Driving to WDW? Pros/Cons: Luggage or Boxes?

[LSUmom4kids]

We are driving a rental minivan to WDW and staying 8 nights. Assuming we will use the bellman to bring our "belongings" up to our room on a cart, what are the pros and cons to packing our clothes/stuff in Luggage vs. boxes with handles?

From previous driving trips, I know packing in boxes is a lot easier for us. The boxes stack nicely in the back of the van. I'll admit the boxes were for our trips to the beach where we are carrying and unpacking our own stuff.

BUT in WDW, would we have a problem storing the boxes in our hotel room? Would we look strange using boxes?

Empty luggage may fit inside each other and then store better under the bed.

I'm curious to hear what other people use to pack: luggage with wheels, boxes, duffel bags, etc.

 

[GIOny]

I believe if you stay at WDW you will only have a bellman if you are staying at a Deluxe resort. At Moderate and Value resorts you bring in your own luggage (at least we did when we went to CBR and All Star). But you could have a bit of a hike depending where you are staying . I use luggage on wheels and duffle bags and my son even has a duffle bag with wheels . My luggage also has locks on it, which is why I would feel uncomfortable using boxes. I know most rooms have a safe but if you want to put larger things under lock and key you would need luggage. You would probably need too many boxes and it would cost you a fortune in tips . How are you going to get the tops to stay on the boxes? Will you have to tape them?? Also if you are staying overnight before you arrive in Disney, you may want to pack just 1 or 2 days worth of clothes in a small duffle bag so you don't have to bring all your luggage up to a room for 1 night. One more thought, what if your room isn't ready yet and you have to store you "luggage"? Do you want all those boxes to go in storage??

 

[mjmcca]

I believe if you stay at WDW you will only have a bellman if you are staying at a Deluxe resort. At Moderate and Value resorts you bring in your own luggage. But you could have a bit of a hike depending where you are staying . I use luggage on wheels and duffle bags and my son even has a duffle bag with wheels . My luggage also has locks on it, which is why I would feel uncomfortable using boxes. I know most rooms have a safe but if you want to put larger things under lock and key you would need luggage. You would probably need too many boxes and it would cost you a fortune in tips . How are you going to get the tops to stay on the boxes? Will you have to tape them?? Also if you are staying overnight before you arrive in Disney, you may want to pack just 1 or 2 days worth of clothes in a small duffle bag so you don't have to bring all your luggage up to a room for 1 night. One more thought, what if your room isn't ready yet and you have to store you "luggage"? Do you want all those boxes to go in storage??

They have bell services at the moderate resorts and luggage assistance a the value resorts. There is no one to help you with luggage at the value resorts after 9 pm however.

 

[LSUmom4kids]

Perhaps I should have included more facts. We will be staying at the Swan hotel and we should be arriving somewhere around 11 p.m. or later. They BETTER have a room ready for us!

However, I'm unclear as to whether they will have a bellman at that late hour. I will call the hotel to find out.

(But even if they don't, my husband used to be a bellman at several upscale hotels before he went to college - a bellman was always on duty!! So we may be able to eliminate the tip all together and just have DH bring our "stuff" up to our room!! We'll just need to find a luggage cart first!)

 

[dis-happy]

Haven't stayed at the Swan, but at BC and BW and WL the bellhops guard the luggage carts---they aren't availabe for the general public to use.

I like rolling suitcases since the kids can help roll them to the room pretty easily. We do DVC stays and always have some bulky bags of groceries and supplies in a box---unless we use bell services to unload everything for us (especially at BW where the parking is far away) we use our stroller to help get everything to the room.

 

[LSUDis]

We've used a Rubbermaid tub w/ a lid in the past for chargers, fanny packs, med. kits, waistpacks, shampoo, etc., but it was bulky.

This year, we are going to use a suitcase that we don't need to pack this stuff in. The suitcase has rollers, so we are hoping that it will be easier than carrying that tote-tub.

 

[stahshee]

we are also driving with 7 people I am trying to figure out how i should pack.

 

[dzneelvr]

We drove from Illinois once and used a combination of luggage with wheels and laundry baskets. I watched sales on good quality laundry baskets (heavy plastic, not wicker) and got some for 1.99. Not only are they good for stacking and using maximum space, but you can use them for a variety of purposes both on the trip and then at home. They stack on the luggage racks better than luggage because the bottom of one fits right on top of the other. Get some funky colors and have fun with it

 

[stacy6552]

When we drive, we take our stuff in those big rubbermaid-like tubs with lids.

 

[bctripp]

I've never thought about using rubbermaids.... I wish I had! We're staying in a timeshare this year and will be unloading our own stuff so maybe i'll try it. We have a Yukon so we're not short on space. We normally carry a large black suitcase. We stayed at the Swan... but we arrived at 8:00 AM so I can't help you on that one. The procedure at the Swan seemed the same as at the GF to me. They got our stuff and took it to the room. Storing the boxes may not be a problem, after you unpack some / all your stuff, you might be able to stack them in the closet. I like duffel bags, but your stuff gets wrinkled in them... they do hold a lot though! Happy planning!

 

[bobcat]

We usually drive and have found that duffle bags work the best in the car. They can smoosh into places where totes can't. I have an extended wheelbase minivan that adds room to the rear area, however there is a lot of space that is wasted when you put totes in the back. The rear seats lean back at an angle and there is room down there that would be lost with totes. Duffle bags fill in the spaces.

Depending on how many people you have in the van we have found that removing one of the middle seats works great. We can put our cooler in it's place and it really opens up the back seat so you don't feel so comfined.

 

[crossfamily]

We are driving from MI in Aug. and I am using totes! We use them where ever we go. They stack up much better in the van and you can stack them in one another to save space in the hotel rooms. With 3 kids you can get a lot in those totes. I can't live without them.

 

[Jacksmom99]

We usually drive and have found that duffle bags work the best in the car. They can smoosh into places where totes can't. I have an extended wheelbase minivan that adds room to the rear area, however there is a lot of space that is wasted when you put totes in the back. The rear seats lean back at an angle and there is room down there that would be lost with totes. Duffle bags fill in the spaces.

Depending on how many people you have in the van we have found that removing one of the middle seats works great. We can put our cooler in it's place and it really opens up the back seat so you don't feel so comfined.

We use duffle bags too! They work perfectly in the minivan space and won't take up much room at the resort.

 

[TENIA66]

We Pack In Duffle Bags With Wheels

 

[moniot]

We use a combination of totes and duffle bags. It is all a matter of space for traveling. We have used a bellhop many times with the totes and sometimes our room hasn't been ready and they store them right along with the bags. I love having an emptied one in the bathroom for laundry. One for snacks etc. in the room. They also stack nice and we store the empty duffle bags inside.

I don't believe you would have problems with what ever you choose. Go with what works for you. Heck I remember one year having a couple of wal-mart bags hanging on the luggage cart along with our totes, duffles, backpacks, cases of water and soda, and a soft sided cooler from Sam's. What did I care....I was at Disney