[00:00:00] Dana Stanley: Welcome back to the Laid Back Magic Way podcast. Today is a fun one because I have been actively packing for our Disney World trip, and I thought I would walk you through exactly what is making it into my suitcase for this summer trip

[00:00:29] Dana Stanley: So this is certainly not going to be like a 50 Disney World essentials that you have to buy kind of episode. Most of the stuff I'm packing is either obvious, it's either replacing a mistake of maybe I didn't pack it before, or a different version of something that I've packed before

[00:00:54] Dana Stanley: Or something that I am genuinely excited to test and see if I like it better Some of these are going to be very Disney specific. Some are going to be a little bit more summer specific. Disney World tends to be hot for the majority of the year, or at least have hot parts of the day So even if I'm traveling in the spring or fall, this would essentially be almost the same type of list.

[00:01:27] Dana Stanley: It's just more important because we're going in July. And of course, most of the things are things that I bring just to make traveling with three kids a lot easier. So let's get into it

[00:01:48] Dana Stanley: So the first category I have is things that are new to me that I'm actively going to be testing while we're in the parks, and specifically new stroller fans. So I do feel like everyone knows that you need to bring a stroller fan, I hope, for your kids. Ideally, one fan for each kid, because if there's kids walking, they can hold said fan or wear it around their necks, whatever

[00:02:21] Dana Stanley: But since I've been buying stroller fans since like 2016 when my daughter was born, I've tried a lot of different versions. I try not to buy too much, but as I've had more kids, I've gotten like the upgraded version of certain stroller fans. The first one I had, the one with little grippy arms that you've probably seen, um, there's usually four of them and they wrap around.

[00:02:47] Dana Stanley: I have actually been liking this less and less because depending-- I have two different ones. One has like a rubber finish, the other one has a foam finish, and depending on how long you've had it or the joint of the stroller that you're connecting it to, it can get a little loose. And once it's loose, it's really annoying having to readjust it to have it on your kid, especially when they're getting in and out of the stroller and they're kicking it and it's bumping.

[00:03:14] Dana Stanley: It just gets super annoying

[00:03:19] Dana Stanley: And not only is it important for the kids in the stroller to have a fan, especially when they're napping, to have some airflow, but I've realized I want a fan on me while I'm pushing the stroller. So that's something that I'm going to be trying is, number one, more of a clamp style fan. I'm gonna link it in the show notes so you can see what I'm talking about.

[00:03:43] Dana Stanley: It's way pricier than my other stroller fans that I've purchased, but I think I'm gonna go for it just because I know how important it is and how much we use them. If you've ever pushed a stroller in Disney World in July, you know exactly what I mean

[00:04:07] Dana Stanley: So if they work well enough, I might actually consider them like a little bit of an investment piece for me, because I can keep bringing them back to Disney World and not have like five okay fans and just have like maybe two, hopefully three fans that work really well and have a long battery life. So I will report back.

[00:04:31] Dana Stanley: Another thing I'm going to be testing is something called bricking my phone. If you're not already familiar with brick k- with a capital B or haven't heard of it It's a very small physical device. It looks like maybe a two-by-two gray square that pairs up with an app on your phone where you can block whatever you want.

[00:04:58] Dana Stanley: You can block all of social media, you could block your emails, you could block your text messages, whatever you want And the reason why it works is because it's not easy to unbrick your phone. You have to be physically at the little two-by-two block to unbrick it. So for example, how I'm imagining using this, because it's so small, it's like very easy to pack, throw that in my suitcase, keep it in our resort room

[00:05:35] Dana Stanley: And right before we go to the pool or the park, I can lock myself out of things that I know are distracting for me or maybe something that I'm thinking about. So for me, that would be Instagram. I won't feel the need to be posting my stories in live time while I'm with my family. I can do that during our downtime or when we're back at the room before I go to sleep.

[00:05:59] Dana Stanley: I might do my email if nothing is, like, pressing for me to get in touch with anyone for work. And that way I can still bring my phone 'cause y- I can't leave my phone in the room. I obviously need my Disney Experience app. I want to be able to take photos and video onto my camera roll Disney has this weird ability to, if you're not careful, make you spend your whole day staring at your phone between, you know, checking the wait times and maybe checking the weather, refreshing your Lightning Lanes, um, mobile ordering your food, all of the things

[00:06:38] Dana Stanley: I don't have to lock any of those things

[00:06:44] Dana Stanley: But I can leave the things that are absolutely necessary and nothing else. So I wanna see if I can intentionally make my phone time a little bit less, bringing a brick on vacation

[00:07:07] Dana Stanley: I'm also a little bit more excited about my clothes for this trip, and that's not usually like me. I'm very, I'm very much an outfit repeater, almost like a capsule wardrobe nailed down that I bring to Disney World, and everything mixes and matches, and it doesn't matter what the weather is, it doesn't matter what park we go to.

