Can you fit your whole family in one suitcase?

[hcmommy]

I don't mean your ACTUAL family...but your families stuff

I would really like to cut down on the amt. of stuff we travel with, not just for Disney but in all of our travels. We usually travel by car, but still...

If you can fit all (or most) of your families clothing, shoes, etc. in one bag which on do you use? How big is it? It is me, DH and two preschoolers and I think we could do it if we do laundry mid week, but not with our current suitcase. Do you use a huge duffel, massive suitcase, what?! Is it airline complaint? I want to travel with one big suitcase for clothing and one little one for toiletries, flat iron, etc and a stroller and that is it! It's hard enough dragging kids thru the airport w/o all the junk!

 

[kaetra]

Today is my official packing day and I will be using -

• A single 28"W x 20"H x 10" Deep hard case suitcase to check in
• 3 average size duffle bags to carry on (1 for each person)
• My purse to carry on
• Hubby's small backpack to carry on
• DD's small backpack to carry on

I plan on doing laundry once using Purex all-in-one sheets, and each of us wearing our jammies for 2 nights in a row. I have also taken a risk and chosen to completely fill 1 duffle bag (mine of course) with everything I need to decorate and add a HUGE tinkerbell gift basket to our room in emulation of Mickey's Grand Welcome.

I don't anticipate bringing a large amount of souvenirs home.

I am positive I can fit EVERYthing we need, but I'll post again after I'm done later today to let you know how I did. *fingers crossed*

 

[nkad]

I dont know how but my wife seems to do it very well every trip!

 

[woodkins]

I can't even fit my 8 yr old daughter's clothes in one suitcase

 

[hcmommy]

We usually have a large suitcase, medium suitcase or two small children's suitcases, very large tote bag, toiletry bag, purse, backpacks, etc. so I don't know HOW we will do it, but I'd like to try!

 

[grafxgirl]

We use 2 suitcases for a family of 4. They are roughly 16x24 and 12x20. I do allow both the kids to take a backpack with items to entertain themselves with, but whatever they choose has to fit in the backpacks.

 

[rodeo65]

Not a chance and I don't even try. That is one reason we drive - no restrictions.

Having said that - this summer we cut waaaaaay down from in the past. Our kids have reached the phase of all-hail-the-mighty-electronic-gaget. We don't need the colouring, craft, toy box that we used to truck around with us.

Also, for our upcoming almost month long trip, we will have laundry facilities both at the condo we're renting in my parents complex as well as in the villa at OKW, so I should be able to get away with a suitcase per person plus one backpack with entertainment/school work per kid and a book bag for me.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I wish! Thank goodness for Southwest's liberal bag policies. We're going to have to streamline this year b/c of the baby.

 

[Ash&Wes07]

This year, DH & I will only use one large suitcase and we will pack DD/DS in a smaller suitcase. We will fill a beach bag with toys/movies/snacks for DD as well.

We drive so we end up with tons of crap in the car, little bags here and there, and shoes loose everywhere. I HATE it.

This year, if it doesn't fit in our suitcase or bookbag, it isn't going. Plain and simple. I hate the chaos that normally happens.

 

[quandrea]

We are a family of five: Dh, me, DD 6, Twins 1 and we fit everything into a Samsonite large duffel bag. We do laundry while we are away, stay in a villa. I pack two pjs for each of the children, one for myself and hubby. The adults take two pair of shorts each and three tshirts, plus what we wear. The babies have four outfits each and my daughter has three. Plus what each child wears on the plane and a change of clothes in a diaper bag. The only carry on we have is a diaper bag for each baby. My advice is to make a written list of what to take and be really brutal on yourself. If you do laundry, you really need very little at Disney as it's so casual. As my husband say, "The babies are luggage," so we have to be very careful about what we bring.

 

[cseca]

2A and 1 Infant 4 days and under - definitely 1 suitcase no problem.
2A and 1 Infant over 4 days with w/d available - definitely 1 suitcase no problem.

And 1 suitcase means a big one they allow to be checked in and under 50lbs. Not including a couple carryons (1 for the baby's stuff and 1 for ours)

Even better if there's shopping delivery, 1 suitcase will be more than enough since we could purchase our diapers and wipes to be delivered.

 

[AJRitz]

I don't mean your ACTUAL family...but your families stuff

I would really like to cut down on the amt. of stuff we travel with, not just for Disney but in all of our travels. We usually travel by car, but still...

If you can fit all (or most) of your families clothing, shoes, etc. in one bag which on do you use? How big is it? It is me, DH and two preschoolers and I think we could do it if we do laundry mid week, but not with our current suitcase. Do you use a huge duffel, massive suitcase, what?! Is it airline complaint? I want to travel with one big suitcase for clothing and one little one for toiletries, flat iron, etc and a stroller and that is it! It's hard enough dragging kids thru the airport w/o all the junk!

Well, maybe, if I rolled DD7 REALLY tightly . . .


