Pre-trip packing: the HIDDEN COSTS!

[jlevis]

We drive and will be spending two weeks this August. We have our Disney box with stapels for the kitchen. We just add snacks and water for the drive. Our timeshare has a laundry in the villa so we can pack lightly. I don't see the need for new clothes although we'll buy t-shirts/polo's at disney. We do this often enough that we can pretty much predict our needs and wants so that we can pre pack our Disney box well in advance. Oh, there is just the two of us. But, in August there will be 14, we're celebrating my 70th birthday, so all bets are off.

 

[siskaren]

Travel Size sunscreen? Do you use less sunscreen at Disney than you would at home? We go through sunscreen like crazy. I guess it depends on the length of your stay and how many people you're slapping it on. For our family of 5 we are bringing 3 bottles for our 10 day trip and I'm concerned it won't be enough. However, we may come home with 2 bottles.

A reason to buy travel size sunscreen is for use on your first day if you're flying and using Magical Express (specifically if you're taking advantage of the luggage transfer service) since you won't have immediate access to your luggage.

 

[Groomer Gal]

I already have a box of 'goodies' started for our Dec trip.

Band aides....tissues.....medicines.....etc.

Another thing I started doing was asking my hair stylist if she had any samples of shampoo etc. She usually gives me a few every time I go so, I'll just pack those and not have to worry about bottles.
She even had some small bottles of hairspray and styling aides that a vendor had given her to try. She was happy to give them to me!

I also make a trip to the Dollar store every couple of weeks...poncho's.....travel size toothpaste and I bought cheap packages of tooth brushes too that I'm totally fine with throwing away at the end of our trip.

Now I just have to decide if I'm just going to tape the box up and ship to my resort before we go or pack it. Might be nice to just send it and not worry about having it in my luggage.

I should be totally all set by the end of the summer and it doesn't seem like much because I'm doing it a little bit at a time.

I own a dog grooming salon and will be busy in my shop during the holidays so I need to get it done now. As it is my clients aren't going to be too happy about me closing for a week in December!

 

[disprincessesmom1012]

I wasnt planning to buy much before our trip. I just got a bunch of new clothes and bought them with Disney in mind but I needed the clothes for summer no matter what. We go end of sept so my girls will have their summer clothes already. I bought travel size stuff and have it in a box along with glowsticks for each night of the trip to mail to the resort. I did spend money to make autograph books for my girls and vinyl drawstring bags for us girls. We have luggage but i'm thinking about getting new suitcases for the kids so they can pull their own luggage. we visit my family often so it would be worth it to buy more luggage. We already have 3 carryons. I spent too much time on the CreativeDIS so I bought a bunch of blank shirts to make us matching shirts. The kids can wear them next year as I bought them a little bigger. I am also planning to buy pearl cage necklaces since I really want to do the pick a pearl in Japan @ Epcot. I have 4 months to go so I'm spacing it out. I wanna have all the small stuff done early so that we have the extra to pay off the trip in Aug and save anything else for the trip.

 

[Muslickz]

speaking of neck coolers... I haven't tried these yet, but I think I might get one... we're going to an airshow later this month, and if it's super hot out, it may come in handy!

http://www.missionathletecare.com/products/enduracool-instant-cooling-towel-large

When wet, they material actually gets cooler. They are machine washable and reusable. They're only $15, so I think it'll be a good deal for us! (even if we have to get one for each of us, still not too bad.)

When I get one, and if it actually works, I'll probably post on the DIS about it!

I love these they work great especially when waiting on all the long lines lol...it really comes in handy I even take it to the beach

-M

 

[aladams2]

I hear ya. We bought a new Nikon a couple months ago for the trip, dance recital, and b/c I knew I needed one!!! We are now discussing upgrading our video camra that we have had since 1995!!! It works just fine, but weighs a ton! AND all the rest of our travel items since we are driving.

