Is it possible to pack light for a trip to Disney?

[susanm]

the trip i am planning for august is the first time i am flying since the air added paying per luggage. i am planning 2 carryons...my camera bag will hold my wallet, meds, tickets wallet etc...
my other carryon i am hoping to get several days clothes.. i have 2 pair of denim capris - i am hoping for 2 days of each with 3-4 shirts etc.. then i will do one trip to the laundry room .. then that should get me thru my 8 days... plus the jeans i will wear down...i can wear once more there... i hope... although i hate to do laundry while i am on vacation, i am saving $35 each way for a suitcase although i may still change my mind

[housetomouse]

Originally Posted by susanm

the trip i am planning for august is the first time i am flying since the air added paying per luggage. i am planning 2 carryons...my camera bag will hold my wallet, meds, tickets wallet etc...
my other carryon i am hoping to get several days clothes.. i have 2 pair of denim capris - i am hoping for 2 days of each with 3-4 shirts etc.. then i will do one trip to the laundry room .. then that should get me thru my 8 days... plus the jeans i will wear down...i can wear once more there... i hope... although i hate to do laundry while i am on vacation, i am saving $35 each way for a suitcase although i may still change my mind

It sure makes good financial sense to do the laundry! How much do you think it costs to do a load of laundry, if you don't bring your own laundry supplies? Thanks!

[cdnmomof2]

Originally Posted by VanessasMom

We have a family of three and use three carryons for Disney. For dh & I, we pack two pair of shorts, four tshirts, eight pair of undies and socks, one pair pj's and a bathing suit. For dd, we pack the same but increase shorts and shirts to eight pair because she always goes thru more outfits per day than one and I make custom ones for her. I usually do a load of laundry halfway thru and find it quite relaxing. I use space bags for our clothes. We also pack the minimum size toiletries and get double use out of some things--like we share a razor and dh uses hair conditioner as shaving cream (he says it actually works better as a moisturizer). We use one carryon for gifts from tink, toys, and snacks.

It sounds like we travel the same way. 4 of us just did 8 days in maui with only carry-ons. Nothing to it. My best tip is to roll your clothes. Organize and pack socks and undies in the big ziploc bags. That way clean socks & undies are never lost or confused with laundry. T-shirts and tanks also work rolled & in the big ziplocs. Seriously easy this way to go through security. We've received many compliments at airports. They could tear apart the suitcase in 30 seconds & re-assemble with ease if need be. No fuss, no clothes everywhere.

We also plan, knowing we will each buy a t-shirt or 2 on a trip. If our destination has laundry facilities we use it the last night and also travel home with clean, organized, bags.

[tripletvan]

We have had up to a party of 13 for thanksgiving & I have shipped nearly everything with no problem

[stindall]

Originally Posted by housetomouse

I definitely won't have a W/D in the room, and I hate to go to the laundry on vacation, but on the other hand I hate hauling (and paying for) a lot of luggage. Thanks!

Reviving an old thread but...
A lot of laundry rooms @ the hotels are open late (or maybe all day/night? Not sure but I remember people doing laundry @ Pop until at least 11:30pm!) so just pick a night or morning to hang out at the hotel and do a load if you want to pack a bit lighter. You can hang at the pool and check on it periodically!

DH and I can fit all of our stuff into one large suitcase (but sometimes it's a tight fit!) and then use our park bag as our airport bag (with entertainment and snacks etc) but I think we can do a smaller one or even two carry on bags if we roll and organize better. Neither one of us are big on souvenirs so an extra bag for those is big issue for us!

[VeeHam]

Our last trip (to my fathers house) I packed Dh, DD's 5 and 8 and my clothes into one large suitcase and had a bag for dirty clothes. But I was able to fit all of our clothes into the one suitcase. I used the space saver bags. I put each persons clothes into a bag and sucked out the air. Each girl had 5-6 outfits, 4 pj's, lots of undies and 2 swimsuits. DH and I had two pairs of jeans, 4-5 shorts, a few dresses (for me), shirts, undies, bras and swimwear. I had a separate bag for toiletries.
If I can do it, believe me, you can do it too. I am a notorious over packer.

Does anyone know if you ask to borrow a vacuum from mousekeeping, will they let you? I would love to use the space saver bags again on this trip to Disney.

