Mother’s Day Weekend can’t come soon enough in these parts — we’re headed as a family to Disney World for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in Orlando! I’m honored to have been asked back and of course my boys are over the moon excited to get back down to all the magic and fun.
I’m already doing the “can’t concentrate on anything but Disney” thing so it’s going to be a loooooong couple of weeks of me focusing. I thought I could at least throw myself into a post today making a check list to help myself and hopefully any of you out there who are traveling to Disney World or Disneyland at some point in the near future.
We’ve been quite a few times to both and I’ve learned the in-and-outs of what’s needed and what’s not. This isn’t your obviously “clothes” list, because everyone knows the basics of what to bring. These are the extras that you may not think of. I hope this handy check list helps some of you out there – let me know if I forgot anything.
For the park:
Portable cell phone charger. Hours of being away from a charger and all those pictures… ! You would hate to miss an epic picture opportunity because your phone died.
Comfortable shoes. I can’t tell you guys how long it has taken me to learn this lesson. Cute shoes and walking around Disney all day just don’t mesh. Comfort over style. If you can find both, great, otherwise go for comfort every time.
A small backpack. I rarely use backpacks but Disney World or any amusement park is the place I always break one out. It’s a long day and being hands free is so key when you’re going on rides and walking around all day. And as the Mom – I’m always the one who is schlepping everyone’s stuff so it’s not practical to consider not having one at all.
Suntan lotion.
Depending on the time of day, a small portable spray water bottle. I can’t tell you guys how many times we have gotten caught up in buying the Disney water-filled water bottles at like $15 a pop. (One for each kid!)
Hair ties for you and any girls with you. If it’s hot, you’ll use ’em.
Disney Autograph Book & Pens. You can order Disney Autograph books head of time from Amazon! My kids used to love to have these signed by all of the characters they saw. Pack one for each kid plus a couple of pens.
For the hotel room:
Other than the obvious (clothes), here’s a few things you may not have thought of to get or bring for your hotel room –
I highly recommend buying family ponchos at your local Target or Walmart & stashing them in your suitcase. These are for the park on days that it looks like it may rain. You can buy ponchos for as little as $2 apop at your local store but you can only imagine what they cost in the park. They are VERY small to pack and great to stick in that backpack I talked about up above. No one wants to leave the park if it’s raining – plus Florida showers are a dime a dozen. They come often and they are usually very fast!
Quarters. On Disney trips especially, we always end up doing laundry in the hotel room. It’s good to have a couple of quarters stashed ahead of time for this.
Duffel for laundry. See above. And the duffel is just handle for getting your laundry too and from wherever the laundry room is. (Disney hotels have them all over – very convenient!)
A first aid kit. We always go through a ton of bandaids on any trip, be it Disney or otherwise. Someone always ends up with a blister or a scrape. I have a constantly packed little first aid kid that includes some band-aids, Neosporin, Tylenol and Advil for kids and adults.
Groceries. There are several local delivery services that will deliver snacks and goodies to your room the day you arrive. This is AWESOME. It’s so easy to spend a fortune in the little Disney stores on food and extras. And you just know your kid is going to want snacks a lot. Garden Groceris a good option, and if you order ahead of time you get a discount.
Anything I’m missing? Let me know by commenting! Also here’s a little printable checklist of everything I mentioned above:
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