How many bags do you bring for a family of 4?

[golden1]

I guess I am just not used to going on vacation with children because it sure seems like we will need a lot of luggage! I have 2 carry on size luggage bags and 2 large pieces of luggage plus 3 smaller carry on bags and I am not sure that will be enough! How many bags do you end up bringing?

 

[Kim1964]

We are a family of 4. For a 6 night stay, we've taken 2 large suitcases and one carry on. Next year I am planning to take an additional, empty carry on for souvenirs.

 

[Hannathy]

Family of 4 for a stay of 11 days we checked 4 bags (3lrg,1 medium) My DD and myself had a carry-on, DS had his backpack, DH had the camera bag plus a small duffle (too much junk coming home!)

 

[dianemb]

We usually only take 1 bag per person and a small carry on per person. We also take one empty large duffle for the trip home. This year I think we may try to cut it down to 2 bags instead of 3 (3 people). After several trips I relize it is not all about fashion and I'm willing to wear pants more than once and if we have to will do a load of laundry.

 

[Ariel8676]

We are a family of 5..Me, Dh, Dd5, Dd 3, and dd almost 1..when we went to WDW in August we had 1 carry-on, 1 empty carry-on(inside the suitcase), a lg suitcase and a small suitcase. This was the 1st time i didnt overpack. Look through what you are bringing and cut it in half..lol
You can save a lot of room in the suitcase by packing a lot in the jumbo ziploc bags (just put the clothes in and get out all the air, it becomes flat) If you dont mind ironing you can pack most of your stuff in these..it leaves a TON of room, but it is just a little extra work.
And remember..ther are always places to do a quick load of wash if needed...

 

[belle&beast]

We are a family of four also. For our 7 day stay in January we checked three suitcases- two had clothes and one had diapers and snacks that we knew would be gone by the end of the week. That way we had room for souvenirs. We also carried on two bags- one with toys, snacks diapers and wipes and one with an extra change of clothes in case luggage was lost. Our kids were 4 and 2 at the time. Hope this helps!

 

[wrldpossibility]

I'd try to consolidate some of your carry-ons, to make air travel easier. We are a family of 5 and travel a lot. We will have 5 medium checked bags and two carry-ons: a backpack (which will then be our park backpack later) with airplane toys, diapers, and snacks, and a bag with our essentials and swimsuits in case ME is late. I have a gatecheck ID holder (LL Bean) for my ID, and DH will have his wallet. Oh, and a carseat. That's a pain!

We will be flying from 4 am to 5 pm.

 

[jbhaupt]

Hi,

We are a family of 5 and for our trip tomorrow that is 9 days, I have packed one large suitcase, one medium, a carry on (which is a small wheeled one with a dufflebag inside). Just in case, we are over the weight limit and need to make a transfer I can check the wheeled one and carry on the duffle.

The duffle has one days clothes, bathing suits and jammies (meds) for everyone in case luggage gets lost or delayed. DD's carry a back-pack each with books & games. I carry a backpack- that we use in the parks and has plane supplies/goodies for DS.

Plus we bring the small stroller and car seat for DS. DH cannot wait for the trip that we do not have to bring the car seat anymore. Use curb side check-in and it will make your life easier. It all works out fine once the bags are checked.

Good luck...My bags are waiting by the door....
Bonnie

 

[pixiemomma]

I brought 1 large suitcase, 1 small suitcase and a bookbag for 5. (7 day stay.) We had maybe a total of 10 clean items at the end of the vacation.

 

[PaulaSue]

We went in Jan with 5 people and took 7 bags plus each of us had a backpack carry on, for the plane.

 

[Kevenswife2]

Family of 3 staying 10 days. 1 large duffle (clothes), 1 small duffle (toiletries), 1 backpack (my meds, makeup, coloring books, and snacks) used as a carryon. I did laundry one time. DH would have a fit if I brought more luggage!

 

[8lovesmickey]

We are a family of four also -- For 6 - 8 days we each take a suitcase (the kids' are actually big duffles) plus we each have a small carry on (backpacks for the kids).

I have to say, though, this year will be the first time we've gone to WDW in December so we may need a bigger variety of clothes and more layers. In the summer, it's all about shorts, tshirts, and sandals.

We also do laundry once if needed -- that can be a relief!

