Packing Tips for your Trip to Disney World

This past Christmas, my parents surprised our entire family with an upcoming trip to Disney World – all 20 of us!  The kids have been asking almost weekly since December 25 if its time for Disney yet, lol. I’m excited to finally share with them that our trip is next week!!  Our Magic Bands arrived this week, which made it feel even more real – yes, I waited until the last minute to order them, but that is not the point.

To say that we are excited is an understatement – however, I’m equally, if not more anxious about the entire thing for a few reasons. First of all, it is both mine and Eric’s first time as “adults” heading to the most magical place on earth, and we are taking 3 kids, all 5 and under.  It is their first time flying (with the exception of Leo, who has flown once as a 9 month old) so that in itself will be an adventure!

Secondly, our youngest, Beau is 18 months old and at that age where being strapped down, even for a short car ride is his purest form of torture. So a flight and multiple park days with him seem a little stressful right now. We are hopeful that there will be enough going on that he will be entertained and stimulated enough not to notice, lol.

The last time I really went for the whole Disney experience was in middle school – so I’m feeling a bit rusty.  This time around as a mom, I feel like I have to be on my A game when it comes to preparation for the park days!  Luckily, my sister and her family went last summer so was able to share some pointers in terms of what to pack.

I also enlisted in feedback from my amazing friends on Instagram, and thought it would be helpful to share with everyone all of the tips and tricks for a trip to Disney World!

Shoutout to all of the friends willing to share their tips: ADailyDoseofZinkk, Jessmestyle, LatteswithOlivia, Victoria R., my Sister Kelly, Kelly H. and Lisa of American Serenade.

What to Pack for a Trip to Disney World (with Toddlers)

Since we are heading on our trip to Disney World in June, it is going to be HOT. with lots of chances of rain too.  So we have to think about ways to keep cool, as well as keep dry.  Here is what we are packing, some things obvious, and others you may not have thought about!

• Cooling Towels. I had never heard of these but my sister told me about them last year when they went in July. There are so many to choose from but we ordered this pack of 6 cooling towels because we are a family of five, and most just came with four – so I wanted to ensure each of us could have one of our own.

• Ponchos/Umbrellas/Rain Jacket. Rain happens so frequently in Florida, so if its in your forecast (or even if its not!) you may want to consider packing something to keep you dry.  We had some ponchos laying around in our hallway closet for some reason (?!) so I’ll be packing those, and also plan to bring a gallon size ziplock bag to store them in after using.

That way we can throw it in our backpack and not get everything else wet, then will hang them to dry overnight when we get back to the hotel room.

If ponchos are not your thing (I’m not sure bc I really don’t remember the last time I wore one) then consider bringing an umbrella or a real rain jacket that is lightweight.

• Ziplock Bags.  Speaking of ziplock bags, I’m planning to bring 5-10 of small and large to store things in or to have on hand for things we might not be thinking of!  This includes accidents, storing snacks, storing meds, you name it!
• Handheld Water Misting Fan. We have had this water misting fan for a while, just with having little kids, so we plan to take this and let the kids mist themselves and cool down when needed!

 

• Bladeless Neck Fan.  My friend Victoria mentioned this one, and lives in Florida frequenting the park often so I am going to take her word for it and order at least one! This one has a 4.5 star rating with almost 4k reviews and is Amazon’s choice, coming in either black or white.

Since I haven’t been to Disney in a long time, I’m not sure if you need both the cooling towels and the neck fan, or which is better, but I’ll be experimenting this time around to see which one we like better. I’m sure it comes down to preference, but as long as we are cool, I will be a lot happier!

• Disposable Batteries. For the handheld misting fans and anything else you might be taking that needs a recharge!
• Portable Charger Power Bank. Everyone I have spoken with says this is a must have, because phones seem to die so much more quickly at Disney for some reason.  My brother-in-law recommended this portable charger and said he only had to charge it once to last the entire trip.  It also has 4.5 stars with over 30,000 ratings!

• Mommy Hook. My friend bought this for me when I was pregnant with our first, and if you don’t have one, you need one!  It is a super strong carabiner hook that can hold a backpack, purse, etc, to clip onto your stroller. So when my sister mentioned I should pack it for our trip to Disney World, I was thrilled that I already had one!

