Stroller- count as checked luggage?

[cmc mouse]

I'm a new mom planning to fly to WDW when son is 1. Does anyone know if the stroller counts as one of the two allowed pieces of checked luggage? Or do strollers have a special fee? We fly SWA or ATA down there from MD. Thanks

 

[mbethel]

When I flew with my daughter as a lap child on both Southwest and Delta I was told that a stroller and carseat were allowed to be checked for her. Those did not count towards my 2 bag limit. Also you can take a diaper bag in addition to your own bag as a carryon.

 

[chriswilliam]

You can also do a "gate check" so that you can use the stroller right up until you board the plane. You would typically leave the stroller ont he jet way. This has been very convenient for us and does not count against checked luggage limits.

 

[NJDad18]

The gate check is the way to go. Keep you child in the stroller right until you step on the airplane. Get a tag where you check in for your flight. You wheel the stroller right up to the plane door then fold it up and leave it against the wall. Somebody from the airline will come and take it. It will be waiting for you at the same place when you get off of the plane. As far as I know gate checking a stroller does not count towards your luggage allocation.

 

[cmc mouse]

Thanks for the help! We always notice people keeping their strollers until they board and then leaving them on the jetway. I am really glad it's not going to be counted as one of our bags. It's also great to hear that we can carry on our own carry on, along with his diaper bag too! Goodness knows we have enough "stuff" to take for him in our luggage.

We are planning to go for 4th of July and DS will be 13 months. I assume each of you agree that having his own comfy reclining stroller is a must. Did any of you take a child this young? How was it?

We are going to mail a package of bottles (if he still takes them), baby food (if he eats it), snacks, and his diapers to our resort. Did any of you ever do that?

I guess this is not so much a transportation topic anymore, but the stroller crowd is who I need advice from. Thanks again.

 

[chriswilliam]

You could also have the groceries delivered to your room from a local store-

From Mousesavers.com-
Delivery - Goodings, an upscale supermarket located close to Walt Disney World, allows you to order online and have the groceries delivered to most hotels and resorts in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, International Drive, Celebration or Kissimmee. There is a $50 minimum order and a $20 handling charge.

 

[seashoreCM]

Goodings -- an UPSCALE supermarket
(couldn't resist)

Keep the child in the stroller all the way to the gate. When you gate check the stroller as required the airline will never match things up and thus will never realize that the stroller is over your baggage allowance even if the stroller counts as checked luggage.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[HayGan]

Another vote for gate checking your stroller. It makes it much easier to maneuver through an airport with small kids!

 

[KristinU]

Yes - another vote for gate checking! Just an FYI - you will need to take your DS out of the stroller and fold it up to go through security. No biggie, just thought I'd point that out.

You'll find a ton of threads about traveling with babies on the Families board, but here are a couple of my tidbits:
We took DS for the first time when he was 9 months and again for his 1st birthday. We purposely did the switch to milk a week or so early and with that switch we switched from bottles (our ped gave us great advice on this - she had us just do milk in sippy cups and not even offer it in a bottle - worked like a charm). Traveling at a year was great with my DS - he was eating table food and walking a bit and was very portable and agreeable (he's now 2.5 and good at being 2.5 ) Oh, and if you can, rent a car - it was so nice to be able to just go on a whim whenever his schedule warranted and not have to wait on a bus. We drove to most of the parks for his first couple of trips (at 17 mos. riding on the busses was better than the parks in his eyes!) You'll have a great time!

 

[cmc mouse]

Thanks so much to everyone again.

As former commandos, we just can't wait to become the tour guides to our DS and experience it through his little eyes. I guess we'll finally take naps, use the pool, and not stay at the parks for 17 hrs. every day for 10 days! It's going to be a whole new trip! No he won't remember it, but we'll never forget it.

All of you have a great time next trip!