Seriously though, no. No way. This is one of the reasons that I'll actually pay a little bit more for the tickets to fly on Southwest than to fly other airlines, even with the "no assigned seats" annoyance. Two free checked bags/person is more than enough for us, and there's no need to stress about packing. We'll still pack in as few bags as possible, just for ease of transport in Orlando. But no reason to make ourselves crazy with it.

 

[nov02mom]

Oh gosh- I don't even try! That is part of why we drive- I can stuff the car full! LOL

 

[3boys4me]

Oh gosh- I don't even try! That is part of why we drive- I can stuff the car full! LOL

 

[At World's End]

I am really going to try to use just one checked bag for our next trip. I just bought a 32" rolling duffle that according to the tag measures 32x11x12. I posted on the transportation board and was warned that it is easy to overstuff a duffle and exceed the 62" total measurement rule. So I packed it with 4 outfits per person including jeans, t shirt, socks, undies and extra pair of shoes. (We are 2 adults and 2 kids and will be there for 10 days with W/D in condo). I also put in there two plastic shoe boxes, one for toiletries and one for gifts for the kids. I still have space in the duffle and it doesn't exceed 62" and weighs 38 lbs.

I tried packing this same stuff into our normal luggage and it would take one really big suitcase (barely under 62" total) and two rolling carryons.

We are hoping to travel with only the duffle, two backpacks, one rolling carryon and the stroller.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We drive but with 6 in my van there's not much extra room! We do have a luggage carrier but we try very hard not to use it as it really cuts down on gas mileage!

Since 2 of my kids are older their clothes take up more room. So what we do is 3 suitcases. Each adult ( labeling my oldest as an adult here) and 1 child share a suitcase. So 3 suitcases. Then each child has a backpack in the car with stuff to do.

All this really fills the van up but I can't make it with less than 3 suitcases for 6 people. And that's with doing laundry while we're down there.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We travel light. This past trip (9 days at Universal/ SeaWorld) we went the carry-on route to avoid luggage fees, but we had no problems fitting everything we needed into the carry-on bags, including an air mattress and pump and all our souvenirs.

A couple thoughts:
1) Make a list, make a list, make a list - If it is in front of you, you will be less likely to randomly throw things in. I start mine a week or so before the trip and adjust as the week goes on.

2) Think about what you really need. For example, we all bring 2 pairs of shoes: one pair of good sneakers and then Crocs/ flip-flops for the pool etc.. When traveling we wear the pair that takes up more room. No need for everyone to bring every pair of shoes they own. And do you really need more than one bathing suit per person? etc...

3) Don't bring things that are given to you. Ex. Don't pack towels because they are at the hotel. Are the ones I have at home nicer? Of course! Can I survive the week without them? Of course! The exception I make to this rule is shampoo. The stuff they give you would never work on DD and my hair.

4) Think about the season. It is harder to fit everything in the cooler weather because the clothes themselves take more room. Try to bring a sweater/ sweatshirt that will go with everything thus avoiding extra items. Likewise, when traveling in the heat when you will sweat A LOT, don't skimp on the undergarments/ t-shirts.

5) The biggest mistake I used to make was overpacking the kids clothes. You do not need to pack every cute outfit they own. Years from now, when you look back on your vacation, you won't care if they wore 18 different outfits!

6) Pack breakables and odd shaped items in your carry-on if don't fit well in your suitcase. I take a nice sturdy backpack with multiple pockets on the plane for just this purpose. I usually stick a smaller bag inside which I use to travel around the parks.

HTH

 

[micheleq]

I am planning on packing for carry ons only for our upcoming trip. We go first to CT for a wedding, so we need to get off that plane and get moving to make the afternoon wedding -- no time to waste at the luggage carosuel!

My girls are 3 & 5, so they can each wear a small backpack with stuffed animal/books/etc. for the plane. DH will have a garment bag for our clothes for the wedding, and then that will be sent back home to MI. I'll use the small rolling suitcase, my backpack as a personal item. We also have these great small duffles that are super light and I think I can pack the girls items in those.

Going down to Florida and then back home, I'll gladly check bags to ease up on what we need to carry, it's just that first leg I am worried about. I think we'll be able to pack light because I will do laundry half way thru the trip and in October we can wear layers and more lightweight clothes. If you are going next Nov/December, you'll need to prepare for different weather.

Good luck! There are several threads on packing light over on the Tips board as well.

 

[princessmom29]

We are a family of 3 and if we went in summer I think I could do it, but in November there is NO way. We need to take long pants sweaters, jackets, hats ect, and warm weather gear like shorts and capris. I cannot haul 2 stes of clothing including coats in one suitcase. We use one large rolling bag for the majority of mine and DH's stuff, a midsize rolling for DD, a lage duffel for overflow, and bring coats and most of DD's customs on a hanger (we drive) plus a box of breakfast stuff and a case of soda.

 

[Jeniferdwn]

we each have a bag/duffel bag of some sort and the kids have a "fun" bag that they take with books, crayons, DVDs and player, video games and whatever else. I usually have an extra backpack that stays with me in the truck for extra things we purchase while on vacation. I learned that the hard way once when i didn't have any way to get my souvenirs home!!! I had to give them to a coworker to take on the flight. Never got them all back either!