5 year old on a plane

[::er!ca::]

We're planning a trip to Disney World for my daughter's 5th birthday (May 2010) :love: We're going to fly, and have shuttle service from the airport to the resort, and to the parks. We've never been before, so I have no experience with the shuttle buses. Will she need a car seat, and if so what should I put her in? On the airplane, should she just sit in the seat, or should I put her in a car seat?

We're also going to have our youngest daughter with us, she'll be just a few weeks shy of 2 years old when we go on our trip. We'll use a Scenera for her while we travel since it's so light.

[mommaon112903]

Can I go to? :D

We took Josef for his fifth b-day last year, well actually we left ten days after his b-day since we were able to get our rooms 40% off and with seven nights, yeah it was nice!

Josef rode in the seatbelt alone on the plane, fit fine and :love: every minute of the flights (we had a conection in Atlanta both ways).

No seatbelts on the Magical Express, so neither child will be able to use a car seat. Josef was so excited he had awesome listening ears :thumbsup: It was actually while we were in WDW that he "grew up" and in March he was transtioned into a booster as we used the phrase like the cast members used "sit back and enjoy the ride".

Have fun, we can not wait to go back!!!

[KAK22]

We did Disneyland February 2008 (so DD was 3). We did use her MA on the plane and the shuttle - ours was a private company and it did have seatbelts. I would call to be sure.

For a 5 year old, I personally would have no problem with the seatbelt on the plane and a booster on the shuttle if it has seatbelts.

[ketchupqueen]

If you're using the Disney shuttles at Disney World, they don't have seatbelts.

Disneyland doesn't run any shuttles themselves, which is why you would have shuttles with seatbelts out here. (And if you do have that option, be prepared to fight for the forward-facing seats to put the seats in... grrr. Long story.)

[::er!ca::]

Thank you guys for the information! I guess I didn't even think about the shuttle bus not having seat belts... but I guess it makes sense (though I wish they DID have seat belts).

Now I'm really nervous, what if we get in an accident?! I'm such a worry-wart. No seat belts? How will my almost 2 year old and my 5 year old be ok?! What kind of roads are traveled between the Disney Resorts and the actual parks? What is the speed limit? Tons of traffic?

Oh geez.... (yes, I have a major worrying problem, I know! Especially when it comes to car seat issues) Sigh.

[mommaon112903]

The roads traveled are busy and speed limits, I am guessing as I never payed attention to signs :o, are 55mph+.

Josef was PERFECT on the buses, and we parked hop'd at least once/day :) There were younger children on the buses and most of the time they would be sitting on the parent's laps. In the evenings Josef would sleep on either me or hubby on the way back to the resort.

AFIK there has never been a major accident, or even a fender bender involving WDW transport on their grounds.


Now I'm really nervous, what if we get in an accident?! I'm such a worry-wart. No seat belts? How will my almost 2 year old and my 5 year old be ok?! What kind of roads are traveled between the Disney Resorts and the actual parks? What is the speed limit? Tons of traffic?

Oh geez.... (yes, I have a major worrying problem, I know! Especially when it comes to car seat issues) Sigh.

[Northriver]

The roads traveled are busy and speed limits, I am guessing as I never payed attention to signs :o, are 55mph+.

Josef was PERFECT on the buses, and we parked hop'd at least once/day :) There were younger children on the buses and most of the time they would be sitting on the parent's laps. In the evenings Josef would sleep on either me or hubby on the way back to the resort.

AFIK there has never been a major accident, or even a fender bender involving WDW transport on their grounds.

No, there are accidents, I think I remember reading about a bad one not too long ago. Might have been an empty bus but not so good for the driver. :(

Anyway, busses are different that cars, they are very safe. Seatbelts are actually not allowed in Florida on busses so they can be quickly evacuated. You have nothing to worry about, you'll be fine!

The busses from the airport to the resort are like coach busses. The busses around the WDW property are like city busses with some forward and some sideways seats.

Sometimes busses can take awhile. Resort to resort transportation is espcially slow, as you have to transfer at the parks, it would take at least an hour. Plan you meals carefully. We never eat at Downtown Disney for example, it just takes forever to get over there and back to the resort, especially in the evening.

For more information about planning your trip, try disboards, lots of great information. I also belong to a site that has a small fee called tourguidemike - I'm mentioning this as an ON TOPIC because one of the most important things for me to plan at WDW is transportation - very important to me to avoid needing taxis if we dont have carseats.

We've been to Disney 3 yrs in a row but skipping it next year, I think I'm already going through WDW withdrawl! Have a great time!

[stephie1012]

we are going in Sept and were there in March...we drove in March and used disney busses at the parks...kids did fine on our laps or DS was in a front carrier. Now we are flying in Sept. DD will be 4 and she is already over 40lbs and 40inches, i think we arent going to bring a seat for her, but DS will be 2 hes 30lbs now and he wil have a seat.
I had no problem using the busses to the parks, im kinda worried about from the airport tho. i highly recommend the DISboards.
There was an accident last month involving a bus and a small SUV, i believe the women in the SUV was killed. The bus was empty tho.

[ketchupqueen]

Buses are big. There are exceptions but usually in an accident, the bigger vehicle "wins." Mass counts for a lot. That's one reason they're so safe. They're also very visible, and WDW screens its drivers pretty well. I wouldn't worry on the bus (I never do, we take city buses with our kids sometimes.)

[specific]

Expect very full buses there and having to stand up for many of the bus rides, holding on to your child and a folded-up stroller! I was so mad about this as there is no way that can be safe. In an accident, we could have went through the windshield. If I had had more than one child with me, I don't know how I could have held on to keep from falling and held on to the children and stroller.

The Magical Express transportation from and to the airport does have seats for everyone so no standing but still no seatbelts.

[::er!ca::]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I'm alredy a member of DISboards, and have learned a lot from the board... but the car seat/traveling/safety issue wasn't something I necessarily wanted to discuss there.

We are very excited to go, I just hope the trip goes smoothly! I know it will be crowded, and the bus from the resort to the parks (and vise versa) will likely by packed, but hopefully between my husband and I, we can deal just fine with our two kids.

Still worries me though (standing on a bus, and the whole no seat belt issue). I hope we're having so much fun that it turns out to not be a concern!

[achs74]

We're planning a trip to Disney World for my daughter's 5th birthday (May 2010) :love: We're going to fly, and have shuttle service from the airport to the resort, and to the parks. We've never been before, so I have no experience with the shuttle buses. Will she need a car seat, and if so what should I put her in? On the airplane, should she just sit in the seat, or should I put her in a car seat?

We're also going to have our youngest daughter with us, she'll be just a few weeks shy of 2 years old when we go on our trip. We'll use a Scenera for her while we travel since it's so light.


I've never been to disney world with kids so I can't answer that part of the question but I do know that you do not need a carseat for airport shuttle buses. We travel frequently with our 3 & 5 yo and never need seats on the shuttle. I also would not recommend carrying on a carseat for the 5 yo. She should be just find in a regular plane seat. If you aren't renting a car and just using shuttles, you might get by without taking a carseat for your oldest. However, if you don't want to take the risk (personally, I wouldn't), then you can check a carseat bag and check your daughter's seat. We use this one:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4698052&findingMethod=rr