Car seats and Disney airport transportation

[aripantaloon]

We are planning on using the Disney airport transportation to and from our resort when we visit next May. Our DDs will be 4 and just over 1 at that point, so they will need to be in car seats. Do we need to schlep ours with us (we will not need them for the plane trip and we're not planning on renting a car while there) or does Disney take care of this for us? If Disney provides appropriate child restraints, do we just tell the CM when booking our trip or is there something more that we need to do?

 

[Frankiesmom]

The disney buses do not have seat belts-so no way to buckle the seats in. I never bring ours. No way to use them and really no need. Hope this helps!

 

[aripantaloon]

The disney buses do not have seat belts-so no way to buckle the seats in. I never bring ours. No way to use them and really no need. Hope this helps!

I don't know how there can be "no need" to use a child seat when traveling from Orlando airport to a Disney resort. We would be on major highways, right? Florida law requires children to be in child safety seats, as far as I know. I guess if the airport transportation is more like a city bus in design than a van, I can see how you wouldn't be able to install a car seat. Though, you would think that a place like Disney, that caters to families with young children, would make things as safe as possible for their visitors.

Now, I wouldn't put them in car seats on the shuttle busses that are on Disney property that take you from park to park since they are not on interstates.

 

[GEM]

They are busses (like a charter bus kind of thing), and carseats are not required on busses. As the previous poster mentioned, there are no seatbelts on busses, so no way to install a carseat.

If you don't feel good about that, there are always other ways to get to Disney. A private car service, for instance, would provide a carseat. Personally, I've taken my son (now 4) on the Magical Express bus many times in the last few years and not worried about it. I understand that some might feel differently, though.

 

[Frankiesmom]

like I previously posted-if you are taking magical express then there is no way to buckle them in-so no need. I have never worried about it;and leave the car seats buckled in at home. We take a limo to the airport/home and I don't take them the car seats for that either. Does that make me an awful mother? I guess so-but the question was regarding disney's airport transportation-they have no seat belts-so therefore no need for car seats!

 

[ajcolorado]

Actually, you can't take it on the bus:

"If you are carrying a child safety/car seat, it will be stowed beneath the bus – they are not allowed on the bus."

Source: www.buildabettermousetrip.com/dme.html

 

[Minniemouse07]

I'm a child passenger safety technician (CPST)... here is the scoop:

A bus (school or coach) is set up with its own safety measures, including compartmentalization. To date there are no laws requiring seat belts on buses (although some states now require them on school buses). Florida's car seat law is for passenger vehicles (cars, vans, trucks, taxis, & limos) and does not include buses.

We are traveling next month to WDW with ds(2yo) and dd(6yo). We are taking ds' car seat for him to use on the plane and dd w/ use the airplane seat belt. We are using DME and not renting a car. When we travel on the DME buses, ds' seat will be place under the bus in the cargo bay.

As a CPST I am confident in the safety of transport on coach buses enough that we are not renting a car or using some other kind of transport where we can utilize ds' car seat.

BUT... this is a parental decsion. I definitely feel strongly enough about using car seats that we are bringing one for ds on the plane...and to be honest I think there is more of a risk for injury on the airplane w/o a car seat than on the coach bus w/o a car seat. But that is my opinion and decision based upon my research...not necessarily my professional opinon as a CPST.

 

[aripantaloon]

Thanks for your expert opinion Minniemouse07.

DD4 will not fit in her carseat comfortably on an airplane. At least I don't think she will. The last time I used her carseat on an airplane was when she was about 1.5 or 2. It was a VERY tight fit for her legs as well as the seat itself. Now that she's much bigger, I doubt that it would be ideal for her to be wedged in there. The person in front would not be able to recline without crushing her legs. We're not getting DD1 a seat on the plane.