Need help with airport strategy

[sbouldin]

My family and I will be flying down to Orlando in early May. We have my wife and I and 2 small boys (3 and 1). We'll have a double stroller (phil and ted) and 2 car seats with us (britex). I'm trying to figure out the best way to get through security. Should we take the risk and check the 2 carseats with our bags before we get through security or should we gate check them? We're not going to bring them on the plane with us. My 3 year old has his own seat and we'll hold the 1 year old. I understand people have different views on this, but we've decided that it would be more hassle to bring them on board. I figure will have the boys in the double stroller up to the gate and just gate check that. Also, since the 1 year old can't walk, I'm assuming one of us will carry him through security. Do they allow you to have a child in a baby carrier or would we have to take that off and put that through the xray? Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've watched carseats (ours included) and boosters come slamming down onto the carousel. I won't check a carseat anymore. Those are some big impacts!

Just get there early, take your time, don't get frantic, and if the airport has a "family" line take that one for security. We have a bag, made by Eddie Bauer and bought at Target, that easily contained our Roundabout...I would highly recommend those for carrying the carseats. Don't carry them by the straps...every carseat manual I've seen says that that is a big no-no (my hubby keeps trying to do it and I have to remind him again).

If the double stroller can't fit through the xray machine they'll have to wand it etc, so you definitely need time for that.

I didn't start letting DS sit without the carseat until he was 3.5 AND was a relative veteran traveler. Before that time, and without the flying experience he had, he would have been slipping out from under the seatbelt in a heartbeat and it would have been miserable to control him. So you might re-think it for the 3 year old...the carseat makes it really nice, at least it did for us! Have fun with the lap baby. Took me DAYS for my arms and shoulders to recover from holding DS at 17 months on a short flight from Seattle to San Diego. HOpefully your spouse can help out with that...mine couldn't and it was all on me, and I was in pain from that wriggly little beastie.

As for slings etc...especially if it's got straps and such they'll make you take it off. I've heard of people wearing fabric-only slings getting through, but they aren't supposed to. You're just supposed to carry the baby and make sure your sling/ergo/etc goes through the xray machine.

 

[badblackpug]

Check the car seats. They are a HUGE hassle to schlep through the airport. Just push the kids up to the gate and gate check the stroller. We've never taken a car seat on the plane. Just bring some things to amuse the 3 y/o and you'll be fine.

 

[sbouldin]

My oldest has flown before and is really good about staying in the seat. It's only a 2 hour flight, so we're not too concerned about that. I'm sure my spouse and I will be handing the 1 year old back and forth, keeping him entertained. So, you recommend that we gate check the car seats within a larger bag as opposed to baggage checking them? Thanks for the tips.

 

[laughinplace199]

My family and I will be flying down to Orlando in early May. We have my wife and I and 2 small boys (3 and 1). We'll have a double stroller (phil and ted) and 2 car seats with us (britex). I'm trying to figure out the best way to get through security. Should we take the risk and check the 2 carseats with our bags before we get through security or should we gate check them? We're not going to bring them on the plane with us. My 3 year old has his own seat and we'll hold the 1 year old. I understand people have different views on this, but we've decided that it would be more hassle to bring them on board. I figure will have the boys in the double stroller up to the gate and just gate check that. Also, since the 1 year old can't walk, I'm assuming one of us will carry him through security. Do they allow you to have a child in a baby carrier or would we have to take that off and put that through the xray? Thanks in advance everyone.

I wouldn't check carseats with luggage. With the way luggage is tossed around, your seats could get damaged. Definitely not worth the risk. You can gate check the carseats with your stroller, but I'd just use the 3 yr old's carseat on the plane if you're going to bring it all the way to the gate anyway.

When I had two kids in carseats, I bought carseat travel bags to help lug the seats through the airport. As the PP mentioned, you should not carry them by the straps.

As for security, I do not believe that you can use a carrier through the xray, but you can carry the baby in your arms since he can't walk.

Have a fun trip!

 

[mom2meiko]

we've never done it but does anyone know why you aren't supposed to carry the car seats via the straps? it would seem like such an easy solution to lugging them around. just curious...

 

[laughinplace199]

we've never done it but does anyone know why you aren't supposed to carry the car seats via the straps? it would seem like such an easy solution to lugging them around. just curious...

I believe it has to do with damaging the harness.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

As someone who is a tad, well maybe more then a tad , obsessed with car seat safety...DO NOT CHECK the car seats! They get slammed and thrown around and that is a bad impact that can actually damage your car seat. For the price of a Britax (I know we own 2 marathons) gate check them if you aren't going to use them, althought it is best to have both kiddos in seats in their car seats.

