We just got back last night from a 5 night 6 day fully packed vacation in the world. I packed mostly from things recommended on this board and through in some extras. We had a wonderful vacation and I will post a full report later. I wanted to post this in case someone is about to go. I will also post the same info on some of the longer running threads.
Also - I am an overweight women. I wear a 1x-2x womens clothes. I have a skinny DS11 and an average weight DH.
Crocs - I wore crocs on my first night. I've worn them all day before and never had a problem. On my first night the little nubbies in the bottoms made my feet a little raw. The next day I decided that socks would take care of that. I wore the socks but my feet still felt bruised by the end of the night. Not only that, I got a big blister right under my middle toes from the socks.
Luckily I had some new balances and some inserts i brought. The next day I wore the NB without the inserts. These hurt too. After adding the inserts my feet were still a little achy by the end of the night but it was MUCH better.
A lighter person might have had less foot issues. My DS rotated his crocs and buster browns with no problems at all.
Hubby was wanting inserts by mid week. He was wearing NB too.
Diabetic Lancets - I wished I had packed a couple in my first aid kit. The big blister I got had to be popped. Unfortunatly I had to be a little creative and use something less than ideal to pop it. Once I popped the blister it was fine for the rest of the week.
Socks - I brought thin wicking no show socks thinking they would be cooler. They were too short and the back of my tennis shoes rubbed my heel. and the thin socks were just not as comfortable. I ended up buying some thick ankle lenth mickey socks. They were much better. My husband brought regular cotton socks. We both wish we had brought thick wool socks. They are cushiony but keep your feet cool too.
It was HOT all week. 90-95 + so humid that a minute after you walked out, you were drenched.
The mini mister fans worked out great. We used these alot.
Washcloth from room. The first day I wet washcloths and used them. They helped for a bit but we still warmed up quickly afterwards. I found that a dry towel actually provided better relief to pat the sweat from my face.
Golf Ball - Thanks soooo much to whoever recommended this. We were all fighting over it at night. It made the perfect foot massage.
Ben Gay Vanishing Scent Gel - This is a tip I picked up on my last trip to europe. After your shower at night rub it all over your feet. Within about 10 minutes your feet will feel very relieved. We also used it on DH shoulder.
Advil - We needed this quite a bit. Takes away the body aches you have when you wake up in the morning after a long day of walking the parks.
My cushiony house slippers with rubber bottoms - I didnt take these and wish I had them for walking around the room and resort early mornings and evenings.
Water - We loved having our Brita bottles. Hubby had his clipped to his bag, my bag had a pocket.
Carabiners - DS and DH used them for their hats during rides
Hats - I had planned to get one as soon as I got there. I did. You absolutly need to shade your face during the day. Unfortunatly the hat made me twice as hot so by day 2 we all had Sun visors which might have looked dorky, but worked perfectly and felt great!
Bottoms you don't mind sitting on the ground in - While waiting on parades or for park opening its great if you can just sit down on the concrete. Its not always easy to find an empty bench where you want to be.
If you go during the summer you will sweat everywhere. Your clothes will be damp all day and night. There's just no avoiding it and no amount of antiperspirant will keep you dry.
I wish we had all gone to walmart and bought a bunch of cheap thin wicking athletic tshirts. We could have picked a color per day and all worn one.
Chafing - We all had chafing somewhere. Its damp and things will rub. We had the monistat anti chafe gel but we found that the SOLID antiperspirant worked best. I had 3-4 mini sticks of degree solid I got at walmart. These fixed chafing in a flash. I also had some gel antiperspirant that I tried at first. This didnt work as well. The thickness of the solid was best.
Women (sorry guys if this is TMI) take panty liners. I can hande sweaty just about everything else but sweaty underwear is not something I can deal with.
Clean 1 gallon ziplock bags - Pack one in your bag when you go to the resort. On your way back after a long day stop by the ice machine and fill it up. Then dump into your ice bucket. This is how we cured the everyone wants ice but no one wants to be the one to have to walk back to the ice machine ordeal.
We also took 2.5 gallon bags to pack the camera bag in on water rides. this worked great!
Sunscreen - I used Paradise Gold 45 (Its made by Hawaiian Tropic but its a Walgreens brand) This sunscreen is light and not sticky. We reapplied every 3-4 hours. No one got burnt.
Ponchos - We used these 3-4 times - Take a ziplock to put them in when you are done. Hang them to dry as soon as you get back to the resort.
I wish I had taken a good Umbrella. The ponchos were hot. There were some times the ponchos were a must but if you just need a quick walk to the next building an umbrella would have been cooler. Plus there were many times when I needed shade and there wasnt any around. I would have loved to be able to open up my umbrella for instant shade. (There were tons of people doing this)
Despite the heat, humidity, rain, and sore feet we had the best trip ever. Thanks to everyone on this board who shared their tips with me, I hope this helps some of you that are about to brave the heat and humidity.
