Packing & pre-trip purchase list

[k.hunter30]

What do you buy ahead of time to bring to WDW for your kiddos? I'm on the lookout for the perfect Disney outfits for my little boy and girl. Any other goodies to bring and not worry about purchasing in WDW ($$$)?

What have you found are the best and most convenient snacks to bring? We're going in April, but things may still melt.

 

[GenerationX]

Here are a couple of ideas from our many trips with our three sons when they were younger:

1. New (or used) GameBoy/DS games for the plane. We'd typically buy six used games from Game Stop - three for the flight there and three for the flight home.
2. Rain ponchos. Much cheaper to get at home. We go the really cheap route and get the $1 disposable ones from Target, WalMart, or a Dollar store.
3. Matching shirts. We'd get them from WalMart or the Disney store. The key for us (since they outnumber us) was to have them wear the same brightly colored shirt for the day. Easier to keep track of them.
4. Snacks. Little bags of pretzels or peanuts tend to work pretty well.

 

[MKN]

We brought granola bars & got juice boxes from garden grocer. I also brought my small Thermos bag & an ice pack from home to keep them cold. We just threw it in the stroller basket, worked out very well. Mickey lollipops also came in handy while we were walking around WS in Epcot!

 

[hayzer11]

Everyone is going to probably want to wear shorts, especially in april! Also If you already have them, Autograph books for characters to sign, If you don't have them should probably get them there because that is one of the kids favorites! Also don't forget a camera!

 

[erstwo]

We buy small Disney gifts from the Dollar Store (helps cut down on the purchases from the gift shops.) Glow in the dark necklaces for nighttime parades and fireworks (if your little ones stay up that late.) Cuts down on the purchases of the 'whirly, twirly, light up thingies' that WDW sells during the parade. (Although, I firmly every child should be allowed to purchase one whirly twirly light up at least once. )

As far as outfits go - that's kind of hard to recommend unless I knew your tastes & price point, but I buy a lot of my kids Disney outfits from Etsy. Right now, I love this set:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88286604/free-shipping-matching-sibling-disney?ref=sr_list_8&sref=&ga_search_query=disney&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_ref=auto&ga_category=children.clothing&ga_facet=

But you may not like that? :shrug: (Disclaimer, I've never bought from this seller, but I think this brother/ sister set is so cute!)

I hope you have a great trip!!! :wave:

 

[GenerationX]

I remembered another item: used pins from eBay. You can give them to the kids before you go and/or while you're there. It gives them a chance to have pins and trade pins at a low cost.

 

[journ116]

When we travel to WDW (always by plane, although I wouldn't mind driving once) with our DD's (DD5 & DD2), we bring new and older items for them.

DD5 is old enough now to keep watch of her 15 in. Ariel rolling backpack. I pack it with a blank notepad, crayons, pencils, pens, coloring books, reading books, and sticker books. This provides for both daughters, but the oldest is excited to be "in charge" of it all.

My husband and I love our iPads and iPods, so we bring one of each (which is loaded with more kids apps than adult-geared ones; plus we have lots of movies downloaded onto it). This allows for entertainment, for both kids and adults, in the airport terminal, on the plane, on ME, and on occasion, in line for a ride (very rare) or while waiting for a parade to start. The iPad and iPod are so much easier to transport than our DD5's Leapster Explorer, plus games.

As for snacks, I bring one grocery bag full of little snack bags, that I pack in one of our carry-ons. I buy all travel-sized products, such as: 100 calorie pack cookies, Goldfish crackers, Gerbers freeze-dried yogurt bites, Nutella with breadsticks travel packs (found at Walmart in one of the check-out lines), Ritz Crackers, cereal/granola bars, Dum Dums & gum (only given on the plane to help ease the ear-popping) and Rice Krispie treats. In my checked luggage, I pack Gerber yogurt & Snack Pack puddings (which doesn't need refrigerated until opened). We don't go through all of this, but it gives my kids (including husband), options during the entire trip!

Oh, for Christmas, I bought our little family Bobbles, a refillable water bottle that has a filter built into the mouthpiece. I'm hoping that these cut down on the need to buy bottled water (after all, I might as well take use of the FREE things Disney offers, like water fountains).

Lastly, as for clothing, I shop at a couple of different stores. Old Navy, Walmart and Target all have Disney logo apparel. We also live an hour away from a Disney Outlet store, so I pick up $3-5 t-shirts for the girls. I also pick up one or two "surprise" gifts that will be given sometime during the trip. However, we still give each daughter a Disney gift card with $X on it that they can use to buy anything they want. It teaches the oldest to be responsible, but not so much the youngest.

I have to echo what one poster said, bring your own ponchos! I buy one for each family member, plus one more adult-sized one. I use the extra one to cover the stroller. At the end of the trip, if they're still in good condition, I'll bring them home...if not, I'm out $5, compared to $35 ($7 ea. bought in WDW).

