Have you booked your Disney Dream Cruise, picked your stateroom, and purchased your plane tickets? Are you ready to set sail on one of the greatest cruise lines there is? Before you jump on board the Disney Dream for your magical journey, double check your luggage because you may be missing a few things you wish you had!
If this is your first Disney Cruise you are in for a treat. On the other hand, be warned. The Disney Cruise experience will pretty much spoil every other cruise line for you. They absolutely go above and beyond to make sure your family has a magical time.
Take a look below at 10 items you didn’t know you needed for a Disney cruise. Chances are, at least a few of these items aren’t on your list.
10 Must-Pack Disney Cruise Items
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1. Stateroom Door Mickey Magnets
Cabin doors aboard Disney cruise lines are a work of art. Guests decorate their doors with décor of all kinds, mostly Mickey Mouse body parts or other favorite characters. While on our cruise I spotted several elaborately decorated doors and wished I had thought to order them. Grab some custom Disney magnets on Amazon or order personalized magnets on Etsy so you can add some fun to your cabin door too. I bet it makes finding your stateroom much easier too!
2. Pirate gear and costumes
Pirate night is one of the big party nights on the cruise. Disney cast members leave bandannas in your room for you, but if you want additional pirate flair you will need to buy it before you get on the boat or pay top dollar onboard. Instead, be prepared and hit up the dollar store prior to boarding or find adorable pirate wear so you can take your own. We got the kids cute costumes. Lucky for us, they loved the costumes so much, we were got our Halloween shopping done months early.
Check out the cute pirate costumes!
photo credit AW Bunn of Busting our Buns
3. Refillable water bottle.
Disney cruises are one of the only cruises with free unlimited soft drinks. You will find the drink machines everywhere along with small cups. The problem is, you might find these cups too small. Bring your own refillable water bottles so you can pour out larger, generously sized portions instead. I made several trips down to the pool deck to refill all of our bottles! I also like acrylic tumblers for days at the beach or poolside!
4. Glow sticks.
During many of the evening deck parties, the decks can get crowded. Take a package of glow sticks so your family can always locate each other. Waving glow sticks can help your party find each other while also making the event a little more colorful. Better yet, color code them so you know that the people with blue glow sticks most likely belong to your party!
5. Princess Dresses
If you plan on visiting the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique or just want to get fancy for dinner time, bring your own princess costumes. You can purchase costumes on the ship but they will cost you $75 and up. Instead, find one via Ebay or Amazon and spend a fraction of that. Pea brought an Aurora costume that she refused to wear!
6. A USB hub
Outlets are at a premium on a cruise ship. Bring along this USB Hub and charge all the devices overnight. Even better, bring along this power bank and charge two devices without an outlet.
Charge it while you are out and about during the day and then hook your devices up to it at night. Mine can charge two phones and an Ipad from dead to 100%.
Want a printable of the 35 Item Ultimate Disney Cruise Packing List? Click here to grab it!
7. A night light.
The cabin can become a little dark at night, so if you are traveling with children a night light may be helpful. You can plug it into one of the many outlets and add a little glow to your cabin each evening.
8. An autograph book.
Take a Disney autograph bookwith you for characters to sign, cast members to sign, and for your favorite service members to sign. It is also a great way to keep track of the addresses of new friends you meet on the trip.
9. Your own plush.
Tuck kids in each night with their own Disney plush. Sure you could spend big bucks in the gift shop, but why not bring your own instead? If you do, the cast member who cleans your room will do funny things with the plush while you are gone, like dress it up or even hide it. Pea packed a little entourage of stuffed animals while Pork Chop opted for just his Stitch. My son was over the moon when he “met” Stitch on board.
10. An air freshener.
There isn’t much in the way of ventilation in cabin bathrooms. Bring your own air freshener to keep the small space smelling fresh. We brought our homemade Carsickness air fresheners to help with the initial seasick queasiness and used them throughout the entire stateroom. A portable essential oil diffuser would work too. We use one in our car for carsickness relief.
Of course I recommend bringing sea bands or non-drowsy Dramamine just in case!
11. A small pair of scissors!
My friend, Tove, from Mama in the Now, reminded me of how useful having scissors on board a cruise can be. I keep a small pair in my purse and use them all the time for packages etc. In a pinch, a pair of nail clippers works too!
Prepare to enjoy the trip of a lifetime on your Disney cruise! These 10+ items you didn’t know you needed for a Disney cruise will be sure to make the trip even more memorable.
Want a printable Ultimate Disney Cruise Packing List? Click here to grab it!
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Kimberly Williams says
Also power strips no longer allowed
Brenda says
We just came back from our Disney cruise in February and had a blast! Just wanted to let everyone know that you can no longer leave your autograph things at guest services anymore….you must visit each character to get an autograph!
Debra Keller says
Can you tell me more about these homemade car sickness air fresheners? My granddaughter gets carsick a lot and I have never heard of those.
Herchel says
Hi Debra, I came up with a blend of essential oils that I use to make air fresheners for my car to help with my daughter’s carsickness. Commercial air fresheners are made with chemically made synthetic fragrance that can aggravate carsickness. The essential oils I use are natural and help soothe her stomach. The recipe I use can be found in this post Tips for Traveling with Carsick Kids. Hope this helps!
Jaime N says
#6 is no longer true as of last year, unfortunately. You now have to take anything you want signed to character meet and greets.
Herchel says
Oh boo! We went this time last year and the service was a huge timesaver!
Lauren says
I wouldn’t have thought of ANY of these, lol. Now I want to go on a Disney cruise!!
MaxS. says
A few comments:
1) All door decorations must be magnetic. Adhesives of any kind are not permitted. If you want to use something that’s not magnetic, I recommend getting super-heavy duty magnets from a hardware store. You can even get ones with hooks or carabiners on them.
2) “Mickey Mail,” the popular “drop your stuff off at Guest Services and get it returned to your cabin all autographed” was phased out last summer. Maybe it was TOO popular ?. No worries. You can still have the characters and crews autographs; take your autographable items and markers to the meet-&-greets. The schedule is in your daily Navigator/app, as well as posted in the atrium lobby.
3) One thing to consider bringing is movie candy. Disney Cruise Line offers their own movie theater, at which you can see whatever current hit films are playing in shoreside theaters! There is a concession stand that sells candy, popcorn, and sodas, but you can also bring your own! Also, head to the pool deck first, and fill up those beverage containers you packed, before heading to the theater. You can also bring your own bottled water on board if you want to have that on port days.
4) If your family is tech-reliant, and with the DCL Navigator app, that’s more likely, I urge you to bring an outlet strip, to accommodate charging everyone’s devices.
5) And the last thing I recommend is a battery-operated nightlight for those middle-of-the-night bathroom trips.
Stacey says
Sad about#2! My parents bough a 16×20 matted to an 8×10 (I think, lol). We found out on the 2ND day of our 3 day cruise (didn’t know if the kids would like a cruise? now that’s All they ask for!) about the”mickey mail”. Thank God because the extended matted frame was a perfect space for all the characters to sign,plus we didn’t need to stalk them down! It is the perfect memory for our family’s 1st Disney Cruise!
Although the frame Idea may be cumbersome, if your heading out for a character signing event think about trying it. LOVE the permanent display of great memories on the wall! Different colored sharpies was an awesome plus too!
Thanks for the heads up about the change in policies!
Herchel says
My kids would LOVE to go on another cruise. I’m glad you had a great time!