Car seats on the buses???

[disneyvoice]

We are taking our 5 month old son to WDW next month. I don't remember seeing any infants on the disney transportation buses that take you to the parks when we there last year. Since there aren't any seat belts on the bus, can babies not ride on the bus (no way to secure the car seat). Would we be better off driving to each of the parks and parking ourselves? How much is parking?

 

[MaggieMouse]

Our daughter is older (15 mos) but we rode the busses anyway. We just held her while we were on there. If the bus was too crowded and it looked like we wouldn't get a seat, we just waited for the next one. It just seemed easier than driving our car.

If you are concerned that you won't be able to hold him, then by all means drive your car. But there is definitely no where to put a car seat.

 

[skeezixspud]

It's not possible to use carseats on busses, there is no way to secure them. Since there is no law that requires seat belts on public busses in FL, then by extension they don't require carseats, either. Infants are allowed on busses, however.

If you are staying onsite, parking at the parks is free; just show your room pass at the gate.

 

[sgtpet]

We drove and used buses when we were there in October with our 12 month old.

We held onto him tightly. We also took him on the boatride from Port Orleans to DD.

He enjoyed all of the transportation. Even the monorail.

 

[dcedwards]

Florida doesn't require infants or kids to be in car seats for any public transportation. We had our son there at 13 months, 18 months, 24 months and 36 months. Never had a problem with the Disney busses. Seemed a lot easier than driving the car, parking it, getting back home. We left the driving to someone else. We just held onto him when the bus was in motion and this year we explained the rules and he was fine.

 

[Jenn]

It is a little weird getting on busses with no car seats/seatbelts when the first thing you do is secure your kids in your own car... but... like any bus (school bus, city bus) there are no seat belts and frankly, even if there were, what would you do with the car seat all day?

If you are really uneasy about no car seat, you should rent a car. You can secure your car seat and drive to the parks each day. Parking is $6 per day, I believe. It is free if you have an annual pass or are a DVC member.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

Disneyvoice, I was just there in Dec. There are new type busses with less seats and bigger aisles. You could keep the baby in his stroller right on the bus. They are also lower to the ground and only have one step.

 

[ahutton]

We were told by several drivers they can't stay in their strollers, that small ones must be held. In fact, the bus driver wouldn't start moving until the stroller was broken down.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

I wonder if that's a Disney rule or just the drivers rule. I had a baby in a stoller on one of the busses, maybe the driver was not paying attention?

 

[dcedwards]

The bus drivers have always told us that the strollers must be broken down before they will move. My guess is that they just didn't notice that yours was not. We were on the newer buses, too, and they made us break our stroller down before they would let us on. I'm not sure, though, whether it is a Disney rule or a transportation rule.

 

[tjmw2727]

A stroller left open with a child in the aisle is very dangerous in the event of an emergency. Imagine having to evacuate quickly and having one/two/several strollers open down the aisles. Dangerous to the children in the strollers as well as all those trying to evacuate. Most bus drivers will instruct you to close the stroller as compactly as possible to make room for others. If they don't they aren't doing their job properly.
TJ

 

[DaisyDebbie]

Just to clarify, it wasn't my baby. the bus was empty except for this couple and us. Come to think of it this was the first time I saw this happen. I thought maybe on these new type busses it is allowed. I guess not.

 

[Looking Glass]

Maybe I can help I drive public transportation for a living.
A. A stroller does block an Isle. It is also easier to get off the bus in case of an emergency holding the child than trying to get the whole stroller off.
B. Even with the best stroller braking system there is a chance the stroller might roll, you never know when the driver is going to hit the brakes.

My advice, If you can sit in a seat that is sideways. Try not to sit in a seat with one directly in front of you. If anything happens there is the chance of hitting the seat infront of you. The drivers are professionals, they do this for a living, 8hours a day. The passengers safety is more important than anything else.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We went to WDW in Dec 2001 with a then 9 month old. We did not rent a care and left the care seat in the resort room for the rest of the trip. I didn't worry to much about her not being in a car seat while in the bus. My baby however loved being able to ride on our lap and not have to be locked down!!! When we got home she seemed to protest loudly when we put her in her seat every time, like "not this again, I thought we gave this up!!!"

We stayed at Polly and the Monorial was great. Our stoller was very small and we would put her in the monrail stoller and all often. That was great!!!!!!!

 

[disneyandme]

We were not comfortable on the buses without a carseat. We drove everywhere, except MK (took the monorail from GF). We had not problems parking and usually walked into the parks since it was closer than taking a tram.