Never Been on a Plane!!

Updated on May 25, 2007
R.S. asks from Columbus, OH
15 answers

Neither I, or my 2 oldest have ever been on a plane. We're going to Disney this year and have decided to fly (yikes!!). My two oldest are 8 and 10 and the baby will be 6 mths. Is there any suggestions? Any do's and don'ts? And what about when we actually get to Disney, are we allowed to bring our own stoller/food???

Thanks for any advice!!

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So What Happened?

Well...here it is 2 wks after vacation...and boy was it an adventure.
We did buy dramamine and a product called "earplanes". We ended up not using either. I found that for my older 2, bubble gum was best. It helped their ear's pop and helped with them being nervous too.
On one of our connecting flights....they had "technical issues" which they assured us rarely happens and just takes a few minutes to reset the computers. On our way back, our flight ended up being delayed which would have made us miss our connecting flight. After several hours and several phone calls, they finally got us on a straight flight back to Columbus. BUT...with that....none of us were sitting together, and it was a pretty small plane. Another woman who was also moved to this flight had her medical/work dog with her.....She and I were together along with the baby. I sat the whole flight with my feet up in front so the dog could have room. Not the ideal situation, but we got home.
The baby did sit on my lap. He was totally fine with that. He loved spending the time with me.
Last but not least....try to NEVER go to Orlando in June/July. It was very humid, and the baby broke out in a really bad heat rash. We went to VA Beach the second week and it was fantastic!

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S.

answers from Cleveland on

Wow. Wish I was going:) Take gum for the boys, their ears will most likely feel plugged once you get up so high. Other than the initial take offs, you'll love it. I only say that because it's just when the plane speeds up and takes off sometimes can feel jerky but you'll love it and so will the boys. Don't make them nervous, they'll love looking out the windows at the clouds, ground underneath, people's pools, water areas. It's great really! Have fun and don't worry about it, take dramamine or something like that if you need anything for motion sickness or nerves. Have a great time!!

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A.L.

answers from Columbus on

Hi R.!

I have 3 children as well! Ages 10 and 6 and 1 year. We have been flying to Disney for many years now since the two oldest were 3 and 7! We are WDW Experienced! We flew last year when the baby was 3 months old! Big important tip: If you fly with Southwest, your child can fly for free! As long as you have proof of his age (ie birth cert, shot record). Also, If you fly with Southwest, you get to PreBoard (which is awesome) especially when you have a stroller and diaper bag to carry on! As I said, you can take your stroller right up until you step on the plane! The flight attendants are awesome and will put your stroller right under the plane! Our baby was only 3 months old so he didn't fuss any on the plane! We always take a carry on for the oldest two filled with games, coloring books or mp3 players (cd players) for them to listen to. The plane usually provides a snack and a drink somewhere in the middle of the trip!

Yes, when you get to Disney World, you can take your own stroller and food! We ALWAYS back a bookbag full of goodies and drinks for the kids to snack with! Security does not mind at all! They will look through your bags, but they never say anything to you about the food! Just a little tip on lunch, we always eat a late lunch because trying to find somewhere to eat in air conditioner is impossible!

I hope you and your family enjoy your vacation! We are going back in August so the baby will be 15 months!

Good Luck! I hope this info helped!

1 mom found this helpful
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R.B.

answers from Cleveland on

We just went to Disney in April, the kids both did well on the plane, I gave them Dramamine just in case, but I think they would have been okay without it. Make sure you take gum and suckers so that their ears pop when you take off and land. At Disney we took our own snacks and there were alot of people with there own strollers going into the park. Hope this helps.

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R.S.

answers from Dayton on

I flew with my son for the first time when he was 9 months old - an 8 hour flight to England! It was awful. There is barely enough room in an ecomony seat as it is, then to have to fly with your baby. If you haven't planned to do so already, do buy a ticket for your baby, so you can put him/her in her car seat and still have room for yourself. If you've never flown, well then be prepared for rude people reclining their seat all the way back while you're sitting behind them with a baby in your lap. They do allow children under a certain age to fly with the parent without a ticket, but don't do it! You will need that extra space, especially if you've got two others to tend to. Prepare your older ones for the flight with a backpack for each to bring a bunch of things to do (books, games, music, coloring books), as well a favorite snacks. For the baby, just plan for everything - extra clothes, favorite toys, pacifier, diapers. Their ears will pop when ascending into the air, so give him/her a bottle or pacifier when taking off. In your carry on, prepare an extra shirt for yourself too (I got puked on just after breastfeeding my son as we were about to board our last flight home from Chicago). I was mortified! I'd hate for that to happen to someone else. Hope this was helpful. Have fun in Disneyland!