[lisakramer]

I do my best to pack light, since I do all of our packing.
We all normally wear each pair of pants/shorts multiple times, so it's really a matter of shirts taking up more room.
For a week stay, we normally can fit our stuff into 1 small carry on sized suitcase per person. I also pack a HUGE Disney tote that I bought on a previous trip to bring home anything we bought that won't fit into the luggage. That way I can throw my purse in the tote and use it as my "personal" bag.
Also, I have DS4 take his full size backpack. While he won't carry it all the way through the airport because it's heavy, I can always stuff more in that bag if I need to. So, yeah, I use my kid as a way to carry more bags on the plane... Oh well.

[lylone]

Me an DH are avid carryon only users. I didn't think it was possible, but I even did 7 days with a carryon and a Vera Bradley laptop bag!
The key is to use packing cubes which work really well.

I also always print out a UPS label before we go. That way if we can't fit souvenirs things in our carry ons then get a box from the hotel gift shop, slap the label on the box and ship some clothes back (don't want to loose the souvenirs) in the box. I am sure that Pluto enjoyed his trip home in my Vera Bradley rather than a box.

If you do plan on shipping from the resort, get a prepaid UPS label before you leave....Boxes and packing stuff is free, but shipping...well...

[Julie521]

My husband and I just packed for our first trip together. 7 Days and we are each using one suit case. Mine is a little bigger than his, only because I packed some extra flip flops, and he will probably wear the same 2 pairs of sneakers all week. Other than that we have one cooler insulated bag for us to keep in the car *since we are driving* with some frozen water bottles and snacks. We actually had one extra suit case and I ended up condensing down some of my clothes so we didn't have the extra bag I was proud! lol

[tink_n_pooh]

Doing laundry at WDW isn't so bad at all. Most laundry facilities are located near the pools and quite a few of us schedule a pool/rest break in the middle of the day anyway. Throw a load of laundry in before hitting the pool, enjoy the pool and maybe have lunch and drink and before you know it your laundry is finished

[ZoZo]

Originally Posted by tink_n_pooh

Doing laundry at WDW isn't so bad at all. Most laundry facilities are located near the pools and quite a few of us schedule a pool/rest break in the middle of the day anyway. Throw a load of laundry in before hitting the pool, enjoy the pool and maybe have lunch and drink and before you know it your laundry is finished

Yep, that's what I do, too. I know most people say they don't want to do laundry on vacation, but to me, it's totally worth it.

[awoogala]

As a family of four, we generally bring 2 rolling suitcases. I do not do laundry on vacation.
1. We usually go in cooler weather, so we bring tshirts and shorts and we each bring one pair of pants/jeans, and one zip on sweatshirt. We also generally bring some gloves and Hats. I have never had it colder than needing that, even in Dec-Jan. If you fly, you wear this stuff.
2. Everyone brings 1 t-shirt and shorts and underwear per day,plus one extra t-shirt. everything gets rolled in a ziploc.
3. We don't bring any fancy clothes, ymmv. We don't do signature dining and have never felt the need to dress up more than tees and shorts/jeans.
4. My secret weapon is tide for the sink. IF we run through clothes faster than one tee a day, throw it in the sink and swish and hang. I don't consider this laundry, lol.
Obviously, if you go in sweltering weather, and change at midday, this would not work as well,or if you change into fAncy outfits for dinner, or your kids bring 10 princess gowns. We go simple, and it seems to work for us!

[Meetmeinmontauk]

I ALWAYS overpack for Disney... or any trip I managed to get all of my things into 1 decent size bag this time! I amazed myself

[nicki.momof3]

Originally Posted by lucyem

There are lots of youtube videos on packing as much as you can into a small bag without everything getting crushed.

The problem I have it always fits nice and tight in a suitcase on the way down. On the way back it just never seems to fit right. Maybe it is all the stuff I buy and the dirty clothes.

Happy packing

[dvc at last !]

Originally Posted by tink_n_pooh

Doing laundry at WDW isn't so bad at all. Most laundry facilities are located near the pools and quite a few of us schedule a pool/rest break in the middle of the day anyway. Throw a load of laundry in before hitting the pool, enjoy the pool and maybe have lunch and drink and before you know it your laundry is finished

ditto

I/we do not overpack anymore either.
Also, if we are at a DVC Resort that has atleast 1 bedroom - there is a washer and dryer in the room. Put a load in in the am and dry it at the end of the day - or put a load in at the end of the day and into the dryer when you get up.