Ideas to decrease travel stress (airport, trasportation, ect) 3 kids from Portland

[PMGuernsey]

I'm moving to Portland Or area in July and have recently purchased AP for my family... Trips planned in August, and Sept, and likely in Oct. (maybe a bit much but hey we already bought AP, and my new job allows for more vacation time so why not).... Problem I was hoping to get help with is decreasing travel stress. Ill have 2 daughters ages 5 and 2, and a 3 month old son when traveling this fall. In past we have taken our 2 car seats luggage and a small umbrella stroller... As you can imagine carrying all of that through an airport and getting to the hotel has always been very stressful. Now we will have a 3rd and Im not sure how to do it (impossible to carry it all). As we will be making many trips from Portland to Disney the next year I am hoping for some advice to decrease the stress, and cost if possible. So I have several questions.

2 Parents 3 very young childeren (Maybe crazy, but have been 2 disneyland/world 2 times while my wife was pregnant and both daughters have been at every age from less than a year to 3 years old, and we love it)

1. Best airport/airlines (least expensive) to get from Portland to Disneyland

2. Take our own stroller/rent stroller?

3. Rent a car or take shuttle to hotel (bring our carseats?). Usually like to have a car for one day to travel to beach and do other things (could we just rent car for a day near disneyland and use shuttle, or would that be more expenisve than just renting a car for the entire time (we will most often stay 4 nights))?

I know that's a lot of questions, but the most stressful parts of our trip is always from the time we leave our car at the airport, to the point we get into the hotel room and unpack. Any help would be great!

 

[sharona]

What about one of those wheeled luggage racks that the flight attendants used to use all the time to transport the car seats? Will they nest? use a couple of bungee cords to keep them in place?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/44782638...75035&wl11=online&wl12=44782638&wl13=&veh=sem

Check everything you can and just carry-on the essentials. Can you take a car service to the airport and use curbside check in? Most airports you'll find porters in the luggage area who will use a wheeled cart to load all your stuff and get you to the rental car counter or shuttle and the cost is typically reasonable. Also a service that car services may offer for pick up and get you to your hotel where the bellman can take over.

Most hotels seem to charge for parking so I would rent the car for only the day if that is all that is needed. You can go get the car yourself and come back and pick up your family. I know National has a place on Katella.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

We were in a similar situation a couple years ago. We live in Portland and our first trip with all 3 kids, my boys were 7, 5 (turned 5 on trip) and 7 months old. While my older 2 were a bit older than yours, here is my advice:

1. Fly Portland to Santa Ana/Orange County (SNA) on Alska Airlines. For us they are always the best price (could find cheaper, but I won't fly budget airlines with kids) and they are a great airline. SNA is the closest airport to DL (like 20 min drive?) and Alaska has direct flights from PDX. Also, if you have the Alaska Airlines credit card, you get free checked bags.

2. We always take our own stroller. Renting seems like another hastle and not worth the cost (to us). Alaska Airlines let you gate check strollers for free. We take the stroller with us to the gate (causing an extra search at TSA so just be aware for time sake) and before boarding DH folds it up and puts it in a gate check bag I bought from BabiesRUs. It is bright red that says "Gate Check" with our name on it. DH puts the gate check tag on it and we are good to go!

3. We have rented a car and used a shuttle. We only rent a car when we plan on going other places. Shuttle usually is cheaper for us and if we are only doing Disney, I don't mind. We now use Super Shuttle private because I do not like sharing a ride. As a family of 5, shared ride and private is not that much of a price diffrence. When using a shuttle we just use their car seat. We request one and DH buckles it in as we load luggage. If you are going to the beach for a day, I would imagine it would be cheaper to rent a car near Disney for the day.

We had APs in 2014/15 and it was seriously the best year ever! We were able to take our time and just enjoy ourselves. Due to a trip to Europe this summer, we won't be getting APs again for a few years. But I am counting down until we can get them again. We made so many wonderful family memories. Have an amazing year!

 

[VandVsmama]

I'm moving to Portland Or area in July and have recently purchased AP for my family... Trips planned in August, and Sept, and likely in Oct. (maybe a bit much but hey we already bought AP, and my new job allows for more vacation time so why not).... Problem I was hoping to get help with is decreasing travel stress. Ill have 2 daughters ages 5 and 2, and a 3 month old son when traveling this fall. In past we have taken our 2 car seats luggage and a small umbrella stroller... As you can imagine carrying all of that through an airport and getting to the hotel has always been very stressful. Now we will have a 3rd and Im not sure how to do it (impossible to carry it all). As we will be making many trips from Portland to Disney the next year I am hoping for some advice to decrease the stress, and cost if possible. So I have several questions.

