Taxi's and children in WDW, do they require...

[MolonLabe]

I need to get from POR to GF for an early breakfast. My plan is to go from POR to MK and boat over to GF.

My backup plan is to take a taxi from POR directly to GF.

My girls will be 6 and 8 by then. They are 42"+ each and will be taller in December.

My question is, will one (or both) need to be in a booster?

Indiana requires a booster up to age 8, which I feel is absurd.

It appears Florida still doesn't have such draconian laws (I miss my home state).

So does anyone have any experience with Taxi's and 6-8 year olds on property at WDW?

Also, how is cabbing in general there? It will be my wife and I and our 3 daughters (6, 8, 14).

Thanks!

 

[MolonLabe]

Just found this, I decided to screen shot because it looks like 5 can ride in a single car.. for the price of one, lol

 

[joelkfla]

I don't know about the booster seats, but I believe the boats between MK & GF start running 1/2 hour before the park opens, so if your ADR is before MK opening time, you'll need to take the monorail instead.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I need to get from POR to GF for an early breakfast. My plan is to go from POR to MK and boat over to GF.

My backup plan is to take a taxi from POR directly to GF.

My girls will be 6 and 8 by then. They are 42"+ each and will be taller in December.

My question is, will one (or both) need to be in a booster?

Indiana requires a booster up to age 8, which I feel is absurd.

It appears Florida still doesn't have such draconian laws (I miss my home state).

So does anyone have any experience with Taxi's and 6-8 year olds on property at WDW?

Also, how is cabbing in general there? It will be my wife and I and our 3 daughters (6, 8, 14).

Thanks!

Your children will not need booster seats. Although, as an FYI, all the van cabs we took had at least one booster in the van or in the back.
The only problem I've ever had with the cabs, is that as a family of 5, they wanted us to ride in a regular cab. A regular cab only has belts for 4 passengers. We had to specifically request a van. This happened to us at WDW, Universal and SeaWorld. Even if they had a van right there, they tried to encourage us to use a regular cab so that they could save the vans for larger parties. We were not comfortable with us riding on major roads and highways without seat belts.
Lastly, I hope you have your flame suit ready. I was eaten alive on the disboards for not having my DD9 in a booster seat any longer and she is over 54" tall. That's over a foot taller than your girls, so good luck.

 

[tjmw2727]

Florida doesn't have a booster seat law and only requires children under 4 to use a carseat in the first place so your not affected by the FL law.

Most cabs can only seat 5 total - including the driver so you will have to call for a van or arrange it ahead of time, the bellman can call for you.

If you don't mind taking extra time you should have no issues getting to an early ADR vis the bus system. Just head to the MK bus stop and tell the driver you are headed to GF via the MK and "sometimes" they will bring you to the GF, if not just take the monorail.

 

[seashoreCM]

Be at the bus platform at least 90 minutes before your reservation (ADR). You need to allow for the chance that there might be too many people waiting that the first bus can't take you, and that you need to make a connection (at Magic Kingdom).

At Magic Kingdom you will walk by the boat launch just before reaching the monorail station. If you don't see the boat there or arriving you might as well take the monorail.

Cab drivers are reluctant to take families with small children if no booster seat is available because they have to pay the fine if caught.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Cab drivers are reluctant to take families with small children if no booster seat is available because they have to pay the fine if caught.

Whether or not it would be safest for the kids to be in a booster, this part is not true. The kids are old enough (in FL) to ride without a booster. What would the fine be for?

 

[DisneyTed]

We will be taking our two twin Grandsons to Disneyworld they will be 7 years old.
The car hire company want 65 dollars per booster seat, for the two weeks car hire, this seems an awfull lot of money 130 dollars. We can buy these in the UK for alot less.

My question is does anyone know how much they are in say Walmart etc.

We may just go and buy some when we arrive if they are less than the 65 dollars each.

The booster seat is the flat seat not the full car seat type.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We will be taking our two twin Grandsons to Disneyworld they will be 7 years old.
The car hire company want 65 dollars per booster seat, for the two weeks car hire, this seems an awfull lot of money 130 dollars. We can buy these in the UK for alot less.

My question is does anyone know how much they are in say Walmart etc.

We may just go and buy some when we arrive if they are less than the 65 dollars each.

Depends on what kind of booster you want - the backless ones generally run between $10-$25 and the high back ones between $25-$80. This is on walmart.com. I know my own Wal-Mart has less of a selection than they do online, but you would likely be able to get something in that range.

