The Ultimate Disney Cruise Packing List (Free Printable!)

Want to know what to bring (and not bring) on a Disney Cruise? Grab a free printable Disney cruise packing list (pdf) and learn about things you might not normally think of for a Disney vacation. Includes tips for families with kids, things to take to Castaway Cay, and how to pack for events on a 7-day cruise.

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Back in 2020, were lucky enough to go on the first-ever Disney cruise out of New Orleans. It was a really fun trip - a 7-day cruise to Key West, Castaway Cay, and the Bahamas on the Disney Wonder. It was the trip of a lifetime (especially since it ended up being about 6 weeks before the Covid lockdown!)

This was our first Disney Cruise, but it was nowhere near our first cruising experience. Cruising has been our preferred way of vacationing for years. This was personally my tenth cruise and, while I saw a lot of similarities to other lines I've been on (Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean), there were ways that the Disney Cruise Line is in a league of its own. And with that, the packing needs to change a little bit.

However, I didn't completely throw the baby out with the bathwater. My original plan for this post was to make a completely different cruise packing list for Disney Cruises. As I was planning out my list, I realized that my Ultimate Cruise packing list works really well for packing for a Disney cruise too. You'll just need to plan for a few additional items!

Today, I'm sharing an add-on packing printable you can use to pack for your Disney Cruise. It's really best to use this as an add-on to the original Family Cruise Packing List to pack everything you need for your Disney vacation.

Let's dive in! (The printable link is at the bottom of the post.)

Fun Disney Cruise Essentials

Door decor magnets

Picking out and decorating our door with magnets was so much fun! You are only allowed to decorate with magnets (so no glue/tape is allowed) - but the options for magnets on your door are endless.

I found the Minnie Mardi Gras set on Etsy (similar here) and the Mickey Bars printables here (adding our names with the font Waltograph). Just laminate the printables (I have a similar version of this laminator) and attach Dollar Tree magnets to the back of the printables to make them durable and sturdy.

Character autograph book

This totally doesn't have to be a book!

We decided to have the characters sign pillowcases this time around. We've done books in the past, and they honestly just sit in storage and collect dust. We wanted something the kids would have out and could actually be seen on a daily basis.

Other great options are mattes for picture frames, wooden letters, t-shirts (that you're not currently wearing 😉), or even blank Christmas tree ornaments.

Fish Extender hanger & gifts

This is a gift exchange you do with other cruisers. It's tons of fun - my kids absolutely loved coming back to the cabin to see what we got each day! It's a great way to spread a little bit of Disney magic to your fellow cruisers.

(I have a full post about how to participate in the Disney Cruise Fish Extender.)

Cruising ducks

Such a fun thing to do! We've done this on other cruise lines as well. It's really simple - order a couple dozen ducks from Amazon (mine are here) and hide them around the ship. It's really just a big scavenger hunt - if you find one, you can keep it or hide again. There's a whole Facebook group for Cruising Ducks (and there's even a Disney one too!).

Pixie dust gifts

This is a less organized way to just kind of give little gifts to others. There's no formal organization to it - just pass them out as you'd like!

We thought the newest version of Zapp's would be a fun Pixie Dust gift, since we left from New Orleans. Just attach a label to them and you're done. This can really be anything you'd like - plenty of people did candy, dollar store trinkets, etc. Nothing fancy at all!

Disney trading pins

Yes, you can trade Disney pins on Disney Cruises as well! This is an activity that our daughter loved at Disney World - we had no idea they offered it on the cruises as well (and could have saved a little bit of money if we had known in advance. 😉)

You can buy pins on eBay before your trip that are much cheaper than pins you'll get on the boat. Don't focus too much on which pins you'll get - you're going to be trading them, after all! Make sure you bring a lanyard (that can double as a Key to the World card holder) or a pin book.

I talked about this a little bit more in my Disney Cruise hacks post, but there are lots of opportunities on the boat to trade with both cast members and even officers!

Alcoholic Beverages

You can bring 2 750ml bottles of wine or 6 12oz beers per adult on the boat at each port. That's kind of a big deal (that isn't allowed on most other cruise lines) - that means there's no need to bring on all of the alcohol you'll want for the vacation on the first day.

You can also bring on up to 12 12oz drinks at each port as well. But, keep in mind - you'll have access to soft drinks on the ship, so bringing canned sodas on is kind of a waste. I'd bring energy drinks, bottled water, or canned coffee drinks (like a Starbucks doubleshot) with your 12-drink limit.

Corkscrew

If you bring wine, don't forget your corkscrew! Get screw-top wine to skip this one (or just ask your room steward - they'll bring you a corkscrew if you forget).

Reusable cups

The cups you get at the soda stations on board are kind of small - you'll want a bigger cup so you're not constantly refilling. This is also nice if you'd like an alcoholic drink outside if your stateroom - *technically* you're not supposed to drink the ones you bring onboard outside if your room, but if it's in a cup, nobody will ever know.

Not that I would do that. 😉 (You can also go to a bar and ask for an empty wine or beer glass.)

Beach toys (for Castaway Cay)

Collapsible toys are perfect for packing for a Disney Cruise! You can always wait and buy on Castaway Cay, but you're going to pay Disney prices (trust me - we learned that one the hard way).

Themed Clothing/Additional Clothes

Character shirts

Have fun with these! We ended up with 4 sets of family shirts - one for my son's birthday, one for embarkation day, one for pirate night (just for my husband and me - the kids had costumes), and one for the last full day. Some people go all out and do every day, some people do 1 or 2 - it really varies.