2 Parents 3 very young childeren (Maybe crazy, but have been 2 disneyland/world 2 times while my wife was pregnant and both daughters have been at every age from less than a year to 3 years old, and we love it)

1. Best airport/airlines (least expensive) to get from Portland to Disneyland

2. Take our own stroller/rent stroller?

3. Rent a car or take shuttle to hotel (bring our carseats?). Usually like to have a car for one day to travel to beach and do other things (could we just rent car for a day near disneyland and use shuttle, or would that be more expenisve than just renting a car for the entire time (we will most often stay 4 nights))?

I know that's a lot of questions, but the most stressful parts of our trip is always from the time we leave our car at the airport, to the point we get into the hotel room and unpack. Any help would be great!

My thoughts in no particular order:

1. Stroller - if you decide to rent a stroller in Anaheim, I highly recommend Anaheim City Stroller. they will deliver to and pick up the stroller from your hotel at the beginning and end of your trip. However, with 2 out of 3 kids under age 3, having a stroller in the airport can be REALLY helpful for those times when you need both little ones contained. For example, you could have the 2 yr old in the stroller and infant in a "baby wearing" sort of carrier. So I would keep the stroller with you rather than rent in Anaheim. Just gate check the stroller.
2. Transportation to hotel - If you take an Uber or taxi, you definitely will need to bring your own car seats. Renting a car is an option and you can probably rent car seats from the car rental agency. Another option on airport transfers would be to use Lansky (https://www.golansky.com/). Their fee is ~$100 one way from LA area airports to hotel and it includes one 30-min stop at some place like a grocery store (which is very useful if you have 3 kids and don't want to devote part of your checked luggage to packing snacks). Lansky has car seats that you can use, but I don't know if they charge extra for those. Probably just call them to find out what car seat options they'd have for your 3 children.
3. Rent a car for a day - there is an Alamo rental car office in DTD. It's near the DLH end of DTD.
4. Least expensive rental car vs shuttle options - since you'll be there 4 nights, it would likely be least expensive to rent a car at the airport and just pay parking fees every day at your hotel...and to bring your own car seats with you. This will give you the most flexibility for the lowest price. For example, if you used Lansky for airport transfers, you're looking at ~$200 total to/from the airport and that doesn't include any 1-day car rental for an excursion to the beach. Down side, of course, to bringing your own car seats is the hassle of 3 car seats to lug through the airport.
5. Airports/airlines from Portland to DL - There's a trade off here. If you want convenience in terms of shortest total travel time and not having to change planes anywhere (i.e., direct flight), then you'll probably have the most luck by flying Portland to LAX. If you want the convenience of arriving at the closest airport to Disneyland, then that means flying into John Wayne Airport, but sometimes those flights cost more on various airlines and there might be fewer options in terms of how many times per day they fly into that airport.

 

[SMD]

I would price the car for the whole trip and part of the trip from the airport or local locations every time. The rates won't always be the same and what you do with it might vary too. Plus, if you're staying at different hotels, some may have free parking and some might not.

I'd do the same thing with flights. I'd price flights on various arilines to SNA, LGB and LAX along with the car and ground transfers. Unless you're loyal to one airline that primarily uses one of those airports because you have enough miles to get perks, the fares and availability will also vary.

 

[Belle83]

I am going soon while pregnant and will have our 2- year old. We've never flown with a stroller but are planning to this time. Last year when DS was 1, I just used a baby carrier at the airport and then we had a rental stroller delivered to our hotel. That was awesome, but probably not practical for us this trip. I would think you would want a stroller at the airport.

Absolutely fly into Orange County airport instead of LAX.

I would not want to deal with car seats so I would not bother renting a car. We are just using the Disneyland Express bus, I think it's $35 per adult round-trip and free for kids from SNA. I would not try to add a beach day to this trip personally

 

[Nevada Jen]

Yah. Maybe skip the beach as part of your Disney trips this year. That will make everything a lot easier. Personally, I would bring a big double stroller with you that will get you a bigger basket underneath and carryon stuff should be sized to fit there (so back packs instead of rolling suitcases). No car seats for the trip (except I assume the baby would be in an infant carrier, which I suspect you would want at hotels, resteraunts etc. . .). Check a couple of bags, using curbside checkin. Gate check the stroller. As much as I hate them, I would use a shuttle or bus service. Again, to avoid the car seat issue to get to the parks and just stay within walking distance. Totally doable. Also, once you get your circus through security, sit down near by to put shoes on and really pause to take stock of what came out of security with you. After leaving things behind a few times, I always do that when traveling with kids. Also my rule is only adults put stuff on the belts and take stuff off. Seems to help me remember everything.

