Fandom Travel

Check out Part 1 here.

Travelling with an infant can be complicated. How will they react on the flight? Have you remembered to bring everything? Have you brought too much? I have to admit, I was rather terrified of travelling with Dragon. But it turned out alright! And we didn’t forget anything that we needed, we didn’t have too much of anything (except perhaps diapers and wipes, but that’s a very good thing to have too much of, in my opinion), and her reaction to the flights? Well…

Flight

Our first flight was a non-stop one. No connections was definitely the best way to go. Our return flight had to be changed due to our illness, and we had a connection in Toronto, and ended up travelling 14 hours from door to door. I don’t recommend that. We were all exhausted.

But Dragon’s first flight could only be described as exciting. It was recommended that I try nursing her during the take off. (NOTE: You are supposed to hold the infant in an upright position, facing the rear of the plane, during take off and landing.) So I tried nursing during the taxiing, in the hopes that would make her drowsy. She would have none of it. She fussed and fussed until Eric took her and held her in the correct position. Then the plane took off, the g-forces pushed on us, and then we were airborne! Dragon’s cries turned to delighted smiles the instant the plane picked up speed on the ground, and didn’t seem upset at all by the pressure on her ears. And then she fell asleep.

I guess Dragons are meant to fly.

The return flights were a little more complicated. No smiles, but no screams on the first flight home. The second flight, she was sound asleep for the take off, and then cried for the landing. I think she was upset that she missed her favourite part.

Some things we did to make it easier for us to fly with an infant:

Eric packed the diaper bag within an inch of its life. He knew exactly where everything was. 20 diapers, a package of wipes, plastic change mat, an extra pair of leggings, short sleeved onesie, long sleeved onesie, and slippers, a roll of bags to place the used diapers, a burp cloth, and 2 wash cloths were included in this bag. We had the diaper bag packed this way every time we left the hotel room, as it worked so well.

I had her toys in my carry on. These included her favourite rattle, 3 different teething rings, her favourite toy, and her bedtime book. I also had her blanket that we used to get her from the car into the airport.

We changed her across our laps, as it was easier to do that than try to squeeze into the tiny airplane bathroom to change her in there. After waiting in line. With an upset infant. I recommend only doing this if you have someone who is as good at changing diapers as Eric is. We didn’t make a mess even once.

We had a stroller (this one) that we gate-checked for free. You have to get a label at the check-in counter, though, so don’t forget to do that first!

We bought a red airplane bag for the stroller to protect it. I am SO glad we did that, as the bag is smeared with black, and the stroller is perfect. Highly recommended.

Disney Transportation

Since we stayed on resort at Disney, we were able to take Disney’s Magical Express from the airport. You should have either your magic band or your reservation number ready to check in at the airport. Then we waited in line for our big bus. They can pick up your checked baggage for you, or you can pick it up yourself. We chose the latter, as our checked baggage had all the diapers, and you don’t get your bag until later in the day at the resort.

The bus itself was relatively comfortable, similar to a Greyhound. There is no car seat for babies – you hold them on your lap like on the plane. Your luggage gets put under the bus, and pulled out for you at your resort. Our bus was going to the 3 All-Star Resorts, and was quick and efficient.

Park Shuttles

The shuttles to the parks and Disney Springs were similar to OC Transpo buses, except that you had to fold up your stroller. It’s a really good thing we had extra adults along, because holding the baby, the diaper bag, Eric’s backpack, and the stroller was manageable, but much easier with the extra hands.

I was very happy with the timing of the shuttles. They are every 20 minutes (approximately), and there’s a screen at the resort that tells you when the next one will arrive. We had very good luck with our shuttles – we only had to wait longer than 5 minutes once, and it was standing-room-only twice. I had to ask a guy to give me his seat because I was holding a baby on the way home from one of the parks. He rolled his eyes and huffed when he got up. That was the only time we had less than stellar interactions with anyone. I guess babies are pretty well liked.

The hardest part of having a baby is trying to stop people from touching her! We didn’t have too much trouble – most people only touched her feet – but then she discovered that her feet could go in her mouth, and I almost flipped out on a garbage collector at the airport on the way home. (You touch garbage with that hand! Why would you touch my baby’s foot!?)

The shuttles were a big difference from driving (and parking) to the parks like we had done in previous years. It was nice to not have to deal with traffic, paying for parking, and the shuttle stop at Magic Kingdom was right outside the entrance, so we didn’t have to take the monorail/ferry back to the parking lot (both a pro and a con, imo).

Quick Transportation

In order to transfer resorts, we had to go through a third party transportation company. This was a little more complicated than normal, because we decided to not bring our car seat. So we couldn’t use a regular taxi, and we had to make sure that whatever service we did use had a car seat for young infants.

Enter Quick Transportation. Not only did they have a rear-facing car seat (although we had to provide the head support – no problem, as our stroller had a removable one), but they had a large van that was smooth enough for my mother’s motion sickness. And they have a grocery stop service, where they allow for a stop of 30 minutes at a grocery store, and you can get supplies. Since we knew we were going to have a kitchenette at Universal Studios, and no meal plan, we stocked up on breakfast and snack foods. We also grabbed a couple Disney sleepers for Dragon, because our grocery stop was at a Walmart, and we wanted some cheap Disney clothes.

We also used this service to get to the airport from Universal Studios, as it came out to cheaper than using their shuttle service for our family of four adults.

I was very happy with our choice of transportation service, and highly recommend them.

If you are interested in booking a trip to Orlando. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca