Flying to WDW with 7-month-old twins

[IrishTimL]

Looking for advice on flying to WDW with 7-month-old twins. We have a Grace Duo Glider stroller, with two removable infant carriers, which we also use as car seats. Both babies can sit up in the stroller without the infant seats.

1) Should we just bring everything?
a) If yes, I know we should gate check the stroller, but what should we do with the infant carriers? Should we gate check one or both, or bring them on-board?
b) Do we need to bring the infant carrier car bases?

2) Should we rent a stroller and car seats in Orlando (we are renting a car)?

3) Should we just bring our stroller (leave the infant carriers behind), and rent car seats?

At this time, we have not booked plane seats for the babies...DW and I will sit them on our laps (2 1/2hr flight). The plane seats 3-across on either side of the aisle. We are debating if we should purchase the 3rd seat, so we have the extra room. I have checked with the airline, and the ticket will be full price...no infant discount. Is it worth it?

 

[NotUrsula]

I'd say it depends on whether or not they are scooters or divers; mine was at that age, no way would he have been content to sit on a lap for an hour unless he was asleep. Also, using their carseats is safer in the event of a hard landing or severe turbulence. I did lap-baby once, and swore never again. DS did over 100,000 airmiles in carseats. IME, babies tend to fuss less in carseats if they are used to being in them for car travel; being on laps makes them want to play more.

One thing I must point out if you are going with taking them as lap-babies and occupying two seats: you will *not* both be allowed to sit in the same row. This is an FAA regulation, as there is only one extra oxygen mask per row per side, so there is a one-lap-baby-per-row-per-side rule. You might be able to get away with it if you purchased the center seat in one child's name, but be prepared for the possibility of being told to buckle him in if you do that.

Bring your carseats, but leave your carseat bases behind. Airline seatbelts buckle in the center, so they usually cannot be installed on aircraft. All infant carseats sold in the US must be designed to be able to be safely secured by a lap-belt only; check your instructions. Bring your own stroller; you'll need it in the airport. You can gate-check both the seats and the stroller, presuming you don't use the carseats on board. Put protective coverings of some sort on them if they are checked at all; the hold is a greasy place.

 

[IrishTimL]

Hi NotUrsula,

Thanks for all the great advice! I originally booked the tix on-line, and the system did not prevent me from booking two seats right next to each other, even though I was booking two adults, both with infants-in-lap. My sister is a flight attendant and she advised me of the four oxygen mask rule, so I called the airline and moved the two seats so that they are in the same row, but across the aisle from each other. As of now, the flight is about 1/3 full. I'm hoping we end up with a few empty seats so we can spread out. I know that's a gamble, but I'm willing to risk it vs paying full-fare for another seat (ask me after the flight, and I may have a different opinion).

Our kids are pretty good in the car seats, but they don't like to be strapped in for long periods of time...an hour in the car, and they're antsy. DD loves being held, so I think she'll behave better in the lap.

As for protective coverings for the stroller & car seats, I've heard that the airlines provide plastic bags. Are these adequate? Or do I need to purchase nylon covers? Thanks for your advice about protecting them in the hold...I was wondering if they would get banged up.

 

[TJA]

I can honestly say "been there done that" because we took our twins to WDW when they were 7 mos. old too! First, we did not purchase seats for them. We have those baby bjorn front carriers that we put our babies in for the flight and they slept the whole time. One flight, we had to "unattach" our babies from us for the take-off, but then we could re-attach them afterward.

As far as the oxygen masks, we have flown to WDW 4 times now with our baby twins and they have always moved the 3rd person in our row to another seat. So every single flight we have had that 3rd seat vacant and could spread out a little.

Another coincidence here, but we also have the Graco duo glider and let me tell you honestly that it was a savior to have it in WDW. Our babies were very comfortable in it and, therefore, very happy. We would just recline the seats and put the canopies up when our babies would fall asleep. Also, just a hint, the restaurants were very good about letting us take the stroller right to our table so that the babies could sleep and we could enjoy a nice meal.

We did not take our car seats that fit in the stroller.

Are you staying on the grounds? We have found through the experience of 4 trips to WDW so far with our twins that the monorail resorts work great because you can just roll the stroller right on and off the monorail. So if your babies are sleeping, you don't have to wake them up. The buses can be tricky with that particular stroller because you have to unload it and fold it up while one adult carries the stroller on the bus and the other adult carries the 2 babies. We are now hooked on the Epcot resorts too, and you can just walk or boat to both Epcot and MGM.

Good luck & have fun with those twins!

 

[rgribik]

My twin boys have been flying since they were 8 months, and we also held them as lap babies. All my kids have been great at sleeping during plane trips. We give them a bottle for take off, and if they are awake at landing, we give them a bottle of something to prevent any ear popping. I would check my infant seats. We always put ours in a heavy garbage bag and taped them with duct tape. I have found rental seats not up to my standards. Then we could just throw away the bag(I brought extra bags and tape for the trip home). Cheerios, fish crackers and pretzels kept my guys happy on the trip. If you are staying on site and get pack-n-plays for the babies, remember to bring a blanket from home. I learned this after going and using a towel to cover them up(I also pack extra crib sheets, and put mine on over top of the ones the hotel supplies. If you have any questions on supplies just ask, I always looked like a pack mule. Thankfully, I have learned to cut back and pack lite.