My family and I just got back from an amazing adventure to Disney World and Universal Studios. As an avid EDC enthusiast, I started looking online for tips and tricks to carry gear at these locations. Well, I didn't find much and thought it would be great to document what I brought, what worked, and what didn't.
Lets start with bags. To me, you have to hold your gear and do so securely. I went back and forth on what to carry throughout the parks and I ended up with the less is more Convertible Bag (aka fanny pack). I wanted something that could hold my extra gear (sun screen, bandaids, meds, etc) but didn't want to bogged down by a large heavy back pack everyday. This worked perfectly for just about every day at the parks. Even better, I was able to move the less important stuff to my pocket and put my Ranger Wallet and phone in there during more intense rides. Definitely added a bunch of security on those roller coasters. Even better was that I made mine in a Mickey Mouse fabric so I still got to be festive!
I did have to switch to a backpack one day, though. This was our second day at Magic Kingdom and we were hoping to stay all night for the fireworks (spoiler alert, we didn't make it haha). The plan was to carry extra clothes for the kids when it got cold. I rock a Go-Ruck 20L Rucker for these kinds of things and it worked great. Perfect heavy duty backpack for running all over. I will say that having a backpack, even for one day, was not ideal. I much preferred the smaller Convertible bag. I got super sweaty with it and keep in mind we went in February when it was only 70 - 80F there. Not the best choice for the summer months.
Next on the list was my wallet. I normally carry our Ranger Wallet but I made a custom one for the trip. I added an additional pocket on the back which allowed me to put some cash and my hotel card in for easy access. I really liked the additional functionality for the trip and I am going to continue using that wallet for the time being. Of course, I had our Harry Potter patches as well as a custom Mickey Mouses Ti Patch.
Now to the items we all care about....knives. Well, knives are for sure a no-no at Disney, Universal, and the airport in general. Because of that, I unfortunately had to leave mine at home. What I did bring were a few pry bars to help make up for it. I always carry my Traveler with me when I travel and I also added a custom anodized Executive Mini, too.
Both easily made it through the TSA security. For those who do not know, usually they will take a look at them but I just say they are fancy bottle openers and they let them through. Pro tip is to take them out of your bags ahead of time so they can see them. When you go through Disney's security, it is a little different. You basically just walk through this fancy AI powered scanner than "looks" at you and your stuff. Most people get to just walk through to the park (even with bags) but some people get stopped for extra screening.
I was one of the lucky ones to get stopped every time due to my stuffed bag. My whole family never got stopped though and they had a wide variety of normal items on them. I think its the metal gear the scanner sees and triggers additional screening. My first day I had my Traveler with me and they looked it, gave me a really hard time about it, but let me take it through. To me, it wasn't worth the hassle so I switched to my Mini Executive for the rest of the trip. They never questioned it. Universal security was more like an airports with a standard metal detector and x-ray. They didn't give me any problems for my gear. That also included a flashlight at all times, hanks, and some other items.
Having some hanks with me was a huge benefit during my trip. I brought a handful of favorites with me to keep a clean one at all times. Between sweating, cleaning up the kids, cleaning up after myself, sunscreen, and much more, they got used a lot! I always carry a hank with me and when on vacation, I find it even more important to carry regularly. Of course, I had to get a sweet shot with my Mickey hank and the Disney castle in the background!
That leads me to some of the other items I had with me. For our water bottles, we carried a variety of collapsible bottles. I really liked having those with me because I love being hydrated, but I also liked being able to collapse them when I didn't want to carry a big bottle. I used a Hydrapak bottle and it held up great until I lost it at one of the parks haha. Would highly recommend. I tend to be over prepared and brought a full med kid with me, too. I actually broke down this one and put a majority of the items in my backpack. Even better is you can use HSA/FSA funds for this pack.
I needed to put all this gear somewhere and I used my foldable dump tray. Worked great to stay organized in the hotel and keep my kids from grabbing my gear. I like to being organized and this was the perfect solution for me.
All in all, the trip was amazing and I am so glad I got to have a majority of my normal gear on me. I am hoping this guide can provide a little insight on a topic that doesn't have a lot of information. Please note this was written in Feb 2023 so things may change over time. If you have any specific questions, please reach out as I am happy to help.
Thanks for sharing all of this. My family and I are going to Disney World this summer and I keep biting my fingernails trying to figure out what I can/should take with me. I love being the prepared dad, but sometimes I overprepare and there's only so much you can put in a suitcase for the plane ride! This blog really encouraged me.