Ultimate Packing Guide: Essentials for a Day at Disney Parks

As much as I love to walk around the Disney parks bagless, the truth is I often end up bringing a bag into the parks to have a few… or sometimes a lot… of essentials.

Below is a list of items that are often found in my park bag. I’ll let you decide how essential they are 😉

For more Amazon Packing Lists, check out our posts on packing for kids at Disney and packing for the cold days at Disney.

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Park Bag

You can’t have a “Park Bag Essentials” post without first discussing the park bag. While I do use a regular back back when I’m a pack mule for our whole family of five, I prefer a cross-body bag so I can more easily access whatever is inside. This Kavu is what I use for days I’m packing items for myself, but I try to scale down to this Lululemon belt bag dupe whenever I can.

If you’re looking for something a little more “magical,” Petunia Pickle Bottom has some adorable Disney-themed backpacks that can also double as diaper bags.

**Pro tip: If you’re traveling with a stroller, wear a belt bag that contains all of your valuable items. Take that on the ride with you, but leave all your other items in the stroller.

SNACKS

Did you know you are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverages into the parks? That’s right! As long as they are not in glass containers, Disney World allows you to bring them in.

Also, Disney World doesn’t sell chewing gum, so if they’s something you like to have on hand, you’ll definitely want to bring it in yourself.

Cooler Backpack

If you decide to bring food into the parks, I recommend using a backpack cooler. We love the convenience of being able to carry all of our cold items in a back pack.

Don’t forget that Disney World does not allow any coolers larger than 24″ long x 15″ wide x 18″ high. Nor do they allow loose or dry ice in coolers, so be sure to pack ice packs.

Also, don’t leave the back pack anywhere if you have snacks in there. We left ours on our stroller with trail mix zipped up in a ziplock bag which was zipped up in the back pack. Somehow a squirrel still knew there was something delicious inside, and he chewed a hole right through our back pack.

Water Bottle

One of the pro tips for Disney World is to never pay for water. You can always get free cups of water from any quick-service location.

This could definitely work for your family, but for us, we have found that we don’t really like the taste of Florida water, and we prefer to always have our water on hand.

This is the Epic Nalgene we have and love. It completely take the Florida taste out of Florida water! They also have smaller ones available.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen in Florida is a no brainer! Outside of the Trader Joe’s sunscreen, Sun Bum is one of my favorite sunscreens out there, and we especially love the facial sticks. Your kids can easily apply this product to their own faces.

Anyone ever gotten sunburned on your lips? I have. It’s not good. Don’t forget to either apply the sunscreen to your lips or use spf chapstick.

Portable Charger

The My Disney Experience app on your phone is your gateway to Lightning Lane Selections and Dining Reservations while in the parks. Your phone is also your camera and your source for entertainment through the Play Disney Parks app while you wait in lines.

All that said, you’re going to drain out your battery in the parks. An external charger has made its way up to the “must haves” for your park bag. Here is the one I have and love. I simply keep an extra iPhone cord with the charger at all times.

Bonus: an external charger can also be used to recharge your portable fan you may be bringing for the kids.

Also, yes, Disney World does have Fuel Rods for $30 each. They have kiosks inside and outside the parks where you can exchange your drained Fuel Rod for a fully charged one at no cost. Fuel Rods are a great option, and it’s nice to know you will always have a kiosk on property to swap out your charger. However, know that the charge on these do drain pretty quickly and will not hold a charge as long as one of these.

Rain Gear

As you probably already know, it will most likely rain while you are at Disney World. When it comes to rain coverage, you’ve got to decide what’s best for you.

Disposable ponchos from the Dollar Tree are very cheap and compact, but they will not serve you more than once. While the reusable ones can take up more space in your park bag, they are much more durable, and you could save money in the long run.

My personal preference is to use the rain jacket I have on hand. Mine is from Costco, but any lightweight rain jacket will do. I wear Chacos on rainy days, so I don’t have to worry about soggy tennis shoes, and I bring a cheap hand towel in my park bag to dry off myself and seats once the rain clears.

And my favorite tip: bring a ball cap for rainy days. The hood on your rain jacket is great for keeping your head dry, but it’s not so great and keeping the rain off your face.

**Pro tip: be prepared for the rain. When everyone else leaves the park, you’ll be ready to enjoy the lower crowds!

Cooling Towel

These cooling towels are a miracle on those days the heat index hits 100+ degrees. We have one for each member of the family. On those sweltering days, we wet them in the bathroom sinks and wrap them on our necks to stay cool. They work wonders!

Ziplock Bags

We always have a few ziplock bags in our park bag (mostly quart size and 1 gallon size). We use them to keep electronics dry on wet rides or to store wet clothes after wet rides and splash pad fun.

You can also use them to store snacks that you may want to finish later in the day.

I bet you could come up with 10 more reasons ziplocks are good to have on hand!

Sunglasses

In my most recent trip I talked myself out of bringing sunglasses because I didn’t want the inconvenience of taking them on and off for rides and possibly losing them. Within the first 5 minutes of being in the parks, I was kicking myself for not bringing them. Who doesn’t bring sunglasses to Florida?!

I will say that I recommend you bring a cheap pair in case they get crushed in your bag or lost on an attraction.

Happy planning!

Going with kids? Check out THIS packing list.