jagafen
Wine drinker, family CEO/CFO, uber planner
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2007
Do you get all your clothes and other things in one suitcase?
If I have to-sort of. I could never fly with just one bag. I just don't think it's possible for me. Part of that is past trauma from "packing light" because we were only going on an overnight trip to BFE....but when the toddler spikes a fever, and you're sans tylenol and a thermometer, compounded by the fact that we're in a hotel in BFE where everything is closed by 9p so you can't buy what you need...I was mopping him down with damp cloths trying to figure out how high it was and if we needed to go to a hospital...not something I care to repeat. As luck would have it, each time I've tried to leave a "basic" behind, we've needed it. The one trip that I didn't have the sewing kit with me...needed it. So I always travel with a basic first aid kit, sewing kit, foot kit, and med kit. Just in case. Only the first aid kit and foot kit go into the parks with us. We have a smaller med kit for the parks too. Again, now that the kidlet is older and can take adult meds, it's not so much of an issue.
We usually fly Southwest, so that we can take 2 checked bags if we need to. We went to CA last year and did San Fran and Napa for 11 days. I had one checked bag, a biggish carryon, and my backpack...but, that was only so we could fly 2 cases of liquid souveniers back with us. Usually for a week+ FL trip, I usually go down with 5 (for a family of 3) and pack a medium case inside a large case (in case we need the spare coming back for souveneirs, etc.) I may pack duffles this time instead of the medium case, we'll see. Usually, we don't do laundry on vacation...I'd rather not "waste" the time. I find that making lists helps keep things pared down, and the more trips we take, the less things we find we truly "need". I know I overpack clothes a bit, but when we do a mid-day break, we like to freshen up and change clothes...summer is sweaty. Also, kidlet is now a teen, and doesn't require as much "gear" as he used to. We haven't been on a big FL family vacation for about 5 years, so I really won't know how much we'll be taking until I start to put things in the luggage. But I don't think room will be an issue...it hasn't been in the past! Our gameplan currently is 3 backpacks and 5 pieces of luggage. Maybe I'll just do one duffle for souvies on the way back...
We once did 2 weeks, split between Jamaica and Disney. That was 6 bags, plus 3 carryons, plus 3 backpacks. We did leave a few things in Jamaica on purpose, but luggage space was tight that trip! That was a fun vacation...I liked dressing for dinner. We do Disney a bit differently than we do Universal, packing wise.
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