This depends on a few factors. How many people are traveling in your group? What are the ages of those in your group? What season are you traveling in? How long is your vacation?
Do you have a strict budget? I've made a list below and added some links to my favorite products.
GROUP SIZE:
If you are a party of 2, you may not need to bring as many items as a family of 6. Before my husband and I welcomed our son, our trips to WDW were much more simple. They were also usually quick trips since we live in Florida. Our suitcases contained only the essentials:
- clothes
- toiletries
- ponchos/rain jackets
- Magic Bands
- baseball cap/Mickey Ears
- backpack for the park: wallets, phones, chargers, sunglasses, band-aids, sunscreen, lip balm, keys, tissues, hand sanitizer, and some pain-reliever.
Easy Peasy.
Now that we are a family with a toddler, we pack all that and:
- diapers
- wipes
- snacks
- stroller
- stroller fan (a MUST!)
- small toys for entertaining while waiting in line/at restaurants
- books (for roadtrips/flights, or bedtime)
- Ziploc bags for messes (i love the reusable bumkin bags)
Some traveling with babies will also need bottles, brushes, baby food, formula, pump, etc. Disney hotels provide pack-n-plays and cribs, but some may feel better about bringing their own. We would also bring a cheap inflatable tub for bath time and baby soap. For our family of 3, we book a double room, and bring along these inflatable bumpers to keep our son from rolling off the bed.
A list of items you might consider are:
- Autographs books and pens
- Sanitizing wipes
- Costumes for the little ones
- Disney pins
TIME OF YEAR:
If you are traveling in the summer, then what you have to worry about is rain and HOT weather. Shorts, short-sleeved shirts or tanks, sundresses, bathing suits, etc.. Resorts have towels you can use, but if you want pool toys or arm floaties, you'll have to pack those as well. If you are traveling during the Florida "winter," it can get chilly some days and warm others so you will need to pack a variety of clothes for both types of weather. I know you're thinking "yea, yea. It doesn't get cold in Florida." Believe me, it can get cold when it wants to. I've heard people from Minnesota, New England, Chicago, etc. all say that it was colder than they thought it would be, and they should have brought warmer clothes. The humidity here makes our hot- hotter, and our cold- colder. It doesn't hurt to bring a pair (or two) of pants and a jacket.
SHOES
My advice, no matter the season, is to bring at least two pairs of walking shoes. It can rain or if you go on a water ride, your shoes will get soaked through and they won't have time to dry. Another scenario may be that a shoe breaks.
The shoe type depends on you. Some swear by wearing only flip flops, some can only wear sneakers, and I've seen some people wearing heels around the parks (not something I could ever do). One thing I would recommend for everyone: don't bring brand new shoes to the parks-- make sure you break them in first.
LENGTH OF TRIP:
If you are staying at the parks longer than our usual weekend, then your suitcase contents will increase. You'll need enough clothes to cover your vacation, or bring what you need to do laundry.
BUDGET:
If you are on a tight budget, then you will want to consider bringing food with you. This is obviously much easier to do if you are driving rather than flying. If you still want to eat most of your meals in your room or bring food into the park, there is always the option of doing a grocery delivery service. More on that for a different day.
Another money saving tip, is to pack light up toys or glow sticks. When the sun goes down, the carts come out. They sell the light up swords, necklaces, spinners. Your kid is going to see these and beg you for one. To save yourself from the begging, bring these items with you, and it will be easier to distract them from the overpriced items on the cart.
What you bring is ultimately up to you, and what you think you will need on vacation. The WDW resort does sell some things if you forget or don't want to bring them. They sell clothes, bags, sunglasses, toiletries, shoes, towels, etc. BUT you will pay a much higher price than if you bought them at home. Absolute worst case scenario, you can take an Uber/Lyft (or drive yourself if you have a car) to a nearby Target or Walmart to pickup the things you left at home.
**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments