how to pack?

[sss]

Hi,
First, please forgive me...when i pack i become insane. We are going to wdw on sat. with my 4 year old twins and my two yearold. The weather forecast is for mid 60s low 70s during the day and 50s at night....long sleeve shirts and pants? t-shirts and pants...what do you think is wisest...also, for those of you with girls (my kids are all girls!) does it make sense to bring a dress (casual) for dinners since they can just be popped on and off? Share your wisdom, families.
TIA
sss
p.s. just fyi we are staying in a villa with a washer/dryer so I will be doing wash every night (lucky me )

 

[pezpam]

Layers are key when the temp is so up and down. Maybe pants and a tshirt for the day with a sweatshirt or light jacket you can pull on when you want it? Plus a pair of shorts in your backpacks (or the lockers) in case it really heats up. I tend not to bother with the dress - it's just an extra hassle and most folks will be in their park attire anyway. I'd probably pack one if I had an ADR for someplace like Artist Point, but not otherwise. Of course, if you really want the dresses and don't mind carrying them (or renting a locker) and changing before meals, then go for it.


.0003 of a cent's worth of Mommy-advice: At around 4, DD started carrying her own pack. Just one of those little ones, of course, but enough to hold her water bottle and a snack or two, her autograph book and pen, and a pair of shorts if necessary. It's not heavy enough to worry about for each kid, though it does take some weight off Mommy's shoulders. It really helped to approach it like "Look how grown up you two are, being able to take care of your own things like that!" DD was soooo proud of herself. You can always hold them for rides if you need to.

 

[DreaGirl]

I would say t-shirt and pants. I would bring shorts (if you have room) with you in a bag to the parks. You could try that on the first day and then you will know. One tip that I see repeated time after time is get all the clothes you want to bring, then cut it in half. I know that no one wants to do laundry on vacation (or any other time!), but wouldn't you rather have that extra room for the way home?

As for the dresses, I wouldn't bring them. I'm sure after a day at the parks the last thing you will want to do is change 3 little ones into dresses, just so you can change them out of the dresses a few hours later. KWIM?

DH always laughs at me because I stress over packing as well. Good luck!

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We were just there with similar weather, and I also have girls. 4 days we wore shorts/skorts, 2 days we wore capris with s/s tops and sweatshirts - which we were able to lose later in the day, and one day we had long pants with fleece sweatshirts. I actually love the idea of casual knit dresses (I had a few Hanna playdress sets for the girls) with leggings or tights that you can remove if it gets too warm and just wear the dress with socks. At night we just added another layer on top. We were not out late on the really cold day. Oh, and DD 5 ended up spending 3 entire days in her princess dresses - I packed 2!

I also packed a few outfits with one top that could go with either long pants or capris/shorts. I packed each of the girls' outfits in a plastic gallon Ziploc bag, right down to the socks, undies, and hair pretties. Made getting dressed much easier!

Good luck!