WE DID IT! We went to Disney World and survived!
Actually, for the most part, it was GREAT! Of course we had a few little issues here and there, but yes, it’s possible to go on vacation with multiples and have a great time.
A few important things that I learned…
Be sure to call the airline, because reading the fine print is a great start, but lap children cause all kinds of confusing when there are more than one traveling with you. We have ‘miles’ so I tried to book the flight online, but you can’t do that with a lap child. I called American and spent hours on the phone trying to get to the right person, with the right authorization to book 3 lap children. Why such a big deal you ask? Well now that I know, it makes perfect sense. Not all rows have an extra oxygen mask for your lap child. So in the event of an emergency, I was informed that there are special rows of the airplane that will produce 3 oxygen mask for the 2 seats, allowing your lap child to partake in the oxygen. Good to know!
So no big deal, I was not able to sit next to hubbyBee, or my sister, and still the flight to Disney was almost perfect. I had an empty seat next to me, my sister sat in front of me with my niece, and one of the littleBees, and hubbyBee was across the isle from my sister. The flight left on-time, we brought a ton of snacks, new toys and milk. I had the main diaper bag that was loaded with all the goodies at my feet, and I just passed things out as needed. It was very smooth! We flew coach.
The flight home… not so good. It was an evening flight, and the hopes of everyone being tired, worked for 2 out of the 4littleBees. littleBee3 was wiggly, stayed awake for most of the flight, but littleBee2, was INSANE. She bounced around the area by my feet for the entire flight. The flight was over an hour late, hubbyBee was 3 rows behind me and my sister another row behind him. This made it very hard to pass treats. I was in the first row, 1st class this time, and a very important thing to be aware of… Although everyone may tell you that you have more leg room in the front row, you do not have anywhere to put your carry-on, other than in the over-head bin. So hubbyBee took the emergency diaper bag, and moved 3 rows back.
Might not sound far, but when your child is acting INSANE, it’s like a mile away. I was so tired from trying to entertain her that it took me a couple days to fully recover. And now it’s just a funny memory!
So, when traveling with lap children, or infants that do not have their own seat, American Airlines allowed a diaper bag for each child. At the time this seemed like a lot of things to carry, but if I would have know that the flight home was going to be INSANE, I may have packed 3 separate diapers bags, so we each had our own stash of emergency things.
Other good things to know… American does not charge for car seats, or strollers. We took our BOB Revolution Duallie and single. We pushed them right up to the airplane, took the littleBees out and boarded the airplane. Sweet!
Give yourself a bit more time to get through security. Leaving was a breeze, but Orlando was really slow. Yes, you have to take all of the kids shoes off, so either don’t put them in shoes, or make sure they have Velcro. If the stroller doesn’t collapse, it will have to be hand searched, which will take longer. And be sure to go through your stroller before getting to the airport. It really stinks to have things taken away, because you forgot it was tucked into that little pocket that you hardly ever use.
Going to the Orlando Parks.. coming soon.
We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Sea World. I’ll tell you all about traveling with multiples at the Disney and not so Disney parks. Oh and we only had to visit First Aid twice!
~Sue
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