Last Tuesday, we took Liam to Disneyland for the second time. I came up with a method for packing that has really worked for us and I wanted to share it with you!
First, I pack large ziplock bags with different categories of items: snacks, diapers/sunscreen/medicine, and clothes. The first time we went, Liam was still in diapers, but I knew I didn’t want to bring his big diaper bag on all the rides and I didn’t want to leave the bag with my wallet and keys in the stroller. I came up with this idea to use the ziplocks so I could just grab the diaper one each time we went to the bathroom, without having to take a whole big bag. If he wanted a snack, I didn’t have to dig through my whole bag to find one — I could just pull out the snack ziplock. If he needed a sweatshirt, I’d just pull out the clothing ziplock instead of digging through a huge bag looking for it.
The first time we went, I did not put the ziplocks in a larger tote bag and the only time I regretted that was on the shuttle to and from the parking lot, as I had to take everything out of the stroller to fold it up to fit on the tram. This time, I put the ziplocks in a canvas tote bag so it was easier to get them all out of the stroller quickly, if needed.
As for all of my personal things, I put them in a small cross body purse that I wore the whole time. It was light and I felt like my important items were safe on my person at all times.
I was able to pack a little less this time since Liam is potty trained now, but I did pack a lot more clothing because I was worried about accidents. Luckily, he made it the whole 12 hour day without a single one!
The only thing I forgot to pack was dry tissue (my allergies have been awful lately) and tylenol or advil for the grown ups. My husband got a headache halfway through the day and I regretted not bringing any with me.
Liam is 2 years old and here are the rides we went on, along with his review:
Disneyland
Fire station – he loved climbing on the old fire engine
Dumbo – this is his #1 favorite!
Small world – he likes it, but doesn’t get too excited
Carousel – another favorite!
Casey Jr. Train – big hit!
Big train – this was a rest ride for us because it had no line and we could just sit for a while. Plus, he loves trains.
Pirates – a little too scary. He didn’t cry, but he didn’t love it.
Haunted mansion – same as pirates, but he was a little more brave, oddly enough.
Tom Sawyer island – a nice place to run off some energy
Jungle cruise – I thought he would like this more than he did. Longest wait of the day, too.
California Adventure
King Tritan’s Carousel – twice! He could go on the carousel again and again.
Rockets – these were like a slightly scarier Dumbo and he loved it. Very short wait, so we went twice.
Tow Mater – we all loved this one. If the wait was shorter we would have gone on it again!
Bugs Life Ladybugs – not very exciting and really short. Kind of like teacups, but our bug wouldn’t spin.
Bugs Life Splash Pad – he loves getting wet, so this was a hit!
Monsters inc – Long wait and not that fun. He’s never seen the movies, so that’s probably why it didn’t catch his interest.
We had a great time and it was so fun to see Liam smiling all day. I can’t wait until our next visit!
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Thank you!!! We leave for Disney World in two weeks and seriously, this is so helpful. I hadn’t thought of bringing a smaller purse with me for the important, don’t want to get stolen things. Thanks for this!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I did almost the exact same thing, but we used a backpack instead of a tote because I brought the pack in with us and on rides.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Great post! I agree with packing something that can just stay at the bottom of the stroller and you don’t have to hold/carry it on the rides with you.
Instead of a cross body, we did use a small backpack diaper bag that we carried with us, so it held quite a bit (snacks to keep her occupied in line, etc). But we still had the larger bag of emergency stuff in the bottom of the stroller along with our cooler.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
@T.H.O.U.: @looch: Did any of y’all use the lockers at Disney? I debated getting one and storing extra stuff in there, but not sure if it’s worth the cost. The smaller bag + diaper bag may be a better solution.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Bookish: We did one day because we had brought some extra things like rain gear, towel for fireworks and just extra clothes. I went to it once when we were up front at the park but they really are a pain to get to. I think I went up there to drop off some stuff we had bought.
Totally not necessary but its an option. What kind of stroller are you bringing? How much storage? We had 4 adults, 1 baby and a B-Ready. The basket below was big enough for a decent sized cooler with lunch and drinks and snacks, plus the larger sized diaper bag/tote bag, the ergo carrier, and the camera.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
@T.H.O.U.: Good to know, thanks. We have a City Mini, so not a terribly large amount of storage space. We can fit our big diaper bag, an ergo, and that’s about it!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Bookish: You may want to make sure to have an easily accessible cup holder and maybe a “mommy hook” for hanging other stuff from. DD got a pair of “mickey ears” and it was nice to be able to even clip those onto the stroller rather than have them smooshed down in the bottom.
kiwi / 566 posts
Thank you for this! We plan to take our little one (who will be about 10 months at the time) to Disney World for just a day in November, so this will be super-helpful!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
great post!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Bookish: no, we never did, because we didn’t spend more than a few hours at the parks per day.
I second a cup holder on the stroller too, I had one and it was great to just throw napkins and our water bottles in there.
grapefruit / 4110 posts
So much fun! I take my little guy just me and him. I take his preschool backpack and the beco and that’s it. It is so fun. His favorite is definitely tow mater and boos door(monsters inc but he loves the movie).
Also I love the downtime the Disney jr show provides. For pirates, we prepare him for the two drops and then he does fine.
We should do a SoCal meetup at dland!
grapefruit / 4049 posts
So fun! Our annual pass is expiring soon, so we’ve been going a lot lately. We love Disney!! I’m considering renewing to a less expensive pass… Gonna miss it so much if we don’t renew. The kids have such a blast!
pineapple / 12053 posts
I love these packing tips! Gonna use them for my carryon for Hawaii!
guest
I love your small cross-body purse, Mrs. tictactoe. Can you tell me what brand it is and/or where you got it? Thanks!
guest
Last time we went to Disneyland my husband had an allergy attack from all the trees. We found out that the General Store inside the Grand Californian had Advil and Claritin. He only had to pay an arm and a leg for it
honeydew / 7488 posts
Toon town is great for little kids. The Enchanted Tiki Room is a nice place to sit down and take a break (and enjoy a Dole Whip)! We love Disneyland!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
Great ideas!! I hope we are able to get back to Disney soon!
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
@T-Mom: I wanted to do the Tiki room, but my husband wasn’t sold on the idea. And toon town can get really crowded… but we will definitely go there next time.
cherry / 130 posts
Thanks for posting the tips! We are going to Disneyland next month. Good idea on the cross body bag.
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
Great ideas!!! I love the way you broke it all down… so smart!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I’m looking forward to bringing M to Disney in a few years when he’s old enough to really appreciate everything. If we still lived in FL I think I’d have taken him several times; it seems like such a fun place for little kiddos!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
Will totally revisit this when we make it to Disney one day!!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
We are going this summer to DisneyWorld and Im saving this post for when the time comes closer
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
Thanks for the tips! We went yesterday and had a blast with the kids….my toddler loved the rides and Dumbo was her favorite. We got there at 10:15 and left at 8:45….double stroller naps for the win!
@T-Mom: Dole Whips are my favorite dessert…I had one yesterday!