Luggage and Carry On Question

[ninecrayons]

I'm off to WDW in about a week and am flying United. I need some advice about the situation.

1) United charges $25 to check any bags, so I'd like to keep everything in a carryon. Has anyone ever fit 6 days of clothing in a carryon? I will be buying all my liquids and gels in FL since I'll be staying with a friend. I'm just doing Disney and Universal, really no place fancy other than the California Grill and I'm not adverse to wearing the same thing twice in a week.

Is it doable?

2) Also, I need to buy a carry on suitcase. My wheely case from Target died after getting checked on the way to Disneyland. I don't want to get something that's going to break at the drop of a hat, but also don't want to spend $$$$. Any ideas on where to get a decent carry on for not to much?

 

[rigs32]

First of all, write down what United allows for carry ons before going shopping. I have a Columbia rolling duffel that qualifies for some airlines and is 1-2" too big on others. I got it at TJMAxx for a great discount - they discontinued the color.

Most airlines will allow you to gate check larger carryons for free. That's what we did last month. Paid to check one bag, then each gate checked our carryons for free. You pick it up at baggage claim, but if your concern is cost rather than going to baggage claim, then it saves a lot of money.

 

[SnowWhite33]

Last year to avoid paying so many luggage fees for our party of 5 we packed a lot in our carry ons.

The one thing that I found to be incredible was the space you can save using the space type bags. I just got a few from the dollar tree and used hefty gallon bags. In one of the dollar tree bags I was able to fit about 7 pair of shorts-and I'm a pooh sized gal!

After rolling the air out I had plenty of room to get that bag, one for tops, and one for socks/undies all in the carry on with room for an extra pair of shoes.

 

[lizabu]

I do this too. Just pack light and do laundry halfway through the trip.

 

[Pakey]

Last year I did 2 weeks in China with a 19" international carry on. Yes it can be done. Just make sure that you can lift it yourself into the overhead bins.

When shopping you need to consider weight in addition to size. I had a Samsonite spinner that I could not lift overhead after packed; too heavy for me. I use Tumi now but it's not an economical brand.

Also the size allowed by airlines has to include the wheels and handles.

 

[sophie832]

DH and I just managed to do 7 days with only carry-ons. We had 3 bags to pack stuff in (my backpack, his duffle bag, and my wheeled carry-on). We were flying Virgin America, and they charge $25 per bag also.

We brought quarters and Purex sheets, and did laundry during the trip. I wore the same dress for most of our signature dinners, and DH wore khakis and a polo on park days and for dinners. We only brought 2 pairs of shoes each, 1 of which we wore on the plane. I used roll-up black ballet flats (you can get them at Target for $20) for the dinners.

You said it wasn't an issue, but as far as liquids go, you can fit a ton of 3-oz bottles in a quart-size bag, we were able to bring whatever we needed.

The only problem was getting souvenirs home. Since this was our second trip in a month's time, we didn't buy much, so we managed to squeeze it in. You might have to keep a folded up duffle inside your luggage for souvenirs and pay the checked bag fee on the way back, or ship some home if you plan on buying a lot.

We already had wheeled carry-ons from Costco that were supposedly the right size, but they seemed big when we measured, so we bought a Ful suitcase with a detachable backpack from Costco online, and it worked fine. People on our flight had bags much bigger than ours, though, so I guess we were worried over nothing. I didn't use the backpack that came with the suitcase because I liked mine better, and I think the quality wasn't quite up to par with our other suitcases.

Anyway, I'm sure you can do 6 days with just a carry-on, as long as you don't overpack.