I really want to visit DLR in 2015 with my one year old son and six year old daughter.
The flight will be six hours. I could pack a booster seat for my six year old in a carry on and its possible that I could buy a seat for son but I think this will be an expensive trip without that added cost.
We prefer jet blue that flies into los Angeles, Burbank or long beach. I would consider using a different carrier one way for John Wayne airport.
My main question is how do people get to/from DLR safely and affordably with kids?
(Renting a car doesn’t sound fun, but I think we are forced to pay for parking at PP as part of the resort fee anyway)
I fly to Europe pretty regularly with young kids. Mine tend to be active and wiggly too. Here are some thoughts:
Would I buy the one year old a seat on the plane? Yes, without question. We tried one flight, one hour long, with a child on our laps, and it was misery. When our kids are strapped into their carseats, they know what that means, that it is time to sit in place and settle in, and they also sometimes sleep. It also makes eating, sleeping, taking bathroom breaks easier for the adults. And it is safer. I have heard a flight attendant say that when there is a child in your lap and you hit an unexpected bump of turbulence, the child basically acts at your airbag, between you and the seat in front of you. Ouch. I know not everyone agrees, but this is my 2 cents worth.
As for transfers, taking your own carseat will be a pain in the airport, installing and uninstalling in the plane, etc., but we would do it anyway. You know how it works, you know it is clean (relative to an unknown one), it’s familiar to your kid.
Personally I think renting a car sounds easiest – that way, once you install your carseat, you can leave it in there the length of the trip, and you’re not worried about re-doing it everytime you want to take a taxi or shuttle somewhere.
Have a great trip!
I would agree with @B_squared about buying a seat on the plane for the 1 year old. I’ve taken my son on several 3+ hour flights since he was 4 months (he is almost 1 now), and I would have been miserable holding him for the flight. At 4 months, he cried so much that I held him for most of his first flight. It was uncomfortable, and I’m only 5’4". …But, yes, getting that convertible car seat on and off the plane sucks.
Thank you both for your responses. After 6 WDW trips in 3 yrs we were really excited to try something different in 2015, but I think DLR will be cost prohibited. I’ll keep looking and researching, but we’ll probably end up back at WDW. DLR will be easier when I don’t need to worry about car seats.
I’ve always wondered the logic of not allowing a purse in one’s lap, but a baby is perfectly acceptable (not that I’m advocating for putting the baby in the overhead compartment) but whatever justification for not allowing a purse in one’s lap --flying projectile possibility–seems like it should apply 10 fold to a baby.
We buy a seat for our little guy, I figure it, like diapers, burp rags, and picture books, is just part of the cost of having a child.