Please reassure me that we will survive getting through the airport, lol

[mommy2paris]

We are heading to the world in September, with our 2 dd's, 2 1/2 and 8 months. All I keep thinking about is how big of a nightmare the airport is going to be! We will have 2 kids, 2 strollers, 2 carseats, and all of our luggage. Of course, we'll have the kids in the strollers, and carseats on our backs, but I am still trying to figure out where the free hands come in to deal with the luggage??? Another challenge will be that we have to leave our vehicle in the long term parking and take a shuttle to the actual airport... Hope the bus driver is patient!
Obviously we are not the only ones to ever do this, so I guess I am just looking for reaffirmation that we will survive, lol. Would love to hear any of your travel stories. Any tips or advice? TIA

 

[Mouse House Mama]

You will be fine! The first time we went to WDW our kids were the same age as yours. Since then we have added to our brood! We now have 4 kids! Anyway- here is my advice. Don't overpack. You can always do laundry one night if you need to. Ship to your resort whatever you can- diapers, wipes, babyfood- whatever. This way you need less luggage room- therefore less luggage! We never take carseats so I can't help you there. Limit your carryon to one bag if you can. All you need is a change of clothes for each kid, some diapers, wipes, and some snacks (depending on how long your flight is) and some small activities for the kids. Don't stress! You will be fine! Have a great trip!

 

[disney6family]

We've done that and flown with 3 under age 5 while I was pregnant! You can do it!
Allow lots of extra time - it takes a while to get all of the stuff on and off the shuttle, on and off the cart, on the baggage check, etc You can't just run to the gate anymore like when you didn't have the little ones. Also, don't forget to pack your extra doses of patience (you'll need one for DH, one for each child, and many for the rude people who are rushing by you!) We always found the bus drivers to be patient and most were downright helpful loading your stuff on themselves with DH so you can just stand and watch the little ones.
We always got the rent a cart and you can pile everything on there, including one stroller, you push that while DH pushes the other stroller and carries the baby if 2 1/2 yo is in stroller. Switch for short rides when 21/2yo can walk, then you have them hold onto stroller and you push baby in it while DH pushes the cart. Our cart would frequently be piled high (took some more time) and sometimes lose it's stuff. But it was always fun. We have flown from CA to PA and back this way and then from PA to CA and back to DL again. It's wonderful to be able to say now we did it and survived! And you will too!

 

[disney6family]

Reading the post above mine reminded me, we piled the carseats on the cart and our carryon was a regular backpack, lots of zippers and compartments so we could find stuff and this was worn on mine or DH back. You can get luggage straps at WM for $2 and they can strap the carseats, stroller, etc onto the cart

 

[LuvOrlando]

We are heading to the world in September, with our 2 dd's, 2 1/2 and 8 months. All I keep thinking about is how big of a nightmare the airport is going to be! We will have 2 kids, 2 strollers, 2 carseats, and all of our luggage. Of course, we'll have the kids in the strollers, and carseats on our backs, but I am still trying to figure out where the free hands come in to deal with the luggage??? Another challenge will be that we have to leave our vehicle in the long term parking and take a shuttle to the actual airport... Hope the bus driver is patient!
Obviously we are not the only ones to ever do this, so I guess I am just looking for reaffirmation that we will survive, lol. Would love to hear any of your travel stories. Any tips or advice? TIA

You don't say what airport you are at but we use Newark. How we do it is DH drops me & the kids off with the sky caps in front of the terminal and keeps his ticket with him. I have the 3 tickets for me & the kids so I can check 6 bits of luggage. The sky-cap takes my luggage at the door and I don't need to bother with it again until we get to our room, thanks to Magical Beginnings. Sky caps expect $2 tip per bag, just like any valet.

While I am dealing with the luggage and the kids (I used to keep them in a stroller at the airport when little) DH brings the car to long term parking and takes the shuttle back to me. Of course, we both have cell phones and he makes a note of which terminal & door he's left me at so he can find us again.

When we reunite one of us gets the kids and the other takes the carry on stuff. Its always worked out.