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L.A.

answers from Cleveland on

Do you have food allergies???. I have flown several times with my 4 yr old twins. I do bring food, activities to do on the plane. Always give the baby juice, milk or something to drink when the plane is taking off because your ears pop and you want the baby's ears to pop so they wont hurt her. Give the other children gum and that will help with them. I aways bring my stroller you can check it in when you get on the plan.

have a great trip

L.

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K.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

Get there early, and I'm talking like 2 hours early. In each persons carry on bag have them bring things that can entertain them while waiting and on the plan. If the older kids like to read or have hand held video games (might want to check and make sure those are still allowed) those are good. For the younger one bring lots of toys. I have flown with my son when he was that young and he actually LOVED looking out the window the entire time! It made the flight go so very fast cause he was so excited to look out the window. Good luck and enjoy yourself!

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A.L.

answers from Cleveland on

Read about flying in advance to help ease any fears the kids may have. Also have lot's of things for the kids to do while on the plane!! Go to the dollar store and pick up little stuff they have never seen before to keep them occupied:)
We have been to disney twice with very young children and there is TONS of info. on the Disney websites as well as many books out there in regards to Disney vacations.
The cost food at the actual Disney parks is outrageous. I brought stuff like Easy mac and things to make PBJ sandwiches, etc. that I could make at the hotel. Saved lots of $ that way:)

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M.M.

answers from Dayton on

You can definitely take your own stroller into Disney World and Disneyland. I don't think you can take food though. I took my son to Australia in '05 and he was 7 months old. With all the connecting flights and stop-overs, the travelling time was over 30 hours!!! Make sure you give the baby a bottle or something to suck on during take-off and landing. Get up from time to time and walk around a little. Especially with the older kids helping amuse the baby, and with a relatively short flight, you should have an easy enough time. I think people stress about it too much. My son did wonderfully. Even if your baby does have a hard time, just keep telling yourself "this too shall pass"!!!

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M.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

Well me and my family went to guatemala this past dec. It was me, my husband, and 3 children 7, 4, & 2. I was scared we were never on a plane and i'll say it was an adveture. Never do express small planes with children use a compact carseat for the baby and less luggage is the best get gum for everyone so ears don't pop and on children there is a medicine so they won't get sick and they are more at ease and sleep i can't remeber the name off hand but it comes in a tube and it's kinda a motion sickness one but my kids slept and never had any problems but remember chew that gum and have a bottle of juice for the babby or a binkie and give some tylonol befor getting on the plane for easy flight any more info u can contact me good luck

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T.E.

answers from Dayton on

I haven't been on a plane either. When we went to Disney this past August we drove. Luckily my daughter (then four) did a lot of sleeping in the car. Anyways I think I remember seeing people with their own strollers at the parks. As for food...I'm not positive but I think you are only aloud to take bottle water in, but I have heard of people taking in snacks. We didn't take food because we had the meal plan thrown in with our deal for free. It was my first time going and it was a BLAST. If you can do any of the character meals it is fun. We had a really late dinner at Cinderella's castle. We got our picture taken downstairs with Cinderella then got to go upstairs to eat. The Fairy Godmother and the two girl mice came in and danced around with the kids and everything.....it was so much fun. And with it being a late dinner my daughter got to watch the fireworks out the window. But it is really expensive!! It would of cost over $100 if we didn't have the meal plan. We also did the Pooh breakfast (which was fun Tigger paraded the kids around the room at one point), the Princess breakfast and the Donald breakfast. The Pooh breakfast and the Cinderella was the best that we attended. The Pooh breakfast was the only time we found Piglet. It is nice because the characters come around to your table and do autographs and pictures. But the food at the parks are very expensive if you have to pay for it yourself. I was glad the meal plan was thrown into our deal. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
T.

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D.S.

answers from Toledo on

I took my little girl on a plane this past Jan. to Florida. At the time she was 6 1/2 months old. I would make sure you have her favorite toy hand because you'll board the plane and might end up sitting for 1/2 hour to an hour waiting for take off. Make sure to give her a bottle or pacifer to suck on when the plane takes off. That helped my little girl. She only got fussy once and that was because she was tired of sitting still. For the older kids I would have them bring music, books, or a hand held game. That's what I always did when my parents took my sisters and I on planes. I hope this helps.

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A.

answers from Columbus on

You have gotten a lot of good advice on this. The only thing that I would add is that in addition to arriving early for your flight you should dress yourself and your kids in shoes that go on and off easily, you will all have to take them off at the security checkpoint. Also, the last time we flew we were not allowed to take the kids sippy cups with liquid inside through the checkpoint. We could fill them with water once we passed inside, or you can buy bottled water inside the checkpoint. There are some allowances made for baby formula or milk, like so many ounces are allowed on, you should check with the airline. Also, lots of lotions and creams were still being banned at that time, so ask about that or you might have to throw them away at the checkpoint. They can go in your checked bags, just not your carry on bags. We take our portable DVD player or laptop computer to play movies on the plane, that helps a lot. Have a wonderful vacation!
A.

