Best packing tips/items!!!

[tink07]

Great ideas!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Any unique snack ideas or good ideas for packing them?

I find among the best snacks if any to bring are something like a granola/power bar and oranges. Then you don't have to worry about keeping the food cold.

When I say a power bar, I mean the kind that's chock full of healthy stuff, not the pop tart kind. The healthy kind has protein, so that will actually help hold us over vs. ones that simply raise your blood sugar.

Oranges/citrus are a good healthy snack, and they have a big plus that thy are heat tolerant, don't leak, and don't get gross like bananas. apples and maybe pears can also be okay, except some pears get mushy. apples and pears can be individually wrapped in saran wrap, which helps. also, you can't peal a grapefruit like you would an orange if need be.

truly, I'm not a big an of lugging around much stuff all day in the parks.

I love strawberries, but often if you put them in the tiny dorm fridges in most hotel rooms they emit a strange odor, at least conventional ones. It has happened to us several times.

One option, especially in season is to stop at Orange world on 192, if you come in that way. They have excellent produce!

Another possibility is that many of the Publix have a decent prepared foods section. For the most part, we only do that if we plan to eat the food right away.

Generally, I am a big fan of yogurt. I have yet to find a great way to keep it at WDW.

If you are staying on property, you kind of can't count on getting a decent fridge. Some of them just don't get very cold. I hear they have replaced many of them, but they can still be iffy. that said, our most recent fridge had the opposite problem, it froze everything!

 

[CounselorX]

I find among the best snacks if any to bring are something like a granola/power bar and oranges. Then you don't have to worry about keeping the food cold.

When I say a power bar, I mean the kind that's chock full of healthy stuff, not the pop tart kind. The healthy kind has protein, so that will actually help hold us over vs. ones that simply raise your blood sugar.

Oranges/citrus are a good healthy snack, and they have a big plus that thy are heat tolerant, don't leak, and don't get gross like bananas. apples and maybe pears can also be okay, except some pears get mushy. apples and pears can be individually wrapped in saran wrap, which helps. also, you can't peal a grapefruit like you would an orange if need be.

truly, I'm not a big an of lugging around much stuff all day in the parks.

I love strawberries, but often if you put them in the tiny dorm fridges in most hotel rooms they emit a strange odor, at least conventional ones. It has happened to us several times.

One option, especially in season is to stop at Orange world on 192, if you come in that way. They have excellent produce!

Another possibility is that many of the Publix have a decent prepared foods section. For the most part, we only do that if we plan to eat the food right away.

Generally, I am a big fan of yogurt. I have yet to find a great way to keep it at WDW.

If you are staying on property, you kind of can't count on getting a decent fridge. Some of them just don't get very cold. I hear they have replaced many of them, but they can still be iffy. that said, our most recent fridge had the opposite problem, it froze everything!

I believe there are temperature control settings on the backs of the refrigerators. Some may need to be dialed in properly if someone else has made them too cold or too warm.

 

[pbruce706]

Didn't see it above, but for our last trip (Feb 13) I saw on here a recommendation of putting pieces of sponge in a zip lock bag and soaking them in laundry detergent. One sponge per night, and use them to clean your refillable mugs. A must do if you ask me.

 

[nkereina]

These are things I do now, which I learned the hard way:

*Bring two pairs of sneakers, if you wear sneakers in the parks. If one pair gets wet from rain or a water ride, you can wear the other pair until they dry out.

*Bring two outfits for each day. Sounds like a lot, but we found what worked best for us was to make rope drop, come back mid-day and go in the pool/shower and go back out at night. We never wanted to put on the same clothes as the morning. Plus, when it's hot, your morning clothes get damp with sweat. If two outfits per day is too much, plan on doing laundry.

*Peppermint lotion for your feet. Every night before bed, I would rub some on and my feet were like new by morning. I've used Burt's Bees and Body Shop, but love Burt's the most.

*We prefer hanging travel toiletry bags rather than the shoe organizer many recommend on here. You can just unzip your travel bag and I usually hang mine from the towel bar. All my stuff is right there and no need to unpack/repack it.

*Invest in a good poncho. We took dollar store ponchos first trip and they were useless - sleeveless, hood would not stay up, short, etc. Last trip we brought nice Coleman ponchos and stayed dry. They were only $5 at Big Lots so they were quality enough to get us through the week, but cheap enough where we didn't feel guilty about tossing them before we left.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I believe there are temperature control settings on the backs of the refrigerators. Some may need to be dialed in properly if someone else has made them too cold or too warm.

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. I'm not a CM, so I don't know all the ins and outs of every model on property, but some of them have, more or less the dial removed. In theory, you can change them if you have a pair of pliers, but you don't know which way you are changing them.

