Is it a pain to do laundry on vacation?

[Liz]

I don't want to haul a million clothes but I don't want to do laundry either. I figure it would take a minimum of 2 hrs. out of our day (staying at Pop). Never know if a machine is going to be available when you need it, etc. Its going to be too hot to wear an outfit more than once. Can't decide. Any thoughts?

 

[oogieboogie]

I always do laundry when I'm at WDW because I don't want to cart around 10 days worth of clothing. For a 10 day trip, I take 5 days worth of clothing, then mid-trip, while we take a swim break or the kids take a nap, I do laundry.

I don't sit in the laundry room waiting for the clothes. I put my loads in and either go swimming, soak in the hot tub or just relax and read a book by the swimming pool while waiting.

 

[3mickeys&me]

I am trying to figure this out too. I thought about getting up at the butt crack of dawn and doing it, maybe it won't be as busy then.

 

[wld]

Actually we have found middle of the day when others are at the park to be a good time. I think at POP there was only 1 other person there. We sat by the pool while we waited. The only place I would not plan on doing laundry is WL. Not enough machines, nasty little room, away from everything but the fast food place.

 

[Lesia]

We always do laundry mid trip. AT the campground, they are in the bathhouse - I start laundry, then do my showers.

AT the hotels, they are usually around the pools. I just take a book with me.

$2.00 to wash, $1.00 per 15 minutes to dry. I carry my powder detergent, premeasured, in a ziploc baggie, and my dryer sheets, all in a bigger baggie.

And, I use the suitcase on wheels to transport the laundry to and from!

 

[A4Disney]

I don't want to haul a million clothes but I don't want to do laundry either. I figure it would take a minimum of 2 hrs. out of our day (staying at Pop). Never know if a machine is going to be available when you need it, etc. Its going to be too hot to wear an outfit more than once. Can't decide. Any thoughts?

I've always done landry one or two times per trip...Even though I over pack who wants that much dirty clothes piling up...It's easier for me to repack nice folded clean clothes so I pick a time when my littlest needs a rest mid day and I go back to the hotel throw it in then go to the room for a little while...When we stayed at Beach Club I would do it and then go to the pool or Boardwalk area because the laundry room was in such a great location..

 

[Harambe]

I always do laundry when I'm at WDW because I don't want to cart around 10 days worth of clothing. For a 10 day trip, I take 5 days worth of clothing, then mid-trip, while we take a swim break or the kids take a nap, I do laundry.

I don't sit in the laundry room waiting for the clothes. I put my loads in and either go swimming, soak in the hot tub or just relax and read a book by the swimming pool while waiting.

This is exactly what we do (or should I say what I do . . . like the rest of my family would do a load of wash! LOL!). I think it's great that the washers are near the pool. Makes it easy. Some of the deluxes have other laundry rooms that may not be so crowded.

We take one carryon a piece, so we need to do laundry. And since I always plan in one resort day midweek, it fits in with our schedule.

 

[zdad]

We're in Orlando for 12 days. We have many "breaks" built into our schedule. Time to lounge around the WL or at the pool. DW & I have designated two of those breaks as "laundry breaks", one on day 5 @ WL, and one on day 8 @ POP. DW actually has a plan for the room too. OUr suitcases will converted into mini hampers. One each for whites, lights, darks, and delicates. At the end of the day, your dirty clothes go in the proper suitcase. She has gone so far as to make little signs for resting on top of the luggage. On laundry day, we wheel them to the washers, foldem and wheel them back. I'm sure the plan will crumble somewhere, but it's a plan.

Someone mentioned the bad laundry room at WL. Any more details on that ?

 

[Stitchfans]

We always do laundry mid week at the end of one day. We will sit outside by the pool and have a snack while the machines are going. It it a good time to relax sit back and talk with your family. Who wants tons of dirty clothes to deal with after you get home from a wonderful trip?

 

[snowglobe girl]

I had never done laundry until our last trip. We stayed at POP and washed our clothes while we swam. We also did this mid-day and there was only one other person in there. I would think that most people would be doing laundry early in the morning or late in the day, so I would go with mid-afternoon and you'll get through a lot quicker than morning or night.

 

[ladysoleil]

I've done laundry at ASM. The laundry room is near the pool. We threw in the wash, got a drink, and hung out by the pool while the it was in the works. Painless and hasslefree, and since we went in the winter, we were able to unpack our clean summer clothes right back into their storage bins when we got back home.

I always end up doing some kind of wash on trips- I have sunblock allergies and have some special sunproof clothing. I don't have much of it, but it's all handwashable hand and dries overnight, so I generally end up handwashing the stuff during the trip. I keep a travel Nalgene bottle of woolite in my toiletry kit for that purpose.

 

[Mel6197]

For the last 3 years.. Not planned but Even though I "overpack" I tend to run out.. Since the kids want to get Fresh Clothing after the swim in the afternoon..

