What’s In My Park Bag?
People often ask us what we carry with us all day in our bags. What do you need on hand vs what you can get in the park.
Let’s take a little peek into what we have decided is worth carrying and what isn’t.
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Reusable Straw Pouch: Get yours here. Disney only provides paper straws and only if you ask.
Ear Holder: Room inside your bag is precious and can rarely fit an entire set of ears. We designed this Ear Holder to hold either one or two sets of ears at a time and it hooks to the outside of your bag for maximum interior bag space.
Sunscreen: We prefer small, travel size spray cans. Target or Walmart is going to be your cheapest option for these lightweight life savers.
Neck Fan: These are useful for any time of year especially if you are prone to hot flashes. Cool off quickly with these super easy, rechargeable devices.
Thigh Rescue: Chafing can hit any time of year, so this comes in handy regularly!
Medicine: Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Excedrin, Dramamine, and your favorite antacid will not go amiss after several days in the park. Also, of course any prescriptions you may need throughout the day.
Phone Charger battery pack. We like these from Amazon. You can also purchase a fuel rod to save space and exchange them for free in the park.
Bandaids or moleskin. Even the most tried and true shoes can betray you after a long park day.
Deodorant and maybe an extra pair of underwear for those extra hot days in the park.
Ponchos: We don’t like getting wet on water rides, so we carry these to stay dry. We like these disposable ones.
Travel Umbrella: If you know it will be raining on your trip, we highly recommend these handy umbrellas. Check out our link here for all our favorite rainy day must haves.
Sunglasses. Find our signature heart glasses here.
Antibacterial wipes: Disney is super clean, but sometimes you need access to your own. We like these Wet Ones because they can be used on faces and fingers, but still work well to quickly wipe a table.
Wallet: We like to bring a little extra cash and always need a safe space to store your cards, ID and hotel key.
Ziplocs: We like to have these to save unfinished snacks for later or to bring snacks home with us after our trip and keep them fresh. Look at these cute Disney themed ones!
Hat: We like to bring a waterproof shade hat in the summer for that really hot time in the middle of the day. In the winter we bring these cozy Mickey Beanies to stay warm when the sun goes down.
Chapstick: Especially if you are from a humid climate, chapstick can be a lifesaver and doesn’t take up much room.
Sanitizer. We like these handy pouches to hang on the outside of our bag for easy access. No one wants to get sick at Disney!
Our favorite Butt Pads. These small, foam pads give you some cushion on the ground while waiting for a parade, fireworks, or fantastic. We also will tie these to the side of our bag or store in a locker until we are ready for them.
I know this feels like a lot but you only need some of these seasonally. Don’t overpack, but make sure you have what you need.
When to get a locker:
We spend full days in the park, often from open to close without our kids. We like to rent a locker and store a change of clothes, shoes, jackets, and any purchases we may make throughout the day. Lockers are $7 a day for a standard size and $10 for a large. There is also a small bay of lockers in the picnic area in the Esplanade with jumbo sized lockers for $15 per day. These lockers would fit a cooler, or a lot of items for a bigger family.
You can rent a locker in either park or in the Esplanade with a credit card.
What we DON’T carry:
Water Bottles. You can get water at any quick service restaurant for free any time of day. We don’t like adding the weight or taking up the space in our bags when we can get it easily. If you do want a waterbottle, consider a collapsible one with a carabiner attachment for your bag like this one.
What to pack if you have Stroller or Scooter:
Glow Sticks: It gets really dark at night in certain areas of Disney and I am always happy to have my kids with a little extra glow so I can spot them easily in the crowds.
Water Bottles: This is the exception to my water bottle rule. If you have somewhere to store it, a water bottle is a good option to have close by on a regular basis.
Extra shoes or clothes for kids. You never know when you’ll need to change clothes because of bathroom accidents, snaccidents, water rides, etc. Extra shoes or clothes for kids. Diapers and Wipes, easy snacks to keep kids entertained and full in lines and while waiting for shows. Here are our Amazon lists of items that are helpful in the park with kids and babies!
Diapers and Wipes. If you forget diapers and wipes, there is a Target just up the street on Harbor Blvd, or you can buy diapers in packs of 3 or so from the baby care vending machines in the baby care locations in the parks. The machines offer other important items like wipes, pacifiers, and more.
Snacks: Obviously the adults want to try all the park snacks, but taking easy snacks that will keep kids entertained and full in lines or while waiting for shows is a great idea. It also guarantees you have a treat they will like. You can also purchase kid-friendly treats like goldfish crackers, little teddy graham snacks, etc from most gift shops.
Jackets or a blanket. When the sun goes down in Disney even in the summer it can get a little chilly. For small babies, we have even taken in sleeper pajamas to put on them when it cools off at night and that way if they fall asleep in the stroller on the way back to the hotel it’s an easy transition.