Check out the Disney World Surprise Video that made all of the packing and planning worth it.

Packing for Disney World can be tough because you want to be prepared for everything.  At first, my husband thought I was overthinking it, but he was really happy when we got there and we were prepared for just about anything.  He was especially happy about the ponchos, candy, snacks, and shades.

Kids

• Underwear  – 1.5 pairs per day. So if you are going for 10 days, 15 pairs of underwear.
• Socks  – 1 for each day – sneakers without socks with the amount of walking you will be doing = torture.
• Swimsuits  – 2 so that one can be drying, while one is being worn
• Beach Cover Up or t-shirt – putting on real clothes after the water park is irritating
• Beach Towel – for the water park
• Jeans x 2 – It can get chilly at night
• Shorts and t-shirts  – 1.5 of each per day – unless where you are going has a washing machine
• Prince or Princess outfit – so you don’t end up having to buy one there
• Ears with their names on them  – get them online, and they can have them on the first day at the park – also keeps you out of gift shops
• Light Jacket or zip up sweatshirt

Accessories

• Belt – if you buy the kids clothes big like I do so that they last a while, you’ll need one of these
• Shades  – They are so much cheaper to get before you get there and need them
• Hair accessories (clips, ponytail holders, bows, barrettes, headbands)
• Baseball cap or visor

Shoes

• Tennis shoes/Sneakers  – 2 pair that are either Velcro, or Converse All  Stars – they STAY tied!
• Flip flops – For shower and the water parks

Personal Items

• Contacts or glasses – bring extra of either or both because my husband almost lost a contact at the water park, and glasses are hard to hold onto on some rides.
• Ponytail Holders and headbands
• Comb
• Brush
• Razor (for legs and bikini line)
• Nail clipper
• Tweezers
• Scarf – if you tie your hair up at night. I know, not everyone does.  I don’t, but I brought one anyway.
• Toothbrush and cover
• Lip Balm

Travel size

• Shaving foam
• Toothpaste – 1 each person
• Your favorite shampoo and conditioner – 1 each person
• Extra conditioner – I put it in my hair before I went to the water park, that chlorine or whatever that stuff is in the water is awful on the hair
• Vaseline
• Gold Bond Powder – if you have supersize thighs like me, or just ones that may be slim, but still touch, all that walking, friction, and sweating can create a painful situation. If that is your issue, I suggest powdering up the thighs first thing in the morning after your shower.
• Contact Solution*
• Body Wash – 1 each person
• Lotion – 1 each person
• Insect Repellent*

Grown Ups

• Underwear  – 1.5 pairs per day. So if you are going for 10 days, 15 pairs of underwear.
• Socks  – 1 for each day – sneakers without socks with the amount of walking you will be doing = torture.
• Swimsuits  – 2 so that one can be drying, while one is being worn
• Beach Cover Up or t-shirt – putting on real clothes after the water park is irritating, and I am not one of those parents who lets the kids walk to the parking lot in swimwear
• Beach Towel – for the water park
• Jeans x 2 – can get chilly at night
• Shorts and t-shirts  – 1.5 of each per day – unless where you are going has a washing machine
• Light Jacket or zip up sweatshirt

General

• Playing Cards – regular* and uno. Sometimes if you have small kids, you can’t or won’t be staying out all night, have no babysitter, and will be in the room with sleeping kids with nothing on TV. Or you may have older kids who have to come back to the room because the little ones are tired – they may enjoy a card game with you or other older kids.
• Candy – My kids are not used to candy, but I packed each one of them a small bag for the trip, and let them put two or three pieces in their backpack for the day.  It was a little pick-me-up when they were waiting in a line, or just getting blah.  They never ended up eating all three pieces, but they liked having it available.
• Mini-backpacks for each kid – My husband and I didn’t carry a bag at all the whole trip.  It was amazing – liberating!  The youngest was five, and she did fine with hers.  Every day we would get the kids dressed, and they would set up their backpacks. Each backpack had:
  • A couple of pieces of candy
  • Autograph book and pen
  • Shades
  • Water bottle (frozen or very cold)
  • Pack of cookies or crackers or both
  • Small package of Kleenex
  • Disposable camera*
  • Travel size sunscreen
  • Lip Balm
  • Mickey Mouse Ears
  • Baseball Cap or headband
  • Ponytail holder*
  • Poncho
  • My phone number, my husband’s phone number, and five dollars

Believe it or not, it all fits.  I got the backpacks from Wal-Mart for like 5 bucks.

• Gum – it was great for the kids on the flight to keep their ears from popping too badly

Don’t forget

• Ponchos for each person (it will probably rain, despite the sunny forecast, so always have them with you)
• Sunscreen
• Photocopy of your driver’s license, insurance card, and all credit and debit cards that you carry on the trip (front and back) – If you lose them, you will need the copies to get home, cancel them, etc.)
• Cell Phone Charger – bring two so that you can have one in the room, and one with you in the park. Some restaurants have outlets, and you can charge up while you eat.
• Laptop or smartphone – Most hotels have wi-fi now, and you can use either to plan your day.  There is also an app for Android and iPhones that gives you the wait times for each ride.  Keeps you from walking clear across the park only to find out that there is a 90 minute wait for a ride.
• Water – when you arrive, go to the nearest Wal-Mart or Walgreens and get a case of water.  Water is $2.50 a bottle in the park.  Soda is cheaper, but if you don’t want your kids to be all cranky, water is best. You can get 24 bottles for less than two bottles in the park.
• Autograph book for each child – I bought mine online before we left.  Once again, it keeps you out of the gift shops.
• GPS or a smartphone with it – If you already have one, you may as well bring it  for the rental car so that you don’t have to request one and pay extra.
• Snacks for the kids on the plane ride – they didn’t have cookies, crackers, peanuts, NOTHING on that 2.5 hour flight.  If we hadn’t put something in their bags, they would have gone insane up in there.
• Copy of each itinerary in each person’s suitcase – Kids too!  Hopefully your kids won’t wander off or get lost (those doors on those trains and trams in the airport can close on you pretty quickly) , but it is important that if they do, that they can show someone where they are supposed to be.
• Pepto Bismol and suppositories* – for obvious reasons

I put each person’s personal care items in a large zip lock bag.  We each had a backpack for the plane, so the personal care items went in that to make going through security easier.  We didn’t check any of our luggage.  In the kids backpacks for the plane were:

• playing cards
• paper for drawing (for the older one)
• gum
• a Snuggie and socks
• a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse laptop (for the two younger ones)
• cookies and crackers (they didn’t even give us peanuts on the plane ride which was more than two hours)
• Mickey Mouse ears
• Shades
• Lip balm

*I didn’t pack it, but either wished I had or got it when we arrived.