Pack light, or Pack heavy?

[SLEEPING BELLE]

What are the advantages to packing either way? In my family, we pack very lightly, and carry everything on. We each have 1 med sized suitcase that fits in the over head department + 1 tote/purse/bag that we can choose of our own. yes, we do sometimes do laundry but as for liquid toiletries we can't bring on the plain, we usually just buy what we need when we reach the airport. What do you do? i've seen a bunch of threads with humungus (sp?) shopping lists, and i can't help thinking, do you really need that much? lets face it. Your on vacation, you're not going to see anyone you know, why do you pack so much?

 

[ImaFunMom]

We pack lightly (pack for 4 days when we are staying for 8) and do laundry one day while there.

 

[lrab1126]

We pack very light and do laundry about 1/2 way through so some outfits can be worn again.... it also saves a lot on the laundry I need to do when we get home. I bring the really big ziploc bags to repack the clean laundry in so when we get home I can just put it away. lot less stress packing light and doing a quick load of laundry while there.

 

[mrs_hower726]

I'm saying pack heavy. DH and I had absolutely no problems with the checked luggage at all between the airports, resorts, and cruise. We each had a suitcase and had 2 duffels as carry-ons. It worked out really well for the trip home since we had so many souvies (first trip, went a little crazy... ). I also didn't want to do laundry on vacation, it's the time to get away from all that stuff and have fun.

 

[disfan07]

I only use 1 suitcase which could be a carryon but i have to bring all of my toilitires (shampoo, soap, conditioner...etc) b/c i can only use one brand of that stuff so i have to check my luggage no matter what

 

[lrab1126]

another downside to packing heavy now is the charges that most airlines are assessing on baggage and also bags over a certain weight (i.e. 50lbs) doing laundry is a cinch at the resorts...i throw in the load...go to the pool and have some fun...go back throw in the dryer...back to relax at the pool and then pick it up on my way back to the room and its done. I also ship all our toiletries down to the resort ahead of time so no lugging that crap and no worries of exploded shampoos etc.. have fun!

 

[nyyankeegirl]

I'm a heavy packer. I like to have everything I could possibly need- just in case! Plus we usually wear 2 different outfits a day while at Disney. I like to bring a case of water too- then have that bag for souvenniers on our way home. But now we are going to try to pack lighter b/c most airlines are charging $25 for the 2nd bag per person-- and even American is now charging for the 1st bag. Maybe we will just have to drive this time...

 

[CruisingCamper]

another downside to packing heavy now is the charges that most airlines are assessing on baggage and also bags over a certain weight (i.e. 50lbs) doing laundry is a cinch at the resorts...i throw in the load...go to the pool and have some fun...go back throw in the dryer...back to relax at the pool and then pick it up on my way back to the room and its done. I also ship all our toiletries down to the resort ahead of time so no lugging that crap and no worries of exploded shampoos etc.. have fun!

How do you ship to the resort? I am very interested in doing this.

Thanks!!

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

Over packing is not a character flaw. But,....it is getting a lot more expensive.

I can't believe that you can be charged $60 for the first bag and $100 for the second on (4 segment) round trip.

Our last trip was a 17 day marathon, a week off property followed by 10 days at OKW with free dining. Two families, 3 Adults and 4 teen and preteen boys. We checked 2 bags each! And yes, I got it all into the minivan at the airport. (Got to love checking in at the resort on the way home.)

I'm sure we'll have to learn to go all carry on in the future. Why did Disney switch to stack washers/dryers in the newer DVC? One more reason to choose OKW.

For some hints on packing light, see http://www.onebag.com/

 

[megveg]

I say pack heavy! as long as the first bag is still free, and you dont go over the weight limit, it costs just the same to pack light as it does to pack heavier

 

[Clotho]

I am with Megveg. I pack heavy by many standards. When hubby and I travel, it is usually our one big suitcase and two carry-ons (plus my laptop bag . We have gone during September, and we go through two outfits a day. And we like to have options: what I imagine I might want to wear on a given day may not be what I feel like once I am there, so having options to dress as I like each day is worth it to me. We also pack several different pairs of shoes, which takes up a lot of room. Our feet inevitably get tired or get rubbed in a certain way after a lot of walking, so being able to switch shoes helps. And we sometimes have nicer outfits or shoes to wear out for dinners in the evening.

