What to take ?

[enjkp]

I am trying to start my list of things to buy / pack for our trip coming up in two months and two weeks. SMILE nothing like getting a head start.



Anyway, I am drawing a blank so if anyone out there could help me out that would be wonderful.



We are starting out on a Thursday and driving we have about a 14 hour trip in front of us then we are not checking in until Saturday so we will have two nights at a hotel before we get to check in on site so needing to know there what to take. Then we will be there from the 22nd until the 28th then we will start back and probably take another two days to get us home staying in hotels.................what are some MUSTS that you really need to bring with you.



I figure all the CD players for the kids to listen to their music we have our van DVD player for the seats and DVDs
So what else I am thinking sun block and sun glasses ..............

HELP please we have taken smaller vacations and did fine but trying to cover all my bases with what I need

Thanks in advance

What about laundry do you take enough for all days or do you wash clothes how do you do that ?

 

[Jrabbit910]

how old are your kids?!??! if they are young enough and into the glow sticks for the spectromagic/ night time parades; hats (so your heads dont get burned) bandaids, asprins & vitamins, icepacks (if you have coolers in the car), misting fans (seen them at walmart & Target) cameras (throwaway for kids to use and have fun w) bathing suits, towels, maps (for the drive) books, hairdryer, hand wipes, bathroom wipes & seat covers... if i can think of anything else I will post...

 

[carissanboys]

We didn't bring a ton of clothes...maybe 3 outfits each. We did laundry a couple of times on the trip (maybe 3). This time we'll be staying at a townhouse with a washer and dryer and I'm very happy about that! We also brought a ziploc bag with enough detergent for the trip as well as some fabric softener sheets. You might want to bring a bunch of quarters instead of having to hunt some down (not all places have coin machines).

 

[kittymarcy]

If your kids are younger, stock up on disney items at the Disney Store right now with their additional 40% off sale merchanise. You can get disney t-shirts for the whole family for $2.99 each. Snacks! Nice for the trip and nice for the hotel. I like a nightlight in my hotel room. I got a cute Mickey & friends one at the dollar store. Personally, if I was driving I'd definitely bring your pillows from home. We did this on our last road trip and the boys loved having a little piece of home with them, not to mention how comfy and useful they were. It's a great idea to do laundry at least once. Too much clothing to bring otherwise. And even if it looks clean still after a day's wear, think of all the places you've been and sat and it's just yucky.

 

[northriver]

I usually take enough clothes for the trip but it seems like the weather is either cold and I need to wash sweatshirts + jeans, or the weather is hot and I'm washing the sundresses + tanktops, kwim? I also take some of that travel detergent to wash in the sink too, just for emergencies. I always plan an afternoon to do laundry. When I was younger I just did it late, stayed up half the night on night midweek but I'm too old for that now! I thought the laundry detergent on site wasn't too expensive, I use one box of two loads.

Even if your kids are older, take baby wipes. They are great for cleaning messes in the car, and you can actually bathe with them, the soldiers in the Gulf use them for this.

 

[monorailsilver]

I do laundry every other day this way I don't have to bring that much clothes wise. I zip lock bag scoops of laundry detergent & then I put dryer sheets in the zip lock bag & a good supply of quarters.

I would print out some road games that you can play. I know I would get bored listening to music & not doing anything-like an ispy, bingo board, etc..

When my dh (before we were married) & I used to take driving trips across the east coast I used to make up things. Everytime we drove thru Mechanicsville, PA I'd tell him all the Mechanics lived there & I did that with a few other towns.

I would take a back pack per person or smaller suitcase with the stuff you will need for those overnight stays during your drive this way you don't have to lug in the big suitcases for everyone.

Some advil/tylenol for your headaches from saying over & over again "no we are not there yet!".

How about a map for each kid (AAA trip tik type) so they can flip the pages & see where they are now.

Have fun!

 

[powellrj]

when we drive what I found was easiest to do was to pack small bags that I would take for the night and one bag with all the toilet items. I would pack a backpack for each night on the road so I would only have to take that and our toilet bag in each night and leave everything else in the car. It was easier than trying to drag everything in with us.

I also have each child pack a backpack with their own items in it to use like cd player and batteries so we weren't always having to dig through everyone's stuff. That way they were responsible for their items.

 

[squirrel]

If bringing a cooler or cooler bag-freeze drink boxes (they double as an icepack), fruit, yogurt, cheese or any other snack items that you like to keep cold.

I spy books or make your own I spy bottle: empty water bottle with lid., rice, any small items: penny, pom pom, confetti, marble, paper clip, beads, erasers etc. Leave room at the top so the items move around inside the bottle (top design line is where I stop) and hot glue it closed. I layer the bottle with rice and then items so they aren't clumped together. Dollar store has lots of things to put inside. Made them with the daycare children they had lots of fun (they had over 20 items inside). If you have more than one child you can make up new ways to play (ie: who can find something yellow?, who can find the marble first?, etc)

Fanny packs (less likely to loose) for the older children to carry snacks, pen, money, disposible camera, autograph book, etc.

Water bottles-to refill inside the park. Nestea or Crystal Light to flavor the water if you don't like the taste of Disney water.

Batteries/Charger for all the electronic equipment you are taking (camera, video camera,cell phone, DVD player, CD player, Mp3 player, etc).

Sunscreen, bathing suits & towels

Have fun!

 

[enjkp]

Thank you so much for all the information. I have a good list started now. When do you all start packing ? How many days ? Weeks ? Months ? Do you start getting things around ?
We are leaving on September 20th and someone asked how old my children are well they are nine, seven, and five two boys and a girl.

When should I start getting things ready ?

My sister in law said to take little things in a basket or something as prizes for games played she said to get DISNEY things any ideas there ? She has gave me a a few any others would be great

 

[northriver]

I am on a tight budget so I started shopping several months before I last trip. Then I bought too much stuff! We got glow sticks at Michaels (craft store) and lots of Disney stuff at Dollar type stores. I would caution that some stuff is there for a reason, I bought Cinderella crayons and every crayon broke the first time it was used - not a bargin at all! But coloring books/ activity books, little toys, you can't go wrong there. I bought some stuff off ebay too, t-shirts, pressed penny book, neck wallets for tickets and fastpasses. I like to "prepurchase" souveniers so I don't have to spend the money (and the time shopping) in the parks, if you know what I mean. I started actually packing a couple weeks ahead, we took a long trip and I needed to make sure I had what I needed withough going overweight with my luggage.