“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This famous quote from John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is very relatable to a Disney World vacation. No matter how much you plan there’s always room for something to go wrong. I came across this picture and thought back to the time that we decided to bring our own supply of water and food for the week. We weren’t going to have a rental car to venture off the property and this was before the time of high baggage fees (I‘m pretty sure this bag would not have made weight!)
Since then we’ve realized there are grocery delivery services that can make getting your in-room snacks there much easier! Also, if you rent a car it’s ideal to stop off at Publix or Winn Dixie and grab some snacks for your room.
We made the mistake of planning a little too much – but we did save on buying drinks once we were there! In the Disney bubble, you can always get what you need or forgot at home, but you could be paying prices that you would most certainly scoff at outside the bubble – but what’s a vacation without a little splurging?
Here’s a quick comparison of just a few things that you’ll probably need on vacation but will regret not bringing once you start shelling out the premium prices inside the parks.
Breakfast is one of the easiest meals to bring because the foods are fairly compact and you can pack a variety of options for cheap. We usually bring granola bars, pop tarts, bagels & peanut butter – and all of these can also double as a between-meal or late-night snack. Just watch out for chocolate chip granola bars – they’ll melt pretty fast in the summer heat!
Even if you stop at a grocery store to get bottles of water, you’re stuck carrying around 6-8 bottles during the day. My husband, who bears the brunt of carrying the backpack, prefers bringing 2 refillable bottles to save his back some aches and pains. The other perk of the refillable bottle is that you’re never stuck drinking warm bottled water that’s been in the backpack all day.
One of the cutest sights in the park is all the little girls dressed as princesses. What’s a little less cute are the price tags on the Cinderella and Co. dresses in the parks! They can range anywhere from $60 – $150 depending on what comes with it (shoes, wig, gloves, purse, etc.) I picked up a Cinderella costume at Target before our trip for $20 – it was just as adorable as the dresses in the parks.
An essential item if you go during rainy season is a rain poncho or jacket. We used to buy the super cheap plastic ponchos but even that turned out to be a good idea gone bad. They rip very easily and if they’re wet and you don’t dry them thoroughly they can get musty in a hurry. A smelly, ripped, shred of plastic is not something you look forward to throwing on when you’re caught in the middle of a humid summer downpour in Orlando!
Now we have our ‘vacation jackets’ which are combination light jacket/rain jacket/windbreaker. They were around $25 each at a local store, but well worth it to avoid getting caught up in what looks like a glorified trash bag (which I have seen people wearing in the rain!)
As another famous author – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – once said, – “Into each life, some rain must fall…” even in the bubble!
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