Do you pack more or less as DVC members?

[MaryAnnDVC]

I figure we'll take less clothes with us now that we're DVC members since we'll have a washer and dryer. But we'll also have two bathrooms...so will have to take double the bathroom stuff...toothpaste, hair stuff (high maintenance 13 yr old DD :rolleyes: ), etc. And although we don't plan on doing much cooking, we will bring some kitchen/cooking items.

What has changed about your packing habits now that you're a DVCer?

[rbuzzotta]

Less clothes for sure...I also have high maintenence DD's!!! Multiple shoes for the older one, toys for the little ones. Hopefully we won't need to bring kitchen stuff and I still consider myself on vacation. We will stop at the closest Publix and buy easy to fix foods, lots of water (my DD's don't really like soda!!YEAH) and of course munchies!!

[Luv2Dream]

I just got back from a 10 night adventure in WDW and I took half the clothes and still had too many. I could have easily taken only 4 pairs of shorts and 4 shirts and been fine. I took much too much kitchen stuff. Never again. I also had the good fortune of having my car, so I could pack it up. Usually we fly, so I definitely won't have the packing luxury that I had this time.

[KNWVIKING]

We are getting better at packing less and less each time. A big time saver for us was when we purchased a "hygene" bag,the kind that unzip and hang on a hook. We keep it stocked all the time with basically every toiletry item we use daily.We keep sun blocks,first aid kit, Dr schols pads for blisters we aquire from all the walking,sewing kit,etc... we never have to empty our bathroom and medine cabinet anymore. We also pack just one "dress up" outfit each in case we go to a classier resteraunt,(we did Emiral's in May). We've come to realize that when we're on vacation,we could wear the same outfit every day-but we don't- and the only people who would even notice or care would be us. For the most part every pair of shorts I take are also swim trunks,handfull of t-shirts and plenty of socks.Less is MUCH better.

[The4OfUs]

Yay for the washing machines! I definitely pack less now, and we do a load of wash in the middle of the week, and we're good to go. Last time I even did wash our last night there, so I had a much less stressful homecoming, straight from the luggage into the dresser. I'm trying to explain this to my sister-in-law who has never been in a "Home Away From Home" place before, to try to save my poor brother from hauling tons of baggage from MA to FL. :p

[Peggy Sue]

MUCH less! We bring 4 changes of clothes each, and do laundry..very easy. With today's fabrics, there is little or no ironing involved. We don't bring anything for the kitchen. It's great not to have to lug around so much stuff anymore! The washer/dryer is one of the reasons why we've decided never to stay in a studio..we just love the convenience!

I guess we're just not slaves to fashion when we travel, and don't mind repeating outfits during our trip! I also bring a limited amount of shoes...sneakers and one pair for going out in the evening!

[DREAMINOFWDW]

Our first DVC trip is 9/29-10/5 BWV 1BR, and it our INTENTION (haha) to pack lighter than previous trips because of being able to do laundry!! However, I am such an overpacker and go wild!! But, the upside to packing lighter is more room for the stuff that I just HAVE to buy down there lol!!!

Lisa:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[ohiominnie]

We pack less....AND more....

clear as mud?

Well, we pack a lot LESS clothes. We each have 4 outfits (except 6 yo dd who can't decide between dresses to take--but those pack light) We then wash every 3 or 4 days right up until the end, thus bringing home all clean laundry!! The4ofUs is right, it's so much less stressful to unpack your bags if you aren't looking at HEAPS of laundry. Shoe wise everyone has one pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals for the pool. Dress up clothes? Forget it...if you have to dress up, we don't go. That's our motto. What's a motto? I don't know, what's the motto with you? ;)

Now, for the MORE side of packing. Because of the kitchen and the coffee maker, my dh likes to bring along whole bean flavored coffee and his coffee grinder, and filters. We also bring along tide tablets and Cascade tablets (stuff we wouldn't bring if staying in a regular room) We also bring along games to play during down time in the evening or if the kids HAPPEN to nap. Our favorite is Rummikub and we love to take a snack out onto the balcony and play outside. We also have to pack all of our OLD WDW stuff--like the light up toys for while we wait for a parade (although we always forget them in the room that day) or the straw sippers to make drinking out of a pop bottle easier.

Because we LOVE our home away from home we tend to stay longer....so we also pack all the what-ifs...what if someone gets a fever, a cold, a sinus infection, an ear infection, swimmer's ear, pneumonia, flesh eating bacteria, etc. My dh is a pediatrician, but with the amount of "what if" medication we bring you'd think he was a pharmacist! :) We also take a stethescope and an otoscope.....just in case. Praise God we've never needed any of it! :)

So for us, it evens out....less clothes, but more stuff.

ohiominnie :p

[The4OfUs]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
Now, for the MORE side of packing. Because of the kitchen and the coffee maker, my dh likes to bring along whole bean flavored coffee and his coffee grinder, and filters.

