But just what do you need for a successful day in Disney World? In this article I’ll review my family’s essential items. My goal is to provide you with a guide that will help make your upcoming experience feel like real life Magic. If you really want to take advantage of the time you have while at Disney World, it’s a trip that takes a lot of coordination and thoughtful planning. I find it helpful to start prepping long before the trip and most especially before the pre-trip anxiety intensifies (lol, but seriously). Ensuring your family’s needs are met with ease will truly make for a wonderful experience. See our Disney Essential Items Guide below!

1. Sanitizer. There’s nothing worse than being sick while on vacation. The last place you want to pick something up is the travel day headed to Disney or throughout your time there. Especially in post-covid era, it’s important to be extra diligent!
   • Surface wipes – ICYMI children’s hands touch everything. Throughout your days at the parks, you never know when you may have to wipe down a table or surface on the fly. Bring the wipes. 
   • Kid-friendly hand & face wipes – Children’s hands will find a way to be sticky and germy little petri dishes. Bring these and use them often. And no, baby wipes don’t count. Our son’s face is too sensitive for a wipe so we wet down a napkin or cloth instead. But we do like the wipes for his hands for the disinfectant and to rub any ick off. 
   • Mini travel hand sanitizers – For the on the fly needs and personal use. If nothing else, my fanny pack is always stocked with a travel size Purell. 

2. Snacks and drinks. Keeping everyone well fed and hydrated should be top priority. Keep the snacks flowing, try to keep the sugar low and the fluids high. Water is always my top choice but we all know how it gets. One afternoon at Animal Kingdom, our son was feeling some type of way and I put a 16 oz apple juice in front of him – it was gone in 30 seconds. There are plenty of places to stop for snacks and drinks within the parks. The pricing is moderate to high. We typically bring water and our favorite snacks into the park. You can refill a water bottle in the park. However, we’re from Maine and we’re pretty picky when it comes to drinking water. We like to buy a case or two of water for the week and use that to bring our own water into the park and refill water bottles that way. 

3. Fanny pack. Wallet and phone accessibility is key for traveling or being out and about, especially when you add a child to the mix. Now add Disney World. I cannot recommend using a fanny pack at Disney enough. I have the LuLuLemon Essentials. It fits my phone, wallet, snacks, chapstick and a couple fidget toys for my son. (More on fidget toys and tips for waiting with children are in the Tips for a Day at the Park article.) I can wear my fanny pack on any ride and in multiple fashions depending on my outfit that day. It fits cross body, front, hip or low back. I found I preferred it most when worn cross body for both convenience and comfort. We didn’t have Magic Bands when we went so when using Disney Genie and the lightning lanes my phone was constantly being pulled out to scan our passes. So, having the fanny pack right there in front of me was very helpful. 

4. Proper attire. It’s indubitably important to be dressed for the occasion. When headed to Disney World there are many details to consider when putting together your outfits. Comfort for the long day should be top priority. Everyone needs supportive walking shoes and clothes that suit a long, mobile day. I recommend something light and breathable. Florida is hot, and the rain can sneak up on you, so you want a shoe that’s airy and won’t get weighed down when wet. Not to state the obvious but if you need to purchase something new, be sure it is tried and true before taking on days at the parks. Now that our feet are well taken care of, we’ll move on to our clothing. Personally, I don’t like sitting on the rides or shuttles with bare legs. That sticky feeling of peeling your legs off a seat, especially one that’s been used so often, really isn’t for me… which is where the glorious trend of bike shorts comes in. They are breathable, fashionable and the perfect length for more coverage but less skin exposed than your typical jean or running shorts. I also like bringing my Colombia boating shirt.  It can keep me warm as an additional layer, dry quickly if rained on, and provide coverage from the harsh sun. I like to mirror my outfits to my kids as much as possible. Helps me be in their shoes and understand their level of comfort. Our son wore loose and long athletic shorts with a t-shirt and athletic shoes each day. My husband wore a pair of athletic shorts that fell about 2 inches above his knee along with a t-shirt and nike sneakers and he was happy. Now these are just examples of what we wore. If you have different preferences or priorities for yourself when traveling just remember to take those into account. Perhaps Mickey themed style is your thing, or having matching Disney family shirts! Whatever brings you joy and peace of mind. Be sure to survey your and your children’s closets and make sure you have what you need to feel comfortable and fabulous. It will improve your time there exponentially. Lastly, hats. It’s always nice to have a break from the sun. Pack hats for everyone in your family (I purchased this Minnie hat most recently!). Parenting tip, if your kiddos aren’t used to an off season item, i.e. going from Maine to Florida in the dead of winter, I recommend having your kids practice wearing these items before you go: hats, floaties, applying sunscreen. Save yourself the hurdles in the moment by introducing disruptive or new things ahead of time. A hat can really take the edge off on a hot day or help deflect a rain shower that comes unexpectedly. Take the edge off of yourself by mastering the power struggle ahead of time. 

