What To Pack For Your Disney Vacation

Ahem….ahem...is this thing on?? [[Taps microphone]]

Oh...hey! I’m here. I mean...it’s me! You know...Katie’s long-lost Texas BFF, Stephanie from like, 3624 blog years ago.

For those of you who may not know me, I’m Stephanie (obviously), an ex-blogger (dun dun dun), momma of two tiny terrorists (I mean, my precious little P’s...Paisley & Parker), a health and wellness junkie (where are all my Isagenix girls at?!) who also just so happens to specialize in vacation planning. And by vacation planning, yes, I mean I am the travel agent behind Traveling Ears Vacations. But not just any travel agent. You see...I’m #thatcrazydisneymom who drank the magical potion years ago and since then I’ve sent thousands of clients to the happiest place on Earth that is Disney World and Disneyland, as well as Disney cruises, Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii, and many, many other destinations. (Most exotic destinations thus far have been Iceland and the Grenadines!)

I’ve also been known to be crazy enough to plan a girl’s trip to Orlando, Florida for 30 grown women to spend four days in Disney...without kids. Yes...no kids at Disney World. And guess what?! Katie is one of them!

That’s right...tomorrow Katie will be flying down from the O-H to meet me down in Orlando to spend 4 glorious days at the International Food & Wine Festival hosted at Disney’s Epcot theme park each and every year.

30 women + wine + Disney...I mean, what could possibly go wrong.

That’s right...absolutely everything. ;)

With our Disney World vacation right around the corner, Katie asked me to step in and put together a post to include everything you could ever possibly need for your Disney World or Disneyland vacation. While this list could go on for days because …. #kids and the fact that they need #allthethings, I wanted to touch on some of the most important key items to include in your suitcase before you pack up and head to the castle.

Because Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida, and has somewhat of a tropical climate, it is very important that you pack the proper attire for each and every day you’ll be there. Similar to Disney World, Disneyland requires proper packing as well. While it is warm in Disney World and Disneyland 7-9 months out of the year, the key to a stress-free vacation is a properly packed suitcase for your and your family. Additionally, because Disney has a very advanced technological vacation system, there are many items you want to be sure to include when it comes to packing your suitcase.

Walt Disney World/Disneyland Packing Lists

Attire:

• Comfortable theme park clothes: I love me a good pair of denim shorts and a razorback tank for those HOT days in the parks. For the winter months, a cute pair of leggings and a lightweight sweater are perfect!
• Tennis shoes: I LOVE my Nike's or these New Balance's for park days...and so do my feet! (Katie's picks are these Dr. Scholl's (seriously comfortable!) or these Adidas sneakers!)
• Comfy flip flops: I find many times my feetsies need a change of scenery. I always pack my Sanuks with me to change into in the early evening to allow my feet to breathe.
• Swimsuits: Disney heats the pools year-round. If you are traveling between the months of February-November, you can plan on dipping in a pool at some point during your vacation.
• Rain poncho
• Mickey/Minnie ears: You WILL feel out of place without them.
• Sunglasses (these aviators are a favorite and very inexpensive so you don't have to worry if you end up misplacing them!)
• Hat/Headband
• Refillable water bottle, like this Swell one, for water throughout the parks

For the kids:

• Comfortable/breathable clothes and shoes. The last thing you want is an uncomfy kiddo in clothes that are hot, scratchy or uncomfortable and sandals that kill their little feet.
• Autograph books
• Sharpies (for autograph books)
• Princess attire: Trust me...you do NOT want to buy it there.
• Strollers
• Stroller fans
• Sunglasses
• Sippy cup/refillable water bottle
• SNACKS. ALL OF THEM.

Toiletry Items:

• Sunscreen or foundation with SPF
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• Medications

Important Items for The Entire Family:

• Birth certificate (for kids under 3 flying)
• Form of ID
• Travel documents (confirmations, hotel info, tickets, etc…)
• Backpack: You’re going to need something to stuff all this crap in. A backpack is the perfect solution for your extra changes of clothes, shoes, snacks, memory cards, etc…) This, or a fanny pack, which are totally making a comeback! (Here are a few of my favorite backpacks: 1, 2, 3)
• Pre-loaded Disney gift cards: We ask for these for every birthday and holiday and save them for our vacations to use on souvenirs. Additionally, you can use Disney gift cards to pay for your hotel reservation as well!
• Cash
• Small lunch tote/cooler (if needed for snacks)

Tech Items:

