Times of flights vs amount of young kids

[goofydad621]

Hi All
Please let me qualify before getting flamed,
We love kids, and have three but the last couple of flights we have been on were loaded with young children 5 years and younger. Now I know that we are heading to WDW and it is filled with kids and that is great we are just trying to minimize being on a plane with crying kids. Our DD who just turned 9 had a very hard time with the crying children to the point that she started crying herself, it wasn't out of being mad or being bothered she told us she upset because she thought the littler ones were hurting or upset. So we are just trying to figure out what flights are apt to have less young children on them. Last time we could not take the 6:30 am-7AM flight from Boston that flight usually seems to have less very young kids. How wold the 7-8PM flight be?

What is your thoughts and experiences

(asbestos underwear on)

Thanks Dave goofydad Dionne

 

[CarolA]

Your going to Orlando? I have yet to do a flight to MCO without several kids.... and I have flown early, late and midday. (I wonder sometimes why parents of toddlers think thier kids will be thrilled to get up a 3 AM to go to Disney, but how would I know LOL!)

 

[poohbear2]

I really think any flight you take to Orlando is filled with children.

The last night flight I had there were some teen groups on board and the kids who were on board either were sleeping or crying, but no more worse than a normal flight with small children if that makes sense?

 

[Starr W.]

Trying to recall any flight I have taken anywhere that didn't have at least one crying kid/baby on it. I took a 5:30 am flight out of DTW to San Jose and I know there were no kids on that one!

 

[Pinnie]

Going to MCO on a plane without kids is almost impossible. I have been on 6:30 a.m. flights out of DTW that were loaded with kids.

Only flights that seem childfree are the ones I have been on recently to Vegas!

pinnie

 

[disneyag]

I can't imagine ANYTIME flying to MCO that you wouldn't encounter kids. Years ago, the only non-stop flight from Austin was at 8pm and we took it with our small kids.

 

[goofydad621]

Thanks for all the replies, I really didn't expect any different info then I got but I had to ask.
Thanks again

Dave

 

[NotUrsula]

(I wonder sometimes why parents of toddlers think thier kids will be thrilled to get up a 3 AM to go to Disney, but how would I know LOL!)

Oh, that's easy. They don't. The theory is that you put them to sleep in their clothes the night before, and you leave them that way through the trip to the airport. By the time you get there, you've hit their natural 6 am wakeup time. The problem is that just about the time you're trying to navigate TSA, the little darlings are waking up in a strange place starving and getting cranky.

Back to the OP's ?: As everyone else has said, all flights to MCO are likely to have SOME small children on them. If you're willing to settle for fewer, the best answer I can give is either 1) very early morning or early evening flights on weekdays, when business travelers are most likely to buy seats, and 2) the most expensive flight times, because people travelling with several kids are likely to want to try to save money by choosing the less-popular flights that have the most discounted seats available.

Here is another suggestion: perhaps you could let your daughter offer to help.
If the kids are indeed hurting, swallowing will help, so eating is a good choice. You might have her pack some FACTORY-SEALED individual packets of small-kid friendly snacks, such as animal crackers, vanilla wafers, or graham bears, in her carryon, and let her offer them to the childrens' parents. (Not to the kids directly, of course.) This serves two purposes: 1) sometimes harried parents forget or run out of snacks when travelling with little ones, and 2) being spoken to by a stranger who is a "Big Kid" is often an effective distraction for a small child. If the parents will allow her to try, she might be able to help a lot. Little kids' giveaway toys can work, too (like those tiny stuffed animals), but those are more expensive and harder to carry.

 

[WillCAD]

The least amount of screamers seem to be on the very early and very late flights.

I typically fly from BWI-MCO on the first flight of the morning (which is about 7-8am), and many of the kids on those flights sleep through at least part of the flight.

When I fly home, I usually try to get a flight around 7-8pm. These flights are usually very quiet, even when they are full, because plenty of adults sleep through them as well as the kids!

The closer my flights have been to the middle of the day, the more active the kids (and adults) are, and the noisier and more uncomfortable they are.

 

[CarolA]

Oh, that's easy. They don't. The theory is that you put them to sleep in their clothes the night before, and you leave them that way through the trip to the airport. By the time you get there, you've hit their natural 6 am wakeup time. The problem is that just about the time you're trying to navigate TSA, the little darlings are waking up in a strange place starving and getting cranky.

Yeah I figure that's the "Theory" (I sometimes wonder if these parents actually think LOL! One of my friends did this.... she was convinced that her son would sleep. Looking back she admits she was an IDIOT, her child was one of those who REALLY needed a strict schedule or all heck broke lose in his day to day life. SO let's get him up at 3 AM LOL! IT was 24 hours of YOU KNOW WHAT for his parents before he got back on schedule Her DH tried to pretend he didn't know her since he had told her that this was a bad idea!)

 

[bntlyclg89]

A solution for your DD might be a Nintendo DS, Sony PSP or iPod. The PSP and iPod have the ability to show movies (that's what we do) and the DS can keep you occupied for hours on end. All of these have earphones and do a pretty good job of drowning out background noise. I travel for my company and use these distractions often. They even drown out annoying seatmates but that's for another time.

Otherwise, you're right, flights to MCO regardless of time or season have lots of kids.

 

[goofy4tink]

This is one of the reasons I really try to fly JB!! Since they have those seatback TV's, the kids seem to just be quieter. They have something to do. Kids just don't seem to read as much as they used to and are basically only entertained if it's video based. So, the TVs have stuff they will watch. We always have headphones/earbuds for the TVs though...blocks out a lot.
The only other thing I can suggest is flying into/out of Tampa. That had to be one of my very best flying experiences. My ds moved to Tampa last year, so we try to squeeze a trip to see him at the end of our WDW trips. Can I tell you how much more peaceful and quiet the flight home is?? Not to mention the easy, quiet pace of the airport itself!! So, if you're going to rent a car anyway, you may want to consider that option.