Taxi, rental cars and car seats

[buggy2727]

So the great thing about staying onsite is not worrying about car seats but we have been thinking about our options. There's renting a car but we have 3 kids, 8,6,4 - the 8 yo can sit in a regular seat, the 6 would need a booster and the 4 would need a car seat so our car choices may be limited (and I know nothing about renting car seats / boosters). Our other option is just to use a taxi one or two mornings where timing is important for early morning ADR's / RD. However, the car seats are an issue... I didn't know if any taxi's have car seats or boosters.... Or should we just stick with the Disney bus?? TIA!

 

[Alesia]

According to Florida law, none of your kids need to be in car seats or boosters. If you're comfortable with that, it's definitely the easiest choice.

You can rent car seats and boosters. The only problem is that you have no way of knowing whether their safety has been compromised.

It's not too hard to find a taxi with a car seat (a booster is harder to find,) but again, you have no way of knowing whether their safety has been compromised.

If I were you, I would just use the buses.

 

[amomma23]

We also have 3 children. The hassle of car seats is not worth it to us. Using Disney transportation (and not having to rent or bring seats) is one of the top reasons we always stay on-site.

 

[Happyjen27]

Our first trip, we rented a mini-van and 5 point restraint seats for my 5 year olds because we were visiting the in-laws, etc. The risk of renting and perhaps getting a seat that had previously been in an accident seemed lower than the risk of going without, and the risk the airline might not treat our $300 Britax seats with care. So, we rented car seats for 2 days, and it was fine. They were costco brand, and appeared to be in fine condition. No way of telling whether they had ever been in an accident, but, at some point, you have to trust something, right?

The second trip we didn't go anywhere but WDW, so we didn't need any car seats.

We choose to stay in a resort that is convenient to most of our activities and I don't make ADRs at other resorts in the AM, and don't make ADRs in resorts that aren't in the MK area. When we stay in the EP area in a few years, we'll explore those restaurants. I find the car seat situation to be not worth it, and would rather deal with Disney transport.

 

[buggy2727]

Thanks everyone. Not having to deal with car seats / boosters was the whole reason we are staying on Disney property. Then I was reading some bad reviews of staying at POR and getting to MK in the AM and it was making me nervous! I'll stay with my gut and use the Disney bus!

 

[T4K]

Thanks everyone. Not having to deal with car seats / boosters was the whole reason we are staying on Disney property. Then I was reading some bad reviews of staying at POR and getting to MK in the AM and it was making me nervous! I'll stay with my gut and use the Disney bus!

I think that's a good idea. While the laws of FL may suggest your kiddos are ok without carseats, the laws if physics disagree. ;-)

 

[ebradley23]

At the risk of getting flamed, I am planning on taking taxis within the resort without using a car seat for my morning ADRs. Normally I am very car seat conscious. We exclusively rear face past age three, so I am not normally one to rule break rules when it comes to car seats. In many major cities it is legal to ride in a cab without a seat, though. They drive so slowly it's never an issue. I plan to ask the drivers to drive slower than normal. Truly I am more worried about the ride from the airport on the shuttle without a seat, but it wouldn't be allowed if we brought one. I feel there is more danger I an accident on that ride than in a cab within Disney property.

 

[ChitownFamily]

I think that's a good idea. While the laws of FL may suggest your kiddos are ok without carseats, the laws if physics disagree. ;-)

No doubt! Just because Florida car seat laws are the most lenient in the country doesn't make it any safer!


Op- here's a great, easy compact travel solution. The bubble bum is highly rated & highly recommended within the car seat tech community http://www.bubblebum.co/us/

 

[tourguide81]

Yep, I'd stick w/ Disney transportation. Then there is no safety issue. Regardless of Florida law or what some cities say about taxis, it's quite unsafe to travel by car w/ kids those ages w/o seats or boosters. There's no bubble protecting Disney from car accidents.

We've just left extra early and it's been fine.

Best part about Disney is not having to deal w/ carseats & driving, etc!

 

[tanyaandallie]

At the risk of getting flamed, I am planning on taking taxis within the resort without using a car seat for my morning ADRs. Normally I am very car seat conscious. We exclusively rear face past age three, so I am not normally one to rule break rules when it comes to car seats. In many major cities it is legal to ride in a cab without a seat, though. They drive so slowly it's never an issue. I plan to ask the drivers to drive slower than normal. Truly I am more worried about the ride from the airport on the shuttle without a seat, but it wouldn't be allowed if we brought one. I feel there is more danger I an accident on that ride than in a cab within Disney property.