• Magic Bands (for Disney World only): Your MagicBand serves as your hotel room key, park ticket, form of payment, ride entry and SO much more! I swear these things are magical!
• Phone chargers: Your entire Disney vacation is run through the My Disney Experience smartphone app. All of your dining reservations, all of your FastPass attractions, all of your dining credits and park maps...they all live within an app on your smartphone. Pair that with paparazzi-style mom photography and videos being taken throughout the day and you’re bound to end up with a dead phone by 10am. Not exaggerating. Pack portable phone chargers with you at all times, and pack multiple!
• Camera
• Camera chargers
• Memory cards
• Tablets

For extensive packing lists, you can download my Walt Disney World Packing List here and download my Disneyland Packing List here.

Now for those of you going on a Disney cruise, your packing list is going to look fairly different.

Disney Cruise Packing List

Attire:

• Swimsuits
• Cover-ups
• Resort attire
• Formal outfit (for formal night)
• Pirate costume (for pirate night)
• Flip flops
• Hat/Headband

For the kids:

• Autograph books
• Sharpies (for autograph books)
• Princess attire: Trust me...you do NOT want to buy it there.
• Sunglasses
• Water shoes
• Beach toys
• Goggles

Toiletry Items:

• Sunscreen and/or or foundation with SPF
• Aloe vera
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• Medications
• Motion sickness medication

Important Items for The Entire Family:

• Passports
• State-issued birth certificate (passport is preferred)
• Form of ID
• Travel documents (confirmations, hotel info, tickets, etc…)
• Cash
• Small cooler (if needed for snacks)
• Beach bag
• Lanyard for your ‘Key To The World’ card
• Waterproof phone pouch
• Door decorations
• Cruise documents
• Insurance cards

Tech Items:

• Phone chargers
• Camera
• Camera chargers
• Memory cards
• Tablets

For my full Disney Cruise Line packing list, click here!

And if all of this felt like you were drinking out of a fire hydrant, that’s what I’m here for!

Traveling Ears Vacations is my Disney-focused travel agency where I specialize in all things Disney vacations. And the best part - it’s 100% free to you! That’s right...because we are authorized and contracted through Disney, Disney takes care of us financially so that you don’t have to. So whether it’s your first, fifth or fiftieth Disney vacation, I would love to show you how we can personalize a vacation that’s as special and unique as your family is. Feel free to check out our services here, request your quote here or follow us on Instagram to see what we’ve been up to! I’d love to hear from you or answer any questions you have!

In the meantime, be sure to follow our girl’s weekend at the happiest place on Earth by following mine and Katie’s Instagram stories!

San Diego: Earn Your Wings Retreat

(how beautiful are these girls?! my dress can be found here & is super flattering and one of my all time favorites!)

Last week I went to San Diego for a fun work retreat that I earned with Isagenix. It's crazy for me to even say that because I got started doing this simply because I felt like crap and wanted to lose baby weight that wouldn't leave! I fell in love with the products and now I've been able to gain friendships with some amazing women, be motivated to chase my dreams every single day, and travel more.

I am not hating it. In fact the complete opposite. San Diego is one of my favorite favorite favorite cities....it is so beautiful it's really not even fair if you live there. Anyway, here's some pictures of our time! 175 of us were on this retreat and I was so thankful to be one of them! They had such fun events planned for us daily and treated us SO well...we had a blast. The resort we stayed at is Kona Kai Resort and Spa and it was absolutely beautiful!!

On the last day they gave each of us these envelopes and we got to release our butterflies! This was so special to me because my Mom really loved butterflies and it just reminded me so much of her.

And do you see these beyond gorgeous women? They were the hosts of our trip and extremely succesful leaders and millionaires with Isagenix! They are serious GOALS...

A special thank you to Laura who literally made my entire month by calling me and inviting me to this trip💗

I know that a lot of you probably aren't interested in the event portion, so I wanted to share some of my favorite places we ate at while there too.

Coffee-BETTER BUZZ! Some of the best coffee I've ever had (I even brought some home with me!) and they have yummy açaí bowls too!

Mexican food-Miquels

Dinner with a view-Prime

Places to visit-Coronado to rent bikes, spend the day at the beach, shop, go to Coronado Brewing Company! SO FUN and honestly one of my favorite places we've visited before.

do you recognize these once bloggers/friends of mine that also love and use Isa? :)

This was my second trip to San Diego so if you want more recommendations on where to go and what to do you can read a big recap from our last trip HERE.

