Whether your kids fall asleep the moment they’re in the car or plane, or if they hate even 10-minute trips to the grocery store, this section will offer ideas to make the journey to Walt Disney World as easy, quick, and pleasant for everyone as possible.

Before your trip, register for free traffic alerts on www.traffic.com. They can be emailed or text messaged right to your cell phone.

 

Driving to Disney? Check out www.Travmatix.com. Type in your start point and your destinations, and it tells you the hotels, restaurants, and gas stations along your route.

 

If your vehicle’s windows aren’t tinted, you might want to put up removable shade screens for the windows. They’re sold at baby supply and discount stores. Peel-and-stick shades are more secure, so safer, than those that attach with suction cups.

 

Pack some of your kids’ favorite books and toys to keep her entertained on the trip.

 

Bring soft toys that won’t become dangerous projectiles in an accident and quiet toys that won’t annoy other passengers.

 

Listen to the Classic Disney CDs and play name the movie.

 

Bring a Walkman and Disney books on audio tapes.

 

Pack a backpack full of small toys, a coloring book, and travel games. (You can use the same backpack later to carry things around the parks.)

 

Fill mini snack bags with Cheerios, crackers, and other finger foods.

 

Consider getting a DVD player for the car and watch Disney DVDs.

 

Stock the car with wet wipes, diapers, a flashlight, first-aid kit, bottled water, and lightweight blankets in case of an emergency.

 

Plan your departure time around your child’s sleeping schedule. Leave early in the morning or late at night when he’s still sleeping. This way hopefully you’ll beat some traffic, too.

 

If possible, avoid traveling during the most accident-prone times. According to the American Automobile Association, most accidents occur weekdays between 3 and 6 pm and weekends from midnight to 3 am.

 

Plan your meals around your child’s regular eating schedule as well.

 

Take frequent breaks. Toddlers, for example, may need to stop as much as every 1 to 2 hours to stretch their legs, go to the bathroom, or have their diapers changed.

 

Stop for breaks and meals at family-friendly restaurants, such as McDonald’s with play areas.

 

Book a "nonstop" flight, not "direct." "Direct" is airline code for "you'll stop at least once," ncreasing your chances of a flight delay.

 

To try to avoid airplane delays, get on the first available flight, preferably on a plane that spent the night at your airport.

 

Plan ahead for flight delays. Bring extra toys, snacks, and drinks. According to the Department of Transportation, last year 8,852 flights were stranded on the tarmac for more than two hours.  If you must change planes, choose flights with at least 2 hours between connections.

 

Check into discounts; some airlines offer them for travelers under age 2.

 

If possible, reserve a bulkhead seat (just behind the bulkhead that separates coach and first class), since it has the most leg room. Once the plane is in the air, your kids will have a little extra playing space. Don’t bother asking to sit in the emergency exit row. Though it does offer more room, babies and toddlers aren’t allowed to sit in it.

 

Request a window seat if possible to give your little one something to look at. Though, some airlines insist toddlers sit by the aisle. A window seat offers a bit more privacy if you’re nursing as well.

 

Sit in coach. It’s a myth that first class is the safest place on a plane. When you look at crash data over the long term, passengers in the back have a slight safety advantage.

 

If you’re nursing, bring a blanket and two safety pins. You can use the pins to tack the blanket to the top of the seat in front of you and the top of the seat you’re in, creating a wall between you and the people sitting next to you. This makes your space a little darker, too, so maybe your baby will fall asleep.

 

If you're traveling with another adult, consider booking seats apart from one another so one of you can rest while the other entertains the baby.

 

Order your kids’ meals ahead. Most airlines have baby, toddler, and child meals. Call the day before your trip to make sure they have your order.

 

Two or three weeks before the trip, hide away a few of your baby’s favorite small toys. During the flight, you can pull them out for some nice periods of play with some now-new-again beloved toys.

 

A few days before your trip, talk with your toddler about the flight. Go over in advance what will happen at the airport and on the plane. Prepare him as best you can for security checkpoints and long lines.

