Bags in the park

[Sloanie]

I'm having a problem deciding what type of bag to bring while in the parks. I don't really want to carry a backpack, but I'm wondering if a purse will be to small. I have a side school type bag that is big enough, my question is what do you all use in the parks? I know most rides have room to stash them away, but what do you prefer?

[JPL]

I have learned to travel as light as possible in the parks. I usually only have a small camera bag that has room for my camera and some trading pins.

[Speedy1998]

It depends on what you "need"to take with you. The most I used to bring was my camera bag. With kids I bring a backpack with a change of cloths and diapers for the youngest. When I am alone I go without any bags.

[slt21]

I use a medium-sized messenger bag. I generally carry these with me in the park:

Camera
Table tripod (Yes, I am a photo-nerd)
Squeeze Breeze (in the summer, of course)
Water bottle
Wallet

Then a fair amount of small odds and ends and toiletries, etc...I'm generally the party's "pack-mule" so I carry whatever else we may need.

I typically have a fair amount of room left in the bag, which I like...I can throw any souvenirs into the bag and it gives me less separate things to carry and keep track of.

However, I'll admit it gets a bit heavy, so either spread out the weight (like carrying your squeeze breeze, camera, or water on a separate neckstrap), or don't carry as much as I do (for example, I doubt you'll be carrying a tripod!).

Best wishes, and have fun!

[Wolf]

We carry a small little beach-style backpack, the ones with the strings you just pull them to tighten it, its really light. It helps cause I always wear a belt so I put my digi cam in alittle belt pack thing. We just throw in our wallets and take turns carrying the bag,

[Tigerlilly]

We just bought 2 small "fanny pack" style bags from our local camping supply store. We found carrying backpacks or other shoulder bags caused us alot of back stress. One bag is larger with room for diapers for our daughter and my camera with holders for water bottles. The other is more of a hip pouch with room for wallets and the like. My son is 9 and also has a small fanny pack for carrying what ever a 9 year old deems important enough to carry with him!

[BethieTink]

I carry a little fanny pack in the front for both me and DH. I can fit AP, room key, cash, credit cards in the little zip pocket in the back. I fit all sorts of stuff in the front pocket - digital camera, extra batteries, sunscreen wipes, sandwich bag with Maalox and Aleve, a little bottle of Purell and even a little thing of dental floss.

This works best for us.

[MsMin]

I only use my camera bag. I just take my rmkey/ticket with DL and credit card. I take chapstick or lipstick, Advil, gum, cell phone, extra camera battery and cards.
My girls pack more and take turns taking a bag. They have a couple of old backpack style purses, fabric w/ drawstrings. They have to pack water and a variety of other things like a spare sweatshirt (we go in winter) and their small cameras in their cases. The end up putting several small pkgs in them throughout the day. The great thing about the little fabric bags is that they are so light and conform to the shape and size you need.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Sloanie, I see you're going in May--We'll be there then, too! In the heat, less is definitely more! Sometimes I use a light backpack (think little girl's schoolbag--which often comes in princess designs ), or medium size bag with a long strap to wear diagonally. Consider the fabric of the straps (rough?) as well as the width (if you're worried about tan lines...)
Also make sure the fabric (cooler than leather) is colorfast....After a few wet rides, you may take on an Easter egg look...
I always bring a compact, lens fluid in a lens container, spare lens, lipgloss, baby wipes(great 'cooldowner!'), camera, sample size solid Secret, ID, room key, and money in a tiny zip purse.

[tinklvr]

I bought a Coach swingpack about 3 years ago and its still in perfect condition--it is small with a long strap so I wear across my body or shorten the strap up and wear around my waist. I dont like to have anything to bulky on me--especially when it is hot! I have used this for WDW and when we went to Vegas (good for storing all of my loot!)
It is the perfect size for cards, lip balm, tickets, and I can even put my sunglasses in when I am on rides.

[Dopey's Girl]

I have a purse that is the size of a camera bag, and that is just perfect for me. I can fit my camera, some meds that I need, a little lotion, some cash and a park pass. I like to travel light, plus the bigger the bag, the more junk you accumulate, the longer it takes to get through bag check when you enter the park.

I used to carry a backpack with tons of "what if" stuff that I never, ever needed! It was too hard to drag it all over, and was a pain to store when riding some attractions!

[Jasper]

Many people take a lot more into the parks than they really need to. What I always do is lay out on the bed everything I think I will take into the park and then only pack up half of them. This forces you to use your head and only take what you really need.

Remember, you are going into a theme park, not a desert island.

[thejens]

Something waterproof is good, or pack items in ziplocks in your bag. I still bring a stroller so I bring a zippable waterproof beach bag and put the entire families stuff into it and keep it in the space on the stroller. But if I didn't have kids I'd wear a fanny pack with chapstick, sunscreen, cash and that's about it!

[kakn7294]

I usually use a fanny pack but it's so unattractive with my big butt so I'm switching to either a small drawstring backpack or a small purse with a long strap to wear across my body for my next trip. I don't take much so either will work for me. I like the idea of the backpack, but the camera will be less easily accessible in a backpack so I may have to come up with another option just for the camera.

[Dawnzy]

We us the lightweight backpack with the pull strings, ours is made by Nike. My husband usually carries it, as long as you don't overload it's a very comfortable pack!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

On our second trip we took the plunge and took nothing into the park, except a camera and some bandaids in my pocket.

When we returned with DD last summer, we did the same thing, and it makes the day so much easier! Nothing to worry about, nothing to leave behind. When she was smaller, we'd take a change of clothes, small snacks, etc and we stored them in the stroller.

When we lost the stroller, we lost the stuff, and are really glad we did. Unless you have small child, or medical concerns, you really don't much!

[TinyTink]

I like to use the soft drawstring backpack if I need to take more with me. I'm not sure if you're picky about the look of your bags, like me, but I've found some cute ones in this style! I use the Coach swing cpak bag which goes across your body (comfy and stylish) a lot or I use a wristlet. It all depends on how much you want to take with you.

here is the link to a pic of the swing pack
{link removed per Intercot's terms of service}

[Christine]

I used to use a backpack and a fanny pack. As my daughter started getting older and needing less (wipes, cups, etc) I lost the backpack. Now, I think I am prepared to lose the fanny pack (thank goodness!) and use my Coach wristlet. Park Ticket, cell phone, lip stick, wallet. DONE!

[CandleontheWater]

I have a small purse that I call my Disney purse. It has a small strap so it fits close to my body with is comfortable for me. All I bring is my camera, wallet, cell phone and chapstick. It even has front flap pockets that are the perfect size for fastpasses. I usually have my pal mickey and a water bottle cliped to my belt loops. I don't have any children yet, but I can imagine I'll be needing a lot more stuff when they come around and I'll be sporting the "pack-mule barbie" look!

[BelleBeauty]

I know have a small backpack that I use exclusively in the parks. It is nylon (waterproof) with a cinch top, and it has a small zipper pocket at the bottom for quick access.

It is orange, so it is easy for my party to spot me in the distance. I keep my cell phone in the little pocket and usually put my sunglasses in there on rides. I bring my wallet, camera, chapstick, travel size sunscreen, some extra bandaides, and usually some granola bars or other small snack items. The bag is great because it can expand to fit a long-sleeve shirt or various souvenirs.

Less is always more at Disney - unless you have kids - so I try to take as little as possible.