Packing for 14 days

[buzznwoodysmom]

I think that if you are going to be in WDW for 14 days you should have plenty of time for the parks and fun to be able to take one afternoon off half way through and do some laundry. I had always said that I would never do laundry on vacation, but the last time we were in WDW for 9 nights I just felt I had to. My kids wear uniforms to school so they don't own 14+ pairs of pants/jeans and I didn't want to have to buy enough clothes for the trip that they would never need at home. Doing the laundry that day was more painless than I imagined. The whole family walked over to the laundry room, all helping carry the laundry and I put all the clothes washing. We were staying at CSR, by the way. We then walked to the marina and rented a surrey bike. We took our time riding around the entire resort and stopped off at the laundry room to check on the clothes. Sure enough they were finished washing. So we all helped out putting them drying. We returned the bike, took a trip to the gift shop and food court and headed to the pool. The laundry room we used wasn't really that far from the pool so I went check to see if the clothes was dry and put some drying for longer. When we were finished swimming we stopped by the laundry room on our way back and picked up our clean clothes. It was not a big deal and to me was much better than buying more clothes than we would ever need normally. Plus I hate ironing and the one time I used those space bags I had to iron every single piece of clothing. I'd much rather do laundry one day than iron every morning. Also I know some people aren't comfortable leaving their laundry, but I've done this at several different resorts, WDW and other places and I've never had anything stolen. And most times the other people in the laundry room put their stuff washing and leave as well. I don't think I've ever seen anyone hanging around waiting for their laundry to be done. My family was more than happy to help out. Not even my youngest complained that he had to help do laundry in WDW. DH and I just said that since its all our clothes, its all our responsibility. Good luck with what ever you choose. And have fun on that 14 day vacation!!

[jonahbear2006]

we have no intention of "running" for 14 days", lol. Everyday we have about 6 hrs scheduled in the parks. I just wanted to avoid doing laundry. lol. I dont even keep up on it at home. There are a lot of us, and I homeschool so im very busy so i think we do ALL the laundry 2x a mth; with the exception of things that need stain treated and done right away. I am gonna keep thinking. Ill let ya guys know what i come up with. Thanks for all the ideas and the help.

[Tinkerfreak]

Instead of using the expensive space bags I just buy the ziploc bags and close it almost all the way then squeeze all the air out and close it the rest of the way. They even have them in really big sizes now. You would be surprised how much more you can fit in a suitcase if everything is squished down and the air is out of it. I keep clothes that don't wrinkle easy in the bags while I put them in the dresser drawers so they are all clean and organized. Plus if you have clean and dirty clothes when you get ready to leave you don't have to put dirty clothes directly into your suitcase.

One request about the leaving your laundry that is a bit off topic. If you leave your laundry please check it often. Last year a woman left her stuff in the machine for over an hour after in was done and she had taken up all but a couple of washers. There were 2 of us trying to do our laundry so we only could do one load at a time and it took forever.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Oh, one more tip for packing more clothes. If you roll your clothes rather than fold it it takes up so much less space. I used space bags before and I actually used less space in the suitcase when I rolled the clothes. Plus I find our clothes is much less wrinkled when I roll. For shirts you fold them in half lenght wise, tuck the arms back and then roll the shirt as tight as you can into a "tube" shape. For shorts or pants you fold in half and roll. My DH learned this in the military and it works wonders for packing. I even save my kids pajamas and shorts in their drawers rolled because it takes up less space. Good luck.

[MNNHFLTX]

Should i not worry about someone stealing out clothes out of the washer? I washed last time, at the beach club, but I also stayed in the laundry room and waited for it to get done and I don't want to do that; its a horrible way to spend my trip while the rest of the family is in the pool. But we have a lot of nice things that I wouldn't want to turn up missing.

I can't imagine that you would have a problem with someone stealing your clothes out of the washer or dryer. I have done laundry at many resorts/hotel all over the U.S. (and quite a few outside the U.S.) and have never had a single item taken. Probably the worst thing that could happen is that someone takes your clothes out of the dryer if you're late getting back to them when the cycle's done. Just use your watch to time the wash/dry cycle and then be there promptly.

[Tez]

We have used packing folders (shirts) and cubes (socks and underwear) to help with the packing issue for 11 days and two people. We have never and will never to laundry while on vacation at WDW as to us it is a waste of time when you could be enjoying the parks!

