Disney strollers

Hi all

I hope there are a few Disney experts in the ranks. We are taking our twins (will be 18m) and 4yo to Disney this fall. I'm debating on what to do for strollers. We are driving a bit further so we can fly to Orlando direct, but I still think having one in the airport is necessary. We have a nice side by side, but it was very expensive, so I'm a bit nervous about having it stolen while we are there and it's BIG and doesn't fold the best. So should we take our double? Ort do we buy a new cheap umbrella (we have one from our singleton) and use those in the airport and parks? Or just rent at the parks?

Any suggestions appreciated...I can't believe how fast this trip is coming...I need to my planning "ears" on.

-TL

p.s. Any agenda tips apprecaited too..

 

You are going to need it for other things than just Disney. So I would bring it instead of renting them there. (The umbrella strollers would work for the airport, but not for Disney as you will need basket space. Plus you will probably not want to waste an extra set of hands for carrying luggage and minding your four year old.)

We bring our nice double stroller to Disneyland all the time and have never had a problem. (Nor have any of my friends ever had a problem.)

 

I think someone here posted that they bring a bike lock for their stroller at Disney (though I also bring my own nice one and have never had a problem).

Best,
Mia

 

We are annual passholders at Disneyland and always take our own stroller and have never had any issues. If I was in your shoes I would bring my own. I would want it for the airport and to not have to pay to rent one. The umbrella strollers would not be able to handle all the "gear" for Disney IMO.

 

We've been to Disney three times with DS and twice with 1stDD (they are 18 months apart) and always brought our umbrella strollers. They worked great because they are lightweight and fit everywhere. I also didn't care if they got stolen because they are cheap. I will probably do the same when we eventually go with the twins, it's just easier to get in and out of stores, lines, restaurants, etc with single strollers than with double strollers. They do have very small baskets though so we had a back pack with all our gear. I would carry most of that stuff anyway since you wouldn't want to leave it in the stroller when you're not around. Whatever you decide I would suggest that no matter what stroller you bring put some sort of ribbon or yarn tied to the handle so it's easy to know which one is yours. Most of the rides at Disney and restaurants like Rainforest Cafe make you park your stroller outside. I couldn't believe how many strollers look exactly alike. It took us a good 5-10 minutes to find ours after It's a Small World because the park employees are constantly moving them to make room for more when you park them in the designated areas.

 

Oh, I almost forgot, the strollers that you can rent at Disney look very uncomfortable. At least last time we went. They are hard plastic.

 

We're going this fall with our (will be) 20 month olds and (will be) 3.5 year old.

We went when DD was 2.5 and the twins were 8 months.

I would bring your own umbrella stroller as PP said, you'll need it anyway for other things.

 

We are currently planning the girls 4th trip to disney.
The first trip we had too cheap umbrella strollers due to the fact that the combi broke the weekend before the trip. There were suck a pain to push. Next 2 trips I took the combi and loved it. Now that my girls really don't use the stroller that often, I think I'm going to take the mountain buggy urban double. Slight pain to fold for the plane trip (but i have a storage bag) but great for in the parks.

 

We just got back from Disneyworld in May. I would bring your stroller for just the airport alone it will save your sanity a little. With having to go through security and then to the actual gate it makes a huge difference. Then when you get off the plane your stroller is right there. We always brought our strollers to Disney and never had a problem. Last time we went they wanted the strollers you could rent?? My oldest DD is 4 and the twins were 2. I mean I packed up their stroller made sure we had everything and basically they told me they wanted the big, blue plastic things at Disney. What?

 

We just arrived home from Disney this week. My two year olds had so much fun! We brought our Combi and it was worth it. My brother brought the umbrella stroller and it was so uncomfortable to push through the parks. Are you staying on the property? If so, the Combi was great because it was light and easy to fold for Disney transportation.

 

Definitely bring your own!! We just went to Disneyland, CA this last weekend and I thought it'd be great to just rent there. 1st off they had no double strollers, they cannot leave the park- even though we were staying in the hotel on the property they couldn't go out of the park area and to the hotel... and they say first come first serve- they could run out if they are busy!!!
I really liked the strollers we rented there- but it was impossible (almost!) to have hubby or myself take our 9 year old on a ride while the other watched the boys in individual strollers! It was awful. If we had a double- we could have at least walked around and not been stuck in one area! Also, the boys fell asleep at night as we watched the fireworks,etc. and then we had to take them out at the gate and walk with a 30 pound guy on each of us all the way to the hotel and up to our rooms!! Bummer!!!
I have had a few friends that had their strollers " stolen" They ended up finding them the next day in lost and found! NOrmally, another family thinks it is their stroller as there is a bunch that look alike--- put a big balloon or something on yours and you'll be fine!!!
HAVE A GREAT TRIP!
Lanie

 

If you consider renting, add up the cost of the rented strollers before you go. I don't remember the exact cost but they are pretty expensive and you may be able to buy a tandem stroller for less that you can take with you. Side-by-sides are kind of a pain to maneuver in crowds but tandems aren't bad and then you'll have a double stroller for both Disney and for the airports.

Another thing to consider is the fatigue level of your 4-year-old. Even with afternoon breaks, Disney requires a lot of walking and most 4-year-olds will get exhausted. You may want to not only bring the tandem for the twins but also the umbrella for the older child. We just took our trip to Disney in May and we took our Sit-n-Stand and an umbrella stroller so all three kids could be pushed. My girls have activity levels that far surpass most 4-year-olds but there were plenty of times that it would have been very difficult to get them to walk back through the park and then into the hotel without collapsing.

Finally, if you make a sign for your stroller that says something like "Smith Family Stroller" then there is less chance of anyone accidentally taking it. I just printed ours on 8x11 paper, sealed it in a gallon ziploc, and taped one to each of the strollers.

Have fun!

 

Double strollers are now $31 a day. I think if you do a prepaid for the week the cost per day is $27.

 

I definitely vote for bringing your own! Like one of the pp mentioned, the rentals are expensive. It would be about $200 for a week... you could buy the Jeep double umbrella stroller and a seperate single umbrella stroller at Toys R Us for about $100. We have the double umbrella we bought new, and a second Graco double stroller we bought used (but in very good condition) at a garage sale for $20. You could grab one of those and not worry if it were stolen. We were worried about someone taking the stroller, it was the Jeep one we paid full price for, but we didn't have a problem. Like pp said though, the employees move the strollers around while you are on the rides, so be prepared to search for yours. I hadn't known about this, and had a small panic attack when I came back to our spot and didn't see ours parked there!

Have fun!!!
Helen

 

We just got back from Disney this past weekend with our 5 yr. old and almost 3 yr. old twins. We did rent strollers there, but I think we should have brought ours. We did bring a very light umbrella stroller to go through the airport and things like Downtown Disney, but the big bulky ones are hard to get on and off the monorails if you take it and also the tram to get from the parking lot into Disney. The strollers are very expensive though. It was $31/day for a double stroller and my 3 could not fit in all together, but if you prepay for more than one day you get more of a discount. We ended up renting 2 strollers and my 5 yr. old would sit when she got tired and it also held our bags and such. One thing that I learned is that you can bring your own stroller into Disney and leave it at the rental place where they tag it with your name if you want to rent one of theirs. Then, when you return theirs you get your back. So, this would help if transporting the younger ones between the different parking areas.