Question about Southwest

[gypsydoodlebug]

It shouldn't be a problem. As long as you're a A, you shouldn't have to juggle seats. Most SW vets just take the first seat possible. By the time the Bs load, there are still a LOT of seats together.

 

[luvdisney14]

We flew twice with southwest, got there only and we all sat together.

 

[smfritz03]

Thanks everyone! We may take our chances--because I really dont want to get to Orlando at 11am and be sleepy all day! (not on my first disney vacation)
Is there any tips, advice that I may need when I get to the airport? Should I allow the kids to take something on the plane to occupy their time? Ive been so busy planning the trip that I even dream Disney at night!!

 

[claudia]

you can also check-in online. The seating becomes available at 12:01 AM on the day you are going to fly. Go to the site and click onto "Travel Center"...it is on the top bar of the page. Then you will see "Air" in an orange bar, underneath that is a link that says "Checkin online/Print Boarding Pass", click onto this and follow the instructions by the booking number and name...you will have to do this for all of you....and then print them all off. Without a doubt you will receive all "A" boarding passes. Now, no need to make yourself crazy and arrive way to early....

 

[coolmom_1966]

We have flown SW twice. There are 5 of us. Got to the airport 2 hours early and always got A passes and sat togther. We had to stand in line for awhile in the A line, so we brought things to occupy the kids time. Gotta love those Gameboys! You can print boarding passes online but not if everyone is on the same reservation or you are checking luggage. (I think) One of the kids has to be under 5 to preboard.

 

[amyjo]

Definitely have the kids take stuff to do on the plane. Do they have any hand-held games? (Turn off the sound.) We also take coloring books and colored pencils, books for the readers and sometimes I pick up some cheap little toys and put them in their bags to surprise them. Your kids are all old enough that they can carry their own backpack with their stuff in it. Have them test it out at home to make sure it isn't too heavy for them, you don't want them whining through the airport or begging you to carry the stuff. You'll also want gum or suckers for take off and landing, so their ears don't pop too much. I hate gum, so we always take suckers for the kids--one at take off, one at landing.

 

[smfritz03]

Didnt even think of the ear popping!! Thanks alot for that advice! We plan on getting to the airport about 2 hrs early--so hoping everything goes as planned!

 

[claudia]

We have flown SW twice. There are 5 of us. Got to the airport 2 hours early and always got A passes and sat togther. We had to stand in line for awhile in the A line, so we brought things to occupy the kids time. Gotta love those Gameboys! You can print boarding passes online but not if everyone is on the same reservation or you are checking luggage..

Southwest just recently changed their policy....you can now print out for as many people as you put on a reservation number. Also, doesn't matter if you check luggage. I was so happy to see this change as I was sick of booking a different reservation for each of us.

 

[geetey]

smfritz03,
We have been using SW for the last 7 years for flights for our family. You simply can not beat their prices! Save yourself the time at worry at the airport and print off your boading passes before leaving for the airport. Either do it at 12:01 am or as soon as you wake up. You can print boarding passes for everyone listed under a single reservation (they changed that rule).

Decide now how you are going to sit. You should plan on 1 parent with 2 kids, and 1 parent with 1 kid. I typically have my ds while my dh sits with my dd. (He takes the easier one. ) We typically sit on the same side of the plane - 1 row in front of the other. I promise you will not have a problem finding 2 seats together and 3 seats together - those may not be near each other however. It depends if the incoming flight is a connecting flight (when we flew out of Nashville to Orlando - the flight orginates in Chicago and it typically half full).

How long is your flight? You definitely need to bring some things for the plane. My now 9 and 11 yr olds still bring things for the plane! Gameboys, coloring books, book, stickers... all come to mind.

If this is your first time flying, remind your family that you won't be walking off the plane and into Disney World. That caused my ds a *lot* of frustration. He wanted to be there NOW. Warn them that it will be several hours (playing it on the safe side) after you land before you get to your resort.

I hope this helps!

 

[smfritz03]

Yes it helps alot! Kids are 7, 6, 6---we would like to keep as close together as possible due to 1)the kids first time flying 2)the parent stuck w/ 2--if one needs the bathroom--then they have to take both.....we considered letting the 3 sit in front of us or next to us--so they could keep each other occupied--im not sure how the one separated from the 2 will do! What info do we need to bring for the kids to check them in? A birth certificate, social security card or anything? And what should we bring for ourselves?

 

[geetey]

We have yet to use the bathroom on the plane. We are flying from STL to MCO. Not very long. Also, we *always* make the kids go before getting on the plane.

My kids like the little bit of one on one time with their parent. I spent my time talking about the trip and what we are going to be doing. (what ride are you most excited about? This time I want to find the Incredibles in MGM. That kind of stuff... ) Dh is usually teaching 'his' child a different card game or trick.

