What to pack in carry on?

[Sugar Jones]

We are taking one large checked bag for the 5 of us and each of us are taking a carry on.

I'm thinking in each carry on I will put 2 outfits, bathing suits and iPods chargers etc....

I bought travel size toiletries for the kids but would you put them in the carry on or the checked luggage?

Extra shoes - carry on or checked??

Any packing advice would be great. We are allowed 2 free checked bags each plus a carry on , but our problem is fitting it all in the car as we are bringing my MIL and will have to use all the seats in our car.

 

[buttercup5282]

I would put the toiletries in the checked bag, that's one less thing to have to worry about while going through security. Maybe have the kids keep their shoes and toothbrushes (they won't have to be in a separate bag at security) in their carry on. I always worry about my luggage getting lost and then not having the necessities for a day or two, so maybe someone can have a set of travel toiletries in their carry on.

There's always the option of having a box of things shipped via UPS or FedEx to your resort.

 

[timandjanl]

How many kids? Ages? You might not want to have to worry about all the carry ons if your kids are too little to help carry them. I would keep it simple and just bring a change of clothes, eye glasses if you wear contacts and anything you need immediately when you get there - like a phone charger.

 

[Sugar Jones]

They are 11, 9 & 6. I was just using their school backpacks as carry on's. That way they can carry them like they do everyday

That would work right? I haven't flown in 13 years and things have changed so much!

I feel like we should use the free bag perk as much as we can to get our money's worth

 

[timandjanl]

Well if they are that old then they can definitely keep track of their own bag. I'm used to flying with two kids under two and got tired of lugging a ton of carry ons. I used to always bring a lot on the plane because I worried about the airline losing my checked bag. Can't really do that anymore. I think the backpacks will be fine.

 

[timandjanl]

For packing the checked luggage I started putting my kids clothes in ziplock bags. One outfit per bag per day. Worked out really well because you can smush the bags down pretty flat. As for shoes I try to only take two pair - tennis shoes and sandals. I wear tennis shoes on the plane because they take up more room. And I would probably put the extra in my checked bag.

 

[jpessa]

I would check 2 bags and carry less on board (won't you need more room than one bag will give with 5 people)? I find these days overhead space in planes gets full quickly do you end up with your bag at your feet, which I don't like.

In the carry on you want bathing suits and change of clothes each, any electronics with their chargers , medications, anything you have to occupy the kids during the flight.

Extra shoes and toiletries (especially with the liquids ordeal) I would put in the checked bags.

 

[amym2]

We've done WDW with only carry-ons to avoid baggage fees, but since you are allowed two free bags, I agree... use them!

Our kids (11 and 9) are responsible for their own bags (we use rolling backpacks) and what to put inside for entertainment on the plane. Then we take one adult backpack that has snacks, medication, and anything else we don't want to risk losing. We'll take a second adult backpack for clothing (ie swimsuits) sometimes.

Pack the shoes, toiletries, and anything you won't need access to or can't live without in the checked luggage.

Oh and we have found that a large rolling duffel works best for our checked luggage. It can be squished easily into the trunk of a car and hidden away in the hotel room. Ours has a bottom section for the shoes, which we love because it keeps them separate from our clothes. We just have to be careful not to exceed the weight limit!

 

[Sugar Jones]

We have a Ford Flex and I honestly don't think there will be room in the back for all the luggage. If MIL wasn't coming with us, we could take two bags for sure. It is supposed to be ridiculously hot there in two weeks so all I'm packing is shorts and tank tops for everyone. I know I can fit all the clothes in suitcase, I just haven't weighed it. That's the only thing I'm concerned about.

We can't put anything on the roof because every seat has a sun roof.


Gah! I'm not sure what to do now!


Do you really think the kids each having a backpack would be too much? I just assumed they would keep it at their feet because their plane entertainment would be in it. I never thought of finding an overhead bin for anything. Possibly mine since I'd have a purse as well.

Like I said I haven't flown in 13 years and NEVER with kids so this is all new to me.