 

[seashoreCM]

Whether or not it would be safest for the kids to be in a booster, this part is not true. The kids are old enough (in FL) to ride without a booster. What would the fine be for?

\
Depends on the state. If the kids are old enough (age 8 in Indiana as explained) then no problem.

 

[Mommytwotwins]

You donot need a carseat for over age 4. Alittle young I think but that is the law so you would be fine as long as you are ok with it.

 

[MolonLabe]

You donot need a carseat for over age 4. Alittle young I think but that is the law so you would be fine as long as you are ok with it.

I'm willing to risk it going from POR to GF. Heck, the bus would probably be more dangerous in a crash going the same route and I don't see anyone clamoring to get booster seats on buses

I remember when I was 3 riding without anything except a lap belt, lol.

I've spent my entire life in medicine. First as a FF/EMT and now on the definitive care side with nearly 15 years in the OR on a level 1 trauma team.

The under AND over protection in todays society is unreal. Be it from improperly or under restrained to over restrained as just and example.

Life is contact sport and you can never eliminate the risks.

Same goes for those who say you shouldn't put your child on your shoulders because they could fall... "and you might wake up dead tomorrow too..."

People need to lighten up and remember everyone living today over the age of about 30 did so without all these new safety laws and equipment. It's wonderful to take precautions and prudent safe guards. It's quite another to raise your child (and yourself) in a bubble of false security.

Anyway, I seemed to have answered my own questions in my own post a few above, for those who want the cliff notes:

Booster seat law until age 4.

Regular cabs can carry 5 passengers.

 

[CarrieR]

People need to lighten up and remember everyone living today over the age of about 30 did so without all these new safety laws and equipment.

Yep. And everyone who should be over 30, but are dead instead, aren't here to tell us how they wish they'd had the advantages of modern equipment to save them.

Apologies for the derailment of the thread, but the "I survived" manta generally fails to factor in the fact that the speaker was not one of the ones who was in a catestropihc accident.

MVAs kill more people, aged 1-34, than anything else. We protect our kids against strangers, pesticides, and vaccinate against communicable disease... why NOT spend $12 to stick a backlessa booster under their butt to protect them against the most likely cause of death?

/rant

 

[Tara]

Yep. And everyone who should be over 30, but are dead instead, aren't here to tell us how they wish they'd had the advantages of modern equipment to save them.

Apologies for the derailment of the thread, but the "I survived" manta generally fails to factor in the fact that the speaker was not one of the ones who was in a catestropihc accident.

MVAs kill more people, aged 1-34, than anything else. We protect our kids against strangers, pesticides, and vaccinate against communicable disease... why NOT spend $12 to stick a backlessa booster under their butt to protect them against the most likely cause of death?

/rant

And the "it was good enough for me" argument also fails to acknowledge the fact that kids today spend a heck of a lot more time in cars than kids did 30 years ago. Simple law of averages says they are in more danger of injury in a car accident because they are on the road more often.

 

[MolonLabe]

why NOT spend $12 to stick a backlessa booster under their butt to protect them against the most likely cause of death?

/rant

You are assuming the $12 (or $25) booster actually offers some level of protection.

With a faulty premise, it seems like an easy choice to "stick a booster under their butt".

I'm coming up on 20 years in medicine. An average 7 year old is no safer with a 'booster under their butt'. Luckily Florida law respects the right of the parent to decide if their 7 y/o should be placed in one or not.

BTW, I don't think cost has anything to do with. For well over a decade fire departments (and other locations) have given away free booster seats to those in need throughout the year.

 

[CarrieR]

I'm coming up on 20 years in medicine. An average 7 year old is no safer with a 'booster under their butt'

Per this 2009 study, CHOP disagrees. Using a booster seat for a 7yo cuts their chance of injury roughly in half. Namely, properly used boosters (even the $12 ones) prevent seatbelt syndrome.

You may feel that seatbelts are adaquete protection for children, but I've read enough case studies to know otherwise. My background is in occupant protection and it drives me absolutely bonkers to see folks trying to undo all of the hard work advocates have done to advance protection for kids in vehicles. Florida has the WORST child passenger safety laws in the nation, requiring no child restraints past the 4th birthday, which looks like it's to your benefit in this situation.

I hope and pray that in this case you're right, and your kids' lack of boosters is no big deal.

 

[MolonLabe]

Per this 2009 study, CHOP disagrees. Using a booster seat for a 7yo cuts their chance of injury roughly in half. Namely, properly used boosters (even the $12 ones) prevent seatbelt syndrome.