LOL! Ohiominnie, you made me laugh with that, my DH is a chef...so our kitchen is well stocked too, and it's a toss up between what we stuff into suitcases and what we buy there! I'm already squirrelling away packets of sugar and little things like that for our August trip. :D

[ohiominnie]

The4ofUs...
we don't cook much while were there. Maybe a dinner or two and a lunch. Breakfast is usually cereal, poptarts or nutrigrain bars or (ack) cookies! :) We usually have one really good PS sit down meal a day, and then eat lighter food the rest of the day.

When in August are you going to be there? We got back May 20th, and May 21st made reservations for an August "adult only" trip!!! We'll be there 8/25-9/1. What about you? And where are you staying? (oops, could have looked at your signature for that info!!)

ohiominnie :p

[The4OfUs]

Ohiominnie -

We'll be at OKW from Aug 17 - 24th. We usually go every 2 years, and tend to eat at least breakfast and 3/4 of our dinners in the room. DH being a chef, in restaurant every night...gets old for him. Besides, with younger kids it is just easier on us all. This trip, we're taking my brother, for his first trip since 1976, and my brother's family - my nephews are only 2 and 5, so eating in the room will save us lots of headaches and help the budget a bit. :)

That whole bit was just planned this Monday, when we discovered we did have enough points to get them their own 1 bedroom at OKW for 5 nights....now I can't stop thinking about the trip! It's the first time for them really, so I'm loading up on tips and tricks to help them, which is how I found this site!

[chris1gill]

I pack WAY less... 4 changes of clothes & pajamas... We bring along the normal toiletries that we would need regardless, and the only kitchen stuff I bring with me are coffee filters, tin foil, and spices in a bag... I have all the groceries delivered by Netgrocer & Omaha Steaks... All we get upon arrival is milk, cream & soda's along with charcoal for grilling.... As I said, we pack pretty light!!!

[wdwoldtimer]

OhioMin...you cracked me up. We're exactly like that! The washer/dryer at home is going non stop in the few days leading up to the trip. "I forgot I even HAD those shorts! Where'd you find those?!?" But we also tend to pack less clothes because of the washer/dryers at the resort. But like you, that is more than offset by all the other junk to "stock" the vacation home. LOL This past New Year's Eve we packed our old twirly light thingys we got the year before. Yep, put fresh batteries in them and everything! They never left the suitcase, let alone made it to the parks! And you forgot to mention the kids video tapes to watch on the VCR in case it's a rainy day. Umm, and the umbrellas and ponchos from earlier trips. (those never leave the room either and more than likely go home packed alongside the new ones we had to buy at the park this trip. ) Laptop computer and all kinds of power cords/chargers for all the electronic stuff I always drag along. And of course, a small toolkit, in case you need to fix something (I'm not exactly sure what that might be, but you never know!).
Oh and my parents! When they go, they bring enough groceries to feed Manhattan for a month and end up trucking most of it back home. And they still hit Goodings as soon as they arrive. But my favorite is my sister who brings more Pampers than she could possibly ever use. I once counted them and laughed so hard when I figured out her little one would have to need a diaper change more than 30 times/day to use them all.

LOL

[jcodespoti]

I guess we also bring less clothes but more "stuff". We travel as lite as possible sometimes it works put sometimes it does not.


Joe in CT

[ohiominnie]

No, wdwoldtimer...YOU cracked ME up!!! Toooooo funny!!! Unfortunately, you bring up some good points, and things now *I* am going to have to pack for next time!! The kids tapes is a good idea. This trip we had some downtime and ended up BUYING Emperor's New Groove on VHS. FORGET the fact that we have it on DVD already!!! But, three important things to remember....
#1, Our copy of Emperor's New Groove was in OHIO..we were in FLORIDA.
#2, There isn't a DVD player in the OKW rooms, so even if we DID bring a DVD the only use it would have had is as a coaster
#3, Hank's Rent and Return has free VHS tapes and they have literally EVERY Disney movie....but, hmmm...NOT the movie that is for sale in EVERY GIFT SHOP ON PROPERTY. Why do you think THAT is? It's to get suckers like US to BUY it!!

