Help me with my packing!

[mastermind307]

So we haven't flown in awhile and it will be DD9 first time flying (she's super excited). I was wondering how everybody packs when they fly. We usually drive and I don't have to worry about how many bags, or what's in them. We are flying Southwest so we get 2 free checked bags each, however, I don't really want to have that many bags. Plus we'll each have a carry on.

I plan to pack things we'll need the first night in my carry on (change of clothes, PJs, and some toiletries). DD will pack a backpack with some stuff for her to do on the plane including her iPad, and DH will take his computer so he'll have the computer backpack.

I'm struggling on how to pack everything else. I would like to pack a suitcase with some food in it and let DD pack a few toys as well. I was going to do a garden grocer order, but we don't need that much stuff and when I found out I can buy a case of bottled water (a must for us because we drink A LOT of water) at the resort store I decided to just pack a few items and bring them with us.

I was thinking one suitcase for the food and then one suitcase for each of us for our clothes. A lot of the extra stuff we'll take I can just put in the suitcases with our clothes, but I'm not sure how to pack the rest of our toiletries we'll take with us. When we drive, I just pack them in a bag, but not sure if that would work with flying. Some of the stuff will be in normal size bottles, so won't work to put in the carry on. Should I pack a separate bag or try to put them in with our clothes (worried about them leaking on the clothes)? Or with the food?

We will be taking ME and I called and got more yellow tags so we will have enough tags, so no worries there.

Any frequent flyers have any suggestions? Thanks so much!!!

 

[pooch]

Pack everything you need then leave half of it home!! I can pack for DH and me for a week in 1 26" duffle bag and 1 carry on with room for souvenirs to bring home. 3 people shouldn't need more than 2 bags. Also mix clothes between the bags as opposed to each in a separate bag. This way if 1 bag gets misdirected, everyone has clothes.

As for food, yeah I brought a suitcase full of snacks & breakfast stuff once. Family looked at me like I was nuts. Why would we want granola bars from home when there's mickeys waffles and Mickey rice crispy treats and Mickey bars. Left it all for mouse keeping!

Your daughter will be busy & tired. Won't need or have time to play with many toys from home

Double ziplock bag your toiletries and throw them in your checked bag. Won't leak. Also really look at what toiletries you need. Resort supplies shampoo/conditioner/lotion/soap. IMHO it is perfectly fine stuff and I never lug any from home. They will replenish every day as needed.

As you can tell, I try to travel light!!!

 

[mastermind307]

Pack everything you need then leave half of it home!! I can pack for DH and me for a week in 1 26" duffle bag and 1 carry on. 3 people shouldn't take more than 2 bags. Also mix clothes between the bags as opposed to each in a separate bag. This way if 1 bag gets misdirected, everyone has clothes.

As for food, yeah I brought a suitcase full of snacks & breakfast stuff once. Family looked at me like I was nuts. Why would we want granola bars from home when there's mickeys waffles and Mickey rice crispy treats and Mickey bars. Left it all for mouse keeping!

Your daughter will be busy & tired. Won't need or have time to play with many toys from home

Double ziplock bag your toiletries and throw them in your checked bag. Won't leak. Also really look at what toiletries you need. Resort supplies shampoo/conditioner/lotion/soap. IMHO it is perfectly fine stuff and I never lug any from home. They will replenish every day as needed.

As you can tell,I try to travel light!!!

I know, I always pack too much and this time I'm really trying not to. That's a good idea to mix clothes between bags in case one gets lost. Not sure I can get DH on board for that though. He likes to have his own bag so he knows where all his stuff is.

I only plan to bring some cereal for breakfast a couple mornings and some snacks. DD is always hungry and while we will get Disney snacks some, it will be more cost effective and convenient to just take a few things with us. I guess we could buy some stuff at the resort store like we'll do the water.

I know DD will be tired, that's one reason I like the Disney vacations, she's wore out and I don't hear "will you play with me" all day. But she'll want to bring a few things, mainly some of her beanie boos to sleep with.

DH is fine with using hotel soap and shampoo, but I prefer my own. I know the regular hotel rooms will replenish that stuff, but I'm not sure about the villas. I know we won't get mousekeeping except for towel and trash service on day 4. The ziplock bag is a good idea to keep them from spilling on our clothes.