 

[all4fun]

Remember if you using DME from the airport, you won't need your car seats anyway. If you're renting a car during your trip, you will need them.

I also would not recommend baggage checking a car seat as I've had luggage misrouted on more than one trip and it has taken days after arrival for the airline to deliver my bags back to me. That is a big enough hassle, but if you need the car seat to get from the airport to the hotel, then it becomes a much bigger hassle, kwim? At least with gate checking, you know the car seat made it on the same plane as you, plus it's loaded last so it's less likely to be damaged. I would definitely put the car seat in a bag to keep it from getting dirty, but it won't keep it from being damaged if someone tosses it or if heavy items shift on top of it while in transit.

I always put my ds in a car seat on the plane until he was four. The FAA recommends using a car seat until minimum of 40lbs. Obviously, it's not a requirement so it's your decision but using it on board is not only safer for your child it's also safer for the car seat. I carried ours upside down when I took it down the aisle which put the widest part above the tops of the airplane seats. Recline the plane seat when installing and uninstalling, thread (or unthread when uninstalling) the seat belt, then put the plane seat upright. With fwd facing Britax seats, you want to either flip the airplane latch plate over once before buckling it, or ask for a seat belt extender, that way it will be easy to undo at the end of the flight. It's really not that big of a deal. Maybe I'm just really good , but it never took me more than 2mins to install a car seat on an airplane. Not really that big of a deal to me.

 

[Phalene]

When my kids were younger and I was bringing a double stroller and 2 Britax car seats this was my strategy:

Don't check the seats, at worst gate check them, and if possible bring them on the plane and use them. If there are seats available the airline can block out a seat for your lap infant at no charge (I realize that in this day and age its not very likely, but you could get lucky) so then you can use both seats on the plane. If you've checked the seats with your luggage you lose that option.

I would, carefully, stack both carseats into one of my stroller seats (MacLaren side by side) and have the older child sit in the other side. Then, I'd carry the younger in a sling.

At security I'd get everything ready, including camera, laptop, assorted other neccessities, etc... and then send one adult through. They keep an eye on everything coming through the x-ray and 'catch' the children as they go through. I wait to go through x-ray until I know the last of our items are in the machine. Then, we just gather up our belongings and head to the gate.

 

[all4fun]

Also, you could stack the car seats onto a cheap metal luggage cart to get them to the gate. They will have to come off the cart when going through security (fyi).

If your LO is walking, they may want your child to walk through the metal detector alone. I can't remember exactly what they had us do when ds was at that point, he is almost 6 now. I do remember that one of us would go through and get cleared by TSA, then we'd allow ds to walk through, followed by the 2nd parent. That way he was always with one of us. If you're wearing baby in a carrier, it will have to come off if it has metal on it. They may make you take it off anyway. They always require us to remove jackets and shoes as well.

Here's the Traveling with Children page on the TSA site that talks about the screening process.

Here's some pics I found of car seats on strollers and using a luggage cart (turning it into a Gogo kidz cart - type attachment)
on a stroller:

SK Radian on a luggage cart:

Graco Nautilus on luggage cart:

How it's bungied on to the cart:

hth

 

[kutie78]

When we went in Feb of 2007 we had a 9month old and a 2 year old. We gate checked the 1 car seat and used the other on the plane. We had car seat carrying bags/cases that we got at Babies R US that we carried on our back through the airport.

 

[LoveKermit]

And be aware that at least your 3 yo will have to take off shoes too--so slip-ons like Crocs make that easier.

My almost 2 yo (last Oct) I think was carried through, but she insisted she take off her shoes (and socks, because they go hand-in-hand, right?) since we had to. I agree--just allow plenty of time.

I left my driver's license at home and my dad had to get it to the airport for me. So DH took DD and stroller through security. I sat out front and tried to read my book (and not look at my watch). DH was cursing me, I think.

Coming home, we went through MCO at 9/9:30 AM on a Monday and we had the security line to ourselves. Literally. We each (DD included) could have had our own checker. It was very nice.

Good luck!

 

[smile750]

We have flown 4 times with our two kids - 3 times to Florida from NJ and last year (4/08) from NJ to Maui. We made the mistake of checking one of our two car seats (in a bag) last year when we went to Hawaii. The luggage got lost/delayed so we were stuck at the airport without a seat and I had to rent one. The other times we used the seats on the plane. It prevented the kids from easily getting up and wanting to walk around as well as slither down onto the floor. My suggestion is get the bags from babies r us and wear them as a back pack and either bring them on the plane or gate check them. One of the parents can go ahead on the plane and hook them in if you want to bring them on. Otherwise just gate check them. I also gate-check a double BOB Revolution Duallie stroller (no easy task) because my kids are 2 and 4 and fit more comfortably in it rather than a twin Maclaren. It does not fit through the x-ray so, we remove all the stuff including the kids and it gets the wand. I'd just carry the one year old and let the 3 yr. old walk through in front of you. It's the part I dread along with the boarding of the plane, but it's over quick enough and a distant memory (unless you check your car seat and they lose it!!!!!).

