When do you usually start packing? How many bags do you bring per person?

[can'twait]

We are leaving in 28 days. I have my list all set, and I'm starting to hoard some toiletries, etc. in the corner of the bedroom. I was going to actually start packing in earnest about 3 days before departure, but I'm starting to wonder if I should push that up so we are not rushed at the last minute.

We are going to attempt to pack light so we don't have much to lug and can avoid checking any bags. I'm paranoid about lost luggage and don't want to waste precious time checking and retrieving it. We are 2 adults & 2 kids - 5 & 7. Has anyone else managed to not check any luggage for a group this size?

Here is what I was planning to do: The kids & I will carry backpacks, mostly for reading material and snacks on the plane, but there will be room for an outfit or two each. DH will carry his laptop and the camera bag, which is an old camcorder bag, but now will fit a new camcorder and a digital camera. If I go with this plan, we will to have to check another bag of clothes, toiletries, etc. What do you guys think? How many bags per person do you bring? Maybe we should bring 4 larger carry ons and stash the smaller bags inside them? That way one bag can be clothes?

Am I being overly paranoid about avoiding checking the bags? What are the statistics on lost/stolen luggage?

Please help!

 

[holden]

If you are worried about the airline losing your luggage (which is unlikely), you might consider shipping some things down to WDW. That's what we're doing. We are leaving for WDW on Friday and I packed all of our clothes and miscellaneous other stuff for shipping. We're shipping via UPS 2nd day - one box with our suitcase, car seat, and some other things. DH says not to worry about it, but I'm a bit nervous that it won't make it there on time. We're also taking carry ons onto the plane. Guess we'll see what happens when we get there...

 

[cjb71870]

Are you staying at a Disney Resort?

 

[beattyfamily]

I started packing already for our trip in 24 days! I like to start early so I know what I need or what I'm missing, so I don't forget anything and so I can do laundry if needed.

We are a family of four and we will always need to check luggage. We usually have 2 suitcases, a bag for the car seats, our stroller, a backpack, and the camera bag and/or the laptop bag. We keep the backpack, camera/laptop bags and gate check the stroller.

For this Sept trip with no DH, I'm really trying to pack as little as possible since DH won't be there to help. I'm trying to fit my 2 DDs and my stuff into one big suitcase and then have the backpack, fanny pack and stroller.

As far as I can see, loosing luggage on a Disney trip is quite rare. I've never seen any posts about people loosing their luggage.

To help insure that my luggage isn't lost, I do curb-side check in and I tip the sky cap very well. He takes very good care of my luggage and he has never charged me if my luggage was over 50lbs too!

Good luck!

 

[newtowdw1]

I suggest you put each outfit you bring for your kids in a ziplock (gallon) bag, squeeze out the air, and toss it in the suitcase. This saved an enormous amount of time and space! I did not ziplock on the last leg of the trip (from my parents') and was amazed at how much space those ziplocks had saved.

Spacesaver bags also save huge.
I put together the bags while I did laundry. I also loved that I wasn't asking myself,"Did I put in 5 pairs of underwear for her or 9?"

 

[northwds]

We have taken many trips to WDW and never had a problem with lost luggage. Most of the time, we do check the majority of our luggage, but pack bathing suits, a change of clothes, and medications in our carry-ons. Having said that, I always divide clothes for each person into several suitcases, that way if a suitcase does get lost or delayed, everyone still have a good selection of outfits for several days.

 

[Kimmielee]

If you are worried about the airline losing your luggage (which is unlikely), you might consider shipping some things down to WDW. That's what we're doing.

I shipped Halloween outfits last year.... scheduled for delivery on Friday. They didn't make it... and Halloween was on Sunday. I cut it too close to when we were going to be arriving. DS (5) had to have a different costume and I ended up not dressing up!! It was very frustrating because they only deliver to the resorts M - F. That makes no sense at all to me... !

