How many suitcases do you bring?

saraschoening

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
I am not sure if this has been asked before.. I did a search but really couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for.

We are going away for 3 weeks and I thought that 2 checked suitcases plus 3 carry on and 3 personal (small backpacks) would be enough but now that I am actually starting to pack I am doubting my predictions. We are a family of 3 and between us there are 12 pairs of shoes going (runners for each of us, flip flops for each of us, water shoes for each of us, plus my toms and DD's toms and my vans) and I am pretty sure that I am going to need a suitcase for toiletries alone... sunscreen, makeup, face wash, night cream, eye cream, day cream, shampoo, conditioner etc.. Plus clothes.. I am planning on doing laundry every 6 days.

How many bags do you bring? How do you decided what to bring and what not to bring.. Like for instance do I really need to bring cortisone cream? I tend to "over prepare"
 
We are a family of 4. When we go during colder weather, we tend to take 3 suitcases because we need to dress in layers, hence we need more clothes. For a summer trip, we only have two suitcases because it's going to be hot, we don't pack for cooler weather, and shorts and tees just don't take that much room.

It seems like a lot of shoes, IMHO. For the 4 of us, we'll all wear our running shoes on the plane and then bring one pair of sandals each. We don't do flip flops or water shoes at Disney.
 
We are a family of 4. My kids are 5. We went to Disney in Feb and check 4 suitcases. Big ones for my husband and I and small/medium ones for my kids. We usually tried to squish everything into 3, but I got sick of it. Plus, between taking the Magic Express and doing airline check-in at the resort, we hardly have to deal with our luggage.

I also tend to over pack, especially first aid/medicine type things. It's always better to be prepared. Even though you can find stuff wherever you go, why waste time doing that?

Have fun!
 
We do 1 suitcase per person. DD's is obviously smaller than mine and DH's. We put all of our extra supplies in DD's. It just works best that way for our family.
 
We're a family of 3, we take a suitcase and hand luggage case each. But we generally go in February when it's cooler and we need to layer.
 
You really are taking an absurd number of shoes. They take up a lot of suitcase space. Two pairs of comfortable shoes per person is plenty. And five suitcases for a family of three? If you are doing laundry, you're bringing far too much.
 


You really are taking an absurd number of shoes. They take up a lot of suitcase space. Two pairs of comfortable shoes per person is plenty. And five suitcases for a family of three? If you are doing laundry, you're bringing far too much.
But I have to go 9 days without doing laundry.. we are going to Victoria and then Seattle for a few days and there is no laundry facilities where we are staying and as for shoes.. I can't change that either.. Im not going to the pool in runners and we need the water shoes for the beach and the water park and I always pack two pairs of "park" shoes just in case one pair starts to cause blisters.. you need to take care of your feet when you are at the parks..

I was more looking for input on all the other stuff.. stuff that is listed on every website if you look up what to pack to WDW.. lists and lists of stuff that I now feel that I should be packing.
 
We are a family of 4. My kids are 5. We went to Disney in Feb and check 4 suitcases. Big ones for my husband and I and small/medium ones for my kids. We usually tried to squish everything into 3, but I got sick of it. Plus, between taking the Magic Express and doing airline check-in at the resort, we hardly have to deal with our luggage.

I also tend to over pack, especially first aid/medicine type things. It's always better to be prepared. Even though you can find stuff wherever you go, why waste time doing that?

Have fun!
Yes I agree with the medicine and etc.. Not to mention the cost of buying it at Disney is a lot. Normally our first stop would be the Wal-mart in Port Ang. when we get off the coho.. we usually load up on all of our toiletries but now with the exchange it just doesn't work out to be cheaper so I find that I am over packing "just in case" items. Last year when we went away we decided to pack light and our "misc" budget was huge.. sunscreen, bandaids, aloe, pain meds.. etc.

What do you usually do with the stuff that you buy at the parks? Squish it into your suitcases coming back or mail it home? I have to buy two Duffy Bears when I am down there this time.. don't know where I am going to put those.
 
Everyone is different on how much and what they need to bring. We go in the summer so we bring light clothing and only bring 1 pair of pants and 1 sweatshirt. We found we occassionaly needed the sweatshirts for the restaurants due to the AC. I pack enough close for half the trip and then when having pool time I do a few loads of laundry.

On our first trip the airport lost hubby's suit case until the next day so we have since learnt to mix a bit of everyone clothes in each suit case so if we loose one we have stuff for that person.

