We’ve only been back from Disney for 1 day, and I’m already planning my next visit. We had a BLAST, you guys! Kate is a few days shy of 1 year and she was a TROOPER in the parks. I was expecting to have a much slower trip than we’re used to since we were traveling with a baby, but she was so easy! What made the trip even easier was the fact that I spent hours and hours researching the best tips for taking a little one to WDW. Some of the products that I end up buying seriously SAVED us and our sanity on this trip. So today, I’m going to break down all of the items that I packed for Kate in her general suitcase and what we brought to the parks everyday to help you on your next Disney Adventure!
If you don’t have a baby and are just looking for packing tips, make sure you check out my Ultimate Disney Packing Guide. I wrote this post 3 years ago and it’s still 100% accurate. I even referenced it when I was packing for this trip. Plus, it’s been pinned THOUSANDS of times!
So let’s get to it.
Firstly, I want to tell you guys about the packing cubes that I bought. They’re under $20 for a 7 piece set and they saved me on this trip. Since we were flying, I was trying to be as smart as possible about packing which meant Kate and I were packing together in 1 suitcase. These cubes helped me keep my things and her things organized. They also helped when we got to the hotel, I was able to take out the cubes, put them in the drawers, and store my suitcase out of the way. After the trip, Keith ordered himself some cubes for future trips because he was so jealous of my organized packing! I cannot recommend these enough.
Packing List:
1| Outfits. I packed an outfit for each day and about half as many back up outfits. We ended up washing about halfway through the week which was a HUGE help because Kate blew out her park outfits 3/6 days we were there. That means, I HAD to use the backups. Even if your little one isn’t prone to blow outs, keep in mind that if they eat solids, they will likely be eating a LOT differently and maybe a lot more than they typically do at home. Their little tummies will be acting a bit different throughout the week. I’ll be doing another post on what exactly Kate and I wore in the parks!
2| Diapers & Wipes. We brought a total of 46 diapers on our 7 day (with travel) trip. There were probably around 10 left over when we got home. We also brought 2 packs of wipes. Actually, 1 full size pack and two half packs for space in the park bag. We used both of the half packs and had a good bit of the full pack left over. I would say we averaged 6 diapers a day depending on the day! Always bring more than you need, but keep in mind that the baby care centers in the parks have extras of everything for purchase!
Since we were flying, we actually sent the diapers and wipes in the car with my mom who was driving the same day. But if you’re flying and you’re worried about space, you can totally ship diapers and wipes to the Disney Resorts! Just make sure they arrive BEFORE you do so that you’ll have them upon arrival!
3| Medicine. I packed Benadryl, Tylenol, and Burn Cream (super random but in case of a sunburn). I didn’t need any of them, but I’m glad I had the just in case! If you don’t bring them, they have them for sale in the Baby Care Centers! ALSO, don’t forget diaper creme! It’s hot and humid in Florida and you never know when a pesky diaper rash will pop up!
4| Shampoo, Towels, and Rags. I recommend bringing your own baby shampoo, towels and rags. The hotel towels are fine but the softness of my baby towels is unbeatable. I only brought 1 towel and rag and just reused them all week. At the end of the long days, Kate was NOT happy about bath time but I was happy to have her familiar towel to ease and calm her and get her ready for bed!
5| Bed Time Essentials. Sleep in Disney is super important since you’ll be going from sun up to sun down. I wanted to make sure that Kate was as comfortable as she could be so that we could get maximum sleep at night and at naps. We brought our own pack and play since my mom was driving but Disney has cribs and pack and plays available if you need them. Just be sure to request them ahead of time! Kate sleeps in a little fleece wearable blanket so I made sure to bring that since we like our room chilly at night. She also loves her babies, so I brought 2 of her ‘loveys’ and we bought her a Minnie Mouse one (similar here) as soon as we arrived because it’s JUST FUN! She also uses a sound machine so we took this portable one. Unfortunately, we left it on the plane on the way home so this time, I ordered this one which gets SUPER great reviews!
6| Bibs. Full disclosure, I hate bibs. I’m not sure why but I do, so I avoid them. But I knew that I would be super bummed if Kate messed up her outfit everyday at breakfast, so I found some bibs that I DO like. These leather Gathre bibs are EVERYTHING! Not only are they super cute, but they wipe off so easy and can go right back in your bag for the day. They fold up really small so they were perfect for my park bags. OBSESSED with these, guys!
