Another couple of questions for the wise folks on this board! We are flying from Salt Lake to Long Beach airport at the end of April with our little girl, who will be 9 months old at that time. We are taking her nice Eddie Bauer stroller, but we were not going to take the car seat (we have the travel system, so it just snaps into the stroller). Two questions:

1. Has anyone had success finding a car rental place that has carseats? My dad has been calling and calling with no success. So, if we end up taking her carseat...

2. What is the best way to transport these on the plane? Do we check the carseat when we go in, push her in the stroller to the skyway, then give the stroller up? Do we check both at first, and just carry her? We're flying Delta, in case that makes a difference.

Thanks for all of your advice!

I have always checked the car seat unless you purchased a seat for the baby ( if you did you can use that ). If lap sitting car seat gets checked. and I keep the stroller and check it at the gate as you never know if you will be staying there much longer then you think it gives you a place to put the baby let the baby sleep some and free up your lap for a bit before boarding.

We didn't purchase a seat for her, so she'll be on one of our laps for the flight.

Yes then plan to check the car seat. There is always a chance of a open seat next to you but never count on it. How long is the flight.

I have not been to disneyland in almost 5 years but I fly a lot.

So, you'd check the car seat when we check in, and then push her in the stroller to the gate, and take her out when we go to get in the plane?

Haven't been to DLR for 5 years, and you're going in less than 3 weeks? Cool!

Yes that is what I would do. Long time ago rental car companies use to offer car seats but they for most part have stopped. I think because they don't want to be responiable for choosing the right ones.


Yes I can't wait to get to disneyland with the wife and kids. the last time I went they were almost cpmplete with DCA and the only Hotel was DLH.

Interesting that you are having a problem with getting a car seat. Here in Canada my wife and I have NEVER had a problem getting a car seat with a car rental.

That said, I would also ask if you are taking a disney coach to get to your hotel from the airport? We took the bus and our child was 8 months old so she just stayed on our laps.

The stroller through the airports in both Vancouver and LAX was indispensible. So, I would highly recommend you merely "sky-check" or "gate-check" the stroller when you board the plane. We also didn't bring the car seat from home and just had our baby sit on our laps for the flights there and back.

If you aren't familiar with "gate-checking" you merely tell the ticket people when you check your regular baggage that you want to "gate-check" the stroller. They will put a special tag on it and you can just keep taking it right up until you go on the walkway into the plane. then you simply fold it up and leave it outside the plane and they will store it for you in the plane. When you land and are disembarking the stroller is usually sitting right outside the plane in the walkway waiting for you. VERY handy to put the baby into before you start heading down the walkway into the gate and towards baggage claim ...

Because we weren't going anywhere in our last trip to Disneyland except to DL and DCA and we were within walking distance (stayed at the Castle Inn), we never bothered with a rental car and just used the Disney shuttles back and forth to the airport which worked wonderfully for us ...

Great info, MFinQ. We are taking a rental from Long Beach airport, hence the heartburn over finding a rental with a car seat. We are planning to lap sit her on the plane, so we would probably check the car seat, and then gate check the stroller.

Thanks for the info!

I think Hertz has the carseats (at least they did not too long ago!)

We took my DD to Phoenix from LA a few months ago (she was about 9 months) and did just fine w/out the car seat.

Since I had a stroller to use at my destination, I didn't even bring that. Since it was a 1 hour flight, it was quite easy to have DD on my lap (we did buy her a seat, just in case)...she nursed most of the time anyway.

I am not sure what to do about the stroller on the plane (check vs. gate check) as we just used the Bjorn to carry DD thru the airport.

Thanks, Koala Gurl, we'll have to call Hertz. With the car ride, we'll need a car seat one way or another. We'll probably gate check the stroller, too. Salt Lake airport isn't huge, and Long Beach is tiny, but it will be nice to put her in it while we wait.

Car seats are a hit and miss.they charge 6-10 dollars a day for them. When i flew to long beach I got my rental car and drove about a mile to Target and bought one for 35 dollars. I just left it in the rental car afterwards.

Not a bad idea, Seattle. Might make less of a hassle instead of hauling ours around.

believe me its easier to buy a car seat.use ti more than 5 days and its paid for itself any ways. Theres a Target 3/4 of a mile from the airport. Been through it twice. if yuo are bringing a stroller than get the light weight fold up one. Dragging around the big suckers is a pain and if they are of walking age half the time they don't want to sit in the stroller.

She's only eight months, almost crawling and would LOVE to be walking. She's really busy. But we'll have her stroller for sure, and I guess we'll have to decide on a car seat. We'll be there for five days, so it sounds like it may pay for itself anyway...

