How much room for souvenirs?

[NorthernON_MOM]

We are each taking a carryon size suit case which so far has seemed to fit what we think we need. But I'm worried about how much room we should leave for souvenirs?

I'm going to try rearranging things later. But I think that if I expand the suitcases (which would make them non carryon, but on the way back we don't care) I can get all our stuff into 3, leaving one empty. Will that be enough for souvenirs? Keep in mind that this is our first trip, we only plan to buy t-shirts, hats, that kind of thing and will buy for ourselves, and our nephew.

So what do you think?

 

[frannn]

I used to end up buying extra luggage to carry all my purchases home on the plane. On subsequent trips, I started packing an extra large lightweight duffel (empty) in my luggage for additional purchases. I also had an additional carry on filled with snacks on the way there, emptied for souvies on the way home. Then....I realized the easiest thing to do would be to have most things mailed home. It cost 15-30 to send a LOT of souvies home from the outlets. If you do not love to shop a lot, or know you will not purchase a ton of stuff, just pack an extra lightweight duffel to carry on, or take a bigger piece of luggage and leave it partially empty.

 

[Oh Kay!]

The last time we took a large tote bag and an almost-empty carry-on bag for souvies. We fill them up and then had to buy two large black shopping bags at DTD. BTW, it was our 4th trip, so didn't expect to buy a lot of souvies.

Then DH decided he wanted the wool sweater from Norway--which was an excellent investment given the horrible winter we've had--and then he saw a set of putter and pins in a box that he thought would make a good business gift, and then kids wanted remote control fasttrack cars, etc, etc, you get the idea.

Oh, and one more thing. You have to consider that some items you buy may require you to put them in a checked bag--like the putter I mentioned. We bought it on morning before hour fllight, and as all the bags were packed we just carried it in in a plastic bag. The putter came in three pieces so you have to screw them all up before you can use it. Well, it raised a red flag at the security check point. They said no golf clubs allowed. I had to reshuffle all the carry-on bags so we could make up one bag to check.

Sorry, didn't mean to write such a long post.

 

[Oh Kay!]

Sorry. Double Post

 

[llp479]

I,too, learned the hard way. I now pack an empty duffle in the front of my suitcase for the trip home. Between the souvies and the bargins at the outlet mall, just not enough room in the suitcases.

 

[beglluvr]

NorthernON_MOM:

Another poster mentioned having your souveniers shipped home for you. That would be a great option if you send them from the post office, but unfortunately WDW won't ship to Canada. It's too bad because they charge something like $15 for a total over $100.

What we did in August is pack an extra suitcase. We found these at Canadian Tire (thought Walmart carries them as well) for about $10 and they were collapsable (sp?). When flattened, they took up very little space, but when opened, they were a carry-on size suitcase with wheels and a handle. They were so handy, as my DH and I each had one as our carry-on and our other purchases just fit on top of our regular suitcases. I loaned them to a friend who did the same thing and we both loved it!

Good luck, it's tough to go to WDW and not buy a bunch of souveniers!