Need Toddler Help from a Newbie!

[Barbara Lease]

Hi everyone! I love Disney, but this is our first time traveling with my three year old!

I have a couple of questions.

1. Do we need an approved car seat for travel? I am trying to remember how to travel with him on the buses, monorails, and even the airplane? I never took note before having a child of my own!!!

2. Any advice to keep him safe while we are there? Can I write our number on his MagicBand? I am not sure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

 

[lovetoscrap]

I am moving this to the Disney for Families board.

 

[cafox1985]

Hi! My daughter has been a frequent traveler since she was 2 months old so I can answer your first question. You don't need a car seat for the airplane, bus, or monorail. It just takes up extra space and is a hassle to carry around. If you are using Disney transportation throughout your trip, leave the car seat at home and enjoy the freedom

 

[Kae]

Hi! My daughter has been a frequent traveler since she was 2 months old so I can answer your first question. You don't need a car seat for the airplane, bus, or monorail. It just takes up extra space and is a hassle to carry around. If you are using Disney transportation throughout your trip, leave the car seat at home and enjoy the freedom

I have to agree. Now you have to think about a stroller rent or bring one. We were always renters.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

If your 3 year old tends to be hyperactive then you're going to want that car seat for the plane ride. Kids are used to being buckled up nice and snug in their seats when travelling in the car and a hyper kid might take the lack of a complicated and secure seat belt as an invitation to jump around in their seat/aisle and you are going to have a frustrating flight trying to convince them otherwise. But as someone else said, if you are planning to use Disney transportation then you don't need a carseat.

When we are out an about with young children I take a picture of them just before we enter the venue. This will give you a current pic of their outfit and hairstyle to help staff or security track them down. Write your cell number on the magic band/the tag of your child's shirt/or even use a sharpie to write on their arm, just make sure the child knows that the info is there so they can point it out to staff if they are lost. I've heard of a company that makes custom temporary tattoos so that you can have a tattoo made with your name and number and apply it to your child ahead of time. That's probably more PC than writing on your kid with sharpie! If you do go the sharpie-on-magic-band route, keep in mind that sharpie will chip/rub off when it's exposed to water or heat, or when the magic band flexes, and alcohol will break down sharpie ink (so if you plan to use hand sanitizer during your trip then you need to take a sharpie with you to reapply).

Hi everyone! I love Disney, but this is our first time traveling with my three year old!

I have a couple of questions.

1. Do we need an approved car seat for travel? I am trying to remember how to travel with him on the buses, monorails, and even the airplane? I never took note before having a child of my own!!!

2. Any advice to keep him safe while we are there? Can I write our number on his MagicBand? I am not sure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

 

[cafox1985]

I've never heard of the custom temporary tattoos but that is awesome! I would definitely look into that as an option. Good tip!

 

[loves to dive]

While my son is grown now, we started going to WDW when he had just turned 3. I'm a single mother so it was just the two of us. We was out of the stroller by then but if he got really tired I would just rent one at Disney. When he wasn't in the stroller he was either holding my hand or not more than one step away from me, in lines for QS he had to be in front of me and holding onto some part of my clothing so I could feel him. When carrying the tray to the table he had to walk beside me and again hold onto some part of my clothes. I never had any problems keeping track of him, being a single mom we established rules early on. I never worried about writing his name or mine in his clothes, he was always in my site or holding my hand so it wasn't a problem. We did have a secret word in case we got separated and if someone said I sent them, if they didn't use the word he knew not to go with them. More often than not he was sitting my lap on buses or monorail so no issues there.

 

[kboo]

1. My kid (now 4) is a frequent flier/traveler - she always got stir crazy in the car seat, so we like Disney vacations because we don't need to bring a car seat. We did bring and gate check an umbrella stroller though - its useful both for the kid and also as a luggage cart for our carry ons if she wasn't riding. (ib the parks, we used it to carry snacks and ponchos, and it was lighter than the rental strollers).