But, we justified it by saying it'll be nice to have it on VHS so the kids can watch it in the van. :/

Now, the ponchos...we all have Mickey ponchos, but never pack them...you know that is the ONE thing I've always thought was underpriced at WDW. So if we HAD to get new ones, it wouldn't break the bank.

We bought more groceries than we needed (thinking we'd eat more than we actually did.) We ended up using up most of it, but left TWO FULL 12 packs of pop (one coke, one sprite) ...As we were packing up I walked around our building looking for ppl who might be staying longer and would want some free pop...Ya know, I offered it to one couple, and they looked at me like I was INSANE and was trying to POISON them or something. They both looked at me wide eyed and shook their heads and one blurted out "WE DON'T WANT YOUR POP!" Yikes. So we left it for the maids. I hope they drank it! :)

I totally understand your sister and the pampers...I mean, "what if" the baby got a stomach virus and went THROUGH 30 or more diapers a day....and she (gasp) ran out.....she'd have to actually BUY DISNEY DIAPERS at $14 each (don't quote me on the price, but I'm sure they aren't cheap)

The one thing we DO pack from prior years that we actually use is our water mister/fan. Except this year, on the first day of it's use, I sat down at the Little Mermaid show at MGM and after I left the theater I looked down at the little battery door flapping around. When I sat down it must have bumped the door and my BRAND NEW batteries must have fallen out and rolled away. Oh well, hope the cleaning man found them and used them!

ok, I've blabbed enough! This thread is cracking me up though!

ohiominnie :p

[Bennet]

Wat less clothing - the washer is great. More camera stuff and some music.

[Lil]

We have cut down our packing to two carry on suitcases , and a cosmetic bag(QVC Freedom bag) when we fly. Inside one of the suitcases is an lg. duffle bag-empty of course. One of the carry on bags is an expandable bag - that must be checked on way back. We are members of National Emerald Isle...so we walk from plane to car and are at OKW in about 35-40 minutes top.

We take the minimum amount of clothing but do pack two swim suits apiece.

In the summer when we drive I tend to take way too much...and usually don't need it. This Oct. we are taking the my son, wife and two kids. They will have tons of luggage.....we keep telling them not to pack too much as there is a washer and dryer.

Oh yes.....when the kids were smaller.......we took the battery recharger.....all their gadgets had rechargeable batteries.....each kid had his own recharger.

[MaryAnnDVC]

It's those "what ifs" that get me every time. "What if" it rains, snows, hails, or we get a heat wave. "What if" I sit on something and my clothes get dirty...I have an unnatural fear of sitting on "something". :confused: I can "what if" just about everything.

I'm going to Disneyland in 3 weeks, for ONE night (first night at my sister's house, then one night at Disneyland, then back to my sister's)...and I thought...good, I'll bring one suitcase for the 4 of us. How much could we possibly need for one night? Then it hits me..."what if" (fill in the blank).

Oh, how I hate to pack. You should see when I send the kids off to camp for a week. They roll their eyes while I tell them "just bring it...make your mother happy." :rolleyes:

[wdwoldtimer]

LOL

I think some of us should join Packaholics Anonymous...too funny. Ahh, now you see if I packed for ya OM, your mister/fan (is that by the folks that made Mister Coffee?) would have a spare set of batteries! I always bring an extra pack of AA's and a 9v....cuz.....you never know, what if?

And despite packing all this stuff, there's ALWAYS something you forget that you really need!

Oh yeah, another thing I always seem to do is go to the post office and buy stamps for post cards...you know, in case Disney has figured out a way to make a profit on them too. Usually we'll pick out a few postcards early in the trip, but I'll be damned...I don't think I've EVER sent a one.

[ohiominnie]

Oh, but wdwoldtimer, you under-estimate me....we DID have extra AA batteries....TWENTY to be exact!! But they were back in the room. :(

I looked for www.packaholicsanonymous.com but there was no site. :/

Oh...and another thing we pack...our sound machine. Because that way we can white noise away either noise from outside, or that deafening silence. And of course, we have extra batteries for THAT!)

ohiominnie :p

[wdwoldtimer]

Oooh a sound machine! Good idea, but I'm way ahead of ya. Among the electronic junk I always pack is a portable CD player and I always bring my Nature Sounds 3 CD set - Ocean Moods, Tropical Rainforest and Thunderstorm. Great minds think alike. Couldn't sleep without it! Hmm, what if my CD player goes on the fritz? I better get one of those Sound Soother things in case, eh?

