Help me Save,with luggage

[disneychard]

Airlines prices are going up for bringing your luggage on the plane, we are a family of 3. When we go to wdw I always have 6 pieces of luggage and 3 carry ons. The airline I use they even charge for carry ons. I almost forgot this is for a week in the summer. What does eveyone make sure they pack?

 

[bear_mom]

We are a family of 4 and went to WDW for 9 days in December (so we needed a wide variety of chothes to account for the varying weather) and had 2 medium size suitcases and 2 carry on bags.

The only reason I had to do laundry on our trip was because it stayed pretty cold for the entire week and we wore our pants and long sleeve shirts more than I thought we would. I had only packed two long sleeve T's for dds to wear under short sleeve Ts and only two pairs of jeans for each of us. None of the shorts I packed never got worn, neither did our swim suits or sandles.

What are you bringing that you need two suitcases and one carry on per person?

Emily

 

[beccasmom]

For a summer visit, you don't need to cover all bases weather-wise. Unless you have a fancy ADR like Victoria & Albert's planned, you will be fine in regular summer clothes. You should bring a light jacket/sweater for all (maybe wear on the plane or tie around waist/shoulders while traveling). A pair of long, light-fiber pants are a good idea, but otherwise don't go overboard. You can plan to do a load of laundry while there --- that way, you can re-wear shirts and not have to over-pack. Pack a good pair of walking shoes and maybe some flip flops or sandals.

Keep toiletries to a minimum; the rooms have ample supplies and you can buy what you need there. You don't need to pack a blow dryer either. Count the number of trip days, lay out the clothes you are planning to take and really try to subtract and get the quantity to a manageable level so that you can bring at least one less bag. It just makes it much easier and less stressful (not to mention, less $$$!). Be ruthless --- if you need anything, tell yourself you can buy it there, but you'll probably be fine!

 

[lisaross]

Wow thats alot of luggage for 3 people..

i agree doing laundry 1x is not a bad option. u can do it while hanging by the pool - thats what i do!

I think u can probably pack 1 large suitcase and a medium.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Wow! For a week in summer?? You could pack one bag each, have your laundry done for you and still come out ahead considering many airlines charge $25 a bag.
For a weeks stay, DH and I have one big checked bag we share and the kids each have a carry on. I end up doing one load of laundry during that week. You can mix everything together in one load(unless it's new black jeans!) and I pack a couple of those Purex detergent/softener sheets. I'm an early bird so I do it first thing in the morning and sit outside and enjoy the quiet with my coffee.

 

[disneychard]

Since its summer, I always bring two outfits per day. Seems like I never know what to wear so I over load with different clothes. I think this year I should try to laid everything out on the bed and decide what we are going to wear each day.

 

[YukiPhnx]

There are also more efficient ways to pack your bag and save space. If you don't mind wrinkles or are wearing clothes that don't wrinkle much, the roll-up method (I find), is a great way to pack.

 

[disneywatcher]

We can get buy as a family of 5 on 2 bags and 2 carry ons. We make sure to only pack about 3-4 outfits for ourselves but 6-7 for our youngest (who is 2.5 and still get's quite messy) and some purex laundry sheets. We use duffel bags because we can fit more in there and often use the space saver bags you roll up for travel. In our carry ons, we have our swimsuits, an extra change of clothes (3 for the little one) and sleeping clothes in one bag while the other one contains things to do on the plane (books, DS's, MP3 players, coloring books, uno cards, crayons)

What airline charges for carry ons btw? That's just absurd!

 

[julieanddanny]

Leaving is two days and I've got 5 of us in one large suitcase, 2 carryons, 1 diaper bag & 1 backpack with computer. whew!
I packed all summer clothes - luckily the kids clothes are small! We've got 7-8 outfits each, pjs, only necessary toiletries and some baby items/diapers/snacks.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get by with only 1 suitcase but it seems to be a go!

 

[kahblue]

We get by with 3 suitcases: 1 large and 2 medium. We all bring a carryon. there are 4 of us and my one son has special needs. One suitcase id just filled with diapers and food for him. since that suitcase will be empty by the end of our trip, I buy a cheap $4-5 suitcase at Goodwill or a garage sale and then leave it in the room as a donation when we leave. Why pay for an empty suitcase on the way home?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We are a family of 4. When we fly, we bring 2 suitcases, 1 carryon with clothes and stuff, plus my DD has a backpack carryon with her fun stuff in it and my husband has his computer as carryon. My son doesn't bring a carryon.
We roll all clothes and limit shoes to only 2 pair a person plus what you are wearing on the plane. Usually 1 pair of flip flops, 1 pair of sandals and we wear our tennis shoes on the plane.

We also do laundry once during a 7 day trip.

We are planning a trip to Disneyland and my husband has said we will have free luggage since he got some credit card that gives each person 1 free bag so we may actually take 3 suitcases this trip so we have room for souveniers.

Since you have to pay for carryon's too, I would just do 1 carryon with one spare clothes outfit for each plus what you would need for that first night just in case and then 2 suitcases (3 at the most).

