car rental, need car seat and boosters

[bearhouse]

We are goining to rent a car before/and after cruise and we would
like to rent the boosters from the car rental agency. Our TA says car seats and boosters aren't guaranteed and suggested we take our own.

I really do not want to drag a car seat and 2 boosters from airport to hotel to ship to WDW. Any suggestions ?

If I request a car seat and boosters when reserving a car, shouldn't they be available ? We'd be stuck with no transportation if they weren't available....has this ever happened to anyone ? I would think this should never happen, but I guess you can never tell ?



Thanks in advance,
Terri

 

[laujac]

Last year my daughter was still in a booster seat. We boought a large stroller bag and checked it on the plane. We then rented a car from Budget and they allowed us to leave it in their storage room while we were on the cruise. This worked out very well since the storage areas in the cabins are limited.

 

[lbgraves]

If you are flying with the kids, don't you want them to be in car seats on the plane?

 

[bearhouse]

I had no idea we could store the seats. That makes a big difference.
Thanks alot.

My kids are 8, 6 and 4 and this will be our first plane trip w/o a car seat.
(boosters only work with a shoulder belt).


Thanks

 

[imlazar]

We are goining to rent a car before/and after cruise and we would
like to rent the boosters from the car rental agency. Our TA says car seats and boosters aren't guaranteed and suggested we take our own.

I really do not want to drag a car seat and 2 boosters from airport to hotel to ship to WDW. Any suggestions ?

If I request a car seat and boosters when reserving a car, shouldn't they be available ? We'd be stuck with no transportation if they weren't available....has this ever happened to anyone ? I would think this should never happen, but I guess you can never tell ?



Thanks in advance,
Terri

I've rented from both Alamo and National and have never had a problem getting either car seats or boosters, they had large piles of both. However, that was in February/March during the slower seasons. Also, their seats are junk and the car seats aren't latch capable. You definately should bring your own if you can store them.

Is there any reason why you can't take the Disney bus from the airport? It's $25 per person I believe.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We are in a similiar situation. My ds will be 3, and my dd will be turning 5. My flight attendant friend and 2 pilots in my family said they do not need to be in car seats on the plane as they are both over 30lbs and will be properly secured by the airplane seatbelt (they strongly recommend it for 2 and under however). And dh is SOO opposed to lugging 2 carseats through the airport and installing and uninstalling them multiple times. We have a 15 day trip planned and are planning on renting a car or taking a town car to WDW then from WDW to port, port to WDW and finally back to airport. While we could take Disney transportation (and I wouldn't mind that too much although after a cross country flight and arriving at 12 am a nice direct drive to the hotel will be nice), but we are hoping to get to the boat early which wouldn't be possible with the Disney bus. I have not heard great things about the car seats for car rental companies, or unfortunately even from the town car companies (although I was planning on calling FL Tours because I saw on their testimonials people commenting on the car seats). There are some companies you can find by doing a Yahoo! search on "baby equipment rental," Orlando. These are companies who specialize in renting quality baby equipment and its a guaranteed reservation. They will also tell you the make and model of the seat before hand, although you are still trusting them thats its not been in an accident, I guess. Most will meet you at the airport or rental agency and install the car seat. From what I saw it looked to be about $5 a day. We may be doing this. I haven't heard from anyone who used one in Orlando, but they were featured in Parents magazine as was a different company in Hawaii who my friend used and was extremely happy with. Good Luck!!

 

[laujac]

If you are flying with the kids, don't you want them to be in car seats on the plane?

My daughter was 5 and 54 lbs... too big for the full harness car seat, but she still uses a booster seat. The airlines do not allow booster seats on the plane. They only allow the full harness ones. So, following the airlines regulations she would sit in their regular belt, but I made sure that the booster was available for the car in Florida.

 

[SandraLee]

I always brought them. Your 3 year old will be MUCH happier in the carseat on the plane. Yes,they are legal without a carseat, but you are flying 4 hours. The kids are used to sleeping in the carseat. They know when you put them in, they can't get out. They are comfortable in the carseats. And, of course, safer.

You never know what you'll get from a rental agency. If you go the town car route, maybe they will store your seats if you book a round trip with them.

If your 5 year old is more than 40 pounds, I'd get a backless booster ($20 and small) and check it through with my luggage. But, I would put the 3-year old's carseat on top of a set of wheels, secure it with bungee cords and pull it along behind me through the airport. When my DD was that age, she would sit cross-legged in the seat while I pulled it along! It was a great solutionn -- she was happy not to walk, we had her carseat on the airplane and in the car when we got there, and I didn't have to carry her or the carseat!

It does drive me crazy when people think it is OK for their kids to not be in a carseat during the hour drive from the airport to port. Would you ever allow your child to drive an hour without a carseat at home? So, why would it be any safer in FL?

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

Your 3 year old will be MUCH happier in the carseat on the plane. Yes,they are legal without a carseat, but you are flying 4 hours. The kids are used to sleeping in the carseat. They know when you put them in, they can't get out. They are comfortable in the carseats. And, of course, safer.

I wouldn't necesssarily assume the kid will be happier in a carseat, according to my flight attendant friend around 3 is where they usually become LESS happy in one. The reason being there is soo much less foot room then in a car and they are usually very cramped and cannot move without kicking the seat in front of them. Also at that age there is virtually no difference in safety over a standard airplane seat belt, as the major thing the carseat is protecting them from is turbulence, which by then the seatbelt will also work for. The side impact, and other protective forces on the car seat are designed for the movements cars make in accidents and do little in airplanes for things like bumpy landings, let alone an accident. This is just based on what my flight attendant friend learned in her training (shes had alot of it). But the 2 pilots in my family also agreed with everything she said.

It does drive me crazy when people think it is OK for their kids to not be in a carseat during the hour drive from the airport to port. Would you ever allow your child to drive an hour without a carseat at home? So, why would it be any safer in FL?

Just want to reinforce that no one HERE was advocating this. Not sure if my first post made that clear. I would be waaay to paranoid to even drive down the driveway with no carseat.

I e-mailed Fl Tours awhile ago asking about their carseats. If anyone is interested you can pm me or post here and I'll share the info I get back.