Tip Time Tuesday: To Backpack or Not to Backpack at Disney
Today’s Tip Time is a hotly contested debate among travelers everywhere. While there is no clear cut winner, I get asked about this quite frequently so I thought it was time to share it here on Mickey by Mel. Should I carry a backpack at Disney?
There are a ton of great reasons to carry a backpack at Disney. The extra storage gives you room to carry ponchos, snacks, extra shoes, dry clothes, sunscreen, a camera, your wallet, you get the idea. Without a backpack you simply can’t tote all of this stuff around the parks. If you don’t have access to these items you are left with two possibilities – go without or buy them inside the parks. This can make for either an uncomfortable or an expensive day! A backpack gives you a single location for everything; there is a spot inside for your camera, a pouch for your wallet, a little mesh compartment on the outside for sunscreen or hand sanitizer. It is a quick and easy way to have access to everything you need.
Have I convinced you that you absolutely can’t survive a day in the parks without your backpack of essentials? Ready for my confession, I cannot, will not, and do not carry a backpack in the parks. Sure when my kids were younger I would load up the diaper bag and storage compartments of our stroller. But now that our kids don’t use strollers and I have to carry that backpack, it just isn’t going to happen. There are two reasons for this. The first is that I have never liked carrying a backpack, even when I was in school, nothing about that has changed! The second reason is that we usually travel in the summer, the heat of Orlando in July. The last thing I want is to have a heavy backpack pressed against me all day long. I have tried it; I was uncomfortable and grouchy all day long and that doesn’t make for a very magical time for anyone! So yes, I have enough ponchos to cover some small cities and I have had to scramble around a park to find sunscreen and that is my choice, it is not for everyone!
If you are willing and able to carry a backpack, go for it. They can definitely spare you some grief when you are inside the parks. But I am a walking testament that not carrying a backpack will not make or break your trip, if you are prepared that it might mean buying some extra stuff along the way!