WDW Gear: Real World Tested

[ciscobee]

It seems everything I go to WDW I'm always wishing ... man why didn't I think of that, because I see someone doing something genius. For instance, just by chance, the last time I was there, someone either intentionally or not, left a 6 way plug in the wall which provided 6 outlets instead of the two that were there. I called down to Front Desk to let them know, and when we left I still left it there to "pay it forward"; but the point was, this was genius. Instead of hunting all over for a plug, I had the laptop, camera charger, ipod charger, and razor all plugged into the same thing.

Another thing I am always on the lookout for at WDW is camera and audio gear. There are some who carry lots (backpacks full) and others who have barely anything on them, I fall somewhere in between ... I call it the stuffed pocket look. But I am curious if anyone out there has done there homework to come up with the best of the best. This camera, that audio recorder, video recorder X, and so on. It's interesting to see what people say who have actually been and carried this stuff around all day.

So, whats your best of the best, and your "have to have" list based on your WDW stays?

 

[Tom]

It seems everything I go to WDW I'm always wishing ... man why didn't I think of that, because I see someone doing something genius. For instance, just by chance, the last time I was there, someone either intentionally or not, left a 6 way plug in the wall which provided 6 outlets instead of the two that were there. I called down to Front Desk to let them know, and when we left I still left it there to "pay it forward"; but the point was, this was genius. Instead of hunting all over for a plug, I had the laptop, camera charger, ipod charger, and razor all plugged into the same thing.

Another thing I am always on the lookout for at WDW is camera and audio gear. There are some who carry lots (backpacks full) and others who have barely anything on them, I fall somewhere in between ... I call it the stuffed pocket look. But I am curious if anyone out there has done there homework to come up with the best of the best. This camera, that audio recorder, video recorder X, and so on. It's interesting to see what people say who have actually been and carried this stuff around all day.

So, whats your best of the best, and your "have to have" list based on your WDW stays?

Interesting thread. I'm anxious to see what people come up with.

On the 6-way plug thing, we just stayed at OKW (DVC members) and Disney actually added a 6-way on an outlet where they put their phone and internet router and lamp in the corner of the living room. It was VERY handy - especially with 2 laptops and camera chargers.

As for toting stuff around the parks - I just don't anymore. I have what seems like millions of pictures of the parks - and I can pretty much remember what I see these days. So, I carry a wallet and a pocket poncho and that's it. if my wife wants pics, she gets to tote the Nikon D60 around (ugh). PhotoPass suffices for self-portraits

 

[HeatherK]

Last time I was in Disney October 1-5 '08, and I wanted to bring the video camera. So I had a pink laptop backpack which was very padded (inside and on the outside so it was easy on the shoulders) and had a few secret compartments because, well, it is made to hold laptops ha. So it was nicely padded for the video camera, which we also put in a video camera bag with extra tapes and batteries. We planed ahead the rides we would do that we could video tape so we didn't walk around aimlessly video taping things, we knew when we needed the camera and when we didn't.

Also doing my CP in the fall of 2007, I had friends visit me Oct 5-7 '07 and it rained everyday so we were smart enough to bring poncos, though thankfully it did not rain.

We had our wallets, tickets, money and all that stuff.

Before we entered any park, I would take the backpack and my boyfriend would take the video camera bag so security was a little easier. We did not over stuff the bag at all, we travled as light as we could with everything we needed so when we bought small things we could just slip it in the bottom of the bag.

 

[krankenstein]

One thing I found that works great is freezer ziplock bags for you refillable mug. I normally get something to drink in it at the food court in the morning. Once I finish my beverage, I put it in the freezer bag and throw it in my backpack. I don't have to worry about getting Coke or whatever on everything in my bag.

 

[Dwarful]

I always bring extra hangers because we never seem to have enough drawer space. (I don't like stuff sitting out on the dressers...even in a resort room). On longer trips we just take the camcorder in for special things (a meal at the castle, etc).

