Car seats for disney transportation

[jessrowe]

Yay! We're going to WDW in September. I'm about to burst with excitement! We are flying from NC and will have car seats for my then 4 year old and 1 year old for the plane. We are staying at Beach Club. When we go from there to Magic Kingdom, I assume we take the bus. But what about car seats? We'll walk to Epcot and take the little boat to Hollywood Studios so I'm not worried about those days. I guess we could take a taxi, but then what do we do with the car seats at the park?

 

[hmdavid]

I didn't see anyone using cars seats at all when we were there. The buses do not have the proper restraints to secure the car seats.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are no seat belts on the buses. They are like regular city transportation buses and have molded plastic seats.

 

[jessrowe]

Oh.....so what does anyone recommend doing?

 

[thegrimdwarf]

We rent a car, so it's not an issue for us. But I'm with you - I just don't understand why it's acceptable to have children (or adults, really) unrestrained on buses.

 

[brymolmom]

It's whatever you are comfortable with. I must admit the first time we went to WDW and took Magical Express and then the WDW buses....I was SO NERVOUS without my kids in car seats or even seat belts! I even feel so uncomfortable without one on myself. But, for us, we just keep one of the kids next to each of us with an arm around them - that's the best we can do. And I must admit - it's a lot quicker and easier than doing the whole buckling/unbuckling every time we go to a new place.

 

[rellabee]

If using the car seats are very important to you, then you should rent a car.

Even if there was a way to buckle in the carseats on the buses, it would be impractical. There would be extensive delays for the buses at every single stop while everyone "properly installed" their carseats. You also wouldn't have anywhere to store it while at the parks or DTD.

You should also know that even though it's Disney, you will encounter your share of rude people. We always use the buses, but on our last trip we left after the fireworks at MK one night so the buses were a bit crowded. We were near the front of the line for the "next bus" so we were able to get a seat and my husband and I were eaching holding a sleeping child (3 and 6 and very heavy) to leave other seats open for other passengers rather than occupying them with the kids. There was a number of able-bodied adults who were also occupying seats. A family (mom, dad, and 4 small kids) had to stand!!! It is extremely hard to stand on a moving bus when you are juggling the weight of children and barely have even one hand to hold onto anything. NONE of these adults offered up their seats to this family with many kids!!!! Since we knew they had more on their hands than us, we let them have our seats and we did the moving balancing act with our kids instead.

Before anyone flames me, yes I know that all of these "able bodied adults" got the seats first as they were before this family in line. I just could not believe that there is not a shred of chivalry in a bus full of people. And I also know that this family "could" have waited on the next bus, but it was late and I know those kids needed to get to bed rather than waiting on the next bus.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I am a RABID car seat user since I'm a CPST (car seat tech). During our December trip with dd-6yo and ds-2yo,we used ds' seat on the plane (rear facing). After we arrived at MCO, we put the car seat under the DME bus and ds rode on my lap (he didn't sleep on the plane and collapsed on the bus ride to WDW).

Once we arrived on property.. we put the car seat in the corner under the pole in the "closet" area and left it there for our entire stay. We easily used DME and had no issues.

I would definitely bring the seats for the plane (so much safer) and then just store them out of the way during your stay.

FWIW, coach buses aren't required to have seat belts because of compartmentalization. The seats are high and in an impact crash you would be thrown forward into the cushioned seat in front of you. Buses are statistically safer than cars, especially in the case of those such as DME since they travel a familiar route.

If anyone is interested I can dig up some research papers and other info links.

Any of my friends would tell you that if "I" was okay w/ not using the car seat on the bus... that it is probably okay.

 

[wewantmore]

I'm a bit of a carseat nut but we leave them in our car and take the buses everywhere. We just hold the little ones either next to us or on our laps.

If I were you I'd just leave the seats in your hotel room.

Michelle

 

[all4fun]

I second bringing your car seats for the plane and just using Disney Transportation to get around the parks. That is the beauty of staying on property - you don't have to rent a car or hire a taxi to get around. I recommend taking your car seats anyway because you never know what might happen where you'll need them during your stay. For instance, on our last trip, we took DME to the airport, got all checked in and went through security, THEN found out our connecting flight had been canceled. The airline had to put us up in a hotel overnight and we had to take a shuttle van (not a bus) from the airport to the hotel and back. I had not brought even a booster for my then 4yr old and he had to ride in just a seatbelt because hotel shuttle didn't have any. I am a huge child car safety advocate so I know what can happen to a small child in just seatbelt. If I had a car seat for my ds then I would have had nothing to worry about. Thank goodness nothing bad did happen but that is never a guarantee. Bad things can happen even on vacation kwim. Better safe than sorry. And actually, I just ordered a Ride Safer Travel Vest for him so we will never be in that situation again.

 

[jessrowe]

Oh thank you all so much! All of your advice/experience really helps. My husband thinks I'm nuts for wanting to bring our 4 year old's car seat on the plane. Great idea to keep the seats in the closet.

 

[jodifla]

Oh thank you all so much! All of your advice/experience really helps. My husband thinks I'm nuts for wanting to bring our 4 year old's car seat on the plane. Great idea to keep the seats in the closet.

I stopped using my son's car seat on the plane when he turned 3. After that, there wasn't enough room for his legs...they were jammed between the car seat and the back of the seat in front of him. And you can't put down the tray table for any snacks or toys once the car seat is in.

 

[jessp1021]

we went last yr with our 3 mo dd and I held her on the buses and she did fine!! They don't go fast so it isn't like you have to worry about them falling down on there plus ppl are always very polite and will gladly give up their seat to a mommy with small kids!

 

[lclark0621]

Just like any public transportation, there are no car seats on the Disney buses.

We have been taking DS since he was 8 months old. We have always used Disney transportation & never had a problem.

DS knows he either sits in mine or DH's lap or in the seat. If he gets up, we dont get off the bus at the park & head straight back to the hotel. No messing around.

And we have never had to go back to the hotel...LOL! Yes DS is excited, and sometimes has squirmed a bit, but he stays in his seat or our laps.

 

[pooh4evr]

I might reconsider bringing the 4 yr old seat on the plane because he won't have any room and the person in front of him will not enjoy having the seat kicked-- of course if he is in a booster they aren't allowed on the plane anyway-- just a thought!

 

[Alesia]

I would bring the car seat for the 1 year old, but not for the 4 year old. Unless, of course, the 4 year old is extremely small.