Simple Travel Question

[newmomma8]

I tried searching because I know we have discussed traveling, but I can't find it.

We are going to Disney World this June, (don't get me started on a 15 month old in the heat of the summer at Disney), but anyway, I am determined to take our jogging stroller. I like it because it's slimmer than our travel system stroller, and the cushion seems to be a little softer so if she falls asleep in it.

Do any of you fly Southwest Airlines?  I've tried searching to find out how much money I'm looking at just to bring the stroller, but I can't find any specific information (again, I suck at online searching), so I figured I would ask if any of you have any history with this before calling the airline to figure out how much money I need to have on hand to load this dang thing.

[Deleted]

You can gate check it for free

[newmomma8]

Free??? Wow, that shows how much I travel. Thank you!

[bennieangel]

It has to be able to fit through the scanner to be checked at the gate...will it fit folded up? (the one at security)

[bennieangel]

Also, I suggest getting a gate check bag for it (amazon, or the mfg of the stroller) so it doesn't get dirty being checked.

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2015 12:41:02 GMT -5 bennieangel said:

It has to be able to fit through the scanner to be checked at the gate...will it fit folded up? (the one at security)

Ah, good point. We've only brought our travel system one, our stroller frame and our umbrella stroller on past flights. They've all fit. I don't own a jogging stroller.

[katka512]

We are flying southwest soon and the phone agent said we could gate check any stroller. To me, it sounded like size didn't matter but it's probably best to confirm with them.
Also if lo is going to be a lap baby, they require a copy of her birth certificate.

[nattybumppo]

I've seen people gate check BOBs on Southwest before, but it looked like a pretty beat up BOB that had been around quite awhile. I would be hesitant about taking our BOB because it's our nice stroller (and it's expensive) and airlines (at least Southwest) have no liability for DAMAGE for checked strollers. So if it gets beat up you are out of luck.

One other thing you might consider about traveling with your jogging stroller is how much room it takes up in a car. We briefly considered taking it on the plane to my parents house over Christmas so we could actually *jog* with it but realized that BOB + luggage would not fit in the car. So if you are renting a car, think about the size of that trunk and how much other luggage you'll have.

We travel with a Chicco Liteway and it lays almost flat for naps and it has worked great for us.

Either way, have a lot of fun at Disney! We did Disneyland with a 10 month old and had a good time. We're hoping to go back this fall if those damn measles get out of town....

[newmomma8]

This is ours. Sorry I can't post pics. Still haven't taken the time to figure that out.

www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=23840626&cp=2255957.2273443.2256189.2256202&parentPage=search

Don't think the link will work either. But oh well, its the Graco Relay Click Performance Jogger in Panther. I really want to take this one since it's so comfy for her, but I do like the idea of a bag. We aren't renting a car, so I would assume we could request a cab or shuttle that has room for the stroller too.

[newmomma8]

nattybumppo How long did ya'll do Disneyland?

[nattybumppo]

Feb 6, 2015 14:12:57 GMT -5 newmomma8 said:

nattybumppo How long did ya'll do Disneyland?

newmomma8 - our whole vacation was 9 days but we only did 2 days at Disneyland - one at each park (Disneyland and California Adventure).  I've only been to Disney World once (w/o kids) and only did one afternoon at Magic Kingdom so I don't really know how it compares.  

I will say that we went to Disneyland because *I* wanted to go to Disneyland.....not because I thought it would be this awesome experience for DD.  At 10 months, she did fine, but honestly the most fun thing we did with her there wasn't even in the park -- we had breakfast at one of the disney hotels and some of the characters were wandering around.  I wasn't sure how she would do with them (would they scare her?) but she loved interacting with them and they were so sweet to her.

[newmomma8]

nattybumppo We are staying in Disney World, and we have hopper tickets for 6 days, so we can go to all the parks as much as we want for 6 WHOLE DAYS!!!!!!! This is not a fun idea for me! I am picturing a 15 month old in the Florida June heat, pitching fits because she is hot, miserable and tired and there is too much going on for her to relax to nap. I know there are quieter places, but still, she is so dang nosey.

