[PiratesFan]

My DW and I have been debating whether or not to take the car seats for 2 DD's who will be 3 and 5 when we go to WDW in May. Last time we were there, in June 2001, we put them on the plane to use in the rental minivan from Alamo. We are planning on renting a minivan again, but hate to bring the car seats due to how they add to our luggage. We don't plan on using the minivan outside WDW too much, but will be using it to travel to and from MGM and AK. I don't know Florida laws regarding the use of child seats, but do you think it is really required that we bring them? Renting 2 of them is not an option I would consider due to $$$ and cleanliness, and I doubt we would want to purchase throw-aways while we are there. We use them faithfully at home, but don't want to be burdened carrying these things with us, especially since we will only be taking short trips. Any thoughts would be appreciated.;pirate:

[mickey]

When our kids were smaller, we used to gate check our child seats. I am not sure if you are still able to do that, with the changes in security.

One option would be to call the rental car company. Many of the minivans now have built in child seats. We had a Ford and a Chrysler that did, so it is a possiblity. While they aren't the best child seats around, they work well and are very efficient.

[dab]

We gate checked our car seat in April but on our Jan trip we checked it at curbside. Delta put it in a plastic bag for us and it was no problem. Airtran didn't provide bags but it was still clean and not damaged. If you are worried about them getting soiled you could always remove the cover. The car seat always came thought he carousel with our luggage undamaged. It really wasn't too bad keeping up with it but I can understand how difficult it could be with 2.

The safety freak in me has to plead with you.... PLEASE don't compromise the safety of your children by not taking car seats!!!!! Get a sky cap... something will work out! If you use them faithfully at home chances are it will be confusing to your children that they don't have to always use them. I believe Florida law states that children 3 & under have to be in approved child safety seats but I could be wrong about that. Mickey had a good suggestion about the built in seats in mini vans. Perhaps a call to the rental co. would help. Safety first!!! Good Luck!

[charlene]

Both my children 5 and 3 both have a booster style car seat. It is required by NJ law to age 8.

They look like mini bucket seats. I purchased them at our Target store for 34.00 each. They work with the shoulder belt or lap belt of your car.

We had the kids sit on them ON the plane. We Lugged them through the airport using our stroller. They arent as heavy as a full size car seat Gate checked the stroller and had the kids sit on the boosters on the plane. It kept them put. It also gave them some comfort like the plane was more like a car ride in there own seat.
Maybe the investment now for the 2 seats would be worth it. It would definetly be worth the saftey. Then you will have updated seats for at home too. My children think they are more "grown up" in theses seats.

Good luck!

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally posted by dab

The safety freak in me has to plead with you.... PLEASE don't compromise the safety of your children by not taking car seats!!!!!

I have to second dab, you can never go back and change the result of an accident. You would be so sorry if this decision to not trouble your family resulted in harm (or even worse) to you dear unreplaceable children. Bring a bottle of 409 and a rag and clean up the rental seats if they are plastic as many I have seen are.

Please protect you kids, my DH and I waited years for my DS and would do this simple act if it meant I could protect him even a little.

[quartz7]

Hi,

My Sister just went to Minn. and she rented a car and a car seat! She said it was very clean. She did have a jar of clorox wipes and a small can of lysol to spray on the seat. She said it didn't need it, but she did it anyway. She went through alamo and she thinks it was $50. It may be alot for 2 of them,but for your sanity and there sake, I think it is worth it. Hope this helps. Oh Yeah, she said they also rent booster seats, not just car seats. Check it out!!

Janelle

[dlashe4977]

Who cares about the law. Do it for the safety our your children. I always bring car seats when i travel!! Safety first, cost second!:D

[PiratesFan]

Thanks for the feedback. After discussing the situation with my DW, we came to a resolution. We will be purchasing at home 2 new booster seats, but something lighter than what we use everyday. This way the kids will be secure from the moment we leave and return home, without the arm pain. We did toss the idea of buying 2 new seats in FL and leaving them at the airport, but I did not want to waste Disney time by going shopping. This option still would have been cheaper than renting 2 seats. We live in NJ where the law requires all children under 80lbs and under the age of 8 to be in a 3 point booster seat. We constantly see 5 and 6 year olds without a booster sitting in the front passenger seat at my DD's school. It drives us nuts. I know FL law is more lax for 5 year olds, but as stated previously, that's not the point when safety is at stake. ;pirate:

[charlene]

Like I said previously I purchased mine at Target and they were 34.00 each.

I also think they have them at Walmart as well. Similarly priced.

I live In Washington Township in S Jersey. Were about are you?

[brumcg]

PiratesFan,

If you are planning on using the seats on the plane, check with your airline before buying the seats. We flew with an airline a couple of years ago that didn't allow booster seats of any kind - whether they were FAA approved or not.

Bruce

[charlene]

When we went in 2000 were flew USair out of Philadelphia and they had no problem with our seats.....But that was pre 9-11.


Maybe you should check your airline like Bruce says.

[peanutzmom]

Originally posted by PiratesFan
I know FL law is more lax for 5 year olds, but as stated previously, that's not the point when safety is at stake. ;pirate:

It is? I've lived in Florida my entire life & have a 4 and 3 year old, and I thought we've had the 8 yrs / 80 pounds law for quite some time. Not that it is strictly enforced, unfortunately. :( I agree if you plan on using the boosters *on* the plane you should call the airline you'll be flying on & see what they say. My son's booster won't fit in most airline seats, so we now check it with our luggage. BTW, I don't believe car seats / booster seats are supposed to "count" as one of your pieces of checked luggage when you fly. If you're concerned about going over your checked baggage limit, you may want to ask your airline about that as well.

[PiratesFan]

It is? I've lived in Florida my entire life & have a 4 and 3 year old, and I thought we've had the 8 yrs / 80 pounds law for quite some time.

peanutmom, my DW may have obtained the wrong info from a site that did a state by state description of the car seat restraining laws. We just wanted to know what the FL law was reference/comparison.

brumcg, we won't be using them on the plane, we'll just check them in curbside with the rest of the luggage when we arrive, as we did last trip. I know for a fact that the airlines don't count carseats/boosters as luggage.

charlene, we live in Lodi, NJ, about 10 miles west of NYC (seems like 100 though)


It's getting closer to trip time, Hooray!!:) :laugh :D ;pirate: ;pirate: