(This is a guest post by my husband.)

Are you going to Disneyland with your family? Do you have a well packed backpack for your Disneyland trip?

The well packed backpack in California Adventure & Disneyland can make your days much more relaxed, organized and effective. 

How would I know this?  Because for the past 18 years, I have gone to Disneyland 1-2 times per year.  Whether I want to or not.

In this article I will give 9 reasons why holding the family backpack in Disneyland is the most important role, in order for the REST of your family to have a successful day!

1. Have All of Your Stuff In One Place

When there is one family backpack in Disneyland, there is more order.

Everything is in one place: the water, sunscreen, snacks, lip balm, and my favorite, the ladies hygiene products, etc.

So, collect all the stuff from each person and stuff it into your backpack. This is a list of what you CANNOT bring into Disneyland.

These are the types of backpacks that I use in Disneyland.

The first is the one we use at night, with more stuff, like sweatshirts & a blanket to sit on.  It’s bigger & better for the shorter parts of your day.  The string bag if what we use in the mornings to be light and move quickly. WE like the zipper pocket to keep important items.  (These are amazon affiliate links, and you can read more about those disclosures here.)

I like to use this bright orange color or any very bright color so I can find it easily, and my family can find me from the backpack color.  You can use a backpack 24″ long x 15 ” wide x 18 inches high.

With ONE backpack in Disneyland, It’s easier to get going in the morning, quicker to find stuff while in Disneyland, and simpler to unpack once you get back to the hotel at night. Then, if you are LUCKY, you get to start all over again in the morning the next day.

Not only do you get used to where things are, but your family will know where to find things. Then, they can grab a tissue on their own, hand sanitizer on their own, and you will have more free-time to stand, sit or people watch.

Plus, when you get to Disneyland in the morning or when you come back at night, as you go through security, your family can go straight to the metal detector line and all together miss the backpack checking station.

2. The Backpack Isn’t in the Way on the Rides

Holding the backpack in Disneyland can be very annoying: trying to quickly get settled in the left side seat on The Hyperspace Mountain ride, only to have a bag be too big for the little “bag holder” or to hold under your feet.

Option #2? To leave the bag by the cast members, exposed and vulnerable. (Which, my kids tell me they do all the time…. what ever)

Though every ride in Disneyland allows bags & backpacks with the exception of Silly Symphony Swings, where you can leave your backpack on the ground, I think it’s better to have a person to hold the backpack.  

It is WAY better to have the bag held outside by the designated backpack holder, which makes getting on and off any rides much smoother.

You don’t even have to think about it, you can get into the log on Splash Mountain without thinking about how to keep your backpack dry.  

Although, Splash Mountain has room for your backpack.  So, if you can handle one ride, and have your Rain Poncho, which can cover you AND your backpack, I guess you can go.  Or not.

3. Having A Meeting Place Is Calming

When you have a person sitting in one place by the exit of any Disneyland ride, it is more calming for the entire group.

No matter what the group runs off to do, the designated person waiting in the designated spot makes the most sense. It’s just good group etiquette and creates reliability and predictability, both of which help calming anxiety and creating calm.

The directions are clear, the person is easy to find, and suddenly, even anxious tendencies are calmed by the routine and normalcy of having the same routine before and after each attraction.

Plus, I get to glare at any boys following my teenaged daughter off the rides, which she really appreciates.

4. Your Family Won’t Get Lost In Disneyland

When I see children get separated from their parents in Disneyland, it causes so much stress for all parties involved. Including me! And it causes terror for the child and parents!

The nice thing is how quickly the Disneyland Cast Members take care of the lost kid.  You can contact any Cast Member (Disney employee) to help you. Here is more info about the Baby Care Center & Lost Children.

The best way to avoid this is to have the designated backpack holder sitting and waiting close to the exit in a designated spot. And maybe wear the same colored bright pink shirt… which we have never done. And never will. At least I will never do.

With me to hold the backpack in Disneyland, and if anyone from our group, child or adult, is separated from the group, they know exactly where to find me. The waiting and meeting area is agreed upon before the rest of the group leaves for the ride or attraction, so everyone knows where to go.

Each trip to Disneyland we have witnessed at least one separation, but we have not had the pleasure of that intense stress & horror ourselves.  I’m sure, it’s all because of me & my holding the backpack.

5. You Can Rest While In Disneyland!

To get the opportunity to rest in Disneyland is, I dare say, not very common.

Each family is running around, squeezing every ounce of Disney out of Disney.

