I read a ton of websites and blogs preparing for our Disneyland trip. I also asked advice from friends. This packing list worked for us! I had a hard time finding a good packing list for our whole vacation but it really is personalized to what your families needs are.
My packing list for Disney Park
1. Extra outfit for each kid in your party
(keep this in a separate bag you can leave in a locker or in your stroller)
If it was a cool morning and the kids were in pants, I packed a pair of shorts and an extra top. If the morning was hot but we intended to stay for night shows I packed a pair of pants and a sweater. If a kid had an accident (which happened only twice during our stay and it was our baby) I would have hated leaving the park because we didn't prepare for this though. We packed this all in a reusable bag that we left in the bottom of our stroller. No sense packing it on every ride. If someone absolutely wanted to take it
2. Pack Sunscreen and Sunglasses (pack sunscreen in a large zip bag with clothes)
Apply sunscreen on your kids before you enter the parks, trust me you will forget after it is too late! And DO NOT forget about yourself... This mama did and I got burned! We wore our sunglasses on us and packed the kids so they didn't loose them.
3. Park passes and ID
Pack your ID in your bag you plan to carry all day every day. Put your passes somewhere that is easy to access. We put ours in a zipper pouch attached to our lanyard! Worked great for carrying passes, fast passes and ART bus passes. Because we traveled with young kids I just carried everything on my PhotoPass+ lanyard so we knew where everything was at all times.
^^ That is the lanyard that came with our Photo Pass+ I used for passes etc too (I added a zip pouch) ^^
4. Pressed Penny containers and Autograph books
We packed these in our backpacks, you never know when you are going to come across a character or a penny press (well those are mapped out but you know what I mean) Do not forget your pens. Characters do not have pens on them. If you want an autograph, bring your book and pens or whatever creative thing you are getting signed! (some great ideas on Pinterest folks!)
5. Lunch Bag with snacks and Water Bottles
We packed a small cooler that would fit in the bottom of the stroller with snacks and water bottles. My one son does not care for water unless it is in a water bottle (he wont drink water from a cup for some weird reason) I did bring some of those squirt flavorings just in case we needed to get the kids to drink more. Water is free in the park, ask for a cup of ice water at locations with fountain pop OR fill up at a fountain
DO NOT PACK GLASS CONTAINERS OR WATER BOTTLES!
Before you enter the parks you enter security, they are making sure you aren't carrying anything illegal OR glass containers. for everyone's safety they enforced this rule.
6. Zip Bags
We actually used these for left over food, sticky snacks, you name it. Pack a few zip bags and trust me you wont forget it.
7. Mini First Aid Kit
We packed the essentials, band-aids, afterbite, benedryl, Advil, Pepto, Gravol, Children's Tylenol, Lip Balm, Hand Sanitizer, Fingernail Clippers...
^Ouch Pouch I made for our first aid kit^
We did use, bandaids, benedryl (our son got a weird allergic reaction on his neck and ear, possibly from sun screen) Advil, Lip Balm, Hand Sanitizer and Fingernail clippers. It came in handy!
8. Camera and Phone
We are Canadian so the only reason we brought our phones to the park were for an absolute emergency (data roaming charges are outrageous) and for taking pictures. (Leave your phone in airplane mode the whole time, you can still use wifi on airplane mode) There isn't wifi in Disneyland like Disneyworld, and I was worried about not having the app with wait times but we didn't even need it!
Camera... well this one explains itself.
9. Portable Charger
Those battery chargers you can plug your phone into... okay we didn't use one but I could see how it would come in handy if you used your phone as a camera more than we did!
10. Ponchos
Our first two days rained! Bring your ponchos people! If you don't want to get wet on Splash Mountain or on Grizzley River Run wear these rain or shine! Buy these at the dollar store!!
11. Stroller and Baby Carrier
We brought our Boba and it worked fantastic for our baby who is used to routine and wouldn't nap in the stroller. Who doesn't love some extra snuggles?!
Stroller, we packed a double which meant one kid always had to walk but it worked okay.
12. Grocery Bag Clip
I purchased a cheap one at our dollar store
Would never travel without one again! We snapped our backpack, shopping bags, kids surprise bags (mentioned below) and they were easy to access! No stuffing under the stroller!
13. Gum or mints
We are gum chewers, just make sure not to spit your gum out, Disney is a clean park, don't make someone's job harder because you are too lazy to find a trash can. Trash cans in Disney are pretty much every where you look!
14. Surprise bags including glow sticks, treats, activities and a new toy
I packed surprise bags for every day of our trip. These bags had 2 snack, a filling snack like goldfish and a treat like a fruit snack. A candy or sucker, glow sticks, a new Disney themed toy (saved us from the kids asking for something every time we walked by a store) and some little cheap party favors to keep them busy while we were in line. I purchased Disney themed plastic bags at our dollar store and the kids emptied their bags in these every day
This is what worked for us!
Hope this helps you while you are planning your Disney Vacation
Your website is terribly informative and your articles are wonderful.
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