luggage/carry on: what works best for kids

[Goofy4]

We are traveling with 7 children in October ages 5-11.

We would like each of them to have a carry-on with clothes, bathing suits, toothbrushes etc.

Any suggestions on type (considering duffel type or small carry on with wheels) which works well and where to purchase?

 

[JVL1018]

My kids each carry a backpack. They are a good size(my daughters is a Barbie one and not as big as my sons cheapo one from Target last summer) and my kids whine about having to carry something so putting the backpack on is easier than them having to carry something like a dufflebag.

They each have their own small rolling suitcase(very small the kind you get at The Disney Store) and love to roll that around. It could be used as a carryon but we check it.

 

[DsnyDrmr]

I just bought new bags for my kids 4, 8 and 11. I bought them through eBags--check out the Mousesavers website. I purchased the Skyway brand - Sigma 22" expandable carry-on for the older two, and the Saga2 Rolling Organizer for the almost 5-year-old. They can all be used as carry-ons and are really quite sturdy and have a lot of room for at least a week's worth of clothes in my opinion (shorts/t-shirts, maybe not a lot of jeans/sweatshirts). They have the rolling wheels with handle. They all tried them out yesterday, and they were a good size for them to handle.

 

[Gillian]

My almost 5 year old son has a small rolling bag that his grandmother got him at a yard sale. It's very nice, and small. He can carry his school backpack with the lunch box clipped on, but has a hard time with regular, handle bags (grocery, totes) I guess I'd have to go with SMALL, whatever you choose.

The issues I can think of:
-lots of rolling bags in your party will have to fit someplace in the plane. That could be a problem.
-the kids will probably want to have toys for the trip. if their stuff is in the overhead, it can be difficult to get to

Maybe they could share -- 2 sets of clothes in a small rolling bag, 2 sets of in-flight stuff in a backpack. One kid pulls and the other carries. They can switch off.

I don't know anything about rolling backpacks, but maybe that would work if they are small enough to fit under the seat.

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

. I purchased the Skyway brand - Sigma 22" expandable carry-on for the older two.

my aunt picked these up for their trip to disney last year. The kids handled them good for being 7 and their first trip. Nobody thought they could bear a carry on. They still use them for other vacations and like she said..they can fit a weeks worth of clothes.

 

[la79al]

We just got back and DD4 and DS8 each had a backpack for their carry on and a small rolling suitcase ($10 Walmart) for their checked bag. Depending on your airline, these suitcases would have also been able to be carryons. We packed enough clothes in these suitcases for 11 days. And even the 4 year old had no problems pulling the suitcase with her backpack on.

 

[we3disneygo]

my dd has a rolling suitcase(from k-mart) and carries a back pack on the plane we used to do only carry on suitcases until one trip with my aunt who always checks her bag and the last couple of trips we have checked all our bags! Much easier. the first trip when dd was 6 she had an seasame street rollie suitcase which was just the right size!

 

[tlbwriter]

We used a small rolling suitcase for clothes (DD got a big kick out of pulling her own bag, at least until she got tired) and a small backpack for things to use on the plane.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

My daughter has a Tinkerbell backpack that she will use..
Also..I liked LL Bean's selection of duffels..in LIME GREEN!! Easy to see!!

 

[Memaw2Wm]

GK wear a backpack and roll small carry-ons onto the plane.

Their backpacks have their gameboys, CD players, markers, drawing pads, and sweatshirts (airports tend to be cold).

Their rolling carry-ons are filled with their clothes which I've packed in ziplock bags.

First time we did this they were 5 and 7.

 

[jjan]

My DD7 uses a rolling backpack (got it for $7 at TJ Maxx on clearance) that has lots of compartments for all of her crayons, paper, gameboy etc. etc. to bring on the plane. We then check a large regular suitcase for each person. We got the Samsonite luggage set at Wal-Mart for $88 I believe and it has 5 different pieces and we just use the largest suitcase. Our last trip was just her and I, and I told her that she was going to have to help a bit with the suitcases and we just used the luggage strap things that piggy-backs suitcases together and attached her backpack by its carry handle to the large suitcase and she was actually happy to pull her own big suitcase and her attached backpack. It worked really well. But, oh boy did I get some looks like I was a slave driver making her pull that load... little did they know that she wouldn't let me do it

 

[chrisn]

Two Jamungun suitcases, one or two rollaways, and 3 carryons plus DVD and Camcoder. NEVER AGAIN! I'm so sick of hearing DH complain (puting it nicely) about having to schlep everyone's crap. So from now on everyone gets one rolling carryon with matching tote that straps to the top. If it doesn't fit, then we're SOL. Plus I had a nightmare take place with my check luggage in Maui one time and I'd like to avoid that torture in the future. It was fun. No bathing suit, no undies, nothing! NEVER AGAIN! DH and I already have ours, but I ordered DD the pink Tinkerbell set from Disney Direct and DS a Camoulage set from Kids Travel Zone. Everyone rolls their own and I hope we will all be very happy in our travels together.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

My 5 and 4 year olds each had a rolling suitcase and backpack on our trip last August. It was a pain because I ended up having to drag the rolling suitcases when they got tired of them.

On our November trip, I packed an extra change of clothes and toothbrush (just in case) in their backpacks along with the normal items they carry on the plane. The rest of their stuff was packed together with my stuff in a big suitcase. This worked out so much better because it cut down on the bags we had to drag along.

I would go with the least amount of baggage--check the big suitcases and let each child carry-on a backpack. In October, I'm packing light and planning to wash clothes halfway thru our trip. I always tend to take too much stuff. This trip I'm NOT doing it!