The GROOVIER New Pop Century FAQ Thread Chapter 3! ~ Posts #1 & #2 are MUST sees!

[tjbjrjaj]

We were there in October and I decided then that I didn't like the dressers. When we scheduled our June trip I decided to take action.

I don't like the new dressers. 3 drawers for 5 people for 12 nights just doesn't work! There a empty spaces where drawers could go so I went to the Dollar store and bought 4 inexpensive fabric pop-up cubes. They are 9x9 square and 8" high. They fit perfectly doubled up (one in front of each other). 2 of my kids had one for socks and underwear, i used one for socks and underwear, and the 4th one held all the extras (wipes, laundrysoap, etc.) There were still 2 openings on the dresser but they were alot shorter in height. We stored diapers in there. Otherwise they were fairly useless.

We also had a hanging clothes bag for dirty laundry and I did laundry half way through. ($2 to wash and $2 to dry).

My husband had one drawer, I had one drawer, which I shared with the 18month old (tight fit) and the 3rd drawer was for our PJ's and blankies etc. so housekeeping wouldn't touch them.

We also take 2 Pop up file folder boxes from Office Depot. They fold flat in the suitcases. One is for Food and the other is for papergoods, ziplocs and extra food etc. These sit on the shelf in the closet.

I have a Shoe organizer which straps on the closet rod. This isn't the one with pockets but rather shelves. One is for sunscreen, one for hairbrushes and hairspray, two were MINE, one is for the camera chargers when we aren't using them, one was the kids toothbrushes etc. The extra ones at the bottom get the shoes that don't get worn everyday (dress up Princess sandals etc.)

I also used the luggage rack to hold one suitcase near the window. My 2 older kids (5 & 8) used this as their "drawer" The shoes we wore daily went underneath.

2 car seats were under the sink and the unused empty suitcases were lined up against the bathroom wall and stacked on the top shelf of the closet. We had 5 and 2 carry-ons.

I use my carry-on as a nightstand next to the door. I use the front pockets to store my book, reading light, glasses, chapstick and lotion etc.

I think that is it. I did take a few photos which I will try and post later this week.

October was a organization disaster because of lack of drawers/storage. I couldn't find anything. I stayed up after everyone went to bed just trying to find clothes for the morning etc. June was much better. I think my husband thought I was loco at first but I think he appreciated having a spot for everything as well.

They did add a coatrack which is nice. We didn't turn on the fancy new flatscreen even once! I would rather have the storage than the TV.

Sorry for the delay folks, I had trouble figuring out how to post photos. Please let me know if there is a better way.

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/bjbarak/100_4285.jpg

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/bjbarak/100_0104-1.jpg

 

[Rekenna]

Hi! I was revewing the pics of the re-furbed rooms (they look beautiful)!

*BTW-I am so thankful there are those of you responsible enough to take pictures on your vacation and post them for all of us to see. DH and I have 3 boys and are horrible about taking pictures!

My concern about the refurbed rooms is that the dresser space was seriously cut down by 75%! From the pics it looks like POP went from having 5-6 large dresser drawers to 3 small ones. We hang up a lot of our clothes, but we always use every dresser drawer. This trip we will have 2 rooms with 4 adults and 3 kids and I honestly don't know where we will fit everything!

I am very organized and use all the great tips about situating a small Value Room, but Wow! The flat screen TV's are nice, but the rooms needed more storage space, not less.

What do you guys think?

 

[tjbjrjaj]

Hi! I was revewing the pics of the re-furbed rooms (they look beautiful)!

*BTW-I am so thankful there are those of you responsible enough to take pictures on your vacation and post them for all of us to see. DH and I have 3 boys and are horrible about taking pictures!

My concern about the refurbed rooms is that the dresser space was seriously cut down by 75%! From the pics it looks like POP went from having 5-6 large dresser drawers to 3 small ones. We hang up a lot of our clothes, but we always use every dresser drawer. This trip we will have 2 rooms with 4 adults and 3 kids and I honestly don't know where we will fit everything!

I am very organized and use all the great tips about situating a small Value Room, but Wow! The flat screen TV's are nice, but the rooms needed more storage space, not less.

What do you guys think?

