I don't know if I'm in the right place for this question, but I need some advice for my travels.
We are flying to southern California from Oakland, which is about an hour and a half flight, and was wondering if I should use a carseat on the plane for my 20 month old son. Will it be too much of a hassle for that short amount of time, or will it be worth it to bring, so that I won't have to hold him on my lap the whole time? We have flight arrangements for 4 of us to fly, but technically, he doesn't need to use his own seat. I guess I'm just asking for opinions from anyone. We have ground transportation set up through the Disney Resort Transportation, which if I'm not mistaken, is a bus, and I won't be able to use the carseat there anyway.
Next question, I want to bring my big stroller to take w/us to the parks, but how does that work in the airport. Do we use the stroller while waiting in the terminal and do they store it w/the luggage when we fly? I've never had to deal w/all of this before. Looking for some opinions and advice! Thanks!

Did you purchase him a seat on the plane? If so, you can use his car seat as long as it is approved for airline use. They typically say on them somewhere. At that age, I probably wouldn't use the car seat, just the plane seat belt, but I'm a rebel like that. LOL YOu can gate check your stroller- meaning you can take it to the gate and check it in there. Then, you'll have it available when you get off the plane at the other end. Bring a bag to put it in, or ask if they have a one. They can get wet/ dirty when they are stored.

My 2 cents on the car seat for the plane...
- If you have not purchased a ticket for your little one - do so. It is much safer and you will be glad you did in the long run. I did the "lap child" thing before and it was NOT worth it. GusJr was very wigglely.
- Use the car seat on the plane, if it is FAA approved. Again ... worth it. You will have much more control over your child.

Here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=59980&highlight=child+seat)is an interesting, recent thread on this topic.

Great info! I actually won this trip from a radio contest, so I did not pay for our airfare, but he is guaranteed his own seat, so it is just up to us to decide if we want to take the carseat or not. I think I'm leaning towards taking a carseat. Peace of mind.

If you have the seat for him already reserved, then you absolutely should take and use the carseat. The added safety is definitely worth a little extra hassle.

-Jeff

Definitely take the carseat. Use the stroller all the way to the plane, ask for a gate check tag at the terminal counter, take the stroller all the way to the plane door and leave it there, they'll load it for you and bring it out to that same place when you land.

We just went to Disneyworld with our 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 year olds, and even though we had a seat for both, every single flight, we were told to hold our 1 1/2 year old on take-off/landing. We did not take a car seat, so I don't know if that would have made a difference.

The strollers get checked on the jet way right before you get on the plane. The attendant will put a bright tag on it (ours were pink and yellow), and you need to fold it up. Then someone takes it and puts it on the plane.

At the other end, when you exit, your stroller will be brought back up to you in the jet way. You should wait for it and not exit into the terminal until you get your stroller back.

This was a life saver for us as we had a lot of carry-on and did not have to lug it and two tired children through the airports!

Until my DD became over the weight limit for taking the carseat on the plane (about 18kgs in Australia) I always took the seat onboard. Even for 1 hour flights. It provided her with extra safety - one time we hit turbulance and it was brilliant - and as she was used to the car seat we had no problem with sleeping, even on a 1 hour flight. Each time we've used the seat we had to inform the airline beforehand so they can allocate certain seating were they have been allowed. Definitely worth it.