TWENTY AA's?? Now I'm impressed! You got me beat there. Although hold on a minute. Our digital camera uses rechargable NiMH batteries and of course I bring the recharging unit too. So in effect, I'm bringing hundreds if not thousands of spare batteries. (Never mind that I usually only have to recharge once/week.) LOL:p

[ohiominnie]

Oh, no, wdwoldtimer, I think WE have YOU beat, because we ALSO have a digital camera with rechargable batteries, and we ALSO bring the recharger! But, on the other hand...we don't bring film. Unless, of course you count the children's disposable cameras....oh, and the underwater camera. ;)


ohiominnie

[ohioMickey]

Hey WDWoldtimer....

Maybe if you weren't packing so many things...and trying to keep track of so many things.......you wouldn't have lost that $2000 Granny needed for her surgery!!!!!

[MaryAnnDVC]

Oh yeahhh? Welllll, I packed enough travel tissue packets and wipes and antibacterial gel to wipe the noses and hands of every kid at the MK. ;)

I've brought scotch tape (the little plastic pack with individual pieces)...might have to tape the park maps (it could happen!); a mini stapler...might have to staple receipts together (or....something); post-it notes...might have to leave a note for housekeeping on the bathroom mirror.

Let's see...what else? I'm going to have to check my packing list. But not tonight. Because I'm going to California in less than 3 weeks :earseek: and if I really start to think of everything I have to pack, I'll never get to sleep.

:D ;)

[Patricia]

This post is too darn funny. I cannot wait for my husband to read it. I would have to say that although we are members since 93, always stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom, always SAY" oh we don't need too many things, there's a washer and dryer"... I still way overpack. On our first trip to Vero, we had... 36 pairs of shoes for the 5 of us.. Ok Ok I know, but my then 13 yr. old DD had those spongy pool shoes in 4 colors. I wasn't paying attention, and she took them ALL!! That pumped up the number... ANyway, even for our wdw trips, we overpack. Every single year, the driver to take us to the airport comments that the suitcases are really heavy.. I don't know how I do it. I try so hard.. really I do.ANd we never come back to the room to change to eat. We go right to WDW restaurants.. I just don't know what the heck we do with all those clothes. Carry them down and carry them back.. Ohiomickey, we will be there the same time as you are OKW from 8/16-8/23 and then BW for the last two nights. Just look for the LARGE suitcases...

[MaryJ]

Oh, how I hate to pack. You should see when I send the kids off to camp for a week. They roll their eyes while I tell them "just bring it...make your mother happy."

MaryAnn, you would have gotten along great with my father. His motto was "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." Guess that's where I get my overpacking tendencies from....it drives my DH crazy!

[KCritter]

We pack a lot less. Partly because of the washing machines, but also because we finally realized that we always end up buying some article of clothing, especially t-shirts. We don't bring "dressy" clothes, just one nice "resort casual" outfit each.

I do bring along decaf tea bags, coffee filters and laundry & dishwasher tablets. We do tend to buy too much food while we're there. This last trip I had to pack home a couple cans of soup. Talk about making your luggage heavy!

We've been trying to cure our overpacking by buying small, rollable carry-on suitcases so we don't have to check our luggage. If it doesn't fit in the carry on, it doesn't go with us!

[llp479]

I pack less clothing because I can wash while there. I also have gallon size zip lock bags under my bathroom sink packed and ready to go with all our assorted toiletries. Got another one in the kitchen with the stain stick, laundry tabs, dryer sheets and coffee filters. Just grab them and throw them in. Learned this trick when I was single and traveled a lot for work. Now I just have to remember to check the expiration date on the meds to make sure they haven't expired!

Of course now I have to drag along my laptop so my DH can check all his messages, and the kids can watch DVD's. I must admit, DVD's take up less room than the VHS tapes, and it frees up the TV in the main area so we can watch TV in there.

[wdwoldtimer]

Carry on suitcases, huh?? I would try that, but I don't think Delta allows 6 carry on's per passenger, do you? How else am I gonna lug all my necessities? Besides, it could be a problem trying to wheel all six down the aisle. I can see it now, a suitcase train.

Ahem...Patricia, don't you think 36 pairs of shoes is a bit excessive? That's ridiculous! You need some advice from an expert in packing. Let's see...I pack a pair of sneakers (for walking around the parks), a pair of casual shoes (for what else? a casual dinner!), a pair of sandals leather (for those casual dinnners on very warm nights), a pair of sandals rubber (for the pool), a pair of dress shoes (just in case something formal comes up), a spare pair of sneakers (in case the other pair gets wet on Splash Mt or Kali Rapids), a pair of slippers (for walking around inside the room)...ummm...what am I up to now? Err...7 pairs per person? So your family of 5 only needs 35 pairs of footwear, not 36!!! Talk about over-packing! Sheesh!