 

[dawnmichele]

We do this - it's our Disney box. We keep our pin lanyards, back packs, ponchos, Disney clothing, etc. in it so that it's there and ready for us when we're ready to head back. I also have a list on top of it so I buy when things go on sale and put it in the box so it's there when we're packing again. Makes life so much easier!

Brilliant! I love this, especially the list on top to stay organized!

 

[AshleeH]

I start a few months in advance. Actually, I start when we start planning our next trip . For example, I ordered our MNSSHP's costumes last week, ordered some new Tevas yesterday, the list will go on and on. It's a necessary pain - we could definitely go to the parks for an extra day or two with our preparation money!

 

[alex9179]

I can relate! Luckily, our vacation is at the end of Oct. so I have plenty of time and a lot of the items I'll be purchasing were needed for summer anyway.
Sandals for kids and me (I've been going a little nuts looking for shoes that don't aggravate this stupid heel pain-Fitflops, Merrel's, and sneakers so far)
New swimsuits
A few summer clothes for kids -Disneyfied
Some new clothes for me since almost everything I have has holes or bleach marks. A few more for DH to replace the worn out items.
Halloween costumes
Just bought luggage today on Amazon! My old set is almost 25 yrs old and the wheels don't function and are almost down to the metal! Not enough for 5, anyway.
Medications are always on hand, so no extra outlay for those. I'm not attached to any shampoo, so we'll use what's provided...it's fancier than Suave DD gets a conditioner treatment almost every day, so I'll need to stock up on that.
Snacks for the car
Pack up activity bags (they already have stuff)

It can't be that easy...I'm sure I'll be frantic the week before we leave. I'm going to use the pre-sort/pack idea. I'll get one of the suitcases filled with our tickets/gift cards/information and some toiletries while I'm still sane.

 

[sixkristy6]

I need some sort of bag that is not big so I just ordered a Baggallini. I just need to pick up a few little things, but since we are going in Oct., I will keep summer clothes out (and buy what we might need on clearance).

 

[grecorj]

Another reason we do a lot of shopping pre-trip is because with 2 growing boys, last years swimsuits/shorts/t-shirts probably don't fit ... when you live in New England and go to Disney in the Spring or early Summer, it has probably been almost a year since they've worn that stuff -- that's a lot of growth time!

Also, some items we just don't use at home on a regular basis -- blister pads, travel size sunscreen, etc. So we always have to grab some of that.

All those "small" items -- but just seems to add up quickly!

I like the idea of a Disney bin -- great tip!

 

[stitch34]

Just did some pre-trip shopping last night... misting fans, extra socks for kids, hand sanitizer, another pair of sunglasses... oh, and some other odds and ends, too!
We have a laundry basket in my room that is where the Disney stuff goes to - come home from a trip and stuff goes there, or stays in suitcases that we'll need specifically for trip next time.

I also finally got wise last trip and typed up on computer a packing list - everything and anything we need is in that list. Just went over it for upcoming trip, tweeked what needed to be tweaked clothes-wise for a summer versus fall trip. Used to sit down and start thinking and jotting down what we need to pack and keep adding stuff to list as thought of them... oh, makes it so much easier now!
and all my "calculations" are figured out now ahead of time, too.
Such as okay, son needs X amount of diapers for X amount of days, plus X amount of backup extras just in case.

Or like me and my tees... okay, 9 nights... packing 15 tees per my calculations, lol. one per day, one extra packed in case flight messed up/cancelled and need to stay extra day (almost happened to us last year!)... and then 5 extra - heck it's hot and sweaty, after a pool break day want to not put same sweaty tee from earlier on, want a fresh one, or caught in rain and drenched, want a fresh one.
So I have calculations like this that take me forever to figure how much X, Y, Z of clothes to pack for everyone.
Making a list sure helps to save for future trips!

And then after-trip shopping.... then I find myself spending money printing prints out from the photos we took.... getting new photo album for each trip... printing out regular size prints, and okay, what do I want enlarged to frame, and then buyign frames.