I'm sure it has been asked but-

[cgmac12]

We are flying to DW in September. My youngest daughter will be 3 1/2. I have read that booster seats are not allowed on the planes. My dilemma is that we will be renting a car when we get to Orlando. She will need a carseat for the car. So what is the best thing for me to do? My car has a built in carseat, so I don't actually even own a real carseat. I have considered purchasing the Graco Turbo Booster that I have read great reviews on, but I am reading that it will be uncomfortable for her on the plane. Also- is it worth spending the money on a carseat we only need to use for vacation? We have never flown before, so I am not sure how much hassle it will be to check the carseat.

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,
Crystal

 

[Desnik]

The car rental companies have carseats. Check with the one you are using. Personally I wouldn't want to lug around a carseat at the airport. DS flew when he was 3 and did great in the seat without a carseat or booster. And he is tiny for his age. We didn't rent a car so we didn't have to worry about the carseat for the trip. You could buy an inexpensive booster and check it as checked luggage. They sell bags for the seats to travel with. You could then keep it as your travel booster seat.

 

[Desnik]

i just read your signature and it says you will be staying at the POLY. If you are not planning any offsite things why do you need a car at all? Staying at the POLY gives you great transportation to the parks. It could save you money and the problem with the booster if you didn't rent a car. Just a suggestion.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I've done this trip both with a car seat and without. With a car seat is just such a huge pain. It's heavy, cumbersome, etc. With everything else we had to carry and watch out for the kids, it was hard - I will not do it again.

If you really want to bring one and not rent one from the car company, I would suggest checking it with your baggage. The airline will put it in a big plastic bag and tag it - even if it is just one of those tiny booster seats that you can get for $15 (I believe most car rental places are close to $7-$10 per day to rent one). Or, you can gate check it like you would a stroller.

 

[beth_cam]

I absolutely would not check it as luggage. Have you seen the way they throw around your luggage? Car seats are to be replaced if they are damaged and I really believe that going through the airport being manhandled and thrown around could very easily bring it to that point. How big is your child? The turbo booster may not be a waste of your money...after the disney trip. What is the height and weight limits of your built ins? When I bought my car 4 years ago it was an option but the upper limit was 40lbs and since most state laws require the childeren to be in some sort of safety seat till age 6, this would have left both of my kids needing something else for the last 1-2 years....not to mention that at 8 and 6 they both still ride in booster seats. There is a backless option to the turbo booster that says for 4 years/40lbs. If your dd is at that 40lbs and would sit properly in the seat you would probably be okay with that...or you can buy the regular turbo booster and remove the back for the trip. I think it would be a major pain to go through the airport with a regular turbo booster (or similar from a different company) since the back is meant to easily remove and might just come off. The bottom might by itself may be small enought to even fit in a carry on type bag so you could avoid checking it. But I dont believe any of they turbo booster seats would be appropriate for use on the plane since they are designed for use with a lap+shoulder belt and specifically state not to use with a lap only belt. But I haven't looked to see if they say they are faa approved. We have 2 evenflo ones (one that we have discarded the back from) and a graco one and absolutely love them.

 

[beth_cam]

I just looked it up and the graco site does say they can not be used on the airplane for reasons as said before ... no shoulder belt.

Also said this -

When the back is removed, the TurboBooster youth booster car seat is for children ages 4 to 10 years old, between 40 and 100 lbs and 40 to 57 inches tall.

 

[whogirl'smom]

We checked our carseat as luggage last week on spring break and it was fine. Did it two years ago and no problems with either airline. Way too much to "rent" one from the car company for the week!!! You could buy a new one and keep it for that price!

 

[deejohn]

I've seen them checked at the gate when we fly down.

If you don't need a car, you could instead get a private limo to take you to the hotel. They provided a car seat for my DD3 for free.

They also will stop at the food store for goodies and diapers so you don't need to bring them down!!!

 

[Disneyforus]

We decided to check our car seat and booster with our luggage. I borrowed a carseat bag from a friend and will be able to fit a regular carseat plus my booster seat in the one bag. I priced the bags and they are very reasonable, and then you have extra room in the bag for water toys or reg toys you might not have thought to bring. Just an idea.

 

[mitushib]

If price is a factor in u not wanting to rent a car seat from the car rental company then some entertainment books or other fund raiser coupon books have coupons for free car seats. Somehting to consider

 

[all4fun]

I would not recommend a dedicated booster seat for a 3yr old. When you move a child from a 5-pt harness seat to a booster w/adult seatbelt, the responsibility to stay seated properly 100% of the time shifts from the parent to the child. The child cannot lean forward, twist around, slump, put the shoulder belt under their arm, or fall asleep in a booster seat. Most 3yr olds are not mature enough to ride sitting correctly for 100% of the car ride in a booster.

Car rental seats cost about $10 a day and you don't know the history of the seat. Carseats that have ever been in an accident should not be reused. I'd suggest buying one and bring it with you.

This site has a list of recommended car seats with pros and cons:
http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm

I'd sit your dd down next to a wall and measure her torso (bum to top of shoulder). The seat needs to have a harness that has top harness slots that are taller than her shoulders (harness needs to be at or above the shoulders in fwd facing mode - if not, it can cause spinal injuries).

Then you can look at this site and it shows you car seat harness measurements:
http://www.carseatdata.org/measurements.php?tun=home

I would recommend a combination seat. The evenflo Generations or Bolero (less expensive version found at Kmart/Walmart) has 16.5-17" top harness slots and harnesses to 40lbs, then converts to a decent booster seat. It is airline approved as well.

The Cosco/Safety 1st Apex harnesses to 65lbs (17" top slots), then converts to a decent booster. I believe it's airline approved as well, but it would be pretty bulky to travel with. It's the only combination harness to booster seat available that harnesses past 40lbs. Another con: This seat requires a tall vehicle seatback/headrest behind it.

FAA Child Safety on Airplanes
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

hth

 

[mericletwins]

We are flying to DW in September. My youngest daughter will be 3 1/2. I have read that booster seats are not allowed on the planes. My dilemma is that we will be renting a car when we get to Orlando. She will need a carseat for the car. So what is the best thing for me to do? My car has a built in carseat, so I don't actually even own a real carseat. I have considered purchasing the Graco Turbo Booster that I have read great reviews on, but I am reading that it will be uncomfortable for her on the plane. Also- is it worth spending the money on a carseat we only need to use for vacation? We have never flown before, so I am not sure how much hassle it will be to check the carseat.

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,
Crystal

If you are staying on-site and planning to do only Disney, I would skip the rental car all together and use Disney Magical Express from the airport to the Poly. It is free and you wouldn't have to worry about a car seat at all.

 

[jessica52877]

I would buy a carseat, put her in it on the plane and then you don't have to worry about checking it. A plane is no different then a car to me. I wouldn't go with a top of the line since you won't be using it much. I think at your daughters age (not sure of size) but that she wouldn't be ready for a booster with a seat belt and if that is what you took, then you do have to check it and worry. I am in agreement about not checking in car seats. The airlines throw luggage around and as pp said, a new seat should be bought after an accident, I feel as if what luggage handlers do could be compared easily to a minor accident.