Never fear ohioMick....hmm....hold on....my amazing powers of deduction tell me you just might be related to ohioMin...anyway, never fear! I can now keep track of everything because I have computerized my packing list and store it on one of those nifty PocketPCs, which, of course I bring along with me. (Naturally that means yet one more recharging cord to pack!) But, you know, I don't inventory the cash in the list so if you find any more, most likely it's mine.
Disposible cameras....you mean you're supposed to keep those things? I thought you were supposed to throw 'em out when you were done. Oh great, that's more to pack! THANKS ALOT, OM!
My 4 yr old DD loves those things. The kid can snap all 36 exposures in a matter of minutes. A nice shot of the back of my leg....a beautiful close up of her finger....mom's face (from the nose down)....Mickey's left foot....an empty seat on the MK-OKW bus....yep, dad's little photographer!

[Peggy Sue]

This post is hysterical!

One thing I've fallen "victim" to is looking through travel magazines and finding all those "must have" items to take along on your trip...like the compact sewing kits, small magnifying mirror, pill boxes, air line back and neck pillows, personal hand held fans, fanny packs, sea sick bands, shoe bags, those plastic bags that you put your clothes in and roll up to expel all the air so the clothes take up less space in your suit case, night lights, flash lights, batteries, gum supply, candy... I just love all these things..and then have to find room in our suit case to bring them along. (Arthur Formmer has my number...sends me a "travel essential catalog" every 3 months!)

I'm glad to see I'm not alone! Although we do pack a lot less clothes (we really have mastered that!) we still pack a lot of "stuff" BUT...I believe I am packing lighter because all this "Stuff" is make for traveling...and those folks who sold it to me wouldn't be lying to me about my needing it and how easy it is to pack and lug around..now would they??

We took my niece and dad along last month...she couldn't get over all the "stuff" that came out our suit case..but you know what??? Even she admitted she needed and used a lot of that "stuff" we brought along!

[ohioMickey]

I just got a brand-spankin new Palm gadget with 8 megs of memory (my old Palm only had 2 megs) to help me with trip planning!!!!

I have travel tracker to help track each vacation. You can put car rental info, resort info, park hours, parade times, daily iteneraries, priority seating times and numbers, nap times, swimming times, laundry times, potty times, ets, etc, etc into it. Each day color coded and each item marked off with its own little icon. It puts my old index card system to shame.

...of course you never have to recharge index cards...

It also has avantgo on it so i can keep a current copy of INTERCOTS disney site with me at all times....

and a palm version of photosuite lets me look at some of last vacations photos while i am enjoying this vacation...that way i remember which pictures i ALWAYS have to get....in front of the main street station...in front of Partners...in front of the castle behind Partners...on the wooden walkway with Splash in the background...In front of the haunted mansion...the two little eggs that open and close on Its a small world (yes, that is a traditional shot)...in front of tree of life...in front of the monorail track at EPCOT next to Mouse Gears...whew....now i can not only watch my children grow up, but i can see if any of the Disney attractions show signs of age (once the two little eggs were one little egg because one was gone for re-hab...i would have forgotten about that if it wasn't for the picture).

If I ever want to get committed, all i have to do is show this thread to a shrink and admit that i participated in it!!!

[ohiominnie]

wdwoldtimer...
just a question....when, oh WHEN are you going to be at WDW next? ohiomickey and I (yes, we are related) would LOVE to meet you in real life. You are TOOOOO funny! And YOUR 4 yr old and OUR 4 yr old sound a lot alike in their interest in photography! Looking at the pictures from last year's trips, let me list off some of our favorite shots:
A picture of the bar on the front of the boat in It's a Small World
A picture of a man hole cover. (hidden mickey on it)
A pcture of 1/2 of a bench.
A picture of his sister holding up her gameboy. Trouble is, she has NO head!
A picture of a bird.
A picture of his binky.
Tigger, no head.
A picture of a duck.
Dad, no head.
The rest of the family, no bodies.
Another bird.
Some lady's ponytail.
An airconditioner vent on top of WL.
Dad without a head again.
Another bird.
A love bug.

After EVERY shot, he would hand his camera back to us and state proudly "that will be a good picture."

Thing is, MOST of them are well centered and interesting. For a 4 yr old he didn't do too bad!

We have yet to develop this trips film, but I'm predicting 50% of his pictures are of birds.

So, my question still stands, when will you be at the World?

ohiominnie :p

p.s. maybe we can meet up and we can get that $2K back to you!!! :)

[MaryAnnDVC]

Slow down...I'm trying to take notes...

