What items do you take to DVC?

[kid-at-heart]

I know this has been discussed on this board before but at that time we did not own DVC thus I did not “pay attention”. When we finally find a break in our work where we can make our first DVC trip, what should we take in regards to sheets, liquid hand soaps, kitchen supplies? What do you normally take with you (other than clothes)? I seem to remember someone mentioning fitted sheets but cannot remember the size of the sheets.

The reason I am asking is I keep individual travel totes in the laundry room for places we repeat visit (thus we have a large tote with items to take to state/national parks, totes for visits to the family, and now we will have a tote for Disney World).

Thanks for you help.

 

[Kathi OD]

We take ourselves, our clothes, and bathroom stuff like shampoo, conditioner, and hair dryer. Other than that, we're good to go with what is in the villa.

 

[El Nebuloso]

We just got back from HHI and still haven't fully unpacked so I took a look in our tote. Some items we bring:

Laundry soap - pre measured in small zip loc bags
Dryer sheets
Muffin pan
Scissors
Coffee/Tea
Spices - If you plan to cook in your room, also in zip locs - a lot cheaper, easier and faster than going out to buy them there

Since we were driving and had room we even brought an extra frying pan this time. We used to bring a decent sponge, but it seems that the ones they provide have gotten better (at least at HHI).

We ship the items ahead of our visit if we are flying and so far this has worked out well for us.

Enjoy and Welcome Home

 

[dianeschlicht]

Well, we take a lot less now that we have our owners locker! We store laundry soap, face care products, walking shoes, full size hair care items, razors, curling iron, kitchen wrap, water filter and zip lock bags etc, etc, etc. Spices, salt and pepper.

No need to bring sheets, dishes, pots and pans, dishwasher soap etc, because that's all provided. You are NOT camping....you're staying in a deluxe timeshare.

 

[auntsue]

The sponges we just had at BWV & AKV was those horrible, non-absorbent, cheap, yellow, useless kind. I always bring a sponge and rubber gloves since there's just two of us, as I don't see the point in running the dishwasher for just a couple of cereal bowls and glasses.

We also bring juices, water, cereal, laundry detergent, bounce, & purell.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Disney doesn't use fitted sheets, so if that bothers you bring your own. Beds are King in MBR, Queens in 2nd BR and sofa sleeper in 1 &2 BR's and studios are Queen bed & full size sofa sleeper (except OKW with 2 Queen beds). It doesn't bother me, so I don't bring sheets.

What I do bring:
Coffee
coffee filters
gallon bottles of water for coffee
Baileys for my evening coffee (see a theme here? )
Laundry soap
fabric softener sheets
snacks/breakfast foods
bottled water & soda
deck of cards
books
first aid supplies/medicine & OTC meds

 

[Deb & Bill]

I bring those snap hooks (with the suction cups on them) to hang wet clothes in the shower.

Laundry detergent and fabric softener sheets.

I always bring my favorite shower gel and scrubber wherever I travel. I may use the hotel's shower gel if they have it, but I have my favorite if I want to use it.

We bring our old rain ponchos. No need buying more of those.

We bring the refillable water park mug and buy the daily sticker to use it there.

 

[Anal Annie]

I already have 2 large camping bins and am starting a Disney box too (since I haven't convinced DH to splurge on an Owners Locker yet). I thought making a Disney bin at home might provide the visual he needs.

I am not worried about a fitted sheet - we'll just use what's on the beds but here are some of the items I'm including for our studio stays:

Spray fan bottles
Lanyards & FP holders
String backpack & fanny pack
Insulated re-usable mugs
wine glasses
Captain Morgan
First Aid supplies & meds like Motrin etc.
Air Freshner for the bathroom
slippers & flip flops
Rain ponchos & sm. umbrellas
Spare AA batteries (always seem to need a few)
Xtra paper plates & platic silverware & a sharp knife (since we do studios those supplies are limited)
Baggies & ziplocks (assorted sizes)
Full size sunscreens (variety of SPF's)
1 Sweatshirt each
Hats & visors
Tide & Downey + Downey Wrinkle Release
Beach bag for the pool
(If I had an OL I would incl. large beach towels)
Beer can & bottle huggies
Toiletries like mousse & moisturizers, razors & a shower shaving mirror for DH
Clorox wipes
Collapsable cooler (for the pool)


If you look at some of the Owners Locker threads you can get a lot of ideas!!

 

[kid-at-heart]

Good idea regarding checking out the "owner's lockers" threads.

 

[shellybaxter]

The only thing we bring differently when we stay at DVC is our bath sheet towels. I hate small hotel towels and when we are at DVC I can wash our big ones so I bring them

 

[DisFlan]

I pack coffee filters, coffee and creamer/sugar. We buy whatever else we need (milk, cereal, juice, sodas, laundry soap) at the resort store, or we make a quick trek to Walmart. Other than a cold breakfast and reheating leftovers, we don't cook in the villa, and we're fine with the DVC sheets and towels. We try to stick to a fairly short and basic packing list.

