What do you take into the parks (and what do you leave behind)?

[Joe Arkansas]

I'd love to hear some tips and strategies for what people bring with them into the parks (in backpacks, etc.) Perhaps more importantly, I'd like to hear from people that stopped bringing items they once thought to be "necessities," and how that went.

My last trip was 10 years ago, and we brought quite a few items in a backpack. This time around, the kids will be 17 and 19, so they ought to be a little more self-sufficient. I'm wondering how light I can go.

 

[DCLPrincess]

I stopped carrying bottled water. It's too heavy and I can get water at the QS. I also stopped carrying an umbrella, it's bulky and hard to walk around the park. If there's a chance of rain I carry my disposable poncho from the dollar store. It's light and I can throw it out after. Otherwise it's just phone, camera and sunscreen.

 

[karensi]

I stopped bringing those cloths that you wet in cold water before you go and then put around your neck to cool you off.
It was a whole process with us. We used to bring the cloth in a baggie filled with ice to keep it moist and cold but I didn't really feel that it actually helped that much.

 

[Alesia]

I bring my phone, ID, a credit card, aasmall bottle of sunscreen that clips on a belt loop, a bottle of water that I can toss when I'm tired of carrying it. That's about it. What else do you really need?

 

[kay1864]

Here's my daybag packing list:
Tour plans (I like RideMax)
Sunscreen
Bandaids, antibiotic cream
Moleskin or blister bandages
Sport bottles for water (see tip below)
Ponchos or garbage bags (for Splash Mtn and/or Kali and/or afternoon rain)
Snacks in ziplock so they don't get wet
Tylenol, Tums
Small bottle sanitizer
Camera (if not using phone for pictures)
Cash/CC + ID if buying alcohol
Autograph book and sharpie

Take sport bottles and Crystal Light. Ice water is free in the parks, and easy to get at "walk-up" restaurants like Sunshine Tree Terrace. Or tap water from the drinking fountains or bathrooms. (it's often the same tap water, but it's colder from the restaurants)

I also use a Rubbermaid bottle with a built-in filter.

 

[RedK]

I'm a minimalist - sunglasses, rain poncho, phone, chapstick. All carried in pockets so I can be bagless through security.

 

[Magical2017]

Sunglasses, travel first aid kit, phone, and sunblock in my backpack. If we stay offsite I bring ID/Disney Visa. DH wears a backpack with a few small snacks like almonds, rain ponchos depending on the forecast, and water bottles with a filter. When the kids were little and we used a stroller we brought a cooler in but now that they are older, we find it to be a PITA to carry it around now or store it in a locker. If we don't feel like bringing two backpacks, we buy bottled water.

If we plan to do any type of water ride, like at AK, we put our water shoes in a bag.

 

[Justplainchy]

We have a small backpack that when we're not using it folds into its own pocket. We usually bring:

• Empty metal water bottle
• Dollar store ponchos
• One cooling towel
• Sunscreen
• Meds (advil, tylenol, prescriptions)
• Anti-blister stuff: bandaids, mole skin,
• Two fruit bars and two bags of nuts/etc
• Spark energy drink packets OR instant coffee packets (we are park commandos most days - RD to fireworks, so sometimes we need the caffeine)
• Sunglasses
• Parade blanket that folds smaller than your hand when not in use
• Trading pins

Our wallets are attached to our phones, so we bring one CC each and our IDs + AP cards. Sounds like a lot, but it only takes up about half of our backpack and it avoids the need to go back to the hotel for anything.

 

[Shughart]

Here's my bag contents:
-One water bottle we keep with us and refill through the day
-Ibuprofen
-A few snack (granola bars usually)
-Small container of gold bond baby powder
-Small package of baby wipes
-Dollar store ponchos
-Sunscreen
-Phone +extra power brick
-DL/CC/Cash/GCs
-Chapstick
-Autograph books/sharpies
-Moleskin/bandaids

I had a backpack the first time. When we go in December, I will not have a full sized backpack. Here are things I will be leaving out of my bag this time around.
-Dollar store baubles/light ups/glow sticks (we used them one night and I ended up just handing them off to random parents).
-Extra pair of shoes for myself (ended up not needing them).
-Camera. Some might not agree, or some might be better at or have a better camera than me but my phone took better pictures than my camera and I could post them to fb that night to share with family instead of having to wait till I got home to clear off a memory card.
-Multiple water bottles. We would pack 6-8 for a park day and although my husband would carry the backpack in the morning when it was heaviest, we're using a smaller bag this year

An addition to our collection for this trip will be light jackets. I will stuff mine in my back because it's the thinnest, and then everyone will just tie theirs around their waist.

 

[supernova]

I bring my phone, ID, a credit card, aasmall bottle of sunscreen that clips on a belt loop, a bottle of water that I can toss when I'm tired of carrying it. That's about it. What else do you really need?

Exactly. I see people carrying what basically amounts to a small suitcase full of crap of stuff that they know they will never ever touch. I have a water bottle clipped to my belt and that's it. For Christ's sake, you're going to an amusement park for a day, not on a month-long desert expedition. I don't even bother packing an umbrella when I fly out, much less carry one around the parks. I read that people take first aid kits into the park. You just paid $120 to get in... Disney will throw you a bandaid if you stub your toe. We really have deteriorated into a soft needy society, haven't we?