7| Bottles and Formula. Now that Kate is 2 days shy of 1, we’re introducing real milk, but I didn’t want to have to worry about keeping real milk cold and ready in the parks, so we stayed on formula for the trip. I only brought 2 bottles, 1 for the room and 1 for the park. It worked out really well. I was able to keep a water bottle in the stroller (no need to keep it cold since Kate drinks it room temp or warm) and make her a bottle whenever needed. I also packed a small bottle of dish soap and a sponge so that I could clean the bottles every night at the hotel. While in the parks, I just rinsed them really well between feeds. Not perfect, but it worked!
8| Snacks. Kate eats pretty much whatever we eat, but it was nice to have a few little snacks in her back for when we were at the hotel or she wasn’t interested in what I offered. The Go-Go Squeezes were a HUGE hit and they packed super well!
9| Swimmer. Don’t forget your swimmies. Kate LOVES to swim so we took an afternoon off to explore our resort’s pool! we had a blast.
10| Sunglasses & Sunscreen. Don’t let this fool you, Kate refused to wear her sunglasses the whole time. But it was a good thought. We did, however, lather her with sunscreen 3x a day in the parks. She completely avoided sunburn (HOORAY!). I however, did not. Don’t forget yourself, mamas! Also, don’t forget your little’s legs. Kate’s peaked out of her stroller shade and would’ve gotten WAY to much sun if we hadn’t applied sunscreen. She still ended up with a little tan after the trip even with the sunscreen.
11| Stroller. This one is IMPORTANT. This will basically be your lifeline all week so make sure you choose well. We took our Ergobaby Compact Metro Stroller. I wrote and entire post on it here so make sure you check that out. If you’re staying on site and plan on using Disney Transportation to get to the parks (highly recommend) then keep in mind that you’ll have to fold the stroller when you get on the buses. Making sure our stroller was light and compact was really important to me. We love our Uppababy Vista (review on that here) but it’s much heavier and doesn’t fold up as small. Since we only had 1 kiddo to worry about on this trip, the Ergobaby was PERFECT! It laid back far enough for her to nap like a dream in the parks and it had lots of shade and great ventilation.
I ended up getting TONS of questions about the stroller while in line for or on the buses because it folded up so small and was so easy to carry with the built in handle! Plus it is really skinny so I was able to maneuver it in places I wouldn’t have been able to get my Vista. If/when we go back with two littles, my Uppababy will likely be my first choice since it’s so great with 2 littles, but they also make lots of great side by sides that are Disney approved as well.
Maybe it’s the mom in me, but I paid a LOT of attention to strollers while in the parks. I saw LOTS of Uppababy Vistas, lots of Baby Jogger Citi Mini Double Strollers, and lots of Baby Jogger City Tour Single Strollers. Another options is renting a stroller (not a park stroller- those are hard and bulky) once you get to Disney. They will have it waiting at your resort and pick it up from the resort at the end of your trip. Some companies I saw were Magic Strollers, Main Street Strollers, and Kingdom Strollers.
12| Carseat. If you’re flying, staying on site, and taking Disney’s Magical Express, you won’t need a carseat. Plus Disney offer’s Minnie Vans now that have complimentary strollers (function like Uber but a little more expensive). We ended up staying off site the first night which mean taking an Uber so we needed our carseat. Traveling with it wasn’t bad at all, though. We just gate checked both the stroller and carseat to ensure they took better care of them and got them as soon as we got off the plan! Easy Peezy!
Now on to Park Bags. So I want to explain how I did this. The space in our basket under the stroller is much smaller than our Vista since it’s a much smaller stroller. So I used my new Fawn Mini as our diaper bag. It’s the BEST thing ever. It’s the perfect size and converts into a backpack or shoulder bag. But since it was smaller, I had trouble fitting EVERYTHING in it. So I split my bag into two. I had a ‘Diapering’ bag and an everything else bag. I used my Storq Diaper Clutch as the diapering bag and my Fawn as the everything else bag. This ended up being AWESOME! When she needed a change, I just grabbed the diapering bag and ran the the bathroom (seriously ran a few times because #blowout). It was great because I didn’t have to dig through anything to find just what I needed. And I put a carabiner clip on it so I could hoot it to the stroller when we folded it up! I actually really recommend doing this. It was really convenient and super functional!