 

[bumbershoot]

So, you recommend that we gate check the car seats within a larger bag as opposed to baggage checking them? Thanks for the tips.

Yes.

One some flights we had to take the carseat out of the bag for the xray machine, but that was mainly b/c they couldn't figure out how to position the Roundabout to get through the machine,without actually seeing the seat. But on other flights they just wanted it unzipped.

It had a big strap to go over your shoulder, and a nice thick plastic handle that I used while getting down the aisle of the plane.

When I gatechecked it, I was actually going to use it on the plane, but then the plane was packed and I was exhausted, and when the gate guy asked if I wanted to gate check it I just said yes and handed the seat in the bag over. That was when DS was 3.5, and I was astounded to see how well he behaved in the seat. When I got it at the end of the flight it was in its bag a-ok.

The bag is just an easier way to carry it through the airport...makes the walking maybe a bit easier, but might take a bit more time at security...probably ends up being a wash.

Though we can't find the bag, and the last time we flew we kept finding luggage carts just left empty (so we didn't have to pay for them), and we just put the seat on top of the bags on the cart...even got to take the cart through security, which was very nice of them (not all airports will do this, so I have learned).

Just give yourselves huge amounts of time, and you should be OK.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I have been in your shoes. Let me just say this. Bring your good sense of humor and patients!!!! It's crazy traveling with a huge double stroller, 2 car seats and 2 kids. We looked like CRAZY people going through security.

I agree with those that say do not check your seats. We have done it 2 times. One time the airlines lost my dd's seat. The airlines gave my dh (who was traveling with dd) a HORRIBLE seat to use. AWFUL. The next time we checked it (you would think we would have learned) the lock offs on the side of the seat were broken off on one side.

You are no guaranteed that your seat will not be broken when gate checking. The only way to make sure nothing happens to the seat is to carry it onboard. But, gate checking does guarantee that the seat will make it to your final destination.

We used car seat bags for my kids seats. However, if I had to do it again, I'd probably use either a luggage cart or a get the GoGo Kidz Travelmate. If you travel much, the GoGo kidz might be worth the investment. Another option woudl be to purchase cheaper travel seats that are easier to travel with.

You can wear your baby in a sling through security. The guidelines were changed a while back. As long as the sling does not have metal in it, you are fine. I wore my ds on my back in our Beco when we traveled.

 

[BarbWB]

We have 4 kids (oldest is 11) and fly at least 3-4 times per year with all of them.
I've never had a problem with carseats being damaged. ONE time on a flight to Europe, British Airways lost every one of our bags, plus carseats. They gave us a voucher to buy boosters at Walmart. Granted, they weren't the best kind, but I suppose we could have protested or held out for something better. They found our bags days later and we weren't required to repay them for the new seats.
We gate check strollers. The double will be a pain. Two umbrellas will be better for the airport, but if you want the double in WDW, then bring it. It is just unwieldy in security so allow time. Just be patient and make sure you comply with all rules regarding carryons. For some reason, it seemed I was always hand-searched when I had a baby/toddler. Maybe just to stress me out more. Be sure to remove belts/shoes/big jewelry/sunglasses that could trigger the metal detectors.
Patience and allowing plenty of time are key to a good trip.
Good luck!

 

[sbouldin]

Thanks for all the great replies. You've definitely given me some great ideas and I feel a little more comfortable with what we'll have to do. Thank you to the poster who said, "just bring a sense of humor..." I'll have to do some breathing techniques before getting to security.

 

[Corjack]

We were kind jazzed about going through security last year wiht a baby and stroller and all that but it went super fast. I was like "that's it"? :lol: Just be prepared and hope for the best!

jackie

 

[NMMickeymom]

One more vote for carseat bags. I have traveled a fair amount with my kids (alone and with DH) and never had an issue with a carseat being damaged or lost when checked in - in a carseat bag. Another handy thing about the carseat bags is they work well as a place to stash a few extra items. We always put some diapers along with the seat for extra padding. We have also been able to put a coat or sweater in the car seat bag when our suitcase weighed in at 53 lbs. . (Also handy as we were never charged for an "extra bag" for the car seats) One has to carry so much with entertainment and care for little ones, I was always happy to check the seats.