Rain gear, extra socks and shoes X 8!!!

[DisneyMom5]

Ok, many people recommend bringing rain gear, and extra socks to the parks, and then an extra pair of walking shoes. Great suggestions! BUT...
There are eight of us. HOW in the world can I do this? I do have a few disposable ponchos, but they are too big for the littler kids. They have lightweight spring coats that are waterproof, but I know for a fact it will not be cool enough for them, they would only be for water protection. I can drag eight coats around on the dbl stroller, but its an inconvenience. I can't afford to get everyone the coats that fold up into a wallet size.
We already bring a big back-pack, a small diaper bag (used as a cooler) and a waist pack, don't really want to add another bag, though I could if needed.
Last time we went it was Jan. and we used our coats several days, so we just tied them around our waists, but too hot for that now!
And can you imagine putting 8 extra pairs of socks in my backpack along with the diapers for 3, etc. that I already carry?
And, we only have one pair of walking shoes each!
Now, I think the suggestions are great, I just need advice on how to make it practical for us.
Any big families with good ideas?
Help?

 

[Hillbeans]

Well, I just came back from an 8 night stay with a party of 12 (7 adults and 5 kids) and we changed clothes so much because we were drenched from sweat because it was so hot.

I do have to tell you though, that some days I wore sneakers, and some I wore flip-flops, and the flip flops were really comfortable. I would also recommend perhaps buying some of those "water shoes" as a second pair of shoes instead of bringing extra sneakers and socks.

Another suggestion is to rent a locker and store your extra "stuff" in. We didn't get much if any rain the week we were down, and the day it did rain, we just ducked into shows. We also got soaked a few times on the water rides, but we just kept our wet stuff on and changed mid-day back at the house.

We all lugged around small foldable coolers with water and I always brought my son's bathing suit as an "extra" outfit - or he'd start the day in his bathing suit and i'd just bring a change of clothes after he got soaked playing in the water.

Best of luck to you!!

 

[kimatigger]

You are definetly not going to need those coats. If you are bringing pochos I think that would be enough rain protection. You could always just bring 8 pairs of socks and leave thenm in a ziploc bag in the stroller. I doubt anyone would ever take them. As far as shoes there is no way I would want to lug those around. Maybe you could just hide out if the rain is taht bad and instruct the kids on not jumping in puddles. Sorry not to be of more help.

 

[golfgal]

I would get waterproof sandles for everyone or those water tennis shoes from Land's End (although they aren't that comfortable). Sandels, like Teva's can get wet and dry out quickly. They had kid sized ponchos at Walmart when I was buying ponchos for our trip. They were in the camping section.

 

[stacy6552]

We tie the chaepie ponchos ends into knowts to fit the smaller kids. works everytime.

In terms of bringing extra shoes, I do reccommend it for summer days, but we did it on our midday break. we didnt bring all that stuff into the park with us. If you feel the need to switch w/o a break, get a few lockers.