Do you find yourself bringing more or less into the parks than you used to?

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My friend and I were talking about park bags yesterday and it got me thinking about what she brings vs what I bring and what I used to bring.

Growing up we had a huge video camera and huge camera and we went in the end of November so we'd bring jackets and we'd rent a locker mostly due to the very heavy cameras.

Once I was an adult I brought a backpack with a ton of stuff in it.
Over the last 10 years I've gone from giant backpack, to smaller backpack,, to big crossbody, to medium crossbody, and in recent trips I've been taking a fairly small crossbody.

I've definitely found that I bring less and less and less to the point that I'm down to about 10 fairly small items... Phone, portable charger, travel sized wallet (basically a VB zip ID case but this has the added benefit or a small zipper on the back for coins), chap stick, travel sized compact hair brush, travel sized perfume, tiny cosmetic jar with OTC pills, glasses sports security strap for RNRC only, flashlight just in case, and a poncho.
I put sunscreen on before I leave for the parks and I wear a hat, and a jacket if I'm going when its cold and then tie it around my waist.

Compared to what I used to bring like my glasses case, full bottles of OTC pills, sunscreen.... its much less to deal with.

On the other hand my friend still seems to take her whole house lol.
She takes her day to day purse with everything she usually has in it and then puts that into a backpack and puts a number of things that I never see her use in there as well.

Just makes me wonder if others bring more or less than they used to...

 

[ssgjason]

We brought our 3 yo the week after thanks giving
Didn’t bring a thing except my phone and wallet.
Going in march and we MAY use a stroller and have child nap in park instead of taking a midday break.
But we won’t be bringing a bag

 

[mindeola]

I bring as little as I possibly can. It is usually in a fanny pack or my hubby's pockets. Lip gloss, phone ( usually in my pocket), battery back up ( sometimes!), VB card pouch for AP and Debit card/gift card/cash. Sometimes I bring a poncho, not always though. That is about it.

have you ever used the flashlight? I have one on my phone but I've never needed it at Disney.

 

[revdon64]

Depends on the size of my party. When it's just me or me and DW we've managed to go bagless. With at least one of the kids we're going to need a backpack, and if all three are with us there's usually a stroller and multiple bags involved.

 

[KristinU]

We've been around so long that we've come full circle and I can't appropriately answer the poll, LOL!

Used to carry just a couple of cards and some cash in our pockets or a fanny pack, sometimes a camera on a belt case; then we became parents and started hauling the stroller, baby food, diapers, all of that...then that got less and less over time and now we have a teenager, so we are back to a couple of cards and some cash in our pockets or a string backpack...along with cell phones now

 

[LSUfan4444]

If I had to pick one or the other I'd probably say less. With more festivals at epcot throughout the year we bring less snacks because of the food booths. But now we all take phones, external chargers, etc. As a kid nobody ever had sanitizer, now we all do. I will say we try to bring less so thats why I'd lean that direction but I don't know if we actually do, or I just want to believe we do.

 

[Alesia]

My honeymoon was my first trip and I took a tiny bag with the basic necessities. Then I discovered the disboards and discovered that I needed to carry around all kinds of stuff. After the first day of that, I was back to the bare necessities: phone, gum (sometimes,) ID, credit card, $20, prescription medication (if necessary,) autograph book and pen (sometimes.) That's it.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I bring about the same -- my phone, maybe a camera (which is smaller than my phone), cash, ID, some lip balm and maybe some Advil & band-aids. It all fits in a small wristlet I use for the parks. I could go bagless but I don't always like having stuff in all my pockets.

 

[mrzrich]

I usually go bagless. I wear a lanyard that holds my cash and a few cards. My phone goes in my pocket. When I shop, I consciously seek out capri's with pockets to serve as my "Disney Pants"

 

[Crystal824]

I used to bring only a small bag with a camera, lip balm, sunscreen. Now I have 3 kids ages, 6 months to 7. We bring a lot. Extra clothes, diapers, wipes, sunscreen, snacks, etc, etc. Once they are older, I will be back to a small bag.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I bring as little as I possibly can. It is usually in a fanny pack or my hubby's pockets. Lip gloss, phone ( usually in my pocket), battery back up ( sometimes!), VB card pouch for AP and Debit card/gift card/cash. Sometimes I bring a poncho, not always though. That is about it.

have you ever used the flashlight? I have one on my phone but I've never needed it at Disney.

Surprisingly the flashlight has come in handy a few times. I have one on my phone too but its just that tiny bright bulb used for the flash so I don't really consider that a proper flashlight.
If I need a flashlight then I need a flashlight lol.
It's definitely bigger and heavier than I'd like but if I'm gonna bring one I want it to shed enough light for me to see my way if there's a total black out not a tiny one that only lets you see what's directly in front of you.

 

[tinkerjo]

Technically I bring more, but to be fair I don't have to carry it all. My kids are older, so I make them carry their own bags each with sunscreen, snacks, juice boxes, water bottles, rain poncho, Chapstick, money, medical supplies, hand sanitizer, pen and autograph book just as a starter. There might be deodorant and feminine supplies too. Of course they need a cell phone!! So everyone has to go through the bag Check line

 

[KrazeeK120]

We used to be a childless couple and now we have a toddler. Suffice to say we bring a lot more now than we used to!!

 

[loves to dive]

I put less but to be honest I never really took a lot. When we first started going over 30 something years ago, my son was just shy of 3 but I only used a fanny pack that held a small wallet and maybe some snacks for him and a camera. Now I go bagless, like a previous poster I always look for pants that the pockets will hold a phone and maybe a cheap poncho. I have one of those little wallet things on the back of my phone that will hold an ID, CC, AP card and a little cash that I use at Disney. My reading glasses are on a chain around my neck. If I'm staying at Swan/Dolphin my room key fits in my phone as well.

 

[bizeemom4]

Depends on the season. THIS WEEK, if it doesn’t fit in my pocket, it doesn’t come along. I’m not going thru bag check.

 

[msk]

We have gone from young children, to baby grandchildren, to older grandchildren, to enjoying WDW with just each other. Less is better!

 

[Donalyn]

I bring the same amount each time: Old Coach backpack, with big camera, phone, thin wallet, sunglasses case (I have to switch back and forth many times in a day between regular and sunglasses), hand sanitizer, daughter's epi-pen and enhalers, small container for meds.

DH, on the other hand, is a pack rat. When the kids were little, he brought sooooo much into the parks. I've been working on making it less and less over the years.

 

[ppjohnston]

Heading back to WDW in 31 days. Planning to use a smaller bag than 2 yrs ago. But, I like having my own metal, insulated water bottle...last time brought it an refilled during the day. Would like to skip that, go lighter. How do you all get drinks of water? QS cups? Single use bottles? Looking for ideas to simplify. Maybe I'm addicted to ice water?!
We are wife and husband 50-ish, no kids

 

[IvyWinter]

More, because I vlog my trips now. In the past, it was like, light wallet, phone, antibacterial stuff, sunglasses. Now i bring whatever camera im using, sometimes a mini gorilla tripod (its tiny like 6 inches), extra batteries, extra sd cards, and a back up battery for charging my phone on the go because im also often live streaming haha but i still keep it all in a mini backpack. I just cannot bring myself to bring a bigger bag than that.

 

[magical-me]

Less

As an AP holder I’m a pro