* You may or may not need birth certificates for the kids. Bring copies anyway. You need a drivers license for both yourself and dh.
* Wear loose comfortable clothes - skip the belts so no one has to take them off for the security check. Slip on and off shoes are good too (in STL they request we place our shoes in a bin for the xray machine).
* Curbside checkin is almost always faster than going inside.
* Have a luggage tag on and in each bag.

If you do not sit with your kids, just know that they may be frightened by the loud noise of the engine, and the landing, since they haven't experienced this before.

Just a request from a frequent flyer... would you consider sitting in front of the kids? Then if they kick any seats, they won't be disturbing anyone else. (My ds had the tendancy to swing his legs without even realizing it, so we always put dd or dh in front of him. **Disclaimer** I am not making an observation about your own children - just making a recommendation based on my own son.)

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[punch57]

Flew them on 2003 trip and 2004 trip with no problems. Remember this is a no frills airline. If you have small children print boarding passes online get there early and you will have no prob getting on before everyone else.

Working on 2005 trip to Disneyland for July !!!

 

[punch57]

Flew them on 2003 trip and 2004 trip with no problems. Remember this is a no frills airline. If you have small children print boarding passes online get there early and you will have no prob getting on before everyone else.

Working on 2005 trip to Disneyland for July !!!

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

Wow, thanks for all the great information. We don't have a trip planned this year but in 2003 & 2004 we flew ATA out of Indy. I'd been thinking of flying SW out of Indy for our 2006 trip and this information is very helpful. DD will be 9 so we won't get to preboard but the information on checking-in online at 12:01am on flight day to get an "A" pass is helpful.

Question for future reference - checking in at 12:01am the day we leave home is no problem. What do you do when you are heading back home? Where can you use a computer to log in at 12:01am on the day you fly home?

Thanks,
Debbie

 

[coolmom_1966]

Thanks for the info on the new rules. It's good to know! We flew out of indy last year and couldn't check in online.

 

[2tinkersmom]

We just flew Southwest in January and will again in June - we loved the A,B,C boarding thing. Our kids are 10 and 6, and when they call for pre-boarding they did say families with kids 5 and under could board first, so we just waited.

But we did print out our boarding passes early in the morning from home for our flight that left early afternoon and got the A boarding passes. Now coming home we were at the Orlando airport 2 hours prior to flight and I printed out our passes while in line at the check in (kiosks are at various locations for you to print them out) and we got B passes that time. We didn't have a problem sitting where we wanted to either way.

I sat with one daughter and my husband sat directly behind us with the other daughter since they both wanted to see out the window. But we found that wasn't ideal when younger daughter had to go to the bathroom....we had to climb over the person in our aisle seat. Next trip I think we will just do three of us across one row with my husband on the aisle next to us, that way we aren't disturbing anyone!

We thought the seating really went smoothly for everyone, a little easier than having to find your numbered seats. And there was an instance where a family got on toward the end that needed to sit together and they just ask if anyone is willing to move to make that possible....and within minutes they were seated.

 

[smfritz03]

Thanks--u eased some of my worries---our flight out is at 8am---we are planning on getting there early--and we live over an hour and half from the airport--so hopefully waking up early so i will print them when i wake up

 

[Bama mom to 3]

Yes it helps alot! Kids are 7, 6, 6---we would like to keep as close together as possible due to 1)the kids first time flying 2)the parent stuck w/ 2--if one needs the bathroom--then they have to take both.....we considered letting the 3 sit in front of us or next to us--so they could keep each other occupied--im not sure how the one separated from the 2 will do! What info do we need to bring for the kids to check them in? A birth certificate, social security card or anything? And what should we bring for ourselves?

We are already discussing these issues too, and we aren't going until June of 2006. Dh is the only one in our family who has even been on a plane so this will be quite the experience for our family....LOL If we have to sit one parent with two kids and one parent with the other, we decided we would sit guys and girls, and have me and dd sitting in front of dh and the boys because it makes dh more comfortable to keep his eye on us girls...LOL

 

[smfritz03]

lol--thats how dh is too (the cop in him i guess)---i think we may do guys and girls too--but that just sticks me w/ 2 girls & him w/ ds--which somehow always happens!!! lol we are leaving the baby behind--i think FL would be way too much for her!!

I just have no idea what to expect when we get there----on the day we fly in--can we visit all the disney resorts if we are staying off site? this is beyond imagining for me right now!! i just need a night of not dreaming disney1!!

 

[Bama mom to 3]

I just have no idea what to expect when we get there----on the day we fly in--can we visit all the disney resorts if we are staying off site? this is beyond imagining for me right now!! i just need a night of not dreaming disney1!!

I don't see why you couldn't visit the Disney resorts even if you are staying off site. I think it would be a fun thing to do. The first two time we went to DW I didn't even think about doing this. Then the third time we went we stayed onsite, so we did see some of the other resorts.