First toddler trip

[Lisa_M]

I need some tips on traveling with a 15 month old, her first trip and ours as parents. We are staying off site, but close. We are flying and I've purchased her a seat. Do carseats actually fit in a plane seat? I'm not so certain, but how else will I get her to stay put?

Also, DH wanted me to ask, have you ever gotten your stroller stolen? We are bringing our Maclaren stroller and while I got it cheap, I don't want to have it stolen. Are their places I can lock it to?

I could use any pointers. We're going in June.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi! We took our 2 children to Disney last summer. Our big one was 3 and our little one was 14 months old at the time, so he was just about the same age as your little one will be when you go.

I have no experience on planes with little ones, but I can help you with other things. We rented a double stroller from A Baby's Best Friend down in Orlando (they delivered it to our hotel and we returned it at our hotel for them to pick it up). We needed one for the two boys and we don't own one so we rented it. It was better than the ones at the parks because it was actually a Graco and perfect for the little guy when he napped in it. Much better than the hard plastic ones at the parks! We NEVER had a problem with the stroller being stolen! I felt very comfortable the whole time we were there. We even left the diaper bag in the basket at the bottom when going on rides and nothing was ever taken. And we are very cautious people (we're from Brooklyn, NY!). I had read many threads here about Disney and felt comfortable.

A couple of tips about using a stroller:

-cover it with a plastic poncho or something of the like in case of rain, when you are in an attraction. We went into Philharmagic and the stroller was soaked from pouring rain when we got out...however it did dry very quickly in the heat!

-put something on your stroller that will help you identify it quickly when you exit an attraction. We used a small handkerchief with bright print on it that I bought at Target for $1. Never had a problem finding out stroller...sometimes a CM will move it to make the row neater so this is essential!

-we never had a problem when navigating through a store with a double stroller, so you should be fine with that as well! So if your child is sleeping and you want to shop a little, go ahead and enjoy! I sure did!

Another good piece of advice with a toddler...try as much as possible to stick to their regular eating/sleeping schedule. It will prevent meltdowns. Remember, if you miss something you could always go back!

Have a wonderful trip!! You will love it and want to go back over and over again!

 

[Schmeck]

Make sure your carseat is certified to be used on a plane - there should be a sticker on it that says FAA approved, or somesuch.

 

[kiddisney]

we've taken the kids since they were infants - for the first we took that car seat - but it didn't fit - so check w/the airlines for which seats fit - the booster w/o backs fit - but some of the bigger seats do not -

for us - we like taking our own carriage / stroller w/us so that we can control speed - and activity in the airport - nothing beats not having to carry a kid all thru the terminal - as long as the stroller fits thru the metal detector it's okay (and some airports don't need you to actually do this - again check w/the airport)

for being in wdw - i agree w/pp - take a rain shield - we actually use a poncho - so that in case of rain the stroller doesn't get too wet to use - i don't recommend locking up the stroller - you don't want to be slowed down by the locking and unlocking - also the cm's sometimes do stroller crowd control and move the strollers when there are gaps in the stroller corral - also to help w/not losing a stroller - put some type of personal identification on it - there are a lot of strollers in the parks - and a lot look the same - but a small ribbon or something helps so that someone else doesn't confuse yours w/theirs -

 

[Syrreal]

We have flown with our Britax on Delta and on Southwest. It fit both times. As a PP said, make sure it says FAA certified because they may ask to see the sticker on the airplane.

ETA- two of the delta flights were commuter so we were in the neener planes, it also fit in there.

 

[Perditamarie]

Here are a few things that worked great for us:

* Always brought a cooler bag w/sippy cups, juice and familiar snacks. It is often hard to find apple juice when you need it....we would buy a couple of big bottles and store w/blue ice in our bag and just mix w/water when the kiddos needed a drink. We also brought familiar snacks to have on hand....great for lines and shows. I also carried a small supply of DumDum lollipops for the plane and to avoid imminent meltdowns!

* Schedule some playground time in every day so kids can get out of stroller and be able to run free!!! There are great play areas at the parks .... just watch for water hazards!

* Never had a stroller prob at WDW ....if you are worried, just find a nicer stroller to park by!!! There is no place to lock them..... CMs often rearrange stroller parking areas, so don't panic if yours isn't exactly where you left it!

* Plan on giving dd a drink at take off and landing to ease ear pressure. I bring empty cups and buy juice after security. I also carried infants Tylenol in case of ear pain.

 

[Lisa_M]

Thanks for the tips, especially for the plane. I'm really nervous about this. We have a Britax Marathon and a Evenflo Triumph LX. I think they are both FAA certified, but I will double check.

As far as rides go, I don't go on any rollercoasters, flooms or thrill rides,so I assume DD can ride all other rides with us.

As far as the stroller goes, we'll just chance it and hope it's still there. I'm thinking about writing our last name in big letters on it, so no one is enticed.