what time to fly with small children?

[penguinande]

We are planning our first WDW trip as a family in late August/early September and it will be the kids' first flight. We essentially have 3 options - we can leave around midnight CA time and arrive late morning Florida time; we can leave at dawn CA time and arrive early evening Florida time; or we can leave late evening CA time and arrive at dawn Florida time. What would you do with a 5-year-old and an almost-3-year-old?

 

[MandiC]

I would leave at dawn California time and arrive early evening with kids that little. You just never know if they will sleep on the plane and check in isn't until late afternoon so if you arrived and they were exhausted you wouldn't have a room for them to sleep in until later in the day which could be a disaster

 

[AFwifelife]

Leave dawn AM in CA and get to FL in the evening. I'm assuming you will need to do at least one transfer, right? That will be much easier to manage during the day than in the middle of the night if your kids are sleeping and/or overtired. Better to have an arsenal of toys and snacks to keep them preoccupied on the plane then a good night's rest in a bed than fighting sleep all night on the plane or not getting adequate rest when you count on it.

 

[laeeyore]

We are leaving from SoCal in June. We are taking the midnight option, getting into MCO at 10:54. My DD is 7 so I'm hoping she will sleep during the long portion of the flight and be wide awake when we have to change planes in Charlotte,NC. Of course this could totally back fire on me as well. I just liked the idea of not having to loose an entire day to travel.

 

[amyren]

I've done the red-eye with a 20 month old & a 6 year old and survived to tell the tale... Really it wasn't bad they both slept and we had the whole day ahead of us. It would kinda stink to get to FL too early and not be able to check in until late afternoon though. For that reason I'd say leave at dawn CA time and arrive early evening FL time.

 

[mm1971]

We are planning our first WDW trip as a family in late August/early September and it will be the kids' first flight. We essentially have 3 options - we can leave around midnight CA time and arrive late morning Florida time; we can leave at dawn CA time and arrive early evening Florida time; or we can leave late evening CA time and arrive at dawn Florida time. What would you do with a 5-year-old and an almost-3-year-old?

I would say leave at dawn and get to Disney early evening. That way you can get settled and then start the next day fresh. Keep them up a little late the night before and maybe they can sleep on the plane.

In the event of flight delays or any other issues, it gives you a little extra time. If you get there in the morning after a long flight, spending the whole first day at a park may get rough. Just an opinion. I know the children could sleep through the night on the plane, but not sure I would take that chance.

 

[Pesky]

Agree with pps -- leave at dawn and arrive in the early evening. You never know how kids will travel and even if they sleep on the plane, they will still likely be tired and a bit jet-lagged from it all. So I'd rather plan to get there, grab some food, look around, and go to bed than risk a room not being ready for over-tired kids.

 

[penguinande]

Thanks all! I was worried about whether they would actually sleep on the plane for an overnight flight, so maybe the daytime option is the safer choice. I do hate to lose a day on travel, but kids are unpredictable.

 

[ah1126]

My kids do better on early morning flights. I also figure there is a smaller chance of delays earlier in the day.