Does anyone else over purchase for their trip?

[LadyBlue]

Hi all!
Does anyone else do this? I will be going to WDW in May for seven days. YAY! But, for my trip, I have five packs, three backpacks, and seven mouse ears. And three spirit Jerseys! I didn’t mean to do this! The items are just too cute. Does anyone else over backpack park items? Or purchase too many? I might have to weed out some things before leaving.
Excuse me while I’ll cry in the corner and plan future trips to use these items.
I’m always afraid I won’t have what I need or a back-up of an item. I had a lousy WDW planning experience of forgetting to pack items and bringing a cheap drawstring backpack. My back still hurts from that trip.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

No I don't.
I get it that stuff is cute.
I can understand the Minnie ears but having that many park bags to switch between is excessive and takes up a lot of space.
Less room for the stuff you're bound to buy while there.
Heck you'll probably also buy some Minnie ears and then not even be able to wear them all anyways.
Also in May I would not bring Spirit Jerseys unless the weather is actually calling for cooler than normal temps.

I personally plan out what I'm wearing each day and pack ONE extra outfit and a light jacket.

I also pack 2 park bags MAX.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I don't know if this is your first trip to WDW, but our family (4 adults) can last a week with a carry-on each, doing laundry once the day before we leave the resort...good luck!!

 

[Nunu]

For me, the trickier bag to pack is the one for our December trips. One year, I didn't pack warm jackets and the temperatures got so low, that we both had to buy one while at WDW.

Next December, I packed sweaters, jackets, hats, gloves, etc. and it was so warm that we never wore them! Now I pack both for warmer and colder weather. Tricky indeed!

Lately, I've gotten better at packing our bags, taking less stuff with us, and leaving some space for new gets.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I don't know if this is your first trip to WDW, but our family (4 adults) can last a week with a carry-on each, doing laundry once the day before we leave the resort...good luck!!

One thing I hate is having to do laundry on vacation.
We are go go go people so there just isn't much time.
We tend gto go on shorter trips though so having enough clothes isn't usually an issue.
My friend's family does Disney a bit more leisurely and while they pack more than they need they still talk about doing laundry every day they are there.
I think for them its the "horror" of stinky undies/socks in a laundry bag for a few days. Me I don't care lol.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

For me, the trickier bag to pack is the one for our December trips. One year, I didn't pack warm jackets and the temperatures got so low, that we both had to buy one while at WDW.

Next December, I packed sweaters, jackets, hats, gloves, etc. and it was so warm that we never wore them! Now I pack both for warmer and colder weather. Tricky indeed!

Lately, I've gotten better at packing our bags, taking less stuff with us, and leaving some space for new gets.

After my December 2018 trip I decided that one pair of shorts is probably plenty especially because you don't get as sweaty around that time of year so you could wear them more than once.
Otherwise pants and t-shirts are good and I bring a zip up hoodie but next time I'm also bringing a packable puffer coat because I cannot handle being cold since I lost weight.

 

[James J]

Hi all!
Does anyone else do this? I will be going to WDW in May for seven days. YAY! But, for my trip, I have five ***** packs, three backpacks, and seven mouse ears. And three spirit Jerseys! I didn’t mean to do this! The items are just too cute. Does anyone else over backpack park items? Or purchase too many? I might have to weed out some things before leaving.
Excuse me while I’ll cry in the corner and plan future trips to use these items.
I’m always afraid I won’t have what I need or a back-up of an item. I had a lousy WDW planning experience of forgetting to pack items and bringing a cheap drawstring backpack. My back still hurts from that trip.

That is an excessive amount of bags. On our last trip, we took one cinch bag between the two of us for using each day and that is all that we needed for the ten day trip. And as @Queen of the WDW Screne pointed out, you'll likely find that it's a bit on the warm side for wearing spirit jerseys in May.

If you really do forget something, you can just get a Lyft/Uber to Target or Walmart if it's something important.

 

[Shouldigo12]

It was really tempting to. I was super excited to be going on a trip I had been planning on for a long time, and it was always on my mind. I had to stop myself from getting more though once I realized I had an outfit of Disney themed clothes for every day of the trip. I tend to dress up a bit, so casual tees and cartoon characters aren't really a part of my everyday wardrobe. I realized that if I kept getting all these shirts and hats I was going to end up with a closet of clothes I only ever wore once every few years, which is silly. Unless these are clothes that you're going to wear outside of the park, I would suggest trying to cut back on all of the park themed purchases. What items are you worried about not having enough of?
Edit: I hit enter too soon.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

That is an excessive amount of bags. On our last trip, we took one cinch bag between the two of us for using each day and that is all that we needed for the ten day trip. And as @Queen of the WDW Screne pointed out, you'll likely find that it's a bit on the warm side for wearing spirit jerseys in May.

If you really do forget something, you can just get a Lyft/Uber to Target or Walmart if it's something important.

And you can even find things like underwear and hygiene products without a Target run unless you need a specific brand etc.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I usually over-pack activities for my daughter. I end up lugging a bunch of activities down there, only to find that when we arrive we buy a new toy and she's only interested in that. So that's what I actively try to limit. I still pack plane activities, but it's a short flight. I don't usually have to buy them though because we have a lot of activities at home.

We're going to FL in two weeks and I packed two activities that were from Christmas, and some bubble wrap I rescued from the trash. Which is still probably too much but hey, progress is progress.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I feel your pain, OP, LOL!
I start packing about 3 months before our trip. I put the suitcases on the spare bed, 2 large suitcases, one each. Then I start putting clothes I might wear in them. About one month before, I go through all the stuff again and pare it down. Then the week before I get serious and settle on one outfit a day, extra undies, a Disney jacket, 2 pairs of shoes. We are going in Feb, March and I will add a couple of sweaters or sweatshirts for cool weather. It's always a chore for me to pare my clothes down to a reasonable amount, kinda stressful but part of the pre-Disney fun

 

[Weather_Lady]

Overpurchase? YES! Every single time.

Overpack? NO!

My family are "pack light" devotees who pride ourselves on needing no more than one 21" carryon bag per person for a week-long trip. (To make a long story short, I used to travel frequently for business and after a few lost/delayed checked luggage incidents, I decided my life would be easier and less stressful if I just brought one small bag, and kept it with me.)

We all get excited and are prone to "over-purchasing" ahead of time, however! I just narrow down what actually goes with us, via a carefully curated and ruthlessly pared-down packing list. Every item that will take up space in our bags has to prove that it deserves the space it will require and the weight it will add -- essentially, it has to be something that's going to be used/worn more than once (although we also still manage to fit one extra "just in case I ruin one" outfit per person, plus all of our breakfast foods and snacks for the week!). The other benefit of a tried-and-true packing list is that while we won't be packing things we won't need, I also know we won't inadvertently forget anything essential.

If I were you, I'd just have to ask myself which park bag, and which set of ears, etc. was the "most worthy," and only one of each would travel with me. However, since I'm not you, and since what you bring to WDW is none of my business, you should just enjoy sifting through your purchases, and then pack whatever you like and whatever you know will bring you joy on your vacation, in whatever quantities you desire!

Better yet, after that's done, make a list of everything you've packed and save it. After your trip, you can make note of what you didn't use after all, and what you wish you'd packed instead, and then you'll have your own "Master Packing List" for next time.