Can You Fit Five Days In Carry-on?

Walt Disney World Other
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Not a Disney trip, but I’m headed to a combo work/fun trip to Phoenix tomorrow for 5 days, and my husband and I have both managed to squeeze both of our stuff into 1 carryon bag + 1 backpack that we’ll share. (He’s recovering from a minor surgery and can’t lift things for the moment, so it’s all on me!)

In the carryon, we have 1 pair of “nice” shoes for each of us, flip flops for each of us, socks stuffed into said shoes, a collared button down shirt for him, 3 casual shirts for him, a pair of shorts for him, bathing suit for him, 5 days of underwear and undershirts for him. I have two casual dresses, a pair of shorts, 4 casual shirts, and a bathing suit + cover up. That all fits in a standard US-size carryon WITHOUT needing to expand-y the zipper.

We’ll also carry on a backpack with both of our toiletries, a hair brush for me, hair straightener, curling iron, belt for him, underthings for me, small homemade first aid kit, plus a laptop and charger, phone charger, headphones, water bottles for both of us, and a small daytime purse for me.

And then he’ll wear a pair of khakis on the plane (which will also work for nicer dinners) and I’ll wear jeans. We’ll both wear comfy shoes and casual jackets in case it gets cold at night.

So I think it’s definitely possible, especially if everyone in your party packs a rolly bag and a backpack. The key is generally being ok with re-using pants/shorts, and really limiting pairs of shoes. Good folding helps too.

My biggest packing “success” story was an 11-day trip to Peru that included both heavy hiking boots plus both warm and cold weather clothes, and all fit into carryons only. :joy:

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Check the weather forecast. It’ll be cool and wet. Lows 40’s-50’s, highs 58-73. At least the rain should help clear the dust out of the air! (That’s been a real problem recently.)

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Yep, good tip, thank you. Our itinerary will keep us inside most of the time (or in heated swimming pools during a few breaks, hopefully!) but I did see there’s some rain predicted. Excited to get away nonetheless.

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Have fun in Phoenix! Wish it was a little warmer for you but we can use the rain. :cloud_with_rain:

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5 days is sortof our limit too. I won’t check a bag unless I absolutely have to, and that’s pretty much only for moving things permanently.

We’re about to do 12 days in the UK/France with only carry-ons but we can do laundry before we leave the UK so it’s only 5 days at a stretch.

Clothes are easy peasy with packing cubes and I barely wear makeup and don’t have any special product. For me it’s the shoes. For Disney I wear Crocs and don’t bring anything else and the kids do the same. As soon as you actually need more shoes I find it doable but it definitely needs more thought.

You can definitely do it! I like that 5-4-3-2-1 rule. We’ve always done the put out everything you think you need and then triage by at least 25% but that’s more structured.

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