clothes

[lucy_love_]

hello

i just wanted a few opinions on how many clothes to take on a two week holiday. there are 4 of us 2 adults 2 children. i was thinking an outfit per day plus one or two extra each. we're staying in the akl. what are the laundry facilities like there? if they are good and it doesnt take too long i would consider taking less and washing half way thro. plus what kinda things are best for adults and kids? shorts, t-shirts, dresses etc

all opinions appreciated

love

lucy

 

[Disney owl]

/sorry but can only reply to half your question but i'm sure others will be able to help. We've only stayed in a villa which had full washing facilities so I def didn't take an outfit for every day. i also took my own persil tablets too!!!!!!
.
I took t-shirts & shorts for everyone though to be honest neither DD or I are dress wearers anymore. I did take a smarter selection of tops/ shirts for occasional wear on an evening. Though neither of my DS aged 17 & 12 wore a shirt the whole holiday, they just changed into a clean t-shirt.

5 of us went with 4 suitcases with a holdall packed into 1 of the cases. Coming home we then had a bag each.

my DD tends to feel the cold, the weather was red hot whilst we were there but she moaned in air-conditioned restaurants so I took a couple of thin long sleeved tops /jackets for her. The air-con never affected the boys. You know your own family, of course.

 

[UKDEB]

Lucy,

This is one reason we choose to stay in a villa. We pack <i>very</i> light and wash each day. We've stayed at AKL and, as at all Disney resorts, there is always a long wait for laundry facilities, no matter what time of day you go, it seems.

Bear in mind that you will probably buy some clothes out here. We normally go shopping on our second day and, human nature being what it is, tend to only want to wear our new stuff.

Unless you are going in winter, shorts and t-shirts is all you will need for the parks. We also pack some smarter clothes as we like to eat out at a few upscale restaurants and prefer to dress up a bit, but even that's not entirely necessary at most restaurants - Orlando is used to catering to theme park guests.

 

[lucy_love_]

thanks for your advice

lucy

 

[florry]

Hi lucy

We are at AKL before you and come back before you go so we will find out about washing for you

Florry X














Not long now

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

I have converted from shorts to little cotton skirts. They're cooler round your legs and they dry off after water rides much faster tan shorts - still that's only my opinion, whatever suits!!

 

[Dimplenose]

I've only stayed at ASSp so I don't know if this info will help you but I didn't have to wait for the laundry at all. I took enough clothes for 8 days and did a wash half way through (thinking about it I think I washed 2 times each stay!). The washers were huge and took about 20 minutes to do a wash. I'd then split the load between 2 or 3 driers and it would take about another half hour to dry.

I went before breakfast (the rest of the family were asleep) and would collect drinks (refillable mugs) from the food court and go back to the room. By the time I'd woken everyone I'd go back and put the wet stuff in the drier while we had breakfast.

We lived in T-shirts and shorts.

Libby

 

[lucy_love_]

thanks for your advise guys. and it would be great florry if you could tell me what the akl is like for laundry when you return. you could always pm me if this thread has disapeared down the line.

love

lucy

 

[Hilary]

Queen of Laundry here

I seem to spend half my vacation checking out the laundry facilities , but I'm afraid I haven't been to AKL so don't know that one. All the other WDW resorts I've used have had plenty of laundry facilities, usually located near the pool(s). I don't think I've ever had to wait long, if at all, and tend to tie it in with the rest of the family visiting the pool or when they're still asleep. It really doesn't seem a chore if you do it at times when you wouldn't necessarily be missing out on something more exciting.

I'm still trying to perfect the art of packing only enough to last from one trip to the laundry to the next! That said, Istill end up with some clothes unworn - we wear the same old favourites and wash them

 

[TinkTatoo]

Last year we took way too many clothes and some came home un-worn.

This year we are taking 4 days worth of clothes for 3 weeks We plan to use the hotel laundry and will buy some clothes while we are there (although not as many as previous years.

I don't know about the laundry facilities at AKL but doing a wash while on holiday is no big deal. Plus when you get home you don't have to spend the first couple of days back doing the washing

 

[vernon]

One of the ways to justify the cost of a trip to Fl is by the savings you can make on casual clothes there (particularly kids/teens). I rarely take more than 4 or 5 days worth of shirts/shorts as I tend to do a fair amount of shopping there.
The problem, IMHO with taking close on 20 outfits each is that you limit yourself on how much you can bring back :O . If possible I'd try to limit yourselves to a maximum of 8 outfits.

I've always found the laundry facilities at Disney hotels to be fine and not had to wait too long, if at all. Like Hilary I tend to do the laundry on a pool day, so it doesn't matter if I have to wait 30 minutes to get a machine.

 

[lucy_love_]

which are the best shops and cheapest and are they offsite? plus can you get cheaper disney things offsite and where abouts? is there anywhere close to disney?

love

lucy

 

[vernon]

There are any number of cheap gift shops along the 192 that do "Disney" gear, but it's generally lower quality merchandice. If you want the same stuff that Disney sells in it's parks and at DTD (but a lot cheaper) the best place IMHO is the 2 Disney shops in the Belz outlets on I Drive. Usually stuff gets moved to these shops if it's a little out of date (i.e. says Epcot 2003) , when Disney don't have every colour/style in every size or discontinued lines.

For fashion and shoes/trainers among your options are

1) Belz (on I drive) is pretty good. It is however a little spread out. They have a couple of smaller " walk through" malls with a number of shops in them, but without a car it is a little more difficult to get to all the shops in the area.

2) Lake Buena Vista Mall. Near Disney. A smaller mall but has a number of decent shops in it.

3) Premium Outlet mall. Just South of Sea World on I-Drive. Lots of choices here from better known names but generally a little more expensive than Belz or LBV. This does have the advantage of having a "central walk around area" although the walkway is all outside. It is an option for those without cars as it is possible to get a taxi to drop you off in the morning, spend all day shopping and pick up a cab to take you home.

4) Mall at the Millenium. This is the top of the range and while the gear is cheaper than you'll get in the UK the shops ( Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Tiffiny etc. It's worth going to just to wander round and eat at The Cheesecake Factory ( be careful not to over order here as the portions are huge and you want to leave room for one of the dozens of different cheesecakes they offer for dessert) http://www.mallatmillenia.com/


Here's a link that has information on some of the options I posted above
http://www.destinationorlando.com/shopping/orlando_shopping.html

 

[lucy_love_]

thanks vernon

lucy

 

[SidB]

Am I missing something here. I thought this was this was a holiday. You know, getting away from the chores of normal life. I wouldn't dream of doing the washing or cooking more than a pizza. Put your feet up and relax. When you run out of clothes, go buy some more.

 

[vernon]

Sid if you're a guy, that's all you ever do whether you're on holiday or not ROFLMAO

 

[maureen4200040]

Hi ya lucy,

My advice is to lessen the load and only take a few items. The best thing to do is to mix and match 3 or 4 outfits. As its usually quite hot in orlando, you can just wash and wear.

This will also leave you lots of space in your suitcase for the trip home. Go to all the Malls and stock up on new clothes/trainers/shoes etc.

Wilkinsons have travel wash at half price (49p) at the moment.

 

[lucy_love_]

i was also going to take and empty barrel bag in one of my suitcases to fit in things i buy while im there. has anyone else done this and was it advantagous? every child i know has bagsied a pair of mickey mouse ears.

love

lucy