Countdown = 22 days to POFQ and MVMCP! Yahoo!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Last time, it we took 2 large suitcases, a carryon with camera gear, a carryon with computer gear, and a diaper bag/backpack. The trip was for one week and our suite had a washer/dryer, so we did laundry.

We're about to go for 10 days and the boys are a bit older (4 and 7 instead of 2 and 5), but I think it will be the same.

My only concern is the 50 weight limit on the bags. Our largest bag is a rolling 10,000 cubic inch duffle, which usually weighs in around 60 pounds when we pack it. We'll probably pack some stuff in a smaller bag and put it into the large bag. It'll be easier to drag around, but when we get to the airport check-in, we can pull out the smaller bag and check them separately.

 

[golden1]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think I am going to consolidate the smaller carryons and just take two, one with diapers, wipes, change of clothes for the kids and one plane toys and snacks for the kids plus my own valuables. I have two larger suitcases for toys and two carry on size suitcases, one I'll pack with food and one I'll pack with two days worth of clothes (we are doing a split stay). I also have to bring ds's car seat, but I am going to use bungee cords and strap it to a suitcase to easier transport.

 

[KristiKelly]

We went in Sept. and took 2 large suitcases, 1 small, kids each carried on backpacks (I won't do that next time because they didn't use anything in them). I carried on my camera and diaper bag. Next time, we will probably take 1 more smaller suitcase. Remember if you have the really large suitcase, if you go over a certain weight (maybe 50 lb) you will have to pay extra for the baggage.

I looked at your signature, it shows you're doing a split stay, with the 2nd being BWV. Remember that if you're in a studio, you will have access to a washer & dryer and if you're in a 1 bedroom or larger you will have washer & dryer in your room. I love this because we can pack much less and just wash a few loads of clothes while down there.

Also, you mentioned packing food, have you considered using a grocery delivery service such as wegoshop.com or gardengrocer.com? We've used wegoshop twice with no problems.

We are a family of 5, next year we are going to try to eliminate carry ons with the exception of a diaper bag & my camera bag. We will check our stroller and just let DD ride in her carseat (we bought a little carseat carrier on wheels that she can ride in). The more carryons you have the bigger the pain getting through security, taking shoes off, there just seemed to be so much stuff. I felt like we were clogging up the area.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[Makdyn]

Went in May for 8 days, my mom, me, dd 6, dd3. Four carry ons one including a laptop. Three check bags. One for mom, one for me, an a huge one for dd's to share. On the way back five carry ons including laptop and six check bags. we did buy a little to much

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We are a family of four. MY dd's are 5 and 6. The three of us girls take up one large suitcase and DH uses a smaller suitcase. All 4 of us take a backpack on the plane. DD"s carry toys, art stuff and other things to keep them busy. I carry a change of clothes for everyone and a bathing suit in my back pack just in case our luggage gets lost as well as some snacks for the plane ride. DH carries a portable DVD player and books in his backpack. Since their is a weight limit for the suitcases, i limit what we bring. I don't want to bring a piece of luggage for all of us because the kids will get tired and i will end up pulling theirs. So DH and I each pull a piece of luggage and grab a child's hand. We wear sneakers on the plane and pack a pair of sandals. We bring 7 outfits for 7 days, 2 bathing suits, 7 pairs of underwear and 7 pairs of socks for each of us. We also pack our toiletires. I also bring a sample pack of laundry detergent just in case i need to do laundry. We have been going for many years and i used to bring everything under the sun, but after a few years realized that there are things that i bring just in case. I have now eliminated those things because if i should need them, i will just buy them. We also pack 2 extra large bags just in case our souveneirs don't fit in the lugagge. I try to carry the least amount possible.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We're a family of 4 - kids are 11 and 8. For our 10 day trip in December, we're going to bring 1 extra large suitcase, 2 large and 1 medium. They're all on wheels so everyone will be able to pull one. Also, everyone will have 1 carry-on. They boys will carry backpacks with snacks, books, stuffed friends, Nintendos and whatever else they want for the plane. DH and I carry on whatever we need. I don't want anyone to have to pull/carry more than 1 of each item. Our boys are strong so we should be fine!

 

[myspecialks]

usually 1 large(real big) for DH & I and 1 small carry on sized ofr each girl.