With six weeks still to go and all my FPPs and ADRs booked, I’m back to obsessing about packing and luggage!
I’ve been thinking about carrying a backpack around the parks containing: lightweight rain jacket (better than poncho, I think?), Crocs (to swap with my sneakers when it rains), small insulated water bottle (with ice cold water in it), Kindle (for reading in queues/hotels during breaks), spare t-shirt and socks, various medical bits, phone, …
Does that all sound sensible to you, or ridiculous? It’s possible I’m overthinking.
Oh, and where am I going to put it when I’m on rides like Space Mountain? Is there somewhere to shove it under the seat?
Will your rain jacket be able to cover your head? I always buy disposable ponchos so that a do not have to carry around (or put back in my backpack) a dripping, wet poncho. Whatever works for you is the best choice! I have had the same cheap water-proof (very important) backpack for the last 10 years. You can put it between your legs on Space. If it it a slightly wild ride(like Tower of Terror) I loop one leg through the strap.
You can take a back pack on all rides, and there are free lockers at Kali. I can’t remember if you’re doing Universal too? They are much stricter, with lockers at almost every ride and metal detectors at Hulk, RRR and Dragon Challenge.
All I carry is my purse, phone, camera, plasters and blister plasters (just a couple of each) and my touring plans. And that’s for 2 adults and a tween (soon to be teen). But it’s really down to what you think you will need, and want to carry round all day.
When talking about what to bring to the parks and how to carry it, I always go for lightness and flexibility. In terms of contents, only bring things that you are actually going to use that day, and keep the “might need” items as small and light as possible. I would go for disposable ponchos over jackets (I only bring a jacket if I actually need to wear it to the park), and would drop the Crocs and extra clothes. IMO extra clothes/shoes are a prime example of overplanning for something that may not happen, and you can always buy a t-shirt if you really need to - you probably are going to get a souvenir t-shirt at some point anyway.
In terms of the backpack itself, we have an insulated one, as we often being a pack lunch so we can avoid having to eat “park food” all the time.
A Tilley hat! Will you have emergency money tucked into the “secret” pouch?
BTW, if you go with disposable ponchos, you might want to go with a baseball hat, as the poncho hood can go over the hat and the bill helps it make a better “canopy” to keep your face drier.
If you think you might need a change of clothes and shoes, my advice is to put your back pack in a locker and get them if you need them. But you are going in summer, things dry. Heck I got soaked on Kali at Christmas and dried off eventually! I’d be worried about your hat getting soaked, baseball cap is more disposable.
Just carry your phone, wallet and maybe a poncho clipped to a belt loop on shorts.
Don’t worry about a kindle, in most queues there’s plenty to look at. This is what Disney excels at, theme-ing (sorry, that looks wrong however I write it).
I paid big dollar for that hat specifically for this trip, so I’m taking it with me! (And there definitely isn’t a secret compartment so don’t even try looking under the top of it, just beneath the label. There’s nothing to see there!)
The hat’s more about my morbid fear of sunburn than of rain. I bought a sunbrella, too. (Too much?)
OK, so I might have got a bit trigger-happy with the Amazon [Buy Now] button.
As for the Crocs, well I bought some Adidas Ultra Boost (what? I already said the thing about the Amazon button) and I don’t want them getting wet. Though I’m going to spray them with Crep Protect, so maybe they’ll be OK.
I think I’m sticking with my rain jacket. It scrunches up into a little bag that came with it and it’s very light and apparently “breathable”. Plus I thought I might want to put it on indoors if the air-conditioning proves too much for my ultra-thin t-shirts.
(Hey! It’s my first trip to Disney World in 25 years! And I have a lot of time on my hands for planning! And I’m a worrier!)
My family really dislikes the steamy greenhouse feeling of ponchos. You’ll figure out what you prefer - poncho, light rain jacket or umbrella. It’s very much a personal preference.
In our back pack we carry water, disposable ponchos (from Amazon), power bank, cooling towels, hand wipes, stain wipes, ibuprofen, copy of TP, and really small umbrellas.
I put a carabiner on the handle to clip baseball hats when on rides
On space mountain in front of your feet is where I put ours.
a small backback with essentials is a good idea. We minimize how much we take anywhere. With the water - we usually just get it at the fountain (yes I know it can sometimes taste bad) and at restaurants. Just anything to lighten the load.
Happy packing! Sounds like a great trip. Love the pack.
When it comes to backpacks, I think you can pick one of: 1) one-shoulder sling pack, OR 2) a lot of stuff in a regular backpack. A lot of stuff in a sling pack will be uncomfortable for long park days.
I’m with others: I’d suggest dropping the extra t-shirt, the kindle, and the crocs. Your shoes will dry. (Also, it’ll be hotter than the sun’s surface while you’re there so you may wear sandals.)
I typically carry no more than will fit in my pockets or around my neck (i.e. DSLR). I have carried a “standard” sized backpack on occasion and other than the annoyance of having it, there were no problems with any rides. I’ve never used a mono-strap bag.
Most of my carry-things-with-me thoughts are motivated by the dread fear of the weather in Florida in the summer that has been instilled into me by reading too much about Disney World holidays!
Every time I got to Disney I carry less with me. This August I’m going solo, I got a ‘running buddy’ which is a bag that goes on your waistband and will hold my phone charger and battery, phone, and cards/cash. I’ll slip a disposable poncho in my pocket and will have my batter fan around my neck with my pin lanyard. That’s it. I find I don’t use all the stuff I used to lug around with me anyways.
@Profmatt, we bought that same exact backpack for our trip in October. We tried it out going to the zoo and loved it so much we bought a second one in green. I think it will be the perfect size! Holds two water bottles, sun screen with lots of extra room.