[00:07:29] Dana Stanley: Maybe I'll bring, like, one or two special things that I know are for a restaurant or an experience. But I have been using Nuuly for, I wanna say, maybe three or four months. You've probably heard of Nuuly, N-U-U-L-Y. If you haven't, it's a, essentially a clothing rental subscription where you pay a flat fee per month and you get six pieces of clothing of your choice, and then you can swap them out per month.

[00:08:05] Dana Stanley: So you give them back, and then you get six more things. So it's been really nice, and I feel like it's been saving me money because I don't have to buy things in different sizes if my weight is fluctuating. I can try different brands and actually wear something for a full month and decide if I really like it and would keep wearing it

[00:08:28] Dana Stanley: But honestly, I think Disney is the perfect use for it because there are so many outfits that I normally would love for a Disney trip, but I would, I know that I would never wear them enough to justify buying it, and it would just be a waste

[00:08:46] Dana Stanley: And because I can choose whatever I want from their catalog, which is massive, it has Free People, Anthropologie, all of the things, I'm going to try to do, like, my typical matching linen set, which I'll get more into this as the episode goes on. But I feel like I can do something a little bit more exciting and not super neutral, because I know that I'm not committed to it.

[00:09:09] Dana Stanley: I could get a cute dress for our afternoon tea, which I have booked, and just maybe an outfit that only works at Disney World, and I don't have to worry about it. I can rent it and wear it and take pictures in it, and then I can send it back

[00:09:40] Dana Stanley: I'll leave the link I have for them in the show notes if you wanna learn more about it. So far, I haven't had a downside of it, so my plan is to continue renting per month

[00:09:57] Dana Stanley: The other thing you'll notice I'm packing is, like I said, a lot of linen and cotton. I know this might sound obvious, but every summer I see people packing and wearing things that I know are just going to feel so hot, like black biker shorts and, like, that heavy athletic material

[00:10:20] Dana Stanley: But meanwhile, if you look at people who work outside all day, or even while you're in Disney, people who are traveling from very far away and they actually live in hot climates from all around the world, they're usually wearing light, like the color white or a very close version of white, loose and breathable natural fibers.

[00:10:50] Dana Stanley: Like, it could even be a long sleeve or pants, but they're cotton, they're linen, light colors, and there's a reason for that. So Disney World is not the place where I'm going to be wearing athleisure all day. I want something away from my skin so that air can flow in between the fabric and my skin, and not too tight.

[00:11:15] Dana Stanley: Um, Old Navy has great options. Amazon has great options. Like, you don't need expensive versions of those things. I just look for 100% cotton whenever possible

[00:11:29] Dana Stanley: The only exception to my rule is some of my Disney vintage tees are called 50/50s, where they're half cotton, half polyester. I will still be wearing those. That is the only exception

[00:11:52] Dana Stanley: After that, I'm packing my absolute non-negotiables. Doesn't really matter what time of year I'm going, probably doesn't matter if I'm even going to Disney World. It's just, just the, my travel non-negotiables, and the first is my electrolyte powder. I buy a big old bag and keep it in the cabinet, and then when I travel, I just pour some in a Ziploc baggie

[00:12:19] Dana Stanley: My favorite is the brand Good On Ya. Good On Ya? I literally won't go to Disney World without it. I actually found it in a pinch, late night, breastfeeding, needed electrolytes ASAP. Really liked the ingredients that I saw on Amazon, primed it, and it ended up being our favorite

[00:12:45] Dana Stanley: What I love the most is that it just tastes like lemonade. It's probably the only electrolyte drink I've ever had that doesn't taste salty to me. Like, I don't actively taste the salt

[00:12:59] Dana Stanley: And when we're in Disney, it's really important that I can bring one thing and all of us will drink it. So the main selling point for me is that the kids like it, and I just call it lemonade. And it was created by an Olympian, so I just trust that it's very hydrating. But for Disney World, especially in the summer, you're sweating constantly, whether you realize it or not.

[00:13:26] Dana Stanley: You need to be drinking... We need to be drinking so much more than we are. My second non-negotiable is waterproof sandals. My go-to has been Freedom Moses. That's the name of the brand, Freedom Moses. And you absolutely do not need Freedom Moses specifically. Just the important part is that it's waterproof

[00:13:51] Dana Stanley: Every Disney vet eventually gets caught in one of those afternoon Florida rainstorms where you're wearing sneakers and your shoes just get really gross, and you don't feel like you can walk many places. This happened to us during that hurricane trip that we were on, and I was wearing my trusty Vans

[00:14:19] Dana Stanley: And I was tiptoeing around the puddles, which was pretty close to impossible. And then the next day when I learned my lesson and had my waterproof sandals, it was way easier 'cause you can essentially just walk in the puddles and it's not that gross. It's a little gross, but you get what I'm saying

[00:14:40] Dana Stanley: So you want something that can get soaked and be completely fine, and you don't have to wait for it to dry out. You can even throw them in the bottom of the stroller if you don't see rain in the forecast, just to be safe. That's why I like the Freedom Moses ones, 'cause they weigh nothing. So I usually have these in my personal item on the plane with my bathing suit and, like, a pair of shorts.

