Disney's Ultimate Park Bag List
Updated: August 2023
First, what is a park bag? This bag is solely your DISNEY PARK ONLY bag, do not use this bag for anything else on vacation. Don't use it as a pool bag or empty it to head to Disney Springs because you will forget to put something back in it. Leave it packed, replenish it each night or morning, and designate it as your park bag. It makes it so much easier to keep one bag stocked with all your Park needs.
If you want to skip the blog and just got straight to my amazon storefront I have all three types of pack bags in sections, my Year Round Park bag, Summer Park Bag, and Winter Park Bag. I even have one for the kids! Otherwise you may want to read why I need certain items.
Year Round DIsney Park Bag items
Zip Lock Bags: Yes, you need these. I use the sandwich size to separate masks, hand sanitizer, extra mask, and electrolyte packs. Then I take the Gallon ones just if you need to put wet socks in there, change clothes, etc. So they are always good to have on hand.
Protip from one of our members in the Magic Made Easy Community. She had two under two and unpack the stroller at the busses became a task. So she takes the BIG ziplock bags and at the end of the night throws ALL the items in there for a quick and easy exit.
I also like using the reusable ziploc bags!
Hand Sanitizer: Yep, you need it! The park has dispensers all over the park, but we have noticed on the last few trips they are not replenished as often as they were back in March. So having some on hand is a good call!
Wet Ones: The antibacterial kind. I prefer the red pack. Sometimes you have to scrub hands down before you chow down at your favorite quick service!
Portable Charger and Cords: I know you are on vacation, but if you came to Disney to unplug, think again. you are on your phone more than ever now. Between the Genie system, mobile ordering, and capturing those magical moments, you will be on your phone all day long and need a recharge.
Disney has fuel rods for $30, and you can replace them with a new one once that fuel rod is empty. But you can buy TWO fuel rods on amazon for the price of one! So by those ahead of time! Also, Disney does have charging stations all over the park. So if a portable charger is not in the budget, don't forget your cord and brick!
Advil: Self-explanatory, but carry whatever headache or pain-relieving medication you use. We like Advil. You may want Tylenol. Don't worry if you forgot some. The parks do have a First Aid Station and Baby Center where pain relievers are available for purchase, and you can purchase some at Guest Relations at the front of the park.
Electrolyte Powder: Park days are LONG. When you go from ride to show to ride, sometimes you are not drinking enough water. I get electrolyte powder for my husband and me, I prefer the LMNT Elemental Labs brand, but other popular ones are Liquid IV and Ultima. I also get Pedialyte packets that I pour in the kid's water once a day. No one wants to feel bad on your trip, so stay hydrated.
ProTip: Bring a refillable water bottle, there are stations all over the park, and you can ask for a cup of water from any quick-service counter. This is the one we LOVE and use because it has a filter in it one type is insulated and one is a plastic bottle.
Chapstick: Trust me. You need it!
Tide Stick/Shout Wipes: You just grabbed food from Casey's Corner in Magic Kingdom, you ordered Walt's Chili-Cheese All-Beef Foot-long Hot Dog, and as you take your last bite, bang cheese dead center on your shirt. No one wants to walk the parks all day with a stained shirt.
Hand Lotion: Constantly hand washing and sanitizing will have your hand feeling like sandpaper.
Travel Size Cottonelle Wipes: You know what these are for! You just had a Chili Cheese Dog!
Hair Ties: You can never have enough for you or your kids!
Snacks: We will talk about cost-saving tips in another post. But you are allowed to bring food into the parks. The policy has changed as of 2019, only small coolers 24″ by 15″ by 18″ and no loose ice is permitted in the park. Some people pack all their food and do not eat at the park to save money. I recommend having granola bars and little snacks for the kids to keep them comfortable in between meals. I try to pick options that will fuel that because we will be eating a lot of Mickey Bars at the parks! For some reason, kids have these enormous snack stomachs and tiny "real" food stomachs. :P
Ponchos & Stroller Rain Covers: Rain in Florida is a given. It does not matter what time of year you go. You almost can always expect rain for at least one day. I know this does not go in your park bag if you have a stroller as we do, but it's something that needed to make the list.
Sun Protection: Year round you will want to bring, sunglasses, bucket hats, sunscreen all the things to protect you from the outside elements of florida.
Mini First Aid Kit: Every park has a first aid station located in the park, but you may not want to run there for a mini scratch or a blister. Carrying a mini first aid kit give you the supplies you need for those minor bumps and bruises.
Park Dump Bag: If you have a stroller you need a park dump bag. This is a thin foldable bag that you keep in the bottom of the stroller. At the end of the night when you are trying to get all your items put up.
Year round Disney Park Bag Kid items
Baby Items: I have been taking all my kids parks from 6 months and older, so I have a curated list from infancy to toddlerhood, I bring everything from changing pad, diapers, wipes, and Arm & Hammer Diaper bags for the stinky diapers, and it's nice as a makeshift trash can when needed. Also, I have food pouches, dehydrated yogurt drops and a change of clothes in the zip lock bag.
