Flying with a toddler

[dobby2010]

Hi! Could use some advice from the experienced parents out there! We are about to book flights for our November trip and this is the first time we will be traveling with our ds who will be 27 months at the time.

Would you all suggest we book an early flight and then nap once we get to the hotel and then do the parks in the evening or leave around naptime and hope he sleeps on the plane and then head straight to the parks upon arrival?

Do you find that your toddlers will sleep on a plane? He will have his own seat. Do I bring the carseat even though we won't use it once we land?

What would you suggest will make for the happiest toddler? :)

[anneo]

We've flown several times with our toddler guys, so hopefully I can help you out a bit.

As to whether or not to get an early flight, we like to get the earliest flight possible. We find it's easier to navigate the airport and to go through security when the crowds are a little thinner.

Your resort room may not be ready upon check-in, so I wouldn't make any plans on the assumption that your room will be ready. One time when we arrived at our resort our eldest son was sleeping, and our room wasn't ready. The CM at the desk gave us a complementary upgrade, and we were able to get a room right away. What we tend to do is if our room isn't ready, we'll go to the parks and hang out there until we get the text telling us our room is ready. Once we get that, then we'll go back to the room for naps if the boys look like they need one. If not, then we'll stay at the parks until they are tired and we'll go back to the room earlier than normal and start fresh the next day. If you are in need of a quiet place in the parks, the baby centers are wonderful.

Our boys are usually too excited to sleep on the plane. They tend to fall asleep on the Magical Express though.

We've never brought a car seat with us, and we find our two do fine without one. Car seats were just added bulk we didn't feel like wresting with in the airport, and then depending upon where you're staying, that's extra stuff in your resort room to maneuver around.

We bring fruit gummy snacks for ours to eat on the plane to help with the ear popping/pressure issues. We also let them play with our tablets or watch movies on them. I've also found letting them sit by the window helps. Coloring books are good too.

[Donald]

Try to get a direct flight. The less "are we there yet?" you have to hear, the more pleasurable the flight!:blush:

[dobby2010]

Haha oh yes that is a definite!

[Lisa and Alan]

We have been flying to wdw annually since my dd was 18 mo. ( she is now 9 yr)! I give sudafed an hour before flight to help with ears. I also have a lunch box filled with all kinds of snacks. I bring a backpack filled with Books, stickers, sticker books, pipe cleaners to bend, wiki sticks, paper , crayons, head phones with audio books borrowed from our local library, flash cards, a small ziplock bag filled with a handful of mega block type building blocks... I hope that helps...we never did a car seat.. Always brought a blankie with a favorite doll to cuddle with and had her lie down across our laps if she seemed tired.

[vamaggie]

I would book the most convenient, least expensive DIRECT flight you can. Agree that the less time you have to spend going in airports the better. Is your child a naturally early riser so shifting a little for an early morning flight would not be terrible or is s/he a night owl who will be a bear to get up and moving in the morning? You know your kid best-trust your instinct/knowledge when booking. Do not assume that your child will sleep on the plane-our DS never really did and out DD was a hit or miss with this. Ours always had car seats but we were using cars once we landed too.THe one benefit of the car seat was it was a comfortable, known entity and the kids did not mind being in them. I would not give him any meds unless you know how they react to them. A friend's son has a very different reaction to sedated/benedryl--it hypes him up rather than making him sleepy. I would not plan the arrival day too much-too many variables. Have an idea of what you want to do once you get there but be ready to adjust as needed if naps happen or don't.

[BrerGnat]

My recommendation is to try to not disrupt his schedule too much. If he is the type of toddler that can fall asleep anywhere, and be carried around STILL sleeping, you can pretty much do whatever you want. However, if he is the type of kid that you DO NOT wake up from naps without sufffering his wrath, then plan your travel to correspond to his natural sleep/awake cycle.

For instance, we booked a 7am flight once. We had to wake our kids up at 4am to get to the airport. NEVER again. Our kids are much older, but man, one of them does NOT cope well being woken up too early, and he doesn't nap either. He made the entire day miserable for everyone with his crabbiness. So, we don't book those early morning flights anymore. ;)

When traveling to WDW, in particular, I try very hard to arrive AFTER official check in time. It is not fun to check in and find out your room isn't ready when you have potentially crabby kids who just want to go to the room. It's so much nicer to just be able to head straight up to the room, drop off all your carryon stuff and then head out and explore.

One of my kids will sleep on a plane. The other will NOT. The one that won't stopped taking naps at 22 months, and has never taken a daytime nap since (he's almost 9). The one that will sleep on a plane is the one who took daytime naps until he was 4 and who WILL fall asleep at times if he is really tired, and he's 7 now. So, it's really dependent on how the child naps in general as to whether he will sleep on a plane if it's naptime.