 

[Victoria]

I have discovered what I think is the best camera bag. The Tamrac Adventure 3, 4, or 5 bags are awesome. They are a messenger bag style so it comes with a long strap that can be worn across the body. It has tons of space for everything camera related and all of the other stuff I carry around the parks. The smallest one goes for about $39 and it goes up in $10 increments for the larger sizes.

 

[KeithVH]

When the kids we're younger and we always seemed to bring a lot, it felt easier to take a load of camera equipment and laptops, etc. Especially when driving from Texas and a big ol' minivan to stuff it all in. And the first day or so, you always want to bring a lot of gear into the parks. By the third you're thinking "Why am I carrying on this crap?" The time to reach this point is directly proportional to the average per day high temp.

Now that we always have to fly, we are very careful about what goes with us and what we carry in. I favor the LowePro line - anything in the AW series (the allweather cover will even stand up to a FLA rainstorm). My suggestion is really sit down and, deciding ahead of time what to take in the park, you then go to the camera store (not possible for everyone I know) and get a bag just big enough to carry what you need. I tend to lean towards beltpacks because the weight really lies on your hips but you can also try some strain off with the optional shoulder strap. These are even great if you have to hike or jog.

For those that don't have a camera store near them, use B&H in New York for mail order. They have a REALLY liberal return policy. If you order a bag you don't like, call them and do an exchange until you get the one you want. Camera hobbyists do this all the time with them and they're good about it.

I also suggest, especially with younger kids, keep the gear separate from the kid's stuff. One leaking bottle or juice box or mashed graham cracker isn't worth the damge it can do to modern camera gear.

 

[hwdelien]

Three things:
1) I always have a ziploc freezer bag stuffed in my back pocket. When I ride a water ride, my wallet, money, and anything else that needs to stay dry goes in there.

2) I have a cheap imported iPod Shuffle mp3 player. It's exactly like the shuffle in that it has a clip to clip on your shirt. It has a decent audio recorder in it, decent battery life and 4 gig of memory. More than enough space to record anything of interest during the day. Since it has a screen, I can delete those recordings that weren't what I expected and when I get back to the room, it plugs into my laptop through a standard USB cable and shows up like a thumb drive to move everything off of it.

3) I have a JVC everio camcorder. The is as small as a typical digital camera and has a built in 30 gig hard drive. It has a camera mode and a video mode 3:4 or 16:9 aspect ratio (normal or widescreen). The best part is it has 38x optical zoom. I shot video of Mickey at Fantasmic that looked like he was right in front of me. The camera is fast, too and unlike most digital cameras, what you see on the display is what the picture looks like. It has a built in light which really isn't adaquate as a flash. You can set the camera to automatically take one snapshot a second as long as you hold the button so you can eventually get the picture where noone is blinking.

That's it no big camera bag, no backpack, just a small camera bag (really small), an mp3 player clipped to my shirt and a ziplock in my back pocket and I'm ready for anything.

 

[sillyspook13]

I carry my camera equipment in a medium sized bag (enough to hold an SLR body, a couple of lenses, accessories, plus my wallet and sunglasses and any other small items that I may need). I keep a plastic grocery bag folded up in a small cell phone pouch in my bag. It takes up very little space and I can put my gear in the bag during water rides and rain storms.

 

[Phonedave]

People have posted the zip-loc bag for water rides

I have found (and use) the next step - if you will

Alocksac's

http://www.loksak.com/


They are basicaly zip-loc bags, but are a lot sturdier. They are also not that expensive (2 bucks or so for a small lunch bag size) and you just keep using them over again.

The thing is they are waterproof - not waterRESISTANT. I put my cell phone in them while swimming and have never had a problem. Same goes for room keys, cash, etc. Even used them at the waterparks. They are GREAT. A suit with velcro pockets and my stuff in one of these bags, and I never have to worry about things going missing, or having to go back to the locker if I want to buy something or need to make a call.

I have also used them while snorkling and swimming in the ocean - what I had in them stayed bone dry.

-dave