Packing--help save my back

[Fargoman2]

We leave for WDW in 10 days for our 6-night stay and I'm concerned that our packing will soon look like we plan to be gone 100 days! Last year when we went to San Diego we looked rather ridiculous with the volume of luggage we brought to the airport.

Please help save my back and offer any shortcuts. We are a family of 5--kids 12, 9 and 2. Two outfits a day seems to be wise. Perhaps a light jacket but no long pants is my mantra.

What are the essentials? What are things that people tend to pack that are essentially useless?

Thanks!

 

[rascalmom]

Have you thought about packing fewer changes & possibly doing a little laundry sometime during your stay? We have used the laundry facilities at POLY, OKW & CBR. We took some of those individually wrapped laundry tabs with us on this last trip & it worked out great. I'm a famous over-packer, so this is about the only thing I know of that might help.

 

[jesdmill1]

Honestly I'm not even sure you'll need a jacket. We're leaving in 19 days and I don't plan on bringing one... the only reason I bring a sweater is because I get cold in the air conditioning. August is warm and humid, even at night.

I doubt you'll need 2 outfits a day either, unless you're someone who likes to shower and change in the middle of the day. What I usually do is bring an outfit for every day and then 2 extra outfits - I will only change if I get wet or dirty. I'll also bring a sundress for a nice meal out (this year we're doing V&A's, so the biggest challenge will be packing my SO's suit!)

I also highly recommend rolling your clothes to pack them - it will take up much less room! You don't say where you're staying, but all disney hotels either have hair dryers in the room or you can request one - so that's something you wouldn't have to bring.

One tip I like is to bring a small suitcase filled with food for breakfast and snacks in the room and use it for souveneirs on the way back. We're driving this year so I fear I will bring too much luggage. Between the 2 of us we will usually have 2 suitcases (medium sized for him, large for me) and 2 smaller duffel type bags. This year we'll have to pack the hanging bag as well for his suit and my dress. I'm really glad we're driving.

I refuse to do laundry on my vacation, so that's not an option for me. Good luck!

 

[deeshie]

I have to agree that 2 outfits a day seems excessive (except for the 2 year old!). If the 2 year old is still in diapers, you can go one of two ways: Pack enough for the trip down, and then stop at a local grocery store and buy a pack. Wipes, too. Or, you could pack the diapers, and then have room to pack souveniers on the way back.

You are right that you will not need long pants, although my DH prefers to travel in long pants. As far as a jacket is concerned, you may need it if you are sensitive to air conditioning in a restaurant, but otherwise, probably not. Or, don't pack a jacket and let everyone get a Disney sweatshirt.

Don't pack beach towels. If you are going to a water park rent them (I believe fairly cheap), and they are available at WDW pools.

My rule for undies and socks: One pair per day, plus one extra. If you run out of these, they are easy enough to wash. I take one pair a sneakers, one pair of "water shoes" (beach socks or Teva's) and a pair of sandels. My DH has to take 2 pairs of sneakers (his feet sweat so much, he has to switch off every other day) and water shoes. Stuff socks into sneakers.

Stock up on the travel size of toiletries. Bring a bunch of plastic storage bags, they are great for packing toiletries so that they don't spill on clothes in the suitcase, and they can be used to pack up dirty undies and socks. I'm pretty sure WDW provides shampoo in the room (you could put an inquirery on the resort discussion page), so your kids would probably be happy to use this. Also check if your room will have a hair dryer. However, even if it does, they won't be very powerful, so if someone in your family has long thick hair, you might want to consider bringing your own.

I think I saw this quote on these discussion pages: Pack half as much as you think you need, and twice the money.

Have fun and good luck. By the way, when we leave in 40 days, I will have too much stuff, too!

 

[Mskanga]

Believe it or not doing laundry once in the middle of the trip cuts my packing in half...we don't pack so much. that's what works for us.

 

[WayneB]

We just came back and did laundry there at the resort. We used those detegent
bars that worked out real well. To wash cost 2.00 a load and 2.00 to dry with it normally
costing us 2 drying cycles. Therefore, it cost us about 6.00 per load. Expensive but it was nice to do the laundry and to swim at the same time(laundry was by the pool)
Hope you have fun

 

[tink2dw]

Pack the kids outfits[undies,shorts,shirt,sox] all in one 2 gallon ziploc baggy,do this for each child,for each day,then squeeze out as much air as possible[it saves a ton of space] and the childs clothes are all there together all matched up!! Even Dad can dress a child and have the matching sox for tha outfit at hand!!

Then for the Adults put all sox in a ziploc,all undies in an other ans squeeze out the air!!!!

Rolling clothes didn't work in my airport approved size suitcase, so I folded things as flat as I could make them,so I had 4 stacks of clothes Shirts,pants,ziploced undies and soxs and a corner for my extra pair of shoes.

Only pack about 6 bandades,for your hotel room,at the parks the First aide Stations have everything you might need even Insulin needles[I forgot to restock my case and got caught at MGM at Hollywood and Vine for our Fantazmic dinner package without a Syringe,Well they were able to give me one free of charge,plus they wanted to know if I need any more Diabetic supplies!!]

Don't forget to get either the Spray on or the Gel sunscreen to take!!thees work better than the creme sunscreens even on small children[we sprayed ears,legs,airs and neck front and back,then used the Gel on faces ,Both are fast drying ,light,stay on even if you sweatand Really Really work much longer than cremes,even on my Grand-Dd age 1yr.!! and they never got in her eyes!!!!!!]

Wal-Mart has the Misty fans for about $6.00 they sell in the parks for $18.00!!!

Bellypacks for everyone!! to carry there own snacks to the park!!

Take your stoller right to the gate! then the airline will stoy it,and it will be right there waiting for you as you get off the plane!!


Remember that there is a Wal-mart very close to WDW so you can get stuff there, If you forget anything or need stuff there or want to plan To buy items there!!

BIG P.S. If you should need a Dr. PLease use Sand Lake Hospital it is 2x cheaper than Celebration and 10x faster!!!

ReLax Have Fun,Fun,Fun!!!!

 

[JC Butterfly]

Dear Fargoman,

The first couple of times I went to the World I packed everything but the kitchen sink! Now, I try to take a more minimalist approach. I've found that our shorts rarely get that dirty. I bring along Shout wipes to remove any stains but I find I can wear the same pair 2 -4 differnt times. Febreeze has been a lifesaver, simply spray a little on and your clothes are magically refreshed. We never pack a shirt for the last day because we ALWAYS buy at least one and we wear it home.

It's very easy to rinse out a garment in the sink and let it dry overnight (if you wanted a "nicer" outfit for going out).

An obvious one? The family can share toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, etc) rather than packing these seperately for each.

Brenda