SAVE MONEY, TIME & STRESS!
Let’s face it – there’s always some things you need to go out and purchase before any vacation you take, but IMO Disney requires more planning & advanced purchases than your average vacation.
Planning for Disney can seem overwhelming in general, so we wanted to throw together our essentials list that you should order before your trip. This will save you so much money so that you don’t have to pay exorbitant resort prices and you’ll feel prepared for some hiccups that may unexpectedly come up.
If you need any help with planning, head over to this post to read more on that.
And make sure you download our 33 must know tips & tricks for Disney World … it’ll make your trip so much more enjoyable and you’ll feel like you’re maximizing all that money you spent 😉
22 Essentials we know you’ll want to grab if you don’t already have them:
This is especially great if you’re flying. It collapses to a really small size – making it ideal for packing in luggage, throwing in the bottom of your stroller once you’ve used everything in it, etc. We bring our lunch to the parks at least 2-3 days to help save money and this cooler makes it extra easy! If you don’t have a stroller and you want to use this one, consider renting a locker at the parks to keep it in so you don’t have to carry it all day.
If you’re not bringing a stroller, we recommend the backpack cooler. You won’t be able to collapse it, which is a big thumbs down for flying – but you can just use it as your carry on if need be. It definitely doesn’t hold as much as the larger cooler above, but it’s much more comfortable to carry all day.
We wrap them around our stroller for nighttime. Not only does it make the stroller easy to find, but the kiddos think it’s super fun (I mean, even I think it’s festive LOL).
Disney has made the switch to eco-friendly cardboard straws. I personally don’t like them (I understand the purpose), so we’ve started bringing our own straws. We do primarily bring our own cups – see below – but we always carry one or two of these just in case.
Disney doesn’t do lids on their cups. You can imagine the horror a parent feels when finding this out. Not only do my kids absolutely need lids, but really any cup on our table does. It’s just safer and easier. And if you don’t finish it and want to bring it with you, it’s ultimately going to end up spilling. The water bottles linked above are great because they are insulated AND have a filter. Florida water definitely has a distinct taste which many people don’t care for; the filter can help with that. We bring these for the boys typically. Chance also really likes these because they clip on and don’t take up a lot of space.
These make packing SO easy! Everything that goes into our backpack is already categorized into a pouch. It keeps things organized and easy to find. I make sure to put the pouches strategically into the backpack, too.
Ziplock bags have SO many practical uses! From carrying snacks, saving extra food to putting wet clothes in – you’ll be happy you have it. Recently I’ve started being ‘extra’ and getting the bags that have the Disney designs on them. You can totally just get off brand regular ol’ plastic baggies (which is what we normally have at home), but we like this extra little ‘happy’ for the kids 🙂
Selfie sticks are not allowed at Disney. Chance found us this gorillapod when he & I were traveling to Arizona by ourselves. I don’t know what made us think to bring it to Disney one time, but I’m sure glad we did. Super inexpensive!
When it’s hot (which is many months out of the year), you’ll definitely want a stroller fan. We have plenty because New Orleans weather is basically the same as Orlando, but if you’re not used to the heat or don’t need a stroller fan for your summers, definitely grab one!
Everything is done from your phone now. There’s so many people there, you’re constantly taking pictures and the days are long – trust me, bring the charger!
I didn’t know if my boys would even wear the ears, so I just couldn’t bring myself to spend Disney prices on them. These are plain but they worked well and I didn’t care if anything happened to them or not.
Chance found these for the boys to make sure they didn’t intentionally or accidentally pull their Magic Band watches off. A must!
This is important for little ones, especially if you’re staying for fireworks. They’re also important if you have a special needs child who is sensitive to loud noises. I know for us, sometimes Hunter will react negatively to a sound when we least expect it.
Y’all – there are no words for this one. I mean, with kids, there’s just so much stuff. Get the extra hooks! Lol
Yes, I did this pre-pandemic, too). I can sort of be a germaphobe, so I always have plenty of hand sanitizer and wipes.
This is seriously beneficial for any trip at all. You’ll thank us each night when you’re not switching out charging cables LOL
We love this one because it’s easy to travel with. Totally works for adult cups/water bottles to be cleaned, too.
- Stroller caddy (or cupholder)
I like having our drinks quickly accessible, so these are musts for us. Depending on which stroller we have for the trip sort of dictates which one we use. For our Uppababy with the piggyback board, we just use the cupholder.
One word – blisters. But also, little kid knee scrapes lol. I linked a multi pack in the header. Just bring them (and extra points if you grab a Disney design pack). LOL
This is the best way to make sure snacks don’t get smushed in your bag. We actually use this for the boys’ aftercare snacks in their tote bags as well. Not fancy but super practical.
This is something we actually keep in our backpack all the time. You never know when there won’t be a spot at a table to sit at or maybe you are planning to bring sandwiches and want to do picnic-style anyway. Super useful!
As of the writing of this, masks are still required indoors for ages 2 & up. It’s a real pain sometimes to collect the masks, redistribute etc. It’s also great to keep the little ones from dropping them on the ground YUCK
We know nothing on this list is earth-shattering, but we PROMISE you’ll be so glad you grabbed all of these ahead of time!