If you have a Silhouette or Cricut machine, It's much, much cheaper to buy $5-7 shirts at Walmart and make these yourself. You can get super cute Disney graphics on Etsy to use in your cutting machine software - I made most of our shirt sets for under $20.

Princess dresses

If you have a little girl who's planning on going to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, I'll go on and tell you - the prices on the boat are sky high. It's a great treat (we did it at Disney World a few years ago and it's incredibly special), but prepare yourself for the cost! One way to cut those prices a little bit is to bring your own princess dress.

Pirate costumes (for pirate night)

You won't want to miss out on the Pirate Night activities!

On Pirate Night, you'll get a pirate-themed dinner (and late-night buffet), a pirate party on the deck, and a chance to take pictures with the characters in their pirate costumes. This is also one of the only times Jack Sparrow makes an appearance.

We had costumes for our kids and the adults just wore pirate-themed t-shirts. Lots of adults had great costumes too - there was even a grandfather dressed in such a great Captain Hook costume that people were asking him for autographs! 😂 So it's totally up to you how much or how little you do.

You'll get a bandana for each person the night before your pirate night (you can see it in the picture above).

Costume for Marvel/Star Wars days (if applicable)

This wasn't offered on our cruise, but the same idea as Pirate Night - bring as much or as little of a costume as you'd like.

Mickey/Minnie ears

At least 1 pair of themed pajamas (for pajama party night)

This is one we didn't know about before our cruise - thank goodness the kids still had clean pajamas to wear! On the last night, there's a fun pajama party in the kids' club.

Nice clothes for formal night or Palo/Remy dinner

You'll need at least one nice set of formal attire for a formal dining night in your assigned dining room. You'll find out which night this is once you board. There's also a second optional formal night, but this was very split - maybe half of the people on the boat actually dressed up for this.

If you decide to upgrade to the adults-only Palo or Remy dinner (which I recommend), you'll need nice clothes as well.

Running clothes & shoes for Castaway Cay 5k

If you are a runner (or even if you're not!), I highly, highly recommend the Castaway Cay 5k. It's a really fun (and totally free to join) race on the morning of your Castaway Cay day. You'll even get a bib number and a plastic "medal" for finishing it. Don't worry if you're not into running - lots of people were walking it.

Bring a good set of running shoes if you decide to do it - the entire race is on asphalt, so I learned quickly that bringing my old running shoes was a mistake. My right foot actually went numb halfway through the race! 😂 Lesson learned. But I finished and got a great workout before I went and ate lots of yummy food at Cookies BBQ.

Miscellaneous Disney Cruise Accessories

Key to the World lanyard

You will use your Key to the World card for absolutely everything on the ship - it's a room key, pass to get off the boat, ID to check kids in/out of the kids' club, payment method, etc. You'll need it everywhere.

We ended up buying these inexpensive retractable card lanyards (and added card sleeves) - this was one thing we did for our fish extender gifts, so I made a few for us as well. They were incredibly convenient! It was really nice to just pull the card out as needed and always know where it was.

Disney-issued luggage tags (sent in the mail)

You'll get these in snail mail a few weeks before you set sail. Make sure you put them on your checked luggage on embarkation day!

Disney gift cards

One of our favorite money-saving tricks for Disney is to buy Disney gift cards from grocery stores.

On our credit card, we get 6% back from grocery stores - and that includes gift card purchases. So, if you have this benefit, simply buy your Disney gift cards from a grocery store to effectively save 6% on your trip. You can also check big box bulk stores (Costco, Sam's) for deals on Disney gift cards.

These can be loaded on your Disney account before you set sail or as soon as you board (at guest services), so there's no risk of losing them. And, even if you think you're spending absolutely nothing extra on the boat (which is next to impossible), you'll need these gift cards to cover the pre-paid gratuities that are required for all guests.

(Important tip: If you do use all of your gift cards, save one empty one just in case you have to get a refund - they'll need one of the original payment methods to refund anything.)

Small bills

Not all cast members are included in the prepaid gratuities! You'll still need to tip your room service stewards (we usually tipped $1 or 2 per visit).

What NOT to bring on Disney Cruise Ships

Shampoo/conditioner/body wash

Of course, you can bring your own shampoo/conditioner/body wash, but it really isn't necessary!

Disney provides big pump bottles of H20 products in each room - more than enough for everybody. It's really great quality (as opposed to most other cruise ship toiletries). We even used the body wash for a bubble bath for the kids.

Magnetic Hooks & Clips

Ok, you might want one or two magnetic hooks and clips to hand things on your door - but I bring far less than I would on a normal cruise for one important reason...

The walls aren't magnetic! Most cruise ships have magnetic walls, making it really easy to hang something with magnets. At least on the Disney Wonder, the walls aren't magnetic, making this trick unusable.

Items that aren't allowed

The following items aren't allowed on board...

• Balloons
• Steamers/irons
• Bottle warmers
• Surge protectors (power strips are allowed though - there is a difference! Check the back.)
• Coolers
• Weapons/illegal drugs
• Over-the-door hanging organizers (this one is painful for me - this is one of my favorite organizing tricks on a cruise. I explain how to get around it in my Disney Cruise hacks!)

Printable Disney Cruise Packing List

Now, as I mentioned - there is lots more you're probably going to want for a cruise. That's where my 7 Day Cruise Packing List comes in! This is a comprehensive collection of all of my cruise favorites (explained as I've done with the items above). I'd use this Disney cruise packing list in conjunction with that printable.