Carry on only?

[DisneyWishes14]

Yes, always!!! After United lost our luggage when flying to Mexico a few years ago, we only pack carry-ons and do laundry as-needed. Typically, I count how many outfits we would need for our length of stay and divide by 2 (or 3 if it's a long trip). I will say it is easier when the weather is hotter because t-shirts, sundresses, shorts, etc. obviously are less bulky. In your case, perhaps consider packing 3 pairs of pants/leggings (wearing pair #4 on the plane), pack enough underwear, socks and t-shirts for the trip, wear a sweatshirt/jacket and then pack one more long sleeved layer? Then you could probably get away with doing laundry once (the laundry facilities at WDW are very nice!). Also, I put a packable/foldable bag (that can go under an airline seat) in my carry-on in case we buy things on the trip. This bag then becomes my DS's "personal" item on the way home. Liquids are fairly easy. Just make sure everything is 3.4 oz. or less and put them in a quart size ziplock (I put this in my purse so it's easy to pull out and put in the security bins in the airport). I LOVE only traveling with carry-ons.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

For a trip of five nights or less, yes, we always just take on carryon an done backpack each. My laptop backpack holds a ton of stuff. But we aren't really fussy when it comes to footware -- we both wear a pair of sneakers and bring a pair of shoes...my ex would have taken a suitcase full of shoes for 5 nights.

Tom

 

[Marleaubugatti]

Yeah i live in sneakers and most of what i like will be comfortable enough to be in the parks all day.

 

[Harambe]

We go for ten days and I've never checked a bag yet. We each have a carryon and small backpack or bag. We do laundry there so don't bring a lot of clothes, especially t-shirts, as we start buying Disney t-shirts the first day we are there - LOL! I can't wear brand new things without washing them, so I'm doing laundry right away at WDW!

And we ALWAYS do our Disney souvenir shopping all at once at Mousegears, and have them ship it to our home! So we don't need to worry about that.

 

[Marleaubugatti]

We go for ten days and I've never checked a bag yet. We each have a carryon and small backpack or bag. We do laundry there so don't bring a lot of clothes, especially t-shirts, as we start buying Disney t-shirts the first day we are there - LOL! I can't wear brand new things without washing them, so I'm doing laundry right away at WDW!

And we ALWAYS do our Disney souvenir shopping all at once at Mousegears, and have them ship it to our home! So we don't need to worry about that.

I typically re-wear leggings anyways because I'm used to them and I know they're comfortable lol. The only clothing I may buy there is a hoodie because I'm always always cold lol and i don't mind doing laundry once

 

[Harambe]

The only clothing I may buy there is a hoodie because I'm always always cold lol and i don't mind doing laundry once

Oh - I just mentioned this on another thread, but if you are going in Jan, pick up a couple of pairs of those little stretchy gloves that you can buy for $1 and throw them in your backpack for the parks. Especially if you tend to get cold, those little gloves are great for night time at the parks, during the parades, etc.

 

[Marleaubugatti]

Oh - I just mentioned this on another thread, but if you are going in Jan, pick up a couple of pairs of those little stretchy gloves that you can buy for $1 and throw them in your backpack for the parks. Especially if you tend to get cold, those little gloves are great for night time at the parks, during the parades, etc.

will do

 

[kj2mom]

Yes, I have done carry on only. I watched some videos online for folding techniques and I really think that helped!!

 

[Farro]

I couldn't do it. We go for 9 nights, weather can be hot during day and cool at night. I just have too much to bring for a carry on. Shoes, hair product, miscellaneous. I need my luggage, and I love ours! We just bought new luggage.
Also, I don't really like traveling that way. I have to confess I make an inward groan when I see the people walking up with each member of their family having a carry on that needs to be stowed. Takes so long to get going and to get off the plane. But I realize that's my problem and not theirs, hence the inward groan. We check our bags, and go on the plane with a small backpack or something. We take up no space!

 

[need2travel]

It's the darn liquid restrictions. We pack our carry-ons to the gills & get pretty much everything we need in them but I need my shampoo, hairspray, etc. How does everyone get around the 3 oz restrictions? That's pretty much the only reason we check a bag (that & DH's golf shoes.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

It's the darn liquid restrictions. We pack our carry-ons to the gills & get pretty much everything we need in them but I need my shampoo, hairspray, etc. How does everyone get around the 3 oz restrictions? That's pretty much the only reason we check a bag (that & DH's golf shoes.

As I said this is my only problem as well.
This is why I only can do carry on if its like a 3 day trip!
I only take my essentials too! shampoo, conditioner, i like body wash but will take a bar soap if need be, deodorant (WDW is not the place to see if a different type of deodorant will work for you lol), vapor rub for my feet, a sample perfume, toothpaste, and of course sunscreen. Its very difficult to get those few things to fit in the baggie well and I'd prefer to take a few more liquid items but have found I can live without them if iI need to.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

It's the darn liquid restrictions. We pack our carry-ons to the gills & get pretty much everything we need in them but I need my shampoo, hairspray, etc. How does everyone get around the 3 oz restrictions? That's pretty much the only reason we check a bag (that & DH's golf shoes.