Also, at some resorts, the fridge is in a cabinet, which affects how well they work. The cabinet at CR and Poly, in particular, does not have good ventilation. Hard to describe here, but at CR we've always shad trouble keeping food cold.

One thing to know though, is at ANY WDW hotel, if you arrive before your room is ready, or stay after check out - luggage services- even at values- can keep items cold. they will also freeze a cold pack if need be. It just takes a bit of time and effort to get to luggage services. At some resorts, it can be a bit of a walk. (Mods!)
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One idea I heard recently, if the gap in the window drapes bugs you, a large binder clip/clothespin can keep them closed. Such a clip would not take up much room, and could also double for hanging clothes/wet bathing suits.

 

[MPWife153]

I packed a "Snack Bag," one of the reusable shopping bags for our last trip, but honestly came home with most of it. BUT some of the things I packed were:

fruit snacks
peanut butter crackers
goldfish
pretzels
granola bars
Propel Packets for water (we used our mugs & refilled them at water fountains & got ice from counter service restaurants)
grapes
clementines

I brought a small collapsible cooler to keep the snacks in each day. I just threw it into the bottom of youngest DDs stroller.

 

[squirrel4569]

Brita bottles were a lifesaver on our last trip. You can get ice at counter service restaurants and water can be found all over. The Brita filter bottle gets rid of any yucky water taste that many dislike. Much better than drinking it straight from the water fountain or paying $2-3 for a bottle of water.

The other thing that was awesome was a portable battery charger for our phones. We had one that would charge up to three at a time and we could recharge them two or three times in a day on one battery charge. Between pictures and MDX the batteries drain fast, so this was very handy and it allowed us to stay on the move instead of sitting in one spot waiting for a phone to recharge. Along those same lines a power strip and extra camera batteries & memory cards were also very handy.

 

[niffer5150]

i found the thing that saved me the most headache was making a detailed list of EXACTLY what was in each bag. i kept these lists in my wdw spiral note book along with adr notes and day itineraries. "where's the XYZ medicine?" or "where are the blister band aids?" oh it's in bag #3, outer pocket. it put an end to "you didn't pack me any socks/underwear/whatever!" because yes, i did. you have __ number of them in there, look in the inner pocket.

i kept my lists and for our next trip i've been able to review and evaluate and i don't really have to think about it. i just copied the list over and removed a few items that were overkill.

 

[redkel]

One tip that I haven't seen mentioned is to make sure anything you can't live without for more than 12 hours -- put in your personal item or carry on piece of luggage. This is especially true for medicines, etc. If you're arriving late in the day, pack your pj's, toothbrush and change of clothes for the next day in that carry on - IN CASE the airline or DME luggage services misplaces anything.

 

[HotMama]

I used to worry about packing snacks, but have come to the conclusion they just don't need a whole lot while in the parks. Goldfish crackers are always nice in the hard cartoon packaging because they don't get smashed. Fruit snacks are always good because they are small and don't get melty. But really, when my kids got their kids meals, it always comes with a bag of grapes and a package of cookies that they could never finish at lunch, so they ate them later in the day. Little bottles of water & boxed drinks are nice for quick drinks when they are thirsty or hot. I think more importantly is to have cheap, dollar store entertainment items to keep them busy while waiting for rides, parades, etc.. Have fun!

 

[piratechef]

I like to pack in the giant ziplok/space saver storage bags. Even though you probably won't have a vacuum to seal them with at the resort, you can have the kids sit on them to squeeze the air out. I was able to almost double the packing space in my luggage. Plus, if you have a few wet swim suits or towels at the end of your trip, they can be sequestered from the rest of your clothes. One note though, your suitcase will be extra heavy...so eat your wheaties. Have a great trip!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've tried the zip locks, and still think in limited ways they can be helpful. The downside is they are noisy if you wake up at different times.

Still, I think I've got a pretty good system now. On our most recent trips, we moved around multiple times, so keeping order is essential. No packing list, we just always put stuff in the SAME place.

Toiletries go in zip locks. One bag for stuff we won't need every day, 2nd for stuff we do. Toothbrushes in individual labeled bags: drop bags in water glass by sink. Keeps them from getting icky.

Each person gets own suitcase. But I also sorta put clothes into possible outfits, but almost everything I bring matches enough to be mixed. If DH wears mostly green shirts- he's easy to sight in the parks for some reason. Tank tops/cami's/undershirts good. Layerable =good, even for summer!

For DH- cargo shorts are bulky, but great theme park choice. Otherwise compact= good.

WDW shopping bags make great dirty laundry bags, or use the plastic laundry bags from hotel closet.

Almost the only items we unpack are toiletries and cell phone cables. EVERY morning, we pack up cell phone cables! Always do it and you can't leave it behind.

Items that don't have to be neat go in a duffle bag (socks).

MINMIZE!