Toys for Line: We do not like to wait in line, but if it's not in the funds for Genie+ Lighting Lane. Make sure to have small activities your kids can do inline. Miniature pop-its, those $1 activity bags from 5 below, small book word search—something to keep them entertained.
Change of Socks: It rains in Florida a lot. You may want to change out your socks and stick the wet ones in one of those zip lock bags.
ProTip: If you have a nervous rider, or a rider that gets motion sickness. It would be a good idea to pack a ziplock bag with a change of clothes for them. I will never forget my boy twin at 3 years old got off the teacups, looked at us and vomited all over himself. We stripped him down and he sat in his underwear until my husband could find children’s cloths at the Main Street Emporium. So he got a new $60 outfit, and I had to carry vomit clothes in an unsealed bag! Lesson Learned!
Toilet Seat Covers: I have 4 kids and 3 are little. I LIVE by toilet seat covers. The BEST brand I have found in LooReady but there are multiple different ones.
Summer Disney park Bag
Moving on to summer! You want ALL of the above PLUS a few must-have items below.
Neck and Hand Held Fans: TRUST ME when I say to BUY ahead of time. The ones at Walt Disney World are expensive and terrible. Each of my kids has a neck fan, and we have handhelds. It is so hot in Florida during the summer, and being outside all day is painful. I grew up in the south, and mid-day, we were not outside. But at Disney, we are choosing to be outside and but at a theme park! Bring the fans!
Waterproof Waterproof Sandals: We bring crocs for the kids, and I love Oofs or Tevas for my husband and me. When it starts to pour down rain midday, we just switch out our shoes and keep on moving! My favorite recovering sandals are Oofs but they are not water resistant but after a long day in tennis shoes they are just want I need!
Body Glide and Gold Bond: If you have normal thighs and they touch - this is for you. I love Body glide for me, and my husband lives by Gold Bond.
Cooling Towels: They provide at least 30 minutes of ICY cold relief. Then after that, they still cool down when we rewet them, but they will not be COLD. We put them in the freezer overnight to ensure coolness.
Body Wipes: When you are outside all day and feeling sticky at the parks. It's nice just to wipe down your skin to feel less sweaty.
Stroller Fan: THIS IS A MUST. Do not go to Disney in summer without have a stroller fan for you kiddo. My favorite one went out of business so I am trying out a few different kinds right now.
Travel Umbrella: In the summer it rains EVERY SINGLE DAY and when it is not raining its hot. I like this specific umbrella because it also provides UV protection when its really hot outside.
Winter Disney Park Bag
January 2022 - All bundled up!
ALL THINGS ABOVE! Rain is typically minimal but it still does happen. We do not bring crocs or sandals to the park, because it usually only will ast 10 - 15 minutes but we will bring our ponchos and stroller rain covers still.
Layers: Disney in winter can be the most tricky time, because you have warm days and cool nights. So the key is to pack layers.
Blankets: We pack blankets for the kids that are in strollers. It does get pretty cold in Florida at night because the air is moist, so cooler wet air feels more cold than some of the dry air we have up here in the north.
Hand Warmers: it's something so small, but it really is a day game changer on cool nights
Why I take a smaller park bag or purse?
Since we are in the phase where we still need strollers. We typically leave everything in our stroller and go on the rides. I pack a small purse so that we can take things like our cell phones, wallets and any high value items that we take. We don't take a lot of high volume items, but I would not feel comfortable leaving my wallet in the stroller while I go on rides.
Also any Disney rides allows you to bring on a small backpack or purse, there are also lockers at rides like Kali River Rapids so you don't have to get your bag wet.
There are a couple of bags that I recommend that are perfect park size. I love all the Disney loungefly bags, you will see my assorted collection here. For a more trendy cute backpack check out Fjallraven.
You will also find one bag I really love in my Amazon Storefront. It is a waterproof backpack which is great for travel during the summer months. Since we come yearly in the summer as one of our trips it was a great investment for me.
Another bag that I love is Designer Park Company this bag was designed specifically for going to any kind of theme park or any all day outing with your children. It also can even turn into a hydration pack which is amazing when you have a bunch of little kids. It is one of the best bags that I have ever used for the parks. And even has a place to hold my ears. If you like this bag you can use the well hello Disney code and get 10% off WHD10.
My Kids Park Bags
From the time my kids were three years old, I had them pack their own park bags. Their park bag is just a sling bag. As a mom of multiple kids, it is easier for me if they each have individually identifiable bags. Whenever it started raining or they had specific souvenir items, I could quickly identify their bag to grab an item or put something away. Especially as they began to collect pens and had pin lanyards, it was a lot easier to avoid having everything mixed up. We do this for a lot of different things. So if you have multiple kids but are not a Disney family, I only recommend getting a Disney drawstring bag if you plan on using that for other things. Nike and other companies make drawstring bags too. But it will make your life easier when items are separated. You can see in the video below my kids have their ponchos and crocs on, and we are moving in the rain. That is because, in each park bag, I make my kids pack their crocs in a large Ziploc bag and a poncho. They have pins, a water bottle, an autograph book with a pen, magic bands, a gizmo watch, and fidget toys for the lines.
Let me know what else you think should go in your park bag! Comment below!
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