You may feel that seatbelts are adaquete protection for children, but I've read enough case studies to know otherwise. My background is in occupant protection and it drives me absolutely bonkers to see folks trying to undo all of the hard work advocates have done to advance protection for kids in vehicles. Florida has the WORST child passenger safety laws in the nation, requiring no child restraints past the 4th birthday, which looks like it's to your benefit in this situation.

I hope and pray that in this case you're right, and your kids' lack of boosters is no big deal.

Pubmed is great resource, the paper you link to is for a 4 year old however, not a 7 year old. Beyond that you'll find papers in both directions, should you care to look for the other side of it.

Seat belt syndrome, as it is commonly known, is a very real danger. There of course comes a point where it is generally recognized as not as big of a danger.

For example 7 years of age in many states and 5 years of age in some states.

Nothing is more asinine than saying that at 7 years of age and 364 days you are endangering your child by not having them in a booster and then saying that a 7 years and 365(or 366 in a leap year) days is perfectly fine.

Parents should take whatever precautions they feel are necessary with an informed opinion.

For me, having a 6 and 8 year old in a taxi going between GF and POR isn't a big risk IMO. Certainly no more so than putting them on a resort bus, lol.

Tomato, tomato... you say safety advocates, I say paid shills for booster seat companies and busy body nanny state know-it-alls.

 

[TandEsMommy]

I think 4 is a bit young to be out of a booster, and am surprised FL's laws are so lax.

On the flip side, we are military transplants to Wyoming. Wyoming requires ALL children, regardless of height/weight, to be in a booster until they are 9 years old. My dd will be 9 on 1 June, but currently exceeds the height/weight specs for every booster we can find. In addition, when she is in her booster seat, he head comes over the top of the fully-extended head rest on the backseat. Is this safe? I think not. The child safety-seat check station here acknowledges the conundrum, but insist a child is always safest in a booster, and urge me to continue using the seat that clearly says it cannot handle my child.

I chance getting the ticket. Another 3 months will only serve to make my daughter taller and heavier, thus further outside the manufacturer's guidelines for use. I will happily take my child, a statement from her physician, both of the seats we have for her, and photos of them installed with her in them. I might still have to pay the fine, but perhaps it will start a dialogue on why we blindly legislate without accounting for natural differences in stature. FTR, my DD4 and DS1 both ride in approved, age-appropriate safety restraints that are installed in accordance with the manufacturer's directions

The local safety-seat check station was invaluable in installing my son's rear-facing seat, but again, simply parroted the brochures scattered throughout the building. We had a head-cushion thingy ( what they are called) that I bought specifically because the portion that sits behind the baby is single-layer-fabric thin. She argued with me when we arrived with my preemie son in the seat with it, without even looking at its construction. Once she did, she agreed that it was perfect and wanted to know the brand and where I had bought it.

My point? (Yes, I do have one ). Generalities get us nowhere. Each of us will rely on our own experiences and the opinions of those we know and trust. We all want what is best for our kids. Noone here is advocating carrying an infant on their lap on a cross-country trek in the back of a Pinto

But why are buses exempt from having even the youngest infants ride in a carseat? Are buses so much safer than a POV? If you have ever taken, or ever plan to take, ME with a young child in tow (from the airport to WDW, no less) your children were in proportionally more danger than OP's will be in a taxi to GF, which I think was his point.

 

[Alesia]

But why are buses exempt from having even the youngest infants ride in a carseat? Are buses so much safer than a POV? If you have ever taken, or ever plan to take, ME with a young child in tow (from the airport to WDW, no less) your children were in proportionally more danger than OP's will be in a taxi to GF, which I think was his point.

Statistically, buses are much, much safer. First of all, buses are significantly less likely to be involved in an accident at all. When large buses are in accidents, they behave much differently than smaller vehicles. It's just a matter of physics.

 

[CarrieR]

T&E, you should be good. Wyoming law has an exception for kids who fit the adult belt without a booster.

Kids need to pass the 5-step test before coming out of a booster. It sounds like your DD does, and since proper belt fit and physician's letter are exceptions to Wyoming's law, then you are golden.

Busses are different beasts than passenger vehicles. First of all, their mass alone makes them more likely to "win" in accidents. Secondly, their drivers are more familiar with the local roads and traffic conditions, making them less likely to have an accident. Thirdly, they operate on compartmentalization, a different manner of restraint than seatbelts. It took me a long, long time to get comfortable with that fact -- but statistics bear it out.

Hope that sets your mind at ease!