Children and transport

[kirstyfly]

Looking at the quote the travel agent put together for us it has a transport option with Karmel shuttle.

It says on the quote about children must be in car seats.

I found this on their website.

Traveling with Children
Infants and children are NOT permitted to ride on the lap of another passenger!

At Karmel Shuttle, we believe in making transportation as safe as possible while promoting the strongest safety standards for those traveling with children. California State Law requires your child be secured in a child safety seat. Please be sure to bring one and install it in your child’s pre-reserved seat . When booking your shuttle, please be sure to indicate the total number of travelers in your party (including all children and infants) and reserve that many seats accordingly. It is the parent’s/guardian’s/care giver’s responsibility to provide and properly install the child safety seat. We DO NOT provide child safety seats and will NOT ALLOW children (including infants) to sit on the lap of another passenger. All children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Further details may be found at: Click Here for California Law!

We will not be hiring a car while in the states and don't want to lug a car seat over for our 4 year old just to travel from the airport and back.

However I have read that California law does not let taxi's be exempt from the car seat law as some states do.

My question is will we have to bring the car seat over from New Zealand or is there an alternative way to get to Disney from the airport where a car seat is not needed.

Does the disney bus need car seats?

If we have to bring a car seat over we will. But is an extra bulky thing to have to bring.

 

[dieumeye]

If you hire a car service, they can provide a car seat. Lansky is one I've used on the recommendation of many on this board, but I assume there are others as well. They will pick you up at the airport and drop you off at your hotel - you can even arrange a quick stop for groceries along the way if needed. You shouldn't need to bring a car seat halfway across the planet for one ride from the airport!

 

[lcp9]

I'm not 100% sure, but I do not think the big buses require car seats. Any other car service (shuttles, taxi, uber) will. If you let a previously arranged car service know though, most can arrange for a car seat although a lot of times they'll make you install it which can be super obnoxious if it's one you aren't familiar with. Hopefully your son/daughter is tall enough and could get by with a booster!

 

[amyg1975]

Disneyland Resort Express bus is one way to travel without having to worry about car seats. Car seats are not required on large buses.

 

[amyg1975]

Have you looked into a Mifold or Bubblebum portable car seat? We have a Mifold and love it for Disneyland trips.

 

[avalon451]

How old are your kids- do they need a booster, or are they small enough that they still need to be buckled into a 5 point harness? If just a booster, the previous poster’s idea of a BubbleBum (inflatable booster you can pack small) or a Bifold folding one, will do the trick. If not, a bus - if you are flying into LAX or SNA, the Disney Express lets you ride with kids on laps. Or you can do Lansky’s or a similar car service, a bit more expensive but nice because it’s private, and they will provide car seats. They’ll also do a 20 minute grocery stop for you if you want.

 

[lalasmama]

Anything but a motorcoach will require a restraint. Disneyland Resort Express is the most common motorcoach for the area. It is a paid service with very mixed reviews.

Depending on how old/big your 4yo is (newly 4, or nearly 5, under 18kg, barely 18kg, well over 18kg), a backless booster may be an option. It's not a great option for a kiddo that is barely 4, as they are usually not mature enough to understand the importance of staying sitting up, not wiggling or playing with the seatbelt, etc., nor for a child under 18kg, which is typically the lower end of the weight limit. But if you have a 4.5yo who is pretty good at minding, that maybe you or another adult will be sitting next to for reminding about sitting properly, is over 18kg without a problem, then bringing a backless booster may be the best option. In my quick bit of research, it appears backless boosters are being phased out in Australia; they are very much in use here, so no one will "tsk tsk" using them here

 

[nikerbokers]

Another vote for a BubbleBum portable booster if your child is average to large size. We started taking those when we fly down for my then 5 year old (she's 6.5 now and at home in a high back booster but still do the portable booster when we travel). It's so so easy. It takes 5 seconds to blow up and put in. Then you can just use Lyft if you wanted to skip the shuttle.

