Share your packing and trip preparing tips!

[MLindaG]

I too love my LISTS!!! What I have done since the kids(3 boys) were little is make lists of their outfits coordinating these with what day at which park. (Of course that is also all planned out!!). I would make sure the kids all had Mickey outfits for MK, Star Wars or such for MGM, fish for Sea World......etc. It saved me lots of time telling everyone what to wear........as they got older I would have them help me plan ahead. The other thing I always was trying to do since we usually went for two weeks and did not go to parks everyday I would figure it out so I only took 6 outfits for each child......what were my wash days and made sure they didn't wear the same outfit to two different parks so my pictures would have them in all their outfits. I know it sounds a bit crazy but it works and even my mil who came with us on one of our trips couldn't believe the boys would get up and check the "schedule" as to what to wear. Now that they are teens they refused to do a schedule (I still do one for my dh and I) and all of them came out ready to go with orange T Shirts on and they all laughed and had to fight over who was changing and wasn't........now it is uncool to wear similar clothing

 

[I am JEN]

Just getting back yesterday...my biggest tip on packing is to have the one large wheeled suitcase with the retractable handle and your carry-on that fits on top! We have several pieces that are just too much of a hastle for the airport...we will know better next time!!!

Each kid had their own backpack and we kept their souviniers in their backpacks in the hotel room to keep everything organized!

If your planning on buying a lot of souviniers, pack one suitcase full of food so you will have space to carry everything back home in after the food is eaten!

I recommend just going ahead and buying the yellow disney ponchos...we took the cheaper ones and they only last through about one good downpour...and they never dry out!!! We ended up buying the disney ones afterall and they were great...I even got the pin of Mickey in a poncho!

 

[SilverL]

I have to agree, dollar store ponchos suck. You may as well just wear garbage bags. They stick to you, and they're uncomfortable. Once you take it off you won't ever want to put it back on, because it'll just be a wet mess of plastic. It's better to just buy one in the parks

Some airlines restrict the amount of checked luggage you can have. I would completely skip saving room for souvenirs or bringing an extra case for them - we just shipped ours home our last day there. Sure, you have to pay a small shipping fee, and you don't get it for about a week depending on where you live, but it's easier than lugging a whole extra suitcase just for souvenirs. Unless your family packs really light. Mine doesn't - for a 10 day trip, 4 of us had huge, huge suitcases (we had one extra person coming along). The only one able to use a smaller one was my 9 year old sister, and she still used the one I usually take for 5 day trips, it's still pretty big.

The shoe rack thing is a wonderful idea. Went to WDW with all my stuff in a makeup case with tons of compartments and zippers and it drove me crazy.

Bring an extra pair of sunglasses. I had mine hanging on a mesh call phone holder on the strap of my one strap backpack in a resturant, and forgot about it. Boy was I mad.

Pack for all kinds of weather if you're going in January... temperatures went down to a record low overnight when we were there, and boy was I glad that I'd brought 4 sweaters/sweatshirts. I got outside and ran back in to put one on over my shirt. Once we got to the park, I put on the second one I always had in my bag, and my jacket made an excellent windsheild while on the tram from the parking lot.
(Hear anyone yelling at the tram operator to get a move on on a freezing day at MGM during January? That would be my party. We sat there for like, 10 minutes and we're impatient. Not to mention I was probably the only one who thought to actually BRING my sweatshirts in my bag. Another reason NOT to use a fanny pack)

In the parks, most of us used fanny packs (7 out of 10). I like to bring a backpack to put extra sweatshirts in, and any souvenirs I might pick up. People may say that lugging around a backpack is a hassle - not really. You just wear it on your back and forget about it, and rides have a compartment to stow it in. It only takes three seconds to take it off and stick it under your seat. If it has no place to put it, just put it at your feet or hold onto it. It's really not that hard.

And last, but not least, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING BEFORE LEAVING YOUR HOTEL/CONDO/RENTAL CAR. Check and double check every drawer, under beds, cabinets, tables, fridges, showers, shake out the bedding, everything. This last trip I left my cd case there - very disappointing. I'd brought all my favorite cd's for the 9 hour ride to and from FL, and I came home with the one inside my diskman. It wasn't in the box we shipped home, either. We called the condos we stayed at, the hotel, and the rental car place, and never got it back.

 

[Wenlitz]

For our last trip I bought 2 pop up hampers at wal-mart. My husband made fun of me for buying these. I had the last laugh, i set these up upon arrival out of the way. One was for whites and one was for colored clothes. Sure made it simple to do laundry halfway through our trip. It also kept the room neat.
I think they were around 4.00 each.

 

[donna brick]

I get 2 gallon zip lock bags at the local grocery store.

 

[MLindaG]

I remember those days with strollers and how easy it was to take the poncho's but now that my kids are teens and basically won't wear poncho's at all. I really don't like carrying the heavier poncho's I prefer the lighter dollar store variety. I have never tried to dry or save. I think the idea behind this tip is use and throw away! That's what I do. They are light fit in my purse and when the burst of rain is done - I just toss it.

 

[off2disney]

I agree about the throw-away ponchos - I found some at our local discount store for .40 each - I picked up three apiece. They are light weight and will fold up small, and after we use them, we'll just toss them. I use the zip loc bags, too, for everything. Makes it nice going through security at the airport - no grubby hands going through my undies!! Yuck! Also saves you clothes if a bottle leaks or spills.

 

[Bethel]

We drive to WDW from Oklahoma and once from Texas. But even in a car space is a premium. Since my teenagers were small they get to bring their backpacks where they bring whatever they want to entertain themselves for the 20 hrs in the car. That keeps the stuffed animals and mess to a minimum.