 

[NickC]

The older the kids get, the less stuff we bring. We still bring a back pack with us to keep the autograph books and any souvenirs we buy along the way.

 

[2rad4u]

You just paid $120 to get in... Disney will throw you a bandaid if you stub your toe. We really have deteriorated into a soft needy society, haven't we?

So we've deteriorated into a needy bunch, but you will need Disney to give you a band-aid?

Being prepared is the opposite of needy....

I'll be carrying a bag with some of the items suggested in this thread and I will NOT be needy.

 

[supernova]

So we've deteriorated into a needy bunch, but you will need Disney to give you a band-aid?

Being prepared is the opposite of needy....

I'll be carrying a bag with some of the items suggested in this thread and I will NOT be needy.

I don't "need" a band aid. But I'm also not going to pack a travel first aid kit and lug that around either.

There's being prepared, and then there's also overpacking because your neuroses kicked in. Truthfully, in the dozens of trips I've taken over the years as a DVC member, I have never needed to be prepared for much. What the hell could I possibly need to be prepared for? Zombie Armageddon? Earthquake? Nuclear war?

 

[bigbabyblues]

Until my vision went south, I took a water bottle and my ID. Now that I have to have rx glasses and sunglasses, I bring a very small purse.

Water bottle
Phone
ID
Glasses in a case (wear rx sunglasses)
small sunscreen stick

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My family has never been the type to take the whole house.
As a single woman this is what I take...
-small wallet with ID, insurance card, credit card, cash...
-travel pill container with ibuprofen, anti nausea, anti diarrhea meds
-travel size folding hair brush
-chap stick
-tiny perfume spray
-phone
-portable phone charger
-security strap for my eye glasses for RNRC
-gum
-poncho

I use each of those things.
I can fit them in a small crossbody although I often take a crossbody big enough to put my hat in when I'm on certain rides and to toss a bottle of water or soda in when I don't feel like drinking the whole thing in one sitting.
My next trip I'm planning to use a Loungefly mini backpack to see if I like it better than my Vera Bradley hipster but I may pack the hipster in case after the first day I decide I don't care for the backpack.

 

[Micca]

Wallet, shades, sunscreen, magicband, hat. I go though the bagless line.

 

[TI double-GUH ER]

I carry the backpack for all four of us. Now that the kids are older, I won't carry the snacks I used to.
Still I'll carry:
Kids' autograph books and pens
Kids' camera
Poncho for me - lightweight rain jackets for the kids (their preference)
sunscreen
lip balm
hand sanitizer
hand wipes
Ibuprofen
Allergy meds
Wallet
extra phone battery and a charging cord
a few bandaids
Empty ziplock baggie just in case we need to keep something dry on a ride or to temporarily store a wet poncho
I always clip a baseball cap on the back of the bag in case someone needs to shade their face. Mickey ears don't exactly do that.

The bag is pretty light, and not a problem to stash on rides. That's the other reason I love the poncho - I can put it on over the backpack and not worry about the "stuff" getting soaked.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

As our family gets older, with our youngest travellers at 12 and 13 on the last trip, everyone carries their own stuff. NO drinks of any kind...we drink lots of free ice water every day, with a nice Starbucks beverage as a treat. Sunglasses and phones, a snack bag with a few acetaminophen and allergy pills. If I really try, I can hold everything but the sunglasses in a small pouch around me neck, but I will usually opt to carry a lightweight cross body purse. Depending on the forecast, maybe a jacket tied around a waist. I will take a small umbrella, but only if rain is pretty much a given. The kids like ponchos. We have done the dollar store kind, and they can be a godsend if you don't want to be soaked on KRR or Splash Mountain. We try to dress so that we can just dry in the sunshine.

At this time of our life, I will happily purchase a MM umbrella, poncho, or something cozy in the park if the need arises. A few of our favourite souvenirs have happened this way! We have come a very long way from our early "be prepared for anything" trips.

 

[Elephantay]

Wallet, shades, sunscreen, magicband, hat. I go though the bagless line.

How do you carry the sunscreen? We always need more during the day and its one of things in my bag.

 

[Tink_83]

Exactly. I see people carrying what basically amounts to a small suitcase full of crap of stuff that they know they will never ever touch. I have a water bottle clipped to my belt and that's it. For Christ's sake, you're going to an amusement park for a day, not on a month-long desert expedition. I don't even bother packing an umbrella when I fly out, much less carry one around the parks. I read that people take first aid kits into the park. You just paid $120 to get in... Disney will throw you a bandaid if you stub your toe. We really have deteriorated into a soft needy society, haven't we?

Honestly I always have a couple of bandaids and a packet of neosporin in my purse, and a travel bottle of Aleve. I can remember one trip we were on Tom Sawyer’s island and my daughter fell. It was a small scrape but she was 4 and hated to see blood. The bandaid was very useful for us then. I’m sure I could have tracked down a first aid center but really grabbing one from my purse was easier. And again, it is literally always in my purse. Now I don’t have a full on first aid kit, that’s a little extreme were not backpacking in the wilderness! But I think most people mean a few bandaids and painkillers. It may not be on your list but with kids it’s on mine - even if I never have a need for it again.