D-Fam

D-Fam

Friday, March 8, 2019

Advice: What to Wear/Bring to Disney World and Universal Studios + My Favorite Disney Snacks

So today I watched one of those "what's in my Disney bag?" videos on YouTube and it inspired me to write my own post on what I bring into the parks! Then my thought process kind of snowballed and now I'm also going to include my advice on clothing, and dressing for a full day in the Florida weather AND my favorite Disney park snacks. My brain in a nutshell.

So I'm going to start off clothes then go into what I actually bring into the parks and throw in snacks along the way. Get ready for way too many photos as per usual!

So my biggest piece of advice is to dress for comfort. Spending a whole day in the parks, ESPECIALLY in the Florida summer, can be exhausting, and you definitely want to be comfortable. For me, I only wear athletic clothing in the parks unless I know it's probably not going to rain, and that's it's going to be cooler, then I'll wear jeans. But especially in the summer when it doesn't just rain but DOWNPOURS DAILY, I highly recommend wearing athletic clothing not only because it's comfortable but because it dries out more quickly than your regular street clothes! And usually keeps you cooler as well. So most of the time I'm in an athletic tank top and leggings or running shorts.

Going off of that, I also have to point out that due to the nature of the Florida rainstorms, ponchos work WAY better than raincoats. And in the summer when it's super hot with high humidity, ponchos allow for air flow that raincoats don't, so even though they look silly, they are much more comfortable. Cheap as well! You can also go for an umbrella, but sometimes that's a pain to carry around with you. With shoes in the rain, I personally stick with my Chaco sandals because they dry out pretty quickly and I can wear them all day without discomfort. If you wear tennis shoes into the park I would bring along an extra pair of sandals or at least an extra pair of socks to change into. If it's going to be a dry day, then tennis shoes work great (you'll be walking A LOT). Some of my friends wear Birkenstocks as well, wear whatever you can last all day in without regret. Basically I advise against cute sandals that look good but have zero support. But you do you.

As for layers, I usually bring something super lightweight unless I know the whole day is going to be on the cooler side (like highs in the 60's), then I'll being a sweatshirt, but normally I bring a long-sleeved shirt or flannel as my layer for the morning or evening when it's a little cooler. Finally, 90% of the time I just bring a fanny pack as I find it more comfortable, and for rides at Universal where you normally have to remove bags, fanny packs can stay with you since they're strapped to you. Once in awhile if I had a SUPER long day planned or packed a lunch or something I might bring a backpack, or if it's a cool day and I'm wearing jeans, I'll just use my pockets and can use the shorter security lines for people without bags.

Okay now I'm including photos of my everyday park wear and you will VERY quickly see a pattern as to what I wear hahaha.












So obviously I know what works for me and stick to it, and while everyone has different preferences, my biggest piece of advice is to recognize that Florida weather is all over the place and not just warm all the time, and to dress for comfort!!

Okay onto what I bring into the parks. As previously mentioned, I'm a fanny pack kind of gal. So most of the time I just bring in (inside the fanny pack), my phone, hand sanitizer, chapstick, money and ID, car key if I drove, apartment/house key if I live there, sunglasses if it's going to be sunny, and sometimes my Kindle (yes it really does fit in that Dakine fanny pack you see in the photos!) if I'm in the parks by myself and if I took the bus. Some of my friends bring water bottles (you can bring food and drink into the park as long as it's not alcohol or glass I believe), but I don't like carrying a water bottle around so when I'm thirty I just stop by any quick-service restaurant or Starbucks and get a free cup of ice water! I also don't usually bring food with me, but buy it inside the park.

Which brings us to food and snacks. I'm pretty cheap so I usually just buy a kids chicken nugget meal which comes with a drink and two sides for less than $10. And no, you don't have to be a child to order that meal.


This is the kids chicken nugget meal from Restaurant-o-saurus in Animal Kingdom, but my favorite kids chicken nugget meal spot is Cosmic Rays in Magic Kingdom! All parks have it somewhere though. Other AWESOME snacks that are ALMOST all under $10 and delicious are posted below! These were some of my go-to's, but I also recommend Club Cool (not pictured) for free soda samples in Epcot!! I also didn't include anything from Epcot's Festivals since those are seasonal, but you can always find some awesome and cheap snacks at those. And of course there are other awesome snacks not featured, Disney is FULL of hidden snack gems.


Peach bubble tea from China in Epcot


Lefse from the bakery in Norway in Epcot


LeFou's Brew in Magic Kingdom (this is pretty sweet so I recommend sharing)


Ghiradelli's Salted Caramel Sundae in Disney Springs (also good for sharing)


Margaritas from Mexico in Epcot (this one was Avocado YUMMMM)


Raspberry Lime Macaroon from France in Epcot


My personal favorite, the Fresh Fruit Nutella Waffle from Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom (ordered without the blueberries)


And finally from Universal Studios, the Butterbeer Soft-Serve Ice Cream!! They also have a delicious Lavender-Early Grey regular ice cream. This one is only at Universal Studios (Gringotts side), NOT Islands of Adventure!

Of course I also have to include the regular Butterbeer drink from Universal, both frozen and iced:





And finally, it's not original WHATSOEVER, buuuuuuuut we did stop at Starbucks a LOT. Note that while you can still earn points at park Starbucks, you can't redeem them in the parks for free drinks! You CAN, however, redeem them at Disney Springs (I'm 90% sure)!!






That sums up my super random and photo-heavy post on what I bring into the parks, what I eat in the parks, and what I like to wear in the parks!! Hopefully you found something in here somewhat helpful or interesting, have fun on your park trip!

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