Logistics of flying with a stroller and a car seat

[Herding_Cats]

...with a lap infant.

making “what if” plans in case we decide it would be “better” to rent a car than rely solely on Disney transportation in late August (I will be keeping an eye on the boards for experiences/waits.) We are flying southwest with a lap infant and change planes in Chicago (midway). The original (pre-covid) plan was to just gate-check the stroller, and use just the ME, internal busses, etc for our stay. But if we decide to rent a car we HAVE to have a car seat. I would rather not rent one ($$$) or buy one to just use for 5 days and then “throw away” (leave behind) when we leave. I have a canvas bag that the stroller fits in, so theoretically we could check it, and gate-check the car-seat but I’m nervous of the stroller getting broken with all of the luggage transfers. Is there another way to manage this that I’m not thinking of? Anyone btdt?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Why dont you gate check both? You and your husband can each gate check one.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I was under the impression it was one item per infant, not per adult . Hmmmmm.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

We have never had an issue gate checking both car seat and stroller. Super easy and multiple airlines were extremely nice and accommodating.

 

[Disco Lemonade]

We have checked both before. We used the car seat on a flight once. It was so miserable, that we just checked it on the way back. Our stroller has gone on many flights and has made it. The stroller carrying bag has been roughed up though. It came out looking particularly haggard on one flight.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

...with a lap infant.

making “what if” plans in case we decide it would be “better” to rent a car than rely solely on Disney transportation in late August (I will be keeping an eye on the boards for experiences/waits.) We are flying southwest with a lap infant and change planes in Chicago (midway). The original (pre-covid) plan was to just gate-check the stroller, and use just the ME, internal busses, etc for our stay. But if we decide to rent a car we HAVE to have a car seat. I would rather not rent one ($$$) or buy one to just use for 5 days and then “throw away” (leave behind) when we leave. I have a canvas bag that the stroller fits in, so theoretically we could check it, and gate-check the car-seat but I’m nervous of the stroller getting broken with all of the luggage transfers. Is there another way to manage this that I’m not thinking of? Anyone btdt?

i would be more worried about car seat falling off belt as it is being loaded in plane. I have seen to many fall off to the ground. you would not be told if it happens. it would cost but I would buy to use the 5 days and leave rather than chance a seat falling. other way would be buy seat for baby and use the car seat on the planes. remember your baby will be sitting sideways on your lap unless very small. you will not be able to use the tray table either. think about holding your baby in a small space for a couple of hours with very little room to move. and yes even though it was years ago I have done it and it is still the worst trip I have ever done.

 

[Herding_Cats]

that's why i'm considering gate-checking stuff. And finding a friend with an older (not-expired) seat that they are getting rid of. We have not (and are not planning on) purchasing a ticket for the baby, which you have to do to put them in a seat. Baby is not a year old, so I'm not too concerned about space or being able to use the tray table.

To make getting a carseat while we were there a viable option it would have to go like this: we got off the plane. DH gets the rental car and drives to the nearest walmart/target/etc to get a carseat while the baby and I sit at the airport. Then he comes back and picks us up. This would probably take at least an hour, if not longer. That doesn't really sound like a fun way to start my vacation iykwim.

 

[MNswimmer18]

We usually gate check both the car seat and stroller. I've flown several times with a lap child and this hasn't been an issue. We usually use the stroller in the airport to transport the car seat. Once, when I was flying alone, and my daughter was in a convertable car seat, and I wasn't bringing a stroller, I just checked the car seat before going through security- still free. I did get a bag for the car seat the last time, and I wished I got a little better one.

 

[johnsbelt]

When we went Thanksgiving week last year with an 18 month old and a 5 year old, we rented a stroller. It was so much easier than taking ours and it was only about 125 for the week (including insurance).

 

[Micca]

We've traveled with grandkids and did the stroller & car seat thing, it's a major pain in the...I'll say "neck." We started renting strollers (I think it's called Magic Strollers) and it made a big difference. Those strollers are fantastic quality and glide through the parks, so easy to handle.

Next trip the grandkids will be out of strollers and car seats, looking forward to it

 

[Carol_]

Get the extra seat. It’s worth the $$$.

 

[FreeTime]

In the event that something happens to your stroller, in my experience it was super easy to make a claim. Ours was gate checked and the wheels were broken when we got it back. The airline gave us a stroller for the week to use, we were lucky I guess, they said that someone left it and didn’t claim it after 30 days, then they advised us to go by a new one when we get home and send them the receipt. We did and they mailed us a $250 check, I expected a voucher. This was delta. Quite suprising that it was easy. I doubt it would have been if they didn’t have an abandoned stroller sitting around.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We currently(or use to pre-COVID) fly with two full car seats as well as a tandem stroller. Our airline, Delta, allows for free baggage checking of car seats(you can also sneak in light items like diapers and water wings). We bought a thirds set of car seats for travel only so we aren't unhooking car seats when we arrive at the airport. And we also don't have to hook them up after our return flight, when we are exhausted. We keep them in our attic and only use them for flying. That makes it easy to grab the travel bags they are stored in and go. I drop my wife and kids and all luggage, including the travel car sets in their bags, at the outside check-in area then I park the car.

