Summer Essentials for Disney World with Toddlers
The summer in Florida brings a new challenge to traveling with toddlers thanks to added heat, humidity and daily thunderstorms. It is important to not only make sure everyone stays in a good mood, but also keep everyone hydrated, rested and dry. That’s why its so important to be prepared with some summer essentials for your trip!
If you are traveling to Walt Disney World in the summer months (June-September), expect some rain. Daily thunderstorms typically occur in the afternoon and, while it doesn’t always rain everywhere, it is always important to be prepared. When it does rain you can get a lot in a short period of time. Getting caught in the rain will leave everyone soaked, but rest assured the sun will return and everything will dry up quickly.
A few well thought out preparations will help to make a week of summer park hopping with toddlers enjoyable for all!
Aside from the obvious diapers, wipes, change of clothes, here is a list of things we have found useful to have in our park bag!
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1. Protection from the sun and rain
It is imperative that you equip yourself and your family with protection from the elements, especially in the summer months. The weather in Florida in the summer is pretty predictable: hot, humid and a chance of rain daily.
Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are all a good idea to have on hand for each member of the family.
Some parts of Disney have plenty of shade while others are wide open to the elements. Whether you are walking through the parks or sitting by the pool, you can expect to be in the sun – and nothing ruins a magical trip faster than a painful sunburn.
It’s a good idea to bring a poncho for each member of the family and one for your stroller as well. If it looks like rain as you park your stroller, it’s not a bad idea to throw a poncho or rain cover over it to protect your things from getting soaked.
I like to stock up on $1 ponchos from the Dollar Tree (you can order them here in multiples of 4) so that I can throw them away when we are done with them, but Disney also sells them for around $9.
2. Sippy Straps and Stroller Hooks
You can spend a good amount of time picking up things your kids drop from their stroller. Even worse, you may not notice something fall and keep on walking along without it.
These straps available on Amazon clip around any part of your stroller. They have a loop on the other end that adjusts around cups, bottles, toys, etc. These are great to save water cups from hitting the ground or your pricey new Disney toys from getting lost.
Stroller hooks like these are great to use to hold your bags, especially if you don’t have much space under foot in your stroller. It gets so hot in summer that even carrying a backpack can get uncomfortable quickly.
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3. Lots of Cold Water
Staying hydrated is a must and it is something we often have a hard time remembering in the parks. Part of why I recommend the sippy cup straps is to save your toys and things but the other it so that a cold cup of water is always within reach for toddlers.
Having easy access to ice cold water all day is imperative. It is easy to refill throughout the parks at soda stations and water fountains. Most quick service locations will have free cups of water available as well.
Tervis has fun Disney and Star Wars themed insulated cups and bottles – you can check them out here.
Another good option, and the one that we use, are YETI Ramblers because they keep water cold all day long, even in the summer. These ones are available on Amazon and are designed with kids in mind.
4. Sanitizing Wipes
I recommend picking up some sanitizing wipes – we grabbed these ones by Babyganics. Since you have kids, you already know how useful these can be. They make great hand wipes, face wipes, table wipes, toy wipes, etc. and are great to have on hand.
Between the high temps and humidity there will be sweating and there will be melting. Both can create some messy situations. It’s always a good idea to have something to wipe down seats, tables and stroller trays.
5. Entertainment
You are pretty much guaranteed to face some waiting time, it’s just part of Disney. Whether waiting to enter the parks, waiting in line for a ride or show or waiting for your table to be ready – there will be some downtime that will make toddlers antsy. And with the high temps, it can be easy to get cranky pretty quickly.
If you plan on sitting down for dinner you may want to be prepared with something to keep little ones busy, too.
One thing we always bring are Water Wow! Coloring Books and cards. These come with a little brush that fills with water that reveals pictures over and over. If you lose the pen, a wet wipe works just as well. These are easy to carry, I just throw them in a wet bag and pull one out in lines or at the dinner table.
Some other ideas might be favorite books, action figures or even a good ol’ app on your phone.
6. Stroller Fan
A definite must-have for summertime in Disney World is a stroller fan. More often than not there will be little to no breeze during the summer months.
This fan is affordable and works great. For double strollers it might be a good idea to get two. We tried to make one work for both kids but there were times where they both really needed one.
The batteries on this one last throughout the day but I do recommend bringing some spares and a small screwdriver if you can (be sure to pack in your checked bag if flying and leave it at the hotel) to be sure it lasts the whole trip. There are also rechargeable options that would be great, just remember to plug them in when you return to your hotel.
7. A Cooling Towel
These cooling towels are great for anyone in the family. We like to keep ours on the kids while they nap to make sure they stay cool.
Strollers usually do a great job of blocking the sun, but air circulation isn’t always the best so toddlers can get quite warm if they fall asleep in there. Draping one of these cool towels over their legs or around their shoulders helps keep their body temperature down.
Disney now sells their own in the parks for about $10 each.
I do recommend keeping it in a ziplock or a wet bag when not using it to keep it from dying out but you can easily wet it again at water fountains throughout the park.
8. Wet Bags
I mentioned wet bags a couple of times now because they are great to have on hand. These ones are my favorite (I’ve tried many). They’re small but hold a lot and have two separate compartments.
They’re great for holding wet clothes since all of the parks have splash pad areas and accidents or rain can happen. They’re also great for keeping our Water Wow books and cool towel from getting everything else in our bags wet.
When packing your park bag these are great for organizing changing supplies and extra clothes.
9. Puddle Jumpers
If you plan to spend a day or two by the pool or at one of Disney’s water parks I suggest making sure your toddler is safe and prepared for a fun day without worry. All of the pools have vigilant lifeguards and life jackets available for guests to use.
Puddle Jumpers are far better suited for young toddlers, in my opinion and experience. I would recommend bringing one or ordering one on Amazon to be shipped to your hotel.
10. Water Shoes
On the subject of swimming days, you may also want to have a pair of water shoes for your little ones. The ground gets incredibly hot and running from shade to shade can be a painful experience for tiny feet (and adult feet).
Shoes that can go in and out of the pool are great for the water parks and also the splash pads you may encounter around the resort.
It’s also not a bad idea to have a change of shoes for those afternoon rainstorms. Nobody wants to walk around with soggy feet or wet socks.
If you do forget anything important it is very easy to purchase it at the parks or nearby. Each park has a Baby Care Center where you can find baby essentials. Outside of the resort there are plenty of grocery stores and even a nearby Target and Walmart all just a short drive or cab ride away.
RELATED POST: Baby Care Centers at Walt Disney World
All in all, keep it simple, stay hydrated and have fun!