Needless to say, this is not a trip I wanted to take. This is all hubby! But I'm hoping for the best, and I'm going into it knowing I'm going to have to fight a few battles, so I'm hoping that will help me enjoy it more since I kind of expect things to be hard.

T LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Mickey Mouse Playhouse music, so I'm really hoping to be able to get her some time with that kind of stuff, BUT, DH and SD are going to bitch and moan because they are going to want to do what they want to do the whole time. But DH has already agreed to doing it as a family and not splitting up the whole time, and that T comes first since she is so young. So I'm hoping for the best.

[nattybumppo]

newmomma8 - I have to say six days at Disney World (or Florida) in June DOES NOT sound fun for me either! (We were at Disneyland in Sept....much nicer weather!) By 15 months she should be down to 1 nap which will help. And if you are not into it, you can always use that as your excuse to go back to the hotel for nap time. Or pool time.

I certainly agree you should make an effort to spend some time all together as a family, but if Disney World is more your H and SD thing (I understand! Disneyland is totally my thing and DH just tolerates it), let them run around! You and T can explore the pool or walk around the hotel grounds or stroll the quieter parts of the park....

See how T does and just try to roll. She may love it. She may love all the sights and activity. She may hate it. She may hate being cooped up in the stroller all day and it's hard to find places in the park that are safe (not crowded) for a toddler to just toddle about.

Happy baby = happy momma = happy vacation in my book!

[twaffle]

Learn the fast pass system, it will save your life.

There are places where you can get baby to nap while you read or relax a bit. Usually at the entrance of the parks. Epcot will be quiet enough to enjoy with LO. Also, eat a maple syrup lollipop in my name.

Decide what you want to eat before you go to the park. You have to research it a bit, but will save you hours of lines and frustrations. Usually you can do characters lunches al all the parks (for your SD) but they all need reservations. Every park has McDonald's fries stands hidden away and those are usually pretty fast. Turkey legs are a big no no with babies... They lines are dreadful.

Learn all your cool spots by heart. They usually have places for mom and baby to cool off so no one has a heat stroke.

Have fun and pack plenty of water every day, you don't want to pay so much for bottles and have to stand in line

[newmomma8]

twaffle,...you wanna just come with us and be my guide??? lol

I appreciate the advice! I'm so worried about her getting hot and miserable.

[twaffle]

Feb 6, 2015 17:05:41 GMT -5 newmomma8 said:

twaffle,...you wanna just come with us and be my guide??? lol

I appreciate the advice! I'm so worried about her getting hot and miserable.

I am possibly going to go to Disney World this spring and will learn all the tricks and report back!

[fish8412]

Gate check your stroller for free.

Sorry to high jack your thread but here is some disney info!

We are taking LO to disney world next month!! She will have turned just 1 when we go. The only reason we are going is because my parents are paying for the trip. We think LO is too young but we can't deny a free trip to disney!

We are also staying on a Disney resort so take full advantage of those perks (get fast passes in advance. any souvenirs can be sent to your room for free, magic hours, etc). You can set up your fast passes 60 days prior to your visit and they fill up fast, so plan ahead and sign up for those as soon as you can. You can request rider swap for the rides (you hold LO while your husband gets on a ride and then your husband holds LO while you ride). Just ask any ride attendant. Every park has a nursing station. Even if you aren't nursing you can use it for diaper changes, naps, to cool off, etc. They even have TVs and microwaves. Epcot has the most child friendly rides.

Our plan is to get to the parks as soon as they open, use fast passes, have lunch, do any shopping, and then come back to the hotel for LOs afternoon nap. We aren't worrying about her morning nap. She will either take one in her stroller or just skip it. After her afternoon nap we will just hang out at the pool and then have dinner at the hotel. The parks are the MOST CROWDED on the afternoons so we will be at the hotel then. My husband and I are going back to the parks at night while my parents babysit. Even though we have park hoppers we are only doing one park per day in the morning with LO. We will park hop at night.