The tandem stroller(we call it our "Disney Stroller") we take through the airport and use it to corral the kids and carry smaller items. We break it apart and gate check it when we board.

This has worked very well for us. Only negative is the purchase of additional car seats. But we bought ones that were lower cost and lighter than our normal car seats, but were still rated highly.

 

[tinaver]

When DS was 13 months, we brought his car seat. We used it on the flight. It was a life saver. He was accustomed to it - so he was comfortable and relaxed on the flight. To easily get through the airport, we used a car seat roller. DS was in his car seat and this was our stroller alternative.

https://www.amazon.com/Britax-Seat-Travel-Cart-Black/dp/B005CNEQK0
We then rented a stroller in Orlando. I really appreciated having only one large item to schlepp through the airport.

 

[ainswokp]

I know the original post was that renting wasn't an option, but having done it both ways, renting a seat from Enterprise or Hertz has always been seamless for me, and worth the expense, especially as compared to other ways to drop money in Disney. I agree with the post about gate checking, I have also gone this route with good results, really just the aggravation of getting from our car to the check.

 

[Kelly014]

We have gate checked strollers and car seats multiple times, you should be able to do both. I would say plan for that, but when you get to your gate ask if there are extra seats available. If there are (and there really might be due to COVID and planes not running full), they will usually let you take the car seat on the plane and use an extra seat for free with the car seat since it’s available anyway. We’ve done this with multiple airlines and had pretty good luck getting seats! Otherwise, we gate checked and did baby wearing on the plane. Good luck!

 

[musika]

What about renting a stroller upon arrival? Then you just have to deal with the carseat. Have you ever used a baby carrier? We lived by our Tula - best purchase ever and perfect for airports and planes. If you do decide to try a baby carrier, I would start now at home and get baby used to it.

FWIW, we were in almost the same boat on our first trip with our then-2 year old (although he did have a paid seat). We took a car seat and rented a car and TBH did not find it that great an experience. We stuck to Disney transport on our last trip and just took a booster for the couple of times we used Lyft to get to the outlet store. I think that you honestly would be fine using disney transportation, but I get the feeling of wanting the option of a quick exit with a wee one.

 

[Rory607]

We always gate checked both items with no problems. We took a Maclaren umbrella stroller for the airport and then rented a jogging stroller for the parks. That stroller was gate checked many times, for multiple kids, over 10 years. We never had any issues with it getting broken. But if it did, it would have been easily replaced. We also bought a cheap car seat to check for the same reason. All seats have to meet the same safety standards, so I was fine using it on vacation. Maybe not as comfortable as the normal car seat, but no big deal for a week.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

that's why i'm considering gate-checking stuff. And finding a friend with an older (not-expired) seat that they are getting rid of. We have not (and are not planning on) purchasing a ticket for the baby, which you have to do to put them in a seat. Baby is not a year old, so I'm not too concerned about space or being able to use the tray table.

To make getting a carseat while we were there a viable option it would have to go like this: we got off the plane. DH gets the rental car and drives to the nearest walmart/target/etc to get a carseat while the baby and I sit at the airport. Then he comes back and picks us up. This would probably take at least an hour, if not longer. That doesn't really sound like a fun way to start my vacation iykwim.

read up on dropped carseats because you can not always see any damage. are you willing to take that chance. you will most likely not be told your seat was dropped. ps the baby was 7 moths old on my worst trip. sit in a table type chair for 15 minutes holding your infant with only few toys and video screen and see how it goes. no getting down and crawling. think about your example of waiting an hour wait for husband to get back with carseat but with less room.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I asked about the logistics. And now I know that I can gate-check both, and that if they are still spreading out passengers (no middle seat) I may be able to just bring a seat on the plane.

I am aware of the risks associated with checking and gate-checking a car seat. I am also aware that flying with a lap infant, or an infant in general, flying isn’t going to be a dreamy experience where everything is sunshine and daisies. I’m assuming you’re trying to be helpful but it’s coming off as preachy with your seemingly unpleasant personal experience driving the narrative.

renting a car seat is $70. Additional plane tickets will be $300. Buying a car seat and then trashing it (which is incredibly wasteful) at the lowest end is going to be $70. round it up and we are looking at an additional $400, which is not an insignificant amount of money.