2. what Loves to dive said - it depends on your child's personality, but our DD has always been good in crowds and stayed close. If your son can pay attention and stay close while you're out shopping or walking around a mall, that is a good sign.

 

[katielafave]

We took DD when she was 2.5 and didn't bring a car seat at all. She did great on the three hour flight and on Disney transportation.

At the park we pointed out the CMs right away as safe people in the event she got separated from us and her our cell numbers inside her magic band.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

There is also a Canadian company that makes custom ordered disposable bracelets (I think it was Lovables) that have your info on the inside. You can order a packet and put one on each day. Definitely point out the CMs as safe people to go to.

That said, I have heard 2 things about lost kids at Disney that maybe someone else can confirm. The first is that they are experts at locating lost children (or lost parents as they put it). There are supposedly a lot of plain clothes people who know the look of a lost child. I have also heard that it is an unacknowledged feature of magic band that they can use it to locate lost children. I heard that they don't like to talk about because it has obvious privacy concerns. Not sure if it's true or not but it's definitely technologically possible and makes sense.

 

[WhoDatDisney]

I would recommend renting a stroller from one of the "off site " companies , the ones that Disney rents don't recline. We have rented the city mini last couple of years. Really comes in handy when kid wants to take a nap. Only drawback is you have to bring it on the bus when you leave the park

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Recently traveled there with a 1 yr old and a just-turned 4 yr old.

We didn't bring a carseat for either kiddo and we were very happy not to have to lug one around.

I bought the temporary tattoos off amazon just in case, but both kids stayed very close and I never felt the need to use them (it was also a family trip, so we had 4 adults for each kid and it was easy to keep them well escorted). They are saved for our next trip when the kids might be less clingy and I'm guessing we won't have help like that.

(Also, I echo the rental comment - for your kid's age, I would highly recommend renting a stroller from an offiste place. Your child is probably old enough to get through a flight and magical express just fine. However, they may want to nap in the stroller during long days (the rentals are so much more comfy and nice than the park strollers) and you will probably have at least one instance of too-tired-to-walk-back-to-room-itis and carrying a bigger little kid all the way back to your room might be quite unpleasant! If you have an offsite stroller you can use those wheels before/after park time too, and if you have meals elsewhere, etc. My 4 yr old doesn't use a stroller at home anymore, but at Disney we used the heck out of it. Sometimes she just needed some quiet time and would hop in and pull the shade down).

 

[kohlby]

I strongly recommend taking a car seat of some sort for your 3 year old on the airplane. If you don't want to take yours, then look into getting a CARES harness for the flight. I rented one once and it was very easy to use and take with us. My youngest was not hyperactive but he didn't like flying and there was no way we could have done it without the CARES harness or some sort of carseat. Of course, I wasn't able to figure this out until we were actually flying!

I would recommend a stroller as well - whether renting one from off-site or bringing your own. At 3, my eldest did not use it at all at the start of the trip, but was in it quite a bit by the last day. At 3 my middle child had amazing endurance. However, she was overwhelmed by the crowds and worried about getting separated, so the stroller was very helpful. At 3, my youngest struggled with the sensory stimulus and the stroller was his safe place to relax. So - three different kids using a stroller for three different reasons.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

We used Safety Tat tattoos for our kids. You can customize your information and the pack we got was about $20. One note is that my children have olive skin so i should have picked lighter colors for the design.
Another suggestion is to go over your name and cell phone with your child. I did this with our oldest when she was 3. It's good for kids to know your first and last name in general, I think.

 

[Muskrat191]

The FAA does recommend a car seat or CARES harness for children under 40 lbs. The seat belt may not properly restrain a small child in the case of turbulence, aborted takeoff/landing, etc.

We order silicone bracelets from Reminderband with my husband's cell phone number on it. For the smaller kids, we have them wear it on their ankle, which is harder for them to take off. We coach our daughters to find a CM (identified by the name tag) and then tell the CM that daddy's phone number is the on the bracelet.