I'm flying : Bring a car seat or use cabs/uber with car seat?

[MumOfOneSon]

Hi folks! Has anyone had experience with traveling to/within Orlando without bringing a car seat for the kiddo? I know that some cabs and Uber offer car seats, but you need to call ahead. I'm concerned about the wait and extra expenses.

I'm traveling alone with my VERY active 3yo son. We are taking a flight with a layover both to and from Orlando. So in the airport I will have a stroller, luggage, and an active preschooler. I 'm thinking a car seat or a CARES harness will be necessary to get this kid to stay still. I can check the stroller and use a cart to turn his Britax car seat into a stroller for the airport, but I'm worried. 1-since I'm leaving out of a small airport, the first plane might be smaller and won't fit his car seat. 2-that's a lot to carry for one woman!

Thoughts? Thank you!

 

[Mmw37]

I would either a) take Disney transportation - if staying on property or b) rent a car with car seat included. I would not wrangle one through two airports alone with luggage and a child, and checking it is not recommended by the carseat safety folks. If you have to rent one, I would call and make sure they actually have a decent one that will fit your son, because we've had trouble (once we're only offered an infant bucket seat for our 2 year old - not in Orlando though). As a backup, use what they give you to head to the nearest Walmart to buy a cheap one.

If you decide to bring it, then if your seat is approved for flights it should fit. You can call the airline to check if you're unsure. Sometimes they get my kids too close (better kicking distance) to the seat in front of them, so be forewarned...

Have a good trip, hope it goes smoothly!

 

[Princess Minnie321]

We did not want to carry a car seat for my three old either. I rented a cards harness off eBay and it worked great on the plane. We were saying on site so we decided to use all Disney transportation so we did not need to worry about a car seat. There were seatbelts on the magic express bus that we took to and from the airport.

The only time we left Disney was for seaworld and we hired a car service because my understanding is that you can only get one car seat from an uber or taxi and I also needed something for my son. The car service provided a car seat and booster.

 

[Muskrat191]

I personally would not trust a rented car seat, or one from Uber/car service. I don't know the history of the seat, and therefore, I don't know if it is safe for my child.

You could look into a lighter weight car seat for travel. I'm Canadian, so I don't know all the options in the US. On our last flight, my 4 year old used a Sureride/Titan 65, which only weighs 11 lbs.

 

[Habbott]

I would skip the britax and go with a sureride or a securekid. I've traveled with a securekid and a 3 year old and it went smoothly. The seat is light enough to lift above my head while wrangling a child down the aisle. And it was easy to install.

At 3, I wouldn't have attempted to not use our car seat on the plane for my boy. It kept him happily contained. Since he was used to road trips, he didn't fight it one bit.

 

[wmcyip]

We have been using the safe rider travel vest for our son since 3+ currently 8.

https://saferide4kids.com/product/ridesafer-travel-vest/?gclid=CJbyxpypydACFUhYDQodiVMKzA

For the plane there is a fly safe seat belt adapter harness which we have used in the past and will use for our daughter.
http://kidsflysafe.com/

Good luck