Pack heavy! That's what we do!

 

[justplaingoofy]

light packer here

Since we are light packers we just do a carry on & have found a way to bring liquids... it is a very inexpensive option too

I found at linens n' things they have these airline approved containers with labels. You get a bunch of various sizes, all very small which are perfect for
up to 2 weeks. They all come in a quart size zip lock bag and its amazing what can fit in there...

I love it because it was only $9.99 less a 20% off coupon and it enables me to take the brands of products that I use at home. It would cost me well over $8 for just a couple of toiletries...

The little jars are great for face cream, spray bottles for hairspray.. & I even pack some aloe... You know there is plenty of room in the bag when you can pack things like aloe (something you can live without)..

 

[Minniekins]

I usually pack heavy! What if I change my mind and want to wear something else on my trip? Usually I have what I need then except for anything I forget, that is!

The advantage to packing heavy is having pretty much whatever I need to pick from. The big disadvantage was having to move or carry that suitcase, they get so heavy!!

The disadvantage to packing light is that I won't have what I want or need! Advantage would be lighter suitcase to move around.

Either way I usually have little room left to pack anything I buy to bring home! Last time we brought one extra nearly empty suitcase to bring stuff home and it was still a tight squeeze!

So, DD17 and I bring one heavy bag with us, two carry ons, and a purse/tote bag each, plus like I said one extra empty bag. For the two of us! Of course now, if they end up charging us for bags we will have to do differently, that will be hard!

 

[NeedaVacation03]

We are a family of 6 and we pack light. I always send a box to the resort and then send it home again when we are ready to leave. I actually dont mind doing laundry while on vacation. We usually stay DVC so there is no cost involved, but even when we stayed at Pop or POR it was no big deal. I pack rolls of quarters in my carryon so I do not have to worry about the change issue. I send powder laundry soap and dryer sheets in the box I send down so we are all set to go. I actually find it relaxing with a drink to hang out and do it.

 

[kimsuenew]

We packed heavy... really heavy and will do so again for our upcoming WDW trip!

I had/have no desire to do laundry on vacation!

We brought home all dirty clothes (I did a big laundrymat day shortly after returning as we were gone for 13 days total).

We even came home with some clothes that still had the tags on them (that we never got to)!:

 

[TexasTodds]

We (I guess that is really just ME!) are a "heavy packing" family. For 5 of us in January we took two larger suitcases and 4 smaller ones, plus 2 small adult carry-on's and 3 kids backpacks for a Sat to Sat. trip. Of those, here was the breakdown:

Large -- mine and DH's clothes
Large -- the boys clothes/jackets (DS8, DS5)
Small -- DD3's clothes/jackets and any adult overflow
Small -- Toiletries, hairdryer, medications (I usu. travel with alot of OTC, since we used to do alot of drug store runs and ended up w/ lots of duplicates.
Small -- Shoes (everyone brought an extra pair)/light jackets for us
Small -- Foodstuffs for mornings, snacks, umbrellas, ponchos, backpack for during the day

It was a little harder packing for January, since we were pretty much having to pack for a wide temperature swing. I brought some detergent if I got a chance to do laundry, but really didn't want to go out at night to do laundry, since we did rope drop every morning. we didn't do afternoon breaks, but most days called it quits by 5-6:00, so that we went to bed by 8:30.

 

[dananbethany]

I throw everything I think I need in one bag and pray. Real hard.

I always try to pack everything i need, but I always end up forgetting something somewhere. I figure if I bring too many clothes then I don't have enough room for souvenirs. If I bring too few clothes, I can either buy more or wash what I have. If I forget Band-Aids, I can find some somewhere or either just tie some toilet tissue to it. It'll all work out somehow.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I'm a reformed over packer. Through the years I've learned I didn't use about half the stuff I packed, so I've pared it down over time. We have DVC and therefore the luxury of putting a load of wash in as I'm going to bed and then tossing it in the dryer while I shower in the morning. If I wasn't in a room with a washer/dryer, then I could see packing like a maniac cause I hate taking time out of my park touring to do laundry. We also have an owner's locker that gets delivered to our resort for us, so we get to store a lot of the redundant items there such as our toiletries, beach towels, bathing suits and things we only use at Disney-this majorly cuts down on overpacking-and leaves more room in our bags for souvenirs.