First Timer - Stroller airport logistics

[smartlabelprint]

Thanks for the advice....I was thinking of going from stroller to carrier back to stroller, as we progress from the car, through TSA, and finally to the boarding area, simply to limit the amount of time my wife has to carry baby (as she's gotten quite heavy...the baby that is). She typically does the baby carrying so that I can deal with all the car seat acrobatics, lift heavy objects, and leap into action for whatever. But I see the benefit of keeping baby in carrier from start to finish in order to limit disruption to her. We purchased a seat for baby so will be boarding with the car seat for her to sit in, but will definitely be gate checking the stroller.

To answer the other question re: baby supplies, food wise we'll bring some food for her such as those puree pouches, but she can also eat solids/reg food so she'll get that too. We're staying at the BWPPI which is "the one in front of the crosswalk" right across from the DL entrance so that limits our choices of where to buy things without a good walk involved. However, in a pinch while at the park we plan on going to the baby center for things like diapers and so on.

my 5 yo only started feeling heavy at 40+ lbs. Maybe you need a better carrier. We have the Lenny Lamb. Best I’ve owned. We tried ergo and Tula.

 

[mentos]

Whoever mentioned City Stroller Rentals in Anaheim, they’re awesome and it’s super convenient.

I try not to think about the $800 I’ve spent renting a $300 stroller, though but it’s the service!

 

[superdeluxe]

We rented a stroller (from City Stroller Rentals) and had it delievered to our hotel before we got there. We also used a private car service that had car seats (Lansky). We didn't want to deal with the hassle of all that so that might be an option..

We had other supplies (wipes/diapers/squeeze pouches etc) delivered to our hotel by Amazon Now (I made the purchase when we got on our flight), it was there waiting in the lobby along with our stroller.

 

[redleader74]

Oh yes, I learned about Lanksy on these forums and have already booked them for the pickup. This is how we ended up deciding to bring the car seat....all the other options that would have allowed us to leave the car seat at home:
- The Disney Resort Shuttle (DRE) with their large 50pax motor coaches, their reviews were too mixed for our comfort. Plus the schedule (once per hour) was not very forgiving.
- Mickey's Space Ship Shuttle, which advertised that they can include INFANT car seats, well, their reviews were also very mixed.

Plus, with our car seat with us, we have many other emergency options, from using a cab/lyft/uber to even renting a car. I just keep thinking, if we didn't have a car seat and say, heaven forbid, our baby gets really sick and we need to take her to a nearby hospital what transport options are we left with?

 

[redleader74]

Ok this really doesn't have much to do with DL, but not sure where else to put this so I'll piggy back off my existing thread here. We are flying SWA out of OAK tomorrow and from what I read on SWA's website is that families w/ kids 6 and under board after boarding group A and before group B. However, if we happen to check in online early enough to get group A, can we still board with group A? Or does that fact that we have a baby relegate us to the families group between A and B?

 

[Becca1007]

Ok this really doesn't have much to do with DL, but not sure where else to put this so I'll piggy back off my existing thread here. We are flying SWA out of OAK tomorrow and from what I read on SWA's website is that families w/ kids 6 and under board after boarding group A and before group B. However, if we happen to check in online early enough to get group A, can we still board with group A? Or does that fact that we have a baby relegate us to the families group between A and B?

Yes! If you are A then just board at your assigned position. Carseat must be installed in window seat and NOT in the row in front or behind the exit row and NOT in the exit row. All other seating options are open to you.

If you don't get an A pass than just line up to the side and you will board between A & B. Since you are flying into SNA there will likely be lots of families. If heaven forbid you get on the plane and you cannot find a window seat with an adjacent middle seat open, you can ask the flight attendant to move some people around as the car seat must go in the window position. They are only obligated to seat one parent next to an infant seat though so you won't necessarily get all together. This usually only happens if the flight has a lot of through passengers from the previous flight that are going on to SNA.

 

[Becca1007]

Also ... unrelated to your question but a bit of advice. If you are planning to go to any of the nighttime entertainment (Fantasmic, Electrical Parade or Fireworks) with baby, leave the stroller at the hotel in the evening and carry baby in the ergo/carrier. It is much easier to navigate the nighttime crush of crowds without the stroller and you can squeeze into a better position for any of those viewing areas while still being able to see your child.

 

[redleader74]

Since you are flying into SNA there will likely be lots of families. If heaven forbid you get on the plane and you cannot find a window seat with an adjacent middle seat open, you can ask the flight attendant to move some people around as the car seat must go in the window position. They are only obligated to seat one parent next to an infant seat though so you won't necessarily get all together. This usually only happens if the flight has a lot of through passengers from the previous flight that are going on to SNA.

Yes, I was hoping since it's SNA that there'll be a lot of Disney goers. On top of that our flight is at 2PM departure as I was also hoping that that would have less chance of being with the more serious "business" travelers who would likely fly early morning/evening.

Also ... unrelated to your question but a bit of advice. If you are planning to go to any of the nighttime entertainment (Fantasmic, Electrical Parade or Fireworks) with baby, leave the stroller at the hotel in the evening and carry baby in the ergo/carrier. It is much easier to navigate the nighttime crush of crowds without the stroller and you can squeeze into a better position for any of those viewing areas while still being able to see your child.

Whew...I haven't even though about the park yet....right now all my energies are on the flight/airport/ground transport of this journey! You guys are all seasoned pros and I hope to get there soon enough! I will breathe to incredibly heavy and fulfilling sighs of relief: 1.) settling into our hotel room and 2.) entering the park the first morning of our two day pass!! Lanksy includes as part of it's transport service a stop at a grocery store (most likely the Target that's up the street from BWPPI) and you can sure well bet while I'm at that Target I will be selecting a bit of a...how do you say...."celebratory beverage," for later that night in the hotel!