Help me wrap my around flying

[DonaldnDaisy5]

We are a family of 5, we've made the 18 hr drive to Disney the last four times we've went as a family.

Dh has decided he wants to fly the next time. More park time, less tired on arrival there and home...

However, I am an overpacker. (I'll seek treatment later). I fill the back of our large suv and feel confident that I am ready for the trip. I dread the cost of flights. Not to mention baggage fees. Oh and by the way I am the only person in our familu who has flown and that was years ago...

So tell me it will be ok. What do I need to know? What airlines should I check out. Flying from Detroit or Flint would be closest. We have familu to drop us off. We're traveling in summer (which should help SOME with my over packing) but open as far as dates to get cheaper airfare...Disney is my go to easy vacation to plan and now he's stressing me out!!!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would fly Southwest because you get 2 free check bags per person. Don't over pack. I only pack enough clothes to get us through half of our trip and I do laundry while we are there/

If you stay at a Disney resort the laundry rooms are by the pools. So I combine laundry with relaxing at the pool. I also do laundry on our last day so when we come home I don't have the daunting task of mounds of laundry. The laundry rooms at Disney have more than one washer so I can do two loads at once. Usually takes me a total of 1 hour and 30 minutues to do 2-3 loads at once.

If you rent DVC point you can do laundry for free! one and two bedrooms have a washer/dryer and those staying in a studio guess get to use the big laundry rooms for free just bring soap and I usually bring dryer sheets with me.

 

[goofy4tink]

You can do laundry while at WDW! Going in the summer months means two outfits a day! It's hot and exceedingly humid.
If you feel you can't manage with fewer bags....ship stuff to your resort prior to arrival.
I would find an airline that allows at least one free checked bag...Southwest allows two per person! That's a huge help for overpackers!

 

[RDawn]

It will be OK & you'll wonder why you were so worried once it's over. Since you have been to WDW 4 times, you will be able to streamline your packing. And you won't need all the extra snacks, pillows... you pack for an 18 hour trip. Check out the the TSA web site for packing guidelines: hhttp://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-carry-ons and let us know how it all works out. ENJOY!

 

[DonnaL]

As someone who has conquered the overpacking beast in me, I can honestly say I now pack for an entire week in one 21 inch carry-on and matching 14 inch tote bag...no purse either! My park bag is small canvas backpack which folds flat and fits into the carry-on. My biggest hint is to use plastic travel bags...the kind you roll the air from, not the vacuum ones....and to roll your clothes rather than fold them (the rolling clothes tip came from a flight attendant many years ago). The travel bags do two things....allow you to squeeze every bit of air out of that bag and protect your clothing in the event of wet weather or another passenger bag leaking something (don't be surprised....it happened to me...someone packed glass baby formula bottles...unfortunately their bag was on top of mine...my bag was ruined, but, my clothes were fine). One thing to watch out for when using travel bags and rolling...the weight of your bag...if you use a bigger bag (25" or larger) you may find you'll go over the weight limit. You will be surprised at the amount of clothing (and stuff) you can get in a carry-on using this method. Also, use travel sized toiletries......those big bottles of stuff take up way too much space...you might need two of something travel sized, but, it's still less space than a large bottle or tube. Since you've got a family traveling in order to be more economical...go to a dollar store and pick up a bunch of travel sized empty plastic bottles, jars, etc. and transfer from your large bottles/jars at home rather than buying all travel sized products....even if you buy 12 or 14 travel size bottles...it's still less cost than paying for an extra bag and you can reuse them over and over. And, also plan to do laundry at least once during your trip.....while you're doing it.....it will give you a chance to relax by the pool for a few hours!!

BTW....Southwest flies from both Flint and Detroit! We've been SWA customers for years now....since they came to PHL....we drive two hours to the airport for SWA.....and we have an airport practically in our backyard, but, it's one of those.....you can't there from here w/o multiple stops/connecting flights...even with driving the two hours to PHL for a SWA non-stop flight we get to Orlando quicker!

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Thank you for the advice and support and encouragement I hadn't thought of all the car stuff we won't need...but the idea of doing laundry on vacation doesn't appeal to me...I mean I will if I have too but yuck! I like that escape from reality.

 

[KalamityJane]

I over pack too, but we always fly, so this is how I do it. Put everything you think you will need in a pile, then go through and take out half of it.

1 pair of nicer shoes, 1 pair of sandals/flip flops. Use the sandals at the airport since you have to take your shoes off anyway, easier to put back on.

However many days you are staying /2 = the number of bottoms/pants

A shirt/top and undies for every day.

2 bathing suits for everyone

And maybe one nicer dress if you plan on eating out.

That's how I pack for the kids too

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Thank you for the advice and support and encouragement I hadn't thought of all the car stuff we won't need...but the idea of doing laundry on vacation doesn't appeal to me...I mean I will if I have too but yuck! I like that escape from reality. [/QUO


Doing Laundry is really no big deal. Once you try it you will be hooked and realize how easy and convenient it is. I love coming home with a suitcase full of clean clothes and only spent 1 1/2 hours at the end of my vacation to wash everything since they have multiple washers that no one else is using I can do 2-3 loads at once. Where as at home I would have to wash one load at a time.