I see families stress and get upset because they have unrealistic expectations about what is possible while in a huge, crowded amusement park. Things just move slower here, and the larger the group combined with the younger the children or older the adults, all creates different needs and abilities.

Expecting extreme activity in an already adrenaline pumping, hyped up family vacation is a bad recipe for joy and quality family time. Instead, driving that expectation creates overwhelm and disappointment, both from which we are trying to escape in the first place by being in Disneyland!

Plus, you get to finish a book. Or not.

As the designated backpack holder, you get the GIFT of rest! You get to sit, alone, and relax. You are off your feet instead of standing for hours on your feet, and your back is not sore from the long lines and bad posture.

6. People Watching in Disneyland is Fun!

Another reason why being the designated backpack holder is very important is that you GET to people watch ON PURPOSE!

While people-watching is a past time few Disney goers “choose” to do between the hustle and bustle of the do-more day at Disney, you GET to do it as a part of the grand PLAN!

You get to compare sensible shoes, or Mickey/Minnie ears, most popular treats, or reactions to each ride. And, the family fights you get to experience are an extra bonus.

My favorite is to come up with complete life scenarios from just a glance at someone passing by. You get to spend hours doing this and creating entire novels about the “goer’s of Disneyland”. That could be a doozy of a novel.

You also get to protect other’s stuff, just by being there. There are so many strollers that with someone sitting and watching, it makes theft a tiny bit harder. I like to scowl at those looking like they are trolling for a quick steal. I feel bad when it turns out to be the mom or teenage kid who owns the stroller. ?

7. Your Motion Sickness Won’t Ruin The Day

When you volunteer to sit out, especially for rides at Disneyland, the Happiest Place On Earth, you win major brownie points.

Some people will not give up Disney rides easily when they are in the parks. They will try to force their body to handle motions that their body doesn’t want to handle. When they get sick enough, sometimes the entire group of people is also forced to retire early.

What a shame.

But, when the hero volunteers to skip the ride, therefor saving everyone from the motion sickness that can bring the entire group to a screeching halt, that person is awesome. Selfless. Thoughtful, and aware of their surroundings.

You can sit, in your designated spot, as the beacon of safety for your babies, read a book, people watch for the perfect family, all the while keeping your motion sickness at bay. It’s a win-win!

I wrote another guest post about this very subject: 

• 8 Motion Sickness Tips For Disneyland

8. You Have Water & Snacks On Hand

While you are waiting for your party to return from a spinny ride in Disneyland, there are few options close to you or without lines from where to buy a snack or water.

But, I have it with me in my Disneyland backpack!  Yay me!  Some healthy snacks and water, right at my fingertips, and the fingertips of my kids.

Not only do I have it close by, but I have have it ready to go, keeping each person hydrated and all blood sugars even.

It really does save the day, makes everyone happier for longer, is much cheaper, and most importantly, save OODLES of time!

And, while you are walking from one ride to another, you can refill your water bottles in the new filtered water stations in Disneyland and California Adventure!! 

9. You Know Where The Bathrooms Are

Knowing where the bathrooms are in Disneyland is not an easy feat! Why? Because they are all HIDDEN!!

Have you not noticed that Disney hides things? They hide the Cast Members doors to enter and exit the parks, and they HIDE THE BATHROOMS from the general public.

When you are the designated holder of the backpack, and you are quietly, waiting in glorious alone time, and you get to find the hidden bathrooms.

Now, I’m kidding, of course, but it sure seems like they are hidden in the landscapes in Disneyland. They are more hidden the quicker I need to find the bathrooms and easy to find right after I’ve found the last one.

And, knowing where the bathrooms are makes you king/queen! Your group will be well hydrated from all of the sips of water you have been providing, so knowing where to find the bathrooms makes you in charge of the land!

 Conclusion To Hold The Backpack in Disneyland

Being the designated holder of the backpack in Disneyland for your family is a very important position for many reasons.

If you don’t hold the backpack, outside, by the exit of rides and attractions, your group could get lost, there is less efficiency, there is no general meeting place and less calm.

If you hold the family backpack, stay off rides as not to bother your motion sickness, to people watch and know where the bathrooms are, you can be the hero of the day.

The person who holds the backpack also holds the group together and allows the day to go more smoothly with less anxiety. Disneyland vacations do better with a designated family backpack holder.  Just ask my wife. ?

Are you the designated Family Backpack holder in Disneyland??  What are your favorite parts of this job?