When we land its similar. I put the kids into a stroller next to me & collect the luggage from the rotary while DH gets the car. I get a sky cap to load the bags onto a carrier for me and then find DH with the car outside the doors. The tipping runs about the same.

 

[mommy2paris]

Wow, you guys were quick!! Sounds like you have it down to a science! (Which probably becomes a necessity!)
We will be flying out of BWI. I did think about checking our luggage with the skycap. The only thing I was questioning is b/c we will have the baby who will not be ticketed, as she is flying in my lap. But, could I use my ticket and my other dd's ticket to check our luggage? And then dh could go up to the counter and check in with age verification for the baby afterwards? I was not sure how this worked, since we are all on the same "ticket transaction" and confirmation #.
We are renting a car, so I'm only taking enough diapers, formula, snacks, etc to get us through the 2 hr flight. We will hit up walmart on the way to hotel. Hoping to just have one carry on - which would be a backpack.

Love the comment about the patience, lol. I can see myself saying "Just breathe, it's okay"

We had thought about having dh drop us at the curb and then go park, but...
And this may sound silly, but I am the "direction giver", and I worry about him getting turned around wrong and not being able to find the long term parking, lol. Of course, I would never admit this to him. But, using our cell phones to talk while he was doing so would probably be helpful!

Anyone with experience know if it is easy to get back to long term parking from the drop off area at BWI?

Thanks again, I really appreciate all the info!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Wow, you guys were quick!! Sounds like you have it down to a science! (Which probably becomes a necessity!)
We will be flying out of BWI. I did think about checking our luggage with the skycap. The only thing I was questioning is b/c we will have the baby who will not be ticketed, as she is flying in my lap. But, could I use my ticket and my other dd's ticket to check our luggage? And then dh could go up to the counter and check in with age verification for the baby afterwards? I was not sure how this worked, since we are all on the same "ticket transaction" and confirmation #.
We are renting a car, so I'm only taking enough diapers, formula, snacks, etc to get us through the 2 hr flight. We will hit up walmart on the way to hotel. Hoping to just have one carry on - which would be a backpack.

Love the comment about the patience, lol. I can see myself saying "Just breathe, it's okay"

We had thought about having dh drop us at the curb and then go park, but...
And this may sound silly, but I am the "direction giver", and I worry about him getting turned around wrong and not being able to find the long term parking, lol. Of course, I would never admit this to him. But, using our cell phones to talk while he was doing so would probably be helpful!

Anyone with experience know if it is easy to get back to long term parking from the drop off area at BWI?

Thanks again, I really appreciate all the info!

Depending upon who you fly with, some airlines allow you to print your boarding passes before you even leave your house. This saves time. I usually try and grab a sky cap as soon as we hit the curb with our licenses and e-tickets/boarding passes in hand so DH can give the sky-cap his ticket for luggage before we're are even done un-loading. While I negotiate with the sky-cap DH brings up the rear getting the kids out & all. The sky-cap really just needs to get a face to face wave & nod from DH for ID purposes.

Each person is usually allowed 2 pieces of checked luggage each. You and DD would be allowed 4 together. You can ID your baby yourself, no need for DH there.

If you don't live too far how about driving by with DH before the trip so you can find the parking spot and talk to the sky-caps ahead of time? If this won't work you could always drop all your luggage off with the sky-cap and then accompany DH to the parking lot afterwards. Most places allow for luggage to be dropped off 3 hours before the flight anyway.

Really, as confusing as this sounds, its not too bad. I just hand a fist full of stuff to the skycap, he takes out what he needs and gives me it all right back again. I give him $2 per bag. I shove this stuff back into my backpack so I have it when we are ID'd again at the checkpoint. I sit and wait for DH. He finds us and we go.

I'm a huge fan of sky-caps.