 

[Pooh2]

Last month, we flew for the first time in over decade. I too pack the car until it will not move so it was a big adjustment! We used a huge duffle and checked it for free (weighed ahead to be sure it was under 50lbs) and two carry-ons plus two under the seat bags (one was our park bag). Yeah, we still had way too much stuff (had our winter coats, extra shoes, etc). That was for two of us.

We did do laundry twice. Both times, were our sleep-in mornings. We threw in the laundry, walked down to the food court for breakfast, then threw the laundry in the dryer and enjoyed walking the resort. Really did not seem like a chore at all. We came home and unpacked clean laundry. Worked for us!

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

I may be able to suck it up with the idea of doing muliple loads at one time...the added expense is another huge negative to me. Gas round trip in the car is about 500, food, hotel if we need it, and other car expenses (fresh oil change, etc) add maybe another 300 to 400...but not necessarily all at once, so its still under 1000 to drive. Could we reasonably find airfare for close to that?

 

[ain0004]

With three kids and princess dresses. We over pack at times. I figure even with a washer and dryer I need at least 2 outfits per day per kid. Only because it's hot and summer, and for food messes ect.. Yeah it happens to us adults too! 2 swim suits each coverups for ,aim areas. 3 pairs of shoes this clouded flip flops. But all in all I have learned how to pack. We can go 10 days with 2 checked bags and each carry on. One bag is just for shoes and princess dresses. Check southwest out of Grand Rapids I see they have good airfare at times. Too far of a drive to make the money savings worth my time. We avoid southwest out of Detroit they do not offer non stops. Delta I and spirit are the only non stops to Mao. If you have trouble packing I would avoid spirit they charge you for everything...

 

[sam_gordon]

Don't focus on SW simply because of the "free" bags. You do pay for them, they're just included in the cost. Look at other airlines that service your airport and factor in their luggage costs.

Or, depending on the airline, you can get their credit card and get free bags (Delta allows everyone (up to 8 others) one free bag as long as someone on the reservation has their AmEx card). That's just an example.

 

[Minnesota!]

laundry at WDW is so easy. We do as another poster said - Throw all dirty clothes in our rolling suitcase, roll it to the laundry room, throw clothes in, go have breakfast. Change clothes after we are done eating, and walk around the resort to let the kids burn off some energy. Clothes are done, we fold them up, put them back in the suitcase, roll it back to the room, and away we go. Two hours, max, and we were not just sitting around waiting for it.

We are a family of 4 that gets by with 1 checked bag, and 1 carry on. We roll our clothes, pack only what we need, and plan on laundry half way through!

We love SW. Free bags and the prices are sooooo much cheaper than my other options..

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

So far I can only check flights for southwest through June. Delta and other airlines come up on cheaptickets and sites like that through July.

As long as we avoid the 4th are ticket prices similar all summer? I teach so summer is flexible as long between end and start dates.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Am I better off booking through airlines site? Or travel site? Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to cheaper flying days right? Grrr see drive I know book, pay off, pack, fill up gas tank, leave simple!

 

[Gracie09]

Expedia and the like to find prices book through airline directly. Don't get hung up sw two free bags. They aren't always cheapest even with the bags included (JetBlue also includes a bag per ticketed passenger).

 

[sam_gordon]

So far I can only check flights for southwest through June. Delta and other airlines come up on cheaptickets and sites like that through July.

As long as we avoid the 4th are ticket prices similar all summer? I teach so summer is flexible as long between end and start dates.

I'm guessing prices will be similar, but anyone who says definitely should be making money on the lottery.

Am I better off booking through airlines site? Or travel site? Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to cheaper flying days right? Grrr see drive I know book, pay off, pack, fill up gas tank, leave simple!

Look at Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, ITA (matrix.itasoftware.com) for comparison. I don't think any of them show SW prices though. Book straight through the airline with the information (flight numbers, etc) you've found on the 3rd party site.

As far as when to book... supposedly Tuesday or Thursday are good days to book. Regarding travel... you can usually search +/-1-3 days on the sites so that should show you if it's cheaper to go earlier or later.

 

[dougsmom98]

We use kayak.com for our airline search engine. Once they find they flights you like, they take you to the airline website to book directly with them. We have not checked baggage for several years. Each person gets a rolling 21 inch suitcase and one backpack. The backpack goes under the seat in front of each person and the suitcase goes in the overhead compartment. You will be surprised how much each person can fit in those two bags. I never liked the idea of doing laundry on vacation before either until I did it once and now I love to do it. It makes packing easier and having multiple washers and dryers at your disposal makes it easy. I love going home with some clean laundry too.

 

[dzndft]

I also schedule a mid-vacation laundry visit. I use the time as my "quiet" time. While the family sleeps in, I wait till the morning crowd has left for the parks, load the machines, go grab a beverage/breakfast and then sit by the pool, writing my post cards or just sitting and enjoying the sunshine and atmosphere. Like other posters, the time goes quickly!

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Ok one more question...strollers on the plane...how does this work? Pain or helpful? Our youngest is teeny and could go either way....