The first year it was unplanned but DD got Sick at the airport, on the airport and in the food court, So doing laundry was a MUST!
2 and 3 year I just did it while the kids swim..
We stayed at the All Star Sports, so while the kids were in the "goofy' pool (the quiet one ) the laundry is 10 feet away so DH or DS or Granny watch the kids while I run in for 10 min throw it in, then time for my 1 PinaColada for the week, and I throw it in the dryer back to the room then the parks No Big Deal..
Now I bring my own soap and dryer sheets, and a small hamper for clothing, and if I run out of room, Just use a Pillow Case off the bed.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Since we drive down and I do not want to do any housework on my vacation we pack bunches and I do not do laundry. One trip we added a couple of days and I drove to the nearest WM and bought a couple of days worth of underwear to get us through. With clean underwear you can handle most anything.

We are not pool people but way back when we took our kids with us and I had to do laundry it was not too hard to do while watching them swim. Whoever thought up the idea to have the laundry near the pool was a genius.

A big costly though but then so is everything at DW. Bring soap tablets and fabric softener sheets to save. I used to bring extra to share with others who were doing laundry at the same time. Met a lot of nice people that way too.

Slightly Goofy

 

[countingmomma]

I pack dryer sheets and Tide "rapid action tablets". Much cheaper than buying them at the laundry. Also, if I take Woolite, I put it in a plastic zipper bag in case of a leak. (Don't want any EXTRA laundry.)

 

[Steven41782]

We did laundry mid-afternoon at the YC last summer. We forgot the detergent and had to go back to our room (at least 10 miles [exagerration] away from the laundry area), so that wasn't good.

There weren't that many machines, and all of them were full. This one woman got mad and started throwing other people's clothes out of the dryers. (The machines had just cut off, she should have given the people time to get back IMO). She was groaning the whole time, too. I was thinking "lighten up, you're on vacation."

Most other times when we've done laundry, we meet other people and have great conversations. So I don't think it's a pain at all! Chatting with others doing there laundry is always fun.

Steven & Steph

 

[matt&jakesmom]

To be frank about it, it is a VACATION and I DO NOT do laundry on vacation.
We stay for a week and I bring that amount of clothes and a few extra just in case. I figure when I get home all my "wifey/motherly" duties resume, however on vacation it is my time. Mind you I am not being snobbish, its just 1 week out of 365 days is not much to ask to have a break.

 

[minmate]

We just stayed at Pop and did laundry there. Actually dh did it. We were located in the 50's bldg and there is a laundry right next to the bowling pin pool. From the start of the trip we just put our dirty clothes in one of the rolling suitcases. On our non-park day, when we got up and went for a swim, dh just wheeled the bag full of dirty clothes to the laundry room and popped them in. We swam and hung out. It was easy to go back and forth to check on them. I would say all in all, we did take a bit over an hour to do it, but we weren't really rushing. If you have a time during your trip scheduled for a non-park day that may work out well for you. But to be honest, since the laundry room was only a minute away from our room, we could have done them at night upon our return -- we just never needed to then.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

There are five of us and we'll be in DIsney or Universal for a total of 18 days. Even I can't pack that many clothes! I found if I do a load really early (around 6 or 7) that laundry is all done by the time we are ready to leave for the parks. The kids also do the Pirate Cruise, Grand Adventures in Cooking and Wonderland tea party so sometimes I'll throw a load in then. It was funny we stay at the GF in WDW and they don't really advertise that they even have laundry facilities. The first year I sent everything out to be laundered ($200 worth for one week ). Believe me I learned where the laundry was!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

Yes I am on vacation but I do laundry while at WDW. We are DVC members and have a washer and dryer unit in the room. When we get back from the parks and change into PJ's I throw a load into the washer. I either throw it into the dryer the same night or in the morning before we leave for the parks. This way we have no dirty clothes while there, come home with 100% clean clothes and it really doesn't feel like I am working while there. Of course I am one of the few who really uses the kitchens there and not just for breakfast. We find the change of pack from the crowded parks relaxing.

 

[gigi1313]

i *love* doing laundry on vacation... it started when the kids were 2&4 and i had to do a load of laundry due to a few mishaps (lots of spilled milk and such, nothing tragic) and found out it is the perfect break for me... i typically do our laundry on an "early to bed" night when we've either been up extra early that morning or are planning to be out extra early the next day... i leave the kids in the tub w/dh in charge, he gets them into their pjs and bed and when i get back from the laundry room (where i enjoy a book and a glass of wine from the pool bar or a decadent dessert from the food court) everyone is sleeping and i'm relaxed and it's usually a perfect ending to a hectic day...after being "in charge" of everyone and everything non-stop for days, i am ready to take a break and i found that the guise of "doing laundry" is the perfect break... either i read in quiet and solitude or i end up chatting w/some other moms in the same boat... to me, doing laundry while on vacation is a luxury!