I'm glad we are flying out of a small airport!

 

[timandjanl]

We have a Ford Flex and I honestly don't think there will be room in the back for all the luggage. If MIL wasn't coming with us, we could take two bags for sure. It is supposed to be ridiculously hot there in two weeks so all I'm packing is shorts and tank tops for everyone. I know I can fit all the clothes in suitcase, I just haven't weighed it. That's the only thing I'm concerned about.

We can't put anything on the roof because every seat has a sun roof.

Gah! I'm not sure what to do now!

Do you really think the kids each having a backpack would be too much? I just assumed they would keep it at their feet because their plane entertainment would be in it. I never thought of finding an overhead bin for anything. Possibly mine since I'd have a purse as well.

Like I said I haven't flown in 13 years and NEVER with kids so this is all new to me.

I'm glad we are flying out of a small airport!

If you are just taking backpacks and/or purses on the plane you don't need to worry about overhead bin space. Put the bags at your feet unless you are really uncomfortable having something at your feet. Can you fit everyone's things in the 2 checked bags? That sounds like the easiest plan to me. Just have bathing suits and a spare set of clothes, medicines and plane entertainment in the carry ons.

 

[Sugar Jones]

If you are just taking backpacks and/or purses on the plane you don't need to worry about overhead bin space. Put the bags at your feet unless you are really uncomfortable having something at your feet. Can you fit everyone's things in the 2 checked bags? That sounds like the easiest plan to me. Just have bathing suits and a spare set of clothes, medicines and plane entertainment in the carry ons.

Yep that's all that's going in their back packs is their bathing suits, one pair if shorts, one shirt and their favourite stuff/lovey. I'm going to put all the electronics in my purse until after security.


I love your idea of the outfits in ziplock bags! I'm so doing that. My husband will just roll his eyes at me yet again lol

 

[SEA333]

We are also a family of five and are only bringing one checked 60" rolling suitcase and a "personal" bag each that we can carry onto the plane. I was semi-worried about fitting everything, too, so yesterday I did a dry-run with DD9's stuff. We all have the same 16" bags that we are each using as our personal item. I put a pair of shorts, t-shirt, bathing suit, PJ shirt and shorts, a pair of undies, a pair of socks, a pair of flip flops, and her hairbrush and toothbrush in the bag, and was only about 2/3 of the way to full capacity. I can probably fit at least two more complete summer outfits in that bag. Based on this, I know that her and DS7 will be able to fit pretty much everything into their bags, which will go under their seat on the plane. Me, DH, and DS13 will probabaly be able to fit at least one complete outfit and sleepwear (usually t-shirt and shorts), toothbrushes, sandals, and any super-necessary items that we will need if our luggage gets lost.

Everything else will go into the checked bag, including shampoo, soap, sunscreen, etc. We are actually planning on renting a car down there, so we can stop at a local Target/Wamart for these items, too, and won't even have to worry about them taking up space in the luggage.

Oh....we are going for 5 days. We are coming from Chicago, so the cold-weather "just in case"items will be worn on the plane, so we don't have to worry about packing them. My kids are 13, 9, and 7 1/2, so they will be carrying their own bag through the airport!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

In the past, we took carryons for the kids that included everything they'd need to go to bed, since we were arriving late afternoon and were afraid that the ME wouldn't get our luggage to us by bedtime. For our next trip, we'll be arriving in the morning for the first time ever, so we'll be taking swimming neccessities and one change of clothes in our carryons, in addition to . Anything that's not needed in the first few hours (including most toiletries) will go in the checked luggage.

I think there are two types of people: those who pack everything possible into carryons, and those who prefer to travel light through the airport and pack as much into their checked luggage as possible. We are of the "checked luggage" type. Carryons are generally for things we need on the plane and nothing else. I hate lugging stuff through airports, and I hate having to grab 875 things when deplaning. This time should be much simpler than past trips since we'll really only need one extra carryon for both kids' stuff, instead of one for each of them.