My Disney trip is exactly 1 month away!!! I’ve been beginning to pack and prepare and I thought it would be a great time to address some of the big questions!
One of the biggest questions I hear is “what should I bring with me to the park?”
When I visited two years ago, I was worried about having to carry a lot, since my local theme parks don’t let you take anything with you on rides. This is not the case with Disney, as there are places to store your belongings on every ride. Disney tries to make it convenient for all their guests to bring whatever they may need (within reason). That’s why today I’m going to be focusing on what I believe to be park essentials!
My bag itself is from my Disney trip two years ago. The drawstring bag I brought with me broke and so I found this great quality bag in the gift shop. It’s still a drawstring closure, but the straps are like a regular backpack with padding, making it very comfortable for a day in the park. I love the design on it so much, it’s so me! It is also plenty spacious enough for everything I bring with me:
- First of all, I like to carry my camera. I have a decent Cannon camera but even if you use your phone to take pictures, that counts as it is in the bag.
- If you are planning on taking a lot of photos with your phone and running the My Disney Experience App, then another thing that is a must to carry is a charger. Whether it’s a camera cord or an external battery, you need to be prepared. There are places to charge your phone battery and I usually find one during lunch or other downtime but it’s also a really good idea to have an external battery or charger so that your phone doesn’t die in line for a character meet like mine almost did when I was trying to meet Peter Pan (it was really lucky it lasted to take those two pictures)! I’m planning on buying an external battery before my next trip and they have some decent ones on Amazon. This Portable External Battery
is currently on sale (and they have it in green!).
- Another great thing to carry with you is sunscreen. If you burn easily, or are visiting in the non-summer months you will probably want this as the sun is still shining most days at Disney and you may not have a base tan to rely on. You do NOT want to get sunburn your first day and spend the rest of vacation either hurting or itchy. I typically use a higher SPF Sunscreen
on my face that is good for my skin and than a basic spray for my arms and legs. Use that sunscreen! (That means YOU, husband)
- In addition to the sunscreen, bug spray or bug bracelets are great to have with you! My sister and I discovered the awesomeness of bug bracelets at Disney last year and just wore them on our ankles so that they weren’t even noticeable. If you’re flying and not checking a bag, this is a good alternative to the spray. I bought Bug Bracelets
in bulk on Amazon the last time I was traveling.
- Next is a water bottle or a drink holder of some sort. This will help you stay hydrated in the parks and you can refill it as you go. I’m sort of a souvenir cup fan so I usually buy one of the refillable mugs from the resorts and just fill it with water while in the parks but a regular water bottle would probably work better 😉 Some people prefer a Filtered Water Bottle
because they don’t like the taste of the tap water. I’ve never tried one, but let me know if you do.
- A snack is a good thing to have as well. Granola bars or something high in protein to hold you over between meals or some snacks to stay happy and not hangry work well. All the walking will definitely cause you to work up an appetite! I’ll probably go to Costco before our trip to grab a bunch of snacks in bulk.
- I also always bring a poncho to Disney ever since it rained our entire trip when I was 9 and we all ended up in those famous yellow Mickey ponchos (we still have those around the house, actually). I favor the clear ones since they’re usually lightweight. I will definitely pack mine for this trip because I will not want my dapper attire getting wet! The best place to pick these up is definitely the Dollar Store because that’s where they’ll be the least expensive. If you’re looking online for ponchos
, the best deal you’ll probably get is if you buy them in bulk and even then it’s the same price per poncho as the dollar store ($1).
- Autograph pages and pens are also a great thing to have if you plan on character meet and greets. I normally like taking pictures but this trip I wanted to start something new so I’m planning on getting some card stock and markers too.
- Last in the bag is a small wallet. I don’t like carrying too much around with me in the park because of the fear that it could get lost or stolen so I try to bring my ID, a credit card, a set amount of cash, and possibly Disney gift cards. My plan this trip is to focus more on using Disney gift cards in order to better track spending and keep within our limit.
is currently on sale (and they have it in green!).
on my face that is good for my skin and than a basic spray for my arms and legs. Use that sunscreen! (That means YOU, husband)
in bulk on Amazon the last time I was traveling.
because they don’t like the taste of the tap water. I’ve never tried one, but let me know if you do.
, the best deal you’ll probably get is if you buy them in bulk and even then it’s the same price per poncho as the dollar store ($1).
That’s it for my parks basic packing for this week! 🙂
What do you keep in your park bag? Is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for visiting! ºoº Juli ºöº
31 Days till Disney!!
Random Spirited Ramblings 