How to Pack for Disneyland...I'm Not Sure This Is It

Getting the chance to finally go on a family trip to Disneyland was a happy turn of events. It was something we had looked forward to for a long time, but wasn't without its share of dilemmas. Aside from your basic "where will we sleep" questions that needed answers, my dilemma was this: how to fit enough stuff for seven people for five days into the back of a Ford Explorer. Along with food for celiac people and stuff to make our lunches because I am too cheap to buy Disney food. For those of you who don't know, a Ford Explorer is great if you are a guy and you only carry around your golf clubs. Which is who my husband is. And since it was his idea to take his car instead of my (much larger trunk space!) car, I figured it would be his problem fitting all the stuff in that tiny trunk, and I would show him why the Yukon XL is vastly superior for people with little people in tow. However, after he reminded me of the fact that my truck needed tires AND brakes, I relented in the name of safety. Thus began the battle of the bulge.

First, everyone only got to take three outfits. One backpack to put them in. One pair of shoes. No toys. No pillows. (Except for the grown-ups, who know from experience that sleeping on a hotel bed is not always good for bad backs.)And one whole suitcase was devoted to food. One whole day was devoted to the packing of the food. I felt like RJ in "Over the Hedge" with all the thoughts of food. Everyone had their own color-coded items: Water bottles and toothbrushes were everyone's favorite color to keep them from fighting or sharing germs. I decided I would do water bottles to save money instead of buying sodas at the park and to save the environment by not taking disposable bottles. I packed detergent and dryer sheets so I could wash clothes along the way. I had a bag for all the stuff you can never find: wipes, carmex, ziploc bags, kleenex, lotion, nail clippers, medicine, first aid kit, camera, etc. It was basically for all the stuff someone asks you for in the car and you dig around in three bags before you can find it. I had a bag for the snack food for the car ride.

I had enough gum for everyone to have twenty pieces, just in case we were bored or hungry or our ears wouldn't pop in the canyon. I packed only Disney movies to watch in the car. I thought that it would be fun to catch up on our old favorites we haven't seen for a while and get excited to see them at the park. This backfired when my Thomas the Train lover went into major withdrawals on the way home.

I found this really cool hard-sided cooler that was small enough to carry around but big enough to pack all our lunches in. I only packed Pringles and Lay's Stax so the chips wouldn't get smashed.

I even remembered vitamins.

My husband came home from work early and started loading the Explorer. I bet you can guess what happened. We barely had room for our clothes and the baby's diapers, let alone my whole suitcase full of food and my cooler of perishables to make lunches with. We didn't even have room for our water bottles and water supply! At the last minute I was grabbing snacks out of the suicase and throwing them into grocery bags hoping kids could hold them on their laps. I had to leave behind most of the things I had spent a whole day preparing. Sigh. We ended up buying lunch and dinner every day and spending a fortune. We also ended up buying water bottles every day and filling our own landfill. Double sigh. I couldn't figure out if it would have been worth the $400 for brakes and tires and $400 extra gas dollars to drive my larger car or the $1000 we spent on food for those five days and the $200 we saved on gas taking the smaller car. I think the most important thing is we traveled safely, had a great trip, and we all spent a great vacation together in each other's company. Even without homemade sandwiches for lunch.