DisFlan

 

[permavac]

Our last trip to Disney was about our 11th overall and we always bring what others have mentioned already and then some: bathroom toiletries, oatmeal & soy milk for breakfast, apples or other fresh fruit for the room (if we drive), latex gloves and cleansers for cleaning the room (I never trust the toilet or sink/tub areas and scrub them down myself ), a night-light, water-proof wallet/key bag for pool days... A recent addition to my Disney-must-haves is a cooler backpack with snap-lid storage containers, ice packs, and a bunch of ziploc bags. My DH and I have realized that frankly, a majority of our enjoyment of Disney (and other travel destinations), is FOOD. But, oftentimes, we found ourselves eating a great meal only to be tempted (and ultimately give into the temptation ) by another treat later on and subsequently feeling stuffed afterwards. The beauty of bringing leak-proof containers (a green choice to boot!) is that I can make a conscious decision not to eat my full meal so that I can later enjoy another treat thereby reducing the pressure to stuff myself and keep off those excess pounds. We also save a little money by snacking on our leftovers later. Previously, we would try to NOT have to carry anything while we were in the parks but now I am elated to be able to do this and another benefit I discovered is that I can carry our refillable mugs with us so we don't have to go to the room first when we get back to our hotel. I'm sure it's not for everyone, and I have gotten some strange looks from servers as I pack up my food , but it works well for us.

Terri

 

[kid-at-heart]

leak-proof containers
Terri

I am totally cracking up here, I thought I was the only one who brought their own plastic to-go containers. I even have a foldup insulated lunch bag I carry with me and have been known to ask for a cup of ice to put in the bag. Of course I pretend the ice is for to-go water but ....

What is a "cooler backpack"? Do you have a picture?

Thanks,

 

[PookieB]

What is a "cooler backpack"? Do you have a picture?

Sound interesting. I believe it's something like this.

 

[pjzkent]

Where did you find that backback...

I totally need one!!!!

 

[PookieB]

Where did you find that backback...

I totally need one!!!!

http://www.keepyourcooler.com/
Sorry..not trying to jack the thread!

 

[kid-at-heart]

No hijacking occurring. We are all just having a conversation. Please do jump in with comments.

 

[permavac]

I am totally cracking up here, I thought I was the only one who brought their own plastic to-go containers. I even have a foldup insulated lunch bag I carry with me and have been known to ask for a cup of ice to put in the bag. Of course I pretend the ice is for to-go water but ....

What is a "cooler backpack"? Do you have a picture?

Thanks,

I thought I was the only one too! Great minds think alike Yes - ice in a ziploc baggie is a good way to keep things cool. I never thought of taking leftovers much before since the styrofoam containers they give you leak and we never wanted to rush back to our room just because we had food to drop off. Of course we could have thrown caution to the wind, but walking around in 80 degree weather for 6 hours with a chicken leg in your pocket makes for a nasty case of food poisoning With my current system we don't have to worry about either shoving the food in or wasting it. We even take the dinner rolls if they're good!

The pic that PookieB posted is a good one - I bought mine at Target. It's made by Thermos with I guess the "model" name as Raya. I LOVE mine because it's a sling (wear the strap over one shoulder). It's a little on the small side so I have to be careful about how I pack it but it works great for us (usually it's only me who has leftovers).

Terri

 

[JoEllen]

Muffin pan???? OK, now I've heard everything.

My soon to be husband can't believe I board the plane from Seattle with a carry-on bag full of cereal, granola bars, bananas and Starbucks coffee. But, hey, I'm still trying to pronounce Publix correctly.

 

[Anal Annie]

Muffin pan???? OK, now I've heard everything.

My soon to be husband can't believe I board the plane from Seattle with a carry-on bag full of cereal, granola bars, bananas and Starbucks coffee. But, hey, I'm still trying to pronounce Publix correctly.

THAT is funny!

I also pack whatever snacks, bagels, cereal, coffee etc. that I can if we're using ME.

Another idea to keep things cold in your cooler (which I would probably rent a locker up front at the park entrance and stash it there for the day) is to freeze bottles of water or Gatorade over night...then use them as ice packs...hopefully by lunchtime they're thawing enough for you to then use as your drink so you've solved 2 purposes. Now, this may only work in the summer, when it's boiling hot, but we always have a summer trip and freezing our bottles over night works great to take a cold beverage out to the parks. If we carry them with us they're usually thawed in a couple of hours if it's 90 degrees out! But if in a cooler they'd last a lot longer.

(I have a friend who freezes her grapes & stuff too so they're like little ice cubes.)