flying with almost 2 year old and parks

[CLASSICPOOH2002]

we are flying down on sept 18th and decided to get our son a seat of his own because he is such a big boy. He will not be 2 till Oct 3. How will it be for us on the flight. We made sure that he will be sitting between us, but we have not flown with him since he was 4 months old. Can some of you give us some pointers on the flight. It will be about 1 1/2 hours long.

Also have any of you used the landry facilities on property? We are going to pack light so that we can not have so much luggage to deal with. Are they decent for usage?

And too have any of you used the MEARS shuttle to the parks? How are children transported.... Are they put into car seats? Or can they just ride like in the parks? We are fine with not having a vehicle at Disney..

Thanks so much and if you have any more information let me know. All will be most welcome!!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Can some of you give us some pointers on the flight.

Bring somthing that will keep him occupied. Crayons, toys, snacks, etc.

And too have any of you used the MEARS shuttle to the parks? How are children transported.... Are they put into car seats? Or can they just ride like in the parks?

We used to take Mears. I would highly recommend a car service. Mears charges per person, while car services have a set rate per trip. With a car service, you don't need to wait for the Mears van or bus, you don't have to stop at a few different resorts before you get dropped off, you can stop at a grocery store on the way to WDW, & so on & so on. Car services have car seats (not great ones though). I'm not sure about Mears.

 

[Rowlf]

I'm renting a car for our upcoming trip. It was under $20 a day - and I'm going to take DS's big Britax car seat for the flight and for in the rental car. Depending on how long you are there (we're only going for three nights), it's often not much more to get a car.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Are you taking his carseat on the plane? I would really recommend it. And if you do he has to be by the window. He can't sit between or on the aisle.

I go to the dollar store and pick up new books, toys, coloring books, etc. for the trip. Have some snacks and drinks ready also.

He should be fine for 1 1/2 hours.

 

[CapeCodFam]

Hi there,

I flew wih my ds in July he had turn two a month before. I agree bring stuff to keep him occupied. I found that my DS perfered the window seat. He enjoyed looking out, and pretending he could see different animals out the window. His imagination kept him the most busy. I don't think you'll have any prodlems were the flight is only an hour and a half long

I have used the laundry facilities they are fine. The dryers seem to take two dry cycles to dry the clothes. So bring extra quaters.

As for mears I have never used them. I use Tiffany town car. We have used them 4 times and wouldn't have it any other way. They are excellent.

For Rowlf,

I love Rowlf from the Muppets he was always my favorite rockin out on his piano. When I was five Ihad adress with him on it. It was My favorite jumper

It just made me smile

Joy

 

[alloyd1170]

Bring a stroller to get around the airport and then gate check it when boarding. Also let him "run" around at the gate to burn off some energy. Our son usually slept on flights after letting him walk through the airport. Bring a snack and a sippy cup which should be full for take off and landings. Have him drink during this time as it will help relieve ear pressure. Grab a pillow and blanket as soon as you board in case he does go to sleep. Toys are also good, but ones that dont make a lot of noise or have a million pieces that can be dropped and lost. We have a portable dvd player which is a Godsend for long drives and flying. Plus we can use it in the room / cabin so our son can watch his favorite shows. During flights, the only time you cant have it on is during take off and landings, as with all electronic devices.

