Packing for toddlers

[mom o'2princesses]

We leave in a week! I think this has been asked before, but what are some things that I may not have thought of to pack for my DDs, who are 35 months and 20 months?

I'd love suggestions on things you found to be indispensible, as well as things you wish you had brought, but didn't!

We'll be flying and I am bringing our own strollers (with rain shields). I've got some little toys for the plane. (And thanks to the poster a while back who suggested the little stamper/bubble/pen on a string toy for waiting in lines. I found them at Target and they seem great!)

What else (besides the obvious basics)?!

 

[deb305]

Lots of Ziplock bags. For dry/wet clothes,wipes, snacks, snacks, keep disposable cameras dry,wet wash cloth etc. We used them in lieu of diaper bags when touring the parks, helped us breeze through security as everying was visible. Only had to open my tummy pack.

 

[allie5]

We have a 9 hour flight to get to WDW, so its especially challenging with a toddler (and a 9m baby as well this year!!).

For the plane, one of those pocket "magic scribblers" is great. Also Disney stickers, small puzzle cubes and one of those toy Disney "cell phones" was a hit with my DD.

At the park, we wouldnt be without our "mister fan".....expensive at the parks but only $4 from Wal-Mart. Great for cooling down hot kids! Hats with neck protection, small cool bag to keep fruit or juice in. Wet wipes, candy (for bribery if kids get grumpy in a line!!), autograph book and chunky pen, bright ribbon (preferably lime green!!) to attatch to your stroller (there can be HUNDREDS outside a popular ride) or a balloon works well too. Small cushion (inflatable is fine) to allow a more comfy nap when things get too much. I also think one of the pouches that hang round your neck is invaluable to keep your park tickets (always need them often for Fastpass these days) I also keep a $10 bill in there for drinks...it saves keep opening bags and pockets all the time.

Cant think of anything else yet!!

Have fun,
Allie

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

I don't remember what FL weather is like this time of year, so this may or may not apply:

sunscreen
baseball cap or sun hat
afghan to throw over the stroller (helps block out the sun in the daytime, provides warmth in the rain/cold)
rain gear (?)
toddler (and adult) tylenol, band-aids, etc.
extra batteries for the toys they're bringing (or any electronic ones you buy while there)
bribe food!!!
water/water bottles
since you have girls, perhaps costume jewelry, fancy hair decorations, nail polish, lip gloss to make them feel like princesses

 

[melk]

Pack a stain stick. We found out the hard way, Mickey ice cream bars and toddlers don't mix!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

For the plane...window clings were a big hit with my ddthen3. She played with them on the plane for about 2 hours! Also, snacks, a blanket (always seems cold on the plane to my DDs) and a favorite lovey. Something to drink in a sippy cup or bottle for take off and landing is a major must!!!

Good luck and have fun.

 

[splashmt]

I can't believe all the great ideas that I have gotten from this board. I can go to my nearby teacher store ( I teach 6th grade) and pick up some window clings and my son (2.5 yo)will have a great time moving them around. Another thing that I am doing to help with some of the time for our flight is to make, in my own voice, audio tapes of his favorite books. I will read them aloud, at the pace we do at home, telling him to turn the page etc. I will put little sweet things in there too. He will (hopefully) follow the tape with the actual books in his hand. I know that I can just read them with him, but I am hoping that this will be "novel" and he'll like it more. We also have many sticker books, fruit loops and pipe cleaners, those magic ink markers with a small pad of magic paper, and of course -- will cut up lots of snack foods in plastic bags. See! I have learned so much! We are so excited - its our son's first trip!!

 

[Barb D]

Here's a packing tip I learned here on the DIS:

Pack each days' outfits for each child in a separate zip-loc bag. Put in shorts, Tshirt, socks, hair doohickeys, underwear...everything for that day. Then when it's time to dress you just grab a bag for each child. Keep some extra outfits in the diaper bag.

