored duct tape roll and tape a piece on each of our checked luggage on the handle so that we can recognize our suitcases as the come around the carousel. Love reading these tips! keep them coming...

I thought we were the only ones who mark our luggage with fluorescent duct tape! We put a big orange tape x on the front and wrap the tape around the handle. We have never had a problem with identifying our luggage. We also have never had anyone accidentally claim our bag. I think the use of obnoxious fluorescent tape scares people away. If the outside of our bag is that ugly, you can only imagine how bad the stuff is inside. my mother was mortified when she flew with me last year. She couldn't believe I would walk around with my luggage looking like that. I just laughed and said I can always find my bag right away!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I don't know if I already posted this, but for the past couple years we have been bringing a string of soft LED christmas lights with us for DS to use as his night light. I have a hard time sleeping with any light in the room, and he has a hard time sleeping unless there's quite a bit of light, so we worked out a compromise. We plug in the christmas lights and lay them on the floor next to his bed, and then I sleep as far away from the lights as I can get! We found a string that is a very soft, muted light - they have white balls over the bulbs, so it's dimmer than most LEDs. I like that they don't get hot to the touch, too.

I used to wear an eye mask, but I had a hard time sleeping soundly with it on, so this compromise has been helpful for both of us!

 

[Dis5150]

I have been reading this thread for days(!), it seems like! Great ideas. I have THREE (yes 3) trips to Disney World planned for this year. One at the end of February, just DD and me, one the 3rd weekend in September for DH, me, DD and fiance and my DH's two DD's. The third is again just DD and I, to run the Wine and Dine half marathon. We are so excited as most of us have never been to DW. We are all from California and did Disneyland for our trips. Now we are spread all over, DD and fiance in Colorado, DH and I in Arkansas and DH's DDs in North Carolina. My DS is in the Navy and will be in Djibouti during our family trip.

Thanks for all the great tips! DD and I both have a list going! Any tips anyone wants to share for WD newbies??

 

[mamabunny]

I have been reading this thread for days(!), it seems like! Great ideas. I have THREE (yes 3) trips to Disney World planned for this year. One at the end of February, just DD and me, one the 3rd weekend in September for DH, me, DD and fiance and my DH's two DD's. The third is again just DD and I, to run the Wine and Dine half marathon. We are so excited as most of us have never been to DW. We are all from California and did Disneyland for our trips. Now we are spread all over, DD and fiance in Colorado, DH and I in Arkansas and DH's DDs in North Carolina. My DS is in the Navy and will be in Djibouti during our family trip.

Thanks for all the great tips! DD and I both have a list going! Any tips anyone wants to share for WD newbies??

Howdy from your neighbor in Tulsa!

Tips for WDW newbies are ALL over DISboards - but the one thing I would say is simply this:

BRING your childlike sense of wonder. Suspend reality, and just enjoy the Magic! WDW is like no place else, and the reason we all want to go again and again and again is because it's designed for friends and families to enjoy together! My face literally hurts (in a good way!) from smiling so much at the end of every day when we are at Disney World!

Finally, remember that you don't have to bring home a suitcase full of souvenirs to preserve your memories. Some of my favorite Disney souvenirs are things like park maps (where we circled - in crayon - all the rides we wanted to ride!) or a Birthday button we got at Guest Services. For me, it's not about spending money - it's about making memories.

Have fun, and travel safely!

 

[lily2521]

One thing I wanted to mention that I didn't see (unless I missed it) was if you are bringing necklaces and don't want them to get tangled is to put one end of the chain through a plastic drinking straw and then close it. No tangled chains!

This has to be one of the best tips I've ever read!

Wish I'd have known about this trick years ago!

 

[DisneyChef]

Probably has already been said, but empty mini m&m containers hold quarters for pressed penny's perfectly! And will also hold the finished product well!

 

[HCinKC]

Oh my word, this was a lot of pages, but I was determined to finish. I definitely added some things to my list...new ones and good reminders!

We haven't gone yet, so I'm not sure how well this will work, but I am going to use a runners belt to keep my money, ID, small important items close. The stroller will house the bulky stuff that only a homeless person would be interested in, like water bottles, diapers, snacks, first aid kit. I normally carry a backpack/messenger convertible diaper bag but have no interest in doing so at Disney.

I am also going to make my son a string backpack for his autograph book and camera. I'm doing a fun cotton outer and PUL inner to keep it dry. Most modern cloth diapers use PUL, and it works great. You can buy it in solids and a few prints at JoAnn, or there are more options at various online fabric stores. Also works great for a wet bag (in lieu of so many Ziplocs). It really only requires basic sewing skills, but I do recommend a machine.

Not a necessity, but I bought a pair of kids sunglasses at the dollar store. I took a couple of my son's Star Wars stickers and put them on the sides. Now he'll have SW sunglasses for SWWs! And I won't care when he inevitably loses them. Haha! I might get a glasses lanyard from the dollar store and sew a tiny SW fabric sleeve for it to match the sunglasses, but I might also be too lazy.

 

[maxiesmom]

Oh my word, this was a lot of pages, but I was determined to finish. I definitely added some things to my list...new ones and good reminders!

We haven't gone yet, so I'm not sure how well this will work, but I am going to use a runners belt to keep my money, ID, small important items close. The stroller will house the bulky stuff that only a homeless person would be interested in, like water bottles, diapers, snacks, first aid kit. I normally carry a backpack/messenger convertible diaper bag but have no interest in doing so at Disney.

I am also going to make my son a string backpack for his autograph book and camera. I'm doing a fun cotton outer and PUL inner to keep it dry. Most modern cloth diapers use PUL, and it works great. You can buy it in solids and a few prints at JoAnn, or there are more options at various online fabric stores. Also works great for a wet bag (in lieu of so many Ziplocs). It really only requires basic sewing skills, but I do recommend a machine.

Not a necessity, but I bought a pair of kids sunglasses at the dollar store. I took a couple of my son's Star Wars stickers and put them on the sides. Now he'll have SW sunglasses for SWWs! And I won't care when he inevitably loses them. Haha! I might get a glasses lanyard from the dollar store and sew a tiny SW fabric sleeve for it to match the sunglasses, but I might also be too lazy.

You may want to bring a backpack or messenger bag of some sort along, just in case the runners belt doesn't work out for you. Or you could always buy a new, Disney themed bag.

 

[JasonMouse]

Trash bag for dirty clothes. Pillows. Microwave.

 

[rizzo0904]

Trash bag for dirty clothes. Pillows. Microwave.

I use their laundry bags for my dirty clothes.

A microwave?

 

[JasonMouse]

I haven't brought one yet, but I'm searching for a really small microwave lol

 

[Madmother]

Electric Tea Kettle (POP doesnt have coffemakers in rooms). I bring tea bags and a container of sugar and get milk @ Food Court. I cant function before my first cup of tea. Hot water is handy for breakfast oatmeal or hot chocolate at the end of an evening!