I keep a makeup bag for travel that has everything from toiletries to eyeshadow and razors for myself and my husband and I just grab it and go.

When my children were small I kept a ziploc in my purse "just for restaurants". It had a small notebook, hot wheel car, sm action figure, pencil, scratch the picture book, stickers, etc. that they could only play with in a restuarant. This was a great distraction after they got bored with just crackers.

For snacks, I only bring snacks that come in a crush-proof containers such as pringles.

 

[Neeter]

Quick question about shipping home all our Disney souvies: Can you ship them all at once? Can you do that from say the All Star Moviesl? Or do you have to have each shop you buy from do the shipping?

Sorry for all of the questions but this trip is our first one flying down so normally our truck load of souvies is not a problem!

Thanks!

 

[mkymouse1928]

A friend gave me this idea that I will have to try once I'm blessed with children. When planning outfits for the kids, plan on matching outfits for them or outfits that are similar to yours or your husband's. That way if you get separated and someone asks "What is she/he wearing?" a frantic parent won't have to think about it because the child will be wearing the same as you or a sibling.

A packing tip that I use -- We drive from Ohio and are DVC members. I bought a medium sized sterlite container to put laundry detergent, canned goods (chef boyrdee, etc that can be microwaved easily), water, soda, etc in. It's a good place to store all the trip items as I buy them leading up to the trip, is cheaper than another suitcase, fits in the back of the van nicely, and can be used to tote home all of the stuff we buy. Also, because it is plastic it can be cleaned out easily if anything should leak or spill.

 

[Gomez Gang]

When my kids were little, I would UPS myself a box of essentials! Just address the box with hotel name and address and attention your name/"guest". When checking in, ask to have the box delivered to your room. We never rented a car and the prices at the hotel for daily need items are out of this world! In the box I would have a large package of diapers ( I had 2 kids in diapers at once!), a tub or 2 of wipes, juice boxes (every night I would put some in the ice bucket for the next a.m.), small cereal boxes (my kids liked it dry--I gave them each a box of cereal and a juice box and they ate thier breakfast in the stroller on the way to the bus stop!), snacks, and bottles of Margaritas for DH and myself! It cost about $10 but I figured I saved WAY more than that as opposed to buying booze and diapers in the hotel shop!

 

[SilverL]

Originally posted by Neeter
Quick question about shipping home all our Disney souvies: Can you ship them all at once? Can you do that from say the All Star Moviesl? Or do you have to have each shop you buy from do the shipping?

Sorry for all of the questions but this trip is our first one flying down so normally our truck load of souvies is not a problem!

Thanks!

What we did was go to the post office and get a big priority mail box and packed it all up the night before we left. Then we dropped it off on our way to the airport. I have no idea about shipping from hotels, as we stayed offsite.

 

[helenm29]

WHAT AWESOME TIPS! I would never have thought of some of them! I like the idea of keeping the packing list on the computer - I have ADHD and can't remember a lot of things...especially when i get overwhelmed - I wonder if I'll remember to put everything on the list? just kidding! I use an organizer (you can get it at Walmart or any store really) to put my air tickets etc. in and it keeps everything neet and at my touch. I wonder about the new travel regualtions though - are they more specific on how to pack?
HM

 

[jeleebeene]

The pop up hampers sound wonderful! I will be making a trip to Walmart to grab a couple!!

I forgot to add what my cousins did one year we went. They took a suitcase and filled it with no perishable food. They checked the suitcase and had food during the trip. The best thing was, they had an extra suitcase for on the way home! DH and I usually don't take food with us, so we don't need it now, but I still remember that from years ago.

 

[heart4dis]

you can log into your airline's website for their particular restrictions. All I saw on American's was the size and weight restrictions and the number of bags. There are, of course restrictions on contents, but they are fairly intuitive!

I found a pop-open hamper (small, but still useful) for $1 at a dollar store. I bought two (family of 6). The only problem is I'm having trouble re-folding it!! LOL

 

[Bethel]

Have your child do it! They can figure out the darnest things.

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by mkymouse1928
That way if you get separated and someone asks "What is she/he wearing?" a frantic parent won't have to think about it because the child will be wearing the same as you or a sibling.

A digital camera also works wonders.

I don't have any good Disney packing tips though...we drive and just throw everything into laundry baskets. For our other trips, if it don't fit in carry-on we don't need it.

-Joe

 

[Krissalee]

To identify your luggage on the carousel at the airport, many people have tied ribbons and bandanas to the handle.

I found Samsonite luggage straps at Target about a year ago, and love them. They are heavy duty nylon straps, that are adjustable, and have a plastic clip. You wrap the strap around the suitcase, under the handle, and secure the strap. The contents of the suitcase are more secure, in case the zipper breaks. Plus, (the main reason I bought them) is that they come in bright colors, such as neon pink, neon green, to help identify your bag. So far, mine is the only forest green bag, wrapped in neon green, coming off the carousel!

 

[kermittheturtle]

Thank you all for such great tips. My family of 5 will be going in Jan for the first time!! I found a cloth hamper and shoe rack combined that hangs on a closet rod. I will definitly be bringing that. (would've never thought of it myself) Please keep the tips coming. I need all the help I can get. LOL

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

If you are driving - I love my LLBean X-large canvas tote! I got one for a gift and thought "what am I going to do with this?" I use it all the time (the last 3 WDW trips) and anytime we are gone overnight. It has great handles, doesn't tip over and is great for those items that you just don't know where to pack. Plus they are easier to carry than a box. I wouldn't travel to WDW without it! I believe Lands End also carries them. A great gift item too!