Abie
Also - I am an overweight women. I wear a 1x-2x womens clothes. I have a skinny DS11 and an average weight DH.
Crocs - I wore crocs on my first night. I've worn them all day before and never had a problem. On my first night the little nubbies in the bottoms made my feet a little raw. The next day I decided that socks would take care of that. I wore the socks but my feet still felt bruised by the end of the night. Not only that, I got a big blister right under my middle toes from the socks.
Luckily I had some new balances and some inserts i brought. The next day I wore the NB without the inserts. These hurt too. After adding the inserts my feet were still a little achy by the end of the night but it was MUCH better.
A lighter person might have had less foot issues. My DS rotated his crocs and buster browns with no problems at all.
Hubby was wanting inserts by mid week. He was wearing NB too.
Diabetic Lancets - I wished I had packed a couple in my first aid kit. The big blister I got had to be popped. Unfortunatly I had to be a little creative and use something less than ideal to pop it. Once I popped the blister it was fine for the rest of the week.
Socks - I brought thin wicking no show socks thinking they would be cooler. They were too short and the back of my tennis shoes rubbed my heel. and the thin socks were just not as comfortable. I ended up buying some thick ankle lenth mickey socks. They were much better. My husband brought regular cotton socks. We both wish we had brought thick wool socks. They are cushiony but keep your feet cool too.
It was HOT all week. 90-95 + so humid that a minute after you walked out, you were drenched.
The mini mister fans worked out great. We used these alot.
Washcloth from room. The first day I wet washcloths and used them. They helped for a bit but we still warmed up quickly afterwards. I found that a dry towel actually provided better relief to pat the sweat from my face.
Golf Ball - Thanks soooo much to whoever recommended this. We were all fighting over it at night. It made the perfect foot massage.
Ben Gay Vanishing Scent Gel - This is a tip I picked up on my last trip to europe. After your shower at night rub it all over your feet. Within about 10 minutes your feet will feel very relieved. We also used it on DH shoulder.
Advil - We needed this quite a bit. Takes away the body aches you have when you wake up in the morning after a long day of walking the parks.
My cushiony house slippers with rubber bottoms - I didnt take these and wish I had them for walking around the room and resort early mornings and evenings.
Water - We loved having our Brita bottles. Hubby had his clipped to his bag, my bag had a pocket.
Carabiners - DS and DH used them for their hats during rides
Hats - I had planned to get one as soon as I got there. I did. You absolutly need to shade your face during the day. Unfortunatly the hat made me twice as hot so by day 2 we all had Sun visors which might have looked dorky, but worked perfectly and felt great!
Bottoms you don't mind sitting on the ground in - While waiting on parades or for park opening its great if you can just sit down on the concrete. Its not always easy to find an empty bench where you want to be.
If you go during the summer you will sweat everywhere. Your clothes will be damp all day and night. There's just no avoiding it and no amount of antiperspirant will keep you dry.
I wish we had all gone to walmart and bought a bunch of cheap thin wicking athletic tshirts. We could have picked a color per day and all worn one.
Chafing - We all had chafing somewhere. Its damp and things will rub. We had the monistat anti chafe gel but we found that the SOLID antiperspirant worked best. I had 3-4 mini sticks of degree solid I got at walmart. These fixed chafing in a flash. I also had some gel antiperspirant that I tried at first. This didnt work as well. The thickness of the solid was best.
Women (sorry guys if this is TMI) take panty liners. I can hande sweaty just about everything else but sweaty underwear is not something I can deal with.
Clean 1 gallon ziplock bags - Pack one in your bag when you go to the resort. On your way back after a long day stop by the ice machine and fill it up. Then dump into your ice bucket. This is how we cured the everyone wants ice but no one wants to be the one to have to walk back to the ice machine ordeal.
We also took 2.5 gallon bags to pack the camera bag in on water rides. this worked great!
Sunscreen - I used Paradise Gold 45 (Its made by Hawaiian Tropic but its a Walgreens brand) This sunscreen is light and not sticky. We reapplied every 3-4 hours. No one got burnt.
Ponchos - We used these 3-4 times - Take a ziplock to put them in when you are done. Hang them to dry as soon as you get back to the resort.
I wish I had taken a good Umbrella. The ponchos were hot. There were some times the ponchos were a must but if you just need a quick walk to the next building an umbrella would have been cooler. Plus there were many times when I needed shade and there wasnt any around. I would have loved to be able to open up my umbrella for instant shade. (There were tons of people doing this)
Despite the heat, humidity, rain, and sore feet we had the best trip ever. Thanks to everyone on this board who shared their tips with me, I hope this helps some of you that are about to brave the heat and humidity.
Abie
Glad you had a great time. Anybody have anymore tips like this to add?