We are usually 3-5 people travelling so we have that many bags. I am the only one who wears makeup so that is easy. The girls share a deodorant. We get a few travel size shampoos and conditioners and I save the travel size toothpaste that we all get at the dentist. If we need something full size we just purchase it at our destination. It's worked for many years for us. I won't pay to check my bag.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I've only done carryon if it's a 2 night stay and the bag is usually heavier than I like for lifting into the storage bin on the plane. Anything longer and I'll check a bag. I just don't like doing laundry on vacation if I can avoid it.

 

[Micca]

We do carry-on only, but we have two advantages 1) We're DVC members so there are laundry facilities right there in the room. 2) Owner's Locker, no need to schlep stuff back & forth.

 

[Disney fan from Wisconsin]

We do carry-on only. We do laundry once or twice (if a 10 day trip). I don't want to pay for baggage. We also wear a jacket if we need to bring it and each carry a backpack as well. One time we checked a bag because it was a christmas trip and we had christmas ears, necklaces and decor for our room to bring. It was a hassle. I wouldn't bother doing it again.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've found that packing cubes really help me.

I packed a carry on only in April for a 10 day trip to Maryland, a carry on only in July for a 9 day trip to Maryland and a carry on only August for a 8 day trip to Maryland.

The packing cubes (small, medium and large from Sharper Image was bought from Marshalls) really helped me organize and condense my clothing down.

I did do plenty of walking in all those trips and didn't do laundry (other than my socks and underwear which don't take up much room in my bag) but WDW I'd expect to need extra clothing due to the weather and being in the parks day after day all day long basically. That alone may make me lean towards checking a small bag depending on how thick my clothes end up being (like if I'm dressing in layers for example).

Along with a carry on I had a personal item that was a just a bit smaller than my carry on. While none of my clothes were in my personal item (other than a jacket for the airplane) I would pack things like toiletries, extra shoes, kindle, headphones and charging cables. In general my personal item is packed full to maximize it. If I were going to WDW I would just make sure either there was enough room for some souvenirs (even if you don't usually buy a lot) or ensure that I still had allowances to bring a bag should I want to (i.e. make sure that you don't have BOTH people with a carry on AND a personal item on the way down if you want to make use of someone taking a bag on the way back).

I also always wear my tennis shoes in the airport as they take up the most room in a bag.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I did carry-on only for a 5-day trip to Disneyland and it was easy. I've done it for WDW trips back before I moved here, too.

I don't wear makeup, I use bar soap and shampoo (yes, bar shampoo!) and stick sunscreen, and my deodorant is a powder. Toothpaste and mouthwash are generally my only 'liquids.' I'm pretty low-maintenance. Throw in a toothbrush and hairbrush and I'm good to go.

A combination of packing cubes and good tight rolling get plenty of clothes into my suitcase. I didn't take a spare pair of shoes to DLR, but I usually did manage to cram a pair in for WDW in case of rain-soaking. A jacket or hoodie tied around the waist comes in handy for the plane as well as for cool nights at any destination. (DLR in April was COLD and WINDY at night!) The only time I did laundry on a WDW vacation was the time I was here for 12 days.

I always used a school-sized backpack as a personal item and crammed my purse inside it, along with a small selection of electronics (phone, Kindle, spare battery pack, headphones, all relevant chargers - no laptop or tablet).

 

[Disfan5]

We always do this...five in my fam and we each have our own carry-on. If someone needs a little extra room they just "borrow" space in someone else's! It's also nice because then everyone is responsible for pulling around their own luggage

 

[bookgirl]

I've done carry on only to Disneyland but at WDW it's the lure of MDE. I don't rent a car when I go solo and checking a bag that I don't have to mess with again till I get it delivered to my room is to good to pass up.


I am a fan of the packing cubes. I resisted but I bought one set and now I not only own three sets but I bought them for my parents as well.

I used them to do the carryon only trip (5days) to Disneyland and I just did 10 days in Europe with no laundry facilities and those cubes were the best travel accessory I ever bought.

 

[AngiTN]

It's the darn liquid restrictions. We pack our carry-ons to the gills & get pretty much everything we need in them but I need my shampoo, hairspray, etc. How does everyone get around the 3 oz restrictions? That's pretty much the only reason we check a bag (that & DH's golf shoes.

It's not hard at all.
We all use solid deodorant so it doesn't count
Toothpaste, sunscreen for DH, foundation for me. DH uses the shampoo there, I have no problem with fitting the bottle I use in the bag. No other hair products. I use samples for my moisturizer. I use solid coconut oil for my makeup remover so it doesn't count.

Though I will add, we prefer NOT to use carry on only. The only time we do is when we are getting back home late, there is a flight we take that lands at nearly 1 AM, and we don't want to have to wait on bags to arrive at bag check. We don't have to pay for bags on any airline we use so that isn't an issue. I'm looking forward to our trip next month, we get home at like 8:00 pm so we will be checking out bags. So much easier.