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. Not sure if we could get down to 2 bags, but maybe we could get by with just 3.

 

[pooch]

Tell hubby it'll be his own fault if he has to share your undies if they lose his bag!!!

 

[loves to dive]

How long are you going to be gone? I can pack 9 days worth of clothes for DH and myself in one suitcase and that is not repeating anything and keeping it below the 50 lb limit. No reason to take full size toiletries, you can get travel bottles, not the little ones you buy at the drug store, empty bottles that you can pour your own stuff into, they are about 1/4 size of your big one. I can't see you needing more than that much unless you are going for a month. We use those bottles and a hanging toiletry bag that has plastic zip pockets so if they were to leak they don't get on anything but other bottles, that goes in our luggage. Also, where are you staying, the moderate and value rooms don't have a lot of storage so those suitcases are going to be on the floor in the way. You might think about packing cubes, they compact things a bit and you can fit more that way, put hubby's stuff in his own cube that way he knows where it is. Same issue with the food, if you carry a lot you are going to have storage issues. I would take one carry on each, DD with her electronics for the plane, a change of clothes and maybe one toy. Yours can have a change of clothes for both you and hubby since he is carrying laptop, and I can't think of anything else you need to carry on unless you are going to swim when you get there then throw a bathing suit in. Then at most I'd have one big suitcase with clothes and one medium one with a little food, one more toy for DD, and the rest of the clothes.

 

[Teacup53]

I would look into packing cubes - each person can have their own color and you can mix it up so that if a back gets lost everyone still has some clothes available.

I have been able to pack all of our clothes (me, DH, & 2 boys 3 & 4) in one medium sized suitcase. Then another small-medium duffle with anything else we need, laundry pods, toiletries, etc. We usually pack enough clothes for 4-5 days (we go in Jan so usually 3-4 days of warm stuff and 2-3 days of cold stuff). Then for carry-on we have one family backpack that holds a change of clothes for everyone - (just in case.... disaster strikes) and then we do laundry about half way through. I second the leave the toys at home but would say ok to 1-3 friends depending on size.

I agree with the whole pack everything then leave 1/2 at home. Just remember if you bring it you must carry it.

Another option would be if you want food is to take an uber to the grocery store and back - might be less than garden grocer - this is just a thought because we always rent a car so I am not all that familiar with the cost of either garden grocery or uber rides for WDW. (Reason for ALWAYS renting a car: I take public transportation EVERY work day so when I am on vacation it is really nice to have a car available to us).

Good luck and hope you have a great trip.

 

[Jimsig]

Pack a power strip w 6 outlets. Allows you to charge everything (phones, cameras, iPad/laptop) in one place. No running around trying find the camera and phones in the AM. Also can be tough to find enough outlets in a hotel room.

 

[pooch]

Gotta say I am the queen of bringing toiletries on a plane. My DD lives in Kissimmee and I visit at least once a year. The cost of invading her apartment is replenishing her bathroom. I'm talking 20-25 full size bottles per trip!! Double bagged & a layer of clothes under & over. No leaks in at least 10 trips! I can only imagine what TSA must think.

 

[kj2mom]

I pack everything I need for the first 24 hours in my carry on then I pack a ziploc bag for each person for each day in the checked bags. Each bag has everything needed from underwear to socks. I distribute those bags two per person in each of our 3 suitcases in case a bag goes MIA. We each have one because they were free to check and the fact they are half empty means a painless repack once souvenirs are involved. Toiletries all go in large ziplocs, some in each bag to distribute weight. I do tend to pack two travel sized shampoos over one large bottle, I buy travel bottles at the dollar store and fill them up with my product of choice. The only thing I bring full size is the suncreen (I have 2 redheads) and even for that I have a little bottle to take into the park so I didn't have the weight of the full bottle in the backpack.

 

[pooch]

What she said! That is a very smart and efficient packing method with children!

 

[jec6613]

I do tend to pack two travel sized shampoos over one large bottle, I buy travel bottles at the dollar store and fill them up with my product of choice. The only thing I bring full size is the suncreen (I have 2 redheads) and even for that I have a little bottle to take into the park so I didn't have the weight of the full bottle in the backpack.

The splitting clothes between bags is always good advice, children or not, but I'd skip the dollar store bottles and go to REI or your local camping store and get Nalgene bottles. They're guaranteed leakproof, you don't end up with a bunch of product you don't want, and come in a whole variety of sizes from 2 oz up through 8 oz in travel bottles.