If any of you reading are looking for a way to get healthier, travel more, maybe you feel like you're in a rut in various aspects of your life, or want to make some side income please don't hesitate to email me! This opportunity has changed my life and I'm not at all embarrassed to say so. I would love to give you more information :)

San Francisco Trip Recap

I have waited to post this trip recap for a few days because my heart is still so heavy from the Las Vegas tragedy. I'm sad for all of the families of the victims and our world how it is today. Going to a concert, or traveling anywhere, is such an exciting thing that so many of us love to do and I hate that now we have to be thinking about escape routes, places to hide, etc. I'll be honest...it makes me extremely nervous to take my boys to big events in any city, and scares me when I think about the future and them attending them.

Anyway...after Napa (read my recaps here and here) we headed to San Francisco bright and early Saturday morning. We got into the city by 10am so we had 3 full days to explore! We stayed at the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake (we picked this hotel due to it's great location in Union Square) and were planning on staying there 3 nights, but we ended up staying with Billy's cousin for our last 2 nights. Him and his girlfriend had just recently moved a few weeks prior into an amazing place in the Mission district and offered to let us stay with them (we owe them big time!) Our stay at the hotel wasn't bad at all...it was close to so much or a quick uber away and we had great customer service, but the bedroom and bathroom were pretty small. I've heard this is normal for SF though so I'm not sure but overall it was just OK. Nothing fancy. Also, I don't recommend renting a car while you're in the city...the uber rides are pretty cheap and it's much easier to not have to worry about parking.

For our time in city our goal was to spend more time in the areas we didn't get to see on our first visit, like the Marina and Mission districts. We still wanted to go to Fisherman's Wharf and see Alamo Square and such, but we didn't spend as much time there.

One of the best parts of the trip was walking along The Embarcadero and going to the farmers market that they have on Saturday mornings (I think they have them during the week as well.) It was the largest farmers market I have ever been to...it was seriously amazing and you kinda get a feel for what it would be like if you lived in the city! You also get views of the Bay Bridge since it's along the waterfront.

Here are some of my other favorite things we did and places we ate at... (and if it's your first time visiting, read this post. It has all the places we went on our first visit!)

TO SEE // DO:

+Walk The Presidio and Crissy Field for incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Make a stop at Baker Beach!

+Go shopping in Union Square (I went a little crazy in Zara🙌)

+So many good breweries! (Barrel Head, Southern Pacific, and 21st Amendment would be my top rec's!)

+Alcatraz tour (on my first trip post here)

+Take the ferry over to Sausalito: We spent a whole afternoon shopping and eating lunch outside on by the water. You can rent bikes here for the day to get around and explore! Have a drink after at Barrel House Tavern.

+Have lunch in the Mission district then walk over to Dolores Park! This is where Billy's cousin lived, right overlooking the city/park (see their incredible view in the pic below), and we absolutely loved this area. So many cute shops, good restaurants, and the best people watching while relaxing at the park. Try eating at Delfina for dinner, Foreign Cinema for brunch, or go to Urban Putt for a really cool miniature golf experience. We had drinks while we played putt putt and ate dinner there afterwards. We loved the food here (the chicken & waffles were a hit) and it was such a fun place. Didn't hurt that the girls beat the guys in putt putt either... :)

 can you imagine waking up to that view everyday? 😍

+Visit Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies and another stunning view of the city

EAT:

+Tacolicious for delicious Mexican food: North Beach or Marina-we went to the North Beach location and walked around the area afterwards! I highly recommend the guacamole and the steak carne asada taco!

+Sweet Maple for brunch: Get there early or be prepared for a long line. We went at 9am and got so lucky because we didn't have to wait at all but 20 minutes later the line started forming outside. Get the millionaire's bacon, french toast with berries, or a benedict. SO GOOD!!

+Clam Chowder or Lobster Roll at Fishermans Wharf (Boudin is a favorite of many)

+Italian food in Little Italy: You can't go wrong with any place here.

+Coffee lover? Try Philz, Blue Bottle, or Ritual! We liked them all but Philz was definitely our fav.

We couldn't have had a more enjoyable trip. Heck, I even left my Ray Bans in our uber on our first day there and he ended up returning them to me. The city has some of the best food you'll ever eat in your life (in my opinion), so many unique areas to explore, and absolutely beautiful weather this time of year. Definitely add it to your list if you haven't been before! (And either pin this post or save it so you can refer back my recommendations!)

What is your favorite thing to do in San Francisco?