Best Packing List for Disneyland in November

Disneyland Railroad at Christmas” by HarshLight licensed under CC BY 2.0

If you’re planning on heading to Disney during the winter, then there’s no doubt that you’re interested in finding the best packing list for Disneyland in November.  Orlando can get a bit chilly, and Disney can be quite overwhelming, so you’ll want to be fully prepared.  So in this article, we’re going to walk you through absolutely everything that should be in your suitcase for your upcoming trip!

Best Packing List for Disneyland in November

How about we begin by discussing all of the everyday essentials you’ll never want to forget to pack.

Start With The Basic Essentials

Just as with any trip away from the comfort of your home, you always want to make sure that you include all of your basic and most essential items. If you happen to arrive at your destination and realize you forgot an important item such as sunscreen or toothpaste, you can always purchase a replacement at one of the several grocery stores near the park, however this will be a rather inconvenient expense that’s totally avoidable. 

Necessities should include toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, deodorant etc.), any medications that members of your family use on a regular basis, charging cords for cell phones and other devices, flight and other travel information, and of course you can’t forget to pack your park tickets if they are not already linked to your Disneyland companion app, and now that MagicBand+ is coming to Disneyland you’ll want to make sure to pack those also! 

You’ll also want to make sure you include at least a small amount of cash (between $50-100 USD) to use in the event of a travel emergency, as well as your debit, credit and identification cards.

Pack Pre-Broken In Shoes

On my recent trip to Disneyland, I made the mistake of wearing a brand new pair of shoes that I had not properly broken in before departing for the trip. Within about two hours of alternating regularly between walking and using my wheelchair, my toes and the sides of my feet had blistered and I ultimately had to take my shoes off and tie them to the handle of my wheelchair. 

Fortunately, I did have another pair of shoes that I knew could withstand the intensity of the park, however if I hadn’t brought a pair of worn in shoes I would’ve been in a world of hurt. As park goers, we spend nearly all day walking and putting pressure on our feet, not being able to walk around and truly experience the park ends up being a huge downer on the trip!

Always bring footwear that you know fits you and your body properly, while a pair of new shoes can sure look great, they may not be the best choice for safety and comfort! This is especially true for children who are constantly growing…take time before you leave to make sure shoes are properly fitting and comfortable for everyone!

Be Ready To Layer

While Southern California winters are generally considered temperate when in comparison with the rest of the United States, when the sun goes down it can still get pretty chilly, even more so later on into the evening. You will want to pack enough clothes to make sure that every member of your party (especially those younger kiddos who may be in strollers and not walking around) can layer up as you move further into the evening hours. 

I personally like to start out with just a simple plain athletic T-shirt in the morning, and always make sure to have a sweater or a hoodie close by for when that evening chill comes in. There is a potential for rain in the winter months (and November is certainly no exception), so make sure to bring either a rain jacket or a poncho for each member of your party and keep them with you in the parks. 

If the weight of these items is too much for you and your party to carry around all day, Disneyland does offer lockers for rent just outside of the park gates, although I would recommend keeping the ponchos on your person at the very least. Here are the average temperatures for November in Anaheim, of course there can be variations from year to year, however I would use this when planning your trip to figure out exactly what clothing items you’ll want to bring for your family!

Sunscreen and SPF Chapstick

This one may seem a bit obvious, but you would be truly surprised how many sunburned park goers one can find even in November. While the temperatures outside may not feel as harmful to your skin as they do in those dreadful mid-summer months, UV rays can still travel through clouds and do some pretty serious damage to your skin if you find yourself out in the elements all day long! 

As a general rule, you should not use any sunscreen that has a less than 50 SPF rating in the parks regardless of what time of year you are visiting, and the sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours regardless of the amount of physical exertion. If you are pushing small children in strollers, make sure they have adequate shade and sunscreen available also, and everyone should be wearing Chapstick with SPF shield to protect lips!

You may find it helpful to bring a bottle of after sun care to keep on hand in your hotel room for the duration of your park visit, as the soothing aloe will help provide comfort in the event of an accidental sunburn!

Pack Extra Clothes

If the weather is nice and you find yourself wanting to engage in some of the water rides in the parks, you’ll find that you want to bring, at the very least, a change of socks (and potentially even a towel) with you into the park that day. My family’s favorite trick is to bring a pair of sandals to switch into before you get on these rides to protect your walking shoes from the water! 

While the water rides and attractions can be a great way to cool off on those warm November afternoons, walking around in wet and soggy socks or shoes for the rest of the evening is uncomfortable at best and unhealthy at worst. If you or anyone in your party prefers to sit on the outer edges of the ride vehicles, it might be in your best interest to pack an extra shirt and pants just in case, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to walk around in wet clothes thanks to Grizzly River Run! 

If you’re worried about your shoes and other clothing items being carried around in your bags all day, plan to participate in all of the water attractions in one afternoon and be sure to make use of those Disney lockers that we mentioned earlier!

You Still Need Water

While November is a lot cooler in comparison to those scalding 80+ degree summer days, you are still at risk of dehydration when you’re walking around all day! While you can’t necessarily pack this next item in your suitcase if you’re flying, make sure to bring an empty water bottle with you to use so that you’re not having to pay off-the-wall prices for a small un-chilled bottle of water in the parks! 

There are water fountains scattered throughout both parks in designated areas for you to refill your personal bottles for free, and while they aren’t cold water stations they definitely help beat the dehydration! It may not feel like you need to drink quite as much water with the cooler temperatures in the air, but you’d be surprised how dehydrated you can get even on those brisk winter days! 

If you’re picky about the flavor of your water, you can do with my family did on our last trip and buy a case of bottled water from any of the nearby grocery stores and bring those into the parks as well! It’s a bit more expensive, but if you’ve never been to Anaheim before, the flavor of the tap water certainly takes some getting used to.

Collapsible Umbrellas

We already mentioned throwing a poncho into your park bag for each member of your family, but personal sized collapsible umbrellas are also a great way to keep dry if you don’t like the feeling of a poncho. There are several styles of umbrellas, and one of my favorites is the variety that lets you clip the umbrella to your backpack so that it’s not taking up that valuable storage space! 

Even in the middle of summer, I always keep a clip on umbrella on the back of my wheelchair because you never know when you’re going to find yourself needing it! Another added bonus to the umbrella is being able to use it for shade when standing in those long standby lines, and this turned out to be a major bonus when traversing Avengers Campus (which is notoriously open and exposed to the elements)!

You Know Your Family Best

At the end of the day, only you know exactly what your family will and will not use when on vacation, and the best advice I can offer is to listen to your gut when it comes to packing. If you have a toddler who, for example, is extremely sensitive to cold temperatures you will want to make sure that you bring enough extra layers to keep them comfortable throughout the temperature fluctuations of November day. 

If you just know you’ll end up with blisters on your feet regardless of how broken in your shoes are, make sure to pack some extra Band-Aids in your backpack to help protect those sore spots when they pop up. In my experience, Disneyland takes a lot of trial and error in the packing lists can vary tremendously from family to family, so getting out there and experiencing the parks is the best way to learn exactly what you need to bring for your family, regardless of the time of year!

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, folks—we have officially completed what we believe is the best packing list for Disneyland in November you’ll find online! We hope this list gave you some great ideas to help make your November Disneyland trip go as smoothly and comfortably as possible! After all, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth and who wouldn’t want to be comfortable on their vacation?

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