5. Plan for the unexpected. A hurricane showed up during our November trip to Disney. And while you may be rolling your eyes because, “it is Florida after all”… We were not prepared. And yes, Disney does close. Though they never shut down for a whole day, our Magic Kingdom day had the parade canceled, the fireworks canceled and the park closed early at 7pm. The following day was Animal Kingdom and the opening time was delayed to 1pm, many of the animal enclosures were unavailable, etc. Despite these obstacles, we quickly became well versed in the poncho and stroller cover game.  Ponchos are the perfect answer for a rainy day at the park. They keep you dry without weighing you down or making you overheat. I recommend purchasing ponchos ahead of time and tucking them away in your suitcase just in case. Disney has ponchos available for purchase in many locations but the prices are rather steep. I think we spent $45 for our family of 3 and our 3 year old son didn’t wear his so we used it as a stroller cover. TBH, he had an epic meltdown at approx. 7:47 am. There we are, the second group in line for the entrance, the crowd behind us growing as the rain begins to shower down. Lucky for us we’re under the small pergola that lines the entryway. But in preparation for the herd down Main Street that was about to begin I unfold the poncho to put it on and my son absolutely loses it. Something about this poncho gave him the creeps and he wanted NOTHING to do with anyone ever wearing a poncho for the rest of his days. We were “those people” everyone began praying for, judging how the rest of our day will be (fwiw it was fabulous).  But, we valiantly worked through it and mom was able to stay dry under her poncho. Turned out that our son refusing his poncho worked out in our favor because it became the rain cover for our stroller, which is where he spent most of his time. Well, more like 50% on my husband’s shoulders, 20% walking and 30% in the stroller. Shout out to Dad! We also purchased an umbrella but the wind from the incoming hurricane proved it to be obsolete. Perhaps on a less tumultuous day an umbrella in the park would be quite useful.

6. Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen. We usually bring a couple different kinds. Ensuring our son has his own for his sensitive skin, my husband and I have one with a little less SPF, and I’ve found this sunscreen to be my favorite for my face. It’s never fun to be jostling around on a roller coaster while a sunburn sizzles your shoulders. So please, protect your skin and your joy and remember to use sunscreen! But just in case, when headed to Florida, I recommend also traveling with a small tube of aloe. As a Mainer it’s a rite of passage to come home with lobster red shoulders. Bring the aloe (and the sunscreen). 

7. Stroller. Help yourself take some of the weight off and use a stroller in Disney. While we very much enjoyed using our own stroller, it’s important to note that Disney has strollers you can rent. The main reasons we preferred our own stroller: storage and cozy factor. We like bringing a bag into Disney with a change of clothes, snacks, a few small toys and ponchos. So having a stow away area in the stroller is of high importance to us. Our son also likes to pull the cover down and tuck himself away. Disney is busy and crowded. There is a lot of input (to say the least) so having a familiar place that our child could go to, that was comfortable and a place to decompress, was super helpful for everyone. We have the Chicco fold away, which also made it easy to stow it away in a corner of our hotel room and not lose out on floor space. Also, most airlines stow strollers for free at the gate when boarding. So you can rely on the stroller throughout the airport and not worry about having to check an additional item or the potential cost. If your kids need to get their “ya ya’s* out before boarding and walk alongside you the stroller can act as a useful baggage mule.

8. Apple AirTag. Call me crazy but this helped me sleep better in the weeks leading up to our trip. We won’t get into why but keeping track of your child in a place as busy and loud as Disney World (or the airport) is extremely important and essential to your child’s safety. While no one wants to think of the worst case scenario I feel it’s best to plan for it. So, I used an Apple AirTag as a way to ensure I knew my child’s whereabouts while we were at Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Did he ever actually leave my side? No. Was he ever out of mine or my husband’s sight? No. Does my son typically run off? No. However, you never know what can happen. So I connected the AirTag to my Apple ID on my phone and it acts just like Find My iPhone. I made sure my son was going to be wearing shorts with pockets and I gave him the small coin-like tag to keep as his “special Disney coin”. He happily tucked it away in his pocket, said “thanks mom!” and continued on. There doesn’t have to be anything scary about it. But safety is of top priority, no questions asked. And you can’t always rely on the “stranger danger talk”. So, I had my son’s location at any moment and if he were more than 50 ft away from me my phone would notify me. The peace of mind to cost ratio made this a very worthwhile investment for our family. 

9. My Disney Experience App. I really enjoy using the app and find it essential to the success of our days in the parks The interactive map provides ride line times, walking directions, parking location, and more. During a recent trip, we were at Magic Kingdom for 11 hours and rode 16 rides. We utilized Disney Genie and lightning lanes throughout our entire day which was all managed on my phone. We placed mobile orders and managed dining reservations as well. Also, since we were staying at a Disney resort, the app was our proof of our stay which was needed to enter the hotel grounds, obtain free parking at the parks and could be used as a room key.
10. A watch. Just for the obvious reason of keeping tabs on the time. Keep your hands free and yourself grounded on the timing of your day. Wondering why your child is hangry? Check the time, probably due for a snack. Lightning lane time dwindling? Check the time, gotta hustle. If you have a smart watch, there are additional benefits like checking texts and receiving parking location reminders. And if you are really swifty, it can act as a payment method and sync with the Disney mobile app. But a smartwatch does not have the power to unlock your room, only a room key, a phone with the My Disney Experience app or a Magic Band.