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Clark and I are frequent flyers at Walt Disney World, but obviously preparing to spend several days on the go with a baby changes things. In January 2023, we took our first trip to Walt Disney World with Baby P.
Packing for this trip was a lot like packing for other vacations, but there were a few extra considerations we needed to take into account when it came to Walt Disney World.
Each day in the parks had the potential to be a long one. We knew we’d be on the go for most of the trip, and that required additional forethought.
- Diapers: How we estimated how many we’ll need, and our plan for packing them.
- Clothing: What we’re packing, how much, and why.
- Additional considerations: Sound machine, cover-up, cooler/bottle/breastmilk, sleeping arrangements, Slumberpod, laundry detergent, and toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper.
- Packing our ‘day pack’ for the park: What we’re bringing with us, and why.
- Luggage: We got new luggage for Christmas. Let’s see how it fares!
Let’s Start With Diapers!
When it comes to disposable diapers, we really like the Coterie brand because they’re free of fragrance, lotion, latex, weird chemicals, blah, blah, and in all honesty, at 5 months old, P had never had a diaper rash. The problem? We have to order them online because his size isn’t sold locally, which means that we needed to plan ahead.
Since we were gone for a full week, we estimated that P would likely go through about two packs of diapers, which is about eight diapers per day. Knowing him, we always bring more than we need…just in case.
When we order his diapers, the box comes with six packages. Since we were going to have to travel with half the box (three packages) anyway, we decided to have them shipped directly to our resort. That way if he happened to need more, we had them! We didn’t have to leave the resort to go buy another brand somewhere in a pinch. And of course, we knew we’d still have to pack the leftovers to bring home. The alternative was packing them in our luggage anyway, so it all works out the same. The only difference was that we had the peace of mind of knowing we had plenty on hand.
Pro tip: If you’re staying on Disney property, the resorts will accept any packages on your behalf and hold them until you arrive. They charge a flat rate of $6 per package. There are no extra fees for each day they have to hold it. So, you could ship anything you might need that you don’t want to pack: snacks, drinks, you name it.
Next Up… Baby Clothes.
It was a total accident, but I ended up buying P a ton of Disney-themed outfits. Like many of you, I love Target and it just happened.
It started with him having at least one special Disney outfit for each day at the parks. But after a last minute trip to Target, he ended up with a few back-up outfits for the day we spent at Hollywood Studios. They had a cute set of three Star Wars onesies on sale that I couldn’t pass up, and I ended up buying him two new pairs of pants so that we have back-ups in case of blowouts.
In addition to his Disney outfits, we packed three of our favorite onesies for sleeping in and lounging around at the hotel. Saturating his clothes with drool had also become a regular occurrence, so drool bibs were also necessary to extend the wear of his clothes every day.
We would normally pack a lot more onesies, but we knew there was a washer and dryer in the room that we booked at Disney’s Beach Club Villas, so we brought less knowing that we could do laundry.
I was glad that I had bought those last minute onesies at Target. Several of them were long-sleeved, which came in handy in the mornings when temperatures were cool.
Additional Considerations…
Sound machine: We take his portable sound machine everywhere. It helps to drown out other noises when he needs to nap in his car seat because we’re on the go. We also brought his Hatch to use in the hotel room.
Cover-up: I don’t use a coverup when I breastfeed P in public because I find it more of a hassle than it’s worth, but we still bring it with us to cover him up when he’s napping in his stroller. It keeps the daylight out, and the soothing hum of the sound machine in.
Cooler, bottles, and breastmilk: While we typically travel with my breast pump, bottles, storage bags, etc, we decided not to for this trip. We didn’t plan on leaving P with a family member or sitter for any part of this trip, so I knew I’d be present for every feeding. This saved us a lot of space in our luggage, and didn’t require us to bring so much extra stuff into the parks each day.
Where is P going to sleep? Lucky for us, Disney resorts offers cribs and pack’n’plays for guests staying on property free of charge. We simply called the customer service line and requested a pack’n’play for our room, and it was supposed to be there when we arrived. It wasn’t, but as soon as we called down to the front desk, they had it delivered within 10 minutes.
Slumberpod: Since we were sharing a room with Baby P, we brought our Slumberpod, a fan, and his Hatch sound machine so that we could have the lights and TV on in our hotel room without disturbing him.
Laundry detergent: We also pack our own detergent for Parks. We use Dreft for his clothes because it’s gentler for baby’s sensitive skin. Instead of packing this, we plan to buy a small container when we arrive in Florida.
Toilet paper: This isn’t for P. It’s for me. But I feel strongly enough about this to mention here. The toilet paper at Disney resorts and parks is the WORST. I’ve literally had to send Clark on a mission to find diaper cream in the past (FOR ME), so I bring my own T.P. these days. I’ve learned to stack my Disney ears around toilet paper rolls in order to save room.
Packing P’s ‘Day Pack’ For The Parks
We have a Doona stroller, which is great for traveling (I’ll write a product review later), but it didn’t come with any storage. We bought two storage bags from Doona, the Essentials Bag and the Snap On Storage. These bags provided plenty of space for what Parks needed each day. Inside these bags, we were able to fit his diapers (at least eight), wipes, a changing pad, back-up outfits (at least three each day) and drool bibs (at least three). We also packed his portable sound machine, the cover-up, and a rain cover for the stroller.
Our Luggage
We got new luggage for Christmas that I was really excited to put to the test. The Solgaard suitcase came with a built-in clothing rack that we’re able to pull out and hang on the suitcase’s own handle. This should have made it easy for us to organize our clothing as we packed as well as stay organized at our destination without having to pull everything out to put in drawers.
In the past, I’ve used a separate clothing shelf system that I’ve squeezed into my suitcase, which served the purpose and worked OK, but we were hoping this Solgaard system would be more convenient. It did make it easier for me to pack because it was guaranteed to fit inside the suitcase as long as I didn’t overpack. However, I didn’t do a good job staying organized in the hotel. I’ll explain more in my product review.
By packing properly, both P and I each ahd two shelves within this clothing rack and were able to fit most of our clothing into one suitcase to check on the plane. All of P’s other essentials (wipes, laundry detergent, toys, etc), and Clark’s clothes fit into an (also new) Away suitcase that we also checked.
I’m planning to write a separate product review for the Solgaard and Away suitcases, so stay tuned.