 

[maddi]

OK, I must be like my children....Impatient!! I have had our bags packed for over a month except for my curling iron, blow dryer and make-up. And we aren't leaving until Oct 21!!!!! We are taking 1 big and 1 small suitcase per person plus 2 carry-ons. One big suitcase for each of us hold our clothes in ziplock bags. The smaller ones are designated to toiletries and medicines. One for beach/pool...floaties, swimwear, beach towels, sunblock and swimshoes. One for snacks and things we are taking into the parks (rain gear, flashlights, powdered drink mix, bug wipes, etc.? And one is for tidiness like over the door shoe holder, laundry soaps, stain remover, dryer sheets, mesh bag and empty dufflebag for bring home gifts. Carry-ons consist of a change of clothes, meds, camera/film, camcorder and plug, etc. and one is entertainment for traveling(books, gameboy, dvd player/dvd, crafts, and small toys. And of course, My purse with everything else:tickets, ids, $$, cell phone and charger plus anything I think I might need while walking out the door. Plus a stroller and a car seat.
So that is 10 bags for 2 adults, 1 junior and 1 child. Bet you are wondering how we move all of that easily?!?! We figured this out long ago and it makes it so simple. BUNGIE CORDS!! Our large suitcases are the wheeled pull behind with handles. Hubby get two of those and when the handles are pulled up we place two smaller ones on top and use a bungie cord to secure them. I do the same with the remaining four suitcases. Our 12 year old gets the stroller with the car seat and small carry-on setting in the stroller seat with a bungie cord secruing it and a carry-on under the stroller in in the basket. Our youngest gets her blankie and helps brother push the stroller. When we check in our luggage, I simply put the cords in a ziplock bag in my purse and we are good to go. Bungie Cords are cheap, lightweight and a Godsend for travelers who pack everything but the kitchen sink!!
I am shipping down all of our costumes and will place them in the almost empty snack/park bag when returning home after our vacation.

 

[poohguys]

Since I started going to Disney with my DH's family years ago I was told -"We only take carryons." I have learned to pack for up to two weeks in one bag. For our up coming trip on Oct. 1st it will be DH, DS (turning 5 while we are at Disney) and myself. We each take one carryon suitcase. Plus we each take one other carryon bag. My DS will have a backback with toys, books and snacks for the plane. DH will have camera and camcorder bag, and I will have my fannypack and extra bag with all of the toiletries etc. Last time we went we also gate checked a stroller, this time we are going to try to go with out one and will rent one at the parks. We will not need a car seat since we will be using ME. I think most people tend to overpack. Remember you can always do laundry while you are there. I never use a blowdryer, but I think most of the Disney rooms have them now, and I don't use a curling iron. Unless you are going to the signature resturants you do not need to dress up. As far as MNSSHP costumes only my son is dressing up and we have planned a costume that is not bluky. Just try to think if you will really need what you are packing. IF you find you forgot something you can always buy it there. I know that can be expensive, but I find that if you really think about what you need you tend not to forget to much. I think only once have we ever had to buy somthing at Disney. We did have a few of the souvenirs we bought last time shipped home,but that was mainly because they were breakable. I do think that when young children ar involved it does require a little more planning , but have fun and don't stress over packing.

 

[holden]

Thanks for the advice Kimmielee. DH is going to WDW a few days before us for a convention and we are shipping the package to him at the Swan, so that will give our package two extra days to catch up with us if it is late. After the convention, we are staying at the Poly. If it never shows at all, we'll get a new wardrobe on UPS! He's also taking a garment bag with clothes, so we won't be totally without anything to wear if something should go wrong. The car seat, on the other hand, would be a problem... Oh well, I'll just hope for the best!

 

[keishashadow]

Always just did carry-ons, worked fine for a week or less.

Last year, longer trip - unsure of what type of weather to dress for, etc.; we took the largest rollling bags I could find (1 per person); plus 2 small ones we usually stow on board; plus we each had a flight bag. Can't believe I needed to buy a large WDW shopping bag to lug all the junk we bought on vacation!

This year I'm packing 2 smaller bags that collapse & packing them inside the other luggage. Figure that way we can fill them up with goodies & expand our number of checked bags if we need to.

Even though we pack it each year, I have yet to use our camcorder - not sure why. It's digital/small, but I really don't want to take a chance on getting it wet or broken. DH & I each take our digital cameras & DSs disposable.

