Carry on or check in luggage?

[musclemouse]

Does anyone pack light to avoid checking luggage (fees) by carry-ons only?
I am doing a trial run with my carry on case. So far so good. Just want to avoid having to pay $100 for baggage fees.

 

[brennicksmom]

We did Carry-ons last year for a 1 week Feb trip. We would have had no problem at all except.... The only problem we had was that both of my sons wanted a Star Wars blaster-very plastic and fake looking- and three CMs at Star Tours gift shop said they were approved for carry on at TSA and they weren't. The check-out lady at POP told us to ship them home. We did. Then we asked a TSA agent if we could have had them in our carry on luggage and he said that we wold have had to throw them in the trash, or deal with worse consequences.

Now we know, and I believe we would do all carry ons again in the future if we fly.

 

[beccaisqueen]

We usually have both checked and carry-on as the kids like to have plenty of stuff to do on the plane.

 

[kansas_wazzu]

If you decide to carry-on only (I always do. Makes me a smart packer.), be sure that your bag meets the standard size for that airline. For example, a 22" roller bag will make it on with almost every airline, but be careful if you use the expansion zippers. Don't overstuff, because gate agents are watching closer than ever. You can be stopped just before the jetway if it is oversized and get charged the fee.

Also, remember to be prepared to keep all your liquids in 3 oz. or less and have all of them in a ziplock bag for security. Bring an extra ziplock bag too and put it in the front pocket of your rolling carry on, just in case you lose the original one. You (or someone else you give it to) in line at the TSA checkpoint might be thankful that you have an extra!

Best!

 

[Macgyver91]

We only take carry-ons, and just do a load or two of laundry about halfway through the trip. The little travel packs of laundry detergent are safe for the carry-ons. The kids carry backpacks that they can fill and keep with them as personal bags.

We did have a similar problem with the airport security when I tried to board with a 12 in. wooden bat, which was a personalized Christmas present for my son! The woman was VERY rude and told me that I could give it to someone at the airport or throw it away and that she didn't care either way! What a very nice (younger) security guy told me was that I could step out of the security area and mail it from the Disney store just down the hall. Crisis averted and the shipping wasn't that bad.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

A very good reason to use SWA if possible.

 

[elainesj]

we did carry ons only for a 4 day trip. We culd do it again for our next 10 day trip as I don't plan to bring much more in the way of clothes....but there is some stuff you can't pack in a carry on. we're going to do one checked bag simply so I don't have to worry so much about space and certain items.

e.g. we were going to buy a fork and spoon set for my baby niece but CM pointed out we couldn't bring that on carry on luggage (nice CM!)

also, we're going in January and I was to bring thick warm housecoats/bathrobes for the kids for swimming so we don't freeze to death going back to the room....and there's no way that would fit in carry ons.

It's very doable if you are light packers. Each kid&adult carried a small backpack/shoulder bag and one rolling carry on.

E

 

[beccasmom]

We just returned from WDW. All of my family used carry-ons, but I did check my bag. Since it was USAirways, I did have to pay a fee , but the bag was a bit larger than carry-on size and I was able to pack a few things for my crew that would not have made it through TSA or fit in their bags. I weighed it ahead of time and it was well under the 50 lb limit.

I'm a huge SWA fan, however, and we use them whenever possible. Their no baggage fee policy rocks!

 

[southie_chick]

A very good reason to use SWA if possible.

We always fly SWA to Disney. LOVE that you can take 2 bags EACH for free - I packed 2 "half bags" to check in, so I had plenty of room to take back the Dooney & other Disney goodies I got on this trip. And, I was using my Disney rewards points so the medium bag & clutch came to less than $10!
Cast member gave me a *GREAT tip* when using Disney reward dollars - if your total is over $50, "charge" it to your Disney credit card (which will deduct 10% off your total), then have them deduct the points off your "new" total - you'll only be charged the difference on your credit card. I had 224 points, & the 2 bags came to $244. Minus the 10% for "using" my Disney credit card ($24.40), it came to $219.60. Unfortunately, they had to add $14.28 in tax (there's no tax in NH!), so it came to $233.88. They then gave me credit for the 224 Disney rewards dollars, so the charge on my card was only $9.88!
Hubby has the SW credit card so we usually have 2 free tickets too, which is always nice.

 

[tinkangell]

If you roll your cloths you can fit a lot more in a carry on! I think you can do this!

 

[klacey1]

For me personally, I could never just do carry on for a trip longer than 2 or 3 nights. I like to have my own razors, hair sprays, etc. There's no way I could fit all the toiletries I'd need into a quart-sized bag.