I agree with you which is why I took the photos this time. When we were there prior to June. I was blindsided with the lack of storage. My husband likes to "hit the ground running" so to be scrambling to find everything and get things organized was really annoying. The room never got "organized" hence the reason I bought the fabric cubes etc. If I was organized I would have brought a ruler to measure the open spaces for everyone. Anyone going soon who could do that?

Thanks

 

[DisneyMom5]

I will kind of miss the taller dressers...that's where I stuck stuff that I either wanted to protect from the mousekeeper, such as small parts for toys that were easily swept up or thrown away, OR if I needed to remove it from a little ones reach. OR surprises I didn't want them all to see. LOL
We usually have stuff on our closet rack, so that's not really an option.

I agree, they needed a bit more storage, not less.

 

[KELLY]

I love this thread!! 67 days to go!

Right behind you!!

 

[englishrose47]

You could use the open shelves !! But I agree Ithink the dressers are toooooo small !!

 

[KELLY]

Sorry for the delay folks, I had trouble figuring out how to post photos. Please let me know if there is a better way.

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/bjbarak/100_4285.jpg

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/bjbarak/100_0104-1.jpg

So you got the little fold down buckets from the dollar tree? That is a great idea. We also decied this year to collapse one of the girls hampers down and bring it with us. Last year we used bags and it was just ugh!!

 

[MelanieC]

I agree with you which is why I took the photos this time. When we were there prior to June. I was blindsided with the lack of storage. My husband likes to "hit the ground running" so to be scrambling to find everything and get things organized was really annoying. The room never got "organized" hence the reason I bought the fabric cubes etc. If I was organized I would have brought a ruler to measure the open spaces for everyone. Anyone going soon who could do that?

Thanks

I will try to remember. We leave Thursday. I'm going to show DH the pictures of the cubes. That is a great idea!

 

[EpcotBill]

Sorry for the delay folks, I had trouble figuring out how to post photos. Please let me know if there is a better way.

In Photobucket hover your mouse over the picture you want to post. Right click on the IMG Code box, then click Copy. Come back the post you are writing and click Paste. Your picture should show up like this one;

 

[DisGal520]

to tjbjray -

Rather than bringing separate bins or locations for socks, underwear, shirts - you may want to try prepacking outfits. This works well for kids - pack the shirts, shorts, underwear and socks in a ziplock bag or similar bag - one outfit set for each kid per day. Stack the bags on the open shelves, or in a drawer. Then everything is together to grab, dress, and go

We find it works well for the adults too!

 

[Disneymommy2006]

to tjbjray -

Rather than bringing separate bins or locations for socks, underwear, shirts - you may want to try prepacking outfits. This works well for kids - pack the shirts, shorts, underwear and socks in a ziplock bag or similar bag - one outfit set for each kid per day. Stack the bags on the open shelves, or in a drawer. Then everything is together to grab, dress, and go

We find it works well for the adults too!

I did this on our last trip and it really works well when you are staying in a small space; keeps everyone and all the clothing organized very well!

 

[KELLY]

to tjbjray -

Rather than bringing separate bins or locations for socks, underwear, shirts - you may want to try prepacking outfits. This works well for kids - pack the shirts, shorts, underwear and socks in a ziplock bag or similar bag - one outfit set for each kid per day. Stack the bags on the open shelves, or in a drawer. Then everything is together to grab, dress, and go

We find it works well for the adults too!

This is what I was going to do. Plus add the little bins to stack the clothes for more storage space.

 

[danaw11]

Oh, one other thing (sorry on a posting tear this morning.) The coolers make an excellent way to bring home the park momentos you buy. (disney ears, ride pictures, any gift shop purchases etc.) Nice to have hard sided luggage to protect your delicate purchases.

Thanks for all of the useful info! Yes, my mom (my travel agent) confirmed with Southwest that coolers were okay with the restrictions you talked about. I think this is the way we are going.

Does anyone have ideas for coffee makers? I was thinking of buying one that fills into a travel mug (vs. a glass carafe) to make packing easier. I also plan to brew water thru it for hot water/instant oatmeal. Hoping to find a cheap model.

