On our last family vacation, my daughter was getting down to the nubs of her new colored pencils. The always-prepared-one in our family whipped out a pencil sharpener and looked at me like, what…you don’t carry a pencil sharpener around?
Truth is, I wish I was that always-prepared person, but usually I have everything BUT the thing I need in the moment. This has happened to me over the years when deciding what to pack for a day in Disney World.
Kids Benadryl? Glitter crayons? Blotting sheets in case I look shiny?? Check.
Only to get there and realize, you know what…I forgot the baby wipes.
Packing for Disney World with Little Kids
Years later, I finally feel like I have our backpack for the parks down to a science. I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to packing, and our backpack/diaper bag is no exception.
I’ll pack our bag the night before our first park day, and it stays ready throughout the trip with just a quick refresh the night before.
Here are the 20 things that round out everything we could possibly need.
What to Bring for a Day in Disney with a Toddler:
- A Change of Clothes
Even if its ungodly hot out, I still bring sweatshirts because rides and restaurants can get FREEZING. Plus an extra outfit (I love rompers to save room) and the kid’s swimsuits/swim diaper for those random moments of heading straight to the pool or coming across a splash pad.
- Fuel Rod
Between taking photos, Genie+ and checking wait times, your phone battery will get low quick. Fuel Rods are portable battery packs with kiosks scattered all over Disney World where you can swap out a dead battery pack and replace it with a new one for free. They’re 1/2 the price if you order them from Amazon. There are better battery packs out there, but I love that I can keep swapping them out while I’m away from our room.
- If you have a kid in diapers…
Tip: pack 1 diaper for every hour you’ll be away from our resort room, and these bags for dirty diapers. You never know where and when you’ll be changing a diaper. For that potty-training age, I love this travel seat for public restrooms.
- Wipes
Diapers or not, a slim pack of wipes to clean up sticky hands and faces.
- Wet Bag
I’ll use this for wet bathing suits, soggy pants or anything I don’t want touching everything else (ew.)
- Sunscreen Stick
- Triangle Crayons + a Mini Sketch Book
Probably my greatest mom hack (if maybe my only one) are these triangle crayons that won’t roll off restaurant tables. A sketch book keeps my 6-year-old more entertained then other busy books for when we’re waiting for food or the bus. It can double for autographs if you need to! - Sticker Books
These are my 2-year olds’ favorite. I’ve been known to let her stick them on my legs while we wait in line. - Medicine + Things
The extra things like blister bandaids, Bonine if you’re prone to motion sickness like me, and Advil (for that headache I get after I have champagne in EPCOT.)
- Snacks
We keep snacks really simple. Organic lollipops for long waits (or let’s be honest, bribes…) and a snack spinner filled with granola, raw cashews, blueberries, etc. to hold them over. Throw in an extra plastic baggie or Stasher bag for those half-eaten snacks when you’re on the go.
- Insulated Water Bottles
My FAVORITE for any kind of travel is the Stanley (yea, yea…I know) Ice Flow cup in the color “cream”. This thing never leaks and keeps my water icy.
My girls love these cups for the pretty prints. - A Travel Umbrella
I’m not a poncho person. This is the travel umbrella we use, but really any small umbrella along with a stroller rain cover works for us. - Compostable Straws
You won’t find plastic straws in Disney World, only the paper kind. You know…the kind the kids chew and get soggy in 3 seconds.
Now, I throw a handful of these in my backpack. They’re made from plant fibers but feel like plastic, so no guilt-garbage but better than having a sticky reusable straw in your bag. Ew.
Stroller, Backpack and Sling combo for Park Days
1. First the stroller:
Even if your kids don’t use a stroller at home, they’ll be walking eeeeverywhere in Disney World. We gate-check our Zoe Twin+ stroller from home, which holds the stroller rain cover and all our water bottles. I love these stroller hooks to hang our cups and bags.
2. Then I wear a sling bag:
This holds my phone, ID, credit card, chapstick, a slim pack of wipes, and an “emergency” diaper. My sling stays on me ALL day, including rides.
3. Finally, the backpack:
This has all of our essentials but no valuables so we can leave it in the boot of the stroller while we get on rides together. My favorite backpack for Disney World (and the plane ride there) has been the Arrow Backpack from Walker Family Goods. It unzips flat so I can grab what we need quickly and I’m not rummaging around into a blackhole of a backpack.
My 2 Bonus Items
- Tip: tie a bandana like this one on your stroller so you can spot it easily.
- If you have an Air Tag, it can give you extra peace of mind about leaving your bag with the stroller.
For more Disney World planning, here’s how I can be of help:
- Subscribe to my newsletter where I give a weekly planning tips + Disney news (the kind you should know, not the silly stuff.)
- Join Laid-back Magic, my members-only planning guide and community to help you plan your vacation.
- Buy my new park guide to Magic Kingdom and know what to prioritize with little kids and toddlers.
- Follow me on Instagram where I share tips and tricks for taking the kids to Disney World.
You’ll notice my blog has zero ads. I want to keep it that way! To help keep this blog running, some – not all – of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you don’t feel comfy buying through me, I encourage you to save that money for your next trip to Disney.
FREE DOWNLOAD
Walt Disney World Planning Guide
LEARN MORE
WATCH THE VIDEO
On our last family vacation, my daughter was getting down to the nubs of her new colored pencils. The always-prepared-one in our family whipped out a pencil sharpener and looked at me like, what…you don’t carry a pencil sharpener around?
Truth is, I wish I was that always-prepared person, but usually I have everything BUT the thing I need in the moment. This has happened to me over the years when deciding what to pack for a day in Disney World.