In my ‘Diapering’ Bag
1| Diapers. I brought 7 diapers into the parks each day and usually ended up only using around 5 but it’s always better to have a few more! I love Honest Diapers with my whole heart. We use cheaper options at home a lot of the time, but I would totally say spring for the good ones for a trip like this. You DO NOT want to deal with spillage or dampness while in the parks.
2| Wipes. Keith had the great idea to pick up two ‘half’ packs of wipes instead of 1 full pack when I sent him to the store and this was a GREAT idea. My little plastic wipe container that I usually keep in my diaper bag is fine but doesn’t hold very many wipes and is a little bulky for my taste. The half packs were super great for stuffing in my diapering back.
3| Changing Pad. For sanitary reasons this is a lifesaver. In the baby care centers, they actually replace paper pads after every change but in the regular bathrooms it’s basically just a counter top! My Storq bag has a matching changing pad which was awesome!
4| Diaper Cream. Gotta have it just in case. We only ended up using it a handful of times but better safe than sorry.
5| Sunscreen. I kept my sunscreen in a small pocket in this bag just in case it decided to leak or something. Plus we reapplied sunscreen after changing diapers so that worked out super well.
6| Back Up Outfit. I just brought onesies and we ended up needing them so I’m super glad I did!
In my Everything Bag
1| Formula. I used a little 3 section container to store my formula for the day. Kate is taking 4 bottles a day so she took her first in the hotel room in the morning and usually 2 more, maybe 3 in the parks! If your little one takes more bottles, there are options with more compartments like this one!
2| Bottle. Self Explanatory but I did want to mention that we got these Orbit labels from Inch Bug from my mom for Christmas. They were GREAT for this trip and I’m sure they’ll be great for when she starts Mother’s Morning Out as well. I only brought in one 4 oz bottle (she only takes 4 oz at a time right now – we’re weaning). I just rinsed it out between uses and washed it with my dishsoap every night in the hotel.
3| Sippy Cup and Strap. I’m including this here but honestly it rarely stayed in the bag. Kate loves her 360 degree cups! We bought this little strap to attach to the stroller (thanks for the rec, Emily) so we wouldn’t lose our cup and it was a HUGE winner in my book. I totally recommend this because little ones tend to throw things when they’re finished with them. We also used the strap on her bottles, her stuffed animals. Honestly, anything we put in the stroller with her, we strapped on just in case!
4| Snooze Shade. Now for this weeks MVP, the snooze shade. Kate is used to sleeping in the dark with minimal distractions. She used to sleep in her carseat fine but lately it’s been more and more difficult. So I invested in this shade and it was seriously a lifesaver. It snaps onto the bars of the stroller and it’s super breathable but keeps most of the light out! It’s also metallic and reflects the sun to keep it cooler. I was a little worried she’s be in a walking oven but it was really cooler under the snooze shade than out in the sun where we were. If your little one has trouble sleeping when there is a lot of light or distractions, this is 100% a must have.
I also didn’t really keep this in the bag. My stroller had a little zipper pocket on the back of the seat, so I kept this in there!
5| Battery Operated Clip on Fan. We grabbed a fan with foam arms (this exact one) so that if Kate touched it, It wouldn’t hurt her. We clipped it in the top of the stroller while she napped to keep air flowing under the snooze shade and it worked like a charm!
6| Noise Machine. I mentioned this above, but we packed this in our bag for the parks everyday. When we put the shade on, started the fan, and turned on the white noise, she was out in under 5 minutes! DREAM!
7| Bib. I mentioned this above but these Gathre Bibs were were 100% the best purchase ever!
Even after filling this bag, I had plenty of room to add a few things that I needed for myself. If you’re wondering what I packed in my park bags for ME, check out this post to see what I bring for myself. I hope this helps you guys have the BEST WDW trip EVER. Staying prepared while not overpacking is a so hard with a baby and I know it can be stressful. I’m hoping this post takes a little stress away from you guys and really allows you to enjoy your baby and experience the magic of Disney through their eyes! Happy Travels!
