Yesterday I hinted that we had finally decided to take a plunge and go on a big family vacation with the boys. Sure, we have gone on little trips here and there. We have gone to visit my brother and his family,  long weekends to visit JL’s parents, and even a few mini-vacations to see friends and go to Sesame Place and Hershey Park. Still it was never more than a few days, and we have never taken the boys on an airplane.

While those little get aways from here were wonderful at the time, secretly I have been longing to go to another destination. I guess I need to admit something. My parents helped me to become a Disney World junkie while growing up. From the time I was JSL’s age to when I was in college, I went to Disney World at least five times. I remember when EPCOT was opened, Animal Kingdom was fresh and hardly had anything in it. . . . and have stayed at many different Disney resorts. JL and I even went there on our honeymoon in 2001. That was the last time we have been to Florida. The last time JL and I went away on a longer vacation was in December 2002. That was our trip to Las Vegas. During that trip I suspected I was pregnant, and it was confirmed several days later.

NHL is now 5 and JSL will be 2 in May. Pair that with fabulous deals that have been extended by Disney to lure people into their parks.

Some of you are probably asking, "What about your Chicago Dreaming?" Although I would love to go to BlogHer in July, the call of Disney is much stronger. I would guess that I will not be attending, but you never know.

I think JL was shocked when I mentioned giving up the BlogHer trip for Disney World, but he soon understood. We began pricing it out. Right now Disney World has a deal that if you stay 4 days at a Value Resort you get 3 days free! At first we were silly and talking about driving to Florida. Then we had a reality check. If  you factor in all of the additional time on the road (at least 20 hours each way), hotels going/coming home, gas, and wear on the car it really was not a savings. We can book a flight be there by noon on Saturday and have 6 1/2 days of Disney imersion.

Now for a dilemma. JSL will actually turn 2 during our trip there. According to the one travel agent we could technically take him on our lap and save money. FAA regulations state that a child under 2 has this option. I got antsy and called the airline that we are going to go with (they have non-stop 2 hour and 50 minute flights to Orlando). The person on the line was a little stumped. There was no real answer that she could find. In the end, she said that they now check birth certificates of children under 2 at the gates. If he is two for the return trip, they would require a ticket to be within FAA requirements. If we take a chance and do not book for both ways, I am afraid of what could happen coming home. Just my luck the plane would be booked and he would not be allowed home, or they would charge us $400 for one way.

So for those of you who have traveled with a child that is almost two, how bad is it to have them on your lap? Should we just buy him a ticket for both ways and not worry about being squished or having an antsy toddler on our lap? Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

At this point I believe we will be staying at the Disney All Star Movie resort and once we have reservations can start booking times for meals since they get snatched up quickly. We will likley book things this trip later today since we are afraid of the cheaper flights going and the hotel not having the buy 4 get 3 room rates left when we want to go.

Thanks for any pointers on traveling via plane with children, this is a new adventure for us after being parents for almost six years.