 

[mastermind307]

Tell hubby it'll be his own fault if he has to share your undies if they lose his bag!!!

I would look into packing cubes - each person can have their own color and you can mix it up so that if a back gets lost everyone still has some clothes available.



Good luck and hope you have a great trip.

What are packing cubes and where would I buy them?

Pack a power strip w 6 outlets. Allows you to charge everything (phones, cameras, iPad/laptop) in one place. No running around trying find the camera and phones in the AM. Also can be tough to find enough outlets in a hotel room.

I plan to pack a power strip. That's an idea I read on here a few years ago and have taken with me on trips and it does come in handy!

 

[Teacup53]

I have gotten mine through ebags - they are called Packing cubes and come in a variety of sizes. If you go through ebates you can get up to 10% cash back and then you also get bonus credit to be used on later orders on Ebags. They usually have 20-30% off specials especially for new customers. I have found them to be really helpful and good quality.

 

[mastermind307]

I have gotten mine through ebags - they are called Packing cubes and come in a variety of sizes. If you go through ebates you can get up to 10% cash back and then you also get bonus credit to be used on later orders on Ebags. They usually have 20-30% off specials especially for new customers. I have found them to be really helpful and good quality.

How many packing cubes do you use, they don't look like the hold much? We will be going for 8 days/7 nights. I don't plan to do laundry so we'll each need enough clothes to last the entire trip.

 

[Teacup53]

There are three sizes - small (stuffed can hold a week of socks or mens underwear), Medium - (can hold 7-8 t-shirts), large (can probably hold 5-6 pairs of shorts). It is surprising how much you can stuff in there. We usually pack for 4 days and I can fit in one large cube - husbands shorts (3), jeans (1), pjs (1) and long sleeve shirts (3 to 4). I hope that give you a frame of reference.

Looks like you would be packing for more than one suitcase but the neat thing about this is if you need to find something you can take out all the cubes and repack them very easily without making it look like your suitcase exploded. Plus once you get there you can put the whole cube in a drawer with the top folded over and it keeps everything in order.

 

[threeboysmom]

I keep reading about these packing cubes - the organizer in me is intrigued... but don't your clothes get wrinkled sitting inside them for days? I tend to hang everything in my suitcase as soon as I arrive at the resort which is a complete pain, but I really don't want to iron clothes on vacation either.

 

[Teacup53]

I haven't noticed excessive wrinkles - but then again, I am on vacation so wrinkled clothing doesn't bother me. Mickey doesn't care if I am wrinkly

 

[goofy4tink]

Or, just buy the larger size zip-loc baggies. You should be able to fit a days outfit in each one. I tend to roll my clothing...stay less wrinkled that way As for not doing laundry? It would seem that you're staying DVC...if you have a studio, just head down to the laundry room and do a quick load! It's free. You can do it at night, or early in the morning. Then, no need to pack so much. That's what I do!! 90 mins well spent.
Food.....Be careful to not overdo the food. That's the place I always over estimate what I'm going to need!!! Pack anything liquid (food or toiletries) in a zip-loc baggie. I sometimes double bag them...just to be sure.
I usually do a GG order. Much easier than carting stuff to WDW with me. Yes, it's a bit more expensive, but it's nice not to have to worry.

Also, as you've been told already....put clothes for each person in each bag. It shouldn't be a bag for your stuff, a bag for dh and a bag for dd. Bags do get misdirected, so it's nice to have something to change into until the bag shows up!!

 

[pooch]

I wrap my clothes in dry cleaning bags. For the life of me I can't figure out why that helps, they seem so flimsy, but it does!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Another fan of packing cubes here! I like them better than ziplocks because I find the ziplocks too slippery. I think the packing cubes pack in the suitcase better.

Last year we did 2 weeks at WDW (in 1BR villas so we had washer) and I packed 1 checked bag, 1 carryon bag (for a change of clothes each) and then a backpack for all on the plane. Its so much easier if you don't over pack.

This summer we did an 18 night road trip and I had a small duffle for toiletries for all and then I allowed each person a daypack for clothes and another small bag for "toys"-cameras, ipads, books....

I would limit your DD's clothes and stuffed animals to only what she can fit in her backpack for the plane.