There's a "travel essentials catalog"?? OMG! I need it!

ohioMickey, I could barely catch my breath reading your post. I just got a Handspring Visor Prism last week for my birthday!! Tell me, please...where can I find "stuff" to put on it for my trips?!:bounce: :bounce:

ohiominnie...my mom's famous for taking pictures and cutting off body parts. Got the Statue of Liberty's torch...just the torch, in the corner of sky. And took a picture of my brother and his best friend in their Army uniforms when they were home on leave (in the '60's)...no heads. The only picture of them in their uniforms. :rolleyes:

And...birds are nice. :D

On our first trip to WDW, when DS was 4, we gave him a disposable camera and he took pictures of his feet...so that everyone would know that he'd been to Disney World. :rolleyes: He always was a quirky child. :D

[ohioMickey]

MaryAnnDVC... go to www.palmgear.com. They have hundreds of programs there! The one i like best is called travel tracker. You can do a search for it at the palmgear site or you can go directly to their website at www.silverware.com.

The program is fully functional when you download it, but only for 30 days. After that, if you haven't registered it, you lose all your info and the Silverware guys get to go WDW in your place. It costs $29.95 to register...well worth it!!!!!

ooops...not sure Ohiominnie knew i registered it :rolleyes:

As for avantgo....just go to www.avantgo.com ... very nice service...and its free!!! be sure to get the WDW channel from INTERCOT.

Photosuite for the palm came bundled with my Palm (the m505), but you can go to www.photosuite.com for more info. To be honest, i am least impressed with it. The pics are small and a bit grainy on the Palm.

But TravelTracker 3.2 is FANTASTIC!!!!

[dianeschlicht]

LOL!:) You guys are making this WAY too complicated! I figure the simpler the better. We try to get everything into a carry on size piece for each person. That includes the few kitchen things we bring and the laundry detergent (tablets are easiest). The one thing that takes a lot of room is our shoes. We only bring athletic shoes, but most of us have bad feet, so we bring two pairs per person. Now that doesn't sound so bad, except we all have very large feet!!! One size 10 (me), one size 12 1/2 and one size 13. We pack two pairs of shorts, one pair of jeans, 5 shirts, one sweatshirt, and 4 days of undies per person plus swim wear. We tend to do one load of wash each day. We too do all the wash before heading home so we are packing clean clothes instead of dirty ones.

THe hardest thing to get used to is knowing what you want and need for the kitchen. What we take depends on who is traveling with us. If it is just our family, we don't take as much, but if we have friends or family along who can't afford to eat out so mucn, we pack more and shop more. I did finally get smart last trip and made a list of the things I knew I would need. It is amazing how you forget what is in the kitchen.

At any rate, pack light and HAVE FUN!!;)

[wdwoldtimer]

I'm beginning to think we are all victims of some kind of mass hypnosis here. Yeah, I bet American Tourister and Samsonite are behind all this. And that Arthur Frommer guy too! Oooh, I'd kill for one of those airline pillows!! And not a plain old inflatable one, but one of those with the gooey jelly stuff inside. Now your talkin'!! God knows I have all that time to sleep on the flight to Orlando with the "Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom" every five minutes. Funny how the wife always seems to be asleep every time.

I bet if you compared my photos to yours, o-Mick, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart. (Err....except for that wacky double egg tradition of yours..I don't do no eggs lol) And don't forget the shot of "Spaceship Earth with World Showcase at your back" Type1, and Spaceship Earth with World Showcase at your back - Type 2. (That's with and without the fountains in the foreground for you newbies out there.) And my all time favorite - the air conditioner vent on top of WL!! A classic.

Ok here's another tip for you Palm owners...get the eBook version of Birnbaum's guide and store it on there. You never know when you might need to reference it for something. OF course there isn't an official eBook version so you'll have to buy the hardcopy, scan each page and then translate to text with OCR software. That's not too obsessive is it?! (psst, I'm about halfway done mine) While you're at it why not scan in the park maps? I know what your thinking...most of us here could find our way through the parks blindfolded - walking backwards on one foot...we don't need park maps! Ah, but hold on a minute! What if a nice family of non-English speaking foreigners asks you how to get to Cinderella's Castle? Sure, you could simply turn and point to it from just about every location in the MK, but wouldn't it be way-cool to plot a trail on the electronic map? Hmm...come to think of it, you might want to pick up a portable thermal printer too. Unless you plan on giving your PalmPilot to the first family of non-English speaking foreigners that can't find Cinderella's castle, that is.