 

[can'twait]

We will be staying at All Star Sports.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[MichelleTO]

We already started putting items aside for our trip in 32 days. However no clothes yet.We are a family of 5, take 3 large bags and the kids each take a napsack as a carry on. I also like the idea of packing an empty suitcase outside of a fullsuitcase for items for the trip home, or bringing a softsided foldable one along for all those extra items we collect on the trp. Its amazing how much space a few tshirts and souveniers can take up when you are trying to pack for home. I also like the ziplock trick. I haven't done this yet for clothing but always put anything slightly liquid into these for extra safety in case anything opened.

 

[abaldacci]

I packed sunday we leave friday but i have been making piles of stuff that needs to go for a while now.

 

[huey578]

If you are worried about the airline losing your luggage (which is unlikely), you might consider shipping some things down to WDW. That's what we're doing. We are leaving for WDW on Friday and I packed all of our clothes and miscellaneous other stuff for shipping. We're shipping via UPS 2nd day - one box with our suitcase, car seat, and some other things. DH says not to worry about it, but I'm a bit nervous that it won't make it there on time. We're also taking carry ons onto the plane. Guess we'll see what happens when we get there...

Sounds like a good idea,can I ask how much did it cost you for shipping?

 

[abca]

I agree that some people take way too much stuff. Ever since I spent 4 days in London without my luggage, I have taken only carry-on. DH and I even took a one month trip to Europe (not the backpack type) which included a week long cruise of the Med, with only one carry-on bag each.

This summer, DH, DS6 and myself took 3-20 inch carry-on bags and 3 small fanny packs for 13 days at WDW including a 3 day Disney cruise. I place like items (dressy clothes, PJ's, swim wear, etc.) for each of us into the same suitcase so that they are easy to find. I always plan to wash clothes about every 4-5 days. We take mix and match items which are quick drying and not bulky, especially to a warm weather destination. I use the fold and roll method of packing to save space. I also bring empty space saver bags to hold the dirty or wet clothing when returning home. This gives me extra space for the trip home for all our souveniers. I also pack 1 or 2 folding beach bags which can be brought out for any extra or bulky items for the trip home.

I like to keep things simple and efficient. This way, I don't tend to forget things or loose things during our trips, we don't have to wait for our luggage, and it's easy to pack and unpack. BTW, I start throwing things into an empty carry-on about 2 weeks before a big trip (more than 7 days long), do laundry and add clothes to the cases about 5-7 days pre-trip, and finish packing 1-2 days before the trip, adding toiletries at the last minute.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

We just came back from a 1 week trip and I OVERPACKED !!! My dd9 and myself each had a large duffel bag and a backpack(carry-on).We could have easily done the trip with just 1 bag between us. I did like the idea from this board on packing dd outfits into a "ziplock bag" for each outfit that she had.It also made it easy for her each morning to just pick out a bag ...no fussing to match outfits each day !!!

 

[Delilah Bleu]

We plan to bring the large and medium sized bags from my luggage set. We will be there 8 days and it's me and my dd 8 that I am packing for. I will carry a backpack with a change of clothes, and toiletries and dd will carry her backpack with stuff to keep her entertained and snacks. It's a 6-7 hr flight. We are flying SW so we need snacks and/or food! I am also planning to send some snacks to the POR about 7 days before we leave.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Delilah Bleu...Happy Planning on your first trip to WDW. Just got back 10 days ago with DD9 ,we had a great time. Planning the trip is almost as much fun as actually being there...have fun !!!

 

[marthachick]

We are going to WDW in 7 weeks. I have been throwing trial sizes, rain ponchos, etc. in my "Disney Box" for a while now. Will begin gathering clothes to pack about 1 or 2 weeks ahead. Since we will be having cool weather at home & warm at WDW, I can pack shorts, swim suits, etc & not have to worry about needing them.

DH & I were walking last week (trying to get in shape for all that walking!) when talk turned to upcoming trip. We were talking about luggage. He said "...now we're just taking one large suit case, right?" I think my eyes nearly rolled out of my head & I nearly flamed him! What I had said was we'd split our clothes for the 3 of us beween our suitcases & if we lost one, all of somebody's clothes wouldn't all be in one. Guess I know how much attention he's been paying me!

We plan on taking 2 large suitcases, 1 med. & 2 carryons. More if we need it.