Family of 4...how many suitcases?

[Sandy Feet]

Haven't been to Disney yet, but returning home from visiting my Mom last year we had TEN suitcases and 5 carry-ons!
We're a family of 5 who did a lot of shopping. Our suitcases contained everything from school supplies, skateboard and even a 4ft high toy giraffe! You should've seen the guys face at the rental car agency when we pulled in with our mini-van. Packing with my Mom is something else! She kept bringing me more and more stuff she'd been saving for us. LOL
Hopefully having a washer/dryer means we can pack the BARE MINIMUM on our Disney trip. How does 3 shorts and t-shirts per person sound? Kidding.....sort of.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Originally posted by Sandy Feet
How does 3 shorts and t-shirts per person sound? Kidding.....sort of.

I think I'll be sending a package to the room with a few extra clothes but bring just 2 shorts & t's for the adults 3 for the kids. Since we're going in November we will also need pants & sweatshirts. I'm hoping to go very light this trip!

 

[marcyinPA]

Well, we'll muddle through with the luggage. I scrapped one carry on. I just can't do laundry while on vacation. That is why I am on vacation in the first place, to get away from it all, including laundry!

 

[bigbabyblues]

For my family of 4, it's two plus one carryon. We travel fairly light, and if you saw the way my DH packs a suitcase, you'd understand why we don't need much space. The man packed for a 12-day business trip in South Korea in ONE suitcase that was about 12 inches by 18 inches and about 6 inches deep. The thing was tiny, and he had EVERYTHING in there!

DH and I share one suitcase (a bigger one) and our two ds' will share, but they are 3 and 11 months right now, so they don't require a lot of room.

We don't take food with us though, so that may make our numbers smaller.

Good luck!

Steph

 

[Jasminesmommy]

we had 3 large suitcases checked there is 4 of us 6 days. And we each had a big duffel bag carryon. I always bring enough for 2 days in the carryon incase my suitcases get lost. I have had this happen to me twice.

 

[etwinchester]

How many bags can you normally bring for flying?

I've never flown before and am curious.

Can you each have a carryon and what sizes?

If my daughter brings a backpack for toys, can she also bring another carryon or is the backpack concidered her carryon item?

When we decide to fly, we will be using the Philadelphia, PA airport. I did post a seperate thread asking people what services they used to book flights. Did they use orbitz, AAA, etc?

I'd be booking a flight (roundtrip, non-stop) and a rental car.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I take one 32inch pullman. For twin Ds's 3. Myself and ds aged 9. I pack for half of the 8 day trip and do laundry. ( I am DVC and have a washer in my villa so that makes it easier.
So my answer would be 1- 32, in pullman.
1 large duffle with extras pool stuff. medicines, dryer sheets.
(at Christmas time it also held some lights and ornanments)
I carry on my cam corder bag and put my digital in with that.
DS 9 has his back pack with gameboy etc...as his carryon.
DD 17 carrys her own small duffle clothes and junk...

 

[DizneeCM]

We are also a family of four. We take one large suitcase (26", I think), a valet bag, and one smaller suitcase. Each of the kids carries a backpack, my DH carries a laptop, and I carry a backpack sized bag.

 

[jme829]

We have 2 A 3 C and I have one large case packed for all 5 of us for 7 days. I am also taking (packed in same suitcase ) an empty duffle bag for souvenirs/extras to be brought home. We are only taking 3 carryon as well so if necessary we can have 2 more carryons on the way home. However we also have 2 carseats, 2 strollers so the less we have to lug the better..I am only taking enough pullups (maybe 2) for my son for the plane down (its only a 2 1/2 hr flight for us) then I will buy more at walmart when we get down there. that alone can take up half a suitcase!!! and I am putting all toiletries and suncreen in hubbys carryon and all "toys" and food (we are packing lunchables since we will be in the air at lunchtime) in mine then a few books and etc in my oldest daughters carryon...I usually go way overboard..I have been known to pack 2 suitcases for an overnighter so this is going to be interesting for us to see how it works. For the kids I have packed enough that I don't plan on having to do laundry but if I need to I will (as long as I don't have to do dishes on vacation I can handle laundry lol) also for my younger daughter I packed her only sundresses (they take up less room and aremore comfy for her!),,Utilize the outer pocket on your suitcases too..I have one stuffed with our swimsuits and one stuffed with our swim shoes (flip flops, etc) thats what they are there for!!!

 

[cboudre1]

The first time I went I took 4 suitcases, and 3 large carryons for 1 adult and 1 child. Now I take 2 carryon sized suitcases, that I check, a tote bag and my son takes a bookbag. I remember trying to make a connection with a small child and 3 large carryons. To make it worse we didn't use half the stuff I brough and I still had to do laundry to dry sneakers and jackets that got soaked.

