If you have been following along in our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep, you have now (1) picked your dates, (2) purchased tickets, (3) booked lodging, (4) arranged transportation and (5) planned your dining. Congratulations! You are just steps away from an awesome Disneyland Resort visit! Today, we are going to share tips on what to pack for Disneyland in your day bag and your suitcase (if you are bringing one).
We have advice on travel essentials for your Disney parks visit. Come along with us as we go over what to pack, what to leave behind and how to keep your bag light but your wallet heavy (with the money you saved). We also touch on stroller and mobility device rentals. Keep reading for our best Disneyland packing recommendations.
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Pack Your Bags for Disneyland!
Packing your suitcase or day bag for Disneyland Resort is not all that different than packing for any other trip. Still, we do have some Disneyland specific advice.
What Clothing to Pack for the Disneyland Resort Parks
Dress code in the Disneyland Resort parks is casual. Even at the nicer table service restaurants, you will still see guests in casual parks clothing. For our part, we wear clothing that is comfortable, quick drying and weather appropriate. We log a lot of miles over a day at Disneyland Resort, and we want to be comfortable and avoid blisters or fabric heavy with sweat.
We also like to wear bright colors. The bright colors match the energy of the parks, but they also help us spot one another more easily.
What to Wear to Disneyland in Any Season
We have a series of three articles on “What to Wear to Disneyland” based on our own experience in different seasons. In these articles, we cover:
What to Wear to Disneyland: Base Layers (shirts, shorts, pants, etc)
What to Wear to Disneyland: Shoes
What to Wear to Disneyland: Cold or Wet Weather plus a supplemental article with additional advice on How to Stay Warm in the Winter at Disneyland.
The articles on base layers and shoes have straightforward clothing advice that applies to any season at Disneyland. The third article on cold and wet weather applies to the winter or visits with rain in the forecast.
We also have an article on What to Wear for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disneyland. Why would you need clothing just for one attraction? Well, many guests are saying they are getting very wet riding this new attraction. Wet clothes in the summer might be a welcome relief, but we still recommend reading that article to plan appropriately.
Pack Some Disney Fun Along With Your Clothing!
Some guests really like to bring some Disney flair to their clothing: have you heard of Disney cosplay? Other guests like to dress in their finest attire for a day at Disneyland Resort. Chances are, whatever you choose to do, you will not be alone. We hope you will check-out our advice and add your own personal sense of fashion to it.
Just remember that Disney park rules require that you do not wear clothing that would cause anyone to mistake you for a character or cast member. That means no full Disney replica costumes at the parks and no full face coverings. There are exceptions for events like Oogie Boogie Bash. Check-out the current Disneyland policies if you are not sure about clothing rules. Disneyland also bans clothing and accessories deemed offensive or threatening.
DIY and Budget Swaps for Disney Fun
Maybe you want to take our advice to stay comfortable at Disneyland Resort, but you are still looking to add some Disney fun to your clothing. That is what we do, and we have articles about it! We use DIY and budget tricks to add some whimsical and goofy touches to our Disney parks outfits. You can read about that at How To (Comfortably) Dress Like a Princess in Disneyland and Disneyland Costume Inspiration From Our Home to Yours.
We talk about other DIY and budget swaps in our article: Save Money at Disneyland: DIY and BYO Tricks. You may discover some new travel essentials in that article.
Pack Light for Disneyland, Do Laundry
We like to pack light, so we usually plan to do laundry on longer vacations. By doing laundry midway through our stay, we can pack half as much clothing. Even if we do not plan on doing laundry, we like to bring hand wash laundry soap. This way, we know that we can wash and rewear an outfit in a pinch, rather than packing a lot of “just in case” clothes.
We have a whole article with tips for doing laundry at Disneyland. We even share our favorite laundry soap for washing clothes in hotel bathrooms and the laundry bag we never travel without. You can find that article here: We Do Laundry At Disneyland, Here’s How We Make it Easy.
Disneyland Travel Essentials
In addition to parks clothing, shoes, pajamas and seasonal outerwear, you will want to make space in your bag for some other items.
Sunscreen
We slather on sunscreen no matter the season or weather forecast! If we are going on a longer trip we will pack one or two tubes and get more when we pick-up groceries. (We love Target order pick-up for this.)
For an a sunscreen that is easy to carry to the parks and reapply, we like sunscreen sticks (especially this one). We also like that they are TSA carry-on approved.
Other Toiletries: soap, toothbrush, beauty items etc.
We pack the items we use at home into travel size containers.
Medicine and Other Health Items
We carry any regular medications plus fever reducers (like children’s ibuprofen) just in case. We also pack band-aids, blister pads, a thermometer and allergy medicine.
All of these things go in a locking medicine bag to prevent our children from ingesting something they should not.
Back-up tip: If you find yourself in either of the Disney parks and missing a healthcare item you need, try visiting a first aid station. A cast member there should be able to help you.
Sunglasses
We pack sunglasses that can take some rough handling, because we know that we will need to remove them for some rides. We list some of our favorite tough sunglasses for all ages in our article here. (The sunglasses work for any season.)
Swimwear
Most hotels around Disneyland Resort have some kind of pool and/or water play area. We pack swimwear for the family as well as googles and whatever else our children use when they visit the pool at home. Most hotels provide towels for pools, so we do not pack those (unless we are also visiting the beach).
