Suitcase question

[experiment626mom]

Please move this if I'm in the wrong part of town.

Anyway, my husband and I are having a major "discussion" He believes that the 4 of us. (myself, husband, 17 yr old son, 12 yr old daughter) Can pack for a week using only carry ons. He thinks that if we use space saver bags it will be a snap. I'm pretty skeptical on this.

Between a weeks worth of clothes, beach towels and all the other essentials needed to get this group out the door, I just don't know.

PLUS we have Magical Express on this trip, which if I've read this correctly, they get our bags from the luggage carousel, etc.

I think he's just gotten spoiled, because the last two trips he and I have taken, I was able to stuff a couple of days worth of clothes into the carryon. Of course we were only gone 3-4 days.

Anyone's input on either side of this discussion would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tz

 

[Disney Dee]

I know I could never get my teens to fit all their "essentials" in carry ons! LOL I guess it depends on how long your stay will be? I never take beach towels because Disney resorts provide towels at all the pools, that would save you some room. Good luck!

 

[pumba]

of course "I" had to do a small load of washing just the same. OH OH OH....ASK him if you are allowed to buy the "EXTRA" clothes that you may need at whatever destination you are going to. We use the carryon for our weeklong trip to carry one day of clothing .....our meds, and toilet articles......they have lost our suitcases before and now we know we can change from subzero clothes to summer clothes in a blink of an eye

GOOD LUCK

 

[caelwind]

OH OH OH....ASK him if you are allowed to buy the "EXTRA" clothes that you may need at whatever destination you are going to.

I agree... if he is willing to BUY anything you may need down there then go for it.... Not to mention, how many things will you DD just "have to bring" with her ?

I am packing for the family now... 11 days and counting... the only one sharing a suitcase is the baby... ds is 8, and dd is 6... old enough to pull their own suitcases behind them !! I would much rather have enough clothes than have to do laundry all night is Disney !

I have heard those space savers are great though.... but 1 think to think of... how are you going to vacume them shut when you leave... last I knew Disney rooms didn't come with compitmentry vacume cleaners in the rooms....

 

[experiment626mom]

You guys crack me up!! From what I understand you don't need to "vacuum" those bags anymore, just roll them real tight. And who do you think is going to have to do that?!?!? I may have to fake pack to prove my point.

 

[eric8]

me and my mother will fly from montgomery alabama to atlanta then to orlando. i'm concerned our luggage will get lost and i'm wondering if we can pack all we need in carry-ons. one carry-on per person so that will be two for us. we'll just have to practice and see.

 

[my3princesses]

We have five of us going (2 adults and 3 girls). We will have at least 3 carry-ons, and at least 3 other larger suitcases. Remember that you need comfortable shoes and at least 2 pair so you can change them if one pair hurts. That's at least 4 extra pairs of shoes alone. Then count in one "makeup bag" per women in your group. Beach towels too!?
I don't think you're going to make it! Plus are you setting souvenirs.

Everything we have is rolling luggage so moving around at airports etc are not that hard.

Sometimes I think men just don't get it!

Good luck with this arguement!

 

[Patsfan7]

We are leaving on Saturday and plan on checking and carrying on given that just the DD's princess dresses will take up an entire suitcase! BUT, my MIL and SIL are packing just a carry on and I will let you know how it goes for them. We fully planned on doing a load or two, as we did last time, it wasn't bad. At POP the laundry is right at the pool area. I liked it that I didn't have much laundry to do when we got home!

 

[the kabuki]

No way would our family be able to do that!!! For our family of five (kids 11,7,3)
we had 4 suitcases and each kid had a backpack, along with DH and me having a carryon. Don't forget, you'll have more coming back than going, so leave some space in the suitcases.

 

[Daisy'sMom]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread b/c it is the opposite of what I've been planning. I'm actually excited about the fact the each person can check two pieces of luggage, plus have a carry-on and I intend to make use of every inch of space.

 

[wildviper]

Only carry ons?

Seriously, for a week my family of four will each check a bag and have one carry on; mine being mostly empty for the return trip. I couldn't imagine trying to pack into one carry on; and I am a man. The other three in my party are females. No stereotyping intended but they just have more stuff than I do. One bag we checked was filled entirely with towels, bath & personal hygiene products. We have flown to Orlando via Newark from Minneapolis/St. Paul and didn't lose one piece of luggage.

 

[sweetinmaine]

Go ahead and pack using the suitcases. DCL uses this type of service and we've never worried about how much we pack. I may have to go pack to WDW later in the year just to experience this nice service! Wish it was starting up before May!

 

[my3princesses]

I just wanted to share an experience that friends of ours had on their last holiday. Given this is a family of 9 with 7 of the members female and 5 of them teenagers. They went to Europe for 3 weeks.

The dad commented that they needed one suitcase just for "femaine hygiene" products alone!

Needless to say, why not take the max. number of bags - it's part of travel.

 

[experiment626mom]

I seem to have won this battle. After explaining to my husband that we are going for A WEEK, AND He is now traveling with an almost teenage girl, there is just no way this is going to happen. He thought about it and realized that the kids use more products than he and I put together, so he finally fessed up to maybe this wasn't the best idea on the planet.

So this weekend we are off to look at rolling luggage rather than us lugging around the duffle bags we now use.

I love my DH but sometimes I just gotta wonder!!!

 

[robyn323]

Yeah but if you wait and buy what you need when you get there how are you getting the new stuff home? Won't you then have to buy another suitcase?

 

[Abba98]

I wish we could take a trip to FL with just our carry ons,but it'll never happen. Never,never!
We go for anywhere from a week-12 days,and each take a carry on and a suitcase.I pack my suitcase only about 1/2-3/4 full so I can bring back lots of souvenirs.
The thoughts of going without a suitcase is beyond my comprehension
Good luck,and whatever you decide ,have a faubuous trip!
Kirsten

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I know it can be done IF that is what you want to do, my husband and I have gone to Florida/Disney many times with just a carry-on each, space savers are great and we just figure in a load or two of laundry and take only 3 outfits each. Now that we have a baby we will have to do laundry while there anyway (we use cloth diapers) so it's even more do-able. Honestly Florida weather (I used to live there and my family still does) is so mild that you don't need a lot IF you know which items to take. IMO a large suitcase is just a pain in the rear so I skip it. HTH but if you really WANT to take a large suitcase, might as well go for it and see how you like it, then you will know for next time. A good rule of thumb is to pack and then take out half of what you were going to bring with you, they teach you that in travel agent classes. LOL

 

[Patsfan7]

I had posted that I would let you know how it went with two in our party just carrying on for a week. It didn't go well.

We, the other three of us, had checked four bags, and they needed some of the essentials that we brought in order to make it through the week. Not all the toiletries you will need can be brought onto the plane. They were stopped on the way home for some of the stuff they had in there. They had a tough time carrying the heavy bags through the airport. Then, on top of that the shopping bags on the way home. We all did laundry because some days it was in the 70's and some in the 40's. Good luck, and from this experience, I would suggest checking the bags.

 

[DisneyFans4]

If you try real hard you just might do it but don't plan to buy anything. I would suggest packing half the amount and do laundry once. That is what I do. We're going to be there for 13 days this summer and there is no way I'm packing for that many days for 4 people. I have myself, my DH and 2 teenages boys, 17 and 15.
I hate doing laundry when I'm on vacation but it's either that or having alot of luggage.

 

[SaraMc]

If you have Magical express, let them deal with your luggage and actually take the luggage. Ive never taken beach towels, I just use a couple of towels from our room. Perhaps that's just me. Have fun

Sara