 

[danaw11]

From this very helpful board, I know that folks recommend limiting your room requests to three. I was wondering if that was for room location only or if a pack&play or bed rails, for example, would count as one of our three requests.

I was planning to request close to main building, quiet room/lakeside, and upper floor.

Thanks!

 

[momsavealot]

Thanks for all of the useful info! Yes, my mom (my travel agent) confirmed with Southwest that coolers were okay with the restrictions you talked about. I think this is the way we are going.

Does anyone have ideas for coffee makers? I was thinking of buying one that fills into a travel mug (vs. a glass carafe) to make packing easier. I also plan to brew water thru it for hot water/instant oatmeal. Hoping to find a cheap model.

That's good news about the cooler. But I wanted to chime in about the coffee maker thing. Last August, I was in a swap for a coffee maker and it was a huge mistake. It was filthy when I got it and ended up being a bigger mess/job than it was worth. By the 3rd day, I bought a refillable mug and starting getting coffee from the Classic Hall every morning while the rest of the fam was waking up. Much easier to deal with and good coffee. And I actually enjoyed my coffee walk in the morning to wake myself up (I was the leader of my pack) and collect my thoughts. I was in the 70's bldg near the Mickey Phone so it wasn't a long walk at all. If you are planning to be near the food court, I highly recommend the refillable mug rather than packing and cleaning a coffee maker every day. You could also just clip the mug to your stuff and hit the food court on the way out to the parks if you don't want to make a separate trip for coffee. Just get a carabiner clip for your mug.

 

[tjbjrjaj]

This is what I was going to do. Plus add the little bins to stack the clothes for more storage space.

I wish that method worked for us. I tried it once but we usually stay for 14 days or so and do laundry halfway through. We also rewear our shorts more than 1x before washing. The kids also wear their crocs with no socks but sometimes choose to wear their gym shoes (with socks). It was a nightmare of bags with partial days in them. I ended up dumping the bags and just choosing outfits the night before.

 

[KELLY]

I wish that method worked for us. I tried it once but we usually stay for 14 days or so and do laundry halfway through. We also rewear our shorts more than 1x before washing. The kids also wear their crocs with no socks but sometimes choose to wear their gym shoes (with socks). It was a nightmare of bags with partial days in them. I ended up dumping the bags and just choosing outfits the night before.

I was going to put the whole outfit in a ziplock with socks and underwear. We are going for 10 days and brining a outfit for each day. We will probably do laundry but mostly just to re-pack it in the suitcase. So I'm going to try it once. Wish me lucK!!

 

[tjbjrjaj]

I was going to put the whole outfit in a ziplock with socks and underwear. We are going for 10 days and brining a outfit for each day. We will probably do laundry but mostly just to re-pack it in the suitcase. So I'm going to try it once. Wish me lucK!!

I think it is a great idea and would work for most families but we stay for too long.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

I wish that method worked for us. I tried it once but we usually stay for 14 days or so and do laundry halfway through. We also rewear our shorts more than 1x before washing. The kids also wear their crocs with no socks but sometimes choose to wear their gym shoes (with socks). It was a nightmare of bags with partial days in them. I ended up dumping the bags and just choosing outfits the night before.

I was going to put the whole outfit in a ziplock with socks and underwear. We are going for 10 days and brining a outfit for each day. We will probably do laundry but mostly just to re-pack it in the suitcase. So I'm going to try it once. Wish me lucK!!

You guys are awesome! I wish I had the willpower to do my laundry before I went home, heck I don't even want to do it when I get home. For me, it hits me with the reality that vacation is over.

I love the idea for the ziplock bag, I would assume that it would also save a little room in your luggage. Now, if I could get DH to do this that way we don't have to go through the "What am I going to wear?" every morning.

 

[KELLY]

You guys are awesome! I wish I had the willpower to do my laundry before I went home, heck I don't even want to do it when I get home. For me, it hits me with the reality that vacation is over.

I love the idea for the ziplock bag, I would assume that it would also save a little room in your luggage. Now, if I could get DH to do this that way we don't have to go through the "What am I going to wear?" every morning.

I don't do the laundry dh does it. I don't do laundry on vacation. If he wants it done he better be the one doing it. LOL