The Top Five Things That I Can't Live Without on a Trip to Disney World

Friends and clients often ask for advice on what they should pack for their Disney World trip.  Here are the top five things that I can't live without!

A Portable Pop-Up Hamper (or two) – If I am planning to utilize my resort hotel’s laundry room, this is a life saver.  I just grab the handles and carry our dirty clothes to the washing machine!  Even if I am not planning to do laundry on a trip, having a hamper creates organized space for dirty clothes.  Instead of lying on the floor all week or sitting in a steamy suitcase, our dirty clothes stay neatly in the hamper until our departure day.  Then, I just throw them in an oversized garbage bag, fold up the hamper, and stuff everything into our suitcase!

High-Quality Rain Gear – Many people wait to purchase ponchos until they are caught in their first theme-park downpour.  While ponchos are available in most stores on-property, they are paper thin and overpriced. Consequently, I always pick up some heavy-duty ponchos in the camping/outdoor section of my local Target before I leave on a Disney trip.

Safety Tats – If you have children who are too young to remember your full name and your cell phone number, Safety Tats are a must (you can see the tattoo on my daughter’s right arm in the above picture).  These temporary tattoos are personalized with your cell phone number and any other necessary information (allergies, special needs, etc.).  When my kids were younger, I’d transfer Safety Tats to their arms every morning before we left our hotel room.  If either one of my children ever became lost, I knew that Cast Members would know exactly who to call.  Check them out at http://www.safetytat.com.

 Small Games – Because we follow my touring plans every day, we almost never wait in an attraction’s line for more than ten minutes.  Nevertheless, some waiting at Disney is unavoidable (waiting for a theme park “rope drop” in the morning, waiting for a live stage show to begin, etc.).  During these times, distractions for children are essential.  But who wants to carry loads of bulky activities through the theme parks all day?  To solve this problem, I stock up on small travel games (we love the magnetic tic-tac-toe and hangman games).  If your kids are older, a deck of cards will probably suffice.   

All The Right Shoes – A vacation to Disney World requires a TON of walking, so I start each day in my broken-in tennis shoes.  However, I always throw a pair of flip flops or Crocs into my backpack before I leave my hotel room so that I am prepared for rain.  While all-day washouts are rare, afternoon downpours are quite common in Orlando (especially in the summer), and soaked-to-the-bone tennis shoes are extremely uncomfortable.  When that afternoon storm hits, I just change into my flip flops and pop my tennies into my backpack to stay dry!

Meredith McCutcheon

Disney Specialist, Ginger's Getaways

disnemadeeasy@yahoo.com