Packing A Full Van?

sunny_stace

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 11, 2006

• Aug 26, 2015

• #21

FairestOfThemAll37 said:

I'm going to say practice in advance!
Take a lazy Saturday with a couple of the adults and play the minivan luggage Tetris game. This way you will have some sort of game plan and know if you're over-packed or have some wiggle room.
Leaving late at night (in the dark) with sleeping kids is not an ideal time to find out there's just no way to fit everything.
I think it might save you a lot of stress trying to get on the road plus you have time to contingency plan.

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This is exactly what we did! We planned it out vocally first and then took turns rearranging things out in the van. Once we found a setup that worked we all got in and tried sitting in our seats and had someone take pictures so we can remember it all come October! The kids thought it was a great game!

We also have our departure day planned out so that my cousin and I can nap all day and pack the car while the kiddos are at school and before dinner. Kids will be fed and entertained after dinner and put into PJ's by our friend who is joining us for the trip so we can relax and cat nap and do the last minute stuff. Once cousin's hubby is home from the game (he's a highschool football coach) we will be hopping in and taking off! I will be driving first with my cousin awake with me in the front. She will drive next with me awake up front. At Sunrise we will stop and have the other two adults take the "day shift" as they are the early birds. The kids are all sleepers (especially in the car) so we are hoping they sleep as late as possible! We will stop at a Cracker Barrel somewhere along the way in the morning for breakfast and change clothes and brush teeth/freshen up at the FL welcome centre! We are hoping to arrive at CBR around 2-3pm and we pushed back our dinner ADR so we have some chill time before to let the kids (and us!) get the ants out of their pants before we go eat! I'm sure there will be a few bumps in the road but we think it's a solid plan!

 

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xlxo

DIS Veteran

Joined

Aug 3, 2014

• Aug 29, 2015

• #22

marie049 said:

I'm going to Disney in 2 weeks! =) renting a dodge caravan when we get there. I will have 7 passengers in total. how is the drivers seat? are they adjustable in height?

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Love the T&C.... but with 7 adults with luggage... also compare something like the Ford Expedition Max or Yukon XL. These extended length 8 passenger SUV's may give you additional luggage space/comfort for about the same rate as a minivan. Prices depends on supply and demand.

 

J

jec6613

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 21, 2015

• Aug 29, 2015

• #23

xlxo said:

Love the T&C.... but with 7 adults with luggage... also compare something like the Ford Expedition Max or Yukon XL. These extended length 8 passenger SUV's may give you additional luggage space/comfort for about the same rate as a minivan. Prices depends on supply and demand.

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A Caravan with a roof carrier will get better mileage and is easier to drive (significantly), and less tippy at highway speeds when loaded. The Expedition and Yukon are genuine trucks, and handle very differently than a Caravan (which basically handles like a car). Unless you're experienced driving them, I'd caution against trying any overnight drive in one - in a panic stop or emergency evasion, they handle completely differently (not necessarily worse, just different).

Rooftop boxes are also available with Prime shipping from Amazon for about the price of the difference in gas between a minivan and a truck (the Expedition Max is medium duty and does about 14 MPG highway when loaded), and then you own the box, which is handy for other things. Just keep it loaded with lighter items to prevent you from being too top-heavy, and remember that you're more susceptible to crosswinds than usual.

With an extended body Aerostar (this shows how long ago it was) we needed a rooftop carrier with just five with strollers, from the Chicago area - and that had significantly more interior cargo space than even the big SUVs - think a Caravan, but extend the back cargo space by three feet.

 

marie049

Earning My Ears

Joined

Jun 30, 2010

• Aug 31, 2015

• #24

xlxo said:

Love the T&C.... but with 7 adults with luggage... also compare something like the Ford Expedition Max or Yukon XL. These extended length 8 passenger SUV's may give you additional luggage space/comfort for about the same rate as a minivan. Prices depends on supply and demand.

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yea, we have reserved a mini van from E-Z Rental, just worried that me being the driver will not be comfortable. I'm used to driving a 2001 Altima, I'm sure the room will not be an issue.

 

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elaine amj

DIS Veteran

Joined

Jan 26, 2012

• Aug 31, 2015

• #25

Have fun! So glad the practice run went well - sounds like you guys will have enough space.