 

[lori123]

We are heading to the world in September, with our 2 dd's, 2 1/2 and 8 months. All I keep thinking about is how big of a nightmare the airport is going to be! We will have 2 kids, 2 strollers, 2 carseats, and all of our luggage. Of course, we'll have the kids in the strollers, and carseats on our backs, but I am still trying to figure out where the free hands come in to deal with the luggage??? Another challenge will be that we have to leave our vehicle in the long term parking and take a shuttle to the actual airport... Hope the bus driver is patient!
Obviously we are not the only ones to ever do this, so I guess I am just looking for reaffirmation that we will survive, lol. Would love to hear any of your travel stories. Any tips or advice? TIA

You will do GREAT!!! Make sure you leave for the airport early enough - that way you have plenty of time - it helps the stress level. I travelled many times by myself with twins in infant seats - let me tell you - where there is a will there is a way! I definately took advantage of the skycaps - and sometimes paid one (or the people who help with wheelchairs and stuff) to take me all the way to my gate. When I travel with DH we get a cart - they have them right out front - just a swipe of the card and you are ready! Oh - and with the shuttles - the drivers will help - they help load and unload all your bags (for a small tip of course . Have a great vacation!

 

[poohfriend77]

The last time we flew, we just had one DD18months. My husband dropped us off before parking and taking the shuttle back in. DD and I just waited for him (no skycap service, and I sure wasn't going to move a stroller, carseat, giant suitcase and two carryons by myself-- yes I'm an overpacker ) Anyway, we had to wait 15-20 minutes for him, but that seemed to work fine for us.

People were very nice to us, and security even waved us through to an empty wheelchair-accessible line and we were on our way in minutes! Not quite so easy on the way home, but still not bad.

One other comment: I thought airlines did not allow carseats for kids over 2. If that is the case, you may look into renting once you get there, rather than checking yours. Maybe I'm thinking of boosters, though... For some reason, I just remember thinking I wouldn't have been able to take DD3's seat if we had flown last summer.

 

[momz]

been there, done that. Next trip....we're driving. 15 hours in the car, the kids are contained, our lugage in the trunk. no security check points. no long lines. no strollers plus baggage carts. no getting seperated from my husband. We had a rough experience following our last flight at the baggage claim. we did not have a stroller with us because we had rented one at disney. anyway, both kids were asleep on chairs, I was with them and our luggage while DH went to get the car. When he returned, he was not allowed to leave the vehicle unattended, so I had to somehow get 2 sleeping children and a bunch of lugage to the car alone. I could only carry one child at a time (2 and 4 years old), so security expected me to leave a sleeping child unattended while I carried the other one to the car!!!! The other issue is that you are not supposed to leave your luggage unattended. Therefore, I was in a pickle. If i could somehow carry both kids, I was risking having our luggage confiscated. Luckily, there was a nice older couple who helped me out, but you can't always depend on there being kind strangers who are willing to assist.

 

[NotUrsula]

I also posted on the other board, but I wanted to address one thing you said here:

We are renting a car, so I'm only taking enough diapers, formula, snacks, etc to get us through the 2 hr flight.

DO NOT do that. Even if you have to bump up the size of your backpack or stash a second backpack pouch in with your carseats, you should carry on enough baby supplies/snacks to last your children 24 hours! Baby supplies are hard to come by in airports, and impossible to come by on planes. If there is a weather delay or if you end up stranded in the plane on a runway you would be in deep trouble. You can use a compression bag to squash down the diapers and clothing into less space, but carry them somehow. (If you do get stranded, planes tend to get hot -- kids will often vomit if that happens, so bring a spare shirt for yourself.)

If you use powdered formula you also should carry on the water to mix it. You can carry some empty water bottles through security and fill them at the gate, or buy bottled water airside, but don't count on getting bottled water from the FA on the plane; they run out of it very quickly, and the water from the tanks is not the freshest.

PS: the FAA recommendation on carseat use is up to 40 lbs. You can definitely use one with a two year old. My DS routinely used one until he was nearly 5.

 

[TinkerValkyrie]

One other comment: I thought airlines did not allow carseats for kids over 2. If that is the case, you may look into renting once you get there, rather than checking yours. Maybe I'm thinking of boosters, though... For some reason, I just remember thinking I wouldn't have been able to take DD3's seat if we had flown last summer.

