another car seat question

[RainyDayPixie]

We are planning to take the Disneyland Express bus from/to SNA with our 11y, 9y, and 20mo olds. I know I don't need a car seat for the bus ride, but shouldn't we bring one anyway? I worry that we'll end up needing it for an emergency (cab ride to urgent care or something).

Do people bring car seats just in case?

 

[katyringo]

We are taking the bus too, but we are brining our car seats because the bus doesn't run early enough for our return flight.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I always pay for a seat for my child (even under 2) on the plane and use their seat on the plane. It is so much easier!!

 

[RainyDayPixie]

I always pay for a seat for my child (even under 2) on the plane and use their seat on the plane. It is so much easier!!

We bought him a ($600) ticket for our cross-country trip this summer and the car seat barely fit (we bought a small one just for the trip) and he spent no time in it! I'll never fly Delta again- smallest seats ever. We were all so cramped, it was miserable.

We didn't buy him a seat for this short trip down the coast, but next time I think we'll try the harness. I'm sure I'll regret not having a seat for him. No easy way to travel with little people!

Edited to correct airline!

 

[smartlabelprint]

We bought him a ($600) ticket for our cross-country trip this summer and the car seat barely fit (we bought a small one just for the trip) and he spent no time in it! I'll never fly United again- smallest seats ever. We were all so cramped, it was miserable.

We didn't buy him a seat for this short trip down the coast, but next time I think we'll try the harness. I'm sure I'll regret not having a seat for him. No easy way to travel with little people!

Oh ours always sit!! The flights would be unbearable for me if they weren’t trapped with activities. Lol

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Oh ours always sit!! The flights would be unbearable for me if they weren’t trapped with activities. Lol

He was not a sitter at 18 mo and I thought I packed good activities! :/ Hoping he's better now (or I am at making him stay put!).

 

[lcp9]

Usually our DL trips are b/c my husband has a continuing ed course in Palm Springs, so we have to bring car seats. the worst part of traveling is bringing car seats!!! My kids as babies/toddlers were always really good about sleeping on the plane though. However, we have done DL without and it was totally fine. If there had been an emergency, we would have just figured it out. We just recently went to SF with our kids (6yo - booster, 4 and 2yos - 5 pt harnesses) without car seats and we felt so free. haha. One car seat maybe I would bring, but 3? No thanks. I will do anything I can to avoid needing them even if it means public transit at 11pm.

 

[lalasmama]

From a "Murphy's Law" standpoint, I would bring the carseat.

From a purely safety standpoint, don't gate check the carseat--put it in the overhead compartment. Gate-checking it will put it down with the cargo, where it can get damaged being thrown around. They aren't any nicer to the carseats than They are with your luggage, And we know how gingerly they treat luggage And, of course, that's not something you want to find out happened when you are at your destination and needing it for some reason!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We bought him a ($600) ticket for our cross-country trip this summer and the car seat barely fit (we bought a small one just for the trip) and he spent no time in it! I'll never fly United again- smallest seats ever. We were all so cramped, it was miserable.

......

You are mistaken. United’s economy seats are no smaller than any other airlines.

 

[PirateRedhead]

FWIW, we always took the lap child option with our under-2s. Not the most comfortable, but it worked. I don't bring a car seat to Disneyland because there's already so much to juggle and we never rent a car or take day trips off property so we don't need it. We booked DL Express once but after traveling and dealing with luggage it was kind of painful to find out that we had just missed the bus and would be waiting at the curb for an hour with our wiggly kids. Because of that experience, on our most recent trip, after seeing it recommended many times on these boards, we hired Lansky car service for the trip from the airport to DL. They're great and will come equipped with carseat or booster if you ask. We took the DL Express bus back to the airport at the end of the trip.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

You are mistaken. United’s economy seats are no smaller than any other airlines.

You're right, my mistake! It was Delta. Seats are 30-31" and I'm used to Alaska at 32". Those 2" make a huge difference! We had really great service on Delta, but iy eas noticeably uncomfortable.

http://www.businessinsider.com/america-airline-legroom-guide-seat-pitch-2017-3

 

[RainyDayPixie]

From a "Murphy's Law" standpoint, I would bring the carseat.

From a purely safety standpoint, don't gate check the carseat--put it in the overhead compartment. Gate-checking it will put it down with the cargo, where it can get damaged being thrown around. They aren't any nicer to the carseats than They are with your luggage, And we know how gingerly they treat luggage And, of course, that's not something you want to find out happened when you are at your destination and needing it for some reason!

Do they fit in overhead? It seems so big! I agree that cargo isn't a good place for car seats.

FWIW, we always took the lap child option with our under-2s. Not the most comfortable, but it worked. I don't bring a car seat to Disneyland because there's already so much to juggle and we never rent a car or take day trips off property so we don't need it. We booked DL Express once but after traveling and dealing with luggage it was kind of painful to find out that we had just missed the bus and would be waiting at the curb for an hour with our wiggly kids. Because of that experience, on our most recent trip, after seeing it recommended many times on these boards, we hired Lansky car service for the trip from the airport to DL. They're great and will come equipped with carseat or booster if you ask. We took the DL Express bus back to the airport at the end of the trip.

I'll look in to Lansky, thanks. I really don't want to bring it. I guess worst case scenario is that one of us ubers to Target for a seat!

 

[lalasmama]

Do they fit in overhead? It seems so big! I agree that cargo isn't a good place for car seats.

Depending on the size, it should. Its just getting the flight attendants to not fuss about it.