• Glowsticks/necklaces/light up toys. If you’ve ever taken your kids anywhere that has one of these, then you know they will be begging for one the second they see it.  I can only image that inside the parks, these are anything less than inexpensive, and when you have three kids, that is bound to add up.

I thought ahead and bought a 100-pack of glow necklaces for the kids to wear at night of the fireworks show (remember we have a group of 20, with 10 kids) so I figured it would be a nice cost savings to have these on hand for our group each night.  This is the pack I bought, but there are so many options on Amazon depending on your group size!

We recently took our kids to Disney on Ice and my parents brought all of the kids light up toys (and thankfully so because they were $30+ each!).  We plan to pack ours for the trip as well to cut back on unnecessary packing. Here are the ones we have!

     

• First Aid Kit.  You can order a complete kit, or just make your own and throw it in a ziplock bag.  Make sure to have plenty of band-aids, antacids, pain reliever, and any other medications you might need because if you don’t have a rental car and Disney doesn’t have it, you could find yourself in a pinch.
• Gallon Ziplock Bag with Spare Outfit for each Kid.  We all know that the second you don’t take a spare outfit is when you most need it.  And when you are at a park all day, and you get rained on, sick from rides, or potty accidents, you’ll want an entire change of spare clothes, including socks and undies.  Thanks to my sister for this tip!
• Extra Socks.  For everyone in the family in case it rains!  No one wants to be walking around all day with wet feet – hello blisters. And for the love of all things Disney, please wear comfortable tennis shoes for your trip to Disney World!!
• Cooler.  Disney World allows you to bring your own cooler, so pack your own water and snacks to save money while visiting the parks! I found this foldable cooler that will be great for collapsing into a suitcase!

• Backpack.  I’ve mentioned a lot of things to haul around, so make sure you have a great backpack to store it all in that can hang from the mommy hook or be stowed away under your stroller.  This is the diaper bag backpack I have, which I absolutely love for so many reasons.

It is leather, so if you’re planning to actually wear it, maybe consider a canvas bag that won’t be so hot.  But I’m not planning to buy another backpack just for this trip so my trusty bag is what it will be!

• Stroller Fan.  In addition to the handheld fans, I want to have one that clips onto the stroller while the baby naps to keep him cool.  This is the one I ordered because the arms are flexible, making it easier to clip onto the stroller.

• Mouse Ears.  It would not be a trip to Disney World without a pair (or four) of Mouse Ears!  You can buy these everywhere in the park I’m sure, but I like to save money where possible, and ordering these in advance is bound to save us some cash inside the parks.

There are so many cute options, and you can really coordinate all of your outfits in advance with some really cute mouse ears!  Here are some that I found that are so adorable:

• iPad/Drawing Tablets. When you are waiting in line for 2 hours for rides with multiple toddlers, distraction is the name of the game.  We are planning to bring our iPad for them to watch a movie while in line.  We also got these cute inexpensive doodling tablets for Christmas that they still absolutely love.  We actually keep these in the car and they use them whenever we are driving, which I love because its not a screen.  These will be our best friends on the flights, too.

• Brush-on Powder Sunscreen for Face. I don’t know about you, but I usually wear some form of makeup when I’m not at home.  And the thought of reapplying sunscreen throughout the day over top of my face sounds awful.  I just found this brush on powder sunscreen and plan to bring it along in our backpack for reapplication. I also found a kids version 🙂

• Fanny Pack/Bum Bag.  I have fallen in love with bum bags, they are so easy to wear either around the waist or worn crossbody and stay out of the way but provide easy access.  The Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag is super popular right now and comes in multiple colors. Here are some other affordable options I’ve found lately.

• Collapsible Water Bottle. We plan to get bottled water delivered to our room and freeze and pack a few each day, but I also want to have an option to keep refilling.  These collapsible water bottles will be so handy for a trip to Disney World and won’t take up much space for transporting.

Tricks & Hacks for your Trip to Disney World

If you’ve made it this far, then you might be interested in my part 2 (coming soon!) of all the tips I received that are related to the parks, dining, etc. I’m so excited for our trip to Disney World, and I hope that you found some good ideas in this post to ensure your trip goes smoothly too!

If I’ve missed any tips that would make a trip to Disney World even more successful, please leave them in the comments below!

xo,

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