Another option is you can get shirts that are the micro-fiber type (golf) stuff that compacts down thinner than t-shirts or polo shirts.

The biggest problem we have is going for the 11 days and keeping the luggage under 50 pounds when you travel by air!

We are thinking our next trip we might mail / ship clothes to our destination.

[jonahbear2006]

Im not much of a shipping person. I am hoping that I will find room for a couple of 40gal tubs in the trunk and fill them with clothes, one for us adults, and one for the kids. I think if we take the wheels off the stroller, we can pull this off, in the van. I may use the space saver bags to pack them in the tubs; I do love the idea of packing in separate ziploc bags, too. I might do, for the sake of not digging for an outfit, just pack for the kids; shirt, shorts, underwear, socks....in ziploc and then date it. That way the kids will all match and will be easy to spot. Then we will plan on evening clothes being nicer clothes, something that gets put into a separate container and set aside for dining clothing. The girls love wearing dresses so this will give them a chance to strut their cutest stuff. I guess if we are short on room in the car, we can always pack the rack storage; though, this idea does not thrill me since we aren't camping.

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

We are flying and staying for 14 days for the first time ever
I'm with you, I don't want to do laundry either. There are 4 of us travelling on SW so we can take 2 suitcases ea. Only problem is 2 people are 4 and 5, and we will be bringing strollers along as well.... May have to make the kids push their own strollers to start

I've also heard that rolling the cloths saves space...its the weight that i'm concerned about

[jonahbear2006]

We are flying and staying for 14 days for the first time ever
I'm with you, I don't want to do laundry either. There are 4 of us travelling on SW so we can take 2 suitcases ea. Only problem is 2 people are 4 and 5, and we will be bringing strollers along as well.... May have to make the kids push their own strollers to start

I've also heard that rolling the cloths saves space...its the weight that i'm concerned about

We roll our clothes at home anyways, :-D. It makes it much easier for the kids to keep the drawers clean and grab the shirt they want instead of digging through the drawer.
We flew southwest and packed pretty tight and we were just fine on weight, last year. Perhaps you could use a couple of the carryons as smaller suitcases that your children can put their clothes in, so your strollers count as a checked item and then your small kids will still have 2 bags a piece for things they need.

[magicofdisney]

I would ditch the idea of wearing your clothes twice for your Sept trip. The FL heat in Sept can still be brutal and it only takes a couple of hours to get smelly.

This idea may work for your Dec trip, especially if wearing denim.

We are also a family of six and I do what I can to avoid doing laundry on vacation, but sometimes it's unavoidable. We've never gone for more than 9 nights at one time (and that trip did require a couple of loads). I had to pack tightly, rolling most items.

If your family showers every night, you'll need less PJs. Of course everyone needs fresh undies each day, but like a pp mentioned, these take up minimal room.

You biggest challenge may be getting all your luggage and the family packed comfortably in your vehicle.

[momof3+twins]

We tried this last trip for our family of 7. It was too much, so I cut back. It was still too much to fit into the car. So, what I did was buy small duffle bags (one for each kid) and roll the clothing in those. Then, we had a big duffel bag for my husband and I plus a small suitcase. The duffles weren't solid like a suitcase so we could push them into small places and squish them together. We were still packed!! And when we came home with all the toys the kids bought...LOL! Most of them broke, don't reccommend Disney toys.

[jonahbear2006]

When camping we pack in plastic drawers; everything. This is much easier to get to things, instead of digging through the car at night. Then these become our end tables in the tent, for the lamps. Also makes it easy to get to things as we are travelling. (with a stroller, our car will hold 6 drawers. So, I am thinking that maybe we should just pack all of our things in the drawers, and then halfway through the trip we go to the car and get what will be our refill for the drawers and use the duffel bag idea or a rubbermaid tub and switch it out. Then I wont have to do laundry and there wont be anyone tossing clothes around the hotel room. Going a step further, if i roll outfits with socks and undies and ziploc them into a row, in the drawers, i can prob fit a lot more and they will slide in and out easily.....all the while, protecting us from taking home any stray bed bugs. I may do this for the kids, and then me and hubby will just pack the duffel bags or the suitcase. We will be packed into the car but we have had it worse with camping.

[TheRustyScupper]

Anyone have any creative ideas on how I can pack clothes for 6 people for a 14 day disney vacation without having to do laundry?

1) Steamer Trunk.
2) Or use the same tailor as the Emperor with New Clothes.