Ok, when are we going? Haha!!! We'll be going to the World in three short weeks! Stop snickering out there, I know it's <ugh> hot and <ugh> crowded around the Fourth, but it's my dad's 70th birthday and the whole clan is going down there to celebrate. Which reminds me....I have to stop writing here and start packing now!


wdwoldtimer :p

Oh, about that $2k you owe me...you might as well fly me out to Ohio to pick it up...I've been dying to go to that park in Sandusky anyway - a coaster lovers heaven!! Oh and feel free to take another twenty bucks out to help cover the airfare.

BTW, Diane....any basketball players in your family perhaps? Those are some healthy feet!

[Mary Anne]

We never carried much before only 3 carry on's for the 4 of us. Now we still carry the same 3 carry on's only 1 is for clothes and the other two are for stuff.

Sometimes I wish you could just rent a locker down there and KEEP some of the stuff in it so it would be there when you came back!

[Peggy Sue]

MaryannDVC...go to www.travelessentials.com ... you'll find another whole world of "stuff" that you're going to need!! Enjoy!

[ohiominnie]

Mary Anne, that is a WONDERFUL idea!! Lockers would make it so much easier to pack. But Disney knows this isn't a good idea....after all, they are counting on you not packing your ponchos and having to buy more!! :)


wdwoldtimer...WHAT? I'm sorry, I'd have my father officially change his birthday to a non-peak time!! Or celebrate his 70 1/2 birthday instead!! Our poor dd has already been informed that we will NEVER be at WDW for her birthday (July 8th) Then again, we'll never go for mine (December 28th) I had my birthday there as a kid, when I turned 8....but back then it wasn't nearly like it is now.

ohiominnie :p

[Patricia]

WDWoldtimer... Thanks for setting me straight. I will have a stern talk with my family to cut down on the excess and tell them the new rule came from you. We are heading out on a cruise in two weeks... Can you imagine the shoes?????

[wdwoldtimer]

Patricia, you're gonna HAVE to cut back on those shoes when you go on the cruise! How else are you gonna fit that spare inflatable life raft in your suitcase? And the battery operated air pump, or course!

Good God! Poor ohioDD will NEVER be at WDW for her birthday?! That's horrible! July 8th? It's not so bad then! It's a great time to visit! So what if it's 102 degrees in the shade with 80% humidity? Who cares if the line for the Haunted Mansion is a 2 hour wait? And it's really not that uncomfortable to eat your lunch sitting on the floor at Cosmic Ray's Cafe, you know. But you'll NEVER go on July 8th or December 28th? PLEASE! THose days are a piece of cake! My b-Day is actually ON the Fourth. Yessiree! Dad's is June 29th.

Ok....so you wanna talk about lockers! Do you folks use the ones in the parks? We use them all the time. We get a big backpack and stuff it with sweatshirts, in case it get's cold, spare shorts, in case they get wet, tissues, sun block, hats, spare batteries etc. Sound familiar? I guess you could say it's like a mini version of our "just-in-case" suitcase packing. Then we'll often search for like, a half an hour for an empty one, then cram the thing in there. Naturally as soon as I close it and pull the key out someone says, "Where's my sunglasses?" "What did you do with the sunblock" "Do you have my hair clip?" And the answer to all these questions???

"It's in the backpack!"

I always get twice as many quarters as I need.

[Peter Johnson]

Originally posted by Mary Anne
Sometimes I wish you could just rent a locker down there and KEEP some of the stuff in it so it would be there when you came back!

When we joined and first stayed at OKW in June 92, we suggested that very idea on our comment cards. Too bad they haven't done it yet!

We pack two suitcases. They start out about half empty on the way there, but end up full on the way home :) We also pack a shipping box complete with labels and a roll of packing tape. The stuff we don't want to carry home goes directly into the box, and we ship it the day we leave.

One of the suitcases is just vacation clothes and bathroom stuff, and it stays perpetually packed. That way we don't have to worry about what clothes we forgot. We also have a checklist of what to bring.

I also carry my laptop and a digital camera as carry-ons.

[RweTHEREyet]

How can all of us be so very different and yet so very much alike. You sound exactly like my family. We always promise--not dragging that down here next year, but wait, it's next year and here we go again with the same old stuff and new stuff on top of that.

My husband and son just roll their eyes when they see all I make them pack in the car, and we only stay at a studio.

This has been the funniest thread.

[Peter Johnson]

Our favorite response to the "should we pack this or not?" question is...

