I don’t know about you all, but Disney’s Hollywood Studios is my personal FAVORITE Walt Disney World theme park.
A big part of that is because it’s themed around Hollywood, movies, and filmmaking, which has always been a big interest of mine. That means though that I’ve spent a ton of time in the park and have experienced FIRSTHAND (or seen with my own eyes) what you really will regret bringing into the park.
Only ONE Pair of Socks
Bringing an extra pair of socks into Disney World may not be your first thought, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re heading to Hollywood Studios, IT SHOULD BE. “But JP, the radar doesn’t show any rain!” LIES. BRING THEM ANYWAY. For this exact reason:
Really, this is the case for all Disney World parks, but DHS is known for flooding. And I mean like REAL flooding. Water up to your ankles flooding if it’s REALLY bad that day. Wet socks will give you blisters faster than lightning, so just roll up an extra pair of socks and stick them somewhere in your bag that also won’t get soaked. And don’t just grab any socks, okay? Grab some genuinely comfortable socks like the CWVLC Unisex Cushioned Compression Athletic Ankle Socks.
Cushioned socks can really make ALL the difference when you’re walking around Disney World. Even if you’ve got the comfiest socks in the world, supportive socks will help even more!
Oversized Strollers
Now, I’ve never traveled to Disney World where I’ve needed to push a stroller, but on my last trip I saw firsthand just how much trouble parents who had LARGE strollers had making their way around the parks.
Parents and guardians with smaller strollers had a much easier time navigating around crowds and parts of the park where things get narrow (some of those walkways in between lands are SMALL!). I chatted with some members of the team and they recommended the Summer Infant 3Dmini Convenience Stroller!
It still has plenty of storage space for your items as well as cupholders, and has that extremely important sun visor to keep your kiddo cool and out of the sun, but it’s not cumbersome. Getting a quality stroller is still of utmost importance, but the smaller you can go, the better!
A Bulky Park Bag
HA! Now this one is something I’ve really had to learn the hard way. I’m a chronic overpacker and always have been. For my first Disney World trip as an adult I bought a personalized backpack that just had my name and a cute Minnie head silhouette on the front, and while it’s not a massive backpack, it’s still bigger than I need.
Not to mention that having a bigger bag encourages me to pack MORE THINGS I don’t need, which is the exact opposite of what I need to do. Since then, I’ve switched over to a smaller sling bag that goes over my shoulder, and that’s thy I go for the ODODOS Daily Sling Bag.
This one is genuinely SO cute and I’m a huge fan of the crossbody style. It’s big enough to fit the essentials (minus my water bottle, but those collapsible ones are pretty cool!) without leaving room for my chronic overpacking nature. Baby steps, friends, baby steps!
A TERRIBLE Poncho
I’ll be honest here — I’m horrible at bringing rain gear into the parks (no one is surprised — see point #1 again for a demonstration). However, I refuse to buy a poncho in the parks BECAUSE I know they’re so expensive and yet will NOT be reusable like they say they are.
In general, I’d like to stay away from buying terrible ponchos IF I’m going to buy one at all, which is why when I (probably inevitably) buy a poncho, it’ll be THESE Frogg Togg Ponchos and these ponchos only.
Listen, Emma vouches for it and that’s enough for me! The material allows the rain to slip right off, and between that and the lack of sleeves, we didn’t feel steamed or hot underneath. On top of that, the poncho was large enough that our backpack was able to fit underneath it comfortably, while still keeping the bag and our back completely covered from the rain. If all that wasn’t enough, the poncho even comes with a waterproof storage bag, meaning we were able to quickly pack it up and throw it in our backpack as soon as the storm ended without worrying about anything in there getting wet.
At the end of the day though, you bring whatever you feel is necessary into Hollywood Studios and if you find a mistake was made, live and learn for next time — that’s what we do all the time! We’re always here to bring you the latest Disney World tips, so stay tuned to AllEars!
What’s your favorite Disney World park? Tell us in the comments!
Bring gold bond powder (the small bottle)for the places you didn’t know you can sweat from lol and please don’t forget a chafing stick. Those both will save you and your loved ones.
Animal Kingdom…& luv that rain jacket!
We were passholders for many many years when I would go there just a small crossbody phone wallet and Benadryl one of my kids is allergic to every single biting insect probably should have sunscreen but we’re Floridians
During our many trips to WDW, I tried out several backpacks. I have an unexplainable thing for backpacks. Anyway, I’ve had character-themed ones (not Loungefly), functional ones, drawstring ones, standard ones, and sling bags. Personally, my favorite is the sling bag with one strap over your shoulder and across your chest (not the fanny packs that people wear across their chests now—who brought that back?). It can hold a few essentials and enough space for a small merchandise purchase. Not too large, right?
Wrong.
But somehow, it can never pass the one test in WDW: the net space under your Soarin’ seat (Enter dramatic sound effect here). The net will always retain my backpack and make me argue with it like it’s alive. Is there the perfect backpack for the Soarin’ safety net?
Hi John! My Loungefly mini backpack usually fits in the Soarin’ net with no issues, but if you tell a Cast Member that you think your bag is too large to fit they’ll instruct you to leave it in the middle where the white lines are on the floor and you can retrieve it after.
Great tip! Thank you.
My favourite is magic kingdom DAK and DHS and Epcot