As for the parks, be sure to bring a hat for your son and lather on the sunscreen. Bring the stroller (mark it with something bright and easily noctiable-I have a blue umbrella stroller so I got a bright yellow bandana, ironed on letters spelling out our last name, and pinned it to the top of the sunshade. When I parked it, I made sure the shade was up so when looking for it in a sea of strollers it was very easy to spot). Dont leave valuables or souvenirs (you can have these delivered to your onsite resort or pick up upon leaving the park) in the stroller. I left jackets and diapers with no problem. Also bring along any supplies, water, and a snack. When standing in line, you will not be able to take your stroller so bring some small toys/bubbles to occupy your son. Our son wanted to bolt out of line, but I rigged up a child's fanny pack and a leash off a harness. This way he could carry his own snacks, and I could control him. When we took pictures or didnt use the leash, I just tucked it in the back of his shirt. No harness to see in any pictures! If staying on site, it might be a good idea to head back to the resort for a break (nap, lunch, swim). If not, find a nice quiet shady spot in the park and let your son nap. You will be thankful later on in the day. My then 23 month old was spooked by the 3d movies and Haunted Mansion. If you want to try them, sit near an exit in case you need to leave. In regards to the characters-my son was scared of Santa this last time so I knew the characters would be a problem. I got the free dvd planning kit and some of the Sing Along Disney videos (not cartoons but the real characters interacting with kids in the parks). My son was hesitant to approach any character that wasnt in the videos, but did fine with the others. We saved Chef Mickeys for checkout morning so by then he was already comfortable with the characters and we had a blast! Be sure to ride up front in the monorail (have to ask -max 4 people) and ask for a copilots license (and co engineer license on the train). They make great souvenirs! Have a great time and take lots of pictures! My son loves to look at the ones from our trip and is already getting excited to go back in January!

alison

 

[Barbday62]

Ive flown tiwce with my 2 year old grandaughter once was 2 1.2 hours and the other was 5 hours and here are soemthing we learned and did.

Carry the car seat. Find a way to bungee it on the stroller so you can remove it to go through security and then when you board the plane. The child can then sit in it while you walk.

The seat will have to go by the window and cannot be in an exit seat or the seat in front of an exit seat. (They goofed and booked us in the seat in front of a window and what a problem that became trying to move us. They put us in the row ahead and the person objected!! The seats in front of an exit dont recline thus no one wanted that seat.

Carry a cup with lid for the airplane pop as we called it. You can put thing in and count on it not spilling.

The tray most likely wont come down with the seat in its way so you will use your own tray for most things. It was still better to have the car seat. My granddaughter sat still for all the flights she was on. In fact on the 2 1/2 hour flight the people behind us didnt know we had a child with us because she was so good.

We carried new toys (She loves little people type stuff) and we carried a tablet with stickers, pens and her magna doodle. I used distrctin when the plane was decending by drawing on the magna doodle and playing games with it. She said her ears bothered her most when decending from the high altitude. Going up was no problem.

One thing we found out is the airplane has a baby changing table that folds donw over the toilet. It was pretty tight quarters but it was there in case of emergency.

Barb

 

[bounceytigger]

ClassicPooh---There are lots of good suggestions on here! I would also say, to be prepared for the waits in lines for rides. We went to WDW last year with our 23 month old son, and he often got antsy in the lines for rides. We tried to have snacks with us for those lines, or little toys to keep him occupied.

Also, do you know about the baby swap program? We didn't learn about this until after our trip....but it basically let's you all stand in line together for the roller-coaster rides (i.e. Space Mountain), and then one of the parents can ride while the other stays behind with the child; then you swap when you're done.

The Mears shuttle does not have car seats...We took it last year. It was fine for our 23 month old. However, this year we are taking the Tiffany Town Car Service instead. It doesn't cost much more, and we can stop at a grocery store on the way and pick up snacks, etc, at non-WDW prices!!!!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[long4disney]

We have always packed light for the four of us, and I usually do about 2 loads of laundry mid week, so our suitcases can stay night and light. The washers and dryers take about 8 quarters for each load, and yes, the dryers might need more if they are pretty full.

One suggestion is to bring your own little boxes of Tide and Downey. I always stop at our local laundrymat before a trip and buy the little boxes to pack. It is much cheaper to buy it there than at the resorts!

 

[Rowlf]

Thanks for the ideas - the trip to Orlando will be DS's first flight. I'm definitely heading to the dollar store for some toys.

CapeCodFam - thanks! I always liked Rowlf - and named a dog that, too!

 

[HoosierFantasia]

something we do when we fly with our little ones (4 and 1).
I will preboard with my 4 year old and the car seat that is for the 1 year old. My wife will stay out in the gate and let the 1 year old run around as long as possible. Then on final boarding call they will get on and the car seat is ready to go. This lets them burn off some energy and spend the least amount of time in the car seat.
I will say we do this always on our ATA flights with assigned seats. I wouldn't advise this on Southwest.
Bill