One of my friends told me a funny memory about his visits to Disneyland as a kid – when he and his siblings were older and they didn’t need a stroller anymore his mom would still bring one to carry all of their stuff! My first thought was that that’s pretty extreme, but my next thought was that she was a genius! Now that my kids are a little older it’s awesome that we don’t need a stroller anymore, but it’s lame that we have to carry everything on our person the whole time!

We at Babes in Disneyland (like Scar says) feel it’s important to “be prepared”. If you look at the amount of posts we’ve shared about “what to pack” and the amount of “what not to pack” posts (ahem, zero) it comes as no surprise. But this last time I went to Disneyland I noticed at the end of the day there were several items that I’d been lugging around all day and hadn’t used. I love my big Kingdom of Cute backpack, but just because it’s big doesn’t mean I have to fill it up and weigh myself down!

Here are some of the things that next time I WON’T pack:

• Lanyards + Pins – Yep, we have these, and like to collect them, but we never actually trade them so they end up sitting in the backpack and let me tell you, that many metal pins weigh a lot!

• Mouse Ears / Hats – We have the best of intentions, we want to show our Mickey spirit, but after a little while the ears pinch our head or the strap rubs under the chin and we are done, into the backpack it goes. Next time, maybe I’ll bring them one day and intentionally take pictures while they are on and the other days leave them at home.

• Too Many Snacks – I always worry about my kids (or myself) getting hungry, cranky, or low blood sugar so I pack a lot of snacks – but at the end of the day I had more than half of them still hanging out in the backpack. Since I know we are going to eat most meals in the park, as well as purchase several Disney snacks and treats, I really just need to pack one or two snacks for emergencies.

• Ponchos – This one hurts to say because for so long we’ve been so proud of ourselves for having ponchos on water rides and avoiding total soakage. However, four ponchos hung out at the bottom of the backpack and we didn’t. even. ride. once. That in itself is sad, but now I know that in the future I will bring them only on days when we will make a point of riding Splash or Grizzly River, instead of “just in case”.

• Heavy Water Bottle – It is important to stay hydrated, BUT I’m going to leave my cute metal water bottle at home next time because it is HEAVY even when it’s empty. We ended up refilling our paper Disney Parks cup with water anytime we were near a beverage station or water fountain and the cup fit perfectly in the pocket of the backpack, and when it was empty it weighed nothing.

• Extra Clothes – This might be excessive, but sometimes I pack extra clothes for my kids because I think they’re going to get wet, dirty, or wipe their dirty hands on their cute Disney shirt. Maybe when they were younger this was more important, but now they are big enough that it’s not an issue anymore.

• Jackets – Jackets or sweatshirts take up so much room in a backpack! Every time we head to the parks first thing in the morning, it feels a little chilly so I make my kids put them on, but they don’t last half an hour in them before they come off. I will say that if I plan to stay late, like past fireworks it can feel pretty chilly and I know we will want them, but if we know we won’t be staying too much after dark then I need to just leave them behind.

I suppose the moral of the story is to minimize – if you are going to have to carry it around all day, bring only what you need, and be intentional to use what you pack. So from now on, if I plan to go on a water ride then I will pack the ponchos, and if we plan to stay late then we will bring jackets, if we don’t plan to purchase food in the park then I will bring plenty to eat, etc. And vice versa, if I know what I won’t be doing that day then I know what not to bring. 

Ok – I think that covers it. Someday I hope to be minimized enough to only bring a cool, hip fanny-pack to Disneyland like those trendy moms do… or maybe I’ll just rent a locker. ☺