I haven't done the drive down to Disney, but we have done a van filled with 7 people - to go camping! That was a challenge, but we went with the whole tetris-method and were able to fit everything in. Like everyone said, only soft-sided bags and keep everybody to the bare minimum.

I pack light - we just did a 12 day trip to California with 2 carry on bags and 1 backpack - for a family of 4. I had booked a convertible and knew trunk space was going to be extremely tight, so I cut back like crazy and did laundry 2x.

 

sunny_stace

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 11, 2006

• Sep 1, 2015

• #26

elaine amj said:

I pack light - we just did a 12 day trip to California with 2 carry on bags and 1 backpack - for a family of 4.

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WOW!!!!
I feel like I pack that much just to go to work everyday!! You should give lessons!!!

 

E

elaine amj

DIS Veteran

Joined

Jan 26, 2012

• Sep 1, 2015

• #27

sunny_stace said:

WOW!!!!
I feel like I pack that much just to go to work everyday!! You should give lessons!!!

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LOL!! My best tip for packing lighter is to plan out what you are going to wear each day. I put whole outfits together and pack everything flat in the suitcase (takes less space and fewer wrinkles and fold lines) by day. I pack the whole family's clothes together so I can quickly pull out "Day 1's clothes". I usually pack anywhere from 4-6 sets of clothes each, depending how often I expect to do laundry.

I'm also rather ruthless - I really avoid packing more than 1 pair of sneakers and 1 pair of flip flops/crocs per person. Sometimes I want more shoes, but I try to resist the temptation. Also, I avoid jeans since they are heavier and take up more packing space. Thankfully our family prefers athletic wear, which packs a lot smaller.

I will admit for our DLR trip, even when I reduced us down to the 2 carry ons, I still packed 2 extra outfits for DD and I since I had some disneybounding plans That did mean extra sweaters got left behind. Only one hoodie/jacket per person.

 

Shelly F - Ohio

Disney Extraordinaire

Joined

Feb 22, 2004

• Sep 16, 2015

• #28

OUCH Hope they don't trade the van for an SUV. 7 of you in a SUV- Good luck with that one I for one would not try to squeeze 7 people and all their stuff in an SUV.

 

bookgirl

DIS Veteran

Joined

Oct 22, 2006

• Sep 24, 2015

• #29

I watched a youtuber pack a van and she uses soft side unstructured duffels and reusable shopping bags. They squish around areas of the van that luggage won't. They were a family of 4 or 5 and they got a TON of stuff in there using the bags.

okay went to look it up I think this is it

 

sunny_stace

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 11, 2006

• Sep 25, 2015

• #30

Thanks so much @bookgirl for posting that video!! It's interesting to see the different methods people use! I'm gonna see if I can find any others! I never even thought to look on YouTube!! Duh Stacy!!

 

bookgirl

DIS Veteran

Joined

Oct 22, 2006

• Sep 25, 2015

• #31

I love youtube. I have found some seriously weird stuff on there. There's almost always someone with a video camera and time on their hands.

 

sunny_stace

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 11, 2006

• Oct 27, 2015

• #32

Thanks everyone for all of your tips! In the end we all fit along with all of our luggage! The trip down was a breeze! Now, packing the van to come back was more of a challenge after we had all bought souveniers...the kids' stuffed animals became pillows and much more stuff was shoved under seats and so on, but it all worked out and we didn't have to tie anyone to the roof!
We used hard case suitcases and packed them vertically in the trunk (4 across) and laid the stroller and small bags on top. Cooler, snack box, case of water and small backpacks were stowed at the kids' feet in the back.
The three little ones sat in the very back and the four adults sat in the front and in the 2 middle captain's chairs so we could easily pass out snacks and wrangle garbage and break up the bickering in the back! We had a great trip!

 

englishteacha

Have courage and be kind.

Joined

Apr 2, 2006

• Oct 30, 2015

• #33

Hooray! Glad it worked out!
I just got a new-to-me caravan and I'm itching to go on a road trip...too bad Disney is 26 hours away...there's no way my husband or daughter would do that trip by car!