Packing for Disney

[chemie15]

Wondering if anyone can provide some advice on Packing for disney. Myself, DW, DS 8, DS 3, & DS 10 months will be going on Oct 4-11. Since we are flying space is somewhat limits, so any advice would be great. Plus this is our first trip. Thank you

 

[PamOKW]

If you are staying in a one-bedroom or larger, keep in mind that it is very easy to make use of the in-room washer/dryer. This can cut down on the packing considerably if you can wash and rewear. A studio has access to free washer/dryers as well but is not quite as convenient.

 

[chemie15]

That is very true, we are staying at a 2bdrm in OKW

 

[erin.w]

Pack outfits that can be mixed and matched. Think 5 shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, one pair of pants, 5 pairs of underwear, 2 pyjamas, 1-2 bathing suits, a few pairs of socks (depending if your kids will wear sandals or sneakers). Maybe even less if you want to wash clothes twice during your trip. One thing I always do is bring too many pairs of shoes, I would bring one pair of sandals, and one pair of sneakers.

 

[Woodcourt]

Definately take advantage of the washer/dryer. We realized when we did laundry on that last trip that we packed way too many clothes. I will probably do a load of laundry every night and probably pack about 4 sets of clothes (mix and match some) for a 10 day vacation.

We also did gardengrocer.com and had groceries delivered. We had cheerios, diapers, baby food, bottled water and other snacks, food etc. It was a little more than what we pay at home, but really nice to not have the hassle. Get some lil ziploc baggies to bag some cheerios or snacks for the little ones. Gives them something to snack on throughout the day without having to try to find a snack. We couldnt find anywhere in the parks that had apple juice, so we get little bottles of those too delivered. That helped. Also, if everyone can take a carry on, that will help with eat kids taking their own backpack with their plane activity type things. My kids are 5,4 & 2 and will be 6,4 and 3 when we travel. We have coloring books, leapsters and a few books. We leave the favorite stuffed animals at home and let them pick something little the first day to sleep with! We do always pack another bag for souveniers but you can also have those shipped home and now that you have to pay for bags on planes, might be better to just ship them all home!

There are babycare centers in each of the parks that have small packs of essentials like diapers, wipes, pacifiers and even some snacks. They also have stuff in the hotel. We have had a child get sick on almost every trip and they have kids/baby tylenol, thermometers etc in the gift shops in the hotels.
FYI...if you have someone get sick, there are pharmacies that will deliver to your hotel. We had an ear infection show back up with my son last winter and it wasnt cheap to get a prescription since it was out of network, but sure was convenient.

Another thing....Sorry I am rambling....
We were never sure how much we would use the pools and ended up going a lot. Even in January, we went a few days. Anyways, they sell pool floaties in the gift shops too and so we bought those the first time (they were nemo) and take them back each time. I think we will get one of the Owners Lockers and that would be something we keep there stored.

There is probably more and sorry I got off topic..but I know what it means to travel with little ones and try to share anything I have learned along the way.

The best part is that since you have all boys, you dont have to buy princess costumes. I forgot our costumes at home in Sept and didnt have them for the Pirate and Princess party...so I had to swallow the cost and buy them for my girls. It was my fault for forgetting them. At least they got to wear them for Halloween!

 

[chemie15]

messed up on the 10 month old, that is a girl, but too young to want the princess dress yet.... thanks for the post

 

[PEANUT1]

send a package of stuff to your hotel prior to your trip (about 1 week before). We do this and send stuff like diapers, wipes, pool toys, misting fans, ponchos, snacks, toilletries etc. Our box was sent to our room on arrival. This allowed us to have less to pack for the plane. I think the cost was about 20$ but well worth it. We sent via UPS. Send the box to your name at the hotel. Put your ressie number on it and your arrival date.

 

[chemie15]

The resort will hold the package until you arrive? That would make taking some items a lot easier. Do a lot of people do that?

 

[PEANUT1]

The resort will hold the package until you arrive? That would make taking some items a lot easier. Do a lot of people do that?

Yes. Just make sure your name, arrival date and reservation number are on the box. We always send 1 week prior. It was a great tip I learned here on the boards and I will do it for every trip from now on.

we also have a case of water delivered from staples to the hotel. we get free shipping and the cost came to like $6 for 24 bottles. It sure beats the price they charge for a bottle of water in disney.