 

[mummabear]

I'm moving to Portland Or area in July and have recently purchased AP for my family... Trips planned in August, and Sept, and likely in Oct. (maybe a bit much but hey we already bought AP, and my new job allows for more vacation time so why not).... Problem I was hoping to get help with is decreasing travel stress. Ill have 2 daughters ages 5 and 2, and a 3 month old son when traveling this fall. In past we have taken our 2 car seats luggage and a small umbrella stroller... As you can imagine carrying all of that through an airport and getting to the hotel has always been very stressful. Now we will have a 3rd and Im not sure how to do it (impossible to carry it all). As we will be making many trips from Portland to Disney the next year I am hoping for some advice to decrease the stress, and cost if possible. So I have several questions.

2 Parents 3 very young childeren (Maybe crazy, but have been 2 disneyland/world 2 times while my wife was pregnant and both daughters have been at every age from less than a year to 3 years old, and we love it)

1. Best airport/airlines (least expensive) to get from Portland to Disneyland

2. Take our own stroller/rent stroller?

3. Rent a car or take shuttle to hotel (bring our carseats?). Usually like to have a car for one day to travel to beach and do other things (could we just rent car for a day near disneyland and use shuttle, or would that be more expenisve than just renting a car for the entire time (we will most often stay 4 nights))?

I know that's a lot of questions, but the most stressful parts of our trip is always from the time we leave our car at the airport, to the point we get into the hotel room and unpack. Any help would be great!

My kids are now 7,5&3 but we have done WDW or DLR every year since our first was 18 months old (when she was 6mk the old we also did Hawaii, NY, Vancouver). We fly from NZ, it's a 12 hour flight to LA plus a flight connection to Auckland and a LA to Orlando flight for WDW. I have even Di e the Auck-LA on my own with the 3 of them to meet DH.
We always take our own stroller we have a Phil and teds front and back double, the oldest hardly use the back seat at this time but it's there if the middle one is exhausted,, at the age of your oldestvthey would often be in it. I would also have a front pack for the baby.
We used a Baby Bjorn when the baby was little and then a ergo baby on the back once they were bigger (DD3 still uses hers)
We do use a travel bag for our stroller for the plane, we have never been able to gate check our stroller.

As far as car rental, I found for short trips the cost to get a return shuttle is similar to that of renting a car.
We also like to have a car to hit a supermarket/Walmart and see other sites.

We often get our luggage (stroller, portacot, 3 car seats plus 2-3 bags), this takes 2 trolleys which is why we don't want a stroller to push as well.
People will help, the car rental pick up bus driver will help load and unload then the kids and I sit with the bags while DH organises the rental car and pulls up to us

 

[otten]

Does your youngest tolerate babywearing? Use a baby carrier in the airports. You can usually keep them in the carrier for security and it keeps your arms free. If you have a double stroller you can then either use it to help carry all the other stuff or for the other two kids. Babywearing has made my airport experiences so much easier.

 

[Geemo]

1. Best airport/airlines (least expensive) to get from Portland to Disneyland

I'm in Oregon too. We have found JetBlue to be the least expensive for air fare.
Their flights are non-stop PDX to LGB. Long Beach airport is smaller than SNA.
My grandkids also prefer JB because of the TV's in the seatbacks.

Right now JB has some flights in October for $59, depends on day and time.

We always grab a taxi mini-van to get to DLR. It's about $50 or so.

Here's a link to LGB http://www.lgb.org/travelers/transit.asp

Geemo

 

[tdhickey]

Tips to decrease travel stress for that trip, we did this with young kids a lot too from Seattle/Vancouver area:

- Avoid LAX, unless the price difference is too great
- Hire a private car service/transportation from the airport to the hotel
- Bring your own stroller, they check it in on the plane, you take it right to the gate, it's there when you get off the plane so it's super easy
- Fly Alaska, fast luggage service, pretty good with kids on planes (at least in my experience). Also, look at combined vacation packages, sometimes these are the best way to go for hotels like Hojo vs booking separately. Last few trips this was the cheapest option for us.
- Gravol, bribes, whatever works for your family on the flight, trade off who gets two kids and who gets one each way.

 

[GeneralTso]

I don't think there's any way to reduce stress when flying with 3 kids!

We fly often from Seattle--Alaska Airlines is the only way to go. They are outstanding.
Fly directly to SNA-Orange County. It's closest and trust me, you want to reduce travel time.
Uber works fantastic from that airport.

Good Luck!!!

 

[PMGuernsey]

Thanks for all the advice everyone this has been very helpful. As much as I would like to fly into SNA, LAX is about 300 dollars cheaper for 4 tickets, for both of our August trips. I am going to keep that in mind for the next one. I think we will try the shuttle on the first trip, and rent a car for the second and see which makes the most sense. Any advice on who to get transportation from at LAX, or should I just use Disneyland Express?