What You Should NEVER Bring to a Disney Park

When it comes to packing for your Disney World trip, there are tons of resources available for things that you should bring with you.

Cinderella Castle

But what about some things that you shouldn’t pack? That’s why we’re compiling a list of some of the things you shouldn’t bring with you to Disney World, so let’s get into it!

Prohibited Items

We’ll start off with a relatively simple one. Disney World has a list available on its website that lays out all of the prohibited items. Some items that are listed on the site include things like self-defense items (pepper spray, tasers, etc.), alcohol, glass containers, wagons, selfie sticks, and more.

Though it’s available for sale, glassware cannot be brought into the parks.

These rules are all in place to keep you and other Disney World guests safe while you’re at the parks.

Click here to see 21 items you can’t bring into Disney World!

New Shoes

A Disney World vacation comes with a LOT of walking, and you don’t want to be taking this opportunity to break in a new pair of shoes.

A Disney trip is NOT the time to be breaking in new shoes.

If you want to buy a more comfortable pair of walking shoes for your trip, we recommend purchasing them several weeks (or months) in advance and wearing them around so you can make sure they’re nice and broken in by the time you head to Disney World. The last thing you want to do is get awful blisters on the first day of your trip and then be in pain for the rest of your vacation.

Click here to see the best shoes for your Disney World trip!

Melty, Sticky, or Crumbly Food

Packing some snacks in your park bag can be a great way to save on food in the parks, but there are some things you should and shouldn’t pack.

Not all park snacks are created equally.

When deciding what to pack, we recommend staying away from foods that are likely to melt (even if you’re visiting in the winter, a lot of things may still melt) like chocolate, granola bars with peanut butter coatings, and other things of that nature. We also recommend avoiding very crumbly things — you know, like that one type of Nature Valley bar that crumbles to dust just by looking at it. Things like chips can be tricky, as well, because they could turn into something more akin to chip pieces if they get jostled around in your bag too much.

When it comes to snacks you should pack, we recommend things like trail mix, Uncrustables, and other items like those that won’t make a mess.

Click here to see 10 snacks for under $10 in EPCOT!

Huge Backpacks and Bulky Items

Look, we get it, sometimes a large backpack or bag is necessary, especially if you have younger kids, but if you can avoid it, we recommend opting for a smaller park bag when you can.

Which park bag is right for you?

Smaller backpacks and bags will be less cumbersome and will be easier to carry around all day. They’re also easier to squeeze onto rides with you and overall just make things simpler. By opting for a smaller bag, it will also be easier to only pack the essentials.

Click here for 7 less than obvious things you should pack for Disney World!

Expensive/Sentimental Jewelry

Almost nobody wants to think about the worst things that could happen on their Disney World vacation, but losing a piece of sentimental or expensive jewelry is pretty high up there.

You might want to leave your expensive jewelry at home!

You never know what could happen to these items. They could get lost or broken, and if you don’t happen to notice when you’ve lost something, you might not be able to get it back. Disney does everything it can to help guests recover lost items, and there’s a Lost and Found at each park, but it’s not always possible, especially for things as small as stuff like earrings and rings. To err on the side of caution, we recommend leaving your expensive and sentimental jewelry (or any other items that are valuable to you) back in your hotel room or at home.

Click here to read more about lost and found at Disney World!

Restrictive Clothing

We’re going to get this out of the way right now: if you wear jeans to Disney World, you will probably regret it.

You might regret wearing jeans to Disney World

Jeans are hot, so if you’re visiting in the summer, you’ll likely overheat. They can also restrict your range of motion and make it difficult to walk around. When it comes to picking your Disney World outfits, light, breathable clothing is always the way to go. You need something that will dry quickly if you sweat, ride a water ride, or get caught in a Florida downpour, and jeans and other more restrictive clothing items just don’t provide that.

Click here to see the best park outfits for your trip to Disney World!

And those are just a few of the things you shouldn’t bring with you to the Disney World parks. If you’re in the midst of planning your upcoming Disney World vacation, we have some resources available to you. We’ve mapped out a realistic budget for your 2023 Disney World trip, plus eight easy mistakes to avoid when planning your next trip.