Question about Packing.

[beautybelle]

OK im the person who ALWAYS has the hardest time deciding where to stay. Thats always my hardest Disney decision. First of all we were going to stay in a Villa for our 8 day trip. Now the villa has a washer/dryer so I was planning on packing for like 4 days and washing. Now we've decided to stay at the WL and will have to pack for 8 days. Thats going to be an astronomical amount of clothes. Can anybody give me some tips on how I might be able to cut down on the packing? Pleeze, pleeze, pleeze

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How about doing laundry 1/2 way through the trip. Bring quarters and wash a load of lights and one of darks and you should be in good shape.

T&B

 

[clkelley]

We always wash on our Disney Trips. Plus we usually accumulate a new shirt or two, so we usually only pack a couple of pairs of pants each, a couple of shirts each, and sleepwear. We usually pack 4 pairs of socks/underwear.

We wash every couple of days.

Every resort has one or more laundry rooms.

Carol

 

[dpic]

We always pack enough so we don't do laundry--it's vacation! We use one large suitcase, one medium, and each child has a medium/large LL Bean duffle bag. Then the DW and I have carry-ons (hers is makeup stuff). We had plenty of clothes on our last nine night trip.

 

[gigi1313]

i love doing laundry on vacation... it's the only down-time/me-time i ever get... toss in a load of laundry, take a walk to the food court for some decadent dessert or glass of wine... head back and switch it over... read a magazine or novel while the stuff is in the dryer... dh is getting the kids to bed (tubbed/scrubbed/brushed/pj'd/settled down/etc)... laundry night is my "night off!" (or morning off while dh takes the kids boating or in the pool) and if there are other great disney-loving moms in the laundry room to chat with, it's a bonus!

 

[browneyes]

I thought all the resorts had laundry rooms?

 

[delilah]

In my experience, they do. I have stayed at All Star Sports, Grand Floridian, Old Key West, and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I always pack laundry supplies, bring a pop up hamper and a bag, and wash an average of 6 loads on a 1 week trip, the last laundry usually the day before leaving, so, I don't have to do a ton of wash when I get home. The nice benefit to DVC resorts is the laundry room is free. The major benefit to a 1 bedroom or bigger is the washer/dryer are in your room! GF actually has the smallest laundry room, and the only place where I ever had trouble getting laundry done--somebody got impatient and took my clothes out of the dryer before they were dry.

 

[goofydad621]

We always do a load of laundry Not sure about WL but at some resorts the laundy area is by the quit pools, do laundry while going for a swim. Worked well for us ans as clkelley said we also always get a couple new shirts and sweatshirts for suvies for us.

 

[msr709]

I also think there are laundry rooms in every Disney resort. I usually split my vacation b/w Disney and USO so I do my laundry last day at Disney and then one last one before I leave the USO resort, makes for a very short wash and I also take advantage of the me-time. HTH

 

[HM]

WL has a small laundry room with just a few washers and dryers. It's near Roaring Forks and the pool area. Take enough clothes for about 6 days and then do laundry sometime during your stay....don't wait until all 6 days of clothing are gone, just in case the laundry room is full. You might have to keep checking back or do the laundry at an odd time.

-HM

 

[beautybelle]

Thanks so much for the info. Im not sure yet what I'll do though. Pack enough for all 8 days or wash. I really dont want to take my precious little Disney time to do laundry, but I dont want to lug all the huge baggage around at the airport either. Geez, what a yucky decision to make.

 

[canwegosoon]

That's exactly why I do laundry..I don't want to drag bags around the airport with my kids. 1 Large bag for each adult, and one carryon, and a kid in each hand Bring a little ziploc of powder detergent, and do laundry 2X's there are only 3 of you, so I would bring clothes for 3-4 days max.

Just my 2 Cents...

 

[heathrow42]

On longer trips (6+ days) we do laundry.. In fact it's the only time DH will take over and do the laundry.

If you are really against it, try Space Bags.. they have ones for travel.. Put your clothes in, zip it up and roll out the air. I liked the carry on size for tshirts and the regular size for jeans and shorts. I tried them on our last trip -11 days.. I still did laundry, but I was able to take all of my and DH's clothes in my suitcase. And no, things don't get terribly wrinkled (not sure how they did that though) -- the best part was, the dirty clothes were kept seperate from the clean for the trip home!! We started with 3 bags (2 big 1 small) and bought more at one of the flea markets on 192 -- I think 3 small and 1 large would have been enough for the 2 of us.

HTH
Heather

 

[MinnesotaChill]

One of the best trips my mom, a seasoned traveler, gave me, is to pack in colors so you can more easily do laundry. For instance, if you bring three red shirts, three white shirts and four blue pairs of pants, you have a bunch of little loads. If you concentrate on bringing blues and whites, for example, you will have two full loads. I thought that was brillant, because I hate when I have one or two pieces I have to wash because they are central to my wardrobe and they are an odd color. We are DVC members, so we can do the laundry in the room and it's really not a problem.

Another tip I have is that I pack the kids clothing in baggies by temperature and event, then write on the outside what it is. For example, "warm, dressy" or "cold, casual" I also then coordinate the three kids clothing. I do this because then the kids are in outfits that compliment each other (not necessary matching, just the same general colors) and any picture we take is a fantastic one. It also makes the kids easier to pick out in a crowd and it is amazing what purposely gets left behind when I start packing this way. It is amazing to me how easy it is to overpack, thinking you will need a ton of shirts, etc., but when you break it down you need much less than the original "piles to pack" that you might have made. I also bring a few extra shirts, etc., but I wind up with far fewer odds and ends. It cuts down on my packing volume and it makes it really easy for my kids, or DH to pick out the kids clothes for the day. It does mean a bit more work packing, but it ensures I have the right outfits for each situation and it is so much less stressful at the park.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

If you really don't want to do laundry then plan to bring the clothes, with the option of doing laundry if you run out of something you really need. You are going in hot weather and won't need to variety of clothes that I did with my Dec trip. I had to pack clothes for "hot" weather, clothes for warm, clothes for cool/cold and I used some of everything.

You'll be able to bring all summer clothes, depending on if you are doing any special meals, Cirque, etc. Also a sweater or sweatshirt for cool buildings. You can bring a little Woolite and wash undergarmets or lightweight clothes out in the sink. Roll them in a towel and hang on the wire pull-out clothes hanger that most resorts have. Bring mix and match outfits. I usually bring one pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals because footwear can really take up a lot of room in the suitcase (and I pretty much live in sandals).

T&B

 

[princesslibby]

We do the ziplock baggie thing too. We have 3 boys, so each boy gets a baggie with his name on it and a complete outfit inside. we also coordinate colors. If one should wander away(hasn't happened yet. knock on wood.) we could say he looks like this one only shorter, taller etc. also makes it easier to get them selves dressed.

libby

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.......................................Heathrow42 has it down. Have the husband do laundry! The 100% that I do laundry at WDW almost makes up for the 10% I do at home!

And take the kid(s) with you when you go, most laundry is by a pool. Laundry done and a couple hours of alone time for the wife, priceless!!! That's a vacation!

Use a suitcase for a laundry bag.

Two beers to wash, and one to two beers to dry depending on how much cotton you are drying!

Our last two trips we were able to get by with no checked baggage for nine day vacations.

Minnesota Chill gives great advice. Try to go all cotton, blues, blacks, even green or beige can be washed together. No silk, satin, or new red anything!