[00:15:03] Dana Stanley: That way, when I get to the resort, I can just run in one of the pool bathrooms or the resort bathroom and get into my pool gear, and it doesn't weigh down my bag

[00:15:19] Dana Stanley: And also for this trip, I will be bringing a raincoat. I think I might maybe be just getting one from my Nuuly order

[00:15:33] Dana Stanley: But I have said before on the podcast, I'm not a huge poncho person. I will wear one if I'm absolutely desperate, but I prefer a raincoat. And that's where I think the Nuuly order will come in, if I can find one, is I can get, like, a very specific, maybe like a packable, bright raincoat, just something with a hood that's 100% waterproof that I can crumple up super small and stick it in my bag just so I'm ready for those sun showers Because especially in the summer, I know that I could leave the resort seeing all sun and no clouds, and then in three hours it could be a monsoon Speaking of sunshine, the next non-negotiable is a face SPF.

[00:16:23] Dana Stanley: I'll leave my favorite linked in the show notes because it's the only one that doesn't break me out. I was never consistent with wearing sunscreen on my face until I found this, which has been really nice But if I'm bringing that, I'm always bringing some tanning drops because what happens, especially when you're traveling, is my body will get pretty tan and then my face stays super pale.

[00:16:52] Dana Stanley: So what I'll do is I'll literally add, like, tanning drops to the SPF and put that on, and then it makes everything blend. And this is not a necessity. This is just me being vain. But it does make you feel a little less ghostly. Next category is things that I'm packing because I learned my lesson

[00:17:26] Dana Stanley: First up is goggles, and this will be the most random thing in my bag. But both of my girls think that they cannot swim or cannot get in the pool without goggles

[00:17:42] Dana Stanley: And I know this because one time I forgot them, and I had to literally Instacart goggles to the beach club resort, which felt ridiculous because it was so random. But if your kids spend any time in the pool and they like having goggles, make sure that you pack the goggles

[00:18:05] Dana Stanley: Another thing that is going in my suitcase that is strictly for the kids is new hats for autographs. My girls, on our last trip, became very into getting just plain white baseball hats signed by the characters instead of a book, and we somehow actually filled them up. Like, there's maybe one or two spots.

[00:18:30] Dana Stanley: So, so I think I might be bringing those hats to, like, super fill them up, and then have, like, backup hats, new hats, in case they run out of room And I love these, and I'm so glad that I did this unlike an autographed book, because it's something that they can actually wear and keep using versus an autographed book

[00:19:02] Dana Stanley: And finally, under the learned my lesson category is anti-nausea bracelets. I usually bring it for the plane. I wear them in the parks. I wear them on boats. I try to use them instead of medication whenever possible, because that can make me really tired, and they're so easy to pack. Like, they take up zero room, and I don't know if it's a placebo, but they have worked surprisingly well for me.

[00:19:28] Dana Stanley: And on my last trip, I forgot them, and I was mad at myself the whole time, because I like having it for the rides, too, just in case I get a little queasy

[00:19:45] Dana Stanley: One small thing that makes a huge difference for me and sounds really silly, but it's also my most used item, is hair clips. I do not like wearing my hair down in Disney during the summer whatsoever. I will maybe wear it down for like a dinner, but 99% of the time it's going to be up. It's just way too hot But ponytails can give me a headache after a while, or even, like, a tight bun.

[00:20:20] Dana Stanley: Hair clips are just perfect where they keep my hair out of my face. I can do it in two s- literally two seconds and kind of look like I did my hair. And if you get cute ones, you can kind of dress them up. They look nice for dinner. If you do take your hair down, they can double as something cute on your bag if you clip it onto the strap.

[00:20:41] Dana Stanley: So if it's practical and cute, it is going in the bag

[00:20:47] Dana Stanley: That is everything currently making it into my suitcase for Disney World. Some of these maybe were a little obvious that you would already think to pack. Some are experiments that I'm honestly gonna have to just let you know if I liked them. But I'm hoping that maybe a few of these things you hadn't thought of, or I reminded you to pack them, and can save you the mistake of forgetting them before you go I will have everything that I mentioned linked below in the show notes

[00:21:26] Dana Stanley: Thanks for listening, and I will see you next week