Cabs drive slowly? Not in my experience! In my experience taxi drives drive like crazy people and always make me very nervous. In addition, roads are around Disney are not your back country road. They have high speed limits and are very very busy with a large portion of people not knowing where on earth they are going. I have seen many accidents in our trips to Disney.

We have done many an early morning adr and never had any troubles with the buses. I'd say if you do not have a car that can safely transport your children, take the bus! It's easy!

 

[baseballnut]

According to Florida law, none of your kids need to be in car seats or boosters..

Wow, I had no idea! That's terrible!

I'm like pps and the best part about staying onsite is no worries about car seats. But, OP, you can bring the car seats on the plane so you don't have to worry about them handling it. Or you may be able to gate check them. Depends on the airport/airline.

 

[2009CAN]

I think that's a good idea. While the laws of FL may suggest your kiddos are ok without carseats, the laws if physics disagree. ;-)

100% agree with this.

We stayed at POP last year with our three kids. I didn't feel comfortable renting car seats so we dragged our three Britax Marathons through the airport. Between holding the hands of three toddlers, our carryons AND the three HUGE car seats ... well, it was beyond hard. One the way home we gate checked them.
All that to say, I vote for renting a car and either renting or bringing your own seats. Dealing with that many kids and the logistics of buses isn't worth it to me.

 

[lovetogowdw]

I can't imagine doing a rental car when staying on property. Most of the time the buses are great.

But I get that early ADR might be a challenge if you aren't really, really early to the bus stop or it is already packed.

Note that I've had the opposite experience of prior poster -- car seat was hard to find in taxi line but several drivers had boosters. BUT - OLD car seat on first try and I refused to use it after looking at date and kept trying til I found a different taxi with newer seat.

One thing I've gone to using at Disney or anywhere where we can't take public transportation for just one or two rides, is to use the Safe Traffic System Ride Safer vest. I just tuck it into my backpack for the day. Check it out on Amazon. I've also used if my son is going home with a friend or riding home with an aunt/uncle/grandparent after school or pre-school and the logistics for car seat/booster were too hard. One of these isn't as good as the Britax Frontier or Boulevard in my car, but I do feel confident with this vest system as compared to a backless booster or similar.

 

[ebradley23]

Cabs drive slowly? Not in my experience! In my experience taxi drives drive like crazy people and always make me very nervous. In addition, roads are around Disney are not your back country road. They have high speed limits and are very very busy with a large portion of people not knowing where on earth they are going. I have seen many accidents in our trips to Disney. We have done many an early morning adr and never had any troubles with the buses. I'd say if you do not have a car that can safely transport your children, take the bus! It's easy!

In major cities like NYC if you have a small child and ask, they are typically great at complying with your request to drive slow based on my experiences. Without the child and the request that same drive is typically quite terrifying.

In regards to Disney specifically, I just don't see how riding in a cab for a short drive from one resort to another on property can be any less safe than standing on a bus. Bus accidents can happen also. I would rather be sitting in a cab where I have a chance to shield my kid with my body than standing on a bus trying to protect him. I truly am not trying to start a car seat debate. I'm just stating that one does not to seem any more safe than the other to me. Both have risks.

 

[tourguide81]

In major cities like NYC if you have a small child and ask, they are typically great at complying with your request to drive slow based on my experiences. Without the child and the request that same drive is typically quite terrifying.

In regards to Disney specifically, I just don't see how riding in a cab for a short drive from one resort to another on property can be any less safe than standing on a bus. Bus accidents can happen also. I would rather be sitting in a cab where I have a chance to shield my kid with my body than standing on a bus trying to protect him. I truly am not trying to start a car seat debate. I'm just stating that one does not to seem any more safe than the other to me. Both have risks.

Physics. Cars and buses are designed completely differently. They behave differently in accidents. If that wasn't the case, carseats would be required on buses.

 

[2009CAN]

Physics. Cars and buses are designed completely differently. They behave differently in accidents. If that wasn't the case, carseats would be required on buses.

This. Buses are designed completely differently, that's why you don't need seat belts or car seats or boosters on school buses. It's just not worth it for us to take a risk in a car w/o proper car seats. But everyone has to make the choices that are right for them.

 

[supertinyluckycat]

Just because your taxi driver may drive slow doesn't mean other cars on the road will. There is no way I would ever not use a car seat, especially in Florida or with a stranger driving.