Park Necessities

[CouponGirl]

We are planning our first adult only trip and I’m loving the idea of not taking a bunch of stuff with me into the parks. But at the same time I’m used to having a backpack and/or stroller full of water, snacks, misc items.

What are your must bring items?

If you’ve gone recently, have you found it easy to get a cup of water at QS? Has hand sanitizer been available?

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Hat, sunscreen, rain poncho, and bottled water. Lines can be slow for getting a cup of water at QS, so I'd rather have my own water bottle with me. (I was most recently at the parks in February 2021). Carrying a rain poncho makes it less likely that it will rain. The first day you that don't bring one, tends to be the rainy day.

 

[loves to dive]

I try to go bagless. Phone with a pouch on back for CC, ID and room key (stay at Dolphin). Glasses on a necklace around my neck. I put on sunscreen before I leave the room. I usually either have a small umbrella with a wrist strap and cover which will either strap on a belt loop or around my wrist (also good for sunshade), or a disposable poncho that will fold into nothing and fit in a pocket. A twenty dollar bill in my pocket. I was there in April when you had to wear masks all the time. I had a few spare paper masks and a few packets of wipes in a snack size ziplock with all the air sucked out in my pocket. Hand sanitizer was available everywhere at that time. Reports differ right now as to whether the dispensers are full or not. Sometimes I carry a bottle of water in my hand and refill it at water fountains or grab a cup of water if it convenient and refill it with that. I don't mind carrying the bottle in my hand, I tuck it under my arm if I need two hands for something. I looked into getting one of those bottle holders you can either clip to a belt or wear around your neck but with my glasses and my mask on a lanyard around my neck, my neck was pretty full. I also have a fanny pack that has a water bottle holder in it that I took a couple of times in April if it looked like it was going to rain harder than a disposable poncho would work for and harder than an umbrella would work for. I had a larger Disney poncho in that. Magic band on my arm. Hat on my head.

Anything else you can get in the park. Band aids, aspirin, etc. just go to first aid, they are free. I have a few golf type skorts that have zip pockets in the front and pockets in the back so everything can get scattered about amongst them pretty well.

 

[PittPantherfan]

Found the best shorts that I got to wear to a major coaster amusement park on a very hot & humid day that will be a must wear when I go to Disney again. Lots of pockets, quick dry and cool - Duluth Trading Co. Dry on the Fly shorts. I can't go without a bag - I must have my own water and few snacks like granola bars. Just a small back pack with a small soft lunch bag like cooler bag works great for me. Another must - chapstick!

 

[BrianL]

Bagless here too - if it doesn't fit in a pair of cargo shorts, it' ain't coming with me! I typically bring sunscreen, my case for my glasses/sunglasses, one of those flat-pack disposable ponchos that come in a ziploc style bag, and in that bag I bring a few lens wipes for my glasses and a few band-aids - that last one is often overlooked, but you never know when they will come in handy! I condense my wallet into just a very small insert - ID, credit card, medical insurance card, a small amount of cash, and a small printed itinerary card. Also these days I bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a spare mask.

 

[CouponGirl]

Hat, sunscreen, rain poncho, and bottled water. Lines can be slow for getting a cup of water at QS, so I'd rather have my own water bottle with me. (I was most recently at the parks in February 2021). Carrying a rain poncho makes it less likely that it will rain. The first day you that don't bring one, tends to be the rainy day.

Thanks! That’s great to know about the lines being slow to get water. And a good reminder to bring a poncho! No doubt that’s the way it always works... don’t bring it and that’ll be the day you wish you had it!

 

[CouponGirl]

I try to go bagless. Phone with a pouch on back for CC, ID and room key (stay at Dolphin). Glasses on a necklace around my neck. I put on sunscreen before I leave the room. I usually either have a small umbrella with a wrist strap and cover which will either strap on a belt loop or around my wrist (also good for sunshade), or a disposable poncho that will fold into nothing and fit in a pocket. A twenty dollar bill in my pocket. I was there in April when you had to wear masks all the time. I had a few spare paper masks and a few packets of wipes in a snack size ziplock with all the air sucked out in my pocket. Hand sanitizer was available everywhere at that time. Reports differ right now as to whether the dispensers are full or not. Sometimes I carry a bottle of water in my hand and refill it at water fountains or grab a cup of water if it convenient and refill it with that. I don't mind carrying the bottle in my hand, I tuck it under my arm if I need two hands for something. I looked into getting one of those bottle holders you can either clip to a belt or wear around your neck but with my glasses and my mask on a lanyard around my neck, my neck was pretty full. I also have a fanny pack that has a water bottle holder in it that I took a couple of times in April if it looked like it was going to rain harder than a disposable poncho would work for and harder than an umbrella would work for. I had a larger Disney poncho in that. Magic band on my arm. Hat on my head.

Anything else you can get in the park. Band aids, aspirin, etc. just go to first aid, they are free. I have a few golf type skorts that have zip pockets in the front and pockets in the back so everything can get scattered about amongst them pretty well.

Nice! You have it all worked out. That’s great to know you can get the various first aid items for free at the first aid stations.
I hadn’t thought about golf skirts with zipper pockets. It would be great to have something with a zipper pocket. I’ll have to add to my list to make sure I have a lanyard for masks. Thank you!

 

[CouponGirl]

Found the best shorts that I got to wear to a major coaster amusement park on a very hot & humid day that will be a must wear when I go to Disney again. Lots of pockets, quick dry and cool - Duluth Trading Co. Dry on the Fly shorts. I can't go without a bag - I must have my own water and few snacks like granola bars. Just a small back pack with a small soft lunch bag like cooler bag works great for me. Another must - chapstick!