Have an awesome trip
 
Order the Duffy Bears from the Disney Store today. They can be waiting for you at home. No one will ever know. We limit ourselves to one large piece of luggage and a small carry on per person. I hear you about the shoes. In your case I would think about using your running shoes as the 2nd pair of park shoes. Also take flip flops OR water shoes, not both.

One place where we cut down was medical supplies. We take small amounts of a lot of things, but take the out of their original packaging. For example, I take along 4 Sudafed tablets still in the foil wrap, carefully labeled, 4 children Benadril, 4 Imodium, a dozen assorted bandages, etc. All our meds now fit in one quart size zip bag.

I also limit myself to one hooded sweatshirt or sweater per person. That's it.

I hope you have a great trip!
 
Idea for first aid kit- target sells these small travel first aid kits that include band aids ointments and a few other items. I would get that if you want a first aid kit. Btw in 8 trips I only opened it once at the airport when I accidentially kicked a suitcase and tore a nail that bled.
You can also get single serve Advil etc at most gift shops. It's a little over a dollar iirc but takes up no room
 
What do you usually do with the stuff that you buy at the parks? Squish it into your suitcases coming back or mail it home? I have to buy two Duffy Bears when I am down there this time.. don't know where I am going to put those.

We usually bring some snacks that we like but can't always order from Garden Grocer (certain Kashi bars, Annie's snacks) so that usually allows a little extra room on the way back. By using one suitcase per person it allows for a little extra room as well!

As far as shoes (& other things)... Bring as much as you want. It's YOUR vacation. Like I said, I was sick of saving money for a trip, planning for a trip for half a year, and then limiting what I bring. I say pack it all!
 
For all the non-clothes stuff, pack and carry anything that you think you might need "on the spot." For example, I carry nausea, diarrhea, cold, and fever/ headache medicine for each family member, on the theory that I don't want to have to hunt for those things in a hotel gift shop or elsewhere in the middle of the night. Last trip, DD7 brought a 24-hour virus back from MK one evening, and I was so happy to have my stash when she woke up sick at 2:00 am. I had to hit the gift shop for more fever medicine for her the next day, but I had enough on hand for the first few doses.

We travel with one suitcase per person, plus carry ons. The Princesses leave gifts in our room most nights, and they take up a lot of room in my bag.
 
For a trip that long I wouldn't even try to do less than a suitcase per person (so 3 suitcases). For 5 days and under I can squeeze my son and I into one suitcase, but other than that, we each get one! I'd also suggest a smaller duffel bag that you can squish in one suitcase to take souvenirs home.

That said, I'd probably try to put as much as possible into suitcases to cut down on carry on items.
 
We also use roll-up vacuum bags that really help with maximising space plus they are airtight which helps if something opened up in the suitcase.
 
We had one checked bag last trip, we are a family of four. Youngest couldn't pull a carry-on. He should be able to this trip, so I'm hoping no checked bags this time. We go for 11 days and I do laundry. On trips I haven't had laundry facilities, I would hand wash stuff in the sink and hang in the shower to dry. I'm hoping with a carry-on and backpack for each of us we can be covered. But we shall see.
 
We are family of 5 and we each check a bag and carry on. I know we take way too much but we use it all so maybe it's not too much. LOL
 
We were going to wear our pants and sweatshirts as we will be leaving from Seattle at 4 in the morning so i can't see it being too warm :) I actually have a lot meds that I have to take with me so theres more stuff but the first aid kit is a great idea.. we have a HUGE one which will not be joining us on our trip. That is a good idea about order
We usually bring some snacks that we like but can't always order from Garden Grocer (certain Kashi bars, Annie's snacks) so that usually allows a little extra room on the way back. By using one suitcase per person it allows for a little extra room as well!

As far as shoes (& other things)... Bring as much as you want. It's YOUR vacation. Like I said, I was sick of saving money for a trip, planning for a trip for half a year, and then limiting what I bring. I say pack it all!


Great post!!

Thank you by the way. I know that I am a little high maintenance. I have things that make me comfortable and I don't want to be without them while away. I will pack it all!
 
We are family of 5 and we each check a bag and carry on. I know we take way too much but we use it all so maybe it's not too much. LOL
as long as you use it all its needed right? Kids also come with a lot of "stuff" especially babies and toddlers.. glad those years are over :) I remember going on a weekend trip once with DD when she was 1.. my whole trunk was FILLED with baby stuff. Thanks for the help!
 

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