How does luggage work?

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I know that I’m probably overthinking things, but I’m starting to put together the list of things we will need to buy for our AbD trip this summer. How does luggage work while on tour? E.g. normally when we travel we normally have a suitcase and a backpack, and the backpack will contain things like our laptops (and our passports). I imagine that we will want small daypacks for day to day activities to hold water bottles and cash, but I don’t think we’ll want to bring our entire backpack. At the same time I don’t exactly feel comfortable leaving that out in the hallway for transfers. How does Disney transfer “valuables,” and if they don’t how are we supposed to store them?

 

[Mathmagicland]

I know that I’m probably overthinking things, but I’m starting to put together the list of things we will need to buy for our AbD trip this summer. How does luggage work while on tour? E.g. normally when we travel we normally have a suitcase and a backpack, and the backpack will contain things like our laptops (and our passports). I imagine that we will want small daypacks for day to day activities to hold water bottles and cash, but I don’t think we’ll want to bring our entire backpack. At the same time I don’t exactly feel comfortable leaving that out in the hallway for transfers. How does Disney transfer “valuables,” and if they don’t how are we supposed to store them?

In my experience there is no special process for “valuables”, electronics, etc. On days where a luggage transfer is needed, bags not needed during the day are put out the morning of, maybe an hour or so before departure…it may depend on number of rooms & guests and the time needed to do the pickups. Luggage is either stored with the group under the bus, or else on a separate bus or truck if the group is traveling via a train or boat that day.

We could always have a backpack or small duffle or something similar with us on the bus, which we could leave on the bus during touring activities. The driver is always with the bus, except during meal stops when of course the driver also eats and the bus is locked. That’s where I leave my passport, iPad, and anything else I might want to have with me during the day but don’t want to carry while walking around.

Personally I have never felt uncomfortable leaving anything on the bus.

 

[aggiedog]

On any tour I've ever done, that's the way it's handled. Keep your valuables with you until you check out, and that bag rides around on the bus with you. I've never had a bus driver say the bus isn't safe to keep things on, usually quite the opposite as they assure us it will be fine to leave things while we're off the bus.

We generally travel with a carry on suitcase and a sturdy backpack. I've started packing a small, collapsible backpack to use as a daypack. I wouldn't hike with it, but it's great for a water bottle, sweater, a few trinkets I just bought, etc.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Totally overthinking things.

Ok, that’s pretty much the way I thought it should work, but then when I read about having all luggage out at a certain time I got nervous about the idea of leaving my backpack outside of the room.

So I’ll have everyone carry their backpacks to breakfast and leave them on the bus, and then ALSO carry a daypack for the day’s activities. Note to self: buy a couple more daypacks…that way everyone is responsible for their own stuff….

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[jimmymc]

ABDs typically use a dedicated bus to get around. On days where you switch hotels, they'll collect your larger bags in the morning, and you won't see them again until the next hotel. You can bring a backpack with your valuables on the bus and leave it during activities.

 

[sayhello]

ABD used to provide duffle bags that were perfect to use for stuff you wanted to bring on the bus daily, but not carry around with you during the activities. I always used that. As others have said, on transfer days, I would always bring my "personal item" on the bus, also. There are almost always overhead racks or bins that will be able to hold stuff like that. Most people would bring their backpacks with them. As others have also said, the bus is totally secure, and I have never felt otherwise. The "outside the door" part is for your checked bags and any carryon bags that would be too big for inside the bus. Important stuff always goes in my personal item or the duffle (I now have tons of them to bring with me for use).

Sayhello

 

[JRM815]

I use a combination of bags. I use a single, larger, roll-around suitcase for the bulk of my things. I bring a backpack (which starts empty) and a smaller cross-chest sling bag, one of which gets used during the day. The backpack is used for outdoor activities, such as hikes, where a rain jacket or other layers might need to be added or removed. It holds sleep ware and toiletries on days where you are changing hotels particularly when bags have to be out early for travel day pickup. And the backpack tends to be used to hold souvenirs picked up along the way and then used as a carry on for the flight home. The sling bag is used when the day involves indoor activities often in a more urban setting. It can be brought into places which have security screens where backpacks might be limited and having the cross-chest bag hold passports and money right in front of you adds security against pick-pockets in crowded urban settings.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We only have done 1 ABD. But when we transferred we just threw our iPads any stuff like jewelry (jewelry is usually in my airplane carry on vs checked) into our suitcase and away it went. We have backpacks we use are our airline carry on and just carried those onto the bus with us, basically empty. Then at each stop we usually left the backpack on the bus, but we had that to stuff anything we purchased in so it was nice to keep all the purchases then contained to one pack.

 

[Dennis Jay]

When traveling on an Adventures by Disney tour, your luggage is typically handled by the staff during transitions between destinations, which includes transferring your larger suitcases between hotels. For secure transport of valuables, you might want to use small locks on your luggage or pack valuables in a carry-on that stays with you during travel. As for daily excursions, bringing a compact daypack is ideal for essentials like water bottles and cash. Items like passports and laptops that you’re concerned about leaving unattended can usually be stored in hotel room safes when not in use.