Use this website to plan your fast passes. It is awesome!!
You get 3 fast passes (in advance) per day and you have to use them all at one park. It takes a lot of time and thought to plan your fast passes. But if you do it correctly you will avoid crowds and get on more rides. Certain parks are more crowded on certain days so of course plan on going to parks on the least crowded days.

touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/fastpass

Also since you are staying on disney property take advantage of the magic hours. Each park is either open earlier or closes later on certain days. This website has all of the magic hours info.

www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/wdwparks/emh.shtml

To summarize, plan your days around magic hours and fast passes to avoid crowds and lines. LO will probably enjoy Epcot the most. Take advantage of the nursing statins even if you aren't nursing. Go to the parks first thing in the morning and hang out at your hotel in the afternoon to avoid crowds and the heat.

Sorry for info overload but we just finished planning our trip so I thought I would share the important stuff! I am happy to report back after our trip. Message me if you want even more info

[fish8412]

Feb 6, 2015 16:30:17 GMT -5 twaffle said:

Learn the fast pass system, it will save your life.

There are places where you can get baby to nap while you read or relax a bit. Usually at the entrance of the parks. Epcot will be quiet enough to enjoy with LO. Also, eat a maple syrup lollipop in my name.

Decide what you want to eat before you go to the park. You have to research it a bit, but will save you hours of lines and frustrations. Usually you can do characters lunches al all the parks (for your SD) but they all need reservations. Every park has McDonald's fries stands hidden away and those are usually pretty fast. Turkey legs are a big no no with babies... They lines are dreadful.

Learn all your cool spots by heart. They usually have places for mom and baby to cool off so no one has a heat stroke.

Have fun and pack plenty of water every day, you don't want to pay so much for bottles and have to stand in line

You can ask for water at kiosks. It's free.

[fish8412]

newmomma8 twaffle

I just wrote a short novel above about disney. We are going next month.

[fish8412]

Feb 7, 2015 11:16:52 GMT -5 fish8412 said:

newmomma8 twaffle

I just wrote a short novel above about disney. We are going next month.

A few more things that I forgot to mention:
Get the app My Disney Experience.
The nursing stations that I mentoned above...some websites refer to them as baby care stations. Same thing.
Free water at a kiosks...just ask...it's a cup of water instead of a bottle but who cares.
Magic kingdom has a beautiful carousel built in 1917 but has been refurbished. It's by the teacups and dumbo ride. Great ride for LO!

[babycaps]

fish8412, your post should become a sticky! I'm not planning on going to Disney until our KIDS (assuming I have one more) beg so much they are blue in the face and then add another 2 years! But I want to have what you wrote in mind IF and when we go.

[fish8412]

Feb 9, 2015 13:58:51 GMT -5 babycaps said:

fish8412, your post should become a sticky! I'm not planning on going to Disney until our KIDS (assuming I have one more) beg so much they are blue in the face and then add another 2 years! But I want to have what you wrote in mind IF and when we go.

I'm glad the info is helpful!! You must go in the future!! Disney is awesome. Careful planning will pay off when you go!

[babycaps]

fish8412,I've been. 3 times. I'll go again one day. in the very distant future

[smchik]

Feb 6, 2015 12:41:02 GMT -5 bennieangel said:

It has to be able to fit through the scanner to be checked at the gate...will it fit folded up? (the one at security)

It doesn't have to fit through the scanner. If it doesn't fit, they just swab it and manually scan in. We have done this several times with our Uppa that we use as a double (doesn't fit through the scanner).

I would still recommend a cheap travel bag. It just keeps it cleaner. Love this one.

www.amazon.com/J-L-Childress-Standard-Double-Strollers/dp/B003554H9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423583387&sr=8-1&keywords=stroller+travel+bag