3 tips for families with young kids...

[bananiem]

1. I brought a small suitcase with packs of snacks, instant oatmeal, little boxes of cereal and mini muffins. I also packed a $15.00 electric tea kettle from WalMart. We made our won breakfast each morning while taking turns in the bathroom getting ready. (The beignets from Sassagoula Floatworks are great too if you stay at PO-FQ!) We saved time because we didn't have to go someplace and wait for food, and probably saved money too. When it was time to leave that suitcase came in handy for taking home souvenirs!!!
2. A GREAT tip I got from these boards was this: Pack the kids' outfits in ziplock bags. I got the gallon size ones and put shorts, shirt, socks, and underwear in each one. Then in the morning I just threw a bag at them and they put on everything that was in it. I was skeptical but we were so glad we did it! It works great!
3. Let the kids carry their own fanny pack. Let them pick out a couple of snacks and put their disposable camera in there. Then YOU won't have to keep taking off your back pack or whatever every time somebody wants to take a picture! My kids would just unzip their packs and get a snack when we were waiting in lines. It was great!

 

[phins_jazy]

Great tips thanks so much!!!

 

[2boys'mom]

tip. It might help keep me from taking too much stuff. Thanks!

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

The ziplock baggie thing is great. I got some weird looks and comments from family members, but it was so convenient and organized! Cool!!

 

[aec]

I swear by the outfit in a baggie tip. I forces you to organize the kids clothes by complete outfit (underwear and socks too) so you don't end up w/extra clothes. Also squeeze all the air out of the bag and the clothes are compressed and pack really well. It really helps in that morning rush. either you can set out a bag for each kid or DH can easily grap a bag (labeled with a sharpie outside who's it is) for each kid instead of routing around the suitcases.

 

[dutton]

The ziploc bag idea sounds great!I'm always throwing my kids their clothes, and socks will go under the bed or someone can't find their shirt,etc. What's the largest size of clothes that you can put in one? I have an 8 and 6 yr old who wear size 8 &6.

Thanks!

 

[Tink&Belle's Mom]

I did this last year for our (then) 2 yo and 6yo DDs. It worked great. If you squeeze the air out before zipping the bags up, the clothing takes up less room in the suitcase, too. You can get 2-gallon ziplock bags--these were more than big enough for my 6 yo's clothes. They cost a little more, but they don't get wet or messy--just keep them and reuse them for your next trip(works for places other than WDW, too!)

Fanny pack idea worked great for us with our 6 yo last year, too. She loved having possession and therefore control of her spending money, and took responsibility for her autograph book and pen!

Oh, and we did the extra suitcase, too. We had some breakfast foods and snacks, but ours was filled mostly with diapers. Used them up, then had plenty of room for carrying home the way-too-many souvenirs we bought!

 

[melk]

Good advice...I'm definitely going to try that outfit in a bag tip next time. A tip for after the trip--my kids also had there own disposable cameras (the 3 year old's pictures came out hysterical-a lot of people from the waist down). After I got their pictues developed I glued them into their autograph books. It makes a nice compact remembrance for them!

 

[lovepuzzles]

The baggie thing is an excellent idea. I'm going to do that for my DD for our Sept. trip. I think I'll do it for my DH as well.LOL. I don't think his will fit in baggies. I've been wondering what to do with those Wal-Mart bags I've collected. Now I won't have to pick out his clothes every morning. hee hee.

 

[Disney Family]

The ziplocs are wonderful, but even more so when you find them on clearance! Our WalMart had tons of the "Christmas Gift" Ziplocs left over after Christmas this past year. And of course I am always thinking "would this work for the Disney trip?", so I picked these up for .50 a box in February! There are 5 Medium (shirt size) bags in each box. So they have the Grinch on them, who cares?????

 

[dizneenut]

Great tips!
The baggies for clothes will be great for me, with 4 boys!!
I've also been on a quest for kid-sized fanny packs for each of my boys.

 

[Deb8821]

Maybe I am the only one who does this. I have 3 boys under 4 years old. In the month or so before we go to disney I hit a bunch or rummage sales/garage sales. I pick up shorts and shirts for $.10 to $.50 each. I call these our vacation clothes. I also pick up a couple of t-shirts for myself. Then when we are on vacation, we wear the clothes and toss them out!!! disposable clothes, no laundry and an empty suitcase to take home goodies we have bought. the only draw back was when we were at the Poly in June for 4 nights twice housekeeping took the clothes out the the garbage can and laid them on the bathroom counter! We are going for 9 nights in sept and it works great for us. I even found some great disney outfits for the boys for just a quarter each!!

 

[dandelion]

Wow Deb 8821, I'd love to find garage sales like that. I'd be a cheapskate and keep the clothes, but I understand your method. Too funny about housekeeping "saving" them for you, but they probably thought the little boys had inadvertently thrown them away. I know we've lost some toys when my 2YO *helps* me pickup.

Dizneenut, I read on another board that Staples had nice kid-sized fanny packs. I haven't begun the quest yet myself, I hope dd (4) would go for it.

My best tip for families with young kids: bring a change of clothes along in the backpack each day, and maybe a t-shirt Mom OR Dad could wear. My dd has a horrible record of suddenly getting sick at Disney, and we've had to completely change her and maybe a parent more than once. Then there was the time she had an "accident" while sitting on Daddy's shoulders, and DH had to wear my Tinkerbell sweatshirt back to the room.

On our last trip she didn't get sick, but she did get totally soaked at Donald's Boat one afternoon (I didn't realize how hot it would get and that a swimsuit would be in order). I was really glad to have dry shorts, shirt and undies to put her in. I remained a little damp myself, however.

 

[momx4]

I had read about putting the kids' clothes in zip-lock bags, but with four little ones, under the age of 8, I thought it would be too costly. So, I just packed their underwear and socks in a zip-lock bag, and labeled their bag with their name. I put each kids' clothes in a drawer, along with their bag, and things went real smooth. Hope this tip helps for those trying to save a few pennies. (we had a sitter with us, so it was easier for her to help in the mornings, not really knowing who's clothes belong to who).

 

[Debi]

What great ides! Thanks for sharing!