After our recent trip to Disneyland a few weeks ago, I came home with a new set of things that I must remember to pack next time we go.  This was our 4th trip to Disneyland with our kids, the first time we went was with a two year old and a 4 month old.  This time, believe it or not, we found we needed a few more things – once we got to the park, that is!  I am here to share with you a few tips on what to buy BEFORE you go to Disneyland.  Here are 11 things you didn’t know you needed for your Disney Vacation plus, check out some awesome offers from Getaway Today on your next vacation.

11 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed for Your Disney Vacation

1.  Shirts.  Well yes, we all need shirts!  But I am talking about Disney branded shirts that don’t cost a fortune.  Every time we have gone to Disney we have brought our Disney shirts from home.  This saves us a lot of money instead of buying one at the park.  Your kids (and maybe you) want to feel festive when you’re there, so dress the part – just don’t spend the extra money.  My favorite places to buy inexpensive Disney shirts are Target, Old Navy, and Walmart.

2.  Glow Sticks.  Someone told me about bringing your own glow sticks the first time we went and I think it’s genius!  When you stay to the park after dark you will see all the fun, glowing, and light toys start coming out for sale.  Your kids are bound to want one, right?  Well, buy a few packs of glow sticks/toys at the $1 spot at Target, or the Dollar Store before you come, keep them hidden in your bag, and then pull them out when they say, “Oh, I want one of those light toys”.  You will save the night with your $1 glow sticks and will definitely save money too!

3.  Snacks.  This is a no-brainer, especially with toddlers.  We always bring snacks before (especially if we are driving), but if you’re flying you can wait until you arrive and then find a grocery store.  We like fruit snacks, granola bars, applesauce packets, crackers, and my favorite – suckers.  Dum Dums are great because you can give them one while waiting in a long line and it takes their mind off waiting.  Plus, the last thing you wanna do at the park is buy a tiny little snack for $10!

4.  Pennies.  My girls are obsessed with some little, inexpensive souvenirs you can get at Disneyland that only cost 0.51 cents.  It will be the cheapest trinket you can buy them!  There are these machines throughout the park where you can put in 0.51 cents and smash your penny with a pretty little Disney picture on it.  It flattens it right out so it’s an oval and depending on what machine you use (and where it’s at), a picture will appear on it.  For example, it was the first time that my girls rode Splash Mountain.  Right after the ride where you come out there was a machine and it had the option of putting on the Splash Mountain picture.  We chose that one since it was their first time.  We are getting quite the collection!  It is fun for them to watch the machine do it and it is special to them too.

5.  Lanyards.  Sometimes we wonder if we will really use them, but guess what, they are definitely more handy then you think!  We actually got ours before our trip in a package from Getaway Today.  We booked our trip through them and they send you a little goodie package before you go with luggage tags, lanyards, a fun countdown, etc.  We took our lanyards and were able to use them to put our tickets in, our fast-passes, and a very genius idea f0r the girls – my phone number!  I wrote my name and phone number on a card and put it on the inside of their lanyard with a note saying, “in case I am lost” on it.  That’s something you don’t ever want to think about happening, but if it does, someone will be able to find you!

6.  Spray Bottle/Mister.  We went to Disneyland the end of April and boy was it hot!  Luckily, I had packed a spray bottle in my suitcase so that I could do the girls’ hair in the morning.  One day I forgot to bring it to the park and my 4 year old threw a 30 minute tantrum because she wanted to buy a spray mister from one of the stores and I couldn’t bring myself to do it!  Bring your own, or buy one with a fan, it will be sooooo helpful when you get over-heated!

7.  Sanitizing Wipes.  Here is a no-brainer.  These are so handy to have on-hand for when you are getting ready to eat and need to freshen up.  But more importantly, when you have toddlers these will save the day.  There are lots of ways they can get messy at the park from eating Dole Whips to the yummy chocolate treats at Pooh’s Corner, and when the sugar from those yummy churros get all over…you will go through these faster than you think!

8.  Minnie/Mickey Ears.  If you will see something in pretty much every store at the park, it’s Minnie ears or Mickey ears.  There are so many different types and varieties and yes, they are fun.  If you are trying to avoid spending money on souvenirs then bring your own ears.  Let your kids pick out their own on Amazon, then tell them they can wear them at the park.  They are much cheaper.

9.  Collapsable Cooler.  I don’t know how we would have gotten by without our collapsable cooler we brought from home.  We actually brought 2, like THIS, and they fit perfectly under our umbrella strollers.  Plus, they let you into the park just fine with collapsable coolers.  We made our own sandwiches and brought them in the coolers along with string cheese, fruit, cools snacks.  And yes, we filled up one with nothing but water bottles and ice.  It was so great having these on hand.

10.  Disney Book for Autographs.  If your kids don’t know that these exist then by the time you are in the parks, they will!  Last year when we came I had a friend make us a cute autograph book wear each character signed a page and there was room for a picture.  You can make your own, buy and inexpensive one HERE, or even just get a notebook for Walmart or something with a Disney Character on the front.  Who says it has to be all fancy-shmancy?  Whatever you do, make sure you tie a pen or attach it otherwise to the book so that you won’t be scrambling for a pen every time you see a character.

11.  Portable Charger.  This year, I decided to document everything on my phone.  Usually I bring my nice DSLR, a video camera, and my phone.  I just did not want to have to worry about keeping track of all those things and guess what? my phone did just fine!  One thing, however, is that by then end of the day it was just about drained.  It was nice to have my portable charger on hand just incase it dies right before a special kodak moment that I would have otherwise missed!  I bought mine off Amazon.

I hope that you learned a few tips off of my 11 things you didn’t know you needed for your Disney vacation list.  If you have any other ideas that I didn’t mention, I would love to hear them in the comments below!

Disney Deals with Getaway Today

If you are planning a Disney trip soon, you may want to consider the awesome deal that Getaway Today is doing for the 60th anniversary of Disneyland, or, the Diamond Celebration.  Hurry though, because you only have until Sunday to get $18 off each Disney Park ticket.  That’s a great deal, especially if you are going for a few days.  Check out Getaway Today for more amazing deals on your Disney and southern California vacations.

Other Disney posts you may be interested in:
12 Disneyland Countdown Ideas
Best Time of Year for Disneyland
Helpful Tips for Traveling with Kids