Also, bring some laundry detergent (the tablet kind is great for traveling) and fabric softener sheets. That way you can do laundry once or twice while you're there.

Make sure to bring snacks and juice packs. If you can stop at WalMart once your down there you can stock up.

You might want to consider a "safetey strap" leash for your little one. It would give her a bit of freedom to "wander," but not get too far away from you.

 

[disneyfan551]

Yes, yes, yes on the leash!! My dd feels like she is in complete control when she is on the "safety strap" leash!

 

[fraggle]

One thing we found very useful was small water bottles for our girls. We actually found ones that had insulated covers in our local grocery store just before our trip last October. Then we just kept filling up the bottles every time we got a new cold water. My girls were 14 mos. and 3 yrs. when we went and they preferred these to a sippy cup.
We also used big ziploc bags in the park instead of a diaper bag to hold extra clothes, snacks, etc. Then I kept any valuable items in my fanny pack, so I always had hands free. We always zipped through Disney security since the ziplocs are see through.
Tylenol for the little ones is a definite in the park. My oldest seemed to have a lot of leg cramps probably due to standing in lines since she rode in the carriage most of the time.
And don't worry too much about packing a ton of things to do on the plane. I packed too many snacks, books, stickers, small toys, etc. and both girls ending up sleeping for part of the flight, eating a small snack and most of the time just wanted to hug their blankets and stuffies (esp. during take-off and landing). Not to mention the fact that since I had all kinds of little stuff it took security a long time to check through our bag!
We used the leash for my youngest, too. A definite must for standing in line since she refused to hold anyones hand or be held for any length of time.

Have fun! We had a blast with our girls since we were able to slow down our pace and ride everything 2-3 times if they wanted to!

 

[cinjam]

We packed a collapsible cooler, which worked out really well. We did a grocery store stop on our way to the hotel & picked up milk, bread, peanut butter, jelly, case of bottled water, and other staples.

Also brought some medications & basic 1st aid supplies, for both adults & children [tylenol, motrin, pepto-bismo, benadryl (which we wound up needing!), sudafed, anti-itch cream, neosporin, bandaids, etc].

We brought our own sheets & pillow for the Pack n Play Disney provided. Even if DS was in a regular bed I still would have brought something from home

A night light! I think DH appreciated this more than DS

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[cinmell]

Shout wipes!
Wipes and lots of them
Stickers and lots of them
Bubbles
Swim diapers
Crayons/coloring books
Color Wonder markers by Crayola
Snacks (our daughter loves fruit snacks so we bought Pooh, Princess and Buzz Snacks to bring)
Travel size magna doodle for plane
Ziplocs
Children's Tylenol or Motrin/bandaids
Neosporin (my husband made fun of me for bringing it, but we actually used it)
Sun block
We brought our daughter's life jacket from home which was great

First Years makes disposable sippy cups which is great b/c my daughter tends to make a mess with the cups and straws and we didn't have to worry about leaving our "good" cups behind

I put some dish detergent in a small container to rinse out cups and mugs

Clothes detergent in small containers to rinse bathing suits

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[BevS97]

you've got loads of great advice there, so I'm only going to add one thing.

We bought some huge water bottles from Walmart, they had a big thick plastic straw in the top rather than a sippy top, and the lid screwed on tight, I t hink they were about 89cents each.

We bought 3 of these and found them great for sharing the drinks we bought in the parks. I don't mind buying a drink now and again, but we don't need 3 between us, and my dd tends to squash the waxpaper cups and then we have a mess on our hands, so we just bought 1 or 2 drinks (some of them are huge, we only need 1 between 3 of us) and then we shared them out into our own cups, and it was much more convenient to carry them around the park with us.

I was thrilled with my bargain purchase! (sometimes it's the little things that keep us happy!)

bev

 

[mom o'2princesses]

Thank you all for the great tips! These boards have been a lifesaver in our planning process.

Thanks again!

Jo