Back-up Batteries / Portable Chargers / Power Banks
The Disneyland app is a great and useful tool. Between mobile ordering food, checking attraction wait times, joining virtual queues and showing park tickets, our mobile devices use a lot of power in Disneyland. We recommend bringing a back-up battery (aka portable charger or power bank), and we have an article about it here: Why Use a Power Bank in Disneyland.
Power Adapters & Charging Cables
On the subject of batteries in electronic devices, we also pack charging cables and power adapters (aka wall plug chargers) with multiple ports. With these, we can charge all of our family’s various devices, even in a hotel room with limited outlets.
We like this one that works both as an AC wall charger and a portable battery. Here it is with USB-C ports instead of the USB ones.
Portable Entertainment
When we travel, we bring portable entertainment for the time we will spend in the hotel and riding transportation (plane, train, car, etc). This includes electronic devices but also things like card games and reusable sticker scenes (like this set). You can find suggestions for some of our favorite travel games in our article here.
We also each bring a notebook and writing implements like pens or crayons.
Water Bottles
Everyone in our family carries a reusable water bottle when we travel, and we always bring them to Disneyland Resort. You can read about it here: Can I Bring Water Into Disneyland?
Snacks and Other Food
We travel with snacks and bring food to the Disney parks with us. You can read about that here: Why You Should Bring Your Own Food to Disneyland.
In that article you will see that we typically both pack some food and arrange for a grocery pick-up (or drop-off) once we arrive at our destination.
Bags and Boxes for Food Storage (plus Dish Soap)
Whenever we travel, we bring a handful of plastic or reusable silicone bags in various sizes. We use these for storing food and in all kinds of other unexpected scenarios (like protecting electronics on water rides). They take up minimal space but have come in handy countless times.
Because we like to bring our own food on vacation, we also pack simple utensils plus food storage containers that can double as bowls and plates. Along with these items, we bring a sponge and small bottle of dish soap for washing our dishes.
Comfort Items
Visiting Disneyland Resort is very exciting, and sometimes that excitement—or being away from home—can be overwhelming. With that in mind, we make sure that our kids have their favorite stuffies, books or other comfort items to help them feel at home wherever we go.
Forget something?
There are numerous gift and convenience stores near Disneyland Resort, but be prepared to pay higher prices than you likely see at home.
If you would like to save some money, consider stopping at a store before you reach the area directly surrounding Disneyland Resort. We like scheduling an order pick-up at a place like Target to grab lots of sunscreen and some food items.
Many hotels in the Disneyland Resort area also accept deliveries from services like Amazon and Instacart. We recommend calling your hotel to find out their policies and how they would like your order to be labeled.
Pack a Day Bag for Disneyland
Each day that we visit the Disneyland Resort parks, we pack a day bag (usually a backpack) with some daily essentials. We recommend bringing a bag you already use and like.
We fill our bags with a few essentials that we wrote about here: 5 Things We Bring to Disneyland for a Wonderful Day. Your day bag may also double as a diaper bag (like ours has). In which case, you know what baby care essentials you need to bring as well.
If you are looking for a new backpack, we like this one and this one. These are pricey, but we use them daily (at home or away) as diaper bags, commuter backpacks, hiking packs and more. For all of their usefulness and resilience, we have found them to be worth what we paid. If you are flying to Disneyland, you should also be able to carry them onto your plane as a personal item, so you will not need to pack them in your luggage.
Strollers can also double as nice “stuff” carriers, though we would not bring or rent one just for that reason. If you do have a child or children who use a stroller, keep reading for information on bringing or renting one.
Bring or Rent a Stroller or Mobility Device
You may decide to bring your own stroller or mobility device to Disneyland Resort. If you choose to rent one, you have the option of renting straight from Disney or using a third party service.
Not sure if you want to use a stroller at Disneyland Resort? Check-out our article: Should I Bring a Stroller to Disneyland?
Disney ECV (scooter), wheelchair and stroller rentals are located on the Esplanade by the Disneyland Park entrance. If you rent a stroller from Disney, you can use it in both parks, but you cannot take it back to a hotel. If you have already paid for a Disney stroller rental for the day, you can pick-up a new stroller when you re-enter by showing your receipt at the rental facility. Replacement strollers are available (with a receipt) at other select locations around the resort as well.
If you rent a stroller from a third party provider, you should be able to bring it back to your hotel. You may also have the option of arranging for the stroller to be dropped-off and picked-up from bell services at your hotel. If this seems good to you, check with your hotel to see if they work with any particular provider for scooter and stroller rentals.
Top Disneyland Stroller Tips
We have tips on using strollers at Disneyland Resort here (like marking your stroller with ribbons) and more tips for visiting with young children here.
Accessibility Information
If a member of your party will be using a stroller as a mobility device, visit Disneyland Resort guest services to have it tagged as “stroller as a wheelchair.” With this tag, you can use the device in areas where strollers would not otherwise be allowed.
Information about specific accommodations for guest with disabilities can be found on the Disneyland website. That section of the website has downloadable guides. Additionally, you can find accessibility information about each attraction on that attraction’s webpage and the Disneyland app. Physical signs with accessibility information are posted at each attraction.
Thank you for reading this post about travel essentials to pack for your Disneyland visit.
We hope these tips will help you as you pack for Disneyland. If you missed any of our previous posts for Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep, you can find them in the list below. Stick with us as we move on to planning for saving time in line, and do not forget to subscribe to our free newsletter to get our latest posts right in your inbox. Thanks again for reading.
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