DME with babies

[arwood82]

I will be traveling to WDW next year with my son and my nephew who will be 2yrs and 14 months. My question is will disney send me a luggage tag for my stroller. I was also wondering if I needed to check their car seats so that they will have them for the DME bus. Thank You for any help. This is my first time ever flying with children.

 

[Sandi]

You can't use car seats on the DME bus. There are no seatbelts, so nothing to attach the car seat to. If you use them on the plane (assuming you buy seats for the children -- which you'll have to do for the 2 year old and I'd highly recommend for the 14 month old), you wouldn't be checking them, so you're all set. If you aren't planning on using them on the plane and you only plan to use Disney transportation, you won't need the car seats.

With respect to your stroller, I think most people gate check them so you can use them in the airport. If you're talking a really big stroller, I think I would opt to rent one at WDW -- either from Disney or from a 3rd party. Checking a stroller is risky due to so many pieces that can be broken while being loaded, etc.

 

[ancestry]

Sandi has given you good advice.

You can't use car seats on DME or on the Disney buses. For the airplane you may want to consider getting or renting a CARES harness which functions as a car seat without the huge size. See http://www.kidsflysafe.com/ for more information.

 

[arwood82]

Thanks guys for the advice. I am not a seasoned traveler so I do not know a lot about it. We go to WDW often, but we have always drove. It is a 15 hour drive for us and we just thought it would be easier on everyone if we flew this time since we had 2 that were so young. As for our stroller it is not a big deal if something on it gets broken. It is an older stroller that someone gave to us.

 

[Hannathy]

With 2 little ones that age you will want to bring your stroller for the airport to get to the gates, it can be a very long walk! Since you haven't done this before
Just know that they have to get out of the stroller to go thru security and everything in it has to come out so any bags you have put in the basket have to come out and go thru the xray. If it is small enough folded they can put it thru the belt or they will walk it around and check it, just be prepared to take kids and stuff out. When you get to the gate ask the desk person for a gate checking tag. You can then push the stroller all the way up to the door of the plane and then fold it and leave it at the top of the ramp or wherever they tell you and they will come and get it and put it under the plane. Please do step to the side while you do this so folks can keep moving onto the plane. Then when you get off it will be waiting for you at the top of the ramp so you can use it to push the kiddos thru the airport again.

 

[arwood82]

Thanks guys for all of the information. This has been really helpful to me. I did not know anything about the CARES harness system. This will work out so much better for us because we really did not want to lug around 2 heavy carseats. It is also nice to know that we can use the stroller in the airport.

 

[ms.ojo]

OK, We'd prefer to have our stroller w/ us at our departing airport to help keep everyone (and things) together. We are flying Delta. Once I get to the gate, can I then put a yellow tag on the stroller as it's checked so it will be delivered to our resort w/ our luggage??

Why you say? B/c last summer when we traveled we arrived during a thunderstorm and sat for 3 hrs waiting for the luggage to get off the plane. (we were taking a towncar) If we had DME we would have been scooted off to our resort and luggage delivered later. But then I realized, if the stroller was gate checked w/out the yellow tag....we would STILL have to wait for it before we could take our bus.

I really don't want to check the stroller from the start and have it count as one of our luggage pieces on Delta. OR does it count as a luggage piece ($25) even if it's gate checked???

Thanks!

 

[tjmw2727]

No - if you gate check the stroller it will not go with the other checked bags. It will be delivered to the doorway of the airplane after you land, so if it isn't there when you deplane wait for it to be brought up.

Gate checked items are not charged. When you get to your gate ask the agent for a gate check tag for the stroller. Leave it at the door of the plane when you get on - be sure its folded and all the extra stuff (toys etc) is removed.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The above poster is correct, I have one tip to add - don't rush off the plane. It will take a few minutes to get the gate-checked items out from under the plane up to the jetway. Annnnnd... don't forget that you gate-checked it! I was on a flight recently where a passenger gate-checked a walker, and then used an airport-provided wheelchair to get to baggage claim - forgetting all about the walker!

 

[bumbershoot]

ms.ojo, when you gate check the stroller, just make sure you tell them that you want it to be brought up to the gate. That way they just bring it on up and leave it at the entrance/exit to the plane, and you just roll it on up, and use it in the airport! The gate checked stuff doesn't have to go all through the airport with the rest of the checked luggage.

 

[Hokie4lyf]

Does anyone know if there is a size restriction on the strollers you can check at the gate? We are flying airtran and plan on taking our double stroller (not side-by-side). I've looked all over airtrans website and do not see any size restrictions but just wondering if anyone else had run into it being an issue. Thanks.

 

[Singledad]

i've never seen a double in an airport before, but I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed to be gate checked. anyone else have a better/clearer answer?

 

[Jaymie]

I've checked a Sit N Stand stroller at the gate and it's pretty close to being the size of a double and we've never had any problems. I always put the stroller in a HUGE garbage bag before checking it, that way if is does by chance get damaged, the bag will usually catch any parts that come off and if it's rainy, it stays a little drier.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

In addition, your stroller will be put in the bottom of the DME bus on your ride to your resort, so don't forget to get it out when you arrive.