 

[marlaine8]

We are a family of 3 and take 1 big suitcase and 2 carry-ons.
1 carry-on holds 1 pr. jammies a piece, change of clothes for all, extra pair of underwear and small toiletries.
1 carry-on holds my DS's toys.
The suitcase holds all our clothes, extra pair of shoes a piece, extra jammies and swimsuits.
I iron all of our clothes before we go, but always re-iron everything before heading out in the morning. (It's a compulsion of mine.)
We don't take snacks with us-we have plenty in WDW!

 

[girli565]

I used this the last time I flew on Spirit and it was great! I fit 5 days worth of clothes and toiletries with room to spare for souvenirs. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/06/business/businessspecial/20100506-pack-ss.html

 

[MaleficentRN]

We get by with 3 suitcases: 1 large and 2 medium. We all bring a carryon. there are 4 of us and my one son has special needs. One suitcase id just filled with diapers and food for him. since that suitcase will be empty by the end of our trip, I buy a cheap $4-5 suitcase at Goodwill or a garage sale and then leave it in the room as a donation when we leave. Why pay for an empty suitcase on the way home?

If you aren't renting a car so you can stop at the store, is having stuff shipped from drugstore.com or delivered from gardengrocer.com an option for you?

 

[crisi]

You can also ship a box of stuff from home. Call first, a few resorts (I think the convention resorts) charge, but I don't think all of them do yet, and you can ship a fairly big box of t-shirts and shorts UPS ground for what you'd pay in baggage fees. Box it up and ship it home (I would think the front desk would be able to help).

 

[czycropper]

Wow that's alot!

We're a family of 4 with a tween & a teen and we've been able to make it with three bags and 3 carry-on, one of the carry ons is the camera/netbook bag and the other 2 are my DDs backpacks (the smaller Vera Bradley ones) that have a change of clothes, a bathing suit, ponchos & misc. electronics. I guess it does help that my DDs will only wear camis & shorts so they don't take much space

Usually I will either roll the clothes (as previously suggested) or put them in ziploc bags and let the air out. Granted that I really plan on what to wear so as to not over pack but I always end up over-packing for myself, mostly in the shoe department .

When we go down next week - I've managed to plan so that we only take 2 suitcases and two backpacks and that's with taking a nice dress for myself (it's our anniversary so we're going to Emeril's for dinner). One of the suitcases is for my DDs & me and the other is my DH but we usually put the toiletries in his suitcase.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

Think about what you ended up needing versus what you packed on your last trip to help you decide what you can leave behind.

My goal is generally a backpack per person plus one medium suitcase, there are 4 of us. I only pack 4 outfits per person and do laundry half way through (while the kids swim at the hotel pool, which they love).

I look at it as a challenge to see how little we can pack, less to carry and less to repack for the trip home.

 

[SandrA9810]

If you aren't renting a car so you can stop at the store, is having stuff shipped from drugstore.com or delivered from gardengrocer.com an option for you?

For a special needs child, I'd assume it's not regular food that you can buy at the grocery store. Often times they need drinks similar to Ensure to make sure they get all their nutrients, but higher or lower in calorie counts depending on their activities.

My brother is on a feeding tube and had a take one case of liquid food just for a three day trip to Disney, and diapers. It really does take up a lot space just for one person. Plus you have to worry about reaching your weight limit when flying.

 

[Taja]

Wow! You probably could get by with one good-sized checked bag (26") and one carry-on bag.

Wear one pair of walking shoes. They require too much space in your luggage to pack them.

Colour-coordinate your clothing and accessories to minimize the number of pieces you need for each person.

Carry-on: Complete change of clothing + extra set of undies for each person; nightwear for each person, swimsuit (if planning to swim), 1 pair lightweight sandals/flip-flops per person (can be used for swimming, around the resort and/or slippers) and any medications/contact lenses, glasses, etc. Look for toiletries in 1 oz or small containers (I usually purchase empty containers and fill them with my favourite products--my skin is very sensitive and even a week can wreak havoc with it!). Hairbrush/comb for each person. One curling iron or flat iron, if needed. Minimize jewelry--keep it plain and simple with one or two back-up items only. If you use a windbreaker type jacket, you probably can scrunch it inside the bag, as well, without adding bulk or weight.

Checked bag: 3 bottoms and 5 tops each, with 1 long-sleeved button-front shirt to use as a jacket or overshirt. Undies for 5 days (you're wearing one set and packed 2 in the carry-on) for each person. 1 pair of walking shoes per person (you're each wearing one pair). 6 pairs of socks (if wearing sneakers or similar shoes) per person. If necessary, one slightly dressier pair of slacks/capris and top per person (i.e., Signature Dining). Additional small-sized toiletries (deodorant, lotion, shaving supplies, etc.). Laundry detergent (enough for two loads--you can buy some at WDW, if necessary).

Plan to do laundry on Day 4. You should still have one clean set of clothing each at that point.

Probably forgot an item or two, but you get the idea. You don't need daily outfits that don't coordinate with one another and shoes/accessories to go with each. It's nice, but also can be expensive when flying these days!

We usually visit WDW in December, and as others have noted, have to be prepared for fairly extreme fluctuations in weather--by our standards! Eighty degrees is comfortable, but forty degrees is cold! *LOL*

It really is possible to visit WDW with reasonably minimal luggage!

 

[disneychard]

I might have to try to do laudry on vacation, I always say though I am on vacation and I don't want to do any. I do enough of that when I am home. But, to save money I might have to break down and do some.