No need for a car seat if you are certain that your son will sit properly with the lap belt fastened at LEAST for takeoff and landing, which is required. You can practice in your own car at home (obviously, NOT while you are moving). To get our kids ready for that, I would sit in the car with them, with the lap belts fastened (I'd put the shoulder strap behind their backs) in the car for 15-30 minute intervals and give them something to do, like look at a book, or play with a toy. That was our airplane ride practice. They both did great when we actually had to ride the plane.

[dobby2010]

Thanks for lots of great advice!

[minnie04]

The first time I ever took my kids on a plan my youngest was 3. We took game boys, books, Laptop (with head phones) snacks, crayons, coloring books etc...

Plan your flight around his schedule (if possible)

A few favorites and maybe something new he hasn’t played with will work great too.

Pack a bottle with juice or water for takeoff, to help with the ears..

Make sure if you take a tablet or something that needs head phones the volume goes high enough to cover the loud plane noise.
Also, try not to introduce all the toys and things early on in the flight and do it one at a time with time in between. This way it's something new. If you don't take his car seat then try to bring something for him to rest his head on if he falls asleep that will cover some of the noise in the plane. He might sleep more peaceful. (Maybe wear a jacket he can use as a pillow, this way you’re not carrying to many things) My DS stayed awake for a while taking it all in played for a while and eventually crashed out. Thankfully it wasn't a very long flight 3 hours.

Just remember not everyone is kid friendly, so pack enough to keep him busy...

LAST if he does have a meltdown, try and remain calm and remember. IT HAS HAPPENED TO EVRYONE who is a parent so just ignore the looks and snickers and go on with it … ( I hate when people look at you like their children have never had this happen) WHATEVER !!!! :ack:
:mickey:

[wdwcarrie]

We took our son when he was almost three last year. A direct, relatively early flight helped. We just woke him up after we were ready and it wasn't too early, although he is used to getting up relatively early.

We had a little backpack especially for him packed with a couple favorites, some little snacks (gummies, goldfish) and several new Disney-themed toys. He also got to watch a movie on the Kindle Fire, which is a rarity. He didn't sleep until Magical Express, but he wasn't fussy either.

We spent the first afternoon exploring the resort and swimming--that meant no extra waiting after the airports, planes, and buses, and it's something we'll plan on again.

[mcjaco]

We're taking our boys (both will be 15 months) in August. We booked a 6 AM flight. They can sleep anywhere. So getting them up will be a hassle, but we're going to let them stay in their PJs for the first leg to airport.

We're a little nervous about having them fly, and we did not get them their own seats. It's a two hour flight of fun with them on our laps. We're hoping that the early hour will still mean some sleep on the flight.

[dobby2010]

We're taking our boys (both will be 15 months) in August.

You are braver than me! The thought of traveling with one toddler has me stressed!

My gut tells me to book a flight around naptime (11am) and hope he sleeps on the plane and if not have him take a late nap at the resort when we get there. We are not planning any park time on arrival day just a later dinner at chef mickeys. If he sleeps on the plane we can just spend time at the pool in the afternoon.

Still not sure if I should bring his carseat. I'm leaning towards yes as he has to have his own seat and I cannot imagine him sitting still in a regular seat.

[Figment104]

We just got back on Saturday from taking DS (17.5 months) on his first trip to WDW. We did take his car seat for the plane, which was great, but he's also only 17.5 months. I wouldn't stress too much about the car seat at this point since you have a seat for him regardless, and see how he is closer to the time you depart. I will saying having to lug the car seat around the airport wasn't fun, and we even had extra hands. I'm hoping by the time we go next time (fall 2014) that we won't need to bring it along since DS will be almost 3.

This was DS second time flying and our flight actually wasn't too far off from nap time on the way down. Did he sleep though, nope, not until we started our decent (talk about nice timing lol ). We had some snacks for him, drinks in his sippy cup, and a couple of puree pouches for him to **** on during take off and landing. We loaded a couple of his favorite movies (Monsters Inc, Cars, etc) on the iPad and he just watched that most of the flight. All of the other flights we've taken him on he's napped with no problem, so like others say, you just never know what they're going to do.

[mcjaco]

You are braver than me! The thought of traveling with one toddler has me stressed!

Trust me, my wife and I are more stressed about the flights, and them annoying the heck out of everyone, than anything else on this trip. ;)

Fingers crossed they 1) sit still on our laps, and 2) feel like sleeping through most of it on the way down.