I’ll have to look up the shorts! Thanks for sharing! I’m going to try hard to go bagless, but a small backpack would still be a big difference over what we had been taking with us! My problem is if I have a bag I tend to fill it up

 

[CouponGirl]

Bagless here too - if it doesn't fit in a pair of cargo shorts, it' ain't coming with me! I typically bring sunscreen, my case for my glasses/sunglasses, one of those flat-pack disposable ponchos that come in a ziploc style bag, and in that bag I bring a few lens wipes for my glasses and a few band-aids - that last one is often overlooked, but you never know when they will come in handy! I condense my wallet into just a very small insert - ID, credit card, medical insurance card, a small amount of cash, and a small printed itinerary card. Also these days I bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a spare mask.

I’m feeling envious! You’re able to get quite a bit in your cargo shorts! A spare mask and small bottle of hand sanitizer is a great idea. Sounds like a shouldn’t count on there being sanitizer being available and never know when you might need a mask replacement.
Thanks!

 

[BrianL]

I’m feeling envious! You’re able to get quite a bit in your cargo shorts! A spare mask and small bottle of hand sanitizer is a great idea. Sounds like a shouldn’t count on there being sanitizer being available and never know when you might need a mask replacement.
Thanks!

They were actually good about having hand sanitizer around, which is why I barely used any of my own. Still, I liked having it just in case. The sunscreen and the sunglasses case are the large items. Most of the rest of it all fits in the very flat pack the poncho comes in. I put that in my back pocket.

 

[MARCIAKAZ]

I use a smallish cross-body bag (Lug Carousel xl) to force a limit on what to carry - contents: phone, ID, credit and/or gift card(s), sunglasses, reading glasses in a case, lipbalm, sanitizer, 2 ziplocks with a few lysol wipes and baby wipes in each (labeled!), couple of spare masks, an Altoid tin first-aid kit (bandaids, tylenol, ibuprofen), eyedrops for contacts, S'Well 15oz water bottle.

 

[White Cat]

Car keys, wallet. Sometimes a phone. Sometimes that stays in the car.

 

[TCRAIG]

I go bagless - cargo capris with phone in 1 pocket and pack of hand wipes in the other - then a little hanging wallet that clips onto a lanyard that hold AP, license, DVC card and a CC. Going forward, I may throw a little phone charger in a pocket as well.

 

[holyrita]

I'll chime in since I'm in the minority bringing a bunch of stuff in a bag I got a medium drawstring bag off amazon and will bring 2 sunscreens (spray for body/cream for face), hand sanitizer, extra masks, cooling towel, handheld fan, straws, refillable water bottle, 2 external batteries and charging cables, poncho, flip flops (for when it rains), sunglasses, hat, reusable bag to store any post-rain wet items

 

[BayGirl22]

I carry a bag, I don't really try to go without or to pack super light, just prefer to have more comforts on me. I also don't like my pockets feeling weighted down.

Here's my typical list without kids: Poncho (I have a reusable one that's a bit nicer than plastic but still packs small, small umbrella, small pouch with moleskin and bandaids, folding shopping bag (we often bring food or buy stuff and this one is easier to carry than a plastic bag), tiny folding "blanket" for sitting on the grass or pavement, one or two small snacks, sunglasses, sunscreen, small pouch with a small brush, hair things, personal stuff (I have long hair and if it gets tangled or wet its really annoying), reusable utensils and straw, small wallet with a credit card, ID and a little cash, phone, sometimes a water bottle.

 

[cjlong88]

We started with a small backpack, now we don’t bring anything in except what’s in our pockets.

1. credit card / id (left pocket)
2. magic band (wrist)
3. chapstick (left pocket)
4. phone (right pocket)

I wear the All in Motion athletic shorts with zipper pockets so I don’t have to worry about stuff falling out. This really works for us because we like to take a break midday so we can always grab what we need back at the hotel later in the day. Otherwise, we have found that we really didn’t use the stuff brought in.

Oh! And if it rains we wear our rain jackets to the parks. If it’s hot and the rain has subsided, I’ll just tie it around my waste 1993 style.

 

[Lizgistix]

While there is hand sanitizer in the parks, some run out, so I bring a small bottle of Purell just to be safe.
I also hate paper straws, so I bring a ziploc with a handful of agave straws. Still biodegradable and more sturdy than paper. Oh and since so many places are lid-less now, I also bring a silicone lid that fits on top of cups of coffee and medium size fountain soda cups. Also less spillage when trying to navigate through crowds and dining areas.

 

[emily nicole]

We just went earlier this week.

Things we carried that we used: Chapstick, Wallet, Phone, Hand sanitizer (mini one clipped to outside of backpack), poncho, sunglasses

Things I brought that we didn't actually use: Neck fans, cooling towels, umbrellas, water bottle. The water bottle made my backpack heavy and made my shoulders ache. The last couple days of the trip we left the water bottles and got free QS ice water. The fans just moved around hot air and the cooling towels made me feel gross and wet.

We did use the umbrellas for a short while on a rainy day but then it became too windy so we were glad for our ponchos.

We also did not need the external battery charger. We just didn't use our phones enough to run them down. That may change with Genie+.

 

[holyrita]

Tip for a reusable water bottle- I only fill it up for as much as I'm going to drink in that moment, my empty reusable bottle is lighter than my phone! Much shorter wait to refill your reusable bottle over and over than waiting for QS

This will be my first trip with a fan and cooling towels. They seem to go either way, either a lifesaver or you don't like them. If there's a chance they make me more comfortable I'm all for trying

ETA: this trip I won't constantly be trying to get fastpasses so maybe I won't need an external battery at all!

 

[MickMick]

Hand wipe packets
Body wipe packet
Charger and cord
Chapped Lip Balm
Small Wallet