 

[worker33]

I've become a big fan of the carry-on. Purchase a full size 22" and am packing light, but not seeming to miss anything. Carry-on, plus my back-pack and I'm good to go....same goes for the dw,ds,dd.
I realllly like not waiting for the luggage carousel.....and just getting vacation started!

 

[maxiesmom]

If you want to do carry-ons only, make sure you keep anything important or valuable (pins, reservation papers) in a bag that will fit underneath the seat in front of you. With many people trying to do carry-ons only, overhead bin space is at a premium. If you are not one of the first wave to board the plane there is no guarantee of getting bin space. Your bag may be gate checked, and you don't want anything valuable in your bag if it is going out of your sight.

Also, depending on what size plane you are on, your bag may not fit anyway. I usually fly with at least one connection, and more often than not the first plane is pretty small. And even my little undersized 19" rollerbag will not fit in the overhead bins of those planes.

 

[ZoZo]

If you want to do carry-ons only, make sure you keep anything important or valuable (pins, reservation papers) in a bag that will fit underneath the seat in front of you. With many people trying to do carry-ons only, overhead bin space is at a premium. If you are not one of the first wave to board the plane there is no guarantee of getting bin space. Your bag may be gate checked, and you don't want anything valuable in your bag if it is going out of your sight.

Also, depending on what size plane you are on, your bag may not fit anyway. I usually fly with at least one connection, and more often than not the first plane is pretty small. And even my little undersized 19" rollerbag will not fit in the overhead bins of those planes.

This is excellent advice - so many people are trying to avoia paying baggage fees that the overhead bins fill up very quickly. I once had to gate-check my carry-on, and had to open it up and dig out some things that I needed in-flight (plus a breakable glass hummingbird feeder I had bought on my trip!). I had to open up my suitcase and dig stuff out - how embarrassing! So don't absolutely count on being able take your carry-on with you - you never know!

 

[spencerbomar]

That works.

If you do have items purchased that are large, have them shipped. Plan ahead for this by finding the UPS store close to Disney and you should be fine.
One on International drive.

 

[prncess674]

Your youngest is pretty young. Here are a few questions to ponder.

• Will you be able to handle 4 rolling bags, 4 backpacks and 2 kids between 2 adults while transiting 1 (or several) airports that you may not be familiar with?
• Is your 4 yr old mature enough to be able to navigate an airport while potentially dragging a 30lb rolling bag? If no, will you be comfortable having him walking long distances without holding an adult's hand since the adults will be occupied toting all those bags?
• Will all your liquids/gels (hairspray, shampoo, cosmetics, sunscreen) all be in containers smaller than 3.4oz/100ml and fit in a quart size ziploc baggie?
• Will someone in your party be able to safely lift the 30lb+ bags unassisted into the overhead compartment? (flight attendants are not required to help)
• Will you also be traveling with a stroller/carseats/booster seats that will need to be gate checked and thus toted to the gate?
• Do you currently own 4 regulation size carryons or will you need to purchase them?

 

[Ericandjenng]

We've done it both ways. Our last trip we decided to use only carry-ons to avoid the fees. We were traveling with an 11 yr old (neighbor's dd), our ds (6) and our 4 1/2 month dd. So not only did we have our luggage but all the baby stuff too. You need to think about how awkward it is to get on and off the plane with your stuff. Between us we had 4 carry-ons, 3 backpacks, a diaper bag, stroller and a shopping bag on the way back. Not much fun trying to get all that on there and carry a baby at the same time!

We're flying again in about a month for 4 nights. I think the plan will be to check one bag and do carry-ons for the rest. I will have to check the weight before leaving the house for the checked bag. But, the bag is quite large and I won't expand it until we come back with the extras...I keep saying I don't need to buy anything else but that never works...

 

[hamm1207]

We always use carry on when traveling. Very rarely do we check luggage, and it's only if it's a must and we have a direct flight. Over the past five years I've learned how to pack 10 days worth of clothes in a carry on suitcase. Right now, it's just my husband and I, so I'm not sure what we'll do when we have kids, but I'm guessing that they will get there own carry on suitcases.

 

[njmom47]

When I flew to Florida in March this past year, I had one small suitcase and a carry-all that I carried on. The flight was booked to capacity and they ended up asking if people would check their bag for no fee (which I did). But I found it rude of people to try and fit what they thought were "carry ons" in the overhead bin when truly they weren't. The airlines may have become more strict, but I haven't flown since then.

 

[Macgyver91]

If you buy something while at Disney, you can ship it from the Disney store at MCO. Unfortunately I had an issue a couple of years ago with a 12in mini bat and security at MCO, so unless it has changed their shipping wasn't bad. You may also be able to ship things from the resorts.