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A.C.

answers from Bloomington on

We spent the last month on two different trips to the west coast with our nine month old. It was our first time flying with a baby, and he did very well for the most part. I suggest for your youngest one to make sure you have a bottle of formula (if you're not nursing) or if you are nursing, to nurse as much as possible, especially during takeoff and landing. It helps the baby's ears pop and relieves the pressure. Our pediatrician also suggested giving him Tylenol before takeoff, and that seemed to help a lot. We tried feeding him on the plane with baby food (which is allowed as well as formula/breastmilk; you just have to make sure you declare that you have it at the security checkpoint. We got through all the xray scanners with baby food in our diaper bag except one, which was on our return trip home from our last vacation. It was kind of funny that no one said anything until then. The guy who looked through the bag said that he would have known what it was if he'd been scanning the bag himself, but he said we're really supposed to declare it before going through the checkpoint. We'll know better next time.). Our baby did okay with the baby food on one plane, but I think we did better feeding him in the airport before getting on the plane. He sat on our laps during the flight, which was okay when he slept and was happy. It was a little harder to deal with when he was fussy, but we didn't know he had an ear infection at the time, so that was probably part of the problem. I suggest if you can to get a row of seats by yourself. Since it was the just the two of us with our baby, we always ended up sitting with someone else in our row, and since I sat in the middle all the time, I felt sorry for them when I had to breastfeed our son in such a small, confined space. I bought him some new toys and books to play with, and that seemed to help as well. I don't know anything about Disney (I haven't been there in years), but you can take a stroller with you even on the plane. Just get a claim ticket for it at the boarding podium before you get on the plane and leave it on the jetway to the plane. The airport workers will load it on the plane for you, and it'll be waiting on the jetway at your destination when you get off the plane. Also, I do suggest bringing your own snacks or food (no liquids other than formula/breastmilk) on the plane for the older kids. They can get free water and soda, but if the plane does offer snacks/food, it costs money. Good luck, and have fun!

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S.P.

answers from Columbus on

make sure everyone has their own seat on the plane (even the 6th month old. trust me.. a couple hours in a tight space holding the baby while watching the other 2 is gonna makeya wanna pull your hair out). take a small blanket and attach a small piece of velcro to 2 of the corners on one side. the bathrooms on the planes are rather small and make it very difficult to change a baby diaper in them. you can velcro the blanket to the side of the seat infront of you and yours to shield neighbors eyes from having to see you change the baby in your seat.
if the baby is able to eat the little puffs or kixs yet, bring lots of those with you. lots of snacks that any of the kids would eat wether they are hungry or not to keep them quiet.
gum is a must. besure to chew it during takeoff and landings to make the ears"pop" so your head doesnt feel so stuffy.
bring lots of games, coloring books and reading books for you and the older kids. there are little tables built into the backs of most airline seats that you can pull down and play on.

if you are scared to fly, the scariest thing might seem to be the turbulance(where the plane kinda rocks or shimmies in the air) its really normal. just tell the kids and do the same... close your eyes and pretend youre in a rocking chair or on a water bed.
i do this all the time when i have to fly internationally.. it puts me to sleep every time! ^^

when i was little, we went and took an atari with us to hook to the TV in the hotel. Im not sure if big game systems are banned on airlines yet or not, but its something you might wanna look into so that youll have some time to yourself at night to unwind before bed.

as for inside the park...
to avoid the horribly outrageous prices of food/drinks, pack stuff to bring with you.
good things are like pb&j sandwiches, although those tend to make you really thirsty on hot days.
dont bring anything salty and bring lots of fluids and SUNSCREEN!

if you have any specific questions about flying or disney, feel free to send me a private message on here or email me ____@____.com

good luck with your trip and have lots of fun!

ps
dont forget to bring a camera and if its not a digital one, bring lots of film so you dont have to buy any. its over priced at the park.

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T.D.

answers from Lima on

Hi R.,

I took my kids on a plane for the first time a couple years ago and they were 8, 10 and 11 when we went (to Disney too!). I hate to fly myself, so the best thing I did was act like everything was fine and normal and tried not act nervous at all. They were hesitant and pretty nervous, but they all did really well and looked forward to the flight home. I brought a bag full of travel games (such as cards, checkers, and some of those $5-$10 hand-held games you can get at Wal-Mart) to pass the time and those really seemed to help too. I also packed some "special" snacks that I knew the airplane would not have.

As far as Disney, yes you can bring your own stroller and food. We are Disney Vacation Club members and go several times a year and have never had a problem taking anything of that nature into any of the parks with us. Like everywhere these days, they check your bags before entering the parks for security reasons, but other than that, I do not think they have specific restrictions. If you ask at your hotel, they will be able to tell you for sure (I think glass is prohibited).

Hope this helps! Have fun! We are headed that way at the beginning of June!

T.

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