Enjoy your trip and the Flower & Garden Festival!:wave:

 

[53Herbie]

We bring a junior encyclopedia of animated characters each year for an autograph book. You can find them on Amazon. They cost about the same as the books in the park, but have nice color photo's of most of the characters with a small bio about each one. The characters will often interact more with the kids when they bring something different to get signed. We also bring sharpie markers in various colors for the actual signatures.

 

[jikobean]

We love the mash-up food pouches. You can freeze them in the room so they're like a smoothie. Also, this way you can be sure they're getting in some fruits and veggies. Plus, they can be fun to eat!

Old navy also has great Disney themed shirts for boys and girls at great prices!

 

[bethram]

Oh, for Christmas, I bought our little family Bobbles, a refillable water bottle that has a filter built into the mouthpiece. I'm hoping that these cut down on the need to buy bottled water (after all, I might as well take use of the FREE things Disney offers, like water fountains).

What a great idea! When we went last February we brought several cases of half liter water bottles and lugged them around in a backpack all day. I was already dreading the weight of the backpack when we go in June, this is the perfect idea. We'll still carry the backpack for wipes, a couple snacks, etc, but it will be much lighter without 12+ bottles of water in it. It will also keep us from running out

 

[Weather_Lady]

What do you buy ahead of time to bring to WDW for your kiddos? I'm on the lookout for the perfect Disney outfits for my little boy and girl. Any other goodies to bring and not worry about purchasing in WDW ($$$)?

What have you found are the best and most convenient snacks to bring? We're going in April, but things may still melt.

In our experience, the "perfect outfits" for WDW consist of comfortable cargo shorts (the pockets mean we only need 1 small "park bag" to hold larger items) for each person, comfy socks, good sneakers, and coordinating T-shirts so we can find each other easily. The shirts are a combination of already-owned simple styles, and identical Old Navy shirts with personalized Disney decals that I ordered from "MissMorgan" on etsy and ironed-on myself.

Are you on the dining plan? If so, you'll have some snacks and drinks included. Either way, be sure to bring refillable plastic bottles (or leak-proof travel mugs) to the parks with you. You can refill them from drinking fountains, with ice water that is available for free on request at any counter service location, or just add the unfinished portions of your mealtime drinks so they don't go to waste. As for snacks, things like granola mixes (without chocolate or candy, given the danger of melting), raisins/craisins, and apples or bananas work well. Frankly, we tend to keep the snacks in the hotel room for mid-day break snacking, rather than take them to the parks with us. We also save money by having breakfast in our room every day: mini-cereal boxes from home, and milk purchased at the resort's store. (If you're on property, you'll have a fridge in your room.)

Other things to bring from home: sunglasses, sunblock, cheap rain ponchos, clothespins (for holding food bags shut, hanging wet swimsuits, etc.), gallon-sized Ziploc bags (to hold electronics when you're on a water ride, keep wet or dirty items separate in packed luggage, hold bottles of sunscreen or other liquids in a park bag), flip wallet or other convenient carrying case for "Keys to the World" cards and Fastpasses, a cross-body purse or other lightweight park bag, and a tiny "First Aid" kit consisting of Band-aids, Blister covers/moleskin, antibiotic ointment and headache medicine.

 

[jdavison]

There are alot of great suggestions here. I would also suggest getting a good pair of Crocs. Sneakers tend to wear on your feet faster than Crocs do. Another advantage is they allow your feet to breath better.

Video games and movies also work wonders during the trip and tend to keep the kids distracted during any turbulance.

Have a great time on your trip. We just got back a couple weeks ago and it was beautiful.

 

[buseegal]

need to bein check bag or driving to Disney, glow sticks from dollar store. lot cheaper than Disney prices at nighttime shows or parades. bring enough to share. lots of fun while waiting,grandsons love them

 

[finaldynasty]

For us, we pack sun screen, ponchos, water bottles, since we normally visit in June we will buy spray water fans from walmart as well as disney clothing for them to travel in....

 

[EvilQueen-T]

when i take my granddaughter i like to take a few snacks because we tend to go park open to end of emh. when we go in the summer months we include a small fan for each of us. i just purchased some from walmart that are about the size of an adults palm they spritz water and have a clasp on each one. for my gd i put hers on the end of a lanyard. we've used them on 2 trips already this year and i loved how small they were. i also get rain ponchos. they're smaller to carry and less expensive than the ones at the park. for clothing we dress cool, comfy, and practical. when i go with gd (just turned 8) she likes it when we have something that matches so it's either we each wear a favorite villein tshirt, matching mickey mouse shirts, or she likes to wear her UF t-shirt because i have a mickey mouse uf tshirt that sort of thing. last summer she picked out a lot of hawaiian inspired outfits because we stayed at the poly.