15 Dollar Store Must Buy Items for your Disney Vacation!

Often times I am asked what to take or pack for a Disney Vacation and normally I will tell you about these items that are a “Must Buy” for your trip! As a family who travels often and not just to the World, I like to help save money and making a trip to the Dollar Store is normally something I do just before each trip! Even when I travel on my own, I still will go and purchase these several things before leaving and packing them in my luggage each time. Even if I don’t use them, I still have them available to me.

1. Glow Sticks & Necklaces – I always buy these from the Dollar Tree because I hate paying for an item that my child is only going to use for one or two nights. I normally feel guilty paying the high dollar amount for the ones at the parks because Olivia will normally lose it. But if she misplaces the ones from the dollar store, then I’m not going to panic or get upset.
2. Ponchos – Going to Disney can be expensive and sometimes having the dollar store ponchos in your park bag is something that you will need. I normally will purchase 3 for each person going because they do tear a lot but they come in handy for keeping a stroller dry or you dry if you happen to be at the parks and a rain storm comes up.
3. Sandwich Bags and Gallon Size Bags – I normally keep plenty of gallon sized bags in my park bag because whenever we get onto a ride that has water, I will put my imporant things in there so they stay dry. And the sandwich bags we use for our keys or our wallets and even snacks for while were are there in the parks.
4. Tissues and Wipes – This is something that we always get to have on hand. Whether it be for the ride down to Disney World or using the wipes while at the parks for my messy child when it comes to eating ice cream. Always good to have on hand no matter where you are.
5. Hand Sanitizer – My husband is obsessed with making sure that his hands are clean and this is no exception especially when we are on vacation! This always goes inside our park bags!
6. Souvenirs – Yes you can get quite a bit of things from the Dollar store that you can give your kids for either the ride down to the parks or for maybe each day that you get up and head to the parks. Something that my best friend and I did was each night after the kids went to bed, we laid a few things out along with a note from “Mickey Mouse” telling them that they are going to this park for the day and the item is for their day but they better be good! It worked like a charm too!
7. Coloring Books – One thing that we always get is coloring books and markers or crayons. This helps for the long ride down and for the end of the day or middle of the day when you take a break from the parks. Sometimes keeping them inside your park bags is something to do as well for while your waiting for a ride or your table to be ready at meal time.
8. Water Bottles – Getting the water bottles from the dollar tree is nothing to worry about. While you are in Florida, you will need to stay hydrated so having a water bottle for while you are in the parks. You can get free water at any quick service place and then when we get the ice water, just pour them into your water bottles you brought with you.
9. Travel Size Medications – I normally will go and get some motrin and a few other items from the dollar store to keep in our bags for when we travel. This is something that I have always done and also having a small first aid kit helps too. You never know when someone will trip and fall or skin their knees up.
10. Mesh Laundry Bag – We normally will take with us two mesh laundry bags to put our dirty clothes into and then will just pack them up when we are finished in one bag. This helps us keep the clean laundry separate from the dirty laundry.
11. Toothbrushes – I will normally keep some new toothbrushes with us to use while there and when we leave, we just throw them away because we know we have our others at home. I can’t tell you how many times we have left a toothbrush or two there at the resort and didn’t realize it until we were almost home or at home.
12. Snacks – We normally will get snacks for the ride down to Florida so we don’t have to make too many stops for food on the way down there. This helps out with food costs too down there. And we will have small snacks to take into the parks with us.
13. Straws – Straws have become a thing we must take with us. Normally whenever we go to Animal Kingdom, Olivia likes to have regular straws to drink out of instead of the paper ones. This is one thing that we always do is pack some in a ziplock bag and take inside the parks with us. We do dispose of the straws where they need to be compared to being thrown on the ground.
14. Pens & Markers – Another good thing to take along with you would be pens or markers for while you are in the parks. Sometimes this can be a good thing for you to have since having an autograph book for the kids or even yourself, your pen can run out of ink so having backups help!
15. Gum – Whether you are flying or driving down for your family vacation, we always bring gum with us. Gum is NOT sold inside the park or anywhere on site so if you are used to having gum with you don’t forget it while at the dollar store!

I hope that this list will help you when it comes to deciding what to bring with you and hope that you will ask any questions if you should have them.