 

[HappyLawyer]

we are going for 11 or 12 days and i am saying 4 long duffle bags with the wheels for 3 of us and i plan to do laundry while there and on the ship

 

[HenDuck]

I plan our luggage based upon how many "helping hands" we'll have on the trip, and not based upon how many people are going or how long we're staying. For us, though, we almost always do laundry mid-way through the trip.

This last trip to DL, for myself, DH and DS (3 1/2), we brought two 26" suitcases, packed a folding duffle, and brought one 21" rolling suitcase as a carry-on. My DH and I also both carried backpacks. We brought the stroller, so it was helpful to schlep all the handcarry stuff through the airport.

For us though, until DS can actually help with a larger suitcase, we'll be sticking with just the two large ones.

I try to figure out how we will make it through the airport with all the bags and the little guy. If we can't manuever it, something has to stay home.

So, if your kids can be responsible for their own suitcases, I don't see why you can't have one 26" suitcase for each of you, especially since you're not planning on doing laundry.

One suitcase and one carry-on bag per person is ideal, if each person can handle their own luggage.

Hope that helps (or makes sense)!

 

[SKFamily]

For 4 of us, here's what I'm planning:

2 pull suitcases (26"?) , one duffel bag or small suitcase (empty or with granola bars etc on the way down) and two or three back packs as carry-ons. A friend told me to bring the one small, almost empty case for bringing back extras. Plus we will have two belly bags - I'm hoping to not take my purse at all. So that's 3 suitcases and 3 backpacks for 4 of us. And an umbrella stroller which will be in use until we are on the plane.

Hopefully dh/ds can manage it all plus a 3 year old. We have "meet and assist with a wheelchair" arranged at the airports for me and my problems with independant mobility over long periods of time - I'm hoping beyond hope that will take some of the stress off of dh! I'm really going to try not to overpack since he has to worry about physically managing it all in the airports.

 

[jme829]

HenDuck, try curb-checking your luggage. Just look for the counter at your terminal right at the drop off curb..You can check anything you need to before you even enter the building..We have 3 kids (3,5 11) so that helps immensely...Then we can just wear our backpacks (carryon) and put the kids in the strollers and then gate check the strollers...We also rent our car from Budget. Other than the fact that we get free car rental (frequent flyer perks) they have a terminal right at the airport so we only have to lug evertything a short distance.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm with HenDuck; if you can't get it through the airport by yourself, you are hauling too much. I know that you CAN check it curbside, and we do, but I don't feel it's a good idea to get into the habit of relying on that.

We travel abroad often and depend on public transportation to get to/from the airport, so we also are firm adherants to the "how many hands can carry?" rule. It is a good one, IMO.

 

[mbb]

and a backpack with the Gamecube and etc, snacks for the plane, and a book/magazine for each of the four of us...
And fannypacks for DH and I.

That's it. We buy T-shirts/sweatshirts for souvies. I bring two duffle/hockey bags that I found at WalMart for $6, they fold flat and go in the front zippered pouch of the carryon, and coming home, they get checked.

Agree with BeattyFamily...DVC spoils you with that washer/dryer!!

 

[etwinchester]

Could someone tell me what they do with their toiletry bag?

Do you pack it in a bag, carry it on, or check it? I was just wondering since I didn't know if it would fit into your clothing bag...

 

[mbb]

and we put all the "electronics" in one carry-on GameCube, VideoCamera, camera...

That way, it's only one bag to open going through security...and yep, they opened and swabbed every time

 

[frannn]

and share one large carryon. We also bring a diaper bag and a camera bag on the plane. This was for the 3 of us (DH, DD1, and I). Now we are bringing DD11, so we will have 3-4 large pullmans and probably 2 carryons. I am going to try to pack lighter for this Sept trip. Since it will be hotter than our March and Oct trips, I will only bring one pair of jeans and one sweatshirt (for the plane ride back to NY). I will pack extra clothes for the kids, but will try to bring a lot of lightweight clothing that doesn't take up much space/weight in the luggage. Spacebags and ziplocs are great for organizing and fitting a lot in each suitcase. Just be careful with the weight- it is easy to reach 50 lbs and still have room when you use the spacebags. Also, the extras take up a lot of space (Brita bottles, stroller shade, stroller cover, bottles, dsiposable bibs & swim diapers, cooler, etc). I'm trying to get DD1 used to drinking from a cup. She doesn't do well with sippy cups, but is doing great with the plastic cup that has the straw coming out of the lid.