During our last family trip to Walt Disney World, a few trip must haves quickly became evident. These little items made our vacation a bit easier and more enjoyable.
Stroller Lock
Looking to secure items while in the parks? A stroller lock is a handy item to have. During a past visit to the Magic Kingdom, we lost our cup holder. A small thing, but still frustrating to loose anything during a trip. This time around, I was determined to retain all of our belongings and ordered a small stroller lock with adjustable length strap. I left it attached to our stroller through the cup holder at all times. When needed, I quickly unlocked and ran it through other items.
For example, on a particularly windy day at the Magic Kingdom, I ran the lock through a cinch bag holding my toddler carrier, and the elastic bands on the kids’ Mickey ears hats. Then left all of those items stacked in the stroller seat. When we returned, our stroller had been shifted down, but all of our items were still there and accounted for.
Travel Toddler Alarm Clock
Generally, hotel rooms get really dark once you’ve closed the curtains and turned out the lights. To help smaller children know when it’s okay to wake up (and that it’s really morning), a simple travel toddler alarm clock is a great solution.
Our travel toddler alarm clock has been on every trip in recent years with us from Disney to St. Louis, from the beach to Grama’s house. Just remember to check the batteries before your trip and/or pack extra just in case.
Collapsable Laundry Basket
We’ve had a small mesh laundry basket for years – well before kids. These baskets are perfect for accommodating dirty clothing during trips and making it easy to carry to the resort laundry rooms for washing. I recently purchased a larger sized one to accommodate our growing family.
Having a laundry basket also helps define a specific location in our room for dirty clothes and makes the kids responsible for their own. Our kids are plenty big enough to do this “chore” regardless whether we are at home or traveling.
Plastic Hangers
What to do with wet swimsuits after fun at the resort pool or one of the waterparks? While we’ve had luck on each trip to have a small clothesline provided in the shower, it’s impossible to hang all 4 of our swimsuits there. Thankfully I had an “ah ha!” moment before our trip and packed a few kids’ plastic hangers including some with pant clips. This made it easy to hang all of our swimsuits and space them appropriately so they could air out and dry.
Bath Toys
Okay so bath toys might not be a “must have” but they certainly were a huge plus on our last trip. Looking to save a little on souvenirs, I always pack a few fun themed items to treat the kids to during our vacation. I happened to find some cute foam bath toys in the clearance section of Target and brought them with us.
I only removed a few of the dozen or so pieces from the package – just enough for our daughter to play with and just enough to clean up so we could get them out of the maid’s way. These foam toys ended up being a huge hit. They were the perfect way for our 2-1/2 year old to relax and unwind at the end of a long day at the park. She had fun singing, “dancing” them around, and sticking them to the shower walls.
Insulated Tumblers and Dish Soap
We pack insulated sippy cup style tumblers for our kids every trip regardless of where we are going. They are very helpful at the parks. You can fill them with ice and water at your resort for free before heading out, and ask for refills throughout the parks themselves.
Obviously the cups (even with just water) can get a little dirty as the days go on. Packing a small bottle of liquid dish soap is handy for cleaning these and the Dining Plan tumblers if you get those.
Tea Lights
I picked up this trick thanks to a fish extender gift on our first Disney Cruise. Battery operated tea lights make perfect nightlights for areas where you can’t easily access an outlet or just want flexibility in placement. We found it to be handy to keep one turned on in the sink area of our bathroom overnight.
Have you been to Disney? What items would you add to our list?
1 Comment