 

For children younger than age 4 and weighing less than 40 pounds, bring a car seat. It’s safer and far more comfortable for both your baby and you. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children younger than age 4 be bucked into car seats on all flights. Most infant, convertible, and forward-facing seats are certified to be used on planes. Check the label on your child’s seat and call the car safety seat manufacturer before you travel to make sure the seat meets current FAA regulations. Children who weigh more than 40 pounds can use the standard airplane seat belt.

 

Pack things in see-through plastic bags. This way the security personnel won't have to rummage through everything and contaminate pacifiers, nipples, and teethers when searching your bag.

 

Pack some of your kids’ favorite books and toys to keep her entertained on the trip.

 

Bring soft toys that won’t become dangerous projectiles in an accident and quiet toys that won’t annoy other passengers.

 

Wrap your baby’s toys individually in towels to make the unraveling of each new one that much more exciting and momentous. Once on the plane, bring out one toy at a time so your supply will last longer.

 

In your carry-on bag, pack diapers, wipes, a change of clothes for the baby, a change of clothes for you, a bag of toys and books, and snacks for the trip. A backpack is especially helpful  to use as a carry-on bag because you don't have to carry it in your hands.

 

Always bring something for your kids to drink, whether that’s a bottle, sippy cup, or sports bottle. They’re great for drinking during take-off and landing to help prevent ear pain and also to keep your kids from getting dehydrated in the dry airplane air.

 

Bring plenty of snacks. Your child may not be hungry on the flight attendants’ schedule. Great choices include anything packaged, which helps get it through customs and the security screeners, such as cheese and crackers packets, fruit roll-ups, and cookies.

 

If two of you are traveling, send the first person ahead with the car seat. Let him be one of the first ones on. Then the second person should try to be one of the last on the plane. That way the kids get a few extra minutes of crawling/walking time. Plus when the second person gets on the plane, the first person will have the car seat all set up and ready so you just can place the child in and don't have to hold up the line of people boarding.

 

To relieve ear pain during take-off or landing, nurse or bottlefeed the baby or give her a pacifier. (If your baby is restrained in a car seat, it may be best to give her something to suck on such as a pacifier, rather than taking her out of the seat to nurse.) Give older kids a sippy cup, sports bottle, or if they’re old enough a lollipop to suck on. The sucking motion will help unblock his or her Eustachian tubes.

 

If your baby is nursing, try not to nurse her or give her a bottle for a little while before takeoff and landing. That way she’ll be hungry enough to nurse during those times.

 

Have your baby or child drink plenty of water during the flight to keep her nasal passages moist.

 

But don’t drink the plane’s water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the water on commercial airplanes may be tainted with bacteria. This is especially dangerous for young children.

 

Skip coffee and tea, too, and wash your hands—and your kids’ hands—with sanitizing wipes instead of water from the rest rooms.

 

Your child’s pediatrician might suggest giving her an over-the-counter decongestant before the flight to keep her from getting congested or an ear infection.

 

If your child is older, teach him how to equalize the pressure in his ears by holding his nose, filling his cheeks with air, and then trying to blow out through his nose until he feels his ears pop. Caution him to not do it too forcefully, though. Or simply tell him to yawn, which also can equalize the pressure.

 

Try to keep your baby or child awake during take-off and landing. That way he’ll swallow more, which will help to keep his ears clear.

 

Preboard, or not. Depending on your child, you might want to preboard so she has time to settle in, or you might want to wait until last to board so she has more time to run around the gate area.

 

When your kids get older and enter the seat-kicking stage, taking their shoes off when you get on the plane.

 

After the pilot turns off the "fasten seatbelts" sign, take your little one for a walk up and down the aisles. Pacing is far better than screaming!

 

If your kids are still in diapers, use the changing tables in the plane’s restrooms. Most airplanes have at least one changing table. Other passengers won’t appreciate you changing your baby’s diaper at your seat.

 

Play the “quiet” game, using “inside” voices and communicating with gestures or the “mouse” game, being as quiet as mice.

 

If you have a very long layover, take a free shuttle bus to a nearby hotel. You’ll get a change of scenery, plus hotel lobbies usually have comfy furniture, clean bathrooms, and sometimes televisions

 

Transportation