They've got stores in Orlando too! :)

[RweTHEREyet]

to just turn around and take it back--maybe some of us should rent one of those self-storage units and divide the space up. That way we could leave it all there and not have to worry about packing it up again. Monthly rental on a small unit wouldn't be that bad. :D

[ohioMickey]

A storage locker in Orlando would be great! Then you get Bell Services to go to the locker...pick out which things are yours...and take them to your room. At the end of the trip, Bell Services takes the stuff back to the storage locker.

Wait a minute....LIGHTBULB...who in the world needs Bell Services?

Why not start such a service for the busy traveler? Rent some storage lockers. Then start a service where you pick up and drop off peoples stuff. Not just DVC, but ALL the timeshares in central florida!

Sound like a crazy idea? But whoever thought those Town Car services would take off?

[wdwoldtimer]

LOL!! A self-storage unit...great idea! Think of all the stuff we could jam in there! Hoo-boy! We might even be able to fit all of Patricia's family's shoes!

The only problem is, I need most of my junk with me, so I'd still be trucking a lot back and forth. Still, I'm sure I could fill my share of the unit.

I think we're on to something here....

[MaryAnnDVC]

I would just end up bringing other, different stuff. *sigh*

Did anyone read the post somewhere else on the DIS a while ago by a guy who brings his really old underwear to Disney World so he can just throw it out each day when he's done and has less to bring home? :earseek: And here I was, always buying everyone new underwear special for WDW! :rolleyes:

[Disney Doll]

We definitely pack less clothing. I pack half of the number of days I'm staying...if I'm going to be there 10 days, it's 5 shirts, 4 or 5 prs of shorts, 5 sets of underwear etc. It can be washed, and we also tend to buy a few things there;) !!!

As far as kitchen items, I bring already ground Starbucks coffee, some coffee filters, laundry soap and dryer sheets. We don't do a lot of cooking in our room. We go to the local Publix (MUCH better prices than Goodings!!!) and pick up some cereal, half and half, milk, bananas,soda, munchies.

[Paul in CT]

OhioMickey,

Thanks for the info on TravelTracker. In the old days of the Prodigy Disney BB, they used to call people like you and me DORK's, i.e. Disney Organized Record Keeper. I must try that program for my Palm III even though I have only the 2 MB version. Now I know what I want for Father's Day! Thanks again for the tip!! ;)

[Paul in CT]

OhioMickey,

You probably already know this, but just in case, you can now download Deb Wills menus to you Palm using AvantGo at the website http://eguidestogo.com/.

[MaryAnnDVC]

Is there Disneyland info for Palms (Handspring)?? I'm headed there in 2 1/2 weeks...gotta pack!! ;)

[ohioMickey]

Paul in CT...

Travel Tracker takes up 200 KB of RAM, but is WELL worth it!! Maybe for father's day you could ask for a Palm M505....hmmmm....then you would have plenty of room :)

Thanks for the tip about Deb's menus. I am going to have to stop by that link you posted as soon as I am done writing this. Gee I guess I am a DORK!!!!!!!!!

MaryAnn...

I haven't seen anything for the Palm regarding Disneyland. Perhaps others know of something....

[Rock'n Robin]

I have important price information from a few posts back:
at Disney World, a package of 10 diapers is $7.
Compared to 24 diapers (size 4) for $7 at Kroger.
How do I know this? Because DS DID get a "stomach virus" (I'm being polite) last year and went through more diapers than usual (and wipes too!) for a couple of days.
We always have a kid get sick. I'll be taking kids tylenol, motrin, benedryl....hopefully I won't need it, but you know that if I don't take it one of them will need it.
This is our first trip coming up, and I'm hoping to take fewer clothes and laundry tablets. DH doesn't think I will, but I'm hoping!
Robin M.

[ceejay13]

We pack half the clothes we used to. We're going for 12 days in October so I think I'll try just packing 4 days worth of clothes. We do pack fitted sheets for the beds and bath crystals for the jacuzzi. In addition, it is easy to put some extra laundry soap and dryer sheets in. We head for Publix for our groceries, once we arrive. We always pack an extra suitcase, however, for all the souveniers we can't live without.

[wdwoldtimer]

I like the idea of fitted sheets! I just don't like the way many hotels use flat sheets instead of fitted ones.

[ohiominnie]

Another thing I must pack (or buy at Publix and then bring home) are Clorox wipes. My bathroom at home gets cleaned EVERY day, and I just can't stand living in a bathroom for 8 days without a cleaning! (shudder)

I'm NOT complaining about not having daily maid service!!


ohiominnie

[msdis]

less clothes, using that space x2 for food. If we rented a car it would be way less. So saved dollars=bigger inconvenience. Still worth it.