Our trip to Disney World and Universal Studios was eye opening to say the least. With new restrictions and mask mandates because of Covid, it was different than I imagined it would be. Still magical, but different.
The parks are constantly changing what you can and can’t bring in. Make sure to download the Disney World App and the Universal Studios App to see what the restrictions are and what mask policy is currently.
We researched a lot of the “must haves” for Florida in the heat of summer. Here are my mandatory items to bring inside Disney World and Universal Studios in the hot summer months.
1. Mini backpacks for everyone going.
Keep in mind this is only for Disney World. You can bring a small bag into Universal, but you have to check it into a locker before most rides. It’s kind of a pain so we only brought one bag for everyone’s water and a few snacks at Universal. Depending on age and circumstance most anyone can carry a mini backpack with at least their own water and a few snacks at Disney World.
2. Insulated water bottles and/or water bottles that spray water on your face.
Everyone NEEDS to stay hydrated! Insulated water bottles are really nice if you have access to ice. It will keep cold the whole time you are there! Spray water bottles are very refreshing when standing in long lines in the heat but are not insulated.
3. Good walking shoes.
I know you want to look nice, but trust me on this! Find cute tennis shoes. We had good shoes and still a few of us got blisters.
4. Small easy to go snacks.
Keep up your energy from all the walking! We averaged 5.3 miles of walking each day when we went. Don’t let yourself, your spouse, or kids get “hangry”!
5. Sunscreen.
You don’t want to be miserable for your whole trip if you get sunburned.
6. Water cooling neck wraps.
Our kids loved these and they protect the neck even more from sunburn!
7. Umbrellas for shade AND for when it rains.
We saw someone using an umbrella for shade on our first day. I knew we needed to get some for the rest of our trip. The difference in temperature being in the shade was huge! Also Florida weather is unpredictable. It usually rained a little in the afternoon each day. It was pouring our whole last day there.
8. Fans. Electronic or handheld.
I wish I would have bought some handheld fans before we went. Instead we ended up buying one electronic one to share between four kids. I know, I know… It was a nightmare. Everyone was fighting over it. I ended up buying everyone handheld fans at the Epcot China World Showcase. They are pretty, but I know I could have got some for cheaper before we came.
9. Ponchos or a lightweight waterproof jacket.
We weren’t sure if we should bring these at first. I am SO glad we did! It was pouring rain all day on our last day. We bought some tightly compacted ponchos for cheap and they didn’t take up much space in our bags. Worth it!
10. Battery pack chargers for your electronics.
I am super grateful we brought portable chargers for our phones. We took a lot of pictures and videos and we definitely needed them toward the end of each day.
*Honorable mentions.* Travel size hand sanitizer, lotion, and lip moisturizer.
Bath and Body Works has my favorite travel sized hand sanitizers. They actually smell good and have a lot of ways to attach them to a bag, or to wear on a lanyard. They also have the perfect sized travel lotions that you can toss in your bag and they smell amazing. I highly suggest hand sanitizer because the hand sanitizing stations in both parks are often empty from lots of use. The lotion helps your hands not get too dry from all the washing and sanitizing. I am a lip moisturizer snob. I only like Treat Beauty lip moisturizers. They are 3X the size of a regular tube and they are just the best! (Oatmeal Cookie is my favorite.) They have many yummy flavors to pick from. I have an embarrassing amount of different flavors. Shhhh… It’s fine.
Now that you have the “must haves”, now you need the “Must do’s” and “Do not’s”…
1. Do make sure to make your park reservations AS SOON AS YOU BUY YOUR TICKETS!
This is something I didn’t know. I was SO grateful that a close friend let me know I needed to make a reservation for each day for each park. The reason being that the parks can reach full capacity and then you are out of luck because you didn’t make the reservations for the park for that day. If you have bought your tickets but haven’t made reservations for your parks and the days you will be at each park DO IT NOW!
2. Do download the Disney App and the Universal App on your phone.
The apps were my favorite thing while in all the parks! They are a map, a timesaver on letting you know how long the wait times are on each ride, and oh yah… “Mobile dining”. Mobile Dining orders were our saving grace! We made a few lunch reservations before we arrived. For the rest of our meals we used “mobile dining” to get us quick food and even a place to sit down in A/C without the hefty bill of a reserved meal.
3. Do wake up early and get there before the gates open, at least 30 minutes early!
We woke up early most days and were able to get the more popular rides out of the way early in the morning. It made the afternoon not nearly as hectic and we even hit up our favorite rides a second time. Just do it. Wake up early to save yourself the stress of waiting in the hot sun forever on the more popular rides. We didn’t get to Animal Kingdom early and so we had to wait 80 minutes in the “Avatar Flight of Passage” line.
4. Do a character breakfast or lunch if you can swing the cost.
With Covid and mask mandates you have to stay 6 feet away from the characters. So for the time being they are NOT doing “meet and greets” with any characters.
Instead they are doing what is called “cavalcades”. Basically the characters are in parades. No one can get close to them this way.
Because of that we decided to do a character lunch. (Dinner is more expensive.) With the lunch the characters come out and wave and stand 6 feet behind your table while you take a picture.
You also get some live entertainment as they also were dancing around the dining area to some Halloween music. The kids loved it and didn’t feel as though they missed out completely from the character experience.
Although, my daughter did try and run to Mickey when he first came out and he had to cover his eyes and run and hide. That broke my heart for her. We had to explain “Covid rules apply to Mickey too”.
Here is my only Don’t…
#1. Don’t get the Photopass… It is NOT worth it right now.
We got the Photopass and honestly we got maybe 3 good pictures from it. The cost of it just doesn’t even come close to being worth it right now.
You have to be wearing your mask in all of the pictures or the park WILL NOT release your photos to you. Meaning if they took a picture of you and anyone in your party is not wearing their mask they will not give you your picture. It goes against their “company policy”.
Sooo yahhh. Needless to say, we didn’t get some of our most precious memories because of this. Do you know how hard it is to keep a mask on kids? Let me tell you. It’s hard.
Take your own pictures and save that money for something more worth it.
Now let’s talk about food, because food is important.
My youngest daughter and I have gluten and dairy allergies. My middle daughter has tree nut and sesame seed allergies.
I was afraid it was going to be difficult for us to find things to eat. I WAS WRONG. Disney is amazing at accommodating to anyone with any allergy. My daughter and I were so exited that we were able to have some fantastic things to eat!
My only suggestion is that when you make your reservations for a “planned meal” you add in the comments how many people have allergies and what the allergies are. That way the restaurant knows ahead of time what to prepare. (They add adorable toothpicks that say “Allergy” into the food brought to you so there is no mix ups.)
We had an amazing time. I am glad that we didn’t wait to go on this vacation. Our family needed it in so many ways. We were safe. We wore masks, we washed and sanitized hands, we distanced when we could. We had a safe trip.
Now the only question for us is… Where are we going to next??? Where would you take your family on a vacation if you could go anywhere? Let me know!!!
Much love, Sassy