Vacation - airport shuttle - what to put 5 year old in?

Our son is turning 5 and we are taking him to Disneyland, flying to/from Disneyland. We will take one of the shuttle buses (recommendations are welcomed) to/from the hotel and will only be walking during our stay. I understand the commute to/from the airport is less than an hour. I am wondering what to buy for him to sit in. He is 45 pounds and 45".

We live in Canada so it needs to be a seat approved in Canada.

He is currently harnessed in a Frontier CT in one car and is almost at the max limit of a Peg convertible in the other. We need to get him out of the Peg and are happy to buy him another Frontier (after the change the armrests) or get him a high back booster.

For the trip, I would like to take as little as possible so I am thinking a backless booster. I am looking at the Graco Turbo or Graco Affix but I haven't seen them in person. But, I understand one of the main purposes of the back is to help prevent whiplash and most shuttle buses have short bench seats where the high back would be useful. Should I be taking a HBB?

If a backless is sufficient, should I buy only the backless version or the high back version to use as a spare when we are at home (for field trips/friends)? If a HBB, is there a different one that may be better? Based on online reviews, I think I'd lean towards the Parkway SGL or Peg HBB if it was for everyday use.

Thoughts on getting another Frontier for our second car vs a HBB?

Thanks so much!!

Hi! It's possible to use an actual bus, so you don't need a car seat at all. (We were just at Disneyland, and used ART the whole time, it's great.) Are you flying into LAX or Santa Ana? I assume LAX?

Once I know your airport I can tell you which options will be true buses and not need anything.

Thanks, we're flying into LAX. I know there's the Dinseyland Express bus but we are not staying at a Disneyland hotel so it only picks up from our hotel every 2 hours. I figure we need to leave for the airport about 4 hours before our flight but if we take that bus we will need to leave 5 hours before our flight which seems too early.

Also, I know the bus is exempt from car seat laws but I question whether it's really safer to be on a bus without a car seat versus on a van with one. Does the bus even have seat belts?

I am assuming that we will be driving on freeways...

The bus doesn't have seatbelts but it's safer.

Buses are larger, they are more stable than twelve passenger vans, they drive set routes, their drivers have more training, they sit higher. I don't recall ever hearing of a crash with injuries on that route, freeways notwithstanding.

If you know which services are more convenient to your hotel, I can tell you which use real buses. Otherwise I'll look them up for you in a bit when.com on a real computer. Taking OCTA may also be an option.

This page has some info on taking public transit (train/bus) from LAX to the Disney area: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/transportation/ you can visit the Metro and OCTA websites for trip planners, or Google Maps also has a trip-planning option with public transit that I find helpful- you can input LAX as the start and your hotel as the end of your trip, tell it what time you will be leaving and what mode(s) of transit if any you prefer, and it can give you routes.

Super Shuttle and similar services will have 12-15 passenger vans. They are unlikely to have proper head support, and they can be a pain to install harnessed seats in if you decide to go that route. (Last time I used Super Shuttle, I also had a chain-smoking driver, it was pretty awful.)

Another option is taking the Disneyland Express to your hotel, and leaving from Disneyland, and using ART to get between your hotel and Disney, if the timing will work out, especially if you'll be using ART other days on your trip.

Transtar offers free car seats, but with rental seats you never know what you're going to get. I'd call them and talk to them about how their seats are cared for, what kind of van they use and what kind of seat they'd provide if you go that route.

I know there's another option that offers actual buses, but I'm blanking on their name and not finding them listed! I'll let you know if I turn them up.

Thanks for all the info. I think public transit is out because it will take 2-3 hours. I guess we could consider taking the Disneyland Express and on the return trip walking to a nearby hotel to catch it rather than leaving an hour earlier. Thanks again.

Unregistered said:

Thanks for all the info. I think public transit is out because it will take 2-3 hours. I guess we could consider taking the Disneyland Express and on the return trip walking to a nearby hotel to catch it rather than leaving an hour earlier. Thanks again.

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It's LA. Taking a car won't necessarily save you any time, LOL.

You don't have to stay at a Disney hotel to take a Disney hotel bus. I just get on the resort bus that goes closest to my hotel at the airport (and returning to the airport) and walk or take the ART bus to my hotel and back and forth to Disney.