Integrated Child Seats

[zach33199]

Has anyone rented a minivan on site at Disney with integrated child seats in them?

The lady who inspects our car seats here at home told us to rent a van with integrated child seats & then we would have no need to lug our car seats with us.

I called Alamo & National & neither one of them do. I was wondering what other car rental places are on site. I believe there are some around downtown disney.

 

[Berrygood]

What are the ages of your kids? If they are young enough to be in car seats in the car then they should be in car seats on the plane. While it can be a challenge getting the seats through the airport, your flight will be much more enjoyable with the kids buckled in their seats instead of climbing on your lap, or worse, up and down the aisle. While most airlines allow children under two years of age to travel without a ticket, this means that they don't have a designated seat to themselves and are referred to as a "lap child" since that's where they'll be sitting, unless you are lucky enough to be on a flight that isn't full (going to Orlando, I wouldn't bet on that) Turbulance can be extremely dangerous and even deadly to small children sitting on the laps of other passengers. Those harnesses that you see in some catalogs that are "designed for air travel" generally aren't allowed during landings and takeoff.

Many airlines offer discounts for children under two, and my experience has been about 50% off the adult fare.

If you were to rely on the rental car company to have a van waiting for you with integrated seats, what would you do if they didn't? My experience has been that often what you reserve is not what you ended up driving.

I don't recommend checking car seats on with plane along with your luggage as they can be lost or suffer mistreatment at the hands of the baggage handlers.

My DD has been traveling since she was 6 months old and I have had her car seat everytime (she is 5 1/2 now). I strap her car seat to my carry on suitcase that has wheels and transport it through the airport that way. I also recommend that you preboard, to allow you enough time to get the seats secured on the plane and then get the kids in the seats. I found most flight attendents quite helpful with this when I've traveled alone with my daughter.

Check your child's car seat, there should be a sticker on it with writing in RED that the seat is approved for airline use. The same height and weight restrictions that apply for auto use apply for airline use.

HTH

 

[zach33199]

My kids are 6 & 4. My kids are over 40lbs & use a booster seat. They have to use a shoulder strap with their carseats therfore I can't take them on the plane with us.

I talked to the lady who does car seat safety inspections for our area & she said that I can't use my seat on the airplane or on the bus taking us to our resort so the only time I would need a car seat is when we rent a vehicle. I asked her the easiest & safest way to get car seats & that's when she said to rent a van with integrated child seats.

She rented one for her kids when they were at Disney last year.

 

[momofbgtwins]

I've rented from Avis at MCO, and have had integrated car seats 2 out of the 3 times I've gone recently. I don't think they will guarantee integrated seats, but they also rent car seats and booster seats. We have used their rental car seats will success.

Good luck

 

[tlbwriter]

I talked to the lady who does car seat safety inspections for our area & she said that I can't use my seat on the airplane or on the bus taking us to our resort so the only time I would need a car seat is when we rent a vehicle. I asked her the easiest & safest way to get car seats & that's when she said to rent a van with integrated child seats.

If they're both over 40 lb and tall enough to use backless boosters, I'd take those. It's not a huge ordeal to carry them on, and it's more foolproof than depending on the car rental place to actually come through with an integrated seat (I keep remembering that Seinfeld episode! )

 

[JeffreyY]

The intergrated carseat in our minivan is NOT good for children over 40 pounds and also has a height limit (not sure what that is). It can not be used without the harness as a booster either. So if this is true of all intergrated seats it may not be right for your children. Maybe you should check on weight and height limits before you rent.
When we needed a boster we packed it in out suitcase, the backless one took up very little room.
Good luck

 

[rt2dz]

The intergrated seats (not being a van owner, not sure exactly how they work as far as height & weight limits go) are model specific. If you find out what models have them, you can simply request that model when renting.