We are staying at a time share (Hitlon at Tuscany Bay). We are visiting AK, HS, MK, MK with 2 babies (6months, 2.5 yrs). At home in Canada they BOTH are required to ride in car seats - rear facing. We will have a rental car with car seats.
We are planning on doing rope drop each of the 4 days at the park… our hotel shuttle seems unreliable at best… do we drive and park/ uber? taxi? public bus? How do we get to the parks the most easily/ fastest from offsite so we can be at each well in advance of rope drop without waking up at 3am lol!
Side note - it is my understanding UBER does NOT have car seats for children under 3, and that you can get a max of one carseat per UBER… anyone know? Also, are carseat laws more laxed in US? Can they go forward facing?
I’m not an expert in this but I think the safest and most efficient thing to do would be to drive and park. I’d look up Florida car seat laws. Your 6mo will need to be rear facing but your 2yo can probably be forward facing. Good luck!
do you know how early parking opens?/ where we should park for each/ and how to get to each park from there?
I’d drive myself to the parks in your situation. The only place where it makes a huge difference is MK because you’ll have to park and then take the ferry or monorail to get to the park entrance.
If I were you, I’d bring my own carseats and put them in the rental a car. I’d have my kiddos sit in their carseats in the airplane (b/c checked carseats get tossed around and could be damaged) and then installed my own carseats in the rental. Make sure that they are approved for airline use. Rental places in the US aren’t known for taking good care of carseats - they can be soiled, they may have been in an accident and therefore compromised, and sometimes I’ve heard of people going to get their rental being told that they didn’t have any carseats left. I’m sure there are folks that do just fine with the rentals, but I wouldn’t risk it.
To the best of my knowledge, Uber family only has one carseat in the car.
I believe forward facing is legal after age one, though I’m no expert. It’s safest to keep the kiddos rear facing as long as they’re within the height and weight range for it, though. I think that most kids in Sweden are rear facing until around age 4, incredibly enough!
Caveat - carseat safety is really high on my agenda, and I do take it very seriously since one of the riskiest things we do with our kids is drive them around. Not everyone has the same philosophy, though, so YMMV.
The car parks never close.
You will be directed to a parking space, unless you’re there before something like 6am. You can pay for preferred parking to be closer to the park gates. But there are teams to get you from the parking lot to the gate; just remember to note where you are parked!
At MK, parking is at the TTC.
I agree with @Beth33- use your own rental car. This is what we did with two kids of that age. It’s easier and safer. I would also buy them their own seat on the airplane, and use their carseats there. It is definitely safer than the children flying unrestrained, & it would be the law- except the cost would cause more parents to drive and that of course is much more risky than having a lap child… so that’s why parents aren’t required to buy a seat for them at this time. It’s not that it’s not a good idea, it’s just many families can’t afford it and driving is worse.
The cost to drive and park would be about the same as Uber, so no advantage there either way. You might want to see what the special Disney Minnie Vans would cost (especially on MK days as they go straight to the gate, bypassing the TTC)- they may have plenty of car seats. Go with peace of mind, it’s worth it.
This is what we’re doing as well. 2 years old is good for forward facing. Make sure you know how to install your car seat that direction. Ours has a bottom piece that flips to level it properly.
The parking fee is a bummer, but Uber would be more expensive since we’re taking a mid-day break, and I don’t trust them to even have one carseat.
By all means, I encourage using your own vehicle. I have six kids and have used both a rental and our own to get from off-site properties (even further from parks than you will be) and are often the first people to the parking lots. Really.
I don’t care for mid-day breaks. I do like having a nice stroller and finding out of the way places to chill out late afternoon to get a second wind.