Red Eye Flight w/Kids

[SteveH]

We're looking at a red eye flight from the West Coast to Orlando. Price is about the same as non-red eye flights. But we'll be traveling with a 6 and 9 year old boys. Thought is to have them in sweats, the flight leaves 10PM PST and arrives 6AM EST, figured would could take it easy that day; pool, downtown disney, etc.

Curious if other families have done this and how things went for you and your kids or any other thoughts.

 

[safetymom]

I like taking the red eye when I travel for business. Your family will get a chance to sleep on the plane and should be ready for a day in the parks when you get there. I am sure they will be ready to go. You may want to plan a quiet evening on your day of arrival because by then it may have caught up to all of you.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I flew on a red eye last month (no children with me). When boarded the plane in Seattle to come home to Washington DC it was all I could do to not jump on the Orlando plane that was leaving at about the same time.

There were a few kids on my flight. One was a baby who got a croupy cough during the night. The school-age children on the plane seemed to do ok. There's not much of a chance to sleep on the plane since they give snack early on and then a breakfast type snack before arriving. I maybe got two hours of interupted sleep. I took a nap the next day, though, and felt ok.

Two hints. One, don't allow the kids to have a beverage when the first snack is given (or just a little bit it they must have something). Also, bring the foam earplugs. Besides the baby coughing, the young lady in back of me had a terrible cold and was coughing a lot and the man in the aisle seat near me snored. Made me not miss my husband. Oh, more hints. Make sure you all bring the inflatable neck pillows. That really helped my comfort level. Also, make sure you can prop your legs up on your carryon bag. My legs really started to hurt even though I tried to prop them up. If the airlines let you reserve two rows of window/aisle seats for the 4 of you then you can spread out a little if the plane is not filled. None of the middle seats were in use during the flight so maybe that is the norm on the red-eye flights. Worth asking the airlines about at least.

T&B

 

[rsschneck]

We have done a couple of red eye flights. July we took a red eye with our 6 year old DD. She did GREAT! She slept the whole time. I might add she slept ALL OVER HER PARENTS! My DH slept very little and I did not sleep at all!!!!

All three of us were exhausted. My DH said NO MORE RED EYES! The day you have planned would be good, but keep in mind that check in time for the hotels is 4 P.M. Could be a long day if you do not have a room to nap in!

We travel from the West Coast as well and are now taking either a 7:00 or 8:30 A.M. flight. A little extra morning sleep. Get in around 6:30 P.M. and we will check-in, grocery shop, maybe swim or hot tub, relax, get some sleep and be ready for the next day. I think either way the first day from the West Coast is just for traveling!

 

[m.pots]

I'm not sure if my flight is a "red eye" but we're leaving at 9:30 PM and arriving in orlando about 12:30 AM. I'm planning on my DD sleeping (if she can from all the excitment!). We have about the same flight returning so we could get another full day in at disney. I'm letting her take a mini pillow that she loves. She asked me about blankets. Will they have them on the plane?

 

[rsschneck]

Late night flights they always provide a little pillow and blanket. You will usually find them waiting for you in your seat. If she has her own I would bring them (cleaner). We usually bring the neck pillows (keeps you head staighter in case you can sleep)

Have fun! If you have more questions I will be happy to try to answer them.

 

[MissinDis]

We almost always fly red-eye as it is usually our only option. I find that it is so much easier with little ones (dd6 & dd1) since they usually sleep most of the time. Although, I must admit that when we flew to NYC this past summer I ended up laying on the floor with my baby to get her back to sleep. That wasn't very comfortable (for me - there was plenty of room for her). When we return from wherever we are going and have to fly all day it is soooo much harder because you have to try to calm a tired, restless baby while trying to keep your other child entertained.

 

[firemom]

We have flown on the red eye from Ca. 4 out of the 5 times we have gone to Disney. My ds6 sleeps the whole way. We get some sleep but I am always excited and just cat nap. I am a FF so I am used to all nighters. We usually find some thing to do untill our room is ready. ( shop , beach ) We turn in early and are ready for the rest of our vacation. I hate flying all day so this works good for us. Try It once and see if it is for you. I suggest a flight that has a long leg in it if it is not direct. Ex. Sacramento to Atlanta then to Orlando. Last year flew from Sac. to Dallas then Orllando. The flight were to short so not enough rest.

 

[inkkognito]

We don't have little ones, but we often take a flight that gets into Orlando after midnight. There are always lots of little sleepers on the plane. For an overnight flight, they should be even more likely to spend it in dreamland.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[bubbasmom99]

We did the red-eye from Sac to Atlanta to Orlando last year with a 4 yr old and 1 yr old. Left about 10:45. DS4 crashed around midnight, and DD1 was cranky all night and needed to be held, even though we purchased a seat for her and brought the carseat.

We may have to try it again this year due to scheduling, and I am looking at the AA flight which routes through Dallas, leaving around midnight. I figure by then, the kids will definitely be sleepy from being all keyed up at the airport, and they'll crash faster.

As far as DH and me, we were pretty wound up and excited too, so it was hard to sleep... and then there was a movie on that we wanted to watch... but it's nice to not lose a day of vacation in transit, if you're limited on vacation time.