Shorts vs. Dresses

[Candyland]

I am starting to pack for our trip to the world this week.
I can't decide if I should pack my 5 and 6 year old girls tshirts and shorts or sundresses. I figured that sundresses take less room to pack and they would dry so much easier than a tshirt and shirts after water rides, etc.

I do plan on bringing a few of each, but we are trying to pack in all carry on luggage (or no more than ONE bag to check) so I'm a limited to the number of outfits I can pack. We will be there 10 days but plan on packing for 5 and doing laundry half way through the trip.

What would you suggest?

 

[Victoria]

I don't recall my experiences as a little girl wearing dresses in WDW, but I know that as an adult it is downright annoying. Some ride vehicles are awkward to get in and out of (I'm looking at you Space Mountain...:lookaroun) and a dress only further complicates the situation. I don't know if my 5 year old self would agree or not, but it is just my observation. :shrug: Windy days make dresses a bit annoying too. Maybe my difficulties are due to being an adult (and subsequently more hyper aware of accidentally flashing others) but I tend to only wear dresses in WDW for fancy dinners.

(Just for the record, I love dresses and skirts...but I leave them home most of the time.)

 

[Candyland]

That makes perfect sense!!! Thank you!

 

[tigsmom]

One maybe 2 sun-dresses for a nice dinner, but shorts and tees are easiest for the parks.

 

[captain marvel1]

Their have been reports of pervs in the area so t shirts and shorts would be the way to go. Watch your kids also.

[edit] Guest altercations

• On July 3, 2009, a 51-year-old man from Farmington, New York was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation after allegedly attempting to remove a teenager's bathing suit while both were in the wave pool. Disney security was notified, and they called for Orange County deputies. In the arrest report, both Disney security and the deputies report observing the man attempting to do the same to at least five girls.[89]

• On July 10, 2009, a 51-year-old Connecticut man was charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition after he allegedly fondled himself in front of a teenage girl near the park's wave pool. One eyewitness, a visitor who worked with paroled ______-offenders in Missouri, confronted the man who then fled the scene. As he attempted to leave the parking lot, he ran a stop sign and was stopped by an Orange County deputy, who detained the man on charges of driving with a suspended license. The man denied the lewd conduct charges, claiming his European-style swimsuit was too small. This was the fifth sexual-related reported incident to occur at a Central Florida water park in 2009; the other parks aside from Typhoon Lagoon were Blizzard Beach, Aquatica, and Wet 'n Wild.[90] The charges were dropped in August 2009 after prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence in the case.[91]

• On July 16, 2009, a 29-year-old man from Washington was arrested and charged with one count of lewd molestation of a teenager[92].

 

[mwbrown]

We did both dresses and shorts/tees, but what we usually did was have our two girls (8 and 5) in sundresses and we had light cotton bike shorts for them to wear underneath. They liked wearing pretty dresses at Disney, but were more comfortable in the heat (it was July...) with the shorts underneath. Also avoids accidentally showing off their underpants sitting down or getting up. I don't remember them having any trouble getting on or off rides...even in their Belle and Cinderella dresses after the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique...enjoy, and check the weather. Shorts and tees are probably more comfortable when wet then a dress if it is going to rain...

 

[WDW_Emily]

im going to go against the crowd and say being more sun dresses. Everyone in our group is older now but when my sister was around 4/5 we always brought dresses.(Mind you she was a tiny child and couldn't go on any big rides that might be difficult to get into). Dresses kept her cool in the Florida sun and half way through our trips when she got sunburned, the dresses were easy to put on and didn't hurt her.

Just my 2 cents:wave:

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

My dd is 11 and is bring 2 dresses. She also has some skorts as do I. I like the idea of cotton shorts under her dress. I'll have to see what she might have to wear under hers. I say bring them. I wish I would have done that when my dd was younger.

 

[NewfieFan]

My 3 year old wears a lot of dresses in WDW! I find they keep her cooler (we always go when it's hot hot hot), take up less space in the suitcase, and I don't have to worry about matching shorts and tees (yes, I'm one of those people who likes to have the children's clothes match :lookaroun ). The only time I've ever found the dresses to be a problem was when she wanted to go in a play area (but most of her dresses had the little shorts underneath so it wasn't a huge deal)!

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

my niece wore mostly skirts and dresses but as mentioned previously, many of them have built in shorts or you can have light shorts underneath.

As for me...dresses all the way they are way more comfortable and cool, and easy to just throw on even over swimwear.

I didn't bring one pair of pants or shorts for my whole WDW vacation in August...only skirts and dresses the whole time and it was perfect!

 

[maelstrom]

I wear cheerleading spankies underneath my skirts.

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

When I said something to my daughter about wearing shorts under her dresses, she said that she was thinking the same thing. She's afraid she'd show her undies when getting on and off rides. Luckily she has some really lightweight shorts that will work.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I read a tip from one mother who said that if your daughter is planning on getting the Hannah Montana makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, to make sure she is in separates that day. She took her daughter there in a dress and didn't realize that the only clothing options for the makeover were tee-shirts. She had to wear her Hannah Montana tee over the top of her sundress and wasn't happy with the way her outfit looked in the pictures.

 

[Kristallc]

sundresses with cotton bike shorts.

 

[PattyBell]

My DD (6 y) only uses shorts and t-shirts. It is easyer...she likes to seat at the floor and I don't like that her underwear gets dirty.