 

[Creen14]

We used Karmel last month. How old are your kids?
Our daughter is four and is just at the size where she could be in a booster (40" 40 pounds)
The annoying this is, Karmel couldn't tell me whether or not their vans had a latch system or whether or not they had bucket seats. They said it all depends what's dispatched and they can't request a specific one. We would have loved to take a backless booster, but to do backless you need a headrest on the seat. So we played it safe and took a full booster with a back.
I can't tell you whether or not they did have latch (I didn't look) but both vans at least had some seats that were bucket.
That being said, there was another four year old in our van and they parents just had him buckled up. Nothing was enforced.

 

[WaterLinds]

Unfortunately Australia doesn’t allow the Bubblebum, therefore it can’t be sold there (I’m in Canada, the same is true for us). So although the OP could buy one on arrival in the US, she probably can’t get it until after leaving the airport, so it’s not much help. Same is true for mifold (in general mifold doesn’t give a safe fit for a lot of kids, although it certainly varies).

@kirstyfly I am not an expert on CA transportation but I’d guess either a bus or a shuttle service that provides car seats is going to be your best option. Good luck!

 

[Guy in Fargo]

recommend disneyland resort express or a mifold (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H5VJJAS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) if your child is big enough.

Your child's safety is your responsibility which is why services generally don't provide car seats and certainly don't help you restrain your child.

the transportation service is not the California Highway Patrol, they aren't going to stop you from not ensuring your child's safety.

 

[bumbershoot]

Unfortunately Australia doesn’t allow the Bubblebum, therefore it can’t be sold there (I’m in Canada, the same is true for us).

Intriguing. They say “the BubbleBum has been approved under the United Nations ECE Regulation R44/04 for safety for both Groups 2 and 3. It is designed for use with a standard 3-point adult seat belt that has been approved to ECE Regulation 15 or equivalent. The only countries that are not covered by this legislation are Canada and Australia.” ECE regulation 15 makes for some dry reading, fwiw.

So it sounds like there’s a seatbelt difference in those two countries, and that’s why this doesn’t work.



BUT! The OP says “my question is will we have to bring the car seat over from New Zealand...” It *is* for sale in NZ. https://www.bubblebum.co/nz/

So IF the OP’s kids are backless-booster-ready, she could use this.




As for Karmel not enforcing it from a previous post, right. They aren’t police officers.

But if the van had been pulled over, or gracious forbid there had been an accident, the parents would be the ones on the hook for not having a proper restraint for their child.

 

[WaterLinds]

Intriguing. They say “the BubbleBum has been approved under the United Nations ECE Regulation R44/04 for safety for both Groups 2 and 3. It is designed for use with a standard 3-point adult seat belt that has been approved to ECE Regulation 15 or equivalent. The only countries that are not covered by this legislation are Canada and Australia.” ECE regulation 15 makes for some dry reading, fwiw.

So it sounds like there’s a seatbelt difference in those two countries, and that’s why this doesn’t work.



BUT! The OP says “my question is will we have to bring the car seat over from New Zealand...” It *is* for sale in NZ. https://www.bubblebum.co/nz/

So IF the OP’s kids are backless-booster-ready, she could use this.

Reading fail! Someone else mentioned Australia, not the OP, and I just jumped on it. Thanks for catching that.

Yay for bubble bum being an option, then! (Also, interesting...our seatbelts appear on the surface the same as those in the US, I had no idea they were somehow different.)

 

[Sunclytie]

One Of the best parts about going to Disneyland is not having to bring the car. We use Lansky for airport transfers, and they work from SNA, LGB, LAX. They are a bit expensive, but always have the car seats set up in advance, they meet you at the airport, and the drivers are friendly and the cars really nice. I completely recommend them!

 

[aroseinwintr]

We are traveling with our 4 year old granddaughter she is right at 40 pounds.
At 40 pounds they can use a booster.
It's pretty light weight and small.