When we flew Southwest when my older DS was 2.5 we were allowed to have a carseat.

 

[tjmw2727]

One other comment: I thought airlines did not allow carseats for kids over 2. If that is the case, you may look into renting once you get there, rather than checking yours. Maybe I'm thinking of boosters, though... For some reason, I just remember thinking I wouldn't have been able to take DD3's seat if we had flown last summer.

Actually the airlines, FAA, TSA and AAP all recommend using a carseat on the aircraft through age 4 and 40lbs just as in the car. You do have to make sure that the seat has a sticker stating its approved for use in aircraft but 99.9% of seats in use now have this.

ITA with pp's who suggested dh drop you off and use the sky cap this is what we do. Even if you don't check in you can wait inside with the a/c and the luggage until he returns and check in then.

Limiting your carryon is a good idea but be sure and have enough for at least the 3-5 hours it takes for ME to deliver the luggage and more for the baby as NUrsula mentioned.

I would also mention that you do have to fold the strollers and send them and the carseats through the screening machines. I would also remove anything extra from them and place them in your checked bags. Things like the cup holder, hanging bags and even the canopie if it can be removed as they get can get caught and damaged during gate check.

The TSA is a great reference I check it often before flying. Here is the link to flying with children and IIRC it has a good section on clearing security as well as the latest restrictions.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/formula.shtm

Lastly remember to be calm as your kids will feed off your energy, it will be fine")

TJ

 

[fireworks fan]

I just flew by myself with two kids (22 months and 4 years old) and this is what helped me:

1. a carseat bag with wheels, so you can just pull the carseat behind you
2. plenty of diapers and wipes-we once forgot wipes, and there were none to be found at the airport stores
3. lots of snacks-we ended up on two cancelled flights in one day, so over 6 hours in the airport without actually going anywhere and we needed the food
4. if your child is old enough, let them carry a backpack with their own food and toys, my four year old did this and it worked great
5. new, small, quiet toys
6. loads and loads of patience for you!

We've also brought a car seat on the plane for an over two year old, and there was no problem. As long as the car seat is FAA approved, you should be able to use it.

 

[wrighter]

Hey LuvOrlando - we use Newark also. Our plan is similar to yours, except we don't use sky caps. Going to have to do that next time.

For the OP, this is what we do: My husband pulls up to the terminal and while I stay with the car and kids, he unloads all our gear and takes it inside (we can see the chairs through the windows at Newark.) I take our DD2 with me and wait with the gear while he takes our DS4 with him to long term parking. On their way back from long term parking they grab a luggage cart. They meet us, we load up the cart and head off to check in. Once you dump all the stuff that is getting checked through you'll be in much better shape. Since you're somewhat worried about your DH doing the navigating, you could drop him and your youngest off and then take your oldest with you to long term parking. (I always hate waiting anyway.) Whatever you do, don't worry. You'll get it done one way or the other.

Good luck!

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

Gotta love the skycaps! I think you can have 2 checked bags per ticketed passenger. And we printed our boarding passes for the trip to WDW from home to.

Also, I second making sure you have baby stuff to last 24 hours with you -- for both ends of the trip. You never know when there will be a delay and you need to be prepared.

 

[kileybeth]

haven't seen it mentioned yet but BWI is a great little airport and I always feel it is somehow more "user friendly"! Just ask, someone will give you a hand if you get in a pickle. And long term parking is so easy at BWI.

Last time I was down there I was just picking up my sister but had a car full of kids with me and I was driving a new car that I had only driven 10 miles before that day, what a crazy day! Anywho, everyone just kept trying to take my bags (?? I only had a shoulder bag and my infants small diaper bag on me) and the two little ones in their strollers but if I needed a hand it was offered repeatedly!

have a blast. loved loved that comment about pack a patience for your DH! I always pack 2 or 3 for mine when he has to travel with us (6 total) as opposed to his regular buisness travel (him and his carryon go round the world!)_