I wouldn't use a rental car carseat. You know nothing about the kind they are going to have and what condition it was in. It could have been in an accident for all you know. I highly recommend bringing your own carseat. You can check it at the ticket counter before you even go through security, or carry it to the plane and check it at the jet way. On most airlines, they can tell you at the gate if there will be an open seat and they will then allow you to use the carseat on the plane, for no extra charge. I recommend this, as it is much safer to have baby restrained during turbulence or a rough landing, than sitting on your lap.
Wherever you check your carseat, or stroller, I HIGHLY recommend bagging them. I cannot tell you the number of times, I, or my DH, have seen carseats and strollers that were checked at the gate, come up covered in who knows what. My DH just last week had a lady crying about her stroller that was dripping in something that had leaked in the belly of the plane. For us, we always bag our stroller, www.montanacanvas.com sells great canvas tent bags, that are large enough even to fit a Graco DuoGlider, for $25. I check my stroller at the ticket counter, and when the boys were little, had them in the Bjorn to go through the airport. Much less of a hassle, especially since most airports reguire you to break down the stroller to go through security, while they try to fit it on the xray belt. Phoenix and Orange County are that way, I know for sure. Several airlines offer bags for carseats, they are just like big trash bags, but I would bring my own, just in case.
And just so you know I am not some whacked out traveler. I use to be a flight attendant, before being a stay at home mom, and my DH is currently a commercial pilot.

If it somehow works out, it isn't a bad idea to buy one for the trip at your destination. The carseat can be pretty pricey from the rental car agency. The hertz one we rented was installed incorrectly (we checked & fixed before we left), and I think it cost about $70 for the 4 days we had the car. For us, it was worth the convenience of not bringing ours, but I guess it all depends (I didn't need one at my destination, just to get there.)

I would definitely bag the stroller / car seat too if you decide to bring it.

Funny story (well, not really)...on the flight from Phoenix back to LA, I noticed a baggage guy looking towards the plane (as we backed from the gate) with a stroller in hand. Oops! I have a feeling there was an unhappy camper on our flight...

I fly several times a week. I have never had gate checked items lost. I have heard of it happing but I assume it is rare.

I fly several times a week. I have never had gate checked items lost. I have heard of it happing but I assume it is rare.

I would imagine it does happen, but it very rare. Whenever I gate check anything I put it right in front of the door that leads out to the tarmack. That way the rampers have to trip over it to get in and out, and will take it down with them. I started gate checking my 4yos carseat, after the first time we decided he could sit in a regular seat, and checked his carseat at the ticket counter on our way to DLR, and when we arrived in SNA it was in MCI. I had to use a filthy loaner carseat and I was ticked!

Hertz does have car seats for a daily fee. When I rented mine at Orlando, they had several forward-facing ones available. ($10/day) They were all newer models that were clean in very good shape. (They were just like the one I used from Cosco.) Agreed, there can be very valid concerns about using one from a rental company, so the best thing you can do is to check it out yourself looking for obvious signs of wear and making sure it is secured properly. (Being that all new cars today have LATCH points in the seats, and that the car seats have the tethers for them, it makes it a snap.)

If I had a choice, I would bring my own seat and purchase a seat on the flight for my little one. I have tried it both ways (lap and purchased seat) and while the extra cost is there, it is just safer and will allow you to relax a bit more on the flight. Some airlines have fares for those in a car seat but do take note that they are not always "reduced rate" fares. Southwest, for example, has an infant fare but it is more expensive because it is fully refundable. In my case, it was cheaper to buy an adult, non-refundable fare. Your mileage may vary, so look around.

I think Hertz has the carseats (at least they did not too long ago!)

We booked through AAA & got a "free" car seat from Hertz - but I hear it's a good idea to make sure that gets noted on your reservation.

In hindsight, we should have brought our big ol' Graco double stroller. We brought two small umbrella strollers because 1) they're small, thus easier to maneuver & park at a busy place like an airport... or Disneyland. And 2) they wouldn't be terribly expensive to replace.

We were wrong primarily because the Graco is quite maneuverable (for a double-stroller). The small ones weren't bad, but they certainly weren't a benefit. But mostly the boys are more familiar with it and the seats recline... so maybe we could've gotten naps in the stroller a couple more times than we ended up getting, thus saving a walk back to the hotel. We still may have for a swim, but it would have worked out better, I believe.

That said, they found the Mark Twain very relaxing, if not quite nap-inducing.

I want to say be careful if you do bring the carseat and they put it in a bag. Our carseat got left at the Phx airport when we went to Florida. I thought that would happen because they put the destination tag on the inside of the bag and it was hard to read. We had to get one from the airport and it was way to big for my 6 month old.

We had no problem with gat-checking our Eddie Bauer stroller. It was nice to have to go through the airport.

Have fun on your trip.

I want to say be careful if you do bring the carseat and they put it in a bag. Our carseat got left at the Phx airport when we went to Florida. I thought that would happen because they put the destination tag on the inside of the bag and it was hard to read. We had to get one from the airport and it was way to big for my 6 month old.

We had no problem with gat-checking our Eddie Bauer stroller. It was nice to have to go through the airport.

Have fun on your trip.

I would definetly make sure the tag is stickied to the outside of the bag, if they need to put 2 on it, so be it. Thankfully I have a bag for my carseat that has a handle the tag can be attached to. But since they are sticky, I am sure they could stick it right to the bag they put it in. Double tagging it would be best, I think.

We have rented cars at DL and WDW and have never had a problem renting a car seat as well. Are you asking for an "infant" car seat, or a infant/toddler (the kind that goes up to 40 lbs and can face forward and backward) one? I also wonder if it is that the Long Beach location don't have them while the Orange County locations have a plethera of them?

We actually got back a couple of weeks ago, and it all went just fine. Hertz had the car seat, they even installed it, and it worked out just fine. Thanks for all the great info!