Kids Benadryl? Glitter crayons? Blotting sheets in case I look shiny?? Check.
Only to get there and realize, you know what…I forgot the baby wipes.
Packing for Disney World with Little Kids
Years later, I finally feel like I have our backpack for the parks down to a science. I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to packing, and our backpack/diaper bag is no exception.
I’ll pack our bag the night before our first park day, and it stays ready throughout the trip with just a quick refresh the night before.
Here are the 20 things that round out everything we could possibly need.
What to Bring for a Day in Disney with a Toddler:
- A Change of Clothes
Even if its ungodly hot out, I still bring sweatshirts because rides and restaurants can get FREEZING. Plus an extra outfit (I love rompers to save room) and the kid’s swimsuits/swim diaper for those random moments of heading straight to the pool or coming across a splash pad.
- Fuel Rod
Between taking photos, Genie+ and checking wait times, your phone battery will get low quick. Fuel Rods are portable battery packs with kiosks scattered all over Disney World where you can swap out a dead battery pack and replace it with a new one for free. They’re 1/2 the price if you order them from Amazon. There are better battery packs out there, but I love that I can keep swapping them out while I’m away from our room.
- If you have a kid in diapers…
Tip: pack 1 diaper for every hour you’ll be away from our resort room, and these bags for dirty diapers. You never know where and when you’ll be changing a diaper. For that potty-training age, I love this travel seat for public restrooms.
- Wipes
Diapers or not, a slim pack of wipes to clean up sticky hands and faces.
- Wet Bag
I’ll use this for wet bathing suits, soggy pants or anything I don’t want touching everything else (ew.)
- Sunscreen Stick
- Triangle Crayons + a Mini Sketch Book
Probably my greatest mom hack (if maybe my only one) are these triangle crayons that won’t roll off restaurant tables. A sketch book keeps my 6-year-old more entertained then other busy books for when we’re waiting for food or the bus. It can double for autographs if you need to! - Sticker Books
These are my 2-year olds’ favorite. I’ve been known to let her stick them on my legs while we wait in line. - Medicine + Things
The extra things like blister bandaids, Bonine if you’re prone to motion sickness like me, and Advil (for that headache I get after I have champagne in EPCOT.)
- Snacks
We keep snacks really simple. Organic lollipops for long waits (or let’s be honest, bribes…) and a snack spinner filled with granola, raw cashews, blueberries, etc. to hold them over. Throw in an extra plastic baggie or Stasher bag for those half-eaten snacks when you’re on the go.
- Insulated Water Bottles
My FAVORITE for any kind of travel is the Stanley (yea, yea…I know) Ice Flow cup in the color “cream”. This thing never leaks and keeps my water icy.
My girls love these cups for the pretty prints. - A Travel Umbrella
I’m not a poncho person. This is the travel umbrella we use, but really any small umbrella along with a stroller rain cover works for us. - Compostable Straws
You won’t find plastic straws in Disney World, only the paper kind. You know…the kind the kids chew and get soggy in 3 seconds.
Now, I throw a handful of these in my backpack. They’re made from plant fibers but feel like plastic, so no guilt-garbage but better than having a sticky reusable straw in your bag. Ew.
Stroller, Backpack and Sling combo for Park Days
1. First the stroller:
Even if your kids don’t use a stroller at home, they’ll be walking eeeeverywhere in Disney World. We gate-check our Zoe Twin+ stroller from home, which holds the stroller rain cover and all our water bottles. I love these stroller hooks to hang our cups and bags.
2. Then I wear a sling bag:
This holds my phone, ID, credit card, chapstick, a slim pack of wipes, and an “emergency” diaper. My sling stays on me ALL day, including rides.
3. Finally, the backpack:
This has all of our essentials but no valuables so we can leave it in the boot of the stroller while we get on rides together. My favorite backpack for Disney World (and the plane ride there) has been the Arrow Backpack from Walker Family Goods. It unzips flat so I can grab what we need quickly and I’m not rummaging around into a blackhole of a backpack.
My 2 Bonus Items
- Tip: tie a bandana like this one on your stroller so you can spot it easily.
- If you have an Air Tag, it can give you extra peace of mind about leaving your bag with the stroller.
For more Disney World planning, here’s how I can be of help:
- Subscribe to my newsletter where I give a weekly planning tips + Disney news (the kind you should know, not the silly stuff.)
- Join Laid-back Magic, my members-only planning guide and community to help you plan your vacation.
- Buy my new park guide to Magic Kingdom and know what to prioritize with little kids and toddlers.
- Follow me on Instagram where I share tips and tricks for taking the kids to Disney World.
You’ll notice my blog has zero ads. I want to keep it that way! To help keep this blog running, some – not all – of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you don’t feel comfy buying through me, I encourage you to save that money for your next trip to Disney.
FREE DOWNLOAD
10 Biggest Disney World Mistakes to Avoid
Learn what the pros are doing when they go to Disney World and learn from my mistakes
START THE QUIZ
Quiz: What's Your Disney Vacation Style?
Get resort, dining, style and planning recommendations based on Enneagram types to help envision your vacation
FREE Planning Tools
GIMME THE GOODS!
01
WATCH THE VIDEO
How to Sketch Your Disney World Vacation
Watch step-by-step how I plan out a smooth vacation with no surprises
02
03
My 10 Biggest Planning Mistakes
I've planned our family vacations to Walt Disney World, ranging in ages, sizes, and circumstances; without kids, with